Exploring the Story: A Reference Companion

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CREATION

The Beginning of Life as We Know It

Plot Points

God, the main character of The Story, is revealed as the absolute sovereign of creation, totally distinct from yet intimately involved with all he has made.

Nature is not simply a collection of random, meaningless matter in motion; it is a carefully crafted revelation of a loving God.

Humanity, made in God’s image, occupies a unique role and position in this creation, a place of dignity and responsibility.

Humanity’s tragic rebellion against God’s command impacts everything.

God has a plan to redeem his fallen creation, giving us a hint of the good news to come in his promise that a descendant of Adam and Eve will crush the serpent.

Throughout the New Testament, the flood story forecasts God’s future and final judgment (e.g., Matt. 24:37–39; Luke 17:26–27; 2 Peter 2:4–10).

The Days of Creation

Cast of Characters

Abel. Son of Adam and Eve; younger brother of Cain; a shepherd and devoted worshiper of the Lord; killed by his brother; name means vanity, breath, vapor.

Adam. First man, made from earth; husband of Eve; like his wife, Eve, made in God’s image; tragically disobeyed God’s prohibition and affected all of human history; name can mean man and is closely related to the Hebrew word for ground (adamah).

Cain. Son of Adam and Eve; older brother and murderer of Abel; ancestor of Lamech, who killed indiscriminately (see Gen. 4:23–24); name sounds like the Hebrew for gotten, conveying the sense of optimism Eve held for his life.

Eve. First woman, made from man; husband of Adam; tempted by Satan in the form of a serpent, disobeyed God’s command; name means living.

God. Creator of all things and central character of The Story; God chose to reveal himself to us through his creation.

Noah. Descendant of Adam and Eve; a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time (Gen. 6:9); commanded to build a great boat to save himself and his family from the flood God sent to wipe out everything having the breath of life (Gen. 6:17); name sounds like rest in Hebrew, expressing his parents’ hope that he would help bring rest from the effects of the curse.

Shem, Ham, Japheth. Noah’s three sons; called to help increase in number and fill the earth (Gen. 9:1) after the flood.

God measures the earth he has created in this

illustration from a mid-thirteenth-century Bible.

Chapter Overview

The first nine chapters of Genesis have raised questions throughout church history. What kind of literature re these passages? How do the events described here relate to the theories formed by contemporary scientists and archaeologists? Are the days twenty-four-hour segments or ages, long periods of time? Was the flood local, covering the known world, or was it global, covering the entire planet?

These questions are significant. They lead us to think deeply about the purpose of Scripture, and Christians who take Scripture as seriously as Jesus did will not be content simply to write these questions off as academic. To work toward the answers we seek, it is helpful to begin by reflecting on the central narrative intent of these chapters. For the people of Israel and for us today, they reveal why the world we see and know is the way it is. They help us grasp what it means to be human and the causal forces that shape our lives. These are questions of existence and meaning.

Possible locations of the garden of Eden.

Think about the fall and the disobedience of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3. The fruit of their rebellion against God is a series of curses, each of which takes a good, God-ordained source of blessing and twists it into a form of heartache — work is now toil, marriage a battle, childbirth a painful ordeal. Consider the flood as well. In this story we see a reversal of Gods work in creation as the life and the land that had come from the sea is now covered and destroyed by the waters of chaos and judgment. The stunning beauty and heart-wrenching tragedy of our world is explained and understood through these stories, helping us understand why something good has gone terribly wrong.

Gods Word invites us to consider the powerful connections between the original world God created, our disobedience, and our ongoing relationship to God. We are invited to consider how human disobedience has universal implications. Although we often think of our choices as individual decisions that don’t impact other people (If it doesn’t hurt anyone else, it’s not a problem), this chapter shows us that the simple act of eating fruit, if done in disobedience to God, can lead to suffering and death — for everyone. The choices and decisions we make in this life are writing a moral drama, and our every deed illustrates how we embrace or reject our Creator God.

One more thing: consider how this chapter reveals God as the supreme storyteller. Unlike a human author who relies on words and print to convey a story, God is enacting a grand narrative in flesh and blood, neutrons and nebulae. Throughout the course of your study, remember who the central character is and what he is saying in this story.

Section Commentary

The Creation of All Things

(Genesis 1 – 2)

Just as the Creation story stood against the polytheistic myths of the ancient Near East, today it provides us with an alternative to the materialistic myth of evolution. Much of the current debate between proponents of creation and evolution can be simplified to one question: Where do we come from? If human life is ultimately the product of an unguided, cause-and-effect chain reaction stretching back to the Big Bang, then concepts like human rights and moral norms are just code words for majority opinion. If, however, we let the Creation story set the stage of our existence, then we are the product of a powerful, creative God. We are not here by accident, and we ultimately are accountable to the God who put us here. He stands as the ultimate arbiter of right and wrong, not us. These worldviews present us with two contrasting answers to the question of our origin and lead to two very different ways to live.

A Phoenician ivory from the 9th-8th century B.C.

depicts two figures worshiping the tree of life.

The Tragic Fall

(Genesis 3–4)

What is wrong with the world? Everyone is trying to answer this question, whether he or she realizes it or not. At some level we all sense that something big is broken. Cosmic scales are waiting to be balanced. We understand what it feels like as we constantly try to change something about ourselves but find that we fail every time. What is wrong with the world? And what is wrong with us? Why are things so out of joint?

The story of Genesis 3–4 answers those questions. We read that things are the way they are because humans, at the very beginning, chose to live life on their own terms. Humankind chose independence and rebellion rather than trust and obedience.

Humans constantly try to come to grips with the world we inhabit. On the one hand, we sense that much about this world is good. People are capable of amazing heroism and selfless sacrifice. On the other hand, unspeakable tragedy occurs and horrific evils are committed every day all over the world. The story of the fall tells us why things are this way. The goodness of God’s creation could not be wholly destroyed by our sin and rebellion, but until the story is over, we cannot experience the good life God intended apart from the taint of sin and the curse. We live in a fallen world, waiting to be redeemed and made new by the Creator.

The Great Flood

(Genesis 6–9)

In the creation story, we saw the Lord separating light from darkness, the waters below from the waters above, and the land from the water. In each case God was refining his creation and crafting the perfect environment for creatures. After setting the stage, God began filling it with life!

In the flood, however, we see a reversal of this process. The heavens rain down. The earth is covered in the waters of chaos. A world teeming with life becomes a global graveyard. Everything with the breath of life in its nostrils is destroyed (Gen. 7:22). Later in Scripture the apostle Paul will write that the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). In this passage we discover just how true that really is.

The ancient Near East abounded with creation stories, but not one revealed the Creator God of Genesis 1 and 2. For instance, the Babylonian genesis told of the goddess tiamat, who gave birth to all the gods. Eventually, she was killed by her son Marduk. Her dead corpse became the earth. Human beings were created to take care of the world so the gods could relax.

Discussion Questions

1. What words would you use to describe the God who is revealed in the Creation narrative?

2. The story of the fall indicates that every part of God’s good creation was fractured by Adam and Eve’s rebellion. As you observe our world, what evidence do you see that the world was created to be a good and beautiful place? Where do you see evidence that it is broken by sin?

3. In the flood story, we encounter a God who takes action to prevent the spread of human rebellion and sin by destroying most of his creation. The flood is both an act of judgment and salvation. How do you see these two activities of God reflected in the story? How do these themes differ from the popular picture of God that is often presented in this passage?

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GOD BUILDS A NATION

Plot Points

God calls Abraham out of the darkness of pagan idolatry into the light of true fellowship.

God works through a covenant, making Abraham and his descendants his chosen people, marking out a special land for their inheritance, and promising to bless all nations through Abraham’s family.

When Abraham and Sarah try to make God’s plan work through their own efforts, things get very messy.

God keeps his promise, miraculously giving Abraham and Sarah a son in their old age; one generation later Jacob will produce twelve sons of his own and the nation of Israel will be born.

The Chosen Family (2200–1800 B.C.)

Cast of Characters

Abram. Husband of Sarah, father of Isaac and Ishmael; called the father of faith for his steadfast trust in God’s promise to make him the father of many nations; God changed his name from Abram (exalted father) to Abraham (father of a multitude).

Benjamin. Son of Isaac and Rachel; his mother died giving birth to him and named him Ben-oni, son of my sorrow or son of my strength; renamed Benjamin by his father, meaning son of the right hand.

Eliezer. From Damascus; a trusted part of Abraham’s household, perhaps a slave; name means God is help.

Esau. Firstborn son of Isaac and Rebekah; a hunter and man of action; swindled out of his inheritance by his younger brother and his own shortsightedness; name means red.

Hagar. Sarah’s Egyptian servant; given to Abraham as a wife to produce offspring; mother of Ishmael; experienced God’s favor; name means stranger or one who fears.

Isaac. The child promised to Abraham and Sarah; father of Jacob, called Israel; name means he laughs.

Ishmael. Abraham’s son by Hagar; while not the child of promise, given a great blessing by God; name means God hears.

Jacob. Second-born son of Isaac and Rebekah; received the promised blessing and inheritance of a firstborn son; married to Leah and Rachel; father of twelve sons who became the twelve tribes of Israel; name means he takes by the heel or he cheats; name changed to Israel (strives with God) after a wrestling match with God.

Leah. Daughter of Laban; Jacob’s first and least-loved wife; she was the mother of Issachar, Zebulun, Simeon, Levi, Judah, and Reuben; her servant, Zilpah, produced two more sons for her, Gad and Asher; name means weary, tired.

Lot. Son of Haran; nephew of Abraham; rescued by Abraham after being kidnapped; rescued again by two angels from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; name means wrapped up, hidden.

Melchizedek. A priest and king in Jerusalem who prefigured Jesus Christ; graciously provided food and drink for Abraham and his servant, receiving a tithe in return; name means king of righteousness.

Rachel. Daughter of Laban; Jacob’s true love; the mother of Joseph and Benjamin; servant, Bilhah, produced two more sons for her, Dan and Naphtali; name means sheep.

Rebekah. A distant relative of Abraham; daughter of Bethuel; sister to Laban; married Isaac and had two sons, Jacob and Esau; given a prophetic word for her two sons, that the older would serve the younger; name means fat, fattened.

Reuben. Jacob and Leah’s son; violated Jacob’s concubine, a decision he would later regret; name means see, a son.

Sarai. Wife of Abram; miraculously gave birth to Isaac in her advanced years; a beautiful woman and, according to Peter, a model of godly womanhood (1 Peter 3:1–6); both Sarai, her original name, and Sarah, the name given her by God, mean princess.

Chapter Overview

One of the first things we notice about the unfolding story of Scripture is that God is the central character driving the action and moving the plot forward: he does not need us to accomplish his purposes. We are characters in his story, not the other way around. Contrary to popular caricatures of God, he is not sitting around in heaven, wringing his hands in powerless frustration. Far from it!

In fact, God often chooses to accomplish his purposes in the most difficult way possible. Although we may scratch our heads and wonder why God chooses to work in this way, the reason soon becomes quite clear: God is reminding us that he is