Welcome to week one of the St. Paul's Bible Challenge. We have started out reading the Torah - the first five books of the Christian Bible - this is what Jesus, and Paul, were referring to when they say, "Scripture says ..."
This week we have the first 24 chapters of the book of Genesis.
These chapters have a lot of the stories that we know: The creation stories (yes there are two), Noah's Ark, Abraham and Sarah, Ishmael, the sacrifice of Isaac and Rebecca at the well. There are also some of the stories that we don't hear very often (like Noah after he leaves the ark).
As I think about this section of Scripture, it seems to me that one of the overarching themes of this section is that God has called the world into being and has begun calling human beings into relationship with himself.
We begin with God literally speaking the world into being and it is good. Then God begins attempting to build relationships with him. We see that in story of Adam and Eve, of Noah and of Abraham. God calls human beings into relationship with him - it basically involves letting him be our God.
These stories show that from the beginning God has sought to be in relationship with human beings and that we have mostly not succeeded very well in responding to God's call to relationship. We mostly fail to let God be our God - but we try to respond to God's call.
What do you think?
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The theme that keeps reappearing to me is that even when we, as believers, are disobedient, our God always keeps His word and remembers us. What a great relief!
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