Genesis to Esther Series

Genesis to Esther Series – Lesson 9

1. In Genesis We Have The Story Of Three Families

We are getting closer now to the book of Genesis. In Genesis we have the story of three families. I would suggest that you try and memorize this outline. It will help you to more or less, get hold of all that is in Genesis.

1. Chapters 1-5 – The family of Adam.

2. Chapters 6-11 – The family of Noah.

3. Chapters 12-50 – The family of Abraham.

And so as we leave the first chapter of Genesis, and move on for the 49 chapters that follow, three names are preeminent – Adam, Noah, and Abraham.

2. The Family Of Adam

Some of this, I will go over quite rapidly, because we have looked at it in the “Doctrine of Salvation.”

1. The Family Created

The main subject of Genesis, chapters one and two, is the creation of Adam and Eve.

1a. Man Was Created By A Direct Act Of God

I want you to read from Genesis 1: 27 and then Genesis 2: 7, so you will observe why I have said what I have said.

Genesis 1: 27

The fact is declared. And here is the fact:

(27) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him;

The fact: God Created man – there it is. Now the Act in chapter two tells us how He did it. In chapter one, we are told that God created man.

Genesis 2: 7

(7) And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life

God breathed into that mud. The spirit came from the breath of God, and as a result of the mud into which God breathed -- man became a living soul.

The fact that God breathed into man, is repeated in the following Scriptures. They amplify the fact that man was created by God.

Deuteronomy 32: 18

(18) Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.

Psalm 94: 9

(9) He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? He that formed the eye, shall he not see?

Isaiah 44: 2

(2) Thus saith the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee;

Jeremiah 1: 5

(5) Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee;

Psalm 139: 13-16

(13) For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.

(14) I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

(15) My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

(16) Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

Now to look at another Scripture. God owes man nothing.

Romans 9: 20

(20) O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?

1 Corinthians 15: 39

(39) But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.

The Scripture does away with much vain talk about origins.

1b. Man Was Created In The Image Of God

Now I want to go a little slower here. Take your Bibles and follow along as we read five Scriptures.

Genesis 1: 26-27

(26) And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. (notice: image, likeness. The image out of which God made man, is in the likeness of God.)

(27) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Genesis 5: 1

(1) This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;

Genesis 9: 6

(6) Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

1 Corinthians 11: 7

(7) For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.

What I am showing you, what you find in the Old Testament, you will find in the New Testament.

James 3: 9

(9) Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men,(It is talking about our tongues) which are made after the similitude of God.

There are three words – similitude, the word likeness, and the word image. They are used in these passages.

Colossians 1: 15 It is speaking of the Lord Jesus

(15) Who is the image of the invisible God

Notice that carefully.--The image of the invisible God.

In Colossians 1: 15, the word “image” is used of Christ. In this verse “image” has nothing to do with His body. You are going to have people tell you, some time or other, that man was made in the image of God, that’s why he walks on two legs and not four. But it has absolutely nothing to do with that! When you read Colossians, the image is the image of the invisible. Don’t miss that connection.

In this verse, the image has nothing to do with His Body. His Body was made in the image or likeness of men.

Philippians 2: 6-8

(6) Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

(7) But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

(8) And being found in fashion as a man, humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

He became into the likeness of men – as to His Body. And so we go back and we look at more Scripture.

John 4: 24

(24) God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

God is a Spirit. Colossians 1; 15 – God is invisible. God is invisible, because God is Spirit. It says that Christ was made in the image of God. His image in man has to do with that. Man has a spirit in him, therefore, man is not merely an animal.

I am always arrested, and almost amused by the way some of our scientists today, are trying to find out and prove that men are merely animals. Are you noticing it? They are doing it all the time. They have their reasons why man is an animal. Well he is not an animal.

Man is not an animal because the spirit of God is in him. Having a spirit, man is made in God’s image. And the spirit of man is everlasting. His body certainly is not. His body is not like God, because it deteriorates and dies, and God never dies. The spirit of man, being the image of God, will never die, as God never dies.

1c. Man Was Created –Spirit, Soul And Body

Man was created spirit, soul, and body. Any teaching that denies this fact is to be regarded as belonging to a cult. Will you mark that. Some day you may need that. Any teaching that denies that man is tripartite – that is, spirit, soul and body, is to be regarded as belonging to a cult. For only on this foundation can the doctrine of Salvation be clearly presented.

Here are some Scriptures that have to do with man’s soul and spirit. And then I have listed some Scriptures that have to do with man’s body.

i) Scriptures

Genesis 2: 7

(7) And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Luke 1: 46-47

(46) And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,

(47) And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

1 Thessalonians 5: 23

(23) And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 4: 12

(12) For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit,

ii) As To Man’s Body

Genesis 2: 7

(7) And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Genesis 3: 19

(19) In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Job 10: 9

(9) Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again?

Job 33: 6

(6) Behold, I am according to thy wish in God’s stead: I also am formed out of the clay.

2 Corinthians 5: 1

(1) For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

iii) As To The Soul And Spirit

As to the soul and spirit, we have a whole list of Scriptures with this statement. The soul and spirit constitute the person.

Luke 12: 20

(20) But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

Acts 7: 59

(59) And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

2 Corinthians 5: 8

(8) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

Philippians 1: 21-23

(21) For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

(22) But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.

(23) For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better.

James 2: 26

(26) For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

The soul and spirit constitute the person. So often we seem to think that the body is the most important part of us.

Matthew 10: 28

(28) And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

The most important part of your being is not your body -- but the person, (the soul and the spirit.)

1d. The Woman Was Created Out Of The Man

Genesis 2: 21-25

Eve became the first Bible type of “The Church.”

(21) And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;

(22) And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

(23) And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

Genesis 5: 1-2

(1) This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;

(2) Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.

Matthew 19: 4

(4) And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female. (that was Jesus talking)

Again, Eve became the first Bible type of “The Church.”

Ephesians 5: 21-32

(21) Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

(22) Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

(23) For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

(24) Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

(25) Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

(26) That he might sanctify and cleanse it, with the washing of water by the word,

(27) That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

(28) So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

(29) For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:

(30) For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

(31) For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

(32) This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

1e. The Human Race Therefore, Descended From One Man (Adam) and one Woman (Eve)

The human race, therefore, descended from one man Adam, and from one woman, Eve. And that is verified in the New Testament.

1 Timothy 2: 13

(13) For Adam was first formed, then Eve.

1 Corinthians 15: 22

(22) For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

We were, and are all IN Adam

2. The Family Of Adam - Fallen

The details are in the third chapter of Genesis. Here I am giving you an outline. I have compiled, much of it from Griffith Thomas, and some of it from other sources. We have used alliteration of words, in order to help you remember.

Genesis Three

1. Genesis 3:1-5 – The Serpent

We are introduced to the person of the serpent, who later, becomes known in the Scriptures as the devil.

We are introduced in Genesis:

first to God,

then to man,

and then to Satan.

And that order should always be remembered.

We should know something about God, before we know anything about Satan.

Genesis 3: 1-5

(1) Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.

The word indicates character.

1 Peter 5: 8

(8) Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.

The devil is presented here as a roaring lion. But the first time in the Bible, (and firsts are always important) the serpent is most dangerous. He is more dangerous as the serpent -- (this one who comes in so cunningly) than he is as a roaring lion.

Notice, he questions, denies and charges.

Genesis 3: 1-5

(1) Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman,

Notice his approach is not to the man, but to the woman. And I believe there is a reason for that. I believe that God created the man to be the head, and for that reason, the devil knew what he was doing.

Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

He first questions what God has said.

(2) And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden :

(3) But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

There is something very important to notice there. God had not said anything about touching it. Eve had added to the Word of God. Eve said Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. God had not said that.

So it looks to me, that as we are introduced to this story, the reason the serpent was successful, was because the Word of God was not abiding in the heart of Eve. Now, don’t forget that principle. The Word of God was not abiding, and not only did she not quote what God said, she added to what God said.

(4) And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

Notice the principle. The first thing we are told about the devil – first he questions what God has said, and then he denies what God has said.

Here is the next tactic of the devil in verse five:

(5) For God doth know

Notice these words “God doth know”

that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

And so, in that statement, he is questioning the action of God, and the devil is suggesting that God is withholding good, when Proverbs says No good thing will God withhold from those who walk uprightly.

So, in verses one to five we are introduced to the serpent.

2. Genesis 3:6 -- Self

Genesis 3: 6

(6) And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Notice the word saw, then desired, then took, and then gave.

Now, Satan appeals to the ego of the individual.

Joshua 7:20-21 We see the same principle:

(20) And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done:

(21) When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.

Here is another principle that is introduced, and we have it in Genesis, chapter three. They first saw,

then coveted,

then took,

and then hid.

Now we go to 2 Samuel – the story of David.

2 Samuel 11: 1-27

(1) And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah., But David tarried still at Jerusalem.

The first verse gives you a little key. David should have been in the battle. But rather than being in the battle, he was at home.

(2) And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he SAW a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.

(4) And David sent messengers, and TOOK her;

Without reading the rest of the chapter, (you can read it, and find out all that follows) David is trying to hide what he had done.

And so the principle is everywhere in the Bible.

Sin begins by looking,

then by coveting,

then by taking,

and then you have to hide what you take.

The principle of sin has not changed one little bit.

2 Timothy 3: 2 Satan appeals to the human “ego.” That is how it begins in Genesis, and that is how it continues right down to today.

(3) For men shall be lovers of their own selves,

It is a mark of the last days. In this passage, it condemns “lovers of self.”

We have self-love

that produces self-pity,

that involves self-indulgence,

that involves self-glory etc.

And they are wrong! Today there is a rather unhealthy desire for material prosperity in our Western world. A love of money that simply reveals our ‘self-love.’ Timothy and Matthew talk against that.

1 Timothy 6: 10

(10) For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Matthew 6: 32

(32) (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek ) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

1 Timothy 6: 5-6

(5) Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

(6) But godliness with contentment is great gain.

So, first we have the serpent, and then we have self.

3. Genesis 3:6 -- Sin

Genesis 3: 6

Now it tells us about their sin:

Serpent + Self = Sin

“FLESH” is simply the reverse of SELF. You take flesh and spell it backwards, drop the H, and you get SELF. The Bible has much to say about flesh, and it is more than our body. When the devil appealed to the flesh of Eve, it was more than the external.

Galatians 5: 17-21

(17) For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

(18) But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

(19) Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

(20) Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

(21) Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

First you are introduced to Satan. Then you are introduced to SELF. And then you are introduced to their sin.

4. Genesis 3:7 – Self-Righteousness

Genesis 3: 7

(7) And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Being naked -- Adam and Eve went to work to clothe themselves.

Isaiah 59: 6

(6) Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.

The verse tells us, that in the sight of God, what we do is like filthy rags.

Isaiah 64: 6

(6) But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Is this why Jesus cursed the fig tree?

Matthew 21: 19

(19) And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.

Man has difficulty accepting that he cannot work for his Salvation. Remember, If you are not saved by what you do, you cannot be lost by what you do!

We are told, it is NOT by works of righteousness, which we have done. But Adam and Eve are a picture of all humans ever since. When they found that they were sinners, then they tried to do something about it.

5. Genesis 3:8 – Shame

Genesis 3: 8

(8) And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.

Sin will always lead to shame. When sin no longer brings shame, men have crossed a moral boundary line.

Jeremiah 6: 15

(15) Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? Nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the Lord.

Men have “hit bottom” when they no longer fear God.

Romans 3: 18

(18) There is no fear of God before their eyes.

6. Genesis 3:8 – Separation

Genesis 3: 8

and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.

This is always so. Your sins will separate you from God.

Adam and Eve sinned, and their sin brought separation.

Isaiah 59: 2

(2) But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

7. Genesis 3:9 – The Seeking Savior

Genesis 3: 9

(9) And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

Into the garden the Savior came “seeking the lost.”

Romans 3: 11

(11) There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

Men do not seek after God.

Luke 15: 4

(4) What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?

The good shepherd seeks the lost sheep.

Luke 15: 8

(8) Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?

It is the woman who seeks for the coin. And it is the Father who seeks for the son. They are all talking about the Savior who came seeking lost men.

8. Genesis 3:10-13 – Self-Justification

Genesis 3: 10-13

(10) And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

(11) And he said Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

(12) And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

(13) And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

First, Adam said “I was afraid.” And you will always notice, when man is afraid, that is when he gets into trouble. Adam said: “the woman thou gavest to me.” And Eve said: “The serpent made me do it.” Have you ever heard anybody say that today? – “It was the devil that made me do it!” It’s right back in Genesis, chapter three. Human nature hasn’t changed since Genesis!

1 Samuel 15: 24

(24) And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

1 Samuel 28: 5

(5) And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled.

Adam blamed God – “the woman thou gavest me.” And the devil was blamed by Eve.

Sin, at its worst, blames God.

Then it rebels against God.

Then it justifies itself.

9. Genesis 3:15 – A Savior Promised

Genesis 3: 15

(15) And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Here is the first prophesy in the Bible:

Y There are two seeds.

Y There will be conflict.

Y Her seed” implies the Virgin Birth of the Seed

of the woman.

Galatians 4: 4

(4) But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

10. Genesis 3:16-19 – Sorrow -- Sweat

Genesis 3: 16-19

(16) Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

(17) And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

(18) Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

(19) In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Thorns and thistles are still with us. So are mosquitoes and flies. They are all reminders of the Curse. And this curse includes death.

Romans 5: 12

(12) Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all man, for that all have sinned:

James 1: 15

(15) Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

1 Corinthians 15: 26

(26) The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

Until death is finally destroyed, the curse of Genesis, chapter three will not be removed.

Galatians 3: 13

(13) Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

It does not say we have been delivered from Adam’s curse, but from the curse of the law.

11. Genesis 3:20 – Simple Faith

Genesis 3: 20

(20) And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

On the basis of God’s Promise, Adam, by faith, called his wife’s name Eve. – the mother of all living. She should have been known as the mother of all dying. But because Adam had faith in the promise of God, he gave his wife the name of Eve.

12. Genesis 3:21 – Salvation Pictured

Genesis 3: 21

(21) Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

God made coats of skins, and Salvation is pictured. Satan is introduced. Sin is brought on the scene. And before you are finished, you have God providing Salvation.

¡ God found a sacrifice.

¡ God slew the sacrifice.

¡ God made the coats of skins.

¡ God put the coats on Adam and Eve.

In this picture of Salvation, it was all of God, not of men. God would be satisfied because the coat-of-covering was His providing. It pictures the Righteousness of God, placed on all who believe.

Romans 3: 22

(22) Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

Salvation, from beginning to end, is of the Lord.

Jonah 2: 9

(9) But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.