The book of Genesis is foundational for our learning. Genesis means "beginning," and it teaches us about the origin of important things. This is important because the meaning of anything is tied to its origin.
In this book we find the origin of the seven-day week. Man has tried in vain to interpret the days of Genesis 1 as long ages by proposing that each day represents millions of years or that there is a supposed gap of millions of years between the first two verses. He has created many compromising conjectures to contort the Genesis record into long ages, something it will never affirm. These attempts are fallacious for many reasons. For example, each day must be literal because it consists of "the evening and the morning." If the day represents millions of years, then the evening and the day must also be millions of years of darkness and daylight! That Jesus places Adam and Eve's origin at the "beginning of creation" destroys all long-age conjectures (Mark 10:6). That it is certain this "male and female" were in fact "Adam and Eve" is due to Jesus quoting Genesis 2:24 in Mark 10:7, 8 - which was God's response to Adam's own words in Genesis 2:23! It stands to reason that if each day consisted of millions of years and if Adam and Eve were created on day six, then they were created at the end of the timeline of world history and not the beginning. Long ages make a liar out of the Jesus, the Creator of all things! Further, if days mean "ages," then how could the expression "for days and years" be understood (Gen. 1:14)? What sense is one supposed to make of years? We ought to also observe that the only pattern which our seven-day week is based off of is a literal creation week. Only from a literal understanding of Genesis 1 could the Jews identify and keep the Sabbath Day (Ex. 20:7-11). Other reasons could be stated, but these are sufficient to abandon any belief that makes the days of Genesis anything other than solar days.
In Genesis we also find the beginning of life, that it is a gift from God. We find the beginning of marriage, that it is between one man and one woman. We find the beginning of sin, that it is rebellion against God's word. We learn that both good and evil exist in our world. We also find the way Satan tempts man, by leading him to lust after what is wrong and question God's word and character. We see how sin affects our relationship to God, to our environment, and to each other. Genesis teaches the origin of clothing, that such was designed to cover nakedness due to the effects of sin. Genesis shows that man's choice of clothing fails what God prescribes (Gen. 3:7). Despite the fact that Adam and Eve made coverings, they were still too ashamed to stand before God. We find the beginning of sacrifice in animal blood in skin coverings (Gen. 3:21). Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins (Heb. 9:22). Therefore sin is not only rebellious, but it is costly. Ultimately this price was to be paid by the Son of God dying on the cross for our sins (1 Tim. 2:5, 6). Have you applied the Lord's sin covering for your sin (Gal. 3:26, 27)? Genesis - it is important!
- Anchored, 11/17/14