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Torah. THE BEGINNINGS OF ALL OF HUMANITY (Genesis 1-11) GOD’S PROMISE TO ONE GROUP OF PEOPLE (Genesis 12-50) GOD’S COVENANT RELATIONSHIP WITH THE DESCENDANTS OF THAT GROUP OF PEOPLE (Exodus-Numbers) FINAL SERMON OF MOSES (Deuteronomy). Genesis. The Word Means “BEGINNINGS”
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Torah • THE BEGINNINGS OF ALL OF HUMANITY (Genesis 1-11) • GOD’S PROMISE TO ONE GROUP OF PEOPLE (Genesis 12-50) • GOD’S COVENANT RELATIONSHIP WITH THE DESCENDANTS OF THAT GROUP OF PEOPLE (Exodus-Numbers) • FINAL SERMON OF MOSES (Deuteronomy)
Genesis • The Word Means “BEGINNINGS” • The Book Tells of “Two Beginnings” • The Beginnings of the Entire Universe Chapters 1-11 – primevaltraditions • The Beginnings of a Particular People (The people of God) Chapters 12-50 – patriarchalnarratives
CREATION! GENESIS 1—A COSMIC PERSPECTIVE (telescopic) GENESIS 2—AN EARTHY PERSPECTIVE (microscopic)
Genesis 1 – Creation Hymn • This is not a science document! • Not when! – 6 days or 600 million years • Not where! – Big Bang billions & billions of miles from here • Not how! – fully formed or undergoing change over time
Early Israelite cosmology: A domed, flat earth encased in water
Genesis 1 – Creation Hymn • This is a praise song! • Who! – God is the Source of everything there is! • What! – A beautiful world of super-abundance – teeming with life and productivity! • Why! – God’s good pleasure!
Tohu and Wohu UTTER CHAOS—DARKNESS AND CHAOTIC WATERS Creatio Ex Nihilo – creation out of nothing
Let Light Be And God Said: And Light “BE-ed”
tob Good—appropriate—fitting for the purpose for which it was made!
1:26—”Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind (ha-Adam) in our image, according to our likeness; and let them (plural) have dominion…’” 1:27—”So God created humankind (ha-Adam) in his image, in the image of God he created it/him (singular); male and female he created them” (plural) 1:28—”God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful (plural command) and multiply…” 5:1-2—”When God created humankind (ha-Adam), he made him (it; singular) in the likeness of God. Male and female he created them (plural), and he blessed them (plural) and named them (plural) Adam (humankind) when they (plural) were created”
SABBATH (Shabbat) STOP!
THEOLOGICAL AFFIRMATIONS FROM GENESIS ONE: • God intends ORDER wherever there is Chaos • Creation is DISTINCT from God (It is not divine itself, and is not to be worshipped as divine) • God PARTNERS with his creation to continue his creative work and to share in his sabbath rest • The creation is blessed with ABUNDANCE, not scarcity – creation teems with life • Creation reveals God as GENEROUS , LOVING, and FAITHFUL to provide for his creation • Humans (IMAGO DEI) are the climax of creation • As the “Fleshing Out” of God in creation, humans are given protective care (CUSTODY) of creation
God is doing something—creating—blessing—giving life God does not do that “something” alone—he partners! The primary means by which God partners is with his image—humanity Each human being is a member of the one image--humanity SO WHAT IN THE WORLD DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH US?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THERE TO BE ORDER PLACED IN GOD’S CREATION? WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A PART OF THE STORY OF GOD? WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE HUMAN?
GENEROSITY COMPASSIONATECARE LOVE CREATIVITY HOSPITALITY If I Share In God’s Image and If I am called to be God’s Partner…
PERSPECTIVE OF CREATION IN GENESIS TWO • The very nature of human beings is RELATIONAL • Human beings share an intimate relationship with God—they are “formed” intimately by God and have the breath of God to animate them – God endows us with his own breath (ruach – spirit) and we become living beings (nephesh) • Human beings share an intimate relationship with each other— “adam” is comprised of “ish” and “ishsha” – equality, solidarity, and partnership with the “other” • Human beings share an intimate relationship with creation itself—”adam” is formed from “adamah”
So what went wrong??? God created us in and for RIGHT-RELATED-NESS (Righteousness) • The Human Dilemma Genesis 3
Where do you see the order disrupted in Gen. 3:7-20 Our relationship with God is damaged Our relationship with others is damaged Our relationship with creation is damaged
And the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden… ...but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for on the day that you eat of it you shall die
So what is the “tree of knowledge of good and evil”? “…your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil”
The Human Dilemma • From God-reliance to self-reliance • From God-honor to self-honor • From God-worship to self-worship Life turned in on SELF
Genesis 3—people hide from God, the earth only produces thorns, and one gender dominates another gender Genesis 4—brother kills brother (WAR) Genesis 6-8—watery chaos once again returns (the Flood) – God Grieves Genesis 11—people scatter and are unable to understand each other (Tower of Babel) SO WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ORDER???
How will God RESTORE order to the chaos we have inflicted on God’s world? Genesis 12 Revelation 22 God’s plan to rescue and restore his broken creation
How will God RESTORE order to the chaos we have inflicted on God’s world? The Great Drama of Redemption
Assignment for Thursday Read Chapter Four (pp. 70-72) KEY WORDS: covenant, promise, circumcision Read Genesis 12-13, 15-17, 22, 25:19-34; 27-33