HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 373
Genesis
I N T H E B E G I N N I N G — the beginning of all beginnings—everything
was fresher than the earliest morning and newer than a baby’s next
breath. God spoke, and new worlds emerged. God breathed, and new
life began. God created, and a new garden grew with pristine purity.
A new dynamic called love and marriage blossomed in that garden,
and it would lead to a new wonder called children and family. A new
utopia had begun. The whole wide universe, and the tiny corner called
Eden, was bathed in honeymoon freshness. It was the dawn of all
things wonderful, the dawn of everything bright and beautiful.
Genesis is the book of new beginnings—new,
What you will be
wonderful beginnings. But it is also the book
reading about
of new beginnings that were far less than
1:1– 2:25
wonderful because of another new dynamic
How God created the world
called choice. God gave his creatures the ability
3:1– 5:32
to choose the course their lives would take, and
How sin entered the world
they did not choose wisely. And so began the
6:1–11:32
dark presence of the evil one, the dark shadow
The story of Noah and
the ark
called temptation, and the dark woundedness
called sin.
12:1–25:18
The story of Abraham
Many today are tired of the same old thing—
the same job, the same routines, the same
25:19 – 28:9
responsibilities, the same load of debt, the
The story of Isaac
same limitations, the same sickness or injury,
28:10 – 36:43
perhaps even the sameness in marriage or famThe story of Jacob
ily life. If only we could choose a new course in
37:1– 50:26
life. If only we could get away from it all, perThe story of Joseph
haps even get away from everyone and everything familiar—out of debt, out of the neighborhood, out of the chains of
sameness. If only we could jump-start a new tomorrow today.
In our quest for newness, many jump ship, leaving home and family behind,
just to find that the new beginning is only the other side of the same old coin.
Old oppression is exchanged for new oppression. Old problems are bartered
for new ones until it seems that the new is worse than the old.
When we embark on a new beginning, how do we know which way it will
take us? Genesis is the book to study for answers. It lays out the principles
for new beginnings (new relationships, new rules, new jobs, new directions)
within the boundaries of God’s timeless and unchanging truths for successful
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