Genesis 12-50
What is the book of Genesis about in the Bible? Watch as we explain its major themes and gain a deeper understanding of its place in the biblical story.
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God promises to bless the world through Abraham’s family, despite their repeated failure.
God makes a promise to bless all nations through the family of Abraham. But with aging husbands, impatient matriarchs, deceptive brothers, and family betrayal, how will God’s promise prevail?
God Calls Abraham
In chapters 1-11, the book of Genesis recounts God’s good world and humanity’s repeated rebellion. How will God restore blessing to the world? We find the answer in the family of Abraham.
God makes a covenant with Abraham, saying that all the nations will be blessed through his family. The rest of the book of Genesis traces this story through four generations. In each generation we see human failure paired with God’s commitment to rescue and bless. As the story of Joseph summarizes at the end, “You planned this for evil, but God planned it for good, to save many lives” (Gen 50:20).
As the book of Genesis closes, we see a promise of a king through the line of Judah who will be king over the nations and will restore blessing to the world (Gen 49:8-13). It’s this promise that will find its fulfillment in Israel’s Messiah.
