Commentaries on the Pentateuch: Genesis
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
There is no separation of history and theology in Genesis, nor in all the Bible. Our choice is between God and chance, between total meaning and total meaninglessness.
Genesis is the starting point of sound theology because it declares God to be the Creator and therefore the determiner of all things. Without this premise, Christianity begins to disintegrate. The restoration of a strong faith begins with the recognition of the centrality of Genesis to theology.
Top Highlights
“Herbert E. Ryle observed, ‘Guilt makes the man first a coward, and then insolent.” (Page 39)
“Faith in creation by God’s sovereign act means that the triune God is Lord and Sovereign over all, with all things dependent on His providence and grace. God the Creator is not an outsider to our lives; in Him we live, and move, and have our being. Every atom of our being is His creation, and He is closer to us than we are to ourselves. Our history moves in Him and in terms of His decree, so that all things serve His purpose and glory. All history works out the purpose and decrees of God. Only the Creator God can hear and answer prayer, because He alone is sovereign and all powerful.” (Page 11)
“The Hebrew word blessed (barak) means that God, by blessing something, establishes a relationship between Himself and the person or thing blessed. This is the heart of a blessing: a relationship is created by God’s sovereign grace. The relationship may bring such results as prosperity, fertility, advancement, and power, but its essential aspect is that God establishes a relationship with the person or thing blessed. It becomes set apart and holy to Him. God’s blessing establishes the relationship; when man praises or blesses God, He celebrates the relationship.” (Page 9)
“Our Lord tells us that the sabbath was made for man (Mark 2:27): it is a witness to our creatureliness, to the fact that we can rest because the government of all things is not on our shoulders, and our Lord is King over all creation. The sabbath thus is a glorious fact, a witness to our victory in and through Christ.” (Page 20)
- Title: Commentaries on the Pentateuch: Genesis
- Author: Rousas John Rushdoony
- Publisher: Ross House Books
- Publication Date: 2002
- Pages: 297
Rousas John Rushdoony (1916–2001) was a well-known American scholar, writer, and author of over thirty books. He held B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of California and received his theological training at the Pacific School of Religion. An ordained minister, he worked as a missionary among Paiute and Shoshone Indians and as a pastor to two California churches. He founded the Chalcedon Foundation, an educational organization devoted to research, publishing, and cogent communication of a distinctively Christian scholarship to the world at large. His writing in the Chalcedon Report and his numerous books inspired a generation of believers to be active in reconstructing the world to the glory of Jesus Christ. Until his death, he resided in Vallecito, California, where he engaged in research, lecturing, and assisting others in developing programs to put faith into action.