A lot of scholars want to describe Abraham (Abram) in the book of Genesis as a largely fictional character made up of a composite from a collection of myths and legends. They believe the book of Genesis, and the whole Pentateuch, was written soon after the exile of Jews to Babylon roughly between 520 – 320 BC. They have many plausible explanations for their conclusions, but I believe they are wrong.
First, let’s look at what else is in the book of Genesis. There are at least 20 prophecies of the Messiah in that book. Below is a list of the ones of which I am aware.
Genesis 3:15 “And
I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”
In this verse, God is speaking to Satan who is disguised as a snake. It contains two prophecies of the Messiah. In the first half of this verse, He talks about the seed of the woman. This is the only place in the Bible that refers to the “seed of a woman”. In all other references to this kind of seed it is the seed of a man. This is a prophecy of the virgin birth of Jesus.
In the second part of this verse, God is saying that Satan will injure the Messiah but the Messiah will give a fatal blow to Satan. Jesus did die on the cross but came back to life 3 days later ultimately making it a non-fatal injury. By His death and resurrection Jesus effectively ended Satan’s authority and reign over humanity thus rendering him a “fatal” blow.
Genesis 5:24 “And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.”
Enoch’s bodily ascension to heaven is a foreshadowing of Jesus’ ascension after
His resurrection.
Genesis 9:26-27 26 And he said:
“Blessed be the Lord,
The God of Shem,
And may Canaan be his servant.
27 May God enlarge Japheth,
And may he dwell in the tents of Shem;
And may Canaan be his servant.”
The background of these verses is that Noah got drunk and fell asleep naked in his tent. His son, Canaan, came into the tent and saw him naked and told his brothers about it. Then his brothers, Shem and Japheth laid a garment across their shoulders and walked backward into the tent and covered their father with it. When Noah found out what Canaan had done, he cursed him and blessed his brothers in these verses. Shem seems to get the best of the blessing and as it turns out in Luke chapter 3 we are told that Shem is one of the ancestors of Jesus.
Genesis 12:3 I
will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
This is part of the blessing God promises to Abram (Abraham) for leaving home and going to the land God will show him. The last line tells us that the Messiah will come through Abram since it is through faith in Jesus that all people on earth can become children of God.
Genesis 12:7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your [a]descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
After Abram arrives in the land of Canaan, God tells him He will give that land to his descendants and, by extension, that is where the Messiah will live.
Genesis 14:18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High.
In this verse Melchizedek comes to meet Abraham. This verse is a prophecy of the Messiah in three ways. First, Hebrews 6:20 tells us the Jesus is a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Second, Melchizedek’s title, king of Salem, means king of peace. Hebrews 7:2 tells us that Jesus is the King of peace and righteousness like Melchizedek. Third, that Melchizedek brought bread and wine is a foreshadowing of the communion service Jesus instituted at the Last Supper.
Genesis 17:19 Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.
In this passage God tells Abraham that Sarah will bear him a son, Isaac, and that the covenant, and therefore the Messiah will continue through Isaac and not through any of the other sons or daughters Abraham had.
Genesis 22:8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.
God tested Abraham by asking him to offer his son, Isaac, as a burnt offering. The conversation quoted above was on the way to the place where the offering was to take place. Abraham being willing to offer his son is a picture of God’s willingness to offer His son as a sacrifice for our sins. God did provide the lamb so Isaac did not have to die, and God provided His own son as the sacrificial lamb so we don’t have to die.
Genesis 22:18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
In this verse God is reiterating His promise to Abraham that through his descendants a Messiah will come and bless all the people in the world.
Genesis 26:2-5 2 Then the Lord appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. 4 And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; 5 because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”
In this passage God has appeared to Isaac and tells him that the covenant with Abraham is continuing in Isaac. That the Messiah will come from his descendants and bless all people on earth.
Genesis 28:12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
This verse is about Jacob’s dream. The ladder represents a bridge between the people of earth and heaven. Jesus, the coming Messiah, will be that bridge for us.
Genesis 22:14 Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
This verse tells us that the Abrahamic covenant will continue and the Messiah will come through Isaac’s son, Jacob.
Genesis 49:10 The
[a]scepter
shall not depart from Judah,
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes;
And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.
This one verse tells us five things about the coming Messiah. First is that it gives a hint at when He will come. Second, He will come from Judah’s descendants. Third is in the meaning of “Shiloh” or One Sent. Fourth is that He will come before the tribe of Judah lost their identity. Fifth is that to Him will be the obedience of the people.
We find at least 20 different ways that the coming Messiah was described in the book of Genesis alone. I find it impossible to believe that any human being could accurately predict 20 different things about someone who would not be born for at least another 320 years. Only God could do that. Whoever actually had the pen in their hand writing this book must have had a very close connection to God. In Exodus 33:11 we are told “So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend…” I believe God told these stories to Moses and had him write them down while he and the Israelites were in the wilderness.
Many scholars have looked at the linguistic clues and then came to a conclusion that it seems like the work of someone writing after the exile to Babylon. I have looked at the evidence listed above and concluded that is seems like Moses wrote the book of Genesis.
Have you ever watched a really good magician perform? If you have then you know that things are not always what the seem to be. You are the ultimate decider in your life. What will you choose to believe? Remember that every decision we make has consequences. Some of those consequences are short-term and some are long-term, but once the decision has been made, the consequences are set.