Happy New Year Covenant Baptist! Welcome to our first of 66 Bible book overview studies in Genesis to Revelation over the next two years. We’ll produce one video and per book in the Bible. It’s the “Genesis” of our journey through the Scriptures in 2025–2026.

The video will be a bit longer this week because the book is so big and it’s the first one and we will do it most of the month in Community Group. This video is designed for those who cannot attend all our studies to give you some of the content we will cover together so you can better benefit when you read the book.

Going Deeper: Resources on Genesis

Supplementary Podcast: Bible Talk

Childrens Book

Genesis 1–2

Men and Women in Creation (Genesis 1-2 - 9 Marks)

Eden as a Garden Temple: Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord? (Ligonier)

A Summary of the Presbyterian Church of America (Reformed) 2000 Report on the length of the Days of Creation

PDF of PCA Report of the Creation Study Committee

Genesis 3

Ligionier Article: Missing The Mark by Richard Phillips

Genesis 7

A Door of Safety in a Time of Judgment by Warren Gage

Genesis 8–10

The Noahic Covenant

The Symbolism of the Rainbow by Nicholas Batzig

Genesis 17: Is the Abrahamic Covenant About Circumcision?

Genesis 21–23

 Kill Your Son, Abraham: Making Sense of a Shocking Command by Alex Duke

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Question 1: The identity of the Nephilim

The Nephilim

The identity of the Nephilim in Genesis 6:1-4. This is a very interesting and challenging question over which there is much debate. There are several answers that are possible and so it is not essential to our understanding of the Gospel, it's more curiosity which is fine. It does however have implications about how you interpret other passages in Scripture. This article from Answer in Genesis (a young earth Creation/Apologetics ministry) is helpful because they don't take a position on this issue and so I believe they are trying to represent the different points of view in evangelical Christianity fairly). 

A Reformed Baptist Network (RBNet) pastor, Doug Van Dorn (Boulder CO) who is a friend of mine has studied and written extensively on this issue in a very interesting book called "Giants: Sons of the Gods" (Doug was interviewed in the RBNET podcast by Mark Chanski). While I would not necessarily endorse his view (and actually when I preached through Genesis I took a different one - the traditional Sethite view), I think he has some interesting points and if I were preaching through Genesis again, which I may do, I would want to revisit the issue because there are significant. If you want a quick summary of his perspective, this book review is helpful (but critical) of his position.

Question 2: When were the angels and Satan created?

Exact question: Which day among the six do you suppose the supernatural beings (angels, cherubim, seraphim etc) were created? How would you reconcile the events in Isaiah 14 (Satan’s fall) with a 6-day creation view?

Since you are asking a direct question, I will attempt to give you a simple answer and then a hypothesis. The simple answer: We don't know for exact sure as the Bible doesn't explicitly name the day the angels and supernatural beings were created. (This will be similar to some other questions). We do have what we need to know for salvation which is the main thing, but, many of these details aren't detailed.

Ok Pastor Chris, we get it. So what's your best understanding? The hypothesis I would currently subscribe to with a complex argument behind it- the angels (including Satan) were created sometime between Day 1 and Day 3. That the devil was a created being is without doubt (see Ezekiel 28:15). This verse is also important in saying that he was created without sin: You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you. Ezekiel 28:15 (ESV). I would situate his creation before Day 3 in that Job 38:4–7 speaks of the angels singing in response to Creation. Admittedly, this is a poetic passage. But you asked, and this is my best understanding.

When did Satan fall? Sometime after Day 6 (and possibly after Day 7) as God's pronouncement that everything is created good would have to be true. But obviously before the events of Chapter 3.

As you asked for a young earth Creationist understanding of these questions and if you are seeking a more complex discussion, this is a helpful article.

Question 3: What was the function of the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden? 

Exact phrasing: What was the purpose of the tree of life in Gen 3:24? Why was this tree and its fruit available in pre-Fall Eden, when Adam and Eve could not die?

The answer to this is again somewhat speculative but it is based in Scripture. 

First - based on Genesis 3:22: "Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” the tree was banned after the Fall because in eating of it after the Fall, Adam and Eve would live forever and would not experience the plan of redemption that God had laid out with death and resurrection being a part of it. They were banned so that they would not live forever in a sin cursed world.

But what role did the Tree of Life play BEFORE the Fall? Well, the only tree they were banned from eating before the Fall was the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen. 2:17). Thus they could have eaten of the Tree of life Before the Fall, but, it wasn't a "one and done" thing as the fruit of the tree and the leaves are described as for "healing": "The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." Revelation 22:2. This suggests ongoing sustenance. We were created for a dependent relationship with God. The picture of the tree in Scripture is one of sanctification, an ongoing process. It's possible the tree was meant to sustain life endlessly as long as one continued to consume it. Again this is speculative. 

John Gill (1697–1771) - an old Baptist theologian - has an interesting thought on the tree of life and it's relation to Jesus Christ. You can read that here.

Question 4: God's Prohibition

Genesis 2:16-17 said that God commanded Adam but Eve was not there. Could it be that Adam did not properly communicate this command to Eve?

Answer: Eve knew the command because she corrected the serpent on it in Genesis 3:2 "2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die."

The larger issue is that Adam did not protect the Garden (he failed to "guard" the garden - the task eventually given to the Cherubim in 3:24 to guard the way to the tree of life.

Question 5: Old Testament Tithing

In Gen 28:22, Jacob says, “And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.” I thought this was interesting because it was before the giving of the law. So, was the concept of tithing something God just made intuitive to His people before the law was given to Moses? Or was there a an existing cultural practice in the region that would have informed Jacob’s decision to give one-tenth?

In our membership process, everyone gets a copy of a short booklet written by a former elder of CBC called "A Biblical Pattern of Giving" - this is what it says about Jacob (and Abraham's) tithe: "Old Testament Giving— The first references to tithing in the Old Testament are found in the historical accounts of Abraham (Gen. 14:20) and Jacob (Gen. 28:22). These passages suggest that tithing was a common practice. Indeed, tithing was practiced by several ancient civilizations. Abraham and Jacob's tithes demonstrate a sense of indebtedness to God, a concept which is seen throughout Scripture. 

The law of Moses provides a much fuller view of giving, particularly as it applies in a community setting. Tithing forms a significant role in this teaching. While the Old Testament teaches that Israel's tithes belonged to the Lord, the act of giving the tenth served as an acknowledgment that all that they possessed belonged to God."

The reality is that much of the law given to Moses at Sinai was already communicated to and being practiced by the people of God prior to it's formal codification.

Genesis 30

God miraculously intervened to produce a flock of very healthy speckled and spotted sheep to thwart Laban's wicked selfishness and to bless Jacob.

More complex answer that is somewhat speculative (so I would not take it as "gospel" truth) but fleshes out the questions about the genetics and the possible medicinal qualities of the sticks which supported the miraculous flourishing of speckled and spotted sheep is found here

Genesis 33–34

Today’s reading is a difficult scripture to read. It points to the truthfulness of the Scriptures because Moses writing with the aid of the Holy Spirit does not pull punches in terms of exposing the wickedness of Jacob and his sons. Ligon Duncan’s article here is a helpful guide through a difficult passage. What I think is important to see is that our decisions have consequences, especially as parents. Dinah’s situation was compromised by her father‘s compromise in terms of where they chose to live amongst the Canaanites when he was supposed to go back to his land. It’s also important to see that vengeance (even if it is for great wickedness like rape) properly belongs to the Lord and not men to ensure proper and proportional justice. See The Vengeance of the Sons of Jacob by Dr. Ligon Duncan

Genesis 37—38

Judah, Tamar and Jesus
Some of you may remember Pastor James (Grizzly) Adams a gifted pastor and one of the fathers of modern Reformed Baptist Missions who spoke at our Camp Shalom in 2019. He is a mentor to me and was a classmate of my father. He is known for writing and preaching on difficult passages of Scripture. He has an excellent book that was published on the imprecatory Psalms (War Songs of the Prince of Peace).

It is not easy to find material on Genesis 38 (Judah and Tamar) as it is a hard chapter of Scripture. There are few or little articles on popular sites. But since this is Scripture it helps us to hear what the Lord would say to us as we seek to understand a difficult passage. Dr. Adams helps us think about this text in this short sermon.

As we approach the end of Genesis this is a helpful way to step back and appreciate what we've read. Three Things you should know about Genesis by T. Desmond Alexander

Genesis 41

So I was out all yesterday until later in the evening, so, I wasn't able to post these in time.  But given Joseph's dreams, some may wonder about the role of how God speaks to us today.  Two links to help:

Ligon Duncan

Sinclair Ferguson

Gen 48-49

Reflecting today on the crossed blessing of Ephraim and Mannesseh so interesting. 

And of course the messianic prophecy of Judah out of which the Lion of Judah emerges! This post examines this Christological prophesy.

I don’t have it handy but a great book on Jacob’s life that is on my reading list is “Gods Rascal” by Dale Ralph Davis