Have you ever had a perfect day when everything
went right? Known the pain of losing somethingor someoneprecious?
Struggled to believe in yourself or in God when no one else
seemed to? Suffered betrayal or known the joy of making up
after an argument?
If any of these experiences sound familiar,
then the Book of Genesis relates to your life. It's all happened
The word genesis means "beginning."
Genesis is about the beginning of a new relationship between
God and human beings.
Think of Genesis as a play with two acts: the
prehistory (Genesis 111), a collection of imaginative
stories about the origins of the world, and the legends of
our Hebrew ancestors (Genesis 1250). The stories in
Genesis were created separately, over a period of at least
a thousand years, and passed by word of mouth from generation
to generationa process known as oral tradition. The
Book of Genesis as we read it took shape after 500 B.C.
The stories of the prehistory, such as the creation
of Adam and Eve, are all good examples of myths. A myth is
an imaginative story using symbols and colorful images to
help us understand a truth either too complicated or too difficult
to express in words. What truth, you may ask, requires such
a fascinating explanation?
Well, imagine this scenario. You've got a new
science teacher and wonder what to expect. You ask two friends.
One says, "Well, Mrs. Jones is short. She
has black hair and brown eyes. She's married, has three kids
and lives near school. She has taught for a long time."
Your other friend says, "I didn't understand
science before Mrs. Jones taught me. Now I like it. She makes
Which description is more true, based
on facts? The first one, right? But the second answer is what
you really want to know. That's the kind of answer a myth
A legendsuch as those that fill the second
part of Genesisis based on factual details. You've probably
heard this legend about George Washington. When Washington
was little, the story goes, he chopped down a cherry tree
without permission. His angry father asked him about it. The
son is supposed to have said, "I cannot tell a lie. I
chopped down the tree."
Did this story really happen? There's no record
of it. We honor Washington as a man of integrity, however,
and a big part of integrity is honesty. So whether or not
the story is factually true, it expresses a vital part of
how we remember him. Honesty is a value that Americans believe
forms part of our national character.
In the same way, the legends surrounding the
adventures of real people like Abraham and Sarah in the Book
of Genesis emphasize qualities the Hebrew people saw as essential
for living in right relationship with God.
Let's begin our study of the prehistory with
the creation stories in Chapters 12. The first (Genesis
1) has only one main character: God.
Creation takes place over the course of six
days. Only after God has seen to it that everything is harmonious
and beautiful are human beings created "in [God's] own
image" on the afternoon of day six. That simple verse
contains the basis for everything else the Bible is going
to reveal about what it means to be human.
Think of the person whom you like least. In
God's eyes both of you are created as unique but equal treasures.
What might the world be like if we all saw one another that
Evil: Big Problem
Why does Genesis contain two creation stories,
neither of which is supported by the scientific evidence we
have about the age of the earth and the way life developed?
Both myths make clear the fundamental truth
behind this science: All creation, especially human
beings, was created lovingly by a God who continues to nurture
The second creation story complementsthat
is, completesthe first story in another important way.
It poses a fundamental question: If creation is good, where
did evil come from? The next nine chapters of Genesis (Genesis
3-11) invite us to struggle with this question.
As Adam and Eve are enjoying the Garden of Eden,
they meet the serpent. You probably think of it as a symbol
for the devil. But the story tells us that the serpent is
the cleverest of all God's creatures and that everything God
creates is good. So think of the serpent as a symbol for temptation.
Eve responds to the serpent's questions by repeating
the instructions God had given to Adam. "We may eat of
the fruit of the trees in the garden," Eve says, "except
for the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil." The
serpent suggests that God is just selfish: "God knows
that when you eat of that tree you will become like gods yourselves."
(See Genesis 3:1-4.)
Now Adam and Eve start thinking. (Notice Adam
has been right there all along!) Prompted by the serpent's
words, the two decide to try it.
As a result, Adam and Eve are sent out of the
garden and prevented from living eternally, symbolized by
the now inaccessible Tree of Life.
What happened? Clearly, Adam and Eve willfully
and knowingly disobeyed God. That's a basic definition of
sin. But who's responsible? The serpent, for urging them on?
Eve, for being the first to take the fruit? Adam, the "older"
of the two, who should have known better? God, for leaving
them open to this temptation?
If you feel a little perplexed, then the story
has done its job. Temptations are usually subtle, the reasons
we give in to them are complicated, and the consequences are
unexpected. Yet one fact remains: Adam and Eve knew what they
were doing and knew it was wrong.
Darkness to Light
Every action has consequences. Like a car spinning
out of control after hitting an ice patch, the stories of
Genesis show us what happens when evil enters the world.
In the story of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4), we
see the first act of violence in the Bible as Cain kills his
brother. Nature's fury is unleashed in the story of Noah's
ark (Genesis 6-9) with 40 days and nights of rain. Then there's
the story of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11). In this tale,
human beings try to build a tower to "show up" God,
but God stops them by scrambling all the earth's languages.
At Babel, it seems that God and humanity are no longer on
speaking terms. Violence, alienation, destruction and death
color the universe now, all set in motion by a seemingly
harmless choice by Adam and Eve.
One bright light of hope shines in all this
darkness. As Noah and his family stand on top of the mountain,
with the floodwaters receding around them, God makes a promise
that such a great flood will never cover the earth again.
As proof, he paints a rainbow in the sky (Genesis 9:12-16).
This symbol becomes a sign not just of God's
promise to Noah, but of his continuing love and protection
of all of us. The Hebrew people used the special name of covenant
to describe God's promise to love and care for us. This word
reminds us that every day is sacred and holy because we live
it in God's presence.
The rest of the Book of Genesis explores the
meanings of this word covenant. In Chapters 1250,
we meet Abram and Sarai, an aging couple who move with family
and friends from Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) into the land
of Canaan (modern-day Israel).
God promises the childless couple they will
have a son whose descendants will form a great nation. God
says the land on which Abram and Sarai are living will belong
to these people for all time. All he asks is their friendship
and trust. The next time you're tempted to write somebody
off, think about what's happening here.
At the time that the legends of Abram and Sarai
came together, the general belief was in many gods and goddesses
who were unconcerned about the fate of human beings. Friendship
and trust were definitely not a part of the relationship.
Yet Abram and Sarai didn't buy into the stereotypes
of their day. And that was the opportunity for which God was
waitingthe chance to bring all humans back into one
First Family Feuds
Building a friendship takes work, and we will
make mistakes along the way. As the covenant friendship evolves,
the legends in the remaining chapters of Genesis report both
highs and lows.
At first, Abraham and Sarah attempt to make
God's promise about a son happen according to the customs
of their time, and that nearly leads to disaster (Genesis
16). When Isaac (the son they were promised) is born, Abraham
almost makes Isaac a human sacrifice. But God intervenes at
the last minute (Genesis 22).
Actually, the story states that God gives Abraham
the idea to sacrifice Isaac. Remember, though, that Abraham
is part of a culture that practiced human sacrifice. Also
keep in mind that God instructs Abraham to sacrifice an animal
instead of Isaac. It's a common practice in the Old Testament
to present pagan rituals and then show God replacing them
with elements of Hebrew worship. So there are hints that Abraham
misinterpreted God's call for a sacrifice.
Isaac and his wife Rebekah have twin boys, Esau
and Jacob. Esau is born a few minutes before Jacob, crucial
luck in a society where the firstborn son inherited all
the father's wealth.
With the help of his mother, Jacob impersonates
his brother and sits at his dying father's side as Isaac is
about to pronounce the blessing that will officially mark
the beginning of Esau's inheritance. By the time Esau realizes
his father has been tricked, it's too late! Jacob has already
fled Canaan to escape Esau's wrath.
Every Christian knows that forgiveness is the
heart of Jesus' teaching, but many Christians think Jesus
invented it. The experience of God's mercy and our responsibility
to imitate it are firmly rooted in the Book of Genesis.
Why would God pick a liar and a cheat such as
Jacob as the one to continue the covenant? Probably for the
same reason God chooses Joseph, one of Jacob's 12 sons. Joseph
was Jacob's favorite, and when we first meet him he is bragging
to his 11 brothers about a dream in which they bow down to
him (Genesis 37).
But both young men pay their dues. Jacob spends
about 20 years in exile (forbidden to enter his own country).
When he returns to the promised land, his homeland of Canaan,
he must confront Esau and ask his forgiveness.
Joseph, a victim of his brothers' jealousy and
hostility, is sold into slavery in Egypt. His fortunes turn
around when his ability to interpret dreams comes to the attention
of the ruler of Egypt.
Joseph becomes the Pharaoh's second in command
and helps the Egyptians survive seven years of famine (Genesis
But just as Jacob and his brother must one day
meet again, so do Joseph and his brothers. Just as Jacob is
now a foreigner at the mercy of Esau, so Joseph's starving
brothers now have to travel to a foreign land, at the mercy
Things don't look good; the last time two brothers
came face-to-face in conflict (Cain and Abel) the result was
Not this time. Abraham, Sarah and their descendants
have chosen to let God into their lives in direct contrast
to Adam and Eve who chose to exclude God. This decision is
made with much hesitation and quite imperfectly, but it is
made faithfully. God's powers of love and forgiveness have
entered into creation.
In two of the most beautiful scenes in Genesis,
Esau responds to Jacob's plea for forgiveness with a hug (Genesis
33) and Joseph breaks down and cries as he hugs his brothers
Win or Lose
Is all this fair? Do these people really deserve
to be a part of the covenant? As far as this bookand
God, it would seemare concerned, these questions are
irrelevant. The editors who pulled together the stories in
Genesis leave us with this message: Forgive your brother and
sister or lose your friendship with God.
We find ourselves at the end of Genesis in a
better place than where we started in the Garden of Eden.
Then, God did all the work. Now, he holds out the promise
for a new and eternal Paradise that God and human beings forge
It's a friendship made permanent in the life,
death and resurrection of Jesus. It's a friendship which each
of us, like the women and men of Genesis, have only begun
to experience in all its glory.
This Youth Update was critiqued
by Scott Borchers (17), Melissa Krueger (15), Angie Pohlman
(15), Shari Stauffer (18) and Krista Swallow (15), all members
of St. Denis Parish in Versailles, Ohio. Mike Meyer, who gathered
the group, is parish coordinator of youth ministry.