The Rockhill Women's Bible Study embarked on a Treasure hunt last evening when they began their first night in the study of the book of Genesis.
A Treasure hunt, you ask? How can a Bible study be a Treasure Hunt? Well it is when you are looking for the true Treasure of Scripture! What IS this Treasure of Scripture? Is it peace? Is it a transformed life? Is it salvation? Hang in there with me...and I will get to that part in just a little while!
We started out the evening with a little bit of review so that we can learn some background information regarding the book of Genesis in order that we are careful to read in context! It is so easy for us to approach Scripture through our 21 century lenses, and we need to do a little bit of homework, before we even get started, about what it is we are reading. Soooo...let's review that now...
Who wrote the book of
Genesis?
When we open the book of Genesis and begin to read, we will find nothing within the book that will tell us who the author is. Most scholars agree that Moses is the
author of the "Law" which includes the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
But even more importantly that "most scholars" is that Jesus answers this for us. In Luke 24:44 Jesus said, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything
must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the
Prophets and the Psalms.”
We also need to realize that while Genesis was written by a human hand...it is also the inspired Word of God. This is weighty for us. Because, frankly, if it's just written by a person...then it really has no authority over us. It's nothing more than words that we may or may not listen to. But as Christians, we believe that
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,
rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may
be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Tim. 3:16) And Genesis is a part of "all Scripture."
2 Peter 1:20 also says: Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture
came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its
origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by
the Holy Spirit.
So this understanding --that while God used men to write Scripture, the writings of Scripture are the very Words of God--renders the Scriptures an authority we cannot ignore. That means that we submit ourselves to the authority of the Scriptures and not the Scriptures submitting themselves to the authority of our ideas!
When was it written?
The book of Genesis was written about
3,500 years ago. What an unbelievable thought! That we hold in our hands words that were written thousands of years ago!!! What a miracle that God has preserved these words for us for all those years...it surely must mean that He has a purpose and a plan in preserving them for us and for future generations. This again, adds weight to this book that we are privileged to hold in our hands and to study!
To whom was it written?
To the generation of Israelites that
had been wandering around in the desert for 40 years. They were about to enter
the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua. Moses, who was not allowed to
go in, was writing this account for them before the entered into the land. He wrote this so that they would know where they came from...and specifically WHO they came from...WHO was this God who had created the world and all that is in it, the God who had rescued them from Egypt and was going to give them this land they were about to enter. It was important for them to know their roots. But he also wrote it to help prepare them for what they were about to face. They were entering a land where NOBODY believed in this God, and everybody lived corrupt, idolatrous lives. Moses was showing them how the called people of God were to live. Yes, everyone else in the land lives like this, but you, you are called by God, and God's people are to live differently.
The
needed to know where AND WHO they come from and where they were going. And so he
writes the book of Genesis specifically to show them that this land they were
entering belongs to them.
But, Genesis is also written to us…and in some
ways for the same reason...it shows us all where or specifically who we came
from...and begins to unfold to us who this God is who has created us and all
things. It begins to unfold for us the plan of redemption that God was bringing about through His called people.And this can be an encouragement
for us, it can instruct us, and give us hope.
In what style was it
written?
We may wonder why does it matter what
style it is written in? It matters because we read according to style. We don't
read a book of poetry like we read a history book, do we? So we need to
understand the style that the book was written in in order to understand how we
are to read it.
Scripture consists of two sections, the
Old Testament and the New Testament. And the total number of books written in
those 2 testaments are 66. And these 66 books are written in different styles.
Some are books of poetry or songs, some are letters, some are prophetic books,
and some are historical narratives.
Genesis, in general, is written as an historic narrative. We need to understand that it is not a complete history book. There are things that are not in there, that sometimes we wish were. Sometimes we walk away from Genesis with more questions than we have answers. But we need to realize that we have all that we need…we have exactly what God wants us to have and thinks that we need to make the point that He wants to make! And we can rest in that...even though we don't know how old the earth is...or who Cain married!! If God didn't tell us...then it's not important for what He is trying to get us to see!
Also, something that is very important
to mention here is the fact that Moses is reporting to us the facts…he does not
make a moral judgment on the situations. We are going to be reading some fairly
disturbing things in the coming weeks…these people's lives could be taken right
from the Jerry Springer show! We've got polygamy, misogyny (hatred/dislike for
women), murder, incest, deception, slave trading, rape, prostitution, etc…and
Moses does not make a moral judgment on these things. Now, there
are people who like to take that fact and try to twist it in some sort of sick
twisted way to try to say that the Bible is not true or that God approves of
these things…Last week I read a newsreport about a man who had been robbed and murdered and his murderers basically quartered him and threw his body parts in various locations. This newsreport did not make a moral judgment about this crime. It just reported the facts. But to be completely honest with you, I really didn't need the report to make a moral judgment...I'm smart enough to figure out that this is a horrible thing! It's the same here…the moral judgment is assumed, and we see
negative consequence after negative consequence for these people's choices to
not follow the ways of God! We are reminded again and again that the sin of our
hearts is great indeed...but the beauty in the midst of all of these stories is we can also see that the grace of God is greater still!
What is the central theme
of the book?
Genesis itself is Greek for Beginnings.
Genesis is a book of beginnings. And we see the beginnings of creation, the beginnings of mankind, the beginnings of sin, the beginnings of God's plan to redeem a people unto Himself.
Earlier this year we looked at Genesis
1-11…the first 11 chapters are what are called the Primeval History and in the
Primeval History we have 4 main events…
1.
Creation - in the very act of creation we immediately introduced to an initiating God...a God who creates, not because He is lonely or
bored or lacking in anything...but rather He creates out of His complete love.
We discovered a God who creates something out of nothing...who brings order out
of chaos. As we looked at chapter 2 we saw a deeply personal God who initiated
personal relationship with His creation. We discovered that this God is
abundant in His provision and expansive in His permission...You are FREE to eat
the fruit from any tree in the garden...except for this one.
2.
Fall - But then in chapter 3 we saw
everything go horribly wrong. Satan caused Adam and Eve to disbelieve God.
Disbelieve God had abundantly provided for them. And that disbelief, which is
at the heart and core of every sin we commit...disbelief in God...that
disbelief led them to action...to take for themselves provision and permission.
They did not believe that God had what they needed but instead needed to
fulfill their needs themselves...self-salvation. Sound a little familiar? We are Adam and Eve. Every one of us pursues our own self-salvation...whether we do that through religious means or
irreligious means...at the heart the issue is the same. I don't believe that
God can or will be enough for me so I must go out and get enough on my own.
But in
the midst of this terrible account, we again see the initiating God who in His
grace comes down to these 2 sinners and provides covering for them in their sin
and shame. And we are going to see this very same story repeated over
and over and over again...in this book and in our lives, if we have eyes to
see. God is the initiator in every one of these accounts. All of these
characters were not seeking God...God sought them!
3.
Flood - We continued to see that sin increased and increased until Moses tells us that in the
days of Noah every inclination of every heart was only evil all the time. That's a fairly all-encompassing statement! So
who was righteous??? No one! All hearts were evil all the time. And this
included Noah...but again we get a little clue into our initiating God's
ways...between that verse describing the culture of Noah's day and the verse
that tells us that Noah was a righteous man is one little verse that we so
often breeze over...Now Noah found favor which is the same word as grace...in
the eyes of the Lord...Noah found grace. Did he stumble on it one day? No. Did
God give Noah grace because there was something in Noah that earned him grace?
No. If that were true, grace would cease to be grace and would become an
obligation. No...our God rested grace on Noah...and because of that grace from
God, it produced a life of righteousness in Noah. The order is important.
Initiating grace PRODUCES righteousness, not the other way around...this is
true in Noah and this is true in us!
4.
Tower of Babel - and finally we looked
at the Tower of Babel...which pictures perfectly our own self-salvation
projects...our attempts to make a name for ourselves, to prove our worth and
value, to build our own identities...to climb the ladder to God...and again we
SAW GOD COME DOWN to them...He in his grace crushed their self-salvation
projects and scattered them. You know, if we belong to God, He is faithful to
crush our own self-salvation projects too. His initiating grace in our life
will first crush our feeble attempts to save ourselves so we look to Him for
our real salvation and then He heals us with his balm of grace.
This semester, we will be studying what
is called the Patriarchal Accounts. And in this we will see 4 main characters.
1.
Abraham
2.
Isaac
3.
Jacob
4.
Joseph
While
Genesis is a book of beginnings, and we are going to be spending the next 10 weeks looking into the lives
of Abraham and his descendants, and we will learn valuable life lessons from
their obedience and their disobedience...there is something very important that I want to make sure that we all understand before we get started in this study. We need to clearly understand
how to read the Bible and what it's purpose is. This is just so important that I'm going to let Jesus teach
it to us from Luke 24:13-25.
That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad.Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us.They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that lthe Christ should suffer these things and enter into mhis glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”How I love this passage of Scripture! How my heart has envied these disciples hearing Jesus unfold for them the Old Testament!!
But even though we aren't on the Road to Emmaus, and Jesus is not walking physically beside us, we can learn a couple of things from this account:
1.
We learn what the Bible is not about.
2.
We learn what the Bible is about.
First, we can learn what the Bible is NOT about. It's completely possible to read and
study the Bible and miss the whole point of the Bible. These disciples are evidence to us that this is possible. They are sad and dejected because even
though they knew the Bible, they didn't understand what the Scriptures were all
about. And this can happen to us too. We can read and study, we can listen to
Bible-based preachers and teachers, and still miss the point of all of Scripture! And here we come to it...what I started out in the beginning of this article...the Treasure of Scripture. The point of all of Scriptures is to show us Jesus!
Missing Jesus in
the pages of the Bible is what happened to the disciples on the Road to Emmaus.
Luke 24:21 tells us what they thought the Bible was about...to redeem
Israel...they thought that Jesus was the One who was going to redeem Israel to
restore THEIR glory...so that the nation of Israel would be recognized as the
premier nation. Do you hear where their focus is...on their glory as a people.
All of us read the Bible as if it is
fundamentally about us. As if it were about my life, my victory, my holiness,
my godliness, my marriage, my parents...we read it as if it were a heaven-sent
self-help manual, a divinely inspired to-do list. We go to the Bible so we can
figure out the best way to improve ourselves and our lives. We go to the Bible
to be inspired and learn how to face our challenges...like David...and cut the
heads of our giants.
That's
the way these guys read it. That's the way we read it. And because of that, they didn't see
Jesus in the Scriptures. They were so consumed with the Old
Testament and read it as if were fundamentally about
them. So reading Scripture in this way, we too can totally miss Jesus!
Please
do not misunderstand me...the Bible does give us instructions on how to live.
I'm not saying that. There is plenty in the Bible that shows us what a free
life looks like; how to love our neighbor, etc… But these things are secondary
issues. Seeing Jesus is the primary purpose of Scripture. So
unless we go to the Bible to see Jesus and His work for us, even our Bible
reading can become for us our own self-improvement plan...the place that we go
to take control of our lives. This book becomes a self-help manual. We treat
the Bible as a series of disconnected, timeless principles that will give us
our best life now if we just apply these principles. That's how we read it. And
as a result we completely miss Jesus.
In Verse 27 - we begin to see what
Jesus is doing….Jesus is making the connection for them...you're sad and
depressed because you thought this whole thing was about you and your hopes and
dreams are now shattered. But Jesus is instead saying that this whole thing is
about ME. And because it's about ME your hopes and dreams will live forever. You see, the Bible is 1 story…66 books tells 1 story. The entire Old Testament predicts God's
Rescuer. And the New Testament presents God's Rescuer. Verse
27 tells us plainly that Jesus is the point of the Bible. He is the theme of
the Bible. He is the true and better version of every figure of the Bible. The
Bible's job description is to show, Jesus said, "Who I am." Through
the good examples, through the bad examples, through every story, through the
Law, through the prophets, ALL OF IT, Jesus is showing us who He is and what He
has done.
But
we are naturally narcissistic...that's what happened in Genesis 3...we turned
in on ourselves...everything is through the lens of self now...even as
Christians we are consumed with ourselves, and so as a result in our natural selves we read the Bible wrongly.
So prayer is just soooooo important to us. It's the Holy Spirit's job to reveal
Jesus to us...we need to be asking, seeking and knocking in our prayers...that
the Holy Spirit will open our eyes to see the true Treasure of Scripture...Jesus... as we ready and study! It's
first and foremost about Him! And not a recipe for Christian living.
So,
with this perspective we can see that Jesus is...
- The true and better Adam, who passed the test in the garden Ia much more difficult test) and who's obedience is given to us. The first Adam failed the test in the garden...and his disobedience resulted in death for all of us. Jesus' perfect obedience gave life to those who are in Him. Jesus is the true and better Adam!
- Jesus is the true and better Abel...who's blood cries out--not for our condemnation--but for our acquittal.
- Jesus is the true and better Abraham who answered the call of God to leave all that was comfortable and familiar to go out into the unknown and create a new people.
- Jesus is the true and better Isaac, who on a mountain was sacrificed by His Father for the atonement of our sins.
- Jesus is the true and better Joseph who at the right hand of the King forgives those who betrayed and sold Him and uses His power to save them.
The
Bible is one long story of Him meeting our sin with His rescue. We need to
understand this...because this is life for us. We take our eyes off this...when
we take our eyes of Jesus...who is the author and the perfector of our
faith...that's when we begin to sink.
Remember
the story of Peter when he was walking on the water? I mean, this is a big
deal...he had never walked on water before. And he did fine when his eyes were
fixed on Jesus, right? But what happened when he took his eyes off Jesus and
looked at his own progress, how he was doing? He started to sink.
When
we take our eyes off Jesus' and His performance for us and instead focus on our
performance for Him...we start to sink!
So
let us firmly fix our eyes on Jesus...the Treasure of Scripture...and on His performance for us as we begin this study in Genesis!
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