Hello all.

The Pentateuch is the group of the first five books of the Old Testament. (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) The defining act in these books is the covenant that God makes with His people on the Sinai peninsula. So for a moment I want to set the stage of the setting.

Imagine you are a Hebrew about to enter into the land that this “Yahweh” had promised your tribe generations ago through the tribal father Abraham. Your people had just experienced the miraculous deliverance of escape from the mighty Egyptian empire. You’ve heard stories of the plagues against the Egyptians, the parting of the waters and destruction of Pharaohs army, the thunder on the mountain of Yahweh. Your leader is Moses, the man who acts as a mediator between Yahweh and your tribe. He has compiled these books of laws on how you are to act and worship, and given you the hope of Yahweh’s blessings if you obey, and warnings if you disobey. You have seen Yahweh’s power to provide, and his punishment of wandering around the dessert when your ancestors disobeyed. Now you are going to enter into a land that is filled with foreign gods and tribes. You start to wonder, “Is our God going to really live up to His end of this covenant He established?” You have doubts, questions, anxieties, and, frankly…you start to wonder if this Yahweh is really in control of this new region? Sure, Yahweh showed up on the mountain in Sinai, but would He be with us in the valley of Canaan? Moses presents you with a story to remember, a true story that tells you about who God is, how He has acted, and how all this came about. That story would come to be known as Genesis…

That story answered questions the people of Israel had, but it also speaks to us today, “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4) The Israelites story of God’s work in creation is also our story, it speaks of the, “Lord, who have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” (Psalm 90:1-2) This Fall we will continue to let Scripture point us to the truth, goodness, and beauty of our Lord of Creation, for when we rightly know God only then we will know ourselves.

Rev. Ben Melli