Digital Logos Edition
As its name implies, Genesis is a book of origins. In it we are told of the origin of the universe, the beginnings of the human race and the birth of the Israelite nation. But it is more than an early record of origins. It is part of God’s Word to us, what the apostle Paul calls ‘God-breathed’ Scripture. Here we are given infallible instruction concerning where we all came from and why things are the way they are.
The book of Genesis is also crucially important for our understanding of the rest of Scripture. It introduces us to the true and living God, to the beginnings of sin, its consequences and how it has affected the whole created order. It also tells of God's grace and of his promises to bless a world of lost sinners under God's curse. We are introduced to God's covenant with Abraham and to the great plan of salvation for all nations. The book is a signpost to the fulfillment of these promises of the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ, the redemption he achieved and the new covenant he established through his atoning death.
“The devil is a master at making God out to be a liar by presenting very plausible half-truths” (Page 92)
“The word used for ‘breathed’ is more often translated ‘blew’ elsewhere (see Isa. 54:16) and we think of Ezekiel 37:9 where God directed the prophet to ‘blow’ on the re-created bodies to give them life. We are also reminded of an incident recorded in John’s Gospel in connection with God’s new creation in Christ. Face to face with his disciples, the risen Lord Jesus breathed and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’ (John 20:22).” (Page 75)
“The need for a new creation and a new paradise is the theme of the first eleven chapters. They concern the human race over a large period of time, whereas the following thirty-nine chapters cover just a few centuries and concentrate on the lives of only four individuals.” (Page 16)
“Joseph deliberately favoured Benjamin to test them for jealousy. Jealousy had been the prime reason for the brothers’ hatred of Joseph.” (Page 525)
“This was Abram’s background. Alexander Whyte has put it bluntly: ‘The first Jew was a Gentile. The first Hebrew was a heathen.’” (Page 248)
The book is easy to follow, while at the same time being packed with solid teaching, especially biblical theology and sound application. It must have taken a great deal of toil to distill this much instruction into this volume.
—Journal of Dispensational Theology