Bible Study Series: The Heart of God Revealed in Genesis 1-11:1-9

    I love sharing my Christian life here on the blog. A big part of my life is scripture study. As a way to hold myself accountable for reading scripture, I recently started studying the Bible in chronological order. We should be reading scripture less as a guidebook to live our lives and more so as a way to realize the character of who God is. I want to know and study the story of God and come to understand the whole context of scripture. With that, I am embarking on a journey of reading the Bible in Chronological order. I will share here what I see about the heart of God as I do this. The meaning of heart when it pertains to scripture and the original audience is the center. The original audience thought of the heart being the very center of who we are. The center of who God is and why he does what he does is very important as we learn to live our lives to his glory. I am in no way a biblical scholar, but my reflections will be based on my reading and understanding of scripture. I desire to grow in my knowledge of God, understanding his heart as a guiding principle for how I should live my life as a follower of God. To start off this series, I am going to be reflecting on my reading of Genesis 1-11 and how it pertains to the heart of God. 

Creation

    Starting with creation as the first words of scripture say "In the beginning, God created" and explain the whole creation journey God had. The heart of God is displayed through his words. Here God is speaking life and existence into the world creating the earth, heavens, creatures, waters, and humanity. One of my friends has told me recently that the space between your mind and your heart is your lips. God has an idea of the world he is going to create that was from his mind. His heart being central to who he is spoke into the world as he created it. God created a world filled with beauty and pleasure. There was no sin in the heart of man, but a likeness of God. 

    Through creation, the heart of God has a desire to bring the Earth from darkness to light. It is important to not just quickly glance over what is repeated in scripture. It is powerful when we realize that something repeated is something God wants us to remember. Repeatedly throughout the Creation account in Genesis 1, this passage of scripture says "And there was evening and there's was morning" (Genesis 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, and 31). I looked into a commentary when I realized that this line repeated itself. Through creation, God's heart was brought out in him bringing his light into the darkness that was over the surface of the deep. Yes darkness exists, but God's light outshines the darkness. I realized through studying this that I often think of the day as day and night rather than night and day. I thought reading this commentary on this scripture really helped me realize that God has a heart to shine his light into the darkness. 

Original Design of Humanity

    The original design of humanity is described in scripture. It is beautiful how God has created all of us each uniquely and individually. Something I realize that God has put his heart into is our original design being in the likeness of him when he said "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky" Genesis 1:26. The first attack from the enemy was on this aspect of our identity when he told Eve "For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened and you will be LIKE God, knowing good from evil". The thing is that we were already made like God as mentioned earlier in scripture. God created us with that humility in himself to make us like him to rule over his creation. God's heart was for us to already be like him in a world that had no sin, but he also desired for us to have free will. He did not want to be a controlling God, but a loving father in heaven. That is why he redeems us when we fall into sin through the eating of the forbidden fruit. 

The Heart of God and The Heart of Humanity

    I think it is important to realize the intention of people. We ultimately try to live as good people and do what we think is morally good. That has been the case since the beginning of time. In the story of Adam and Eve, they say the fruit of the forbidden tree, and they desire that knowledge of good and evil. God knew that in the heart of man, they would be like him desiring to know what is good and what is level. Eve saw this way of getting to that knowledge as good as the fruit also looked pleasing to her as she was tempted by Satan. The heart of humanity is like the heart of God. Where the heart of God is all-knowing, humanity desires knowledge. Where the heart of God desires goodness for his Creation as he created the world to be good, the heart of humanity desires to know what is good and what is evil. We try to live a good life and be a good person ultimately. However, where sin comes in is where God in his love has needed to step in for us. Sin separated us from him, but he sent Jesus down to earth. Now, we live with the power of God in each of us as the Holy Spirit reigns within us. Where we see people, their actions, their life choices, God sees their full heart, where they come from, and the intentions of their heart. We are asked to forgive those who wrong us because of the fact that God knows the whole story

Dealing with Sin

    God is good, righteous, and holy. Because of our sin, before Jesus, we could never enter into his presence without a high priest following each step of entering into the Holies of Holies. Our sin separates us from God. The world was in deep wickedness when Noah built the ark for the flood that was to come and wipe out the world. The heart of God is in this story in Genesis as the heart of God, the center of who God is, can't be in the same place as sin. However, his heart is also in redeemer and provider of guidance. I don't think I could ever really even build an ark on my own without the instruction that God can give. God gave Noah that instruction, and Noah obeyed it. God gave very specific instructions and materials to protect Noah, his family, and the animals. God redeemed the world through Noah's family and life continuing through Noah. God established a covenant with Noah in the process of building the ark as he wanted to redeem humanity. God's protection, provision, and grace towards Noah and his family reveals his heart of love, grace, and kindness. Noah needed God each step of the way to provide the materials, the animals, and the perseverance of being inside the ark. 

God Sending Adam and Eve From the Garden

    God did not desire for man to live life eternally separated from him and his goodness. When God sent Adam and Eve away from the Garden, his heart had such a redemptive plan for humanity. He knew that being able to live forever would not be good for humanity in the state of brokenness caused by our sin. That is why he had a redemptive plan that through Jesus we could live forever. In the book of Revelation, it talks about Eden being restored and there being a new heaven and new earth. This is why the pains of this world are temporary and the joy of the Lord is eternal because God put this boundary on the Garden of Eden and the Tree of Life. Every part of this action taken by God is from his love and mercy for humanity. Driving man out of this place may seem like a heavy punishment, but in reality, this was the consequence of God's love and his desire for a man not to remain in a place of sin and separation for eternity. 

God of Promises

    When reading God's promise to Noah after the flood, there is so much to unpack and understand of what God is telling Noah. The first thing Noah did after being in the ark was to build an altar and sacrifice clean animals. The Lord smelled the aroma of the offering, and "said in his heart: 'Never again will I curse the ground because of humans even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done". God made this promise as he has a redemptive plan in his heart. One day the earth will disappear and there will be a new heaven and earth. God's redemption in the world comes from defeating sin through death on the cross. He knew that there would be sin still in the heart of the people on earth, but his plan to save people from their sin just shows that the heart of God is ultimately redemption. Destruction is not in his heart as his heart is for the redemption of the world.

God's Heart in Historical Lineage

    It is easy to just skip past genealogies in scripture. I remember when I first saw the genealogy when reading Matthew as a kid, I just skimmed through it thinking that it was weird that there was just a list of random names. A couple years ago, I decided to actually look into the purpose of genealogies. In the genealogy of Noah's sons, I think it is important to realize God's heart in the details of history. God has the heart to carry on his promises through the next generation even when we as humans fall short of his glory. Through Noah's sons, we can see many nations come up through them having sons after the flood. In seeing these historical accounts of the lineage of Noah, we can see that God brought about different clans and nations that one day would bow down before him as King of the World. Genealogies also serve as a way of showing that no matter the sins in our lineage, Jesus comes as the redeemer of all generational sins. Through Noah, the world was redeemed as he built an ark to continue God's plan for humanity. Through Jesus, the world is redeemed through his death on the cross allowing for salvation of those who believe in him and have a relationship with him. 

The Tower of Babel

    I never realized this when reading through the story of the Tower of Babel growing up, but I just realized that God came down as a person in this story when they were building a tower. This person of God is known to be Jesus. He sees what the people are doing, and realizes that in their own pride, they desire to be God. They built this tower to be exalted. God's heart is not for us to be united in the sin that these people were committing, and that is why God confused the language of these people. He knew that the people would continue to grow in pride if he did not. God's heart is for us to be united in righteousness, and that righteousness comes through Jesus Christ. Being united in the body of Christ means we love God and love one another without trying to exalt ourselves. We realize our need for God, not our need to be exalted. We realize how beautiful it is to worship him and not a tower of pride. 

God's Heart Revealed

    I have been reading these passages and reflecting on them for the past few weeks. As I have read through Genesis, I realize how God is in the very details of Creation, how he redeems the world, guides people in his mercy, and desires the unity of his people in righteousness. God has a heart for creativity and beauty. He created the world in a way that we can find pleasure in the beauty of the waters, the land, the creatures, and the plants around us. God created us to be like him and in perfect relationship with him. It truly hurts his heart to see us separated from him through sin, and that is why he has a redemptive plan. There was a lot to unpack from the first 11 chapters of the Bible, but it is all so beautiful in realizing how God's story truly reveals his heart of being a loving, merciful, God who provides, guides, and protects his people. God deeply desired a relationship with us even when we have fallen short. God remained faithful through all generations of his people allowing a way for Noah and his line to continue. God knows the heart of humanity and the whole story of who each of us is, and he shows mercy in the way that he does not give up on us. He eventually sent his only Son as a sacrifice for the world.

UP NEXT: I am finishing the book of Job in the Chronological Bible Reading plan. I plan to post my reflections on the heart of God in scripture as I study through the Bible. The next post I am planning in regards to Bible studying will be the Heart of God Revealed in the Book of Job.