Beginnings Matter

Today's Reading: Gen 4–6 | Prov 1:9–16 | Luke 2

Genesis matters because beginnings matter. When we misunderstand the foundation, everything built on top of it begins to lean. I still remember the first time I put on a long-sleeve button-down shirt by myself—white with light blue stripes and six buttons down the front. I proudly finished buttoning it, only to realize something was very wrong: one side hung lower than the other, and there was an empty buttonhole staring back at me. The button wasn’t missing—I had just started in the wrong place. Because I missed the very first button, everything else was off.

That is exactly why Genesis is so important. The opening chapters of Scripture aren’t myths or ancient guesses. They are God’s own record of the world’s origins, communicated directly to Moses. The very name “Genesis” means “beginnings,” and Scripture treats it as the foundation for all that follows—quoted more than 35 times in the New Testament and alluded to hundreds of times throughout both Testaments. It truly is the seedbed of Scripture; the themes that later blossom throughout the Bible all find their roots here.

As we walk through Genesis, we see that God’s people have always been called to live in a way distinctly different from the world around them. Just as Israel was to stand out among their neighbors, we too are called to anchor our lives to the truths God established “in the beginning.” When we get the first button right—when we start with God’s truth—everything else begins to fall into place.

Here is an outline of Genesis that is found in John MacArthur's Handbook on the Bible:

Outline

Genesis by content is comprised of two basic sections: (1) Primitive history (Gen. 1–11) and (2) Patriarchal history (Gen. 12–50).

Primitive history records 4 major events: (1)Creation (Gen. 1–2); (2) the Fall (Gen. 3–5); (3) the Flood (Gen. 6–9); and (4) the Dispersion (Gen. 10–11).

Patriarchal history spotlights four great men: (1) Abraham (Gen. 12:1–25:8); (2) Isaac (Gen. 21:1–35:29); (3) Jacob (Gen. 25:21–50:14); and (4) Joseph (Gen. 30:22–50:26).

The literary structure of Genesis is built on the frequently recurring phrase “the history/genealogy of” and is the basis for the following outline.

I. The Creation of Heaven and Earth (1:1–2:3)

II. The Generations of the Heavens and the Earth (2:4–4:26)

A. Adam and Eve in Eden (2:4–25)

B. The Fall and Its Outcomes (chap. 3)

C. Murder of a Brother (4:1–24)

D. Hope in the Descendants of Seth (4:25–26)

III. The Generations of Adam (5:1–6:8)

A. Genealogy—Seth to Noah (chap. 5)

B. Rampant Sin Prior to the Flood (6:1–8)

IV. The Generations of Noah (6:9–9:29)

A. Preparation for the Flood (6:9–7:9)

B. The Flood and Deliverance (7:10–8:19)

C. God’s Noahic Covenant (8:20–9:17)

D. The History of Noah’s Descendants (9:18–29)

V. The Generations of Shem, Ham, and Japheth (10:1–11:9)

A. The Nations (chap. 10)

B. Dispersion of the Nations (11:1–9)

VI. The Generations of Shem: Genealogy of Shem to Terah (11:10–26)

VII. The Generations of Terah (11:27–25:11)

A. Genealogy (11:27–32)

B. The Abrahamic Covenant: His Land and People (12:1–22:19)

1. Journey to the Promised Land (12:1–9)

2. Redemption from Egypt (12:10–20)

3. Division of the land (chap. 13)

4. Victory over the kings (chap. 14)

5. The covenant ratified (chap. 15)

6. Rejection of Hagar and Ishmael (chap. 16)

7. The covenant confirmed (chap. 17)

8. Birth of Isaac foretold (18:1–15)

9. Sodom and Gomorrah (18:16–19:38)

10. Philistine encounter (chap. 20)

11. Isaac’s birth (chap. 21)

12. Abraham’s act of faith with Isaac (22:1–19)

C. Abraham’s Promised Seed (22:20–25:11)

1. Rebekah’s background (22:20–24)

2. Death of Sarah (chap. 23)

3. Isaac’s marriage to Rebekah (chap. 24)

4. Isaac the only heir (25:1–6)

5. Death of Abraham (25:7–11)

VIII. The Generations of Ishmael (25:12–18)

IX. The Generations of Isaac (25:19–35:29)

A. Competition Between Esau and Jacob (25:19–34)

B. Covenant Blessings to Isaac (chap. 26)

C. Jacob’s Deception for the Blessing (27:1–40)

D. Blessing on Jacob in a Foreign Land (27:41–32:32)

1. Jacob sent to Laban (27:41–28:9)

2. Angel at Bethel (28:10–22)

3. Disagreements with Laban (29:1–30)

4. Promised seed (29:31–30:24)

5. Departure from Aram (30:25–31:55)

6. Angels at Mahanaim and Penuel (chap. 32)

E. Esau’s Reunion and Reconciliation with Jacob (33:1–17)

F. Events and Deaths from Shechem to Mamre (33:18–35:29)

X. The Generations of Esau (36:1–37:1)

XI. The Generations of Jacob (37:2–50:26)

A. Joseph’s Dreams (37:2–11)

B. Family Tragedy (37:12–38:30)

C. Vice Regency over Egypt (chaps. 39–41)

D. Reunion with Family (chaps. 42–45)

E. Transition to Exodus (chaps. 46–50)

1. Journey to Egypt (46:1–27)

2. Occupation in Goshen (46:28–47:31)

3. Blessings on the twelve tribes (48:1–49:28)

4. Death and burial of Jacob in Canaan (49:29–50:14)

5. Death of Joseph in Egypt (50:15–26)

 MacArthur, John. The MacArthur Bible Handbook. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003. Print.