As we conclude our celebration of Simchat Torah, we look forward to this coming Shabbat when we will go through the cycle of Torah reading again beginning with Bereshit. The Torah passages for this week are Genesis 1:1 to Genesis 6:8. This section of scripture is compelling not only because it is so familiar, but because of the truth it conveys. Before everything else was–God existed. Many of us may take this for granted, but it is not a concept to handle lightly. Today the existence of God is, for many, a question mark.
As we begin our journey for the coming year, we want to read with intentionality the creation narrative. Let us focus again on how the creation took shape–God spoke it into existence.
We also want to consider the firsts that we find in the opening chapters of Genesis. I have some prior posts which consider these. See Firsts in Genesis 1 , Firsts in Genesis 2 , Firsts in Genesis 3 , and Firsts in Genesis 4 .
Also in Bereshit, we are introduced to the Sabbath, which is one of God’s greatest gifts to mankind.
In Genesis 2, God in His creation of man and woman, takes one and makes two, so that the two could be made one. Thus, it is clear that mankind (man and woman) were created for union. This is certainly something we can consider along with its implications.
Genesis 3 brings the fall of mankind and the expulsion of man and woman from the garden of Eden. Along with these tragic events, the resulting curses on man, woman and the serpent, we are given the first real hint at Messiah–deliverer. This comes in Genesis 3:16.
Genesis 4 ushers in the topic of appropriate worship, when God accepts Abel’s offering, but rejects the offering of Cain. The resulting conduct of Cain in killing his brother brings with it God’s banishment of Cain.
Genesis 5 outlines the genealogy of Adam to Noah. We must not skip over genealogies we come across in scripture without considering why God included them where He included them and what information we can glean from them. The genealogy in Genesis 5 certainly lets us see the lifespan of those early descendants of Adam. It also gives us a bit of information about Enoch–that he walked with God and then was no more. Sometimes the Bible just doesn’t explain.
Finally, in the opening verses of Genesis 6, God sets up for judgment. But introduces us to the deliverer, Noah.
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