The Book of books, the book of nature, the book of life

The Hebrew phrase 'Elleh Toledot' occurs throughout  Genesis in 2:4, 5:1,  6:9,  11:10 etc.  It is a literary device that divides Genesis into 'books' (see Genesis 5:1). It is translated consistently in KJV, ESV etc.,  as 'the generations of. ' The phrase acts as bookends to these 'books.'  Thus Genesis is a book of books, and in fact the Bible itself is “The Book of Books.”  In 2 Timothy 3:16 we read that all Scripture is inspired by God, or it is 'God breathed,' as one version has it.  Actually it could also be translated “God-Spirited,” that is it is inspired by the Holy Spirit. He is also the One who teaches us what it means (John 14:26). We are to test all things (1 Thessalonians 5:21), and allow the Bible to be our supreme authority, the measure against which all else is measured.

Of course God did not entirely restrict inspiration to Scripture. I believe that Handel's Messiah and twelve-step programs are inspired.  But the inspiration of Scripture is unique, and Scripture alone carries supreme authority. Having said that, the Bible itself points to two other 'books,' namely the 'book' of nature,  and the 'book' of life. Concerning the book of nature, we read for example,  that “the heavens proclaim the glory of God. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make Him known” (Psalm 19:1,2 NLT). Modern Science began in the Church with the understanding that God is a God of order, and so it only made sense to study and research nature, in order to study Him,  by studying His creation.  Science goes wrong when it excludes God, especially as the author of all things. But even then, research which is essentially looking for truth,  will I believe, eventually lead back to Him. It might just take a long time.

The other 'book' to which the Bible points is the 'book' of life. The Bible in general,  and the book of Proverbs in particular,  strongly endorses the study of the soul. In particular we are admonished to   “Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding” (Proverbs 4:7 NLT). Psychology of course,  is the study of the psyche (the Greek word for soul).  I have observed that anything in secular Psychology that works has a Biblical warrant. Take the genogram for example. A genogram is a kind of family tree that also chronicles family difficulties. The idea is to help us see negative family patterns so we can avoid them (see Exodus 20:5, 6).  But it's   one thing to know what to do, and quite another to do it. With Jesus as our higher power however, all things are possible (Philippians 4:13).

Like Science, secular Psychology can go wrong when it rejects Biblical concepts and/or God. In fact “the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding” (Job 28:28). One problem then is secular Psychology's reluctance to say that anything is evil. It's particularly problematic in a society that calls evil good, and good evil. Bear in mind, we reap what we sow (Isaiah 5:20; Galatians 6:7).

Father, we are to study to be approved by You (2 Timothy 2:15). There's so much treasure in Your Word Lord, but we have to suss it out.  Help us, help me, as we seek for deeper meanings in these early chapters of Genesis. And help us to obey,  so that we may move more and more towards the abundant life (John 10:10b) in Jesus Name Amen