Bible Study - Genesis: Study 1

Genesis: Study 1

gen-e-sis - an origin, creation, or beginning.

Genesis is one of the most intriguing and important books in the entirety of the bible. It tells the story of how mankind, as well as the rest of creation, came to exist and details the origin of Israel’s ancestors. Genesis gives us a source, a meaning, and a place in God’s creation; it is the foundation of our religion and our faith. Tonight we will talk about the first two chapters of Genesis – we will discuss the origin of the universe, the Garden of Eden, and what this all means in relation to how we live our lives as Christians.

Genesis 1:1-2:3 (History of Creation)

Questions for Discussion

What do you believe the meaning of verse 2 to be? Does it sound to you as if the stuff that came to be the earth existed prior to God’s actual formation of it? When it is stated that God’s spirit was hovering over the “waters,” what exactly is meant by the term “waters?”

What did it mean for God to separate the light from the darkness? What does the text mean when it states that God “called light day, and the darkness He called night?” Does this literally mean that God named those two states, or simply that He created the state of their mutual existence?

What is the firmament, or dome that God creates to separate the waters? Does this idea confuse you?

Why does God put “lights into the firmament?”

What do you think is meant by the following verse: “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness?’” What does it mean to be created in God’s image?

What does it mean to have dominion over something? Does it simply mean that you have control over it, or is there more involved?

What does the text mean when it states that God rested on the 7^th day? Does it mean that He has stopped creating things? Why does God rest on the 7^th day?

Genesis 2:4-25 (The Garden of Eden)

Questions for Discussion

What is the order of creation as described in this section? Does it differ from the order of creation in the first section? If so, what should we take from this?

What is significant about God creating Adam from the dust of the ground?

Why does God include the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden? Why even provide man with such a temptation?

Why does God not create man and woman at the same time? God creates the animals and other creatures of the earth before He creates Eve to try to keep Adam company. Is God correcting His own mistake?