This school year, I have the privilege of taking a special Bible course from my school. It’s the Journey Through the Bible curriculum and I shall be doing book 1. Two years ago, I read through the second book in the series and I loved it. That book took me through the “wisdom and prophetic” books of the Bible, i.e. Psalms – Malachi. The Journey Through the Bible curriculum takes you through each book in the Bible and breaks down important chapters to show you things you probably didn’t know before. The curriculum is essentially a theology course for high school students.
This year, I am going back to the beginning and studying the “Pentateuch and Historical” books, i.e. Genesis – Esther. I am not excited about it at all. I have read Genesis a dozen times, suffered through Exodus, skipped Leviticus and Deuteronomy for obvious reasons, and the other books have been told to children over a hundred times through Bible stories. So, this seems like it will be pretty boring, right? Well, I stand corrected. After reading the very first lesson (which my sister practically made me do), I was reminded of how awesome this curriculum, and the Bible, are. The first lesson was in Genesis 1 and spoke of how God didn’t create but how He organized the universe. The Creation, or Organization of the Universe, is split into two parts: the separation and the filling. On days 1-3, God separates light from dark, water from water, and seas from land. On days 4-6, God fills in the light, skies, seas, and finally the dry land. If you noticed, God followed the same pattern in each part—light, water, land. I never noticed any of that, the Creation was the Creation and that was that. The only thing special about the Creation was that it was, well, the Creation of the whole universe. Again, I was reminded that everything God does has a purpose that you will not see without truly looking.
After God is done organizing and filling, He does what every great artist does, He signs His work. How? By putting His own likeness and image, His own personal mark; God creates us, He creates a man and later a woman, and He creates humanity. We, similar to God, are given dominion over the whole earth. Humanity is made as the head honcho over the earth. How beautiful is that? Just like God is the ruler of heaven, we are supposed to be the ruler over the earth.
The last thing this lesson touches on is the presence of Jesus during the Creation. Honestly, I never saw Jesus in this chapter, never. Think about it, where and how would Jesus show up during the Creation? I’ll give you a little hint: Jesus is the Light of the World. Do you see it now? Probably a little but not fully, right? On the first day, God creates light but it isn’t until the fourth day that He creates the sun, moon, and stars; yet there’s light, how? In Revelation, we are told that Jesus will be the source of light on the new earth and in John 1 we are told that Jesus was there “in the beginning”. Do you see it now? One last clue, read Genesis 1:26 and pay close attention to the pronouns and the words that show possession. Did you catch it? God said, “Let US make man in OUR image” (emphasis added). Who else is there with God? Get this, all THREE of the Trinity existed in the beginning. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit existed at the beginning of time and that verse is our proof.
You will not enjoy every book in the Bible just like you won’t enjoy every book you read, that’s normal; however, do not ever believe that there isn’t anything new to discover. Some of the things in life that we have to force ourselves through have the most interesting and/or profitable outcomes. So, go finish that book you could never finish and start working on the task you keep putting off till tomorrow that never comes. Remember, sometimes it takes a new pair of glasses to change your day from dull to great.