Genesis - What I Learned

An Overview of Genesis; And what I learned from reading this Book of the Bible

An Overview of Genesis;

And what I learned from reading it

       1.  God created everything from nothing.  He did it exactly the way He wanted to and is fully able to do so. 

  
   2.  Adam & Eve – all of us have heard most of this story.  Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, because they listened to the serpent and ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.   They then had to work the land and struggle to survive.  They had two sons, Cain and Abel.  Cain killed Abel, and then was banished to the East by God.   I should have known there was more kids, but I learned that there was a third son.  The line of “promise” came with the birth of Seth.    

        3.  The N’filim were not a race of giants, mutants, or offspring of fallen angels.  The N’filim refer to the offspring of women from Cain (daughters of men) and men from Seth (Sons of God).  A merging of the Seth—faithful, Godly men, and Cain—who fell away from God.

       4.  Noah – Built an Ark because God told him too.  Noah built an Ark using God’s instructions on how to build it.  Noah used the materials that he was told too.  He did not take 2 of every animal on board the Ark with him.  Of the “unclean” animals he took one pair, a couple.  But of the “clean” animals he took 7 pairs, 7 couples.  The childhood stories, the cartoons, the movies, they didn’t get this right, and it’s plainly spoken in the bible.  “Of every clean animal you are to take seven couples, and of the animals that are not clean, one couple; also of the birds in the air take seven couples –in order to preserve their species throughout the earth.” (GEN 7:2-3)

The animals were not used for food.  Humans did not eat animals at this time.  They only consumed the plant life. 

The mountains of Ararat include Mount Ararat, but are not only Mount Ararat. 

A raven was sent out, but didn’t come back, which indicated that he had found food and a place to nest.  A dove was sent out, who returned unsuccessful.  Noah waited another week, and sent out another dove, who returned with an Olive Branch.

Noah had three sons.  Shem, Ham, and Japeth.

Ham was cursed by Noah.  Japheth was doomed to be the servant of Shem.  With Shem being the line of “promise”.

      5.   Abraham – was told by God to leave his family and travel west.  He took with him Lot and his family.  Lot parted later and went to Sodom.  When Sodom & Gomorrah were destroyed Lot’s life and his family was spared by God, at Abraham’s request.  Lot went into the mountains with his two daughters, and thought there was no one left in the world.  The daughters got Lot drunk and had his kids.   Abraham told two separate Kings (or Pharaohs) that his wife Sarah was not his wife, but his sister.  Abraham had two sons.  The first Ishmael was from Sarah’s handmaid Hagar.  The second when Abraham was 100, from Sarah named Isaac.  Ishmael was banished at Sarah’s request.  And Isaac was almost sacrificed at God’s bequest, but through faith was spared, and became the line of “promise”. 

       6. Isaac – married Rebecca.  And had two sons.  Esau and Jacob.  Jacob with Rebecca’s help, tricked Isaac into giving first born blessing to Jacob.  EVEN though God had already told Rebecca that Jacob would get it. 

       7.   Jacob – after tricking Isaac, ran away from home, found himself indentured to Laban for the hand of his daughter.  Laban tricked him into taking Leah, when Jacob really wanted Rachel, so Jacob indentured himself again for Rachel.  And returned with 2 wives, 2 concubines, and 11 sons to Canaan.  He buried Rachel along the way home, after she gave him the 12^th son.  The 12 sons became the 12 tribes of Israel.  Joseph the 11^th was his favorite.  Jacob died in Egypt. 

       8.  Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers to Egypt.  He made a place in Egypt for his family because he was able to divine the meaning of dreams, and saved Eqypt from a famine.  Many were saved by Joseph’s planning ahead for the famine, including his family.  When Jacob died, Joseph returned Jacob’s body to bury him with his grandfather Abraham, his father, Isaac, and his wife Leah.

      9.  Israel prospered in Egypt 200 years, before the Egyptians ousted those that had them enslaved, and turned around and enslaved the Israelites.  Genesis ended with Israel enslaved to Egypt. 

     The men that God chose and used in the book of Genesis were not pious, righteous, or even honest.   He appears to have had no obvious reason for choosing and separating the ones that he did choose.  This means to me that we can all be called to Him, to be His people, to be part of His chosen.