Late in 2015 I began a series titled “Lessons from the Garden”. It is my firm belief that in order to understand Scripture, one must begin with the beginning pages of Genesis. If we are to understand sin, we have to look at how Genesis presents life before and after sin. If we are to understand redemption, it is vital to grasp what Genesis says the world was like before and after sin. If we are to understand the end of the book and all points in between, we have to root ourselves in Genesis before proceeding to discovering how the remainder of the story plays out.
We are at the beginning of a new year and with that many are likely beginning a yearly Bible reading plan. Regardless of whether you read the Bible through chronologically or in the traditional ordering of the books, you will have to start with the first few chapters of Genesis. As such, it is important to not speed through these chapters due to their supposed familiarity. Contained within them are the seeds of theological truth that grow into the larger message of Scripture.
What I am going to do over the next few weeks is to re-run the posts thus far from the “Lessons from the Garden” series. This is not out of laziness on my part or due to a lack of writing material. One goal I have this year is to begin to walk the concepts found in seed form in the first few chapters of Genesis and to note how they play out in the rest of Scripture. This will be a journey that is well worth the time as we begin to put some important pieces together.
In some respects, you may be challenged to look at these concepts in a way you have not done so before. To a large degree, we fly through Genesis 1-6 because after all, we have been taught the story of creation, the Fall, Cain and Abel, and the flood over and over beginning in Sunday School. While we have certainly been taught these historical accounts, it is my suggestion that we have not fully thought through what God is revealing to us and the why of it all concerning how these foundational truths are just that – foundational for understanding Scripture as a whole.
Michael lives in Belleville, IL, a suburb of St. Louis, MO with his wife Erica, adopted daughter Alissa, two cats Molly and Sweetie Pie and horse Beckham. After spending eight years in the United States Navy as a Yeoman, he has been employed for the past ten years by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) where he oversees advanced educational programs. Michael holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Religion (Biblical Studies) from Liberty University and is currently closing in on completing a Master of Arts in Religion (Biblical Studies) from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. He is an avid reader and blogger.
