The document discusses Genesis 1-11, providing context and summaries of key passages. It explains that Genesis 1-11 tells the story of Israel in miniature by establishing God as creator and deliverer who is worthy of worship, and traces the lineage from Adam to Abraham. Key events like the creation, fall of man, flood of Noah, and tower of Babel are summarized as part of the larger narrative of God establishing order from chaos and choosing one people, Israel, to fulfill God's purposes.
The Story of The People of God: Part II - Genesis 1-11
1. PRAYER
O God, to fulfill the ancient promise of salvation,
you made a covenant with our ancestors in faith
and pledged them descendants as numerous
as the stars. Grant that all people may share
in the blessings of your covenant,
fulfilled through the death
and resurrection of your Son,
and sealed by the gift of your Spirit.
Amen.
6. WHATGENESIS 1-11 ISN’T
• Photographic snapshots
of literal historical events/details
• A science text book detailing
neither a literal 6-day creation,
nor a poetic description of
the evolutionary process
7. • The story of Israel in miniature,
leading to their story writ-large
WHATGENESIS 1-11 IS
8. • The story of Israel in miniature,
leading to their story writ-large
• An explanation of Israel’s God
as Creator-as-Chaos-Tamer*
and Deliverer, who alone
is worthy of worship
WHATGENESIS 1-11 IS
9. Genesis as we have it…is written
(around the late 580s BC) as part
of the Pentateuch, (which) is written as
Israel’s constitution in light of
the traumatic events of
the Babylonian exile…
10. In the beginning when God created the heavens
and the earth, the earth was a formless void
and darkness covered the face of the deep*, while
a wind from God* swept over the face of the
waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and
there was light*. And God saw that the light was
good; and God separated the light from
the darkness. God called the light Day, and
the darkness he called Night. And there was
evening and there was morning, the first day.
GENESIS 1:1-5
11. Then the Lord God said, ‘See, the man has become
like one of us*, knowing good and evil; and now,
he might reach out his hand and take also from
the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever’—
therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the
garden of Eden, to till the ground
from which he was taken. He drove out
the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he
placed the cherubim, and a sword flaming
and turning to guard the way to the tree of life.
GENESIS 3:22-24
12. Adam was created by God
and exiled from paradise
for disobeying the command.
Israel was created by God
and exiled from Canaan
for disobeying the Law of Moses.
13. Many Christians are taught to read
the Adam/Eve story something like:
they’re fresh off the assembly line,
shiny, new, perfect, first humans…
God tested these flawless creatures
with the command not to eat of
the tree of the knowledge of good/
evil…but they failed/rebelled against
God and lost their own perfection, but
also that of every human born since
then.
14. But not everyone (in the Christian
tradition) reads the story like this…
Another angle, taken by Christians
in the Eastern Orthodox tradition,
is to read the Adam story as being
not about a fall down from perfection,
but a failure to
grow up to godly wisdom
and maturity.
15. Cain foolishly kills Abel, then builds a city for his
son Enoch (even though he was told he should be a
wanderer); Enoch’s great-great-grandson Lamech
marries two women, has three sons, and
the line moves further-and-further from God;
Adam/Eve have another son, Seth, which will lead
to Noah, and eventually to Abraham,
the father of Israel, the people of YHWH.
GENESIS 4-5 (summary)
16. Noah comes to reverse the curse of Adam;
God sends a “world-wide” flood*, but saves
Noah/family, along w/animals 2by2, and seven of
each of the “clean” animals so proper sacrifices
could be made afterwards (hint hint);
after the waters of chaos* come/go, God’s
(rain)bow signifies an end to action against
creation, leading to a new strategy for dealing with
humanity’s problem; Noah’s son Ham
sets up story of Israel’s nemesis, Canaan…
GENESIS 6-9 (summary)
17. Ham is presented as the dark ancestor to Israel’s
eventual major enemies (Canaanites, Egyptians,
Assyrians, and Babylonians); the tower of Babel (i.e.
Babel-onians) story blames Babylon for the
confusing mess humanity is now in (and offers
a nice jab to the ones who had kept them in exile
for so long); all together, Genesis 1-11 says: the
world is a mess, but there’s one line – from Adam-
Seth-Noah-Shem-Abraham – God will use
to set it right, bringing order to chaos again
GENESIS 10-11 (summary)
18. 1. God created everything without
reverting to violence/battle
REMINDERS
19. 1. God created everything without
reverting to violence/battle
2. Genesis isn’t interested in – and
says nothing about – the origins
of the material universe, but with
telling the story ofGod’s people
REMINDERS
20. 1. God created everything without
reverting to violence/battle
2. Genesis isn’t interested in – and
says nothing about – the origins
of the material universe, but with
telling the story ofGod’s people
3. Through Jesus, we have been
welcomed into this ongoing story
REMINDERS
22. A Prayer For The People of God
Creator God,
you call us to love and serve you
with body, mind, and spirit,
through loving your creation and all
the people with whom we share this world.
Open our minds in curiosity,
and our hearts in compassion,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
