Beginnings

By Cuthbert H Dawkins

Arguments about science, about mythology, about literalism snatch the treasure of Genesis out of the hand of Christians. Why did God create people? That is the revealing question. God created people to love. God created people to love them ‒ as His sons and daughters. God created people to love in return ‒ to love Him and to love each other. God created people to be like Him. They were to share His nature. Love was to manage the world – the garden. But Genesis is profoundly true about evil and the wrecking of love. The garden is turned to thorns. God is Love and remains and the story of salvation begins. In this book ancient methods of study see glimpses of the Saviour in the unfolding of the story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: White Tree Publishing
• Release date: Aug 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9781913950538

Book preview

About the book

Arguments about science, about mythology, about literalism snatch the treasure of Genesis out of the hand of Christians. Why did God create people? That is the revealing question. God created people to love. God created people to love them ‒ as His sons and daughters. God created people to love in return ‒ to love Him and to love each other. God created people to be like Him. They were to share His nature. Love was to manage the world – the garden. But Genesis is profoundly true about evil and the wrecking of love. The garden is turned to thorns. God is Love and remains and the story of salvation begins. In this book ancient methods of study see glimpses of the Saviour in the unfolding of the story.

Beginnings

The Book of Genesis

Bible Studies by

Cuthbert H Dawkins

Missionary in East Africa 1934-97 Founder of Trinity Fellowship 1963

Copyright © The Estate of Cuthbert H. Dawkins 2021

eBook ISBN: 978-1-913950-53-8

Published by

White Tree Publishing

Bristol

UNITED KINGDOM

More books on www.whitetreepublishing.com

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All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner of this abridged edition.

Scripture quotations from Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Cover image: finish - 184468_1920 pixabay

Table of Contents

Cover

About the Book

Publisher’s Note

Introduction

Beginnings 1

Chapter 1

THE CREATION OF THE WORLD

(Genesis 1)

Chapter 2

The Physical Can Illustrate the Spiritual

Chapter 3

THE CREATION OF MAN

(Genesis 1:26-27; 2:4-15)

Beginnings 2

Chapter 4

THE FALL OF MAN ‒ Part I

Satan’s Temptation

(Genesis 3:1-6)

Chapter 5

THE FALL OF MAN ‒ Part II

Man’s Ruin and God’s Remedy

(Genesis 3:7-24)

Two Further Studies

Beginnings 3

Chapter 6

THE SPREAD OF EVIL AND THE LINE OF FAITH

(Genesis 4; Hebrews 11:1-12)

Beginnings 4

Chapter 7

TYPES IN GENESIS

Genesis 22:1-19; 37:1-24

About White Tree Publishing

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Publisher’s Note

The main Bible passages in this Study are shown at the start of each of the seven Parts. However, it may help if you have a separate Bible as you go through each Part, because with an eBook it is difficult to go back to the start of each Part to read the Gospel verses again, and return to the page where you left off.

If you do not have access to a printed Bible (and you may want to read the passages in a different version anyway) you can find free online Bibles of nearly every English version, old and new, on the Bible App you can download at http://www.youversion.com/ or find by entering youversion in the Apple and Android app stores.

On the youversion website you will find Bible readings with helpful notes for every day of the year, plus other Bible related material. There are also Bible versions in many other languages, all free.

There are 7 Parts in this book. In the second half are some advertisements for our other books, so this book may end earlier than expected! The last Part (7) is marked as such. We aim to make our eBooks free or for a nominal cost, and cannot invest in other forms of advertising. However, word of mouth by satisfied readers will also help get our books more widely known. When the book finishes, please take a look at our website for other books we publish: Christian non-fiction, Christian fiction, and books for younger readers ‒ a range of over 160 books available from White Tree Publishing. More details on our website www.whitetreepublishing.com .

Introduction

Arguments about science, about mythology, about literalism snatch the treasure of Genesis out of the hand of Christians. Why did God create people? That is the revealing question. God created people to love. God created people to love them ‒ as His sons and daughters. God created people to love in return ‒ to love Him and to love each other. God created people to be like Him. They were to share His nature. Love was to manage the world – the garden. But Genesis is profoundly true about evil and the wrecking of love. The garden is turned to thorns. God is Love and remains and the story of salvation begins. In this book ancient methods of study see glimpses of the Saviour in the unfolding of the story.

The writer of these studies, Cuthbert Dawkins (a missionary in East Africa for over sixty years) would encourage fellowship members to explore his Bible teaching with a companion or in a group. Members could be a resource for each other, and a correction sometimes. The riches of their imaginative efforts, that is the formation of their insights, could be balanced with sound sense.

Beginnings

Chapter 1

The Creation of the World

Reading: Genesis 1:1 ‒ 2:3

Genesis 1:1 ‒ 2:3

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.

3 And God said, Let there be light; and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters. 7 And God made the firmament and separated the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament. And it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

9 And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear. And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

11 And God said, Let the earth put forth vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, upon the earth. And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.

14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth. And it was so.

16 And God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; he made the stars also. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the firmament of the heavens. 21 So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in