What You Missed in Genesis

Introduction

Genesis. One of the most popular, if not the most popular, books in the Bible. Abundant with the first stories of God and mankind, Genesis is rich in stories. Unfortunately, small details are missed amid the overarching stories (The Creation event, Cain & Abel, the Flood, the Tower of Babel, etc.).

In this new series exploring hidden details in every book of the Bible, we begin with Genesis.

Details

1) In Genesis 1:26, the verse reads “Let us make man in our image.” At first, you may miss it, but notice how God states “Let us make man in our image.” Even in the first chapter of Genesis, we can see the presence of the Trinity. ¹

2) A common question asked by non-Christians, skeptics, and unbelievers is: “If God is perfect, why did His creation go awry?” Well, in Genesis 2:16-17, it reads “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’” Notice how God says in the day, not if the day. This means sin entering the world was part of God’s plan all along. ²

3) In Genesis 1:31, God declared His creation “very good.” Interestingly, God used the term “very good” instead of “perfect.” God’s plan was not for a flawless world, but one where His purpose would be done via free will, growth, and redemption through Jesus. God’s plan was never about perfection, but restoration. ³

Fun Fact: Over half of recorded Bible history (4100 years) is in Genesis (2,286 years). The other 1,814 years are covered in the other 65 books in the Bible. ⁴

4) In Genesis 5:24, God took Enoch away. Enoch is only 1 of 2 people (the other is Elijah) in the Bible who didn’t die before being taken by God.

5) In Genesis 28:12, Jacob dreams of angels going up and down a ladder. Later, in John 1:51, Jesus refers to Himself as this ladder, meaning He is a connector between heaven and earth.

6) In Genesis 3:21, God made clothes for Adam and Eve out of animal skins. This was the first time blood was shed to cover sin. God Himself made the first sacrifice to cover their shame. This points forward to Jesus, whose sacrifice would one day cover the sins of all people.

7) In Genesis 6:14, God told Noah to build the ark out of gopher wood and seal it with pitch (a tar-like substance). Interestingly, the Hebrew word for “pitch” is kopher, which comes from the same root as the word for “atonement.” This connection suggests the ark wasn’t just a boat, but was a symbol of salvation. Just as pitch covered the ark and protected those inside from judgment, atonement covers our sins and protects us through Jesus.

More details coming soon…

Conclusion

As you can see, there is more to Genesis than what meets the eye… initially. Have any more interesting details you’d like to add to this list or for future books? Feel free to contact me at ericdennis11@gmail.com.

References

1. Cobble, Tara-Leigh, The Bible Recap: A One-Year Guide to Reading and Understanding the Entire Bible (Bethany House Publishers, 2020). Kindle. ↩︎
2. Cobble, Tara-Leigh, The Bible Recap: A One-Year Guide to Reading and Understanding the Entire Bible (Bethany House Publishers, 2020). Kindle. ↩︎
3. Cobble, Tara-Leigh, The Bible Recap: A One-Year Guide to Reading and Understanding the Entire Bible (Bethany House Publishers, 2020). Kindle. ↩︎
4. Interesting Facts About Genesis. https://www.biblecharts.org/thebible/interestingfactsaboutgenesis.pdf ↩︎