“If the Bible can be compared to a great house, Genesis is its strong foundation.” (What the Old Testament Authors Really Cared About)
Genesis tells the story of the world's beginning, laying the foundation for all that follows. It reveals the beauty of creation, the impact of sin, and God's plan to rescue everything. This plan involves calling a people to himself, demonstrating his faithfulness in keeping promises and overcoming obstacles.
Key themes include creation, sin, and recreation. While showcasing God's magnificent work, Genesis also highlights the damage caused by sin. Genesis 1-11 focuses on primeval history, while Genesis 12-50 introduces Abraham's family and God's plan for rescuing the world.
Understanding Genesis is crucial as it sets the stage for the rest of Scripture.
The Big Idea of Genesis
S: What story does Genesis tell us about our origins?
C: That we’re rebellious image-bearers, and that God is committed to rescue the world by calling a people to himself.
BI: We’re rebellious image-bearers, but God is committed to rescue the world through his people.
Primeval History (1-11)
Creation (1:1-2:3)
S: How did the world come to be?
C: God spoke everything into existence and made humans in his image.
BI: God created us to live in a world of order, balance, and harmony.
Eden and the Falls (2:4-11:32)
2:4-25
S: What is God’s intention for humanity?
C: For men and women to live as perfect complements and as caretakers of his good creation.
BI: God created men and women as complements and caretakers of his good world.
3
S: How did this world become broken?
C: Through disobedience to God, which brought a curse on creation and separated us from God.
BI: Sin scarred our world and separated us from God.
4:1-16
S: What happened after the Fall?
C: Sin began to dominate.
BI: After the Fall, sin began to dominate humanity.
4:17-5:32
S: What do the lines of Cain and Seth teach us?
C: Humanity’s path was split. One family pursued sin and vengeance; the other God’s relief from the curse.
BI: We’re on one of two paths: moving toward God or farther away.
(adapted from The Bible Idea Companion to Preaching and Teaching)
6:1-9:17
S: How did God respond to the wickedness that took over the world?
C: By recreating the world.
BI: God’s way of dealing with sin is to make all things new.
9:18-28
S: What happened after the new creation?
C: Sin persisted.
BI: God makes all things new, but sin still pushes back (for now).
10:1-11:32
S: How did the nations come to be?
C: Humanity progressed but couldn’t overcome sin, but God prepared a people and plan to rescue the world.
BI: Human progress will never solve the world’s problems. Only God will.
Abraham (12-23)
12:1-9
S: How will God rescue and bless this rebellious world?
C: By graciously creating a people for himself.
BI: God rescues the world by graciously creating a people for himself.
12:10-14:16
S: How does God keep his covenant with sinful people?
C: He remains faithful to his promise, forgiving and protecting them.
BI: God faithfully keeps his promises to imperfect people.
14:17-24
S: How does God bless his people?
C: By accomplishing his purposes in unexpected ways.
BI: God accomplishes his purposes for his people in unexpected ways.
15:1-21
S: How does God show his commitment to the covenant?
C: By guaranteeing his promises by offering himself.
BI: God demonstrates his commitment to his promises by offering himself.
16:1-15
S: How does God treat the overlooked and abused?
C: He sees and listens to them.
BI: God sees and listens to the overlooked and abused.
17:1-27
S: How does God call us to respond to his covenant?
C: He calls us to submit completely to him.
BI: God calls us to respond to his grace by submitting completely to him.
18:1-15
S: How does God fulfill his promise?
C: By his divine power, even when it’s impossible.
BI: The impossible won’t prevent God’s promises from prevailing.
18:16-19:38
S: How does God deal with rampant sin?
C: By showing both mercy and judgment.
BI: God deals with rampant sin by showing both mercy and judgment.
20:1-18
S: How does God respond to our repeated sin?
C: By preserving his promise by grace.
BI: God’s promise won’t be derailed by our sin.
21:1-21
S: How did God keep his promise to Abraham?
C: By miraculously providing a son, while also caring for those not chosen.
BI: God unfolds his plan of redemption even when we get in the way.
21:22-34
S: How does God keep his promise to Abraham regarding land?
C: Through both ordinary and extraordinary means.
BI: God works through both the miraculous and the ordinary.
22
S: How did Abraham respond when tested?
C: By trusting God without question.
BI: God saves those who trust him.
Isaac (24-26)
23:1-25:18
S: How does God unfold his purposes?
C: By sovereignly working through the details of our lives.
BI: God sovereignly unfolds his purposes through the details of our lives.
25:19-34
S: Whom does God choose to accomplish his purposes?
C: Not who we’d expect.
BI: God chooses people we don’t expect.
26:1-33
S: How does God show his faithfulness to a new generation?
C: By keeping his promises despite our failings.
BI: God shows his faithfulness from generation to generation despite our repeated sins.
Jacob (27-36)
26:34-28:9
S: How does God work even when we get it wrong?
C: By seeing his way through our deception to fulfill his promises.
BI: God sees his way through our deception to fulfill his promises.
28:10-22
S: What happens when it looks like God’s promises are threatened?
C: We can remember that God is at work to accomplish his purposes.
BI: When it looks like God’s promises may fail, remember that God is actively working to accomplish his purposes.
29-31
S: How does God deal with his imperfect people in the craziest of times?
C: He keeps his covenant despite the obstacles and our sins.
BI: God keeps his promises despite the obstacles and our sins.
32:1-33:17
S: How did Jacob change?
C: He was changed by encountering God and being defeated by him.
BI: We change when we encounter God and are magnificently defeated by him.
(“magnificently defeated” comes from Frederick Buechner)
33:18-34
S: What happens when we lose sight of our mission in the world?
C: We turn the blessings of the covenant into weapons.
BI: When we lose sight of our mission, we turn the blessing of God into weapons.
35-36
S: How does God work over time?
C: He keeps his covenant throughout successive generations.
BI: God works out his story over generations.
Joseph (37-50)
37
S: How does God respond to evil?
C: By overruling their wicked intentions to save his people.
BI: God uses the actions of the wicked to save his people.
38
S: Whom does God use?
C: By his grace, he uses the unrighteous and unexpected.
BI: God uses the unrighteous and unexpected by his grace.
39
S: Where is God when we’re wronged?
C: He is with us, sovereignly accomplishing his purposes.
BI: Even when we’re wronged, God is still with us, sovereignly accomplishing his purposes.
40-41
S: How did God prosper Joseph in Egypt?
C: By giving him supernatural gifts so he could play his part in God’s story.
BI: God gifts us to play our part in his story.
42-45
S: What was God’s purpose in bringing Joseph to Egypt?
C: To save the lives of God’s people or to preserve his covenant people
BI: Through good and bad, God works through history to keep his covenant and save his people.
46-47
S: How did God’s people end up in Egypt?
C: God sent them there to bless the nations and prosper his people.
BI: God accomplishes his purposes for his people even in a land that’s not home.
48:1-50:14
S: How do our lives affect the future?
C: Our character and God’s promises shape our part in God’s story.
BI: Our character and God’s promises shape our part in God’s story.
50:15-26
S: What was God doing through the ups and downs of Joseph’s life?
C: Using sin and suffering in order to save his people.
BI: God uses even sin and suffering for his people’s good.
