Volume 1 Answer Guide ©2019 Stan Key. Reproduction of all or any substantial part of these materials is prohibited except for personal, individual use. No part of these materials may be distributed or copied for any other purpose without written permission. Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright ©2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Cover image: Alexandre-Louis Leloir’s Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (1865) For information about these or other Bible study materials, contact: PO Box 7 Wilmore, KY 40390 859-858-4222 800-530-5673 [email protected] www.francisasburysociety.com Books by the author: Marriage Matters The Last Word Jeremiah: Fire in Journey to His Bones Spiritual Wholeness Other Bible studies by the author include: • David: King of Hearts • East of Eden: Finding Our Way Home (A Study of Genesis) • Faith Works: The Commands of Jesus • The Geography of Salvation • The Good Kings of Judah • Got Life? A Study of the Gospel of John • Jeremiah: Fire in the Belly • Reason Why • Revelation: The Last Word TABLE OF CONTENTS ONCE UPON A TIME… ............................................................................................................................................ 4 DESIGNER UNIVERSE .............................................................................................................................................. 9 THE WAY THINGS OUGHT TO BE .......................................................................................................................... 14 THERE’S A SNAKE IN THE GARDEN! ...................................................................................................................... 19 THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES ........................................................................................................................... 24 SPOILER ALERT ..................................................................................................................................................... 29 WHY CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG? ................................................................................................................ 34 ROTTEN TO THE CORE .......................................................................................................................................... 39 TIPPING POINT ..................................................................................................................................................... 45 ADDENDUM A: TOWARD A THEOLOGY OF GENDER............................................................................................. 50 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................................................... 54 ANSWERS ............................................................................................................................................................ 55 NOTES .................................................................................................................................................................. 58 HYMNS/POEMS TAKE AND EAT (PAGE 23) I WANT A PRINCIPLE WITHIN (INSIDE BACK COVER) O FOR A CLOSER WALK WITH GOD (BACK COVER) . East of Eden Finding Our Way Home A Study of Genesis with Stan Key ONCE UPON A TIME… An Overview of the Book of Genesis I. The Big Picture A. Have you ever arrived for a movie 20 minutes after it started? The characters are unknown. There is no discernable plot. It feels like a series of randomly arranged events with no coherent meaning. B. For many people, the Bible is like that. It is a collection of 66 books, in three languages, by 40 authors, written over a period of 1,500 years. Many fail to see the unity of the Bible’s overall message because they do not know Genesis (they missed the first 20 minutes!). Here the major characters, themes, purpose, and direction of the history of salvation are introduced. C. Genesis is not a book of philosophy, science, liturgy, or prophetic writing. It tells a story. Other cultures of the ancient Near East wrote myths; the Hebrews wrote history, set in time and space. Here are addressed the most essential questions of human existence: • Is there a God? If so, what is he (she? it? they?) like? • Where did I come from? • Who am I? Who are my people? • Where does the idea of good and evil come from? • Why are families so dysfunctional? • What’s wrong with the world? • Where is home? • Is there hope for the future? • Is history linear or cyclical? II. Overview of Genesis A. “These are the generations of…” Serving as a sort of title for the story that follows, this phrase alerts us to the basic structure of the book. • Gn 2:4—The heavens and the earth • Gn 5:1—Adam • Gn 6:9—Noah • Gn 11:27—Terah, the father of Abraham • Gn 25:19—Isaac, the father of Jacob • Gn 37:2—Jacob, the father of Joseph • See also Gn 10:1; 11:10; 25:12; 36:1, 9. Apparently, God intends to get his work done in the world through particular persons. In Genesis, five persons are given particular attention. Adam Noah Abraham Jacob Joseph Dealing with Salvation from The walk of faith The need for The path of temptation God’s wrath sanctification suffering Gn 1:1–6:8 Gn 6:9–11:26 Gn 11:27–25:18 Gn 25:19–36:43 Gn 37:1–50:26 East of Eden by Stan Key Page Once Upon a Time… 5 B. The other structural clue to this book is the noticeable change that occurs at Chapter 12. This chapter divides Genesis into two primary parts. Chapters 1–11 Chapters 12–50 General Particular • The place: Mesopotamia • The place: Canaan • The people: the human race • The people: Abraham and his descendants • The time: many generations (many centuries) • The time: four generations (about 300 years) The Problem The Solution • Human wickedness and sin • Only God can deal with the problem • Divine judgment • His solution is to choose a man • Human attempts to deal with and make a covenant with him. the problem fail miserably Formation (Gn 1–2) Re-formation (choose a people) De-formation (Gn 3–11) Trans-formation (recreate the heart) C. The title of this series is “East of Eden: Finding Our Way Home”1 (see Gen 3:24; 4:16). This reminds us that salvation is a journey: we are estranged from God, lost, homesick, and can’t find our way home. All human history is lived out somewhere east of Eden. The good news is that God has not abandoned us and is working out a solution to the sin problem. If we follow him, he will lead us home. III. The message of Genesis in four questions. Genesis is more than the history of the Jews. These stories have a message for us. “All Scripture is… profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tm 3:16). At some level, Genesis tells my story and explains my life. A. What do you do when things are formless and empty? (Read Gn 1:1–2) 1. Next week, we will examine why God’s first creative act left the earth “formless and void” (Hebrew, tohu and bohu). For our purposes in this introduction, it is sufficient to note that the story of salvation begins by describing God as the One who: • Gives meaning (he forms) to what appears to be chaotic: he organizes time (seven days/week), he shapes undifferentiated matter into earth and sky, etc. • Fills what is empty: he puts stars in the heavens, birds in the sky, fish in the seas, animals and people on the earth, etc. 2. Genesis 1–2 shows us that God accomplishes this primarily through: • Speaking. “Let there be…” (Gn 1:3, 6, 9, etc.). “In the beginning was the Word…” (Jn 1:1). God’s word brings cosmos out of chaos by creating organization, structure, purpose, and meaning. • Giving light. The first day of creation began with light! Note: the sun was not created until the fourth day. 1 I’m well aware that “East of Eden” has been used as a title for a book (John Steinbeck), a movie (1955), a song (sung by Placido Domingo and others), and more. But the phrase comes from Genesis 4:16 and thus can serve as a text for multiple purposes. Page East of Eden by Stan Key 6 Once Upon a Time… But he also does it by: • Separating things (Gn 1:4, 6, 7, 14, 18): light/darkness, waters below/above, day/night, good/evil, male/female, etc.). He organizes things “according to its kind” (Gn 1:11, 12, 21, 24, 25). He creates boundaries with unblurred edges. • Giving things their names (Gn 1:5,8,10): Day, Night, Heaven, Earth, Seas. He will also give new names (Abraham, Sarah, Israel, etc.). 3. The book of Genesis describes how God continues to deal with what is: • Formless and chaotic: wicked society before the flood, Babel, Sodom, warring brothers, a husband calling his wife his sister, etc. • Empty: Adam is alone, the womb of Sarah/Rebecca/Rachel is empty, etc. 4. Application: “God is not a God of disorder/confusion” (1 Cor 14:33). If your life feels chaotic—if it feels empty—then ask God to do what only he can do: • Speak into the chaotic darkness. • Turn on the lights. • Separate things into their proper category. • Give things their proper names. B. Can the shattered image of God be restored? (Read Gn 1:26–27) 1. We will study this in more detail in coming chapters, but we can summarize the image of God in man by saying it relates to: • That which makes us distinct from the animals—and angels. • How male and female live together in marriage (a union of differences). • Righteousness, holiness, and love (agape). • Dominion over creation. 2. When