The Introduction of God’s Story of Mankind and the World, Genesis 1–4

In man’s experience, there are no such things as “fate” or “chance.” From the very beginning, God sovereignly and providentially works through all things to move history towards His determined goal, Gen 3:15 (Ramesh P. Richard, “Premillennialism as a Philosophy of History—Part 2: Elements of a Biblical Philosophy of History,” 138 [1981]: 113). With his prologue of Genesis 1–4, the narrator accomplishes what prologues are intended to accomplish. He introduces his readers to the main characters, the conflict, the plot and the foreshadowing of the resolution of his story. These critical elements to biblical theology that Moses introduces, God continues and develops progressively throughout the entire Old and New Testaments. Hence, Jesus reveals the climax of the history or the Bible’s story as “the hour” (the purpose) for which He came (John 12:23-27) to redeem and restore blessings to mankind, creation and to defeat the Serpent (1 John 3:8). Also, as the reader should expect, the end of the story corresponds to the beginning of the story (Gen 1:1, 28; 3:15) and concludes it.  The Serpent is finally crushed (Rev 20:10), and history is enveloped by eternity as God removes sin, and death from creation, and man is reconciled to God and reigns with Christ forever (Rev. 21:1-4; 22:3-5).

• Ch. 1: The Introduction of God—the Sovereign Creator-King over Everything 
• Ch. 2: The Introduction of Man—the Coronated Vice-King in Paradise            
• Ch. 3: The Introduction of the Story’s Antagonist, Protagonist, Conflict, & Outline
  1. The Antagonist is the Serpent later to be revealed as Satan (Rev 12:9; 20:2)
  2. The Protagonist is the seed of the woman, the coming man, later to be revealed as the better Adam, Jesus (1 Cor 15:22, 45)
  3. The Conflict is will God be able to defeat the serpent and reconcile his relationship with mankind through the coming man?
  4. The Outline of history will be characterized by spiritual warfare between those whom the Serpent would use, his seed, and those whom God would choose, the woman’s seed. The war will continue until the coming last Adam crushes the serpent’s head.
• Ch. 4: The Introduction to Life Outside of the Garden—Spiritual Warfare between the Seed of the Serpent and the Seed of the Woman                                                

The Introduction of the Story’s Problem for Mankind and the World, Genesis 5–11

The problem of man’s rebellion against God is nothing short of catastrophic. Death spreads universally. Spirit-beings continue to attack and corrupt mankind. The entire human race is filled with violence. God’s righteous universal judgment does not change the heart of man’s problem, his heart. Mankind unifies to launch a collective assault against God in an attempt to exalt themselves above Him. God, with amazing mercy and patience, scatters mankind into nations to slow down our effort to collaborate together in a unified mutiny. The whole of mankind is consumed by sin.

• Ch. 5: The Beginning of the Story of Man, a Story of Death with Hope
• Ch. 6: Man’s Corruption of the World & God’s Verdict to Judge it with a Universal Flood
• Ch. 7: God’s Punishment of Mankind & the De-Creation with a Universal Flood
• Ch. 8: God’s Salvation of Man through Ark and a Re-Creation            
• Ch. 9: God’s Reestablished Covenant Relationship with Mankind with Blessings & Curses
• Ch. 10: The Story of the Birth of the Nations through Rebellion
• Ch. 11: The Mutiny of Mankind against God at Babel—the Backstory of God’s Chosen Nation

The Introduction in the Story of God’s Promise to Bless Mankind and the World, Genesis 12-50

In spite of mankind’s sin, God out of sovereign grace, calls a man, Abraham, and commits that through him He would raise up a nation and from them a king, who would crush evil and restore blessings to all of the families of the earth. That nation is Israel, and that King would come from the line of Judah. Genesis gives pictures, prophecies and a seed-line for the reader to follow that will lead them to the identity of the King who would defeat the serpent and rescue and restore the righteous kingdom of God over the earth.

• Ch. 12: God’s Promise to Bless the Families of the Earth through Abram & to Curse His Enemies
• Ch. 13: God’s Initial Blessing of Prosperity & the Reiteration of His Promise
• Ch. 14: God’s Shield as the Protector for Abram & the Type of the Coming King in Melchizedek
• Ch. 15: God’s Ratification of His Covenant to fulfill His Promise to His Seed, the People of Faith
• Ch. 16: Abram & Sarah’s Faithless Cultural Compromise for a Seed & Its Consequences
• Ch. 17: God’s Sign for the Covenant—Circumcision                                    
• Ch. 18: God’s Reiteration of the Promise to Bless the Elect Seed & Punish the Serpent’s Seed
• Ch. 19: God’s Destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah—Representatives of the Serpent’s Seed
• Ch. 20: Abraham’s Lapse of Faith and Endangerment of the Promised Seed
• Ch. 21: God’s Miraculous Fulfillment of the Promised Seed Birth of Isaac
• Ch. 22: God’s Test to Reveal Abraham’s Faith through His Sacrifice of the Promised Seed & God’s Oath to Provide the Lamb to Fulfill His Covenant Seed Promise
• Ch. 23: Sarah’s Death—the Matriarch of the Promised Seed & the Hope for the Promised Land
• Ch. 24: Isaac’s Marriage—God’s Providential Passing along of His Faithful Covenant Seed Promise
• Ch. 25a: Abraham’s Death—the Patriarch of the Promise & the Question of the Future of the Promise
• Gen 25b: The Seed Stories of Ishmael & Isaac—The Seed lines of the Flesh vs the Seed line of Choice
• Gen 26: The Struggles of the Promised Seed, Isaac—Like Father Like Son                                 
• Gen 27: The Struggle of the Promised Seed, Jacob, for the 1^st Born Blessing
• Gen 28: The Struggle’s Result—The Promised Seed, Jacob, Flees then Meets & Receives God’s Blessing
• Gen 29: The Struggle of the Promised Seed for a Wife—Results in Two Wives and Two Concubines
• Gen 30: God’s Fulfillment of His Covenant Promise by Multiplying Jacob’s Seed & his Herd/Flock
• Gen 31: The Struggle to Leave Laban—Yahweh Sends Jacob Home
• Gen 32: The Struggle of the Promised Seed, Jacob, Wrestling with God and Reception of God’s Blessing and a New Name, Israel
• Gen 33: God’s Answer to Jacob’s Prayer—Peace in his Seedline war with Esau
• Gen 34: The Struggle between the Seed of Jacob & the Seed of the Canaanites over Dinah
• Gen 35: God’s Securing of Jacob’s Exclusive Trust, the Re-Giving of the Abrahamic Covenant, and the Deaths of Rachael and Isaac
• Gen 36: The Story of the Seed-line of Esau—The Origins of the Nation of Edom
• Gen 37: The Story of Jacob’s Seed—Joseph, The Dream of the Coming Worldwide Ruler
• Gen 38: The Story of Judah’s Seedline through the Woman Tamar
• Gen 39: The Suffering of Joseph in Slavery & His Imprisonment
• Gen 40: The Suffering of Joseph Abandoned in Jail & His Interpretation of Dreams
• Gen 41: The Exaltation of Joseph to Ruler as He Interprets Pharaoh’s Dreams of Prosperity and Famine
• Gen 42: The Fulfillment of Joseph’s Dreams—His Brothers Bow to Him, and He Tests Them
• Gen 43: The Promise of Judah to be a Sacrificial Substitute & the Brothers Return to Egypt
• Gen 44: The Free Offer of Judah as a Sacrificial Substitute for His Supposed Guilty Brother
• Gen 45: The Revelation of Joseph Being Alive from the Dead and His Exaltation to the Ruler & Savior of the Nations
• Gen 46: The Move of Israel to Egypt Where He Sees Joseph Alive from the Supposed Dead
• Gen 47: The Blessings Upon Israel Even While Egypt Struggles During the Famine
• Gen 48: The Blessings of Israel upon Joseph with Firstborn Status and His Younger Son over the Older
• Gen 49: The Prophecy of Israel Regarding the Twelve Tribes and the Promised Saving Ruler for the World from Judah and How the Nations Would Bow to Him
• Gen 50: The Death & Burial of Israel & Joseph and the Concluding Reminder that Nothing Will Stop God from Bringing about His Good New Promise to Bless All the Families of the Earth