Why Do We Have Genesis?

A few months back I decided to get on a read-your-Bible-in-a-year plan. Frankly, I feel a little sheepish about the fact that I haven't ever read the Bible cover-to-cover. I was able to digest Tom Clancy's latest 800+ page offering in about a week over Christmas, yet I've left pages of God-written content untouched. (BTW, I'd say that Clancy did a better job with this year's novel than the last.) I searched for, and found, a website that offered a chronological reading plan - this makes sense to me: let Biblically-recorded history unfold itself in its proper sequence. For example, after finishing Genesis 10 you jump over to Job before continuing through the rest of Genesis. When reading about the kings of Israel you read related chunks from Kings, Chronicles, Psalms and the prophets all at the same time. As I said, makes sense to me that way.

Progress has been slow so far, mostly because I find it impossible to speed read anything in the Bible. This isn't fiction, this isn't even a mere history book, it is a God-given account of Himself and His dealings with mankind. That warrants serious attention and thought. It is also, quite simply, fascinating reading. The anti-diluvian (pre-flood) world is a very foreign place to me; I find myself immersed in a context that bears little resemblance to what I know. I wound up with a lot of notes, exclamation points, and unfinished thoughts.

Rather than paste all of that in this space, I want to reflect for a moment on why we have Genesis in the first place. Some folks I've talked to in the past believe that Genesis is a collection of Jewish myths and folklore: something along the lines of Greek mythology or King Arthur. This is a polite way of saying, "Nice stores, but I really don't see what they have to do with me." This argument has some merit, but I seriously wonder if these folks have read the entire thing. We aren't talking about a loosely connected collection of fables (no offense, Aesop), but a single story arc with a common theme centered around a single character. That character isn't Adam, Noah, or even Abraham, but God Himself. God shows up on the first page as he methodically and incomprehensibly creates the universe out of nothing. However, this God does not disappear behind the proverbial curtain - He continues His engagement with His creation on a most personal level. This God enters into the lives of men and forms relationship with them.

Others have proposed that Genesis (and other books in Scripture) cannot be trusted as it has passed through the hands of so many editors. To that I would say that they did a pretty poor job of editing. Seriously, why would Jews who hold Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in such high esteem leave in so many denigrating accounts of them? How about we skip the parts where Abraham continually fails to understand what God is promising to Him? Or Isaac's poor choice in wives? Or Jacob's deception? Or Joseph's trickery? These people could easily qualify for day-time talk shows, and the dirty laundry is left out to dry by the editors.

This ties us back to the queston of why we have Genesis and why it contains so many messy details. I submit that this is because we are meant to understand both God and man better. God is presented as all powerful, in control, and yet personally interested and graciously involved in the lives of men. Man, on the other hand, is shown to be rebellious, self-interested and foolish. This extreme contrast highlights the goodness of God: He not only tolerates man's continued existence, but seeks out a specific people and shows them unfathomable blessings. That the recipients are so utterly unworthy of such favor is precisely the point. None of these people are chosen on the basis of their own qualities, it would seem quite the opposite: they are brought into covenant relationship with God in spite of their wretched "qualities."

This is the nature of God's graciousness. He loves the unlovable. He justifies the ungodly. He reaches down into the masses of God-defying humans, and lifts out ones that He has unilaterally selected to receive His highest blessing. He does not paint over their filth and criminal activity, rather He transfers the deserved judgment to His own Son, Jesus - the God-man that willingly paid the death penalty on their behalf. And, yes, strange though it seems to our one-way linearity, this atonement works backwards in time as well as forwards. As the Christ Himself said, "Abraham rejoiced to see my day - he saw it and was glad." Abraham was an idol-worshipping pagan that was born and raised closer to Tehran than Jerusalem. He and his descendants entered into a permanent covenant with God purely at God's own discretion: the covenant was not one bit dependent on Abraham - he could not make it, and he could not break it. When the promise was made by God Abraham simply took God at His word and was granted right-standing before God.

In Genesis we see God bestow mercy, blessing - even love - on corrupt humanity. This is a good thing for us to contemplate.

Christ Jesus, You came into the world to save sinners, and I as guilty as the rest. There is now no condemnation for me - I am now found in You, my immoral and decayed heart completely regenerated, and filled with gratitude and worship for You.

For more on the arrangement between God and Abraham (and us), read Romans 4.