The Bible Guide

An all-in-one introduction to the book of books

Andrew Knowles, Chris Wright

• Publisher: Lion Books
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9780745957401
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Reference

The Bible Guide is comprehensive in its scope and yet easy to read and enjoyable to use. Here in one volume is a detailed and illuminating guide to every book of the Bible. Unlike traditional commentaries, The Bible Guide is self-contained; readers do not have to cross-refer to Bible texts. The fact that it is written by one author gives the guide a continuity of approach not found in multi-contributor books. The Bible Guide explores, explains and brings to life the history, stories, culture and message of the world's most influential book.

THE OLD TESTAMENT

GENESIS

Genesis starts at the very beginning: how things began and the way things are. It is an epic of God’s creation and our place within it. In a series of ancient stories, we have teaching about God’s power and love, our own nature and roots, and the shape and direction of human life. We are given a scenario of the world God intended – and what it has become.

Genesis begins with a bang – nothing less than the big bang of creation and the eternal God who causes it.

We follow the story of creation to its climax in the making of the human race. We hear how life on earth is fatally damaged by the rebellion of people against their creator. We meet the judgment and mercy of God as he seeks to purge the world with a flood, but saves Noah with his family and ark full of animals. We see how God deals with the proud and self-centred people who build a tower to reach the heavens…

And we meet Abram. God calls Abram to trust him by living a homeless, nomadic and apparently hopeless life. Through Abram (or ‘Abraham’ as he becomes) God founds a family which will become the nation of Israel, and whose destiny is nothing less than the new creation.

Genesis is a book of enormous power and breadth. It lays the foundations for our knowledge of God and our understanding of his purpose. It explains to us our own nature and situation – why it is that we are at odds with God, each other and the world around. But Genesis doesn’t abandon us to our fate, because it shows us a God who doesn’t give up. In Genesis, God embarks on the long and painstaking task of winning people back to the loving, joyful, eternal life he always intended.

Outline

Ancient stories from the mists of time (1:1 – 11:32)

The story of creation (1:1 – 2:3)

Adam and Eve (2:4–25)

The fall (3:1–24)

Cain and Abel (4:1–26)

From Adam to Noah (5:1 – 6:8)

Noah and the flood (6:9 – 9:17)

The spread of nations (10:1–32)

The tower of Babel (11:1–32)

The stories of the patriarchs (12:1 – 50:26)

Abraham (12:1 – 25:11)

The descendants of Ishmael (25:12–18)

Isaac (Abraham’s son) (25:19 – 26:35)

Jacob (Abraham’s grandson) (27:1 – 35:29)

The descendants of Esau (36:1–43)

Joseph (Abraham’s great-grandson) (37:1 – 50:26)

INTRODUCTION

Genesis means ‘origin’. It is the glorious account of how things began.

Genesis wasn’t the first book ever written – nor is it the oldest part of the Bible. But when the Bible was put together, this book had an obvious claim to come first.

The book of Genesis is in two parts: ancient stories from the mists of time (1:1 – 11:32) and the stories of the patriarchs (12:1 – 50:26).

Ancient stories from the mists of time

These stories are beautiful in their telling and simple in their teaching. They cover the creation of the world and early human history – but with a difference. They tell the tale from God’s point of view.

Genesis is a book about God. It tells us something we can never guess: that there is only one God. He has personality, power and opinion – and he creates to perfection.

The first story tells how God created the universe, stage by stage. He made something from nothing, and brought order out of chaos. Although the story doesn’t give scientific details, it describes creation being shaped in a purposeful way. In other words, we’re living in a designer universe and not a chance accident.

The universe is not an accident. It was conceived, wanted and brought into existence by God. He originated the design, generated the power and executed the production. And he worked it all from nothing.

As the story of Genesis unfolds, we see God’s heartfelt love for the people he has made. Human beings are the crown of his creation. We are made to show the world what God is like: God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion… over all the earth’ (1:26).

So the story of creation leads into the story of the first humans: Adam and Eve. The couple are made for each other and can commune with God. They are set in a perfect environment, the Garden of Eden. They are different from the rest of creation, because they alone are ‘the image’ of God. They can influence the world around them, and are given the mandate to govern it.

God’s intention is that human beings should enjoy his creation and care for it, wisely managing its resources and tending its species. God gives men and women, uniquely in all creation, a mind and will of their own. But Adam and Eve use their free will to defy God. Human beings have independence of choice, and the freedom even to reject God’s love. When Adam and Eve, the first couple, disobey God’s instruction, the entire creation is tragically spoiled. This moment is called ‘the fall’. They are expelled from the Garden. Their life becomes one of hard work, sorrow, discomfort, conflict and death. Because they disobey God, they lose their hope of eternal life.

From humanity’s fall onwards, Genesis is the story of a dreadful falling-out. All the relationships are damaged and distorted – between God and humanity, between humanity and creation, between partners, siblings, families, communities and nations. God intervenes to punish people and correct situations. His love, justice and desire to help are always evident. He makes himself known, guides those who turn to him and shapes the course of history. But, by the end of the book, the situation is in no way resolved. Already the world needs a Saviour.

The story of the first human beings is followed by that of the first murder. Adam and Eve have two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain is jealous of Abel and kills him – only to be challenged and condemned by God. Cain becomes an outcast, bearing for ever his burden of guilt. This story shows how easily jealousy leads to murder. But human life is precious to God – and he holds us responsible for our actions.

Then comes the longer story of Noah and the flood. God decides to drown the corrupt and sinful world and start again. He warns Noah of a coming flood, and commands him to build a huge wooden vessel – the ark. Noah builds the ark with the help of his sons, and they take refuge from the flood. With them are their wives, and a large assortment of animals in breeding pairs. This story describes how God passes judgment on the corruption of the world, but spares just one faithful man and his family. It closes with God promising a safe and reliable world in the future, and signing his word with a rainbow.

The last of these ancient tales is of the tower of Babel. It dates from the founding of communities and the development of building skills. One such community attempts to build a tower to reach the heavens, to establish its prestige and permanence. But God judges their pride, confuses their language and scatters them far and wide. It’s a story against the Jews’ old enemy, Babylon (‘babble town’!). It reminds us of our human littleness and futility. And it tells, in a quaint but astute way, how different nations and languages came to be.

Genesis contains a sparkling collection of stories. These stories teach us that God loves us as children but treats us as adults. Our disobedience hurts him and provokes his anger. But, even as he judges us, he softens his sentence with mercy. But Genesis is more than just stories. Here is food for thought to engage the finest minds. How did the universe come to exist? Was it by accident or design? And how can we understand ourselves within it? Are we up-market apes or low-grade angels?

Genesis answers questions like this with a bold presentation of God, in all his power and holiness, justice and love. It holds up God’s world like a mirror, so we can see ourselves in all our dignity and deviousness.

The stories of Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel probe the deepest recesses of our nature. They expose the shabbiness of our motives and the poverty of our love. Greed and jealousy, anger and guilt are the driving forces of our lives. The account of creation, with God commissioning humanity to care for planet earth, takes us to the heart of the debate about conservation and our present ecological crisis. It is only for love of God – and with his help – that we can change our ways and reverse the exploitation and pollution which is plunging us towards extinction.

The stories of the patriarchs

The patriarchs are the founding fathers – the ancestors of the Jewish race and the pioneers of their faith.

The first of them is Abram, who becomes Abraham, ‘the Father of Nations’. God calls one man, Abram, to live a life of faith. God promises him a multitude of descendants and a land of his own. The idea of a chosen race (Israel) in a Promised Land (Canaan) is born.

Genesis is a source book for three of the world’s great religions. Jews, Muslims and Christians all look back to Abraham as their ancestor.

With Abraham a tender seed of faith is planted. From this seed will grow a family and a nation to which God will always be committed. Eventually, and despite many failures, setbacks and betrayals, this nation will be the people who receive God’s Son, the Messiah.

After Abraham come his sons Isaac and Ishmael. Some people trace the hostility between Israeli and Arab to the rivalry between Isaac and Ishmael. Today’s bloody disputes over territory spring from God’s promise of a land for his people.

Then come Abraham’s grandsons Esau and Jacob. Esau and Jacob are twins, with Esau the elder. In theory, it is Esau who should inherit the special relationship with God, but in fact this falls to the devious and self-seeking Jacob. After many adventures, Jacob becomes ‘Israel’ – a name of strenuous defiance meaning ‘He Struggles with God’. With the help of two wives and two maidservants, Jacob has twelve sons. They are the forefathers of the twelve tribes which later make up the nation of Israel.

Jacob’s favourite son is Joseph. Joseph is a spoilt brat who dreams of lording it over his family. Sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, he ends up in prison in Egypt. But, thanks to his gift for interpreting dreams, he emerges to become Egypt’s prime minister.

Not only does Joseph correctly forecast years of famine, but he takes charge of the operation to store and ration food. When his brothers come from Canaan to get grain, Joseph is in the very position of dominance he had predicted! But Joseph’s pride has been s...