PART 4
MAN IN GENESIS … AND BEYOND
Thank you for joining me again as we continue our journey through Genesis.
Let us begin in prayer.
Thank You, Father, for making the Bible available in Afrikaans and in many other languages. We are deeply grateful to be able to read and study it and, in doing so, come to know You more. Thank you for the freedom we have in our country to do this. Amen.
In our previous discussion, we reflected on how new meaning and deeper understanding emerge when we read the Bible more intentionally.
We began in Genesis, with Jesus, and started to recognise how the Trinity is present from the very beginning.
We ended with a sobering moment. God was grieved by the sinfulness of mankind, and it says that He regretted that He had made man. Yet even in that, we see His mercy, because He continues to give humanity opportunities to return to Him.
God is not a God of only second chances.
After stopping the building of the Tower of Babel, confusing the languages, and scattering people across the earth, He begins again by calling one man.
“So the Lord scattered them from there over the face of all the earth, and they stopped building the city. Therefore, its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.”
Genesis 11:8-9
“The Lord said to Abram: ‘Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.'”
Genesis 12:1-3
Abraham is presented as a patriarch, a man who walked closely with God, who received direct instruction and revelation. He is also referred to by God as a prophet, although his role is not the same as that of the later prophetic office.
“Return the man’s wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you, and you shall live.”
Genesis 20:7
Abraham became the father of the Israelite nation and remains an enduring example of faith and obedience. While he communicated with God and received divine instruction, his life reflects a relationship of trust and obedience rather than the formal role of a later prophet.
In Genesis 22, we read the powerful account of Abraham’s willingness to offer his son, Isaac, giving his very best to God.
“Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
Genesis 22:2
“And Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.”
Genesis 22:13
Here we see both the depth of Abraham’s obedience and the nature of God’s provision. It reminds us that true worship involves trust, surrender, and obedience. Abraham’s life still speaks today, showing how faith expressed through action creates a lasting legacy.
Yet, despite such examples, humanity continues in disobedience. There is still sin.
It almost makes one want to say, really? But then we recognise that this is still true today. God created mankind for His purpose and to walk in obedience with Him, yet we continue to choose our own way.
This morning, my pastor, Henry Pike, summarised it in a way that reflects how we often think.
Jesus’ patience with us is not approval to remain disobedient.
Dear reader, are you ready, when God calls you, to respond in obedience like Abraham? Are you willing to do what He asks, whether great or small?
That is all He asks.
From Abraham, we can follow the unfolding story of the people of Israel. God begins with Abraham and establishes a covenant with him.
“And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.”
Genesis 17:7
His son Isaac receives the same promise, and the line continues. Then comes Jacob, and here a defining moment takes place.
“Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
Genesis 32:28
Jacob has twelve sons, who become the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel. From this point, his descendants are known as the Israelites, the children of Israel.
At the same time, other nations were also developing and growing.
“These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their generations, in their nations; and from these the nations were divided on the earth after the flood.”
Genesis 10:32
To understand this, we must remember that the covenant line runs through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who is later called Israel.
There were, however, many other groups that were not included in this covenant line. These include the Ishmaelites, the Edomites, the descendants of Keturah, the Canaanites, the Egyptians, the Babylonians, the Assyrians, and other Semitic peoples.
The Israelites are specifically the descendants of Jacob. This is not merely a family line, but a covenant line.
The covenant is selective, but not exclusive in love. God chooses Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, yet He still blesses other nations and rules over all.
“And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Genesis 12:3
Next time, we will continue exploring this further.
I speak weekly on Wednesdays, after 13h30 on Radio Cape Pulpit, with rebroadcasts on other days. You are welcome to listen via the Cape Pulpit app on your phone. (This broadcast is in Afrikaans)
Any comments are welcome. You can respond via the website or send a personal message via WhatsApp on 0829265062.
I look forward to connecting with you again next week.
May your day and your week be blessed.