Lord’s Day, Vol. 12 No. 9
Opening the Book of Genesis (2)
Men who walk with God have His presence to guide them. God shows them the way. As you plough through the book of Genesis, from Abraham to Isaac, and to Jacob, how the Lord was with each generation of the patriarchs. God who is sovereignly in charge of their lives, works out all things for His glory in their lives.
Genesis 50:20-21 (KJV) But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.
Joseph knew God. His life was filled with distress and injustice. Yet you see how the Lord works out all things well in the life of His people. Dear reader, let us be a people of God, who walk with God.
The LORD was with Abraham or Abram as recorded in Genesis 17:1 (KJV) And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
God made a covenant with Abraham a covenant between unequal parties. God will fulfil all His promises towards His people, in spite and despite their weaknesses. The Lord works out all things well.
Genesis 17:4 (KJV) As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
The covenant of God finds its fruition through the descendants of Abraham, tracing to our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who entered human history – “God with us – Immanuel”. The life of Christ is the ultimate manifestation of God to man. God with man.
The Book of Genesis opens up the way by which man can walk with God. Reading through Genesis 3, we see the fall of man. Men fail to keep the covenant, the law and the commandment of God. Man dies as a result of falling into sin in disobeying the known will of God, by partaking the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
How great was that fall! For the woman – Genesis 3:16 (KJV) Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
To Adam, the LORD says, the ground is cursed – Genesis 3:17-19 (KJV) And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
The curse came as a result of man’s first sin. But God did not leave man in his fallen estate. God came to restore him, and provide a way out for him. Genesis 3:21 (KJV) Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
The coats of skin were placed upon them to cover their shame. Why were they not feeling ashamed of their nakedness before the fall? Because the glory of God was upon them. When they fell, the glory of God left them. When they sinned against God, the glory of God left them. They hid themselves from the presence of God. Sin causes shame and breaks the covenant and relationship between man and God.
The coats of skin and the clothing of Adam and Eve were a precursor of what God would do in the fullness of time through the descendants of Abraham to bring forth the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world. Christ comes in the fullness of time, from the loins of Abraham, the man who walked with God, to bring forth the ultimate God-Man. Christ lived a perfect life and was crucified upon the cross for the sins of man. His blood shed. His body was broken. After Jesus died on the cross, three days later, He rose again from the dead.
In every generation, God provides for us and shows the way of redemption through His Word, the Bible. The Book of Genesis provides a shadow of that redemption. With the New Testament, we can see the fullness of God’s redemption plan – Romans 10:9-10 (KJV) That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
God showed us how man ought to walk by sending His own Son. When we look at the life of Christ, we would be able to see how we ought to walk with God. He shows us the perfection of it. Right from the beginning, God did not leave His people without hope, without help. He has reached out to us, to help us to see and know Him.
And it is for us to identify Him, to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him. May the Lord strengthen His people as we consider the blessing of God upon those who would walk with Him, to receive His guidance, His protection, and His blessings, and those who stray and refuse Him to reap the sorrow, shame and seal of their destruction. Amen.
Yours lovingly,
Pastor Lek Aik Wee
