On my bookshelf , you can see some fine commentaries on the book of Genesis . But when you open them up , you ’ ll notice that none of them have combined Bible-defending teaching ( i . e ., apologetics ) with devotional insights — and written for the whole family .
One of the things I ’ ve wanted to do for several years was to write a verse-by-verse commentary on Genesis chapters 1-11 and intend it for families . Also , I wanted it to be relevant to our culture today . When you look at what ’ s happening in the world , one might wonder : how can the ancient book of Genesis address modern issues ? Unfortunately , most churches and Bible teachers don ’ t deal with Genesis 1-11 and say it doesn ’ t matter . For other Bible teachers , as they attempt to teach from Genesis , they will incorporate evolutionary ideas / old ages and say Genesis is not a historical document . These are the reasons I wrote “ Creation to Babel : A Commentary for Families .”
Every day in our culture , topics like gender , gay “ marriage ,” racism and abortion pop up .
A lot of young people sitting in our churches are being led astray by anti-biblical ideas that come from outside the church . By and large , the churches they attend are not equipping the next generation to know how to believe the Bible ’ s authority and behave in a godly way . Of course , their parents generally don ’ t know how to deal with these issues either .
More than ever , Christians need to understand that Genesis 1-11 is the foundation for almost everything . It is certainly the foundation for the rest of the Bible , including all our doctrine and the Christian worldview . If we don ’ t raise up generations on that foundation and equip them with answers to the skeptical attacks of the day , we will see an even larger exodus of teens and young adults from the church .
Genesis is the foundation for what marriage truly is . It presents the first marriage , Adam and Eve , in Genesis 1 . In fact , in Matthew 19 when Jesus talks about marriage , he refers to Genesis 1:27 and 2:24 as He quotes the history in Genesis to say that God made man in His own image , male and female , and that
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