Day 3 Reading Schedule: Genesis 1 -5

Genesis 1 

* God's Creation of Heaven and Earth

* God's Self-Declaration (=Revelation) as Creator 1:1

Creation of Heaven and Earth in the Beginning 

[Overview]

This chapter declares that the beginning of the world and the origin of all things were with God. In other words, it reveals the beginning of the universe (verses 1-2) and introduces the creation of the background of light and the firmament as materials (verses 3-8). It introduces the creation of the sea and land, plants (verses 9-13), the sun, moon, and stars as cosmic planets and the birth of night and day and the four seasons due to them (verses 14-19), specific living creatures such as birds and fish, and the cosmic planets (verses 20-23), and animals as living creatures on the earth, and among them, humans (verses 24-31).

Genesis 1 is the preface to Genesis and the preface to the entire Bible. This chapter is a record of the creation of heaven and earth and the origin of mankind. The question of how the history of mankind and nature began is a very important one, and one of the most difficult of all. This chapter provides knowledge that is more certain, more excellent, more satisfying, and more useful than any description of the origin of the universe and mankind by philosophers.

Genesis 2 

* Adam in the Garden of Eden (the beginning of the Adamic era)

* The core of God’s creative work is the creation of man (2:7, 2:22, 2:8)

Man in the Garden of Eden 

[Overview]

The creation of the Garden of Eden and the birth of man to live in it are the main contents of this chapter, and it also mentions the birth of a woman following a man, thus forming the first family. God, who had created all things in heaven and earth, rested on the seventh day and designated it as a holy day to bless (verses 1-4). Meanwhile, when the earth was not yet ready for cultivation, God created man from the dust (verses 5-7) and made the Garden of Eden for man to manage so that he could enjoy the special blessings of heaven (verses 8-15). He also placed the forbidden tree in the garden to test man’s obedience (verses 16-17). Although man in the garden named various living things and engaged in activities worthy of higher creatures, he was alone (vv. 18-20). So God created woman as his helper and companion so that human history would begin from the family (vv. 21-25). In other words, He established the beginning of human relationships and the foundation of society.

This chapter can be said to be a supplementary explanation of the work of creation in Chapter 1 and an introductory content for Chapter 3. In other words, this chapter illustrates the beginning of human history in much more detail than Chapter 1. God, who created heaven and earth in six days and rested on the seventh, gave rest to man and created the Garden of Eden, allowing man to live happily there.

Genesis 3 

* Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden after a major accident (the origin of sin)

* Human beings' (criminal) response to God's creatio

The Fall of Man 

[Overview]

Satan, disguised as a snake, tempted the humans living in the garden of God, especially the woman (verses 1-5). The man, who was drawn to the temptation, joined in the woman's breaking of the commandment (verses 6-7), and the subsequent interrogation of God (verses 8-13) declared judgment and curses on the tempter and the human beings who were led by the temptation (verses 14-19). In the end, humans lost their trust in God and entered into the sad fate of being expelled from paradise (verses 20-24). Human beings, God's beautiful creations, fell into sin by breaking their trust in God.

Genesis 3 records the story of humans who ignored God's commandment that they had to obey thoroughly and fell into the temptation of Satan. Everyone probably thinks how much better it would have been if the events of Genesis 3 had not occurred in the Bible. This is because the tragedy and misfortune of mankind are recorded in this chapter.

Genesis 4 ：The path of Adam's three sons

The beginning of the history of fallen humanity 

[Overview]

The main content of this chapter is the process of the history of the fallen humanity that began with Adam developing secular culture along with sin. The actions of the first murderer in the history of sinful humanity are described (verses 1-15). The jealousy, envy, and anger that lie dormant in the depths of the fallen human mind are expressed as the crime of murder. Next, the development of the world's secular culture is introduced (verses 16-24). Even in a world of sin, humans are developing civilization as those who have been entrusted with culture. Finally, the story introduces the continuation of the holy seed even in a world of sin (verses 25-26). God, who did not stand by and watch as His created world was corrupted by sin, showed His love for humanity through the pious people who followed Seth and Enos.

In Genesis 3, we looked at the scene of the fall of the first ancestor of humanity and the process of their crime. This chapter mainly tells the story of Cain, Abel, and Seth, the sons of Adam and Eve who committed a crime. For the first time, we see a family with children living together, but there is a record of the most horrific crime committed by Cain, who murders his younger brother Abel, as befitting a descendant of a criminal.

Genesis 5 ：The Genealogy of Adam Before the Flood(Adam's Genealogy)

Genealogy of Mankind Before the Flood 

[Overview]

This chapter outlines the history of mankind before the flood. It encapsulates the genealogy from Adam to Noah in a short space. That is, it introduces the genealogy from Adam to Seth (verses 1-5) and the genealogy from Seth to Lamech (verses 6-27). And by introducing the bloodline from Lamech to Noah (verses 28-32), it implies that the time until the time of Noah was a turning point in God's plan for mankind.

This chapter unfolds the history from the time when God first created mankind to before the great flood of Noah in the form of a genealogy. This fact is made clear by using the phrase 'the genealogy of Adam' at the beginning of verse 1. This genealogy is not intended to provide a single chronology. Rather, by selecting ten representatives and describing their deaths, he seeks to show that death is an inevitable, universal thing that dominates people.