Genesis Covenant

The literal meaning of Genesis is along the lines of “to create” or “creation”. While the Creation of earth and life is part of this account, it is only a portion of the Genesis story. The real heart of the book lies in a covenant established between God and Abraham:

I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless…and I will establish my covenant, an everlasting covenant, between me, you, and the generations to come. – Genesis 17:1, 7

This is the whole of the scripture. God desires us to walk before Him blameless and have an intimate, affectionate relationship. Reader, think about it. Every story we encounter in the Scriptures is about this concept.

• The flood – man’s broken the convenant, God desires to restore it and cleanses the earth. He leaves Noah, so that the relationship can start anew and promises never to flood the earth again. The loss of that many lives hurts God.
• David and Goliath – Israel has broken the covenant; they no longer trust God. David has an authentic relationship with God and trusts his very life (like a wife trusts her husband) and faces the giant.
• Moses – God’s people are enslaved because they have broken the covenant; God rescues them and pursues the relationship once more.
• Hosea – God’s people choose to prostitute themselves to foreign gods; God pursues them and uses Hosea’s marriage as an example
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• Christ – Once and for all, God steps down incarnate to reestablish the covenant this time taking on death and setting the stage for a forgiveness that knows no bounds; the ultimate redemption of the relationship

The scriptures are filled to the brim with this love/hate relationship. God loves us -> Establishes a relationship -> Gives us some guidelines to live by -> We love him for a season -> Break the covenant -> Get ourselves into trouble -> He comes to the rescue because He can’t help but save us

I hope this scripture changes your perspective on Genesis (and the rest of the Bible).