Book of Genesis #62

Genesis is not a book that stands on its own. It is Part 1 of the Pentateuch and can only be understood in the context of the Pentateuch. Therefore, the last chapter of Genesis is a transition into the next major segment of the Pentateuch: Exodus.

Ominously, the last word of Genesis is "Egypt." There the coffin of Joseph will wait for 400 years before being transported out of Egypt in dramatic circumstances.

Yet the events of Exodus have been set in motion long before Moses and the event of Exodus cannot be understood apart from the Book of Genesis to which it is organically united.

The major themes of Genesis are

1. Creation is God's and God's only.
2. Man does not possess himself. He is not the master of his destiny or his life for he has no control over either.
3. Man is intrinsically good for God created him very good. Man is made in the image of God and is destined for greatness.
4. Despite man's repeated failure and mistrust of God, the Lord is always present faithful to his covenant.
5. It is God who takes the first step every step of the way.
6. Blessings and Curses are real, powerful and an expression of the power God placed in the hands of man.
7. God did not abandon his people but out of the great goodness of his heart thought them and guided them to safety.

Genesis is a mirror reflecting our relationship with God. By meditating on the lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph we develop a biblical understanding of our life and we begin to live as they did, as stranger and sojourner in a strange land, awaiting the day of our salvation, placing our hope and trust in God and in the surety of the teaching office of the Church and being nourished with the Body and Blood of Jesus, our soul is elevated to things from above and begins to taste here the blessings of Heaven.