| Genesis Study # 1 |
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LEADER’S NOTESSTUDY #1: THE GOD OF CREATION by Ben Stuart READ GENESIS 1:1 – 2:3: I am going to have my guys read the whole thing through quietly to themselves one time. I am going to challenge them, as they are reading, to notice what words or ideas are repeated, keeping in mind that repetition is a literary device used when an author wants to emphasize an idea. I am going to call my guys to specifically notice which word is repeated most often, and I may give a prize of some kind to the one who can identify the word and how many times it’s repeated (Answer: “God” is repeated 34 times). TRANSITION: Does anyone want to guess why “God” is repeated so often in this chapter? (let them share ideas) Answer: because this is a chapter about HIM. Keep this in mind as we read tonight: creations reveal the creator. My mother works with pregnant teenagers, and each semester she has her new students draw a picture that best describes their life. Girls have drawn everything from dark clouds pouring down rain that mingles with the tears of a sobbing stick figure, to rainbows and smiling families surrounding a newborn. With each drawing, she learns all kinds of information about each girl – what they create reveals things about them. Music does this: the music that flows from Eminem tells me about his mindset and emotional stability. The music of Nellie reveals how he views money, possessions, women and sexuality. Creations tells us about the creator. Genesis 1 does the same. As we look at it tonight, your challenge is to notice not just what He creates, but not attributes of Him, the Creator, as we see His character in what He creates. INTRODUCTORY STORY: When my friend Scot proposed to his wife, he spent the next few months preparing a place for them to live together. The house was built nestled out in a secluded spot in the woods. He built several of the pieces of furniture. He arranged it all and prepared a place for them to live together when the day came that they would be united. I stayed at his house the night before and remember how excited he was waiting for the entrance of his bride into the home he had created for them. When she finally arrived she entered into a home that was filled with furniture designed by a creative mind, built with strong hands and motivated by a heart of love for her. Now that they both live there the construct has taken on all new meaning. Furniture now holds memories of great times they’ve had together. The rooms look different – they are evidenced more now of the life they live together and it is a wonderful and a joy-filled place. That is the idea that we are walking into in this first chapter of Genesis. We are being introduced to God and as the camera zooms in on Him, we see Him working, preparing a place for us, His beloved, to enjoy relationship with Him. As we look at it, your challenge is to notice not just what He creates, but note attributes of Him, the Creator, as we see His character by what He creates. (As my guys identify attributes of God throughout the night, we are going to write them along the right hand margin of the study.) Genesis 1:1-2:3 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. WHAT CAN WE KNOW ABOUT GOD AFTER READING THIS FIRST VERSE? They may say something like, “He made everything” or “He created everything” – so you can respond with – “so, we can say that the first thing we know about Him is that He is THE CREATOR, or THE MAKER, or the AUTHOR or ORIGIN of things. Have them write this in the right hand margin of their paper. WHAT IS HE THE AUTHOR OR CREATOR OF? The heavens and the earth: all things! You might want to ask them to recall things that were repeated in the text – one of the most frequent, mentioned at each day of creation, is the statement, “then God said” – the author wanted us to know that everything made proceeded from God so on each day He tells us “then God said”. WHAT IS THE MOST MAJESTIC THING YOU CAN THINK OF? Mountains, waterfalls – He made those! WHAT’S THE MOST TINY, WEIRD THING YOU CAN THINK OF? Amoeba, cells – He made those! The first verse of our Bible tells us that all things were God’s idea & made by Him. That includes mountains, trees, oceans, parents, the people you know who hate God or hate you – down to the most minute thing you will study in biology class. ADDITIONAL INFO: Verse 1: an overview verse of all the text IN VERSE 1 WE HAVE THE FOUNDATIONS FOR EXISTENCE “In the beginning”: TIME “God”: PRE-EXISTENT PRIME MOVER “created”: INITIAL ACTIVITY (fyi: bara[create] - means “something from nothing”, only used with God) “heavens”: SPACE “earth”: MASS 2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE EARTH AT THIS POINT? It has no form, it is devoid of life, it is dark. “the deep” is a term used in the Bible to describe bodies of water – so it s a formless, lifeless, energy-less, mass of water (read the Bible Knowledge Commentary on the possible explanations for this seemingly negative situation. Though brief, it gives a good understanding of the first part of this verse. I don’t know if you’ll want to get into all of that with your students, but it is good stuff to know. It provides a sense of mystery to this, we aren’t being told all things, we don’t need to be. You also get a sense of the attribute of God as a redeemer, already that redemptive cycle is in place after the angelic rebellion and fall.) WHAT DOES THE VERSE SAY GOD IS DOING AT THIS POINT? He is moving over the surface of the waters. Now here’s where you might want to tell them that the English translation of these words doesn’t help us find the significance of this statement. Let me read to you a portion of a commentary on the word “moving”. Moved on, [mªrachepet (OT:7363)]. Our English version does not give the meaning correctly, because this word does not convey the idea of progressive motion, but that of brooding over-cherishing the set of incubation which a fowl performs when hatching its eggs; and the participial form of the verb implies a continuance of this action. (Compare Deut 32:11, where the word is rendered "fluttereth"). Deut 32:9-12 9 "For the LORD'S portion is His people; Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance. 10 "He found him in a desert land, And in the howling waste of a wilderness; He encircled him, He cared for him, He guarded him as the pupil of His eye. 11 "Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, That hovers over its young, He spread His wings and caught them, He carried them on His pinions. 12 "The LORD alone guided him, And there was no foreign god with him. The word carries with it the idea of a mother bird that hatches it’s eggs, and of a mother eagle that encircles, cares for, guards, carries and guides it’s young chicks. It is a tender word and it is used to describe God’s stance over His soon-to-be-created world. WHAT IS A WORD WE COULD USE TO DESCRIBE THE ATTRIBUTE OF GOD DISPLAYED HERE? LOVING. Tender. Caring. Any of those would work YOU MAY JUST WANT TO TELL THEM THIS PART: there is a significance to the fact that the verse points out that the Sprit of God is hovering OVER the creation, and not a part of it. That the creative force behind all things is not a part of all things. This is a direct contradiction to the idea of Pantheism, in which the creative “god-energy” is within all living things. Here it is expressly stated that the action was not in, but upon the face of the waters. It was not the self-development of powers inherent in matter. Maybe your word here is “DISTINCT” or “SEPARATE” – God is separate and distinct from His creation as an artist is separate and distinct from his art. 3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. WHAT CAN WE SAY ABOUT GOD BASED ON THIS VERSE? He is POWERFUL! He commands and they are created! 4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. TELL THEM: In the Jewish mindset, and even in ours today to an extent, to show your dominance over or ownership of a thing you name it. Parents name their children. Little girls name their dolls. It is a way of expressing ownership. With that in mind: WHAT CAN WE SAY ABOUT GOD BASED ON VERSE 5? He is the OWNER of all things. He is not only the creator, He is the owner too. These are His toys. At this point I am going to have my guys notice the structure of each day’s creation account. Roughly it falls into these categories(this is included on their Bible study sheet) The announcement: “then God said” The commandment: “let their be…” The report: “it was so” The naming (1st 3 days): light, darkness, sky, waters, earth The proclamation: “it was good!” The day: “evening & morning, __ day” I am going to have my guys write out on the left side of the page the commandment for each day & the naming. Day 1: commandment: LIGHTname: light – day, dark – night BY VERSE 5 YOU HAVE YOUR PRIMARY FORCES MOLECULAR ENERGY (earth – v.2) ELECTROMAGNETIC ENERGY (light – v. 3) GRAVITATIONAL ENERGY (one day, earth’s first rotation – v. 5) By the end of day one this mass of molecules is rotating because you’ve got the passing of a day Proverbs - God inscribed a circle on the face of the abyss (the earth is round) Book of Job - it is suspended (it is not resting on anything) 6 Then God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters." 7 God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. 8 God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day. This thing is rotating to the degree that there begins to be a separation of molecules – water above, water below, and literally a “thinned out spot” in between – which is atmosphere – the stuff we breathe! Possible understanding of the waters above – Vapor Canopy How do you get 40 days of rain? You can't do it - our present atmosphere only produces about a centimeter of rain. How do you get 40 days? The same way you have men living 900 years - post flood the ages decrease - you had the waters above that allowed enormous amounts of vegetation, long life for people, and a long life for animals, including reptiles (which is where you could have dinosaurs, since reptiles never stop growing throughout their life cycle) – sort of like a huge greenhouse – note: if you get into all of this, let them know that this is commentators interpretation of what “the waters above” means, but it isn’t Bible fact, it is an educated guess, and a good guess, but a guess nonetheless. Day 2: commandment: expanse that separates waters above and below – atmosphere name: heaven (atmosphere – the word translated heaven does not mean in the OT language what we mean when we use “heaven” now – It meant the sky, space, atmosphere – not the-place-where-God-lives-with-the-angels) 9 Then God said, "Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so. 10 God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good. NOW OUR BASIC FORMS ARE IN PLACE: ATMOSPHERE (V. 8) LAND (V. 9) SEA (V. 10) 11 Then God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them"; and it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. 13 There was evening and there was morning, a third day. I’m not sure how to tell you to get there, but here would be a great place to talk about God’s attribute of BEAUTY! One of the greatest arguments for God is the fact that there is beauty in this world – here God creates every tropical paradise and all varieties of fruit and trees and fields and forests – maybe tell your favorite nature story or something – describe a beautiful landscape – but don’t move on without talking about God as an ARTIST! NOTICE THE REPETITION IN VERSES 11-13 – WHAT IS REPEATED 4 TIMES? WHAT IS REPEATED 3 TIMES? Answer: “seed” 4x & “after their kind” 3x WHAT DO YOU THINK IS IMPORTANT ABOUT THAT? “seed” - that seed carries the ability to bring forth after your kind – each life form will have a code in it that allows it to bring forth life after it's own kind - DNA - idea is that there will be no more creation – God in His creating has given living things the ability to reproduce themselves so He need not create any longer the initial creation is very good and it's over “after their kind” – this challenges evolution. Seed (dna) does not cross You can have adaptation within species - you can have a big ape, red ape, fat ape, ugly ape, but you can't have an ape that becomes a man or a snake that becomes a bird – I would strongly encourage you not to get hung up here if kids want to argue evolution – I will try to recommend some books for those who want to investigate that idea, but most discussion in bible study settings I have found rest entirely on speculation and don’t really help anyone. Day 3: commandment: waters be gathered and dry land appear, let the earth sprout vegetation naming: earth & seas (after the basic forms are in place, the naming ceases, later the power to name will be given to man as a sign of his rule over the earth) 14 Then God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth"; and it was so. 16 God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. 17 God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. 19 There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day. Day 4: commandment: lights (sun, moon, stars) WHAT ARE THE PURPOSES FOR THE STARS THAT THESE VERSES MENTION? Signs, seasons, days, years, & to give light on the earth (govern) Signs: fixed constellations that we can get our bearings from Seasons: the earth on an axis - a change in temp - a time for planting, a time for harvesting, a time for spring - the seasons teach men discipline - it is not good to give him everything - think, work, plan, initiate Sequence: days (one rotation of the earth), years (earth’s movement around the sun) Safety: sun & moon and stars for light – WHAT CAN WE SAY ABOUT GOD HERE? He is a God of WISDOM – ALL THESE ORBS ROTATE AROUND ONE ANOTHER IN A WAY THAT MAKES SENSE, IS CONDUCIVE FOR LIFE AND IS ORDERED! 20 Then God said, "Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens." 21 God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." 23 There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day. SEE HOW MANY KINDS OF BIRDS THEY CAN NAME IN 30 SECONDS. THEN TRY FISH. point out to them the language - “teem”, “swarms”, “every”, “swarmed”, “every”, “fill the waters” – there is an emphasis on abundance & variety WHAT ATTRIBUTE OF GOD CANWE SEE IN THIS? it suggests God’s CREATIVITY! He is inventive HAVE THEM UNDERLINE THE WORD “BLESSNG” - this is the first time you see the term God blesses all animal life - WHAT DOES THAT TELL US ABOUT HIM? He is a LOVER OF LIFE Day 5: commandment: let the waters teem with living creatures, let the birds fly in the heavens 24 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind"; and it was so. 25 God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good. HERE WE HAVE THE EARTH IN IT’S FULLNESS THE HEAVENS ARE FILLED WITH THE STARS THE SKY IS FILLED WITH BIRDS THE SEA IS FILLED WITH CREATURES THE LAND IS FILLED WITH PLANTS & ANIMALS 26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; WHAT IS STRANGE ABOUT THE WAY GOD REFERENCES HIMSELF IN VERSE 26? He uses plural pronouns. Why? Some commentators suggest this highlights His plurality of persons. In other words, the TRINITY begins here! Not until later do we get the full understanding of the Father, Son & Holy Spirit (this is a huge area of discussion, I would encourage you to defer questions about it to a later time, please don’t make up any answers you don’t know too!) What does this show us about God though? We see here that God is PERSONAL What was God doing before the creation? Fellowshipping with himself Before the creation God was not bored! God does not need anything - He created out of benevolence Augustine: If the bible did not teach the tri-unity then I would be an agnostic - because now the ideas of love, communication, mercy - those sweet things we love about relationship - they are eternally a part of God Tri-unity That's why you love -that's why you don’t like to be hurt or lied to - you are PERSONAL and it comes from a personal God WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE MADE IN GOD’S IMAGE? Dr. Allen suggests that the preposition “in” may be rendered as “as” – we are not made “in” the image of God but “as” the image of God. What does this mean? In the ancient near east conquering emperors would place statues of themselves around their kingdom to proclaim “while I’m not here I still rule here”. In the same way we are God’s symbols that He rules here. We are representations of Him that declare He is King! MAN ALSO HAS AUTHORITY! and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Verse 27 - male and female - throughout history where there is no revelation of God the women get dominated. When survival of the fittest is law then the big guy eats the little guy, and women are subjugated. But here in this verse God gives dignity to women as a co-heir with man. Men & Women are both in God’s image and are both given dignity. 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth." 29 Then God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; 30 and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food"; and it was so. man is blessed like the rest of creation MAN ALSO HAS RESPONSIBILITY – be fruitful, multiply, subdue and rule 31 God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Day 6: commandment: let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kinds, let us make man in Our image, let him rule. Genesis 2 1Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. 2 By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. God imposes a day to rest – for man to take a break man is central in creation - it is all for me! The sun, moon, stars, animals, plants - it is for us! So on day 7 we stop and thank the God who gave it to us REVIEW: There is a CREATOR who answers our foundational questions of where we came from He is LOVING, ORDERLY, BEAUTIFUL, CREATIVE, POWERFUL, PERSONAL – His existence gives legitimacy to all we value, and He created a universe that makes sense, a world full of beauty and a pinnacle of creation that has a dignity and value distinct from all other creation, and He made us to enjoy life and to worship Him – He is a good God – creation declares His glories – He is worthy of praise! Permission: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way, you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, and you do not make more than 1,000 physical copies. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be explicitly approved by Breakaway Ministries. Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By Ben Stuart. © Breakaway Ministries. Website: www.breakawayministries.org. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . |