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Genesis 1-2

Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

On Day 1 God spoke light into existence

David Guzik said this about that first light, “Genesis tells us that light, day, and night each existed before the sun and the moon were created on the fourth day (Genesis 1:14-19). This shows us that light is more than a physical substance; it also has a supernatural aspect. In the new heavens and the new earth, there won’t be any sun or moon. God Himself will be the light (Revelation 22:5).”

On Day 2 God spoke the firmament (the sky and space) into existence and divided the waters.

On Day 3 God spoke the grass, herbs, and trees into existence.

On Day 4 God spoke stars and planetary figures into existence.

On Day 5 God spoke the sea creatures and birds into existence.

On Day 6 God spoke the animals and insects into existence; but then God formed and fashioned man with His “hands,” and He made him/us in His own image (as rational, moral, spiritual, and social beings). (Genesis 1:26; 2:7).

On Day 7 God rested, modeling for us (even before the law) a day of rest, not to be mandated, but enjoyed.

In Genesis 2 we have man planted in the Garden of Eden; God states for the first time – something’s not good – that man should be alone (2:18). God identifies the problem and offers the solution, He determines to make a helper comparable to Adam. What a beautiful picture of marriage, how God fashioned the woman from a place within the man that was the closest place to his heart.

I love what Matthew Henry said on this, “Eve was not taken out of Adam’s head to top him, neither out of his feet to be trampled on by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected by him, and near his heart to be loved by him.”

Marriage is the work and union of God, it’s Holy Matrimony that is not to be taken lightly, as Jesus said in:

Matthew 19:6 (NKJV) “So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Genesis 2:24 is the application – the responsibility we have as married couples in light of what God has done for those of us who are married. We are to “leave and cleave,” for the rest of our lives!

To become one flesh refers to the bond of marriage (Matthew 19:5-6) and includes sexual intimacy (1 Corinthians 6:16; Hebrews 13:4).

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Matthew 1:1-2:12

In Matthew 1 we have the genealogy of Jesus from Joseph’s side, traced from David since Matthew presents Jesus as the King of the Jews. Not everyone is mentioned in the family tree but it’s epic to discover that four women are included in His genealogy (the Jews didn’t normally list women in their genealogies) (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba)

We then have the wonderful story surrounding the birth of Jesus.

After finding out that Mary was pregnant and knowing this child wasn’t his, Joseph was inclined to put her away, “divorce” her secretly (their betrothal was a legal commitment that required legal action to end).

Matthew 1:20–21, “But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:21 is one of the greatest passages in al the Bible…for I am a great, great sinner. This virgin birth was a fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14. The One born to die for our sins had to be born of a virgin, for He had to be born without sin.

I’ve always been blessed by the wise men from the East as described in Matthew 2. They were probably students of Daniel’s teachings, who saw His star, announcing the birth of the King of the Jews, and they came to worship Him.

Another prophecy fulfilled:

Micah 5:2 (NKJV) “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.”

The King of kings had been born; those who are wise still seek Him.

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Psalm 1

Psalm 1 is the perfect “song” to start everything off in Israel’s hymnal. 

If we want to be blessed, we mustn’t walk in the counsel of the world, we are to walk in the counsel of God’s Word! Meditate in it day-and-night – read it and heed it – love it, learn it, and live it! If that’s your heart, the promise of this Psalm is that you’ll be like a tree planted in a perfect spot, with plenty of water to bear good fruit, even your leaves won’t wither…and whatever you do will prosper (Psalm 1:3). You will be successful in God’s eyes and accomplish His purposes for your life.

But those who reject God’s Word and choose to live according to the counsel of the world, (the ungodly) will not stand on the day of judgment before God…the ungodly will perish.

Psalm 1:6 (NKJV) “For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”

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Proverbs 1:1-6

Proverbs 1:1 (NKJV) “The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:

Let’s begin by asking a couple of questions, “What is a Proverb?” and “Who is Solomon?”

What is a Proverb? A Proverbs has been defined as a sermon in a sentence, making these points of wisdom easier to memorize – to hide in our hearts with the hopes of living it out in our lives.

I’ll bet a lot of you have a lot of Proverbs already memorized – not found in the book of Proverbs. Are you familiar with any of these?

“When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

“Two wrongs don’t make a right.”

“Better late than never.”

“Birds of a feather flock together.”

“A picture is worth a thousand words.”

“The early bird gets the worm.”

“Actions speak louder than words.”

“Practice makes perfect.”

“Easy come, easy go.”

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

“Good things come to those who wait.”

Proverbs can be powerful.

Warren Wiersbe said this – “Keep in mind that, apart from kings, prophets, and priests, the average Jewish adult didn’t own copies of their sacred books and had to depend on memory to be able to meditate on God’s truth and discuss it (Deut. 6:1–9). If Solomon had written a lecture on pride, few people would remember it, so he wrote a proverb instead: “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18 NIV). There are only seven words in the original Hebrew, and even a child could memorize seven words!”

And that’s part of the beauty of this section of the Bible. What’s easier to remember a sermon on pride – or a sentence on pride?

Who is Solomon?

At one time Solomon was the wisest man on earth – as a matter of fact, we read in:

1 Kings 4:32 (NKJV) “He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand and five.”

700 are recorded in this book, which is absolutely amazing considering the fact that in the original language these Proverbs sometimes had rhythm and rhyme, along with the truth!

To write a proverb is much more difficult than you might realize. Pastor Chuck Smith gave us a couple of Proverbs – sermons in a sentence. Many of you probably know them:

“Where God guides…God provides.”

“Blessed are the flexible…for they shall not be broken.”

Solomon is the brilliant author of the majority of these Proverbs. We read here in v. 1 that Solomon was the son of David, his mother was Bathsheba (something we see in 2 Samuel 12:24). He succeeded his father David as king. But before we give David or Bathsheba credit for his wisdom, we need to know that he actually graduated from the University of Jerusalem from above. God is the one who granted Solomon His wisdom (see 1 Kings 3:5-14).

Proverbs 1:2-3 (NKJV) “To know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding, 3 To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment, and equity;

There are definitely some great goals here, that through knowledge, perception, and reception, one could get a grasp on wisdom, instruction, understanding, and all we’ll need to live life skillfully, to draw near and hear from God those personal plans HE has for our lives – principles from above.

4 To give prudence to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion— 5 A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel, 6 To understand a proverb and an enigma, the words of the wise and their riddles.

We’re all at different places in our life as human beings, some are younger, older, wiser…and we’re all wired differently,

Solomon mentions the simple – a reference to the naïve, maybe even the gullible; he mentions the young man who’s not as experienced; he also mentions a wise man who is still willing to hear and learn; and finally, he writes of this man of understanding…not a know-it-all, but open to counsel and guidance.

All of this is to make sense of the proverbial truths of life, to put together the puzzles of life, to work out or figure out the riddles, those enigmas – in reference to those people or situations that are mysterious and difficult to understand.