Part-I
Question: List out the ways Genesis 1-3 introduce the biblical narratives of the following categories:
God
In Genesis 1 verse 31, God claims that He made everything beautifully and with love that when he looked back at what He created, He found all the things good. The information here clearly reflects the character and creation of God. This message states that the universe was created by an omniscient, being that when he looked back, he found His creation good and perfect. We are introduced here to God who is intelligent, omnipotent, powerful, and a loving creator. The biblical narrative of God’s own commentary of what He made and how beautiful His creation reflects that there was no one at the time of creation except the living God. (Selman, 1989) He has always existed and from the past eternity, He is the only source of life.
Humans
In Genesis 1:27 God states that He has made man in his own image and later He clears the creation event when he acclaims that He created “male and female.” There are two stories depicted in the same event of creation. In the first line, God says He created “man” and later he adds “male and female” which tells us about the history of human creation. Furthermore, God provided both humans with food, trees, flowers, and all kinds of pleasantness in the Garden of Eden that he especially made for Adam and Eve. God put the ‘man’ over there which reflects the difference between the creation of man and woman that at first God only made Adam. The biblical story unfolding in Genesis that man was all alone and then God made another human female partner Eve to comfort Adam.
How Humans Interact
In Bible, it is clearly narrated that God after creating man gave him a job of naming the things. Genesis 2 verse 19 highlights that Adam called everything by their name. God brought everything to Adam and Adam had to give each one a name. This tells about the beginning of the human interaction he first made ever in human history.
The World
Genesis 1 verse 11 tells the humans about the creation of universe that God created “heavens and the earth” and Genesis further tells us that the earth was an empty void and without any form. This tells us about the creation of the world that has already been created before even the creation of man.
The Way Creation Reacts with the Creator
Both humans were very happy in the Garden of Eden but one day a terrible thing happened. They disobeyed God and ate from the forbidden tree. God created man in the hope that he would obey him but he dishonored Him in return. Adam answering God “I did eat” without any shame and also putting all the blame on female partner depicts the event of creation disobeying the Creator which led him to the inescapable suffering into the world because of this sin.
The Problem of Sin
The first sin ever attempted in human history was dishonoring God. The woman also put the blame on the serpent and she also confessed without any shame “I did eat” by doing what God had already condemned. The problem of sin worsened when instead of admitting that she had done wrong, the woman blamed that a snake “beguiled me.” This clearly states that sin itself is not bad but the stubbornness of not accepting what bad a person has done is the major problem of the sin.
The Solution for Sin
God devised the solution for the sin both humans committed as for the woman in Genesis 3 verse 16 “multiply thy sorrow” and for the man, He cursed the ground till the Day of Judgment. Man has to work hard till he sweats for the food and woman has to deal with pains when she gets pregnant till eternity as the repays of their sin. Also, both humans were forced to leave Eden and God put angels at the doors of Eden to prevent humans from entering back.
Part-II
Question: Reading Genesis 12:1-3, note three things God promises to Abram: land, offspring, and blessing and how they are significant as a solution for sin?
Hundreds of years after Noah’s flood, a baby born in Babylonia named Abram was destined to become famous. God planned to take a huge step through Abram to save humanity from sin. After the age of seventy-five, Abram received a call from God to leave his country, people, and family and go to another country God would show him. God promised him a land, a nation, and blessing. Here is the track of three promises God made to Abram:
The promise of Land: “To a Land that I Will Show You”
The essence of the first promise is that God promised Abram a land which later according to verse 7 Lord said to Abram that He would give a certain land “To your offspring.” The Promised Land was significant for Israel (Descendents of Abram) as a physical location as well as the place where they could find happiness and comfort.
The promise of Nation: “I Will Make You a Great Nation”
The second promise Lord God made to Abram about “a great nation” came out as a great nation Israel of Abram and his descendants. Later, this promise was also fulfilled as God addressed Jacob; a descendent of Abram that God would make a great nation of Abram and his descendant Jacob. This promise has great significance because Sarah bore Ismail past the age and through this child promise to Abram was fulfilled of a great nation as innumerable sand by the seashore. (Hamilton, 2007)
The promise of Blessing: “You Shall Be a Blessing”
The promise of blessing to Abram was fulfilled when God made him and his descendants prosperous spiritually as well as materially. This promise was of great importance because God made Abram a blessing for all the nations till the Day of Resurrection as Muslims, Christians, and Jews call Abram their blessed father. He was also a blessing as Jesus was his descendent through whom humanity would be freed from the consequences of sin Adam and Eve made in the Garden of Eden.
Part-III
Question: In the unfolding story of the OT, the three aspects of God’s promise to Abram continue to be fulfilled throughout the OT. Explain?
God’s promises to Abram in Genesis 12 were mainly focused on the idea of redemption, reconciliation with his people and a great nation, and a restored blessing. The first promise of leaving his motherland and migrating to another land that God would direct him to form a spiritual basis for us to understand that Abram and his descendants were soon to be awarded the land he had never there before. Secondly, as God promised Abram who was already grown old about his descendants that Abram could count the stars on the sky as his seeds (descendants) would be like them. His barren wife trusted the words of God and resultantly bore a child when Abram was ‘one hundred years old.’ Thirdly, the promise of restored blessing was amplified to Abram’s children in the spiritual form for all religions. (Davidson, 2015)
Part-IV
Question: Reflect on the significance of seeing the OT as an unfolding story.
The Old Testament regarding God’s promises to Abram is chock-full of the unfolding of the greatest choice, promises, and their fulfillment of all time. OT is also essential in the understanding of God’s attempts to deal with the problem of sin in the world through Abram so that he could establish His just and equitable kingdom on earth. The remaining chapters in Genesis reflect the significance of the fulfillment of these essential promises. The theme of God’s promises to Abram is evident in His third promise the ‘restored blessing’ to free people from the sin Adam and Eve made which resulted in God’s curse. God’s third promise to Abram with the term “blessing” was to restore humanity’s original purpose of freeing from sin and be blessed. (Selman, 1989)
To conclude, from God’s restraining Adam and Eve entering Heaven to a special call to Abram for leaving the country to restore blessing, it is evident that God loves His creation a lot and wants to save us all from the problem and consequences of sin. The true followers of Abram are able to see throughout the unfolding of the Old Testament how God made progressive work to fulfill promises, He made to Abram. Indeed, these promises had a redemptive and fascinating history for Abram who had no homeland and no descendent.
References
GENESIS CHAPTER 1 KJV. (2019). Kingjamesbibleonline.org. https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Genesis-Chapter-1/
Hamilton, J. M. (2007). The Seed of the Woman and the Blessing of Abraham. Tyndale Bulletin, 58(2), 253.
Davidson, R. M. (2015). Earth’s First Sanctuary: Genesis 1–3 and Parallel Creation Accounts. Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS), 53(1), 5.
Selman, M. J. (1989). The kingdom of God in the Old Testament. Tyndale Bulletin, 40(2), 161-183.
