At school you study the early history of the world, written as men think correct. In the first book of the Bible, Genesis, which means “beginning”, we have the beginning of the world’s history, told as God gave it (2nd Peter 1:21). So this must be the most important of all histories. Let us review a few of its first facts.
We read God created the heavens and the earth, but are not told when, or how old the earth is, only the words, “In the beginning.”
Afterward God gave light and divided the light from darkness, we read, “The evening and the morning were the first day.” Count and you will find those words, “the evening and the morning” six times, giving the wondrous work of God each day: He divided the sky and earth; separated the land and waters, causing grass, plants, and trees to grow; set the sun, moon, and stars to be bearers of light; called forth the creatures of the sea and the birds; and the last day called forth the land animals and created the first man and woman.
The seventh day He rested, completing the first week of time, days of part light and part darkness, the same as days now, only we count a full day from midnight to midnight, and it was then counted from sunset to sunset.
The first date given is that Adam was 130 years old when his son Seth was born, showing God counts time for us from the age of the first man, not from creation.
You may read in some books of those first men being cave men, who had no wisdom and fought the animals with clubs. But those who wrote that had not carefully read Genesis which says the first man, Adam, had control of the animals, as had other early men (chap. 9:2). The second man, Cain, built a city, and early men had harps and worked in brass and iron (chap. 4:17, 21, 22), all showing intelligence.
From Genesis we learn the sad fact of the first sin of listening-to doubts about God’s care, and then believing what was not true (chap. 3). As there were more people, sins also increased, and because of this the different languages came, and the nations were divided.
Perhaps the most important facts to learn from Genesis are that God watched over people; talked with them; told them of a sacrifice for sin; and that He was ready to forgive all who believed Him.
When here on earth the Lord Jesus many times spoke of what is told in Genesis: of the forming of the first man and woman; of Abel, Noah, Abraham, Lot and his wife; of the destroying of Sodom: of Isaac and of Jacob. So He knew those accounts were all true and important, and anything we hear or read which doubts the book of Genesis is untrue.
ML 12/27/1936