148
GENESIS
GEXNESAHET, LAND OF
theoliigy to be found so close, as it were, beneath the surface as in the Book of (jcnesig.
1. The foumlalions of a true and spiritual relijiinn are contained in llie teacliini; of tlie early chapters of Genesis. Tlirouirh the medium of tlu' prehistoric legend, the Israelite writers coiiinuniicaled to their countrymen tliat which was revi'aled to them by the Divine Spirit concerning the lieing and Nature of God, the origin and first perfection of the God- created universe, the origin of man, the nature and growth of sin, God's love toward man and His purpose of redemjition. The narratives of the Creation and of the Fall present pictorially spiritual truths respecting man"s nature, his need of restora- tion, and Ills capacity for a progressive dcvelopnteiit.
2. In the narrative of tlie patriarchs the redemp- tive purpose is unfolded by the gradual process of election (]{oi)i'), the principle of which had already been indicated in the contrast of Gain and Abel, of the Cainites and the Sethites. The well-known .stories of Abraham, Isaac, and .Jacob were selected and arrange<l to minister to the purpose of re- ligious teaching ; and foremost stood the thought that God's love liad alone determined the choice of the man and of the family from which should come the nation destined to be the channel of blessing to the world (Gn 123 1314 1.55 170 jgir-w 22'« 2G-'i 3.511 .18'"). 'Phis principle of election is pointedly emphasized in the providence which shields Sarai ami Rebekah (Gn 12. 20. 2(1) from harm, and grants to them the gift of children in a quasi- miraculous manner (Gn IV"--'" 18'i-i5 21'W*252n- 21- 26). The narrative, too, lays stress upon the divine choice by disposing of the collateral lines in the cho.sen family before passing on to the detailed account of the particular person on whom God's favour has rested (c.f/. the family of .lapheth, Ham, and Shem, Gn 10-- "• -i ; the generations of Shem and 'I'd-ah, 11'"- -"^ ; the story of Lot, 18. 10 ; the collateral branches of Abraham's family, pre- ceding the story of Isaac, 2o'- w ; the generations of Esau, preceding the story of Joseph, 30).
3. Akin to this treatment of election is the prominence given to the conception of God as One who was in communion with the children of men, though in an especial manner He revealed Himself to those whom he had chosen. That God showed favour to Abel's sacrifice is thus scarcely more signilicant than that He held converse with Cain the nmrderer. That He appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was not more suggestive of His relation towards mankind than His appearance to Abimelech (20^) and to Laban (31-*). The honour paid by Abraham to Melchizedek typified the recognition of divine power and love transcend- ing the Hunts of a national covenant (Gu 14). At the same time, the story of ' the priest of God Mo.st High' (14'") illustrated the possession of that basis of instructive national religion, the abiding witness of God within man, upon which alone the structure of revelation could stand. With the people of His choice, God is represented as holding communion under the mo.st anthropomor- phic conditions (e.g. Gn 1(3. 18. 28). But the con- stitution of the covenant with Noah is ratified by the sacrament of the ' bow ' (9*-'"), and the covenant with Abraham by that of 'circumcision' (IV). And the lesson was thus conveyed to Israel that the phenomena of the physical world are pledges and emblems of a moral purpose overruling all, and that a common — if not almost universal — rite among Semitic races could be set apart and conse- orated for the spiritual purposes of the service of the Ciod of revelation.
4. The principle of progressiveness in the re- ligious teaching of Israel is illustrated in Genesis by the three great stages of divine self-manifesta- tion in the history of mankind, represented by the
judgment in the Garden of Eden, by the visitation of the Klood, and by the calling of Abraham. Similarly, the record of God's dealings with the chosen man, the chosen family, .and the cho.sen clan, lead up to the formation of the chosen nation, the history of which commences in the IJook of K.Kodus.
The tir.-it anticipations of the Messianic hope are expressed in the promise of victory over the power of evil proclaimed in the so-called I'rot- evangelium of Gn 3'^. These receive a narrower definition in the lU'oini.se made to Abiaham that all the families of the earth should bless them- selves in him ((in 12''- *). InGn 4il" the allusion to a pcrsomil Messiah has been much disputed ; hut, whatever explanation be given of the wonls rendered 'until Shiloli come,' the significance of this passage in the ancient 'blessing of .lacob' consists in its identification of the ultimate glory of Lsrael with the sovereignty impersonated by Jud.ah.
Space forbids us to go further into detail re- specting the religious teaching of Genesis. It has been well sunnned up in the following words: 'The Book of Genesis is the true ami original birthplace of all theology. It contains those iileas of God and man, of righteousness and judgment, of responsibility and moral government, of failure and hope, whicii are piesupposcd through tlie rest of the Old Testament, .and which jirepare the way for the mission of Christ ' (Girdlestone, The Funmla- tions of the Bible, p. 155).