Well, good morning. I want you to imagine with me for a second, imagine that you are the nation of Israel, and please do what you can to try to mentally put yourself in the shoes of the Israelites. Your parents had been under the oppression of Egyptian captivity. It was their generation who had experienced divine deliverance as Almighty God raised up Moses to lead his people out of captivity and into the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Your parents' generation was there when God sent plagues upon the Egyptians, forcing them to release Israel. Your parents knew what it was like to have their backs against the wall when they came to the Red Sea with the Egyptian army hot on their trail. And they saw how God miraculously parted the Red Sea so that they could walk safely on dry ground just ahead of the Egyptians who drowned when the sea collapsed over them. Despite God's gracious provision every step of the way, many of your parents grumbled.
Many of them complained they forsook God, and they worshiped idols instead. As a result, many of them were laid low in the wilderness, and so here we are. You are the generation assembled together to hear the word of the Lord. Please keep in mind that Moses has spent countless hours in the presence of God, listening to his voice, and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, recorded the word of God.
I'm gonna ask you to please stand with me, please stand with me as we hear the word of Elohim. If you have your Bibles, you are free to turn to Genesis chapter 1 and verse 1, and we will read together, beginning in verse 1 all the way through to verse 13. Then God said, Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters. Oh, I'm sorry, Genesis 1:1, in the beginning, You're thinking that I have the wrong translation....
