How many times have you read the creation account or the book of Genesis? It’s one of those foundational books many of us have read or heard so many times. However, I believe we can be so familiar with the major stories we tend to skim them, not reading or understanding them anymore.
Let’s look at some background and setting before we dive into Genesis 1 (I know, I know—you’re probably asking, “If Genesis is the beginning, how do we have a background on it?” Let me explain.)
Many believe that Moses penned Genesis after the Hebrew people came out of Egypt during the wilderness wanderings. Up to this point, their story—our story as humanity—had been orally transmitted through the generations. This written history was a chronicle to a nation that had just escaped hundreds of years of bondage. They needed a reminder and rest. More importantly, they needed the Living God.
Since histories and stories passed from generation to generation orally, I can’t help but wonder if it had become like our game of telephone—how much had they lost, forgotten or misremembered being an enslaved group for so many generations? Even worse, how much had they assimilated from the Egyptian culture with its pantheon of gods to worship?
Many Bible passages (see list in resources) show us that Moses penned the Torah (in Hebrew) or Pentateuch (in Greek). It is one book with five sections—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. This God-given and inspired narrative was written while the nation was in the wilderness because they needed to (correctly) remember their history. They needed to remember who the Living God was and their position and identity in relation to Him.
Commentators believe the Exodus from Egypt and the subsequent wilderness wandering roughly occurred between 1500-1400 BC. The Hebrew people had just spent 200+ years living in the land (during and after the famine we’ll learn about later in Genesis). Then, as slaves, they lived in bondage for another 215+ years. Working 24/7/365, they were beaten down, inundated with the paganism of the Egyptian culture and were desperate for rest.
Isaiah 42:5-43:11 recounts for us how the Living God, in His creativity, planned and formed His people to be witnesses of His glory to all they encountered. Essentially, Israel (and humanity) was called to be a “missionary people” from the very beginning. They were called to testify about the Living God to the nations they would encounter, calling them to redemption and restoration. This stubborn, beat-down, exhausted group of people needed to remember and rest so they could be their calling.
God was already pointing them to His grand theme of the Bible—redemption and restoration—something they couldn’t achieve themselves. He was leading them to Mashiach, the Messiah, to fulfill that redemption and restoration.
The world still needs redemption and restoration.
I continually think we are so much like the Hebrews! We live our lives in bondage to sin—sometimes even as believers. We are stubborn, beat-down and exhausted. We need to remember our history, our God and our calling.
—By remembering our history, we see how God has worked in our lives and how God has wiped away the bondage of sin in our lives through Jesus!
—By remembering our God, we understand our identity in relation to Him and how we can walk in confidence because of Jesus!
—By remembering our calling, we can walk into the world sharing what He’s given us and how we can share Jesus with boldness because of the Spirit!
Remember and Go Be Your Calling today!
Whew, ok, this sets our stage for Genesis—why it was written, who heard it originally and what their life, circumstances and culture looked like.
Hope you’ll join us next time for the bereshit (beginning) as we dive into Genesis 1!!
Resources:
(1) Exodus 17:14; 24:4; 34:27; Numbers 33:1–2; Deuteronomy 31:9–11; Joshua 1:8; 8:31–32; 1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 14:6; 21:8; Ezra 6:18; Nehemiah 13:1; Daniel 9:11–13; Malachi 4:4; Matthew 19:8; John 5:45–47; 7:19; Acts 3:22; Romans 10:5; Mark 12:26
(2) Did Moses Write Genesis? – Answers in Genesis
(3) Bereshit – Hebrew4Christians
(4) How Do We Make Sense of the Book of Genesis? | BibleProject™
(5) Mark Whorton and Hill Roberts, Holman Quicksource Guide to Understanding Creation (Nashville: Holman Reference, 2008).
(6) Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Basic, “Be” Commentary Series (Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor Pub., 1998), 10–12.