Bible in a Year: End of Genesis

September 18th, 2024
by Michele Slott

If you have been on the "Bible in a Year" journey with us, and have been able to stay on schedule (or even are a couple of days behind), you finished Genesis.

Here are a few questions I invite you to respond to in the Comments, so we might have a bit of discussion (if people are willing):

Was there a favorite story or character you discovered in Genesis? What made it a favorite?
If this was the first time you read Genesis, or the first time in a long time, what surprised you the most?
If you used the Bible Project videos and articles as resources, was there a favorite one you would point to, or a thought they shared you would like to repeat? Feel free to share links, too.
Any other thoughts you would like to add?

For my part, one of the things I realized was that now that I've been to the Holy Land, the maps and places make me ask a lot more questions. I like to look up those places and see how far apart they are, and I realize how the same place is mentioned over and over and over again (sometimes with a slightly different name)... How (Jeru)Salem was important from the beginning, etc. That the son named Judah ended up being the namesake for the later kingdom. His story was one I paid more attention to this time.

And I was reminded starkly, there's not a perfect person (until we get to Jesus, of course) in the bunch. Even the "good" ones make mistakes, have errors in judgement, weak moments, etc. It definitely reflects our very human nature and God making use of us anyway, most ESPECIALLY if we are willing to be in partnership with him.

Linked here was one of the videos I really enjoyed this past few weeks, from The Bible Project. I watched it twice, also talking about the characters being in the biblical narrative being so complex.

My two cents. I hope you will share yours.
~ Michele

2 Comments

Add Your Comment

Renee - September 22nd, 2024 at 9:46am

I already got behind ugh! The creation story is my favorite. I’ll admit this is the first time I’ve ever gotten through the entire book. In the past getting much beyond the creation got too confusing for me to follow. Still was. Following the lineage and how some parts that seem so important are so vague and other parts that seem so minor are so detailed. It’s the blur between faith and logic that still creep into my mind sometimes. The timing, places, the travel…how could that possibly… The “…”

nSome parts I found disturbing, the incest, the great deception amongst own families, which sadly of course still happens today.

nI do like the story of Joseph, how he overcame. How what was meant for evil turned out to be good. Forgiveness.

nMy favorite video was the last one. The overview of tying the whole book together.

nStill playing catch up but very excited to keep reading.

n

Jaimie - September 22nd, 2024 at 4:13pm

As a first time Bible reader, I am really enjoying this journey. I find the additional videos and articles to be really helpful in understanding everything.

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nMy favorite story/character is Melchizedek. I find his very brief yet symbolic appearance to be mysterious and foreshadowing of Jesus. I also loved Psalm 8 (and many others!).

n

nWhat stood out the most, as someone who has never read anything from the Bible before, is how much grace and mercy God has for people despite our flaws. I have always heard that "the God of the Old Testament" was angry, jealous and violent. But that isn't what I saw in Genesis at all.

n

nMy favorite resource was the "Image of God" video https://youtu.be/YbipxLDtY8c?si=H6vIbrSujoN7NYXj

nAgain, as a new reader, this is a concept that I have always heard talked about, but never truly understood.

n

nOverall, the Bible readings are so much more deep and complex than I ever imagined. I am really enjoying it, excited to keep reading!