Genesis 1-11: Overview

Structure

• Two main parts: Genesis 1-11 and Genesis 12-50
  • Genesis 1-11: Story of God and the whole world
  • Genesis 12-50: Story of God and one man (Abraham) and his family
  • Hinge story at the beginning of Chapter 12: Connects the two parts

Key Themes and Messages

• Creation

  • God brings order, beauty, and goodness from disorder and darkness
  • Humans ("adam" in Hebrew) are made in God's image
    • Purpose: Reflect God's character and rule His world
    • Role: Harness potential, care for the world, foster more life
  • Blessing: Humans given a garden to start building the new world

• The Human Choice

  • Represented by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
  • Choice: Trust God's definition of good and evil or define it themselves
  • High stakes: Rebellion leads to death (separation from the giver of life)

• The Fall (Genesis 3)

  • Mysterious snake leads humans into rebellion
  • Outcome: Humans seize autonomy, relationships fracture
    • Human relationships: Vulnerability, distrust, and hiding
    • God-Human intimacy: Lost, humans hide and blame-shift
  • God's response:
    • Declares consequences for snake and humans
    • Promises a descendant (wounded victor) to defeat the snake

Consequences of Rebellion

• Life filled with grief, pain, and leading to death
• Downward Spiral (Chapters 3-11)
  • Cain and Abel: Jealousy leads to murder
  • City built by Cain: Violence and oppression
  • Story of Lamech: Polygamy, vengeance song
  • "Sons of God" and Nephilim: Human kingdoms filled with violence
  • Great Flood: God cleanses the world but spares Noah (new Adam)
    • Noah's failure: Drunkenness and shame
  • Tower of Babel: Human arrogance, God scatters people

Larger Point

• Humans continually ruin God's world
• Human condition: Good world turned bad by defining good and evil for ourselves
• Broken relationships: Conflict, violence, and death result

Hope and Promise

• Promise of a descendant (wounded victor) to defeat evil
• God's determination: Despite human evil, God aims to bless and rescue the world
• Big Question: What will God do next? (to be answered in the hinge story)