In this message we come to the most wonderful section of the book of Genesis, the section on God's calling (11:10—50:26). Genesis, a book of fifty chapters, is divided into three sections. The first section (1:1—2:25) covers God's creation, the second (3:1—11:9) covers the serpent's corruption of mankind, and the third covers Jehovah's calling. Each of these sections begins with a special phrase. The first section begins with the words, "In the beginning God." The second section begins with the phrase, "Now the serpent." The third section begins with the words, "Now Jehovah" (12:1, Heb.). In these three sections we see three titles—God, the serpent, and Jehovah. These titles mean a great deal to us. After God created, the serpent crept in to corrupt, and then Jehovah came in to call. So the book of Genesis mainly relates these three major things.
According to the revelation of the Bible, Elohim, the Hebrew word for God in 1:1, is a title that mainly relates to God's creation. The title of Jehovah, however, is especially concerned with God's relationship to man in the matter of life. Jehovah is part, a main element, of the wonderful name of Jesus, for Jesus means "Jehovah the Saviour." Since the name Jesus includes Jehovah, we may say that Jesus is the New Testament Jehovah and that Jehovah was the Old Testament Jesus.
In these three sections of Genesis we see that God created, the serpent, Satan, corrupted, and Jehovah called. Thus, in these sections we have creation, corruption, and calling. Which of these do you love the most? I love God's calling. We are not only the created ones but also the called ones.
God's creation unveils His eternal purpose. God's eternal purpose is that man express Him with His image and represent Him with His dominion. We, the human race, are destined to express and represent God. This is clearly revealed in the first chapter of Genesis. In the second chapter we see God's procedure to fulfill this divine purpose. His procedure is by the divine life. God must work Himself into us as our life that we might be able to fulfill His eternal purpose. Thus, in chapter one we see God's purpose and in chapter two God's procedure for the fulfillment of this purpose.
In the second section (3:1—11:9) we see that the serpent, Satan, crept in to cause man's fall. The serpent corrupted man and caused him to fall to the uttermost. Man fell lower and lower until it was impossible for him to fall any further. At that time Satan was happy and could celebrate his success. The whole human race was in rebellion against God. In a sense, God had been driven out from the earth.