Friday Playlist: Genesis 1:1-6:4

We begin this new set of playlists at “the beginning” with the book of Genesis. To get a feel for the journey the journey we are about to begin with this first book of the Torah, I wanted to share the following quote from my study bible. It’s a bit lengthy, but I think it will center our thoughts as we begin. 

The purpose of accounts of beginnings like those in Genesis is certainly to address the innate human curiosity about origins. But any account of origins has much more behind it than historical curiosity. Such accounts, by describing origins, make claims about the basic nature of character of things. By describing the way God brought into being the first plants, the first animals, the first human beings, the relationship between the sexes, the first family, and the earliest ancestors of Israel and of its neighbors, these accounts define the innate nature and character of these realities. Thus accounts of beginning do not only explain; they authorize and legitimate the realities brought into being in their narratives. Since things were made this way, things are this way. [Genesis intro. pg. 2]

Translation: As you work through Genesis over the next nine weeks, pay special attention to what the writer of Genesis is saying about the nature of our reality. Rather than addressing scientific questions, Genesis cuts to the deeper theological questions. 

Who is God?

Why are we here? 

If God is real, what type of relationship does God have with our world? 

And so on. 

With that brief introduction, let us begin… at the beginning. 

Track One: Genesis 1:1-2:4a

*In verse two, we find for the first time the Hebrew word [ruakh] which is often translated as wind, spirit or breath. The NRSV version translates this as wind while the NIV has the word spirit. Keep that multiple translations of that word in mind as we work through the first few chapters of Genesis this week. 

What is the agent of God’s creation? In other words, what does God do in order to make things? 

After reading the entire passage for today, read John 1:1-5. How does the opening of John’s Gospel connect with this first creation story we find in Genesis?

[Hint: This would be a great question for you to work through with your study group if you are using the playlists in that way. Spend some time going back and forth analyzing how John connects his Gospel to this earlier story.]

Is the created order that God sets in motion static or dynamic? In other words, how does creation continue? 

Looking back at your response to the previous question, work through the next three questions. 

What does the nature about the way God creates teach us about what God is like? 

What does the nature of creation that God set in motion teach us about humanity? 

What does it teach us about our relationship to God? 

Vs. 26 is a key verse in chapter one not only because of the important statement that humanity is “created in our image” but also the vocation given to humanity in this same verse. “Let them have dominion over…” 

What do you think God means by the idea of having dominion over creation? 

Does that mean we get to do with it whatever we want? 

What responsibility, if any, does humanity bear for the created order given what God says in verse 26? 

And one more question… [This is your bonus question if you will]

Does God do anything on day seven?

Track Two: Genesis 2:4b-25

First and foremost, I want you to notice today that you are reading a second account of how the world was created. This is not a expansion of the first story. Rather, it’s a different narrative. If you don’t believe me, go back and read these stories again. If you still don’t believe me, email me. Let’s talk! In the meantime… 

What do you think about the idea that Genesis records two stories of how the world was created? 

We’re coming back to the Hebrew word we first saw in the first chapter. This time, we find it in verse seven when God “breathed into” the nostrils of the man and gave him the “[ruakh] of life.” 

Given the uses of this word we have already seen in Genesis, what significance do you take from the writer describing God giving life to the man in this way? 

The other interesting use of Hebrew we find in chapter two is the name that God gives to the first human. The Hebrew word for dirt is [adamah]. So the literal translation of verse seven is that “the Lord God formed [adam : a.k.a. dirt man] from [adamah : dirt] and breathed [ruakh] into his nostrils the [ruakh] of life.” In commenting on this verse, I once heard Rob Bell say that Genesis 2 says that we are “divine dirtclods.”

So in Genesis 2, we find God giving life to dirt. How? 

What does this teach us about the nature of what it means to be a living human being? 

Track Three: Genesis 3:1-24

Have you ever heard someone say, “Well the Bible says…” and then proceeded to share a quote that you knew was nowhere to be found in the Bible. Look back at the exchange between the Serpent and the Woman. Look specifically at the “quotes” they each share from God. 

Where do you think Adam and Eve first take a turn towards sin? 

How does the Serpent seduce them towards the wrong path?

Do either of them [Eve or the Serpent] get God’s words right?  

*Just a note on verse 6. Adam has been standing next to Eve the whole time. It’s important to note that the first sin is shared by Adam and Eve, not one first and then the other.

What does it mean for Adam and Eve to “discover” their nakedness?

According to their actions, do you think this is something more than just the absence of clothing? If so, what? 

How do Adam & Eve respond to God’s seeking them out in the garden? 

[Hint: Two things happen which are in some ways the most basic response we have to sin in our lives. What are they? Double Hint: They are used in the next question!] 

Adam and Eve hide from God and when God asks for explanation, they each blame the other one. 

How many relationships have been affected by their sin? 

After the dust settles in vs. 20, what does God do for this first couple? 

What does this tell us about God? 

Track Four: Genesis 4:1-26

The story of Cain and Abel begins a pattern that we will see repeated throughout Genesis and much of Hebrew History… the tension between siblings. Be looking for further examples of this throughout the next nine weeks. 

It is also interesting to note the uniqueness of what is happening in Genesis in relationship to other writings that we have from the Ancient world. Thomas Cahill writes in his book, The Gift of the Jews which I highly recommend to you, that in the Jewish scriptures is the first time we see the notion or idea of history. For the rest of the Ancient world, time was simply repeating itself. What was happening now had happened before and would happen again. Reality was simply a spinning wheel.

But in the Genesis accounts we begin to see a group of people who see the world differently. So different in fact that they begin to keep records of the past [you will find genealogies throughout the Hebrew scriptures] in order to chart the course of human history. 

If you’ve been through Barnes & Noble recently and seen the size of the “history” section, this may sound very strange to you, but historians like Cahill believe that we owe to the Jewish people the very idea of history itself. [I would highly recommend to you two of Cahill’s books, The Gift of the Jews and The Desire of the Everlasting Hills which is written about the time of Jesus. 

If that is true… 

What can you learn about God, yourself, and your relationship with others from the story of Cain & Abel? 

Track Five: Genesis 5:1-6:4

Today, look back at all that you have read and the reflections you have recorded and work through the following questions. 

What does your reading teach you about God? 

What does your reading teach you about humanity? 

What does your reading teach you about the relationship between God and God’s world?