Inspired by a young lady in our congregation, I’ve re-read Genesis. This young person was baptised recently, and, of course, we gave her a Bible! She came to me and said ‘I don’t much like reading, but I’ve read Genesis’.

Good for her! It got me thinking, though, when did I last read the Bible like that? A whole book all the way through? It’s been far too long! So I’ve started with Genesis, and I’m hoping to get all the way through to Revelation.

I don’t claim to be any great Biblical scholar, and this blog will be very different from a Bible commentary. But I’m going to share a couple of thoughts about each book or some of the stories within it. I’m hoping blogging will keep me accountable as much as anything else!

So here we go, Genesis:

After the first beautiful chapters about creation and fall, I had a lot of questions as I read through Genesis. If you interpret it literally, there’s a whole load of questions. And if you don’t, it’s all a writing choice, so again, lots of questions!

My Favourite verse: Genesis 1.31: God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

As ever, Genesis gives examples of difficult family dynamics and pretty poor parenting. Just look at Jacob and his sons! We see great faith (Abraham), great doubt (Sarah), hard work (Noah), grace (Joseph), learning (Leah), and jealousy (Rachel). There are many voiceless people, such as Bilhah and Zilpah, and despite the genealogy, there are many unnamed people. Genesis is not a quiet book!

What struck me for the first time time was the similarities between Jacob and Esau being reunited and the Father and Prodigal Son being reunited in the Gospels. There is something about Esau running with abandon to reach his brother who had wronged him, and his eagerness to forgive. It’s as if when Jesus told his parable, he made an extra character, one who remained bitter (which, let’s face it, the religious leaders of the time were!). I’ve no idea how much writing, if any, there is on this. It could be blindingly obvious to everybody else, and I’ve only just caught up!

Genesis is a good, if confusing, read. I think it helps us understand what it means to be human and how we relate to our creator. It should encourage us that God has always worked, and continues to work, through very flawed people.

Next up: Exodus!