Transcript

Podcast Introduction

This is the daily podcast where we will read the entire Bible in a year. Stick around, and before you know it, you’ll be able to say you’ve read the entire Bible, in the process, I hope you will be inspired, informed and maybe even entertained.

Today, we are going to read from the beginning, the book of Genesis. Chapters 1 through 3, I’ll give you some of my thoughts on those chapters.

Introduction to Genesis

Genesis begins with an assumption. The assumption is that God exists. 

How can we know God exists? I know He exists because of how He has worked in my life. I know how I was before I knew Him, and how I am since dedicating my life to Him. I am not the man I would have been if were not for God’s presence in my life.

But there is much more than that. A great many excellent logical and philosophical arguments can be made for the existence of God, which I’ll not talk about here. I’ll leave that to others who are much better equipped to do that. I am more a student of the Bible than a student of philosophy. I don’t discount that field of study, it’s just not where my passions are.

No, the Bible is my source of truth. And Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” And yesterday we read in Romans 1:20, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” In other words, creation itself speaks clearly of the existence of the Creator. Look at the order of the universe. The intricate detail of all that exists. This kind of order cannot evolve out of chaos. And even if it could, where did the building blocks of the universe come from? The fact that things do exist at all speaks loudly for the fact that there is a Creator. And the order of the universe demands an intelligent Creator.  

Genesis is about the creation of the universe, and it’s about the beginning of the nation of people of Israel, and how God has interacted with them throughout history.

It is believed that God used Moses to write Genesis, in addition to the other first five books of the Bible, namely Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. 

Genesis is divided into twelve parts, with each part being introduced with the phrase “this is the account of”, or some variation of that, depending on which translation of the Bible you are reading. Each of the twelve sections tells about the life and family of the person named, and the sections, when taken together, tell the story of humanity’s history and God’s plan to restore mankind and our place in His world through Israel.

Thoughts on Genesis 1

Again, because of the Labor Day holiday, I’ll make my comments short today. There are so many events packed into these first three chapters that it’s difficult to decide what to talk about, but decide I must.

So I’ll talk about the first sentence. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

Actually, I’ll just talk about the word “God”.

The original language for Genesis is Hebrew. The Hebrew word that is translated as God in nearly all English translations is Elohim, which is a plural word, not singular. Being plural, the pronouns and verbs used with Elohim should also be plural. But they are not. They are singular. 

Second century Rabbi Simeon ben Joachi said: “Come and see the mystery of the word Elohim; there are three degrees, and each degree by itself alone, and yet notwithstanding they are all one, and joined together in one, and are not divided from each other.” Adam Clarke, 18th century theologian said: “He must be strangely prejudiced indeed who cannot see that the doctrine of a Trinity, and of a Trinity in unity, is expressed in the above words.” Martin Luther said: “But we have clear testimony that Moses aimed to indicate the Trinity or the three persons in the one divine nature.”

From the very beginning of the Bible, we have evidence that God is a Trinity. Three persons in one. If God is not a Trinity, why would the word Elohim be used? 

In verse 26 we read: “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness…”

All three persons of the Trinity were present at the creation of the universe: Father, Son and Holy Spirt. God’s plan for mankind was fully developed from the foundation of the Earth. That means that God’s plan for you and for me were fully formed. You and I were on His mind from the beginning. I don’t know about you, but that gives me an entirely new sense of purpose. 

Just as we talked about when we read Matthew, and the fact that God waited until just the right time for Jesus to be born, He waited until just the right time for you and I to be born. You are not here by accident or chance. You and I are here to fulfill God’s purpose. Life is precious, beloved. We must not waste it.

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 1-3 NIV

Transcript

LSFAB_S13-E002

[TEASER – 00:00]
The heavens declare the glory of God.

[INTRO S13E002 – 00:10]
This is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, and podcasting since 2004, I’m your OG Godcaster. My name is Steve Webb. Good of you to stop by.

This is the daily podcast where we’ll read the entire Bible in a year. Stick around and before you know it, you’ll be able to say you’ve read the entire Bible. And in the process, I hope you’ll be inspired, informed, and maybe even entertained. Today we’re gonna read from the beginning, the Book of Genesis, chapters 1 through 3.

Before we read today’s chapters, I’ll give you a brief introduction on Genesis. Then after the reading, I’ll give you some of my thoughts on what we’ve read. Are you ready? Let’s begin!

[INTRO TO GENESIS – 00:50]
Genesis begins with an assumption, That assumption is that God exists. Well, how can we know God exists? I know he exists because of how he has worked in my life. I know how I was before I knew him and how I am since dedicating my life to him. I’m not the man I would’ve been if it were not for God’s presence in my life.

But there’s much more than that. A great, many excellent, logical and philosophical arguments can be made for the existence of God, which I’ll not talk about here. I’ll leave that to others who are much better equipped to do that. I’m more of a student of the Bible than a student of philosophy. I don’t discount that field of study, but it’s not where my passions are.

No, the Bible is my source of faith. And Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; The skies proclaim the work of his hands.” And in our reading yesterday, Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made so that people are without excuse.” In other words, creation itself speaks clearly of the existence of the creator. Look at the order of the universe. The intricate detail of all that exists. This kind of order cannot evolve out of chaos. And even if it could, where did the building blocks of the universe come from? The fact that things do exist at all speaks loudly for the fact that there is a Creator. And the order of the universe demands an intelligent Creator.

Genesis is about the creation of the universe, and it’s about the beginning of the nation of the people of Israel and how God has interacted with them throughout history.

It’s believed that Moses inspired by God, wrote Genesis in addition to the other first five books of the Bible, namely Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

Genesis is divided into twelve parts with each part being introduced with the phrase, “this is the account of”, or some variation of that, depending on which translation of the Bible you’re reading. Each of the twelve sections tells about the life and family of the person named and the sections when taken together tell the story of humanity’s history and God’s plan to restore mankind, and our place in his world through Israel. So let’s get started.

[GENESIS 1 (NIV) – 03:25]
Genesis, chapter one. (1) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

(2) Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

(3) And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. (4) God saw that the light was good, and he 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—the first day.

(6) And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” (7) So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. (8) God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

(9) And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. (10) God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

(11) Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. (12) The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. (13) And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

(14) And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, (15) and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. (16) God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. (17) God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, (18) to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. (19) And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

(20) And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” (21) So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. (22) God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” (23) And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

(24) And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. (25) God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

(26) Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

(27) So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.

(28) God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

(29) Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. (30) And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

(31) God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

[GENESIS 2 (NIV) – 07:59]
Genesis, chapter two. (1) Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

(2) By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. (3) Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

(4) This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

(5) Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, (6) but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. (7) Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living thing.

(8) Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. (9) The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

(10) A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. (11) The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. (12) (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) (13) The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. (14) The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

(15) The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. (16) And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; (17) but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

(18) The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

(19) Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. (20) So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

But for Adam no suitable helper was found. (21) So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. (22) Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

(23) The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”

(24) That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

(25) Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

[GENESIS 3 (NIV) – 11:10]
Genesis, chapter three. (1) Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

(2) The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, (3) but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ”

(4) “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. (5) “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

(6) When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. (7) Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

(8) Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. (9) But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

(10) He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

(11) And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

(12) The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

(13) Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

(14) So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,

“Cursed are you above all livestock
and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
(15) And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”

(16) To the woman he said,

“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;
with painful labor you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you.”

(17) To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’

“Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat food from it
all the days of your life.
(18) It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
(19) By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return.”

(20) Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.

(21) The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. (22) And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” (23) So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. (24) After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

[COMMENTS – 14:45]
Again, there are so many events packed into these first three chapters that it’s difficult to decide what to talk about, but decide I must.

So I’ll talk about the very first sentence. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

Actually, what I’m gonna do is talk about the word “God”.

The original language for Genesis is Hebrew, and the Hebrew word that is translated as “God” in nearly all English translations is “Elohim”, which is a plural word, not singular. And being plural, the pronouns and verbs that are used with “Elohim” should also be plural. But they’re not. They’re singular.

Second century Rabbi Simeon ben Joachi said, “Come and see the mystery of the word “Elohim”; there are three degrees, and each degree by itself alone, and yet notwithstanding, they are all one and joined together in one, and are not divided from each other.” Adam Clarke, 18th century theologian said, “He must be strangely prejudiced indeed, who cannot see that the doctrine of a Trinity and of a Trinity in unity is expressed in the above words.” Martin Luther said, “But we have clear testimony that Moses aimed to indicate the Trinity or the three persons in the one divine nature.”

So, Beloved, from the very beginning of the Bible, we have evidence that God is a Trinity. Three persons in one. If God is not a Trinity, why would the word “Elohim” be used?

In verse 26 of chapter 1 of Genesis, we read, “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness.'”

All three persons of the Trinity were present at the creation of the universe. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God’s plan for mankind was fully developed from the foundation of the earth. That means that God’s plan for you and for me were fully formed. You and I were on his mind from the beginning. I don’t know about you, but that gives me an entirely new sense of purpose.

We’ll read in Matthew that God waited until just the right time for Jesus to be born, and in the same way He waited until just the right time for you and I to be born. You’re not here by accident or chance. You and I are here to fulfill God’s purpose. Life is precious, Beloved. We must not waste it.

As always, I invite your comments. I’ll share some of those comments from the Lifespring family on the show. Remember, I don’t want you to just listen to this show. I want you to participate as a family does. You are very much a part of the show, so comment at comment.lifespringmedia.com or you can email me at st***@*************ia.com. And if you phone in your comment, there’s a good chance I’ll play it on an upcoming show. Here’s the number to call: 951-732-8511.

[OUTRO S13E002 – 17:57]
Tomorrow we’ll read Joshua chapters 1 through 5. Please tell a friend about the show. Remember, one way we can make the world a better place is to get God’s word into more hands and more ears. That really is what this show is all about.

Until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. Thank you for being here. I’m Steve Webb. Bye.

Transcript corrected by Denise.

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