WEEK TWO MAIN IDEA Reading Genesis as history requires us to address obstacles.

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1 WEEK 2 of 6 READING GENESIS AS HISTORY Genesis 1-2 WEEK TWO MAIN IDEA Reading Genesis as history requires us to address obstacles. GIENESIS AS HISTORY? Out of the many discussions that revolve around Genesis 1-11, one of the most important is whether or not Genesis 1-11 should be read as history: Are Adam and Eve real, historical people? Was there an actual flood that covered the entire earth? Did all creation become marked by sin when Adam and Eve bit a piece of fruit? Some answer these with a quick yes because they believe the Bible to be true, and that is good and God-honoring. However, many disciples faith has been shaken because major obstacles to an historical reading of Genesis 1-11 have poked holes in their thinking. Honest discussion concerning these obstacles will equip us to know why we believe what we believe. So today, we will begin with why we should read Genesis as history, then we will face the obstacles head on. READING GENESIS GENRE First of all, we do not read all the Bible as history Proverbs, Revelation, and Jesus parables are great examples of this. Instead, we read each section of the Bible according to its literary type, or genre. There are many genres in Scripture, but for today we will use three broad categories and each has a particular view of people and events: Write these on the whiteboard so your group can reference them later. 1. History people and events are real (i.e., the Gospels, Nehemiah) 2. Picture people and events are icons of meaning (i.e., Jeremiah s visions or Jesus parables) 3. Truism people and events are shadows (i.e., when James says, see how the farmer waits in 5:7) To read Genesis 1-11 with integrity we must ask: does the Bible discuss Genesis 1-11 as history, picture, or truism? There are many examples to choose from, but we will limit ourselves to three:

2 JESUS ON GENESIS 1-11 First we will look at Jesus as he discusses divorce with the Pharisees: Matthew 19:4-8 4 He answered, Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate. 7 They said to him, Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away? 8 He said to them, Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. OBSERVE Does Jesus view Adam and Eve s creation as history, picture, or truism? Why? Let the group speak freely before you make observations. Jesus is basing his teaching of divorce on the historical event of Adam and Eve coming together as one flesh. Without this being a real event, Jesus teaching lacks grounding. PAUL ON GENESIS 1-11 Next we will look at the Apostle Paul in his writings: 1 Corinthians 15: But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. OBSERVE Does Paul view Adam s sin as history, picture, or truism? Why? Let the group speak freely before you make observations. The key here is understanding that Jesus and Adam are compared equally as people. In other words, Adam is just as historical as Jesus. THE PSALMS ON GENESIS 1-11 Lastly, we will look at Psalm 136 for an example from the Old Testament:

3 Psalm 136:4-13 [if needed, skip the refrain for clarity] 4 to him who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures 5 to him who by understanding made the heavens, for his steadfast love endures 6 to him who spread out the earth above the waters, for his steadfast love endures 7 to him who made the great lights, for his steadfast love endures 8 the sun to rule over the day, for his steadfast love endures 9 the moon and stars to rule over the night, for his steadfast love endures 10 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, for his steadfast love endures 11 and brought Israel out from among them, for his steadfast love endures 12 with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, for his steadfast love endures 13 to him who divided the Red Sea in two, for his steadfast love endures OBSERVE Does this Psalm view creation as history, picture, or truism? Why? Let the group speak freely before you make observations. The events of Genesis (vv. 4-9) are equated with events in Exodus (vv ). As in the previous example, Genesis is just as historical as Exodus. In addition to these examples, Luke s genealogy of Jesus presents a good case for Genesis 1-11 as history. Luke traces Jesus lineage all the way back to Adam (3:38). This is significant because genealogies were used to substantiate heritage, and mythological figures would not help that cause. To sum it up: Jesus, Luke, Paul, and Old Testament historians all considered Genesis 1-11 to be historical fact, and base their teaching upon it. 1 The whole Bible takes Genesis 1-11 as historical fact. It does not view the people or events as icons of meaning or shadows, but as real. TWO MAJOR OBSTACLES Because Genesis is history, disciples should address two major obstacles to this understanding. The first is the order of Genesis For a great article, see Jason DeRouchie, Genesis: History, Fiction, or Neither? (Sept 28, 2015). book-reviews-genesis-history-fiction-or-neither-three-views

4 The Order of Genesis 1 and 2: The Problem Many who do not read Genesis as history will make the case that Genesis 1 and 2 are out of sequence with each other. Here is the sequence of Genesis 2: Genesis 2:5, 7, 9, 19 5 When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, 7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 19 Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. However, Genesis 1 says vegetation and trees came first (Gen 1:11-13), then animals (24-25), and then man and woman (26-27). Many list this non-sequential order as a reason to mistrust Scripture, or view Genesis 1 as a creation myth. The Order of Genesis 1 and 2: Solutions To account for the non-sequential order of Genesis 1 and 2, we will examine two ways to resolve this with the understanding that Genesis is history. 1. We can consider the non-sequence of Genesis 2 as misunderstandings. v. 5: the bush of the field and small plant of the field are cultivated plants: not the normal vegetation of Gen 1: v. 9: the trees springing up are specifically within the Garden of Eden, and not trees in general. v. 19: this one is tricky because some translations use had formed and some use formed (both are valid translations). The idea is that God has already formed the beasts that he brings before Adam. 2. The other way to resolve this is to consider the genre of Genesis 1 as poetical history (much like Lamentations). the rhyme and meter of Genesis 1 in Hebrew is poetic. the days display structure and importance, but not sequence. the structure appears in days 1-3 where God creates habitations (1. Space, 2. Sky and seas, 3. Dry land), and in days 4-6 God creates corresponding inhabitants (1. Sun, moon and stars, 2. Birds and fish, 3. Animals and mankind). mankind is created last, displaying importance in creation. God takes the seventh day, displaying his ultimate importance.

5 Neither of these explanations are air-tight. The author of Genesis was simply not concerned with our questions of sequence, and so there is room in the text for speculation. However, we know for sure that Genesis 1-11 is history, and that is where each of us should begin. The Age of the Earth: The Problem The second obstacle in reading Genesis 1-11 is the seeming age of the earth. The fossil record and evolutionary evidence seem to require us to account for the earth being millions of years old. Even though there are huge gaps in the scientific understanding of the fossil record and carbon dating, the scientific majority strongly claims the earth to be millions of years old. Many in our culture also see this as indisputable. Because of this, disciples have sought ways to bring this information into an historical reading of Genesis. The Age of the Earth: Solutions We will look at three major ways to resolve this issue: 1. We can consider Genesis 1:1 as a summary statement with 1:2 beginning the creation process in particular. this would leave a gap in the timeline of Genesis 1 to account for the seeming age of the earth. this usually coincides with the belief that God used an evolutionary process to create the world. 2. We can consider that God created the earth to appear mature already. this would correspond with how God made Adam and Eve (and much of creation) already mature. this would account for the fossil record seeming to go back eons. 3. We can consider that the Flood in Genesis 6-8 distorted our ability to date fossils accurately by severely disrupting geological layers. It is helpful to remember that any explanation of the origins of our existence require us to take a step of faith. No one can personally verify creation as an eye-witness.

6 GENESIS LIVING WITH HUMILITY As a disciple of Jesus, the Bible is our authority and it presents Genesis as history. However, as we have demonstrated today, the Bible does not account for every question we have. In light of this discussion of Genesis 1-11, we can focus on three words: HUMILITY. Humility is the proper response when someone has a question about creation and the history of Genesis. We do not have all the answers to creation questions, and should be willing to listen to those with whom we disagree. CONNECTED. The way we view Scripture, science, and our lives are connected. We should seek harmony by bringing both our lives and scientific claims under the authority of Scripture. INVESTIGATE. When you interact with evolutionary evidence that seems to infringe on Scripture, investigate it and read it for yourself; don t rely on Facebook headlines for proper perspective. PRAYER