ADULT

Lesson CommentaryFall Quarter, 2020

CONTENTS

About the Writers 3 Lesson 1 The Beginning of Creation 7 Genesis 1:1-25

Lesson 2 The Beginning of Mankind 18 Genesis 1:26—2:25

Lesson 3 The Beginning of Sin on Earth 28 Genesis 3:1-24

Lesson 4 The Fruit of Sin 38 Genesis 4; 5

Lesson 5 The Grace of God in a Sinful World 48 Genesis 6:1-22

Lesson 6 The World That Perished 59 Genesis 7; 8

Lesson 7 God’s Covenant with the Present World 70 Genesis 9:1-29

Lesson 8 The Failure of Our Ancestors 80 Genesis 10:1—11:32

Lesson 9 Prosperity, Adversity and Misery 92 Job 1:1—2:10

Lesson 10 Miserable Comforters 103 Job 2:11—31:40

Lesson 11 Words from a Young Man 114 Job 32—37

Lesson 12 A Message from the Lord 124 Job 38:1—41:34

Lesson 13 Repentance, Submission and Blessing 134 Job 42:1-17

Bibliography 143

Vol. 21, No. 2, Fall Quarter, 2020. Editor in Chief: Kyle W. Elkins, kyle.elkins@bogardstore.org Business Manager: Dean Grigsby, dean.grigsby@bogardstore.org © 2020, Bogard Press, 4605 N. State Line Ave., Texarkana, TX 75503-2928 www.bogardpress.org; 1-800-264-2482

American Baptist AssociationThrough-the-Bible Series Sunday School Lessons

2029 John 13—21

Ezra; NehemiahHabakkuk; Haggai

Malachi; Esther

1 Peter2 Peter

1, 2, 3 JohnJude

2020

EzekielDaniel

ZechariahRevelation 1—11 Revelation 12—22

Genesis 1—11Job

2021 Genesis 12—50 Matthew 1—13 Matthew 14—28 Exodus

2022 Romans

LeviticusNumbers

DeuteronomyHebrews

JoshuaJudgesRuth

2023 Acts 1—14 Acts 15—28

1 Samuel2 Samuel 1—4

1 Chronicles 1 —10Mark 1—8

2024 Mark 9—16

2 Samuel 5—241 Chronicles 11—29

1 Kings 1; 2

James1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians

Psalms 1—72

2025 Psalms 73—150 Galatians

1 Kings 3—222 Chronicles 1—24

2 Kings 1—13Joel; Obadiah

1 Corinthians

2028 Ephesians

1 Timothy2 Timothy

Titus

JeremiahLamentations2 Kings 24; 25

2 Chronicles 36

John 1—12

Winter Spring Summer Fall

2026

ProverbsEcclesiastes

Song of SolomonLuke 1—13:21 Luke 13:22—24

Hosea; Amos;Micah; Jonah;

2 Kings 14—162 Chronicles 25—28

2027 2 Corinthians

Isaiah 1—392 Chronicles 29—32

2 Kings 17—20Nahum

Isaiah 40—662 Kings 21—23

2 Chronicles 33—35Zephaniah

PhilemonPhilippiansColossians

About the WritersRecognized for their knowledge, wisdom and understanding of the Holy

Scriptures, the writers of the Adult Lesson Commentary are faithful pastors, teachers and spiritual leaders among the Lord’s churches. The following are biographical notes about these men.

Todd Dornan was born in Salinas, California in 1971. He was saved at the age of seventeen and baptized by the authority of the Clovis Missionary Baptist Church in 1988. In 1989, he surrendered to preach following his high school graduation. Brother Dornan enlisted in the U.S. Army in January of 1989 prior to his graduation. He departed for Fort Knox, Kentucky for basic training and schooling in August of 1989. Upon graduating from his training, he was stationed in Fort Hood, Texas. Brother Dornan is a Desert Storm combat veteran and was honorably discharged in 1993.

While serving in the Army, Brother Dornan married his wife Jenny in 1990. They have three beautiful children together, Samantha, Jacob and Adam. His daughter is married to Tyler Wookey and together they have produced a handsome boy, Elijah. After leaving the military, Brother Dornan enrolled in the Missionary Baptist Seminary in Little Rock, Arkansas. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Bible Languages and one in Theology. Several years later, he completed his Master’s Degree in Theology at Fresno Missionary Baptist Institute in Fresno, California. While in seminary, he served as youth pastor at Saline Missionary Baptist Church in Tull, Arkansas until 1997. Upon graduating seminary, Brother Dornan was ordained by the Saline MBC and went home to California to pastor the First MBC of Meiner’s Oaks, California. Since then, he has pastored El Nido MBC in El Nido, California and is the current pastor at Denair MBC in Denair, California. He may be contacted at todddornan@charter.net

Larry Crouch was born in Toulumne, California in 1942, was saved in 1952 and baptized by the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Sacramento. He surrendered to preach on August 4, 1957, at the Bayshore Missionary Baptist Church in Vallejo, California. The Landmark Missionary Baptist Church in South Gate, California ordained him in May of 1963. He has pastored in the states of Washington and California. He received his Bachelor of Theology Degree from California Missionary Baptist Institute

in Bellflower, California, and his Master and Doctor of Theology degrees from Fresno Missionary Baptist Institute, in Fresno, California. The school in Fresno also conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1998. He is a member of the California and the American Baptist Association History and Archives Committees. He has taught Prison Epistles, Hermeneutics and Journalism. He has taught Systematic Theology, Church History, Major and Minor Prophets and the Pentateuch at the seminary in Fresno. Brother and Sister Crouch have been blessed with three children, Lance, Kari and Zachary and six grandchildren. Brother Crouch may be contacted at pastorcrouch@gmail.com.

Mark Thornton was saved in 1970 and baptized by Emmanuel MBC of Malvern, AR. He surrendered to preach in 1977 at age 16, and has served as pastor: Big Creek MBC of Malvern, AR, 1980-1986 and 2005-present; Liberty MBC of Little Rock, 1986-1997; First Baptist Church of Bryant, AR, 1997-2005. He has taught at the Missionary Baptist Seminary in Little Rock since 1989. His classes have included English, Hebrew, Greek, and Hermeneutics. He has written for the Searchlight, including a series on “Where We Got Our Bible.”

In 2004 he earned a Doctor of Bible Languages degree from the seminary and attended the University of Haifa in Israel where he studied Hebrew in a summer intensive language school. He has also completed online Hebrew courses from Israel. He and his wife, Brenda, have two sons, Matthew and Steven, and three grandsons, Landon, Luke and Micah. They also have a granddaughter named Avery. Brother Thornton may be contacted at refthorn@yahoo.com.

Book of Genesis Introduction

The Book of Genesis is a book of beginnings. The word Genesis is derived from the Hebrew word bereshiyth which is mentioned in the very first verse of the Bible. It is translated “in the beginning” (Genesis 1:1). Its Greek coun-terpart is geneseos which is used in the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Old Testament, which is used in Genesis 2:4. This word can be used to refer to origin, birth or generation. So the book which bears the name Genesis declares the beginning or origin of all things. This also includes the generations of men. The author of Genesis is ultimately God. The apostle Paul wrote, “All scrip-ture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). The Lord used men to pen His Word by moving upon the human authors through the agency of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). One such man was Moses. Moses is attributed to writing the first five books of the Bible. These five books are referred to as the Torah or Law. The Scripture itself identifies Moses as the author. For example, Jesus testified, “And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me” (Luke 24:44). Men in the New Testament also acknowledged Moses’ authorship. “Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (John 1:45). There is a majority agreement among biblical scholars that Moses wrote the book of Genesis even though in the book itself the author is not identified. The time of writing the book of Genesis is approximately 1450 BC. Genesis covers the time from creation to approximately 1600 BC. Within this time, the following outline will demonstrate the progression from creation to the estab-lishment of nations and civilizations:

1. The beginning of the universe, 1:1-25 2 .The creation of man, 1:26—2:25 3. The fall of man, 3:1-24 4. The beginning of children, 4:1-15 5. The development of civilization, 4:16-24 6 .The lineage of faith, 4:25—5:32 7 .The flood account, 6:1—9:29 8. The development of nations, 10:1—11:32 9. The life of Abraham, 12:1—25:1110. The life of Isaac, 21:1—37:29

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11. The life of Jacob, 25:24—50:1412. The life of Joseph, 37:1—50:26

The key verse in Genesis is found in 3:15 which states, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” This verse declares the first promise of the coming Redeemer. In the first two chapters, Moses records the perfection of all creation and the complete innocence of man. Chapter 3 declares how man sinned against God and sin’s consequences. Because of this tragedy, God prom-ised to destroy the tempter, Satan, which would ultimately bring injury to the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, and provide redemption for mankind. The remaining chapters develop the story of God’s faithfulness by bringing about His eternal purpose in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 3:11; 1 Peter 1:20; Revelation 13:8).

In the Beginning (Genesis 1:1, 2)

The first words of the Bible describe the when, the who and the what of creation. There is a debate in the world concerning the origin of all things. Genesis 1:1 settles the debate. The very words penned by Moses under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is foundational to Christian belief.

The When of Creation The words “In the beginning” (Genesis 1:1) is derived from a compound word in Hebrew—bere’shiyth. Literally translated it would read “In beginning.” The Brown-Drivers-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon gives this definition, “First phase, step, or element in course of events” (912). Theodore Epp wrote, “The first word in the Hebrew Bible, translated ‘in the beginning,’ refers to the absolute beginning of created things. This is finality. You cannot go beyond this. There is nothing beyond this but God. Genesis records the beginning of time. It does not record when the beginning was, but it clearly states the fact that there was a begin-ning. In the beginning of time, God created ‘the heaven and the earth.’ These had no existence before this time of special creation” (Vol. 1, 15).

The Who of Creation In the world’s educational system, the Big Bang Theory is man’s attempt to explain the origin of all things. The apostle Paul stated, “For the wrath of God

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Lesson 1 September 6, 2020

The Beginning of Creation

Genesis 1:1-25

Beginning Word Study #7225

Genesis 1:1. The first Hebrew word in the Bible, “bereshith,” pronounced be-ray-sheeth, has a prefixed preposition meaning “in” attached to the noun and means in beginning, or at the start Always in the singular, it refers to the start of a particular time (creation, reign of a king or ruler), or the beginning of the crops for harvest (firstfruit). The root word has the idea of head According to Jesus in Mark 10:6, the beginning would include the time of the sixth day when God created Adam and Eve Here it refers to that first week when God created everything There has only been one starting point or beginning of creation

is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened” (Romans 1:18-21). Man, because of his depraved nature, denies the very existence of God and therefore, has derived an attempted explanation of the origin of everything in the universe. To deny such theories, one must come to the conclusion that there is a Creator. So, The Big Bang Theory is a popular explanation of life’s origins as proposed by those who refuse to believe in the existence of God. Dr. Jason Lisle, in an article written called “Does the Big Bang Fit with the Bible?” states a description of the theory. “It proposes that billions of years ago the universe began in a tiny, infinitely hot and dense point called a singu-larity. This singularity supposedly contained not only all the mass and energy that would become everything we see today, but also ‘space’ itself” (Ham, Vol. 2, 103). He continues to explain in this article that this heated energy cooled down and the universe expanded and in doing so matter came to be which eventually caused the development of stars and galaxies. However, The Big Bang Theory contradicts the Genesis account of creation. It is God who created all things! Genesis 1:1, 2 does not set out to prove the existence of God but assumes the reader has knowledge that there is a Creator which is God. The writer of Hebrews states, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). There are two irrefutable ways by which one can argue for the existence of God, the Word of God and creation itself. However, for a man to ultimately believe, it takes faith. The Bible declares, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good” (Psalm 14:1). Creation itself is evidence of God’s existence. Psalm 19:1 states, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.” Since Genesis declares God’s existence, an examination of the Hebrew word for God is in order. Elohim is the plural form of the Hebrew noun El. According to the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, El is defined as “God, god, mighty one, strength” (Vol. 1, 41). If the Bible student takes in consideration the definition and the plurality of the noun itself, then one may conclude we are speaking about more than one God or mighty ones. However, there is just one God. Deuteronomy 6:4 declares, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord.” In addition to this passage in Deuteronomy, the Hebrew construction of the word Elohim is coupled with a verb “created” which is singular in form. The Bible teaches that God (Elohim) is three persons in one. Here the Bible doctrine of the Trinity is introduced. In Genesis 1:26, the Triune God stated, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them

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The Beginning of Creation / 9

have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” The “us” in this text is referring to God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. All three comprise Elohim, and all three persons were involved in creation. Perhaps, there is no subject more difficult for the finite mind to understand than that of the Trinity. However, the truth of the Trinity is expressed throughout the Scriptures. God the Father is the architect and designer of all creation. He is the One who displayed His power by speaking the world into existence. It is the Father who gave men life. “For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else” (Isaiah 45:18). God the Son, who is Jesus Christ, is the One who brought the world into existence. The apostle John declared, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1-3). Paul said to the Colossians, “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him” (Colossians 1:16). Jesus is the manifestation of God in the flesh (John 1:14). God the Father is not one God and the Son another. Jesus said, “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30). Jesus also replied to Phillip’s request for Jesus to show him the Father, “Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?” (John 14:9). Lastly, Paul wrote to the Colossians concerning Jesus, “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9). God the Holy Spirit is the energizing or moving force of creation. In Genesis 1:2, “The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” Job testified of His work in creation, “By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent” (Job 26:13) and “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life” (Job 33:4). The Psalmist also wrote, “Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth” (Psalm 104:30). After examining the word Elohim and understanding how God is revealed in three persons yet being one God, there are two other attributes to consider. First, God is eternal. Before the creation of the universe and all life, God existed. God is not a created being, He has always existed. In several passages in the Bible, God is referred to as “the everlasting God” (Genesis 21:33; Isaiah 40:28; Romans 16:26) and “the eternal God” (Deuteronomy 33:27). Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, is eternal (John 1:1-3; 8:58; 17:5, 24; Colossians 1:17). The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, is also eternal according to Hebrews 9:14, “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from

dead works to serve the living God?” The Creator is not a created being and He has no beginning nor ending. The significance of an eternal God is great when considering creation. It answers the question by many, “Who created matter and life?” If God was created, then He would not be eternal and there would be something greater than Himself. Everything created begins with the eternal God. Therefore, one must agree with Isaiah when he writes, “But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand” (Isaiah 64:8). The second attribute to consider is His omnipotence or God being all-powerful. Two concepts to examine when consid-ering how powerful God is as revealed in Genesis 1:1 and 1:3: “created” and “God said.” Within these two concepts lies the method and mode of His creation which reflects His omnipotence. The word “create” is from the Hebrew word bara. This word is only used when

God is the subject and it expresses the idea of something being created out from nothing. This truly magnifies the power which God has. It is an impos-sibility for man or any other creature to create something that never existed and bring it into being. Sure, man is creative at making cars, computers and so forth, but all the elements were in existence prior to man gathering the mate-rial and forming it into something. God literally called into existence proper-ties which did not exist. That is power! We often find another word associated with God’s creative power and ability, the word “form.” It is used in Genesis 2:7 when Moses recorded the words, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground.” This particular word is from the Hebrew verb yasar and simply speaks about molding or forming something into shape. Isaiah used both words, bara and yasar, when he said, “For thus saith the Lord that created [bara] the heavens; God himself that formed [yasar] the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created [bara] it not in vain, he formed [yasar] it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else” (Isaiah 45:18). Therefore, God created the very elements of the universe from nothing and He carefully formed man from the very elements He created. What a display of power! The second concept expressed in Genesis concerning God’s power are the words “God said.” God’s spoken Word is so powerful that when God created some-

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Created Word Study #1254

Genesis 1:1. The Hebrew word, bar’a, is used of God’s activity in bringing something into existence, or in making something or someone to exist. One may find places like Joshua 17:15, 18, that suggest the word could refer to activities a man may do This is another form or stem of the verb and it is debated if this is from the same root word Yet in the simple stem bar’a, create, is always something God does The idea is to bring something into existence that did not previously exist or have being Some have suggested that the idea is that God created or made things ex nihilo, or out of nothing However, an argument could be made that God created or made everything from Himself Such a thought would not be the same as the belief of pantheism which states that everything is God Yet, everything came from God He is the One and only Creator

The Beginning of Creation / 11

thing from nothing, He spoke it into existence. Hebrews 11:3 says, “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear,” and Psalm 33:6, “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.” Man cannot cause a dog to sit or a child to behave without proper training, but when God speaks, He commands the attention of all creation. When Jesus was upon the earth during His personal ministry, He commanded the winds and the seas to be still and they obeyed immediately (Matthew 8:26; Mark 4:39). Jesus also commanded the evil spirits to depart from a demonic possessed man, and they obeyed without hesitation (Matthew 8:28-32). There is no equivalent or greater power than what God possesses as creation testifies, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).

The What of Creation God created “the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). The word “heaven” is samayim in Hebrew and is in the plural form describing the sky and space. There is a reference to the third Heaven where God dwells according to the apostle Paul (2 Corinthians 12:2). The “earth” is in reference to the land. Genesis 1:1 is simply a statement of a completed fact. In examining the struc-ture of Genesis, this verse functions similar to the statements found in Genesis 2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10; 11:27; 25:12; 25:19; 36:1; 36:9 and 37:2. The repeated phrase “These are the generations of” state a fact; then, some of them have a narrative to go along with what is stated. Some of the narratives are longer than others; but put simply, it is the same concept in Genesis 1:1—Moses states a fact (God created) then explains how it came to be. This is important to remember as one considers Genesis 1:2. Genesis 1:2 begins by describing the earth in its beginning. There are three descriptions given: “The earth was without form, and void and dark-ness was upon the face of the deep.” The words “without form” are a single Hebrew word (tohu). This word is translated a number of different ways such as “vain” (1 Samuel 12:21), “waste” (Deuteronomy 32:10), “wilder-ness” (Psalm 107:40), “emptiness” (Job 26:7), “nought” (Isaiah 29:21). Context is vitally important for the proper understanding of this word and most scholars agree that tohu describes a formlessness. The second descrip-tion is “void” (bohu) (Genesis 1:2) which describes emptiness. Job states, “He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon

Without Form Word Study #8414

Genesis 1:2. The word, tohu, means unformed, formless, or emptiness Often defined as wilderness or wasteland, the notion of dry and barren land does not fit in Genesis 1:2 because water is covering the earth, Genesis 1:2, 9 It was an empty place, unformed and unfilled with living creatures It does not refer to a catastrophe but to the state of the earth before God formed and filled the earth in the six days of creation (See Exodus 20:11)

nothing” (Job 26:7). The final description is that “darkness was upon the face of the deep” (Genesis 1:2). In other words, there was an absence of light upon the earth that appears to be covered in water. The word “was” is from the Hebrew word hayah and is a verb of being. It could be translated as become or became. There’s a debate among scholars over the understanding and interpretation of hayah. Some scholars have taken the position that in Genesis 1:1 God created the heavens and the earth perfect and complete. Then they interpret Genesis 1:2 as what became of God’s perfect creation. This interpretation is referred to as the gap theory. Proponents of this theory believe there is a gap in time between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. They place the fall of Lucifer and the time of dinosaurs within this gap. Therefore, what is remaining in Genesis chapter 1 is the recreation of the earth after Luci-fer’s fall which gap theory scholars believe destroyed the earth. The language, according to the gap theorists in Genesis 1:2 is describing devastation. The book called The Bible in Eight Ages by L.D. Foreman contains a detailed expla-nation on the subject. Many scholars of the Bible also hold to this teaching. The other side of the debate is those who believe in a young earth. Young earthers take the position that Genesis 1:1 is a statement of fact and what follows is the description of how God created the heavens and the earth. One of the major reasons for rejecting the gap theory is the principle of sin and death prior to the fall of man recorded in Genesis 3. To have sin and death prior to the fall of man contradicts what Paul said in Romans 5:12, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Ken Ham, author and proponent of the young earth interpretation of Genesis, wrote a series of books with contri-butions from a variety of scientists and scholars. In one particular article, it states, “The Bible teaches in 1 Corinthians 15 that Adam was the first man, and as a result of his rebellion (sin), death, and corruption (disease, bloodshed, and suffering) entered the universe. Before Adam sinned, there could not have been any animal (nephesh) or human death” (Book 1, 53). Another Scripture to consider with the gap theory is Romans 8:22 as it states, “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” The context implies that the creation was inflicted with results of sin as Genesis 3 clearly states; therefore, the theory that Lucifer fell during this gap of time and the consequent destruction of the earth before the fall of man does not fit the literal interpretation of the Bible. There is simply not enough room in this commentary to fully consider the gap theory and young earth position adequately. From this point forward, the young earth position will be the interpretation given. However, any serious student of the Word of God would be wise in being diligent on his study of the Scriptures and understanding of God’s work in creation. Before moving on to the days of creation, there is one more part of Genesis 1:2 to consider. In the description of the earth God created, it states, “And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” The Hebrew word for “moved” is rachaph meaning to hover. A great picture of this word is used in Deuter-

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The Beginning of Creation / 13

onomy 32:11, “As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth (rachaph) over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings” (emphasis mine). With this translation in mind, the picture of Genesis 1:2 is the Holy Spirit hovering over the earth and participating in the creative acts of the Trinity.

The Days of Creation (Genesis 1:3-25)

As mentioned earlier, the repeated phrase “And God said” magnifies the power of God. It is an incredible thing to ponder that the Creator literally spoke creation into existence from nothing. Not only do we see the repeated phrase “And God said” but also two other phrases which are repeated: “That it was good” and “And the evening and the morning were the [number] day.” In examining the word “good,” the Hebrew word tob can convey a variety of nuances. The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament states, “This root refers to ‘good’ or ‘goodness’ in the broadest senses. Five general areas of meaning can be noted: 1) practical, economic, or material good, 2) abstract goodness such as desir-ability, pleasantness, and beauty, 3) quality or expense, 4) moral good-ness, and 5) technical philosophical good” (Vol. 1, 345). In considering all these senses, what God created is excellent and perfect. The quality of His creation coincides with His char-acter. God is good (Matthew 19:17) and everything He does and creates bears that same quality. The creation of all things before the fall of man was perfect in every way! The second repeated phrase concerning “the evening and the morning” (Genesis 1:5) marks each day of creation. God created the heavens and the earth and all that is contained therein in six days and on the seventh day God rested. The word “Day” is yom in Hebrew. It refers to the literal twenty-four hour period of time. In the receiving of the Law, Moses recorded, “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:11). Contextually, this verse is referring to the same literal day or twenty-four hour period. There are those who teach a day-age theory which suggest that each

Manna

The Power of the Voice and Command of God (Genesis 1:3): The first words of God recorded are found in this verse. “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” What God created, simply by uttering the words, was good. That is it was pleasant, agreeable or excellent. It fulfilled and completed the purpose God desired. Man can tell us what light does, yet he struggles to tell us what it is. Moses believed and knew the light came from God. Light by its nature, like our Lord, is constant. The speed and nature of light never changes. Light travels at the speed of 186,289 miles per second. Since the speed of light is constant, when the rate of speed is reached, time stands still. This was done by the power of God’s voice. “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God” (Hebrews 11:3).

day in Genesis equals one thousand years based upon the scripture in 2 Peter 3:8, “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” The proponents of the day-age theory, as with those who hold to the gap theory, use the “thousand years is a day” to agree with the science that suggests the earth is millions of years old. There is too little space to state all the objections of the day-age theory here, but the author would recommend that Bible students research the topic in order to understand all that is involved with this alternative theory. Simple Bible reading would suggest that a literal day is what is being taught in Genesis. In addition, the understanding of Hebrew culture concerning the marking of days which is from sunset to sunset or from approximately 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

The First Day The first day of creation involves the creation of light and the separation of light from darkness (Genesis 1:3-5). It is interesting to note that God consid-ered the light good. Throughout the Scriptures, there is an indication of light representing good and darkness as evil. One such scripture is 1 John 1:5, “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” God used the separation of light and darkness to indicate the difference of day and night which comprise a whole day.

The Second Day According to Genesis 1:6-8, on the second day of creation, God created the firmament. The word “firmament” is the Hebrew word raqia. The root word for raqia describes a “stamping, as with the foot, and what results, i.e. a spreading

out or stretching forth” (TWOT, Vol. 2, 861). Most commonly the word “firma-ment” is speaking about an expanse or a spatial area. In creating the firmament, God divided or separated the waters. There were waters upon the earth and waters above the firmament or spatial area which we would refer to as the sky. God called it heaven. This would be the first heaven where the birds would fly (Genesis 1:20). There is a theory that God created a water canopy over the earth,

and the waters of that canopy broke forth from the heaven which flooded the earth in Noah’s day (Genesis 7:11, 12).

The Third Day Genesis 1:9-13 records the third day of creation by which God gathered the waters and dry land was exposed. God then named the land, “Earth” and the

Firmament Word Study #7549

Genesis 1:6. Expanse (raqia) A word referring to the sky or Heaven that God made to divide the waters from the waters It is derived from a word that means to stretch out or spread out God would call it heaven or sky in Genesis 1:8 which indicates His ownership or control over it

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The Beginning of Creation / 15

waters, “the Seas” (verse 10). God then prepared everything necessary to support life upon the earth. To “bring forth” (verse 11) (dasha) implies to “sprout, shoot, grow green” (TWOT, Vol. 1, 199). The earth sprouted grass upon God’s command. Created also were the various herb (plants) and fruit trees which yielded seed. The word “yielding” (zara) implies the sowing of seed. God created the vegetation of the earth to repro-duce and to reproduce after its own “kind.” The Hebrew word for “kind” is min. It is a word to describe a certain group of plants or animals, but they may have variations within the “kind.” For example, there is the tomato kind but there are variations of tomatoes such as cherry tomatoes or early girl tomatoes. This “kind” prohibits the cross produc-tion with other plants and fruits.

The Fourth Day

The fourth day of creation involved the making of stars, moon and the sun (Genesis 1:14-19). There were two reasons stated for creating these luminaries.

MannaThe Creation of the Measurement of Time (Genesis 1:14, 18): On the first day of creation, God said, “let there be light” (Hebrew or). In these verses God said, “Let there be lights” (Hebrew ma’or meaning “a luminous body or light giver”). These luminaries would “divide the day from the night.” They were also for signs and seasons and for days and years. The moon by its four quarters, which each last a little more the seven days, marks for us the time of weeks and months. The sun marks for us our four seasons and years. The earth rotated on a tilted axis as it still does today. The daily rotation of the earth before the sun measures the minutes and hours of each day. Their creation is a death blow to evolution. Their purpose is clearly stated. It did not take billions or millions of years for their light to reach the earth. God created, as with the plant life, things complete and fully-grown. God commanded these lights to shine upon the earth and “it was so” (verse 15).

MannaWhat It Means To Reproduce After Its Kind (Genesis 1:11): With light, air, water and dry land in place, God was ready for the next step in His creation. The elements to sustain life were set in order. Once again by the Word of God, the earth was commanded to “bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit trees yielding after his kind” (verse 11). There was first the plant, out of which came the seed producing like kind. There was no primitive germ that evolved into a higher life-form. God spake and full-grown vegetation sprang up on the earth. The phrase “after his kind” occurs eight times and “after their kind” occurs twice in Genesis 1. The Hebrew word min places a limit on variation. God placed within each life form a “seed” that would continue to yield a reproduction of that same type. It is not an apple tree because it has apples on it. It has apples on it because it is an apple tree, created by God with its own reproductive seed.

16 / Genesis 1:1-25

The first is for the marking out of time, “for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years” (verse 14). God created a system by which man can navigate and for developing a calendar in order to keep track of the length of time. The second reason is “to give light upon the earth” (verse 15). God created two major lights which were to illuminate the day and the night. The sun for the day and the moon for the night.

The Fifth Day Genesis 1:20-23 records the creation of aquatic life and the fowl of the air. God’s design was to fill the waters with aquatic life and for birds to fly over the earth. God created a variety of kinds in which they were to reproduce “after their kind” (verse 21). Like the “kind” to the plants and fruit trees God created, fish and fowl are limited in the

reproduction to their specific “kind.” However, one can have a variety in each of the “kind.” Consider the variety of trout—there is the rainbow trout and brown trout. Same kind, but different variety.

The Sixth Day On the sixth day of creation, God created the animal and insect life upon the earth, Genesis 1:24-25. God divided this creation in three ways: “cattle,” “creep ing thing” and “beast of the earth” (verse 24). Within these descriptions implies size (small, medium

Great Whales Word Study #8577

Genesis 1:21. This Hebrew word, tanniynim, covers a multitude of sea creatures It is translated sea-dragon, whale, serpent, crocodile or sea monster It refers to any large sea-dwelling creature including, but not limited to whales God saw these created beings as good, thus they were not creatures opposed to God as some ancient creation stories suppose

MannaThe Abundant Life of the Oceans (Genesis 1:20): On each day, God spoke and creation continued to come to pass at His command. Life did not have its origin in a glob of protoplasm that evolved over millions of years. God spoke, and the waters were immediately, at that very moment, teeming with all sorts of wiggly moving creatures. The sea, bays, rivers, creeks and lakes were abounding with life. One spoonful of water contains millions of microscopic creatures. They are so small that the spoonful of water is to them what the ocean is to man. Only an infinite, almighty God can work and create on such a magnificent scale. There is nothing too big or too small in regard to our Creator. There is approximately 33,600 different species of fish that exist around the world. It is important to note that God created living, swimming, fully grown, sea creatures. They are streamlined and perfectly fitted for their habitation.

and large) and domesticated and non-domesticated animals. As with the veg-etation, aquatic and of the fowl, the land animals were to reproduce “after their kind” (verse 25). Man was also created on the sixth day but will specifically be addressed in the next lesson.

The Beginning of Creation / 17

MannaThe Goodness of the Creative Work of God (Genesis 1:25): What God created was an ideal habitation for mankind. Everything that would be needful for man was created perfectly by the infinite God. The original hydrology of the earth was different than what we witness today. The uplifted waters above the firmament turned into a vapor canopy stretched out like a curtain (Isaiah 40:22). The vapor tent acted much in the same as does a greenhouse. It would have maintained a warm and pleasant climate over all the earth. The perfect blending of temperature and moisture would produce lush plants and trees all over the earth’s surface. At that time there were no barren wastelands. The evaporation and precipitation cycle began with the Genesis flood. Such conditions would also be highly conducive to good health and long life. At that point in time, God was taking care of His creation. God’s creation was now ready for man to inhabit.