Genesis 5 - Genealogy from Adam to Noah

Before the flood, people aged ten times slower than now. Noah came ten generations after Adam, best shown by a graph:

Genesis 4 - Cain and Abel

Adam and Eve had many kids, but the first was Cain, a farmer, then Abel, a shepherd. Cain offered some fruits of the soil to God while Abel offered some sheep. Both were good offerings, but only Abel gave generously and sincerely, so only he received God's favor.

God asked why Cain was surprised and upset, since he will accept those who do right. He warned that if you do not do right, sin is waiting to destroy you. Cain brought Abel out to a field and killed him in jealousy. When God asked where Abel was, Cain flippantly replied, "I don't know, am I my brother's keeper?" For killing his brother, God cursed Cain and his land, saying it will no longer bear crops - he would be a restless wanderer.

Genesis 3 - The First Sin, the Curse, and Banishment

A crafty serpent tricked Eve into doubting that she will die if she ate from the tree of knowledge; she would actually be "like God". Adam was present, so they both ate the fruit. They realized, with their new knowledge, that they were shamefully naked, so they made fig-leaf clothes and hid from God. When confronted by God for their disobedience, Adam blamed Eve (and God for making her). Eve blamed the serpent.

God cursed all three:

• Serpents will crawl on their bellies and eat dust and be hated by women. People will crush his head while he bites heels.
• Women will have painfully childbearing and want to control their husbands, which will cause strife
• Men will have to always work and work hard to acquire food, until we die and turn back into dust.

God made them some clothes, but banished them from the Garden of Eden so they could no longer eat from the tree of life to live forever.

Genesis 2 - Creation of the Garden, Eve, and Marriage

God made Adam to be the gardener in the Garden of Eden (likely near the Persian Gulf). There were many kinds of plant that produced food, but in the middle of the garden were two special trees: the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God told Adam he could eat from any tree except the tree of knowledge, or he will die.

God saw Adam needed a helper because he was alone. This is the first time something was "not good". God brought all the animals to Adam so he could name them and see if they were suitable helpers. They weren't, so God took a rib from Adam while he slept and turned it into Eve, the first woman, which means "taken out of man." Marriage brings a man and woman together like Adam and Eve; they are one body reunited with shameless openness in every way.

Genesis 1 - Creation of the Universe

God existed before everything else, even time. He then created the universe from nothing in six days including:
(day 1) the earth, ocean, light, day and night,
(day 2) the sky,
(day 3) land and plants,
(day 4) the sun, moon, and stars,
(day 5) marine life and birds,
(day 6) land animals.

On the sixth day, God also made Adam, the first man, "in his image" to rule the earth. Everything that God created was good. God blessed day 7 as holy and "rested" from creating, so that we can follow that example.

Purpose

Bible intake is important. Donald Whitney's book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life lists several recommendations for studying/meditating the bible, and one is paraphrasing. I am not any sort of bible scholar, and I welcome any corrections or comments. My goal is to go straight through the bible, one chapter at a time, and summarize in my own words. This is mostly for my sake, but if anyone finds benefit in it, that is good too.