Pre-eminent among all literature about the big questions of life is the Book of Genesis.  Genesis is the book of beginnings, as the word indicates.  This word describes the relation which Genesis bears to the rest of the Bible.  Here in direct statement, or illustration, or type, all things material or moral are traced to their origin. Hence the importance of the Book of Genesis.

As a book of beginnings, Genesis has been called "the seed plot of the Bible" because all the vast forests of Scripture start there as seedlings.  It is said to be the beginning of everything except God.  It is the springboard for the concepts and history of the rest of the Old Testament and provides a point of reference for understanding the truth of the New Testament.  Whereas near the beginning of Genesis Satan is victorious and man is expelled from Eden, in a beautiful symmetry the New Testament ends with the serpent coming to his downfall and the redeemed walking again in Paradise.

In a study of the Scriptures perhaps there is no better place to begin than in the beginning with Genesis and with God.  Probably over no other part of Scripture have so many theological battles been fought as over the Book of Genesis.  Theologians, scientists, historians, and students of literature have subjected it to minute examination and literary criticism.  But with all their attention, they have been able neither to exhaust its contents nor destroy its message.  The measure of its greatness is seen in its continuing ability to command the attention of scholars and laymen alike throughout the world.