Covenant Beginnings: A Study in Genesis
COVENANT BEGINNINGS: A STUDY IN GENESIS Overview
Living Faith Bible Fellowship
September 15, 2010
Cultural Context: The Key to Meaning
Cultural Context: The Key to Understanding Modern West
Ancient Near East
Self-centered Identity
Group-centered Identity
Independence
Interdependence
See the parts
See the whole
Urge uniqueness
Urge conformity
Seek autonomy from social solidarity
Seek integration into society
Primary responsibility to self and individual potential
Primary obligation to others and development of the group
Group membership per renewable contract
Group membership per inherited social and family status
Equality is a key value
Hierarchy is the key value
Private autonomy
Corporate solidarity
Self-reliant achievement
Interdependent Collaboration
Personal Identity
Familial Identity
Purpose of Genesis • Author – Moses
• Occasion • Israelites transitioning from hundreds of years of bondage into freedom • Key questions for the new Israel nation • Who is this God that has delivered us? • Who are we to Him? Who is He to us? Why did he deliver us? Are we
safe with him? What does he want with us? • Who are we in comparison to the people we are going to encounter? • Focus • God’s character, purposes • How does he relate to the gods of the other nations? • What is the background of our great deliverance?
Key Concept: Theology of Creation • God alone is sovereign • There is no pantheon of gods and no delegation of lower deities • Creation was purposeful and orderly • Not a result of conflict or competition among the gods • God is separate from nature • There are no deities within nature who need to be appeased, the one God rules over nature • Humanity was created in partnership with God, not as a
by-product and not as a slave to the gods • Creation is dependent up God: creation-nature-history • Laws of nature are not the issue • Also makes it clear that the operation of nature is not connected to
God’s favor or disfavor!
Key Concept: Covenant Relationship with God • Deuteronomy 4:32-40 • Covenant • Relationship between a great king and a vassal king • Key pieces • Conditions • Benefits or blessings • Consequences or curses
• Two Types • Of grace • Of works
• Examples – Next Page
• Key elements of covenant relationship in Genesis • Revelation of God • God’s sovereignty is established • God’s purpose is illustrated over four generations • God’s faithfulness to his promises is demonstrated
Biblical Covenants Name
Type
Blessing
Curse
Text
Creation
Works
Eternal sinless life
Spiritual and physical death
Gen 2:15-17
Noahic
Grace
Judgment postponed
None
Gen 9:8-17
Abrahamic
Grace
A people under God’s rule, nations blessed
None
Gen 15, 17
Mosaic
Works
The land w/bounty
Exile
Exodus 20
Davidic
Grace
Eternal kingdom
None
2 Samuel 7
New
Grace
Forgiveness, eternal life, kingdom of God
None
Matt 26:27-30
We can’t view everything through the context of our covenant, e.g. “salvation”
What’s Not Emphasized in Genesis! • The “process” of creation • Think about the mechanics of life, as an example • Descriptive science is not in view • Cosmology • Evolution as a process…does this conflict with the creation account we
see? • Timing and chronology • Age of earth, for example • The function of genealogies is not to give timing, but relationships and
status
Outline of Our Study • Creation and Original Intent (Genesis 1-2) • Sovereign God • Stewardship • Relationship • Provision • Covenant • The Need for A Covenant People (Genesis 3-11) • Fall • Impact & Legacy • Reform and Its Limits • Establishment of A Covenant Family (Genesis 12-36) • Abram's Call • Abraham as the model of faithfulness and God as a covenant God • Testing • Deliverance, blessing, promise fulfillment
• Two mothers, one promise • Further clarification of the blessings and God's covenant • Jacob & Esau • The Jacob narrative as a compelling story of God's redemptive purposes and faithfulness
• Formation and Preservation of a Covenant People (Genesis 37-50)
Our Approach & Recommendations • Our Approach • Zooming in and out • Outline • Detail • Summarize
• Connect with Bible's core redemptive message • Identify what we know at this point • Relate it to God's purpose in Israel • Relate it to God's purpose in Christ
• Gaining an understanding and application • Original meaning • Bridging the gap • Application for today
• Recommendations • Translations: Use NIV, NASB, ESV, maybe the New King James [this is really a time for understanding, not for preferences! ] • Read whole sections to begin with • Genesis 1-2 • Genesis 3-11 • Genesis 12-50
Living Faith Bible Fellowship
September 15, 2010
Cultural Context: The Key to Meaning
Cultural Context: The Key to Understanding Modern West
Ancient Near East
Self-centered Identity
Group-centered Identity
Independence
Interdependence
See the parts
See the whole
Urge uniqueness
Urge conformity
Seek autonomy from social solidarity
Seek integration into society
Primary responsibility to self and individual potential
Primary obligation to others and development of the group
Group membership per renewable contract
Group membership per inherited social and family status
Equality is a key value
Hierarchy is the key value
Private autonomy
Corporate solidarity
Self-reliant achievement
Interdependent Collaboration
Personal Identity
Familial Identity
Purpose of Genesis • Author – Moses
• Occasion • Israelites transitioning from hundreds of years of bondage into freedom • Key questions for the new Israel nation • Who is this God that has delivered us? • Who are we to Him? Who is He to us? Why did he deliver us? Are we
safe with him? What does he want with us? • Who are we in comparison to the people we are going to encounter? • Focus • God’s character, purposes • How does he relate to the gods of the other nations? • What is the background of our great deliverance?
Key Concept: Theology of Creation • God alone is sovereign • There is no pantheon of gods and no delegation of lower deities • Creation was purposeful and orderly • Not a result of conflict or competition among the gods • God is separate from nature • There are no deities within nature who need to be appeased, the one God rules over nature • Humanity was created in partnership with God, not as a
by-product and not as a slave to the gods • Creation is dependent up God: creation-nature-history • Laws of nature are not the issue • Also makes it clear that the operation of nature is not connected to
God’s favor or disfavor!
Key Concept: Covenant Relationship with God • Deuteronomy 4:32-40 • Covenant • Relationship between a great king and a vassal king • Key pieces • Conditions • Benefits or blessings • Consequences or curses
• Two Types • Of grace • Of works
• Examples – Next Page
• Key elements of covenant relationship in Genesis • Revelation of God • God’s sovereignty is established • God’s purpose is illustrated over four generations • God’s faithfulness to his promises is demonstrated
Biblical Covenants Name
Type
Blessing
Curse
Text
Creation
Works
Eternal sinless life
Spiritual and physical death
Gen 2:15-17
Noahic
Grace
Judgment postponed
None
Gen 9:8-17
Abrahamic
Grace
A people under God’s rule, nations blessed
None
Gen 15, 17
Mosaic
Works
The land w/bounty
Exile
Exodus 20
Davidic
Grace
Eternal kingdom
None
2 Samuel 7
New
Grace
Forgiveness, eternal life, kingdom of God
None
Matt 26:27-30
We can’t view everything through the context of our covenant, e.g. “salvation”
What’s Not Emphasized in Genesis! • The “process” of creation • Think about the mechanics of life, as an example • Descriptive science is not in view • Cosmology • Evolution as a process…does this conflict with the creation account we
see? • Timing and chronology • Age of earth, for example • The function of genealogies is not to give timing, but relationships and
status
Outline of Our Study • Creation and Original Intent (Genesis 1-2) • Sovereign God • Stewardship • Relationship • Provision • Covenant • The Need for A Covenant People (Genesis 3-11) • Fall • Impact & Legacy • Reform and Its Limits • Establishment of A Covenant Family (Genesis 12-36) • Abram's Call • Abraham as the model of faithfulness and God as a covenant God • Testing • Deliverance, blessing, promise fulfillment
• Two mothers, one promise • Further clarification of the blessings and God's covenant • Jacob & Esau • The Jacob narrative as a compelling story of God's redemptive purposes and faithfulness
• Formation and Preservation of a Covenant People (Genesis 37-50)
Our Approach & Recommendations • Our Approach • Zooming in and out • Outline • Detail • Summarize
• Connect with Bible's core redemptive message • Identify what we know at this point • Relate it to God's purpose in Israel • Relate it to God's purpose in Christ
• Gaining an understanding and application • Original meaning • Bridging the gap • Application for today
• Recommendations • Translations: Use NIV, NASB, ESV, maybe the New King James [this is really a time for understanding, not for preferences! ] • Read whole sections to begin with • Genesis 1-2 • Genesis 3-11 • Genesis 12-50
