Transcript
Walking the Old Paths, Episode 8 transcript
Welcome to the Walking the Old Paths podcast. I’m JP, your host on this journey through the Bible. Each week we embark on a systematic study of the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation.
In this episode, we’ll be taking a look at the significance of the first book of the Bible. The Book of Genesis.
Hello, everyone. Welcome back to Walking the Old Paths. Today we’re going to be taking a look at the first book in our study of the Bible. The book of Genesis. The book of Genesis is foundational to the Bible.
We have a lot of ground to cover in this introduction that I needed to split this into two separate episodes. Not all of our introductions will be this long or detailed, but because of its nature as a foundational book and the attacks that have been put forth on it, that we need to discuss these things to get a good overall grasp of the book we’re about to study.
Now, please be patient and pay attention. It will be well worth our time. So the English title given to this book, Genesis, comes from the Greek translation of the Old Testament called the Septuagint, meaning origins. Now, the Hebrew title comes from the first word of the book, which is translated in the beginning. Our origins or beginnings have a special place in our hearts and minds.
I mentioned in episode one that I grew up on a farm in South Dakota. That farm stood as a special place in my thoughts and heart. It is where I was raised. I learned to walk, talk, read, ride a bike, drive a tractor, work with cattle, milk cows and help dad in the fields. It’s where I learned how to hunt and fish and camp with friends.
Everything that started me out in life was taught there. It is my origin. I live in Nebraska now, and every time I meet someone new. I always preface my living in Nebraska with. But I grew up in South Dakota. My friends here make fun of me for doing that. Like, I’m ashamed of Nebraska, but it is really because I am proud of my origins.
I’m proud that I grew up on a farm. I am proud that I was raised in South Dakota. Much of who I am today is because of how I was raised and where I was raised.
Well, Genesis is the origins of mankind. In this book, we have many foundations that are revealed to us, such as God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, man, sin, redemption, covenant, promise, Satan, angels, kingdom, revelation, Israel, judgment and blessing.
Without this book, the rest of the Bible would make no sense to us. That is why Genesis is considered by many to be the most important book of the Bible. There has been an attack put forth upon this priceless book, particularly the first 11 chapters, because the enemy of God and man knows the importance of knowing our origins.
When I go witnessing and talk to someone about their salvation, I almost always go to the beginning and start with Adam and Eve and the fall of man. Why you ask? Because it explains why we are born separated from God by sin, and continue separated from him until we are presented with the facts of the gospel. That is the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
And through those facts our hearts are stirred to act on that information, and by our will we turn to Christ and call upon him to save us. If that foundation of the fall of man is destroyed, how will we see our separation from God is something that we are born into.
If we don’t see God’s plan of redemption in Genesis, then how can we understand the truth of him who was slain from the foundation of the world? Genesis is that important friend. It may very well be the most important book that we study on this journey. I simply cannot overstate the importance of the Book of Genesis. This book of origins or beginnings is the only reliable and truthful account of everything we know and live.
For example, I want you to consider the following. One is the origin of the universe. Only the Book of Genesis explains the account of special creation. That is how space, time and matter came into existence. Now, there are many other religious myths and scientific models, but all of them begin with already existing matter and energy. But the question of where that matter and energy came from eludes them. It necessitates special creation to which they have no answer.
The second one is the origin of order and complexity. This world that we live in is observable, that things that are orderly and complex tend to move towards disorder and simplicity. Everything that is orderly and complex does not appear spontaneously. They always come from some higher power of intellect and design that produce the order and complexity.
The brand new car you drive will never be as nice as when you first purchased it. It will tend toward decay and disorder. Regular maintenance is needed. Stuff is going to break. Parts will need to be replaced. It is always tending toward decay and disorder.
We also have the origin of the Earth, sun, moon and stars. They all had to come into existence by a creator.
Number four – the origin of our atmosphere and our hydrosphere. The Earth was designed to be habitable, though through its unique atmosphere and massive amounts of water that is necessary to sustain life.
We also have the origin of life itself. Life does not come from non-life. There is a marvelous, vast system of genetic code built into every living organism that cannot be explained without special creation.
We also have the origin of man. Man is the dominant living creature on this earth, designed to inhabit, reproduce, and rule this earth. Man has great intellect, having the ability to design, create, and build with materials that God has given us. We have the ability to think and philosophize our existence and contemplate complex theories and processes. Man can love and see beauty and create art and music.
We also have the origin of marriage. The institution of marriage is ordained by the Creator God in a monogamous, patriarchal social structure. All other corruptions of it came after the fall.
We have the origin of evil in the Book of Genesis. Concepts such as goodness and truth and love are attributes associated with the Creator himself. The origins of moral evils are introduced to us in Genesis as the result of man’s freewill. Responsibility for one’s own actions and the consequences that result from those choices.
We have the origin of language. There is a clearly distinct difference between the communication of animals to that a man. The Book of Genesis gives us the origin of language and also the various national languages.
We also see the origin of government. We have in the Book of Genesis the first organized system of government, including man’s responsibility to maintain an orderly social structure through a system of laws and punishment.
We have the origin of culture in Genesis, and that describes the beginnings of civilized culture that includes metallurgy, music, agriculture, raising of animals, navigation, textiles and ceramics, and etc..
We have the origin of nations. Only the Book of Genesis gives us a reasonable answer to how all nations of men came from one race, one language, and ultimately one common ancestor.
We have the origin of religion. The Book of Genesis gives us the original true worship of the one true God. The diversities of religions that exist today can be explained by the origin of the departure from God and man centered religions that result from that.
We also have the origin of the chosen people. Israel is a unique nation that has survived history only because they are a people chosen by God and in a covenant relationship with him.
They survived without a homeland for 1900 years without being integrated into other cultures. They are a people that have made such wonderful contributions to the world in art, music, science and finance. And yet they are despised by much of the world, and many have tried to eliminate them from existence. And yet they persist.
Henry Morris, who is one of the founders of the Creation Research Society and the Institute for Creation Research, said this concerning the Book of Genesis and I quote, “The Book of Genesis is in reality the foundation of all true history, as well as of true science and true philosophy. It is, above all else, the foundation of God’s revelation as given in the Bible. No other book of the Bible is quoted as copiously or referred to so frequently in other books in the Bible, as is Genesis.” End quote.
The significance of Genesis is found all throughout the Bible. For example, in the Old Testament we see that Adam is mentioned by name in Deuteronomy, Job, and First Chronicles.
Noah is mentioned by name in First Chronicles, Isaiah, and Ezekiel. Abraham is mentioned by name in 15 books of the Old Testament and 11 books in the New Testament. Jacob is mentioned by name in 20 books other than Genesis in the Old Testament, and in at least 17 books in the New Testament.
Now, in the New Testament, there are at least 165 passages in Genesis that are either directly quoted or referred to, and many are alluded to more than once. So there are at least 200 quotations or allusions that we see in Genesis, to Genesis found in the New Testament.
Even the Lord Jesus Christ quoted Genesis, and I want to give you five examples of Christ quoting or referring to people, places, or things that are found in the first 11 chapters of Genesis.
In Mark chapter ten, the Lord Jesus refers to Moses and to the institution of marriage. And I’ll quote this here. “And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him.” Oh, they love to do that to their Christ. “And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you?”
Note here Jesus brings up Moses. He is a real person. What? Moses commands you.
“And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. [Mark 10:2-9]
In that section there we saw that Jesus referred to Moses. He referred to the beginning of the creation when God made them male and female. And he described marriage that a man should leave his father and mother, and he should be joined into his wife. And what God hath joined together, he says, let no man put that asunder. Marriage is a sacred, sacred to God.
Now in Matthew chapter 24, we see that Christ refers to Noah and the flood. “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were,” now, what were the days of Noah? Well, let’s see here “So shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”
In other words, in the days of Noah, when that was happening to him, that’s what it’s going to be like when Jesus comes again. Then it goes on to say, “For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,”
In other words, they were going about life as normal. They weren’t suspecting anything until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not “until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” [Matthew24:36-39]
Jesus is referring back to Noah and the flood, and what happened in those days that the world was unsuspecting it was in utter sin and wickedness, and God was going to destroy it with the flood. And they knew not anything until Noah entered into that ark and took them all away.
In Luke 17, the Lord, references lot in the city of Sodom. He says “Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;”
Hmm, much like we see here with Noah and the Ark. Right? They were unsuspecting. They were doing everything as normal eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building. “But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” [Luke 17:28-30]
We see here that Jesus is referring to Lot as a real person, and the city of Sodom as a literal place, and also an event that took place during those days of Lot.
In John 8:44, the Lord Jesus speaks about the devil. He says, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”
Christ is referring to the devil as a real angel, one that is a liar and the father of lies. And he was a murderer. When? From the beginning it says here.
In John chapter eight, Christ refers to the man Abraham. Now we see another dialog here between Christ and the Pharisees. The Pharisees start this out talking in verse 53, saying,
“Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself? Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.”
Now notice what they they say to him. “Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” [John 8:53-58]
That’s a very interesting conversation we see here. Jesus is talking about the man Abraham, and that Abraham rejoiced to see his day and was glad about it.
The Pharisees knew very much what Christ was referring to when he said this. He was making himself to be God. And and they’re like, you aren’t even yet 50 years old, you’ve seen Abraham? Now Jesus says to him, Before Abraham was, I am. And we will get to that. Talk about that phrase “I am” at another time.
So those are some of the ones that Jesus referred to. Additionally, there are over 100 quotations or direct references to Genesis one through 11 in the New Testament. Every one of those first 11 chapters are alluded to somewhere in the New Testament.
Here are some statistics that substantiate the importance of the Book of Genesis. All of the books of the New Testament except for Philemon, Second and Third John, contain allusions to Genesis.
Of the 50 chapters in Genesis, only seven are not quoted or cited in the New Testament. More than half of the 200 New Testament allusions to Genesis are found in the first 11 chapters of Genesis. 63 of the allusions are to the first three chapters. 14 of the allusions are from the flood chapters – that six, seven, and eight.
And 58 references are related to Abraham. We also have 25 of the references were directly from Christ himself, and those are from chapters one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, nine, 17, 18, 19, 28, and chapter 23.
Okay, we looked at the importance of Genesis as the book of origins or beginnings and its importance throughout the Bible, and particularly so in the New Testament.
But there is one more thing I want you to see with this first book of the Bible, and that is how it finds its complement in the last book of the Bible, Revelation. Notice this Genesis is the book of the beginning. Revelation is the book of the end. We see in Genesis 1:1 the earth created and in Revelation 21 one we see the earth passed away.
We see in Genesis Satan’s first rebellion, and in Revelation we see Satan’s final rebellion. In Genesis we see the sun, moon, and stars for Earth’s government. In Revelation, we see the sun, moon and stars connected with Earth’s judgment. In Genesis, we see the sun to govern the day. And in revelation we see that there is no need of the sun.
In Genesis we see darkness called night, and in Revelation we see that there is no night there. In Genesis we see waters are called seas, but in Revelation we see there is no more sea. In Genesis there is a river for Earth’s blessing. And in Revelation we see a river for the new earth. In Genesis we see man in God’s image, and in Revelation we see a man headed by one in Satan’s image.
We see in Genesis the entrance of sin, and in Revelation we see the development and end of sin. In Genesis we have a curse pronounced Genesis 3:14 and 17. And in Revelation we see that there is no more curse. In Genesis we have death entered. In Revelation there is no more death. In Genesis we have the cherubim first mentioned in connection with man and Revelation we see the cherubim finally mentioned in connection with man.
In Genesis we see man driven out from Eden, and in Revelation man is restored. In Genesis, the tree of life is guarded now. But now in Revelation we have the right to the tree of life. In Genesis we see sorrow and suffering that enter. In Revelation there is no more sorrow.
In Genesis we have man’s religion, art, science resorted to for enjoyment apart from God. And in Revelation we have man’s religion, luxury, art, science in their full glory, judged and destroyed by God. In Genesis we have Nimrod, a great rebel and a king and a hidden anti-God who is the founder of Babylon. In Revelation we have the beast, the great rebel, a king and manifested anti-God reviver of Babylon.
In Genesis, we have a flood from God to destroy an evil generation. And in Revelation we have a flood from Satan to destroy an elect generation. In Genesis we have the bow, the token of God’s covenant with the earth, the rainbow. And in Revelation we have the rainbow signifying God’s remembrance of his covenant with the earth.
In Genesis we have Sodom and Egypt, the place of corruption and temptation. And in Revelation we have Sodom and Egypt again spiritually representing Jerusalem.
In Genesis we have a confederacy against Abraham’s people that is overthrown. And in Revelation we have a confederacy against Abraham’s seed overthrown. In Genesis we have the marriage of the first Adam. In Revelation we have the marriage of the last Adam, who is Christ, the marriage supper of the lamb.
In Genesis we have a bride sought for Abraham’s son Isaac, and found. In Revelation there is a bride made ready and brought to Abraham’s son, that is Christ.
In Genesis we have two angels acting for God on behalf of his people. In Revelation we have two witnesses acting for God on behalf of his people. In Genesis, we have a promised seed to possess the gate of his enemies. In Revelation, the promised seed coming into possession.
In Genesis man’s dominion ceased and Satan’s begun. In Revelation, Satan’s dominion is ended and man’s is restored. In Genesis, the old serpent causing sin, suffering and death. In Revelation that old serpent is bound for a thousand years. In Genesis, the doom of the old serpent is pronounced. In Revelation, the doom on the old serpent is executed.
In Genesis, the sun, moon, and stars is associated with Israel, and in Revelation the sun, moon and stars are associated again with Israel.
Do you see the importance of the Book of Genesis, friends? I hope you do. The Book of Genesis is foundational to the rest of Scripture. The Book of Genesis finds its complement and its conclusion in the Book of Revelation.
God has given us an amazing book of books. Its truths are interwoven throughout the whole book. When we read it only as a devotional reading, we are merely seeing what lies on the surface. But when we dig down into it like a miner would go into the earth to find hidden treasure, the book opens up to us as never before, and we find gold and silver and precious stones.
There is a lot of information on this introduction to Genesis, so that’s why I split it up into two episodes. So it’s a little more easily digestible. Meditate on what you have learned so far. And next time we will discuss the authorship of Genesis, explore the outline of Genesis, and talk about the interpretation of it.
And before I leave your friends, I just want to mention, you know, one of the main focuses on this podcast is certainly to build up the brethren in the faith.
But I know that there are people that are going to be listening who they’re listening because they’re curious. Maybe God’s drawing you to listen to it, but you’re not saved. You’re still lost in your sin. Maybe you don’t even know that.
Maybe you haven’t been told that you have been separated from God by sin. That happened all the way back in the book of Genesis with Adam and Eve in the fall. And that you are a sinner in God’s sight.
You’ve missed the mark no matter what. We’ve all missed it. If if we shot arrows at a target and we all missed some missed a by a little, some missed it by a lot, it doesn’t matter. We’ve all missed the mark. We’ve all fallen short of the glory of God.
Friend, do you realize that you’re lost? Do you realize that you’re a sinner?
Let me ask you if you ever told a lie. Even if it’s one. What does that make you? It makes you a liar. Undoubtedly, you’ve probably told thousands. It’s just part of our nature.
Have you ever looked with lust? Have you ever had hatred towards someone?
There are many things that are sin. Anything that is contrary to the laws of God and is sin. And we’ve all broken God’s commandments.
And because of that, we’re lost. We’re separated from God. But God sent his son. He had a plan from the beginning that he was going to send His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, that he would come and he was going to live perfectly on this earth, and that he was going to go to the cross on your and my behalf. Suffer the punishment of death and hell for us, and make us right in God’s sight.
God declared, it is finished. It is done. And he is now raised again On the third day after that crucifixion, to be seated at the right hand of the throne of God. And God can declare your sin pardoned, if you will, but place your faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
The Bible says that believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. It is by faith placing your faith in what Christ has done for you, that you can have everlasting life. Now you can. When you die and you stand before God, he will see the righteousness of Christ on you, and he can allow you into heaven.
But he wants more than just that for your life. Friend, he wants your life now. He wants you to serve him.
And let me talk to you about that. Some of you might be young people out there listening. What is God asking you to do for him? Do you talk to him about it? Do you ask the Lord? Lord, what should I what can I do for you today? What would you have me to do?
You know this. We need more men and women who are committed to serving the Lord in our day and age. We need men who are going to say, I’m going to step up, I’m going to become a preacher of the gospel.
What is God asking you to do? It might not be a preacher. He isn’t necessarily going to send you off to some remote country. There’s one thing I’ve learned God doesn’t send anybody who isn’t doing something already for him. He usually sends the people who are working. He furthers their ministry. You got to be proven with little before you can be proven with much, given much. But I want you to pray about that friend.
Until then, friends, read your Bible. Talk to God. Support your local church. Pray for your pastor. Think about different ways you might support this podcast to help it get out and reach more people.
Now, unto the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever.
Amen.