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In the Beginning…GodGenesis 11Title Slide2video: : means “beginnings”It tells of the beginning of the world. The beginning of mankind. The beginning of sin. The beginning of sacrifice for sins. And the beginning of God’s special relationship with the people He’d created.4Definition of Creation (“bara”): to make something out of nothing.It is only used in the Bible with God doing the creating, simply because the word means to create from nothing. Only God can do that. You may say that you created a song or a painting, but you used music or colors that God invented, and sang it with vocal chords He invented, or painted with hands He designed. You simply rearranged words, rhythm, and notes, or water colors and canvas to another form, but you used existing media. Only God can create. We just shape or fashion what He has already created. 5Even God created matter and energy from nothing once and was done.6After creation, the Hebrew words YATSAR and ASA were used, even when God made something. These words are best translated “to form,” or “to make.”YATSAR and ASA , are used throughout the Old Testament, including when God formed Eve from Adam’s rib in Genesis 2. There is however, one amazing exception.7Psalm 51:10Oddly, the word for create here is BARA, which is exclusively used when God makes something from nothing. So after God concluded His creating of the cosmos, matter and energy, and physical things, He continues His awesome work of creation in our hearts.82 Corinthians 5:17When we receive God’s Son into our hearts, God does not rearrange the old. He starts over. As this verse says, we are a new creation. God’s miraculous work in us is not accomplished by our will or determination, but is done solely by God through our surrender. We don’t have to shape up, or straighten up. We only have to give up. God does the rest. 9Author: Moses (he also wrote Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy—known as the Pentateuch)Moses probably compiled the books from oral histories and other sources. How could this be? Especially since it went down all those generations - surely the story got twisted. If you think about it, Adam’s grandson, Enosh, was probably alive to tell the story of the creation to Noah, so it’s not that farfetched.10Patriarch Lifespan Chart11Beginning of the world set by Biblical scholars is around 6,000 years old. (4004 B.C. + 2015 A.D =6019).God created the universe in 7 literal days, somewhere around 4,004 B.C. Many years ago, a man named Ussher added up all the ages of all the people in the genealogies in the Bible. You thought it was rough going through the begats in?Matthew 1, can you imagine going through all the begats in the Bible to come up with the age of the earth? Well, that’s what Ussher did. According to his timing, creation happened about 6000 years ago. 12Length of creation: 7 days—The Hebrew word used for each day is Yom which refers to a 24 hour day, not any other length of timeIn Hebrew, the word for day can mean either a literal day or a period of time. That’s why Moses included a qualifier to indicate that it was a literal day. He added a number to it. In the Hebrew language, anytime the word day was qualified by a number, it meant a literal 24-hour period of time. As a matter of fact, one qualifier wasn’t enough. He included two qualifiers. Not only did he qualify day with a number, he qualified it by saying, “and there was evening and there was morning…”Genesis 1?marks days from evening to morning as a natural extension of God turning darkness into light. Jewish people have regarded their day as beginning with the setting of the sun because the evening is mentioned first in this verse and subsequent verses, and is a natural extension of God turning darkness into light.13Museums are built specifically to house and display manmade creations. We pay admission to stand in awe and marvel at the magnificent creativity of artists around the world. In fact, it is difficult to get close to the Mona Lisa in the Louvre Museum in Paris because of the countless tourists huddled around it. Amazing works of art by renowned artists are deeply revered. Yet have we ever stopped to ponder the majesty of the Creator who made the entire universe? 14One day a group of scientists got together and decided that man had come a long way and no longer needed God. So they?picked one scientist?to go and tell Him that they were done with Him.?The scientist walked up to God and said “We’ve decided we no longer need you. We can do all kinds of things through science. We can even clone people and make body parts, so we just don’t need you anymore.”?God listened very patiently. After the scientist had finished talking, God said, “Very well, how about this? Let’s say we have a man-making contest.” To which the?scientist replied, “Okay, great!” ?But, God added, “Now we’re going to do this just like I did back in the old days with Adam.” The scientist said, “Sure, no problem” and bent down and grabbed himself a handful of dirt. God looked at him and said,?“No, no, no. You go get your own dirt.”?15We take so much for granted. We walk outside and experience the world around us. We see the sky, the trees, the ocean, the mountains, often without any thought of its majesty and grandeur. His artwork is on display all around us, every day. Yet many days, we take it for granted.16Abraham Lincoln once said: “I never behold (the heavens filled with stars) that I do not feel I am looking in the face of God. I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how he could look up, into the heavens and say there is no God.”17Notice the very first words of Genesis:?“In the beginning… God”Before anything else happened… there was God.18Genesis 1:1Michael Claunch once said, “God stepped out of nowhere, stood on nothing, and created everything.”But the creation account gives little details of how God created everything from nothing. 19Deuteronomy 29:2920A well-known scientist, Herbert Spencer, died in 1903.? He discovered that all reality, all that exists in the universe can be contained in five categories: time, force, action, space and matter.? Nothing exists outside of those categories. He even listed them in a logical sequence.? With that in mind, let’s look at Genesis 1:1:“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (time) (force) (action) (space) (matter)Isn’t it amazing that we did not discover God’s creative design until 1903? 21The three astronauts of Apollo 8 circled the dark side of the moon and headed for home. As their tiny capsule floated through space, they gazed on planet earth. What do you think they did? They did not quote Einstein, Shakespeare or Darwin. There was only one statement that could capture the magnificence of that moment. As billions of people all around the world listened, an astronaut acknowledged Elohim as Creator as he read these words: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”? Let’s read the creation story.22Genesis 123Genesis 1 cont.24Genesis 1 cont.25Genesis 1 cont.26Genesis 1 cont.27Genesis 1 cont.28Genesis 1 cont.29Genesis 2:1-330And God said… and it was so.?With the utterance of His voice, creation takes form. There was no process. There was no series of steps involved in each day. He spoke and it happened—instantly. When He created the trees, they had age rings in them. When He created Adam and Eve, He created them fully grown. When He created the earth, it had what we would consider the appearance of age. When He created light, He formed it in the streams and paths that would make it appear as if it had traveled for billions of light years. God also created everything in an orderly way. On the first day God said “Let there be light!” and there was light. And the Bible says “and it was GOOD.”The 2nd day God created the earth’s atmosphere and then we’re told “and it was GOOD.”On day 3 God created vegetation – the trees and the grass and the shrubs and again it says “and that was GOOD.”Then on the 4th day God created the Sun, Moon and the stars and said “that was GOOD”On the 5th day God created the birds of the air and fish of the sea and He saw that “that was GOOD.”31But then – on the 6th day - God created man.?And when God had created man we’re told “it was VERY GOOD.”So, everything God created - he merely spoke and it appeared. BUT did you notice that when God created man He climbed down into the mud and got His hands dirty. And He breathed into a piece of muddy clay and it became a living, breathing creation… MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD, IN HIS LIKENESS. Not only did He design the highest mountains and the richest hues but He crafted mankind –as His masterpiece.Nothing else in all of creation required this kind of attention. Nothing else in all of creation called for that degree of involvement by God. 32Why did God do this? Why would He do something so involved, when all He had to do was speak and the man would be formed? He’d already done that with all the rest of creation. But, only with man did God get down on his hands and knees to bring life. So why would He do it that way?Because He wanted to drive home to people that we are created in His image! We are valuable because He made us valuable. We are like nothing else that He’s created. And our value goes beyond what we can do, or what we can contribute. You and I are valuable simply because He made us so.33The story’s told of a preacher that was traveling with his wife and stopped at a restaurant for a meal. They just wanted to eat and be on their way. But an older gentleman walked over to their table and wanted to talk. They really didn’t want to talk… but they were too polite to say so.“What do you do for a living” the older man asked.“I’m a preacher,” was the reply.“Well then, I have a story you may find interesting. My mother wasn’t married when I was born. When I started to school my classmates had a name for me, and it wasn’t a very nice name.?I used to go off by myself both at recess and during lunch time because of the taunts of my playmates, which cut me deeply. What was worse was going downtown on Saturday afternoon and feeling every eye burning a hole through you. They were all wondering who my real father was.“When I was about 12, a new preacher came to our church. I would always go in LATE and slip out EARLY. But one day the preacher said the benediction so fast I got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. I could feel every eye in church on me.?Just about the time I got to the door… I looked up and the preacher was looking right at me.“‘Who are you, son? Whose boy are you?’“I felt the old weight come upon me. It was like a big, black cloud. Even the preacher was putting me down, I thought.“But as the preacher looked down at me, studying my face he began a big smile of recognition.‘Wait a minute,’ he said, ‘I know who you are. I see the family resemblance.?You are a son of God!’“With that, he slapped me across the back and said, ‘Boy, you’ve got a great inheritance. Go and claim it.’?At that, the old man got up and left.When the preacher and his wife finished their meal they went to the cash register to pay their bill. The waitress said: “Do you know who that old man was that was speaking to you? That was Ben Hooper, the former governor of our state. This is his home town, and he retired here a few years ago.”Just a few words from a preacher telling this young man he was made in the image of God changed his life. 34So, why did God create? Was He bored? Did He simply need something to do?God fashioned all of creation to point us to Him. To show us how much He loves us. To show us how much He wants us to love Him. But not only does He want to point us to Him. Creation isn’t just some sort of cosmic billboard. He gave us creation as a gift. Read on in Genesis 1:29, “And God said, ‘Look, I have given you. He gave us everything. And then He gave us dominion over it. And He did it for one reason. He lavished all the rich gifts of creation upon us just simply to show us how much He loves us. To point us to Him so we will recognize His glory and love Him back. 35Hebrews 1:10-1236There was once a boy who prayed, “Dear God, please take care of my daddy and my mommy and my sister and my brother and my doggy and me. Oh, and please take care of yourself, God. If anything happens to you, we’re gonna be in a big mess.”37We are living in a time when people are wondering if there is a God, and if there is then where is He. Our society seems to be in chaos. We are seeing more and more school violence. We are seeing more drug and alcohol abuse. Society is becoming increasingly violent. The family structure is under attack by those who are trying to redefine what God calls a marriage. Those who do stand for righteousness are called intolerant. We have churches on every corner, but that does not seem to make much of a difference. Personal morality among Christians is not much different than that of the world.?So, where is God?38A couple had two little boys, ages 8 and 10, who were excessively mischievous. They were always getting into trouble and their parents knew that, if any mischief occurred in their town, their sons were probably involved. The boys’ mother heard that a clergyman in town had been successful in disciplining children, so she asked if he would speak with her boys. The clergyman agreed, but asked to see them individually. So the mother sent her 8-year-old first, in the morning, with the older boy to see the clergyman in the afternoon. The clergyman, a huge man with a booming voice, sat the younger boy down and asked him sternly, "Where is God?" The boy’s mouth dropped open, but he made no response, sitting there with his mouth hanging open, wide-eyed. So the clergyman repeated the question in an even sterner tone, "Where is God!" Again the boy made no attempt to answer. So the clergyman raised his voice even more and shook his finger in the boy’s face and bellowed, "WHERE IS GOD!" The boy screamed and bolted from the room, ran directly home and dove into his closet, slamming the door behind him. When his older brother found him in the closet, he asked, "What happened?" The younger brother, gasping for breath, replied "We are in BIG trouble this time, dude. God is missing - and they think WE did it!"Although it may feel like God is absent, He is ever present. Just imagine what would happen to the universe if God were to completely remove His hand from it. 39He was just a little lad,?and on the week's first day,Was wandering home from Sunday School,?and dawdling on the way.He scuffed his shoes into the grass;?he found a caterpillarHe found a fluffy milkweed pod,and blew out all the filler.A bird's nest in a tree o'er head?so wisely placed and highWas just another wonder?caught by his eager eye.A neighbor watched his zig zag course,and hailed him from the lawn Asked him where he'd been that day,and what was going on.''Oh, I've been to Sunday School,(He carefully turned a sod,And found a snail beneath it);I've learned a lot about God''''M'm'm, a very fine way,'' the neighbor said,?''for a boy to spend his time;If you'll tell where God is?I'll give you a brand new dime.''Quick as a flash his answer came!?Nor were his accents faint -''I'll give you a dollar mister,if you tell me where God ain't.''40That boy had the right kind of answer and the right kind of attitude… It’s interesting that the book of Genesis starts out with the same answer. It simply says "In the beginning… God”It’s all God’s.?Everything is His. Once we figure that out, everything else in Scripture begins to makes sense. But we have to START with God.41References ................
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