Introductory Note: Hey all! It’s great to be back. Just some information up front. The answers will be found under BSF Genesis on the side bar. It might take a couple of weeks for it to show up since the side bar is determined by popularity so be patient! Until then, you can use the search in the side bar or scroll down to find the answers.
Summary of passage: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void but the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
1st Day: God made light and He saw it was good. He separated light from dark. He called light “day” and dark “night.”
2nd Day: God separated the waters to create sky.
3rd Day: He let the dry ground appear, which He named “land” and the gathered waters he called “seas”. Then the land produced vegetation–all of which God saw was good.
4th Day: God made the sun, moon, and stars to be used as signs to mark the seasons, days, and years; to give light on the earth; to govern the day and the night; and to separate light from darkness. God saw that it was good.
5th Day: God created the great creatures of the sea as well as every winged bird. He blessed them to multiply and fill the earth. He saw it was good.
6th Day: God created living creatures on the land and all the wild animals and He saw it was good. He made man in His own image to rule over all the earth and its creatures. God blessed them and told them to be fruitful and rule. He gave man every green plant for food and everything that has the breath of life in it. God saw that it was very good.
Questions:
3a) God is the subject of most sentences followed by an action verb (said, saw, created, called, made, set, blessed). It’s all about God. His name is used 30 times in Chapter 1. He’s the center. Nothing happens in this chapter without Him. It’s true now. He’s the center and nothing happens in this world without Him.
b) The word let is very common in English. I sense no pompousness here or a great booming voice–just God casually (yet purposefully) creating all. Let means “to cause to or make” according to Webster’s Dictionary. God is causing or making all.
Another meaning of let in Webster’s Dictionary is the imperative (command) form here, meaning to introduce a request or proposal. It’s a command yet it’s gentle.
“It was so” means everything God spoke was. He is omnipotent and Chapter 1 of Genesis shows this clearly.
4) He saw that all He had made was very good (verse 31)
5a) Jeremiah 10:12: God made everything by His power, wisdom, and understanding
Acts 17:24-25: God made the world and is therefore Lord and He does not need anything because He’s the ultimate (and the first) giver.
Romans 1:18-20: Since God is the Creator His eternal and divine qualities are in everything.
b) Personal Question. My answer: This is a stupid question. Why doesn’t BSF just come out and say the word “evolution” instead of tip-toeing around it? Obviously, if you are a believer, then you believe in the Creation and not in Evolution. It’s the first words of the Bible. This alone speaks to its significance.
Conclusions: I felt silly summarizing Genesis 1, the most popular and probably well-known chapter in the entire Bible. But I had never listed out each individual day before so I learned the sequence of Creation.
I think we must be careful not to get too comfortable with this study. Most of us know the stories in Genesis like the back of our hand. But do we know the significance of the stories?
I know I don’t. This is why I am doing this study.
Some fun facts I already learned: The Bible would not make much sense without the book of Genesis. Almost every fundamental doctrine begins here: sin, redemption, the power of God, the purpose of Jesus Christ, and justification.
Moses is believed to have written the book of Genesis (Luke 24:27, 44).
Genesis is quoted in the New Testament over 150 times.
I pray everyone has a deep and meaningful study in the book of Genesis and that perhaps you glean something here.