Introduction

Moses wrote Genesis “in the desert, after he had been on the mountain with God.” This book “contains things that are certain.” Genesis is a suitable name, “for it is a history of originals - the creation of the world, the entrance of sin and death into it, the invention of arts, the rise of nations, and especially the formation of the church, and its state in its early days.”

Genesis 1

v1: God Almighty is the Maker of heaven and earth, and He has made a world with great variety, beauty, precision, power, order, and mystery. “Before the beginning of time there was nothing but that infinite Being that lives in eternity.” If God is the Creator, “he is certainly also the owner and possessor of heaven and earth,” and “certainly deserves our praise.”

v2: “When we consider the earth formless and empty, we think that it is like the valley full of dead and dry bones. Can these lives? Can this chaotic mass of matter be formed into a beautiful world? Yes, if a spirit of life from God enters into it.”

v3-13: God doesn’t only command creation to come into being, He carries out the work too. “What God requires of us he himself works in us, or it is not done.” God who “commands faith, holiness, and love” in us, “creates them in us by the power of his grace alongside his word.” Therefore in salvation and sanctification, as in creation, “he may have all the praise.”

v14-25: “The work of creation not only proceeded gradually from one thing to another, but also advanced gradually from what was less excellent to what was more so.” Here is an encouragement to us to “press on toward perfection,” and to “endeavour that our last works may be our best works.”

v26-31: The first humans were created upright and in a happy and holy state. In their understanding, they “saw divine things clearly and truly, and there was no errors or mistakes in [their] knowledge.” Their “wills complied readily and universally with the will of God, without reluctance or resistance.” Their “emotions were all normal, and… had no excessive appetites or passions.” Their “thoughts were easily brought to and fixed on the best subjects, and there was nothing vain or ungovernable in [them].” So when God “reviewed all that he had done, everything was very good.”

Genesis 2

v1-3: As God worked for six days, then rested for one day “and took satisfaction in his creatures,” so we are to take a day each week “to rest and take satisfaction in our Creator” and to “celebrate the rest of God the Son and the finishing of the work of our redemption.”

v4-7: If it from his hands that we have received life, then into his hands let us commit our lives.

v8-15: God is a “tender Father” who provides “not only for Adam’s good, but also for his gratification,” by putting him “into an Eden of plenty and pleasure.” The One who “made us” is “able to make us happy.”

v16-17: God has the right to rule over us, and it is right that we be ruled by Him. Let us not “allow any will of our own to contradict, or compete with, the holy will of God.”

v18-25: “The woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, or out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected by him, and near his heart to be loved by him.”

Genesis 3

v1-7: “What the Devil,” in the shape and likeness of a serpent, “aimed at was to persuade Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit, and, to do this, he used the same method that he does still. He questioned whether it was a sin or not. He denied that there was any danger in it. He suggested benefits from it.”

v8-13: “Those who by sin have gone astray from God,” need to be encouraged to “seriously consider where they are. They are far away from all good, in the midst of [God’s] enemies, in bondage to Satan, and on the highway to complete ruin,” and any excuses they make “to cover and explain away their sins, are foolish and futile.”

v14-15: As soon as sin entered the world, “the remedy was provided and revealed.” Christ is promised here. He will deliver “fallen humanity from the power of Satan” by destroying “all his schemings and all his powers,” and by overthrowing “completely his kingdom and concerns.” Christ is “the offspring of the woman” who will be “made sin and a curse for us, so saving us from both.”

v16-19: Sin has changed what this earth is like. It is now cursed, therefore, we must not look to it for “happiness and satisfaction.” Our hope is found in Christ. “Did travailing pains come in with sin? We read of the travail of his soul, the soul of Christ, the suffering servant. Did subjection come in with sin? Christ was born under law. Did the curse come in with sin? Christ became a curse for us, died a cursed death. Did thorns come in with sin? He was crowned with thorns for us. Did sweat come in with sin? For us his sweat was like drops of blood. Did sorrow come in with sin? He was a man of sorrows, in his agony his soul was extremely sorrowful. Did death come in with sin? He become obedient to death. And so the plaster covers the whole wound completely. Blessed be God for Jesus Christ!”

v20-24: In calling his wife ‘Eve’, Adam showed “his faith in the word of God.” As he gives her a name meaning ‘life’ he is looking to “the promised offering,” who will defeat the Devil and save His people. In providing clothing for Adam and Eve, we have an anticipation of the way Christ will bring salvation to the world. Jesus offers His life to God in the place of sinners as a sacrifice to take away God’s wrath, and His people are clothed by His righteousness.