Genesis

One of my sons is going to try to read through the Bible this summer.  I thought that it might help him if I made a “Bible reading guide” that would make sure he paid attention to important matters and grasped the main points.  I’m writing this at a basic (6th-grade) level, but on the chance that it might be helpful to others, I’m posting it here.  If it appears that it is helpful, I may continue to post portions here.

Before you read mine, you might think for a minute about Genesis and what you consider to be important.  What would you tell a 6th grader or someone reading the Bible from cover to cover the first time?  (If you want, you can add comments below.)  Here we go:

God makes a good world, including a good man and a good woman. They rebel against God and the rest of the Bible records God’s efforts to restore fellowship.

Pay careful attention to God’s promises to Abraham in chapters 12, 15, and 17. Much of the rest of the Bible assumes that you understand and appreciate these.

The patriarchs aren’t perfect, but God is always faithful to them. In some ways they are models for us today, but in many ways they aren’t.

Notice how God saves the Israelites by using Joseph in Egypt. If Joseph was not in Egypt, the Israelites may have died (from famine) or become Canaanites (by intermarriage).

Genesis explains how Israel came to Egypt, thus setting the stage for why the Israelites are slaves in the book of Exodus.

Bonus (not in his guide): observe how God fulfills his promise to Abraham, first by providing a son (Isaac), then by “raising that son from the dead,” then by choosing only one of his sons (Jacob, but despite wicked Isaac’s best efforts), and then by giving Jacob 12 sons.

Sidenote: Genesis 38 seems like a completely random chapter, but I think it explains what would have happened to Jacob’s 12 sons if they had not gone to Egypt: they would have become like the Canaanites.