Lesson 1: In The Beginning- Creation To Egyptian Bondage
By Paul R. Blake
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). This begins the Bible, the account of the origin of all things in the world and in the universe above it. It is a narrative given by God through His Holy Spirit to approximately forty men who faithfully wrote it down word for word. The Bible is God’s revelation of Himself to humankind; it contains the origin of all things, the history of the world from the beginning, explanations of God’s interaction with human beings, and complete disclosures of His wisdom, instruction, and commandments for everyone in the world. When we read and study it carefully and prayerfully, we can know God who made us, where we came from, why we are here, what God wants to do while we are in this world, and where we will go when we leave this life. (Ecclesiastes 12:13; 2Timothy 3:16-17)
God created all things in six days. Genesis chapter one tells us that He created light on the first day, He separated earth from sky on the second day, He made bodies of land and water and covered the land with plant life on the third day, He generated the sun, moon and stars on the fourth day bringing about the separation of day and night. He filled the waters with fish and the skies with birds on the fifth day, and on day six He created all animal life. After making all of the animals, He crowned His creative works by forming human beings in His own image and after His own likeness. God called all of His creation “good.” (Genesis 1:1-31) He created all of these things by commanding them to exist. (Hebrews 11:3)
The two people He created were named Adam and Eve. They were innocent and childlike in understanding and in spirit. God placed them in the Garden of Eden and united them together in a lifetime bond of marriage, instructing them to take care of the Garden and enjoy it, but that they must not eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. (Genesis 2:8-25) The Serpent tempted Eve with appeals to her hunger and ambition, and she ate the fruit and sinned. Eve then gave the fruit to Adam and he ate it, bringing both of them into God’s displeasure. (Genesis 3:1-13) As a result of their sin, they were expelled from the Garden and from access to the Tree of Life, and made to work hard and bear children and eventually die. (Genesis 3:14-24) However, He did not leave humankind without hope. While He was punishing them for their sins, He was at the same time promising the coming of One who would take away their sins (Genesis 3:15).
Adam and Eve had three sons: Cain, Abel, and Seth. The two older sons offered sacrifices to God; Abel gave God what He commanded, and Cain substituted a sacrifice of his own choosing. When God favored Abel for doing what was right, Cain killed his brother out of envy. Cain, like his parents, learned the hard way that it is better to do what is right and please God, rather than do wrong and please himself. (Genesis 4:1-14; 1John 3:12)
Several generations later, it seems that the whole world had fallen into the habitual practice of sin. Evil was so prevalent among humankind that God decided to destroy all living things on the planet with a worldwide flood. However, He noted that there were eight persons who living righteously among all of the sinners: Noah, his wife, their three sons, and their wives. God commanded Noah to build an ark, a large floating craft that would safely house him and his family and two of all living creatures on the earth. (Genesis 6:1-22) Noah built the ark according to God’s instructions, and when the flood came, he and his family and the animals were saved by floating on the same water that killed everyone else. After the waters receded, the ark came to rest, the passengers disembarked, and the earth was replenished and refreshed. (Genesis 7:7 - 8:19) God gave Noah the sign of the rainbow as a promise that He would never again destroy the earth with a flood. In the end of time, God has planned to destroy the earth with fire. (Genesis 9:12-17; 2Peter 3:1-13)
Over time, human beings decided to disregard God’s instruction to scatter and populate the whole earth; instead, they chose to remain in a single location and build a tower that was little more than a monument to their arrogance. God confused the language of the people of Babel; and because they could not communicate, they abandoned their tower and began to spread around the world. (Genesis 11:1-9) But as is often the case over time, men often depart from God’s way. It was not long before most people drifted into idolatry and forgot the One True God who made them and cared for them. (Psalm 14:1-3; Romans 3:23)
Once again, God chooses a righteous man with whom He would make a covenant and give him blessings and promises. Abraham and his wife Sarah were told to leave their home in Ur of the Chaldees and to become nomads in the Middle East. Abraham’s faith in God was strong, and he did exactly what he was told. God gave Abraham three great promises, which while Abraham never saw the fulfillment of them in his lifetime, he knew that God would certainly keep His promise in His own time and according to His Divine wisdom. God promised Abraham a land for his descendants; it would eventually be the territory of Israel ruled from Jerusalem. He promised Him a great nation; it would eventually be the nation of Israel from which such great men as Moses, Samuel, David, Solomon, Isaiah, and Daniel would come. And God promised Abraham that through his descendants, all people of the earth would be blessed, and that promise was fulfilled in his descendant Jesus Christ. (Genesis 12:1-5; Hebrews 11:8-16)
Abraham lived righteously throughout his life; he walked by faith. It was his exemplary faith that moved him to obey the Lord without hesitation when God told him to offer his only son Isaac as a sacrifice. Even though an angel was sent to stop him from killing his son, Abraham’s faith in God moved him to the kind of obedience that sets a standard for the faith and obedience we must have toward God today. (Genesis 22:1-18: Romans 4:9-22; Hebrews 11:17-19)
The beginning of the fulfillment of the promise of a great nation took place through Abraham’s grandson Jacob. Jacob had twelve sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asshur, Issachar, Zebulon, Joseph, and Benjamin. From these sons eventually developed the Twelve Tribes of Israel. (Genesis 29:32 - 30:24)
Joseph was Jacob’s favorite son, and this caused his ten older brothers to be jealous of him. They underhandedly sold him as a slave bound for Egypt, where Joseph was made to serve Potiphar, an important military man in Pharaoh’s court. (Genesis 37:18-36) Potiphar’s wife attempted to lead Joseph into fornication, but he refused to sin against God by having an affair with her. She lied about him, and he was imprisoned for it. (Genesis 39:7-20) God did not forget Joseph; He gave him the ability to interpret dreams. He became so well known for this that eventually he was brought before Pharaoh to interpret his dreams. Joseph spoke of coming periods of abundance and famine, and Pharaoh was so impressed that he placed Joseph in charge of collecting the abundance in the prosperous years and dispersing it during the years of scarcity. (Genesis 41:1-44)
During the years of famine, Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to buy supplies, and it was there that they were reunited with their brother. From his position of authority, he refused to exact revenge on them for selling him as a slave, but instead had them bring their families to Egypt where they could be together once again. It was in the land of Egypt that the family of Jacob began to grow into the nation of Israel. (Genesis 42 - 50)
However, as time passed a Pharaoh rose to power that did not remember Joseph and his good works and chose to make slaves of the Israelites. (Exodus 1:8-14) This was intolerable to God. He purposed to bring His people out of Egyptian bondage and bring them to the land He promised them long ago through Abraham. God chose Moses as His deliverer and lawgiver for the children of Israel. (Exodus 2:24-25, 3:4-20)
All of the long years from the Creation to the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage, God gave His instructions for humankind to the heads of households called patriarchs. This period or dispensation of time in which God spoke to the heads of household directly is called the Patriarchal Age. When Moses gives the Law of God to Israel at Mount Sinai, the covenant of God with His people called the Patriarchal Age will end, and the covenant of God with His people called the Mosaic Age will begin. This will be discussed in lesson two.
The beginning of the fulfillment of the promise of a great nation took place through Abraham’s grandson Jacob. Jacob had twelve sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asshur, Issachar, Zebulon, Joseph, and Benjamin. From these sons eventually developed the Twelve Tribes of Israel. (Genesis 29:32 - 30:24)
Joseph was Jacob’s favorite son, and this caused his ten older brothers to be jealous of him. They underhandedly sold him as a slave bound for Egypt, where Joseph was made to serve Potiphar, an important military man in Pharaoh’s court. (Genesis 37:18-36) Potiphar’s wife attempted to lead Joseph into fornication, but he refused to sin against God by having an affair with her. She lied about him, and he was imprisoned for it. (Genesis 39:7-20) God did not forget Joseph; He gave him the ability to interpret dreams. He became so well known for this that eventually he was brought before Pharaoh to interpret his dreams. Joseph spoke of coming periods of abundance and famine, and Pharaoh was so impressed that he placed Joseph in charge of collecting the abundance in the prosperous years and dispersing it during the years of scarcity. (Genesis 41:1-44)
During the years of famine, Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to buy supplies, and it was there that they were reunited with their brother. From his position of authority, he refused to exact revenge on them for selling him as a slave, but instead had them bring their families to Egypt where they could be together once again. It was in the land of Egypt that the family of Jacob began to grow into the nation of Israel. (Genesis 42 - 50)
However, as time passed a Pharaoh rose to power that did not remember Joseph and his good works and chose to make slaves of the Israelites. (Exodus 1:8-14) This was intolerable to God. He purposed to bring His people out of Egyptian bondage and bring them to the land He promised them long ago through Abraham. God chose Moses as His deliverer and lawgiver for the children of Israel. (Exodus 2:24-25, 3:4-20)
All of the long years from the Creation to the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage, God gave His instructions for humankind to the heads of households called patriarchs. This period or dispensation of time in which God spoke to the heads of household directly is called the Patriarchal Age. When Moses gives the Law of God to Israel at Mount Sinai, the covenant of God with His people called the Patriarchal Age will end, and the covenant of God with His people called the Mosaic Age will begin. This will be discussed in lesson two.
Scriptures Used In Text
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