Chronological Reading Plan for Jan 1

Today's readings are Gen 1-3. Tomorrow's are Gen 4-7.

Moses is credited with writing Genesis, most probably sometime between the mid-fourteenth to mid-twelfth centuries BC. 

The Bible begins with God who, by the sheer power of His spoken word, brings everything into existence. There is no mention of His beginning, He simply is. With Him, we see the Spirit (Gen 1:2) and later will learn the Christ is present as well (Col 1:16). There is apparently no motivation for creation other than God's sovereign will. 

He makes man, then woman. They have a unique-in-all-creation relationship, unlike that of any of the animals. They are "one flesh". God gives them dominion over the earth. He's putting them "in charge" without relinquishing or diminishing His sovereign authority. God is the Commander-In-Chief. They are His generals. They, along with everything else, are His creation and belong to and are accountable to Him. This will be made very clear in Gen 3. God declares all of this to be good. Creation is beautiful. It is pure. The relationship between the man, woman and God is holy and intimate, all their needs met and their communion with God is unencumbered and sweet.

There is a serpent in the garden, another created being. The serpent entices the woman to disobey God's word by eating from tree of the knowledge of good and evil. She does as does the man. As soon as the man eats, the fall occurs. Curses are pronounced over the man and woman. There are consequences for their sin, the foremost being separation from God. God will not tolerate unholy behavior. The relationship with God changes and they are both ejected from the garden. Even so, God exhibits grace, providing clothing for the man and woman. In this we see that God's grace comes through the shedding of blood. 

There is another display of God's grace. It can be seen in Gen 3:15. This verse is known as the "protoevangelium", the very first gospel. Within it lies the promise of redemption, the hope of restoration back into a full and intimate relationship with God. 

The rest of the Bible is the story of that restoration, the story of man's redemption through Jesus Christ and his ultimate return to the garden. God has set everything in motion, sits in sovereign authority over all of it and will use it for His glory. This is the beginning of the story of all stories.