The Book of Genesis — A General Survey

From Through the Bible with Lance Lambert: Genesis

By Lance Lambert

Updated: December 2025

Why Are the First Three Chapters of Genesis So Important?

There are two or three things I want to say generally. The reason we are taking the first three chapters of the Bible is because they are absolutely essential and elementary to every single thing within the Bible, and that is what most people fail to realize. There is not one major doctrine that does not in some way evolve from these three chapters, and it is probably the answer to the controversy that has raged over them. These three chapters are always called myths and fables and cannot be relied upon; modern science has shown that it is hopelessly incorrect and inaccurate and so on. However, the point really is that within these three chapters we have everything. If we had no Bible, we have really everything within these three chapters. Of course, what we have often said is that the Bible is progressive in its revelation, meaning that as you go on, it reveals more and more and more. However, everything is found in seed form in these three chapters. Within these three chapters you will find the church, the gospel, the cross, the Lamb slain and God's eternal purpose. You will find everything within these three first chapters of the word of God.

The Uniqueness of the First Three Chapters of Genesis

The first thing I want you to note about them is that their ancient character in literary method, style, and vocabulary is quite unique. When you are dealing with the first three chapters, in fact, the first almost twelve chapters in Genesis, you are dealing with one of the oldest documents in world history. And as we would expect, the vocabulary, the style, and the method, are all absolutely within keeping to their age. You will remember that many people a hundred years ago thought that writing was not even known in the days of Moses. Now they believe that writing was known thousands of years earlier than Moses. It is quite feasible, indeed I think it is more than feasible, it is probable that the first chapter of Genesis up to chapter 2:4 is the earliest written document in history. Certainly everything about it is ancient. As you read through the first three chapters of Genesis you will not find one really hard word. They are all, generally speaking, one or two syllable words, quite simple. Its simplicity is quite remarkable. Another thing that is also very interesting is the style. It is terse, and in the Hebrew it is even more terse than in English. For example in verse 3: "God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light." In Hebrew it is just "Let light be and light was." It is as simple and terse as that. That is the style of these three chapters—terse, simple, and direct.

The Hebrew Method of the Writings

Another remarkable thing about these writings is method. One of the most ancient Hebrew methods is called parallelism. It was a form of poetry. There was a little introduction, then three thoughts and then parallel with them another three thoughts. And here you have that method. First of all, there is an introduction in the first two verses, then there are three days—one, two, three. Then parallel with them you have another three days, and then you have the conclusion.

Then you have what is called the colothon in ancient literature. Particularly with tablets they had a colothon, which just said at the end who was the writer, the author. We find this in verse four: "These are the generations …" That word generations is the word in Hebrew toledoth which means "history" or "book". And indeed, in the Septuagint version it is translated: "This is the book of the history of the creation of the heavens and the earth." And the author is the Lord God. Evidently, the revelation was committed to man by the Lord himself. Jewish tradition tells us that it was to Enoch that this revelation was given and that Enoch was the first man, according to the Jewish rabbis, ever to write. And he committed it to writing.

The Timelessness of the First Three Chapters

There is a second thing I want to mention to you. Have you ever realized the timelessness of these three chapters? One of the most common and rather stupid remarks that we often hear made is this: "Oh, it is so unscientific! Science contradicts these things. I cannot believe the beginning of the Bible; it is not scientific." But just supposing that the first three chapters of Genesis had been put into scientific terminology. No one, all through the history of man would have been able to understand it except the twentieth century. And one of the most remarkable things about these three chapters is the way they have been set forth in a way that every generation from the beginning have been able to understand. The very ancient peoples always spoke in a symbolical and very, very simple and direct way. I have been fortunate and blessed in one way to study classical Chinese. In classical Chinese, everything is terse and simple. The earlier you go and the older the manuscripts, the more simple, and the more direct they are. It might seem very mythical, but it is all put in very, very simple form.

These three chapters of Genesis have survived the whole history of humanity and in every generation have been understood even by the gardener. Isn't that wonderful? And yet if they had been put in scientific terminology, it would have sealed this book up entirely. No one would have understood it until the twentieth century and then only by certain scientific minds who are versed in the terminology and the ideas there. That I say is something I find very, very interesting and very, very wonderful.

The Creation Story

Another thing I want to point out is that the creation story is preserved either in a fragmentary form or in a very much more embossed form in nearly every race and nation in the world. That is one of the most remarkable things. The Chinese, of course, have this story as well as the story of the flood. It is much more embellished and embossed than the Biblical account. Much more has come into it with gods and goddesses all over the place. In Chinese mythology, the story of the flood has eight people being saved; they went to a boat and were saved in a flood. Inca tradition also has the story of creation, which is very much the same as the Genesis account, and also has the story of the flood. And we could mention many other nations that have this story in their history as well. The interesting thing is that the only clear and full account and indeed the most practical account is here in the Bible. All the other great accounts—the Babylonian, the Chinese, the Incas, and many other great civilizations—have within them a lot that you just cannot swallow; it is quite obviously mythological. I just say that also in passing.

Are There Two Contradictory Creation Accounts in Genesis?

As we look at these three chapters, I want you to see first that the key to these three chapters is very simple. When you read these opening chapters of the Bible, you will see that there are supposedly two contradictory accounts of creation. The first account in Genesis 1 seems to contradict the account in Genesis 2. In Genesis 1 everything is created and ends with God creating man and woman. Then we have a duplication of it in Genesis 2. It seems as if the whole story is told from a completely different source. And all the Modernists will tell us that different words and different titles are used for God, and the whole context is different. Man is made first, and then all the other things: the beasts, the flowers, the plants and everything else after him. And when all that has happened, woman is created. It is entirely a contradiction to Genesis chapter 1. There are two entirely different accounts; so they say that Moses was a somewhat ignorant man and to put it crudely, he hashed up his work of editing. Instead of ruling out everything and making two accounts into one thoroughly good account, he sort of very superficially glossed over them and left these two accounts there. And even more amusing, Genesis 3:1-8 is the same as chapter 1. So this source somehow got pushed in after chapter 2. Those are some of the ideas that have surrounded these chapters.

The Key to the Duplicate Accounts of Creation

Now what is the key? Why has the Holy Spirit duplicated the account of creation in chapter 2? And what is the key to this obvious use of different words? Why does chapter 1 use certain words and chapter 2 use other words? What is the key to it? If you get this clearly in your mind, I think it will help you greatly.

Genesis 1 is the fact of creation—from whence, and how. Where did it all come from? How did it come? I want to ask some questions. Where did this universe come from? Where did man and woman come from? Where did life come from? Where did this whole design and harmony come from? And how did it come into being? What was the method? Can you give me a clue to the method? Genesis 1 is the clue to where it came from and how it came into being. It is the fact of creation.

Genesis 2 has an entirely different object and that is why the whole thing is turned round in a different way with a meaning. Genesis 1 is the actual process of creation, the order, if you like. Genesis 2 is the purpose of creation—unto what and why? Where is it all going? And why is it all here? What is the goal? And if that is the goal, why? That is Genesis 2.

The Fall of Creation

Genesis 3 is the fall of creation, the explanation of the present and the answer. It is very wonderful, and the answer and the explanation of the present is in Genesis 3. In other words, supposing you are in a kindergarten and you are asking questions. You say to your teacher, "Where does this world come from?" And he answers you. You ask another question: "But how?" Again you are answered. "Well, what is the purpose of it? What is the aim?" And you are answered. "But why?" And he answers you. Then you may well turn around and say, "But that does not tie up with what we have at present. What has happened since then?" And Genesis 3 is the explanation of the present—what has happened and God's answer to what has happened. Is that clear?

What Do the Names of God Reveal in Genesis?

Now, the next thing I want you to note is the titles or names that are used for God in these three chapters because in their use is a key to understanding. In Genesis 1 the name Elohim is used absolutely exclusively. We should get an understanding of this name because it appears all the way through Scripture. "In the beginning God …" And right the way through Genesis 1 this is used exclusively—Elohim. And its root meaning is "the mighty or the strong One," and it always brings into view the God of creation. Whenever Elohim is used it always brings into view God as the God of all creation. You get its form used in a lot of other names such as El Elyon, "the most high." Daniel uses that always, or El Shaddai, "God the Almighty." Then there is El Bethel, "God, of the house of God." So we find it all the way through Scripture—El, El, God, Elohim in full, God. We will come to that again in a moment because it is very, very wonderful.

Elohim

We find it used again and again and again in Genesis 1: "God said…God called…God divided …" God did this; God did that; God, the God of all creation. It brings into view the majesty, the grandeur, and the immensity of God. Please mark that because in the 20th century that is lacking—the majesty, the grandeur, and the immensity of God. Even among Evangelicals, the thing that is sadly lacking is our God is so small. There is no longer that sense of the greatness of God, the sovereignty of God, the almightiness of God. It is a tremendous thing. The whole spirit of the 20th century is to belittle God and make Him into some little departmental being, Who is not really sovereign and cannot really do anything He wants to do. But Elohim speaks of the mightiness and the immensity of God.

Jehovah

In Genesis 2 the name Jehovah is used exclusively. Jehovah God—the two are brought together—Yahweh Elohim, the Lord God, Jehovah God or Jehovah Elohim. We do not even really know how that name is pronounced because the Jews were never ever allowed to utter it. You always had to be silent, pass it over, or substitute another word for it. So we do not even know how it was pronounced. But we think it was pronounced Yahweh, Jehovah.

And this name, wherever you find it in Scripture, speaks of the intimate God with redeeming love; the name by which He wanted to be known in the most inner, intimate, marriage bond between Himself and His people. He did not want them just to know Him as Elohim. He wanted His own to know Him as Jehovah. And there is something so very, very wonderful about the name Jehovah. You can think of it as the Covenant God, the Covenant-keeping God, the God who has bound Himself to His people by love, by His own faithfulness. He has come down to their level and bound Himself to them. The great God of creation has come right down to an intimate, personal, direct level and bound Himself to you, and you, and you as His people. And He says, "I will love thee with an everlasting love." Do you see? That is Jehovah, and it brings into view the grace, the love, the mercy and the faithfulness of God. Thus, whenever you read Jehovah in your Bible, think about that. It means when the Lord says, "I am Jehovah," He is always trying to make them think. When He speaks to them as El Shaddai, He is trying to tell them something else. But when He speaks to them as Jehovah, He is trying to awaken cords of love in His people. He is saying, "I am the faithful One. I am the One who is full of love and mercy toward you and grace for you."

And the wonderful thing is, and this might surprise you, that the root meaning of Jehovah is "to be." "I AM." Do you remember what He said to Moses? "I AM that I AM. Go and say that I AM has sent you." And I AM has come down to us as Yahweh, Jehovah. What does it mean? God wants to link His eternity, His unchangeableness, to the fact of His faithfulness. That is very wonderful. In other words, He is not faithful for an age, He is not faithful for ages; He is faithful for eternity. The root form, the root meaning of Jehovah is "unchangeableness." And He has linked that with grace, and love, and mercy, and faithfulness. We would have thought that the unchangeableness would have been linked with the God of creation, wouldn't we? But no, that is where we are wrong. Creation is more transient than the mercy and the love of God. The love of God, in God's sight, is the eternal thing; this creation is the transient thing.

Genesis 1 uses Elohim; Genesis 2 uses Jehovah Elohim, combining the God of creation with the God of redeeming love. That is very wonderful, isn't it?

And then something that you might want to note; in Genesis 3, when the devil comes to Eve, he never mentions God by the name Jehovah. Isn't that interesting? Now the dear old Modernists have all their own theories for this. They have decided that there are the E documents, and the J documents and the P documents and all this kind of business. They try to get around what the Holy Spirit is saying by saying that these were written by all different kinds of people, all fragments brought together in a very poor way. However, in Genesis 3 it begins like this: "Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God, (or Jehovah God) had made. And he said unto them, 'Yea, hath God said?'" And all the way through he speaks of Him just as God—the God of creation, Elohim. And do you see the tragedy? When Eve replies, she says, "For God doth know …" That was the beginning of the fall. It is rather interesting to see it in that way. The devil was going to keep off the redeeming side of God's nature with a very real purpose in view. I hope you realize this. He hoped that when the woman had fallen, she would be so terrified that she would never recover from it. But the wonder of it is that God made Himself known to them as the redeeming God of love. Even though He had to put them out of the Garden, He made Himself known to them as the redeeming God.

What Are the Hebrew Words for Creation in Genesis?

In Genesis 1 we have Elohim; in Genesis 2 we have Jehovah. Now, I want you to note the words "create, make, and form." The first one is the Hebrew word bara and is used three times in Genesis 1. The first time is in verse 1: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Verse 21: "And God created the great sea monsters, and every living creature that moveth, wherewith the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind ..." Verse 27: "And God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them."

It is not quite known where the word bara, "to create" came from originally. Possibly it came from a root which meant "to cut off a piece" and then to work on it. But in this context it always means a definite, sovereign act of creation. In other words, whenever the word bara is used, it means that God is doing a new thing. It has no relationship to what we see, and this is very important. This word is used three times in Genesis 1. God created the heavens and the earth without anything preexisting. It was an act of sovereign creation. God created the sea monsters and the things that swarm in the water and the birds, the winged creatures. That is the beginning of animate life. The word is used again for creation. And then God created man, human life; it was a sovereign act of creation. It was absolutely sovereign. In other words, it was by the word of God; that was the method and it was sovereign. This word is used elsewhere in the word, but in these three chapters it is only used in Genesis 1, and we have mentioned those three times.

God Fashions Something which Already Exists

The second word that is used, and it is used in the Old Testament 2500 times approximately, is the word asah, and it means nearly everything, quite honestly. You have to rely on context like you do with many ancient languages to know exactly what it does mean. But it means here "to make, to do, or to fashion." And this word, asah, always means you are fashioning something which already exists. Now that is very important. In other words, you are working on something which is already there. The word, bara, create, means either you bring something out of nothing, or you are doing something with the materials without any relationship to what it was before. In other words, there is no evolution; it is a sovereign act. However, Asah is quite different. It is taking something like clay and molding it, fashioning it. There may be a process in it. It is very, very wonderful. This word is used in verses 7, 16, 25, and 31 of Genesis 1.

God Purposes Something

And then this is the wonderful thing, Genesis 2 has a different word which is the word yatsar and it means "to form or to fashion". It is generally used of the potter and the clay. Yatsar is used in Genesis 2:7, 8, and 19. "The Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground." This word yatsar is really very, very thrilling to investigate. It means in some places, not here, but in some connections to "pre-ordain, to devise or to plan." Today, as you know, Arabic is the only modern language that in any way corresponds to ancient Hebrew. And in Arabic today, the word yatsar is still used for covenant or contract, and that is very wonderful.

Now let's bring it all together. In Genesis 1 you have Elohim—the God of all creation—His immensity, His grandeur, His majesty. And that word used in Genesis 1 is bara. He creates out of nothing; it is sovereign activity. Then there is the word asah which is the God of creation, who fashions and molds. It is method which is the point there. But in Genesis 2, when you have Jehovah in view, it is the potter and the clay. He is planning something; He is purposing something; He is, as it were, contracting something. He has something in mind, and He is working it to the end. He is fashioning something. It is very, very wonderful how the Holy Spirit has chosen the words of these three chapters. There are two accounts of creation and they have been carefully, carefully worded.

God's Sovereign Activity is Behind All of Creation

Thus, in the fact of creation, you have Elohim acting quite sovereignly, and even when the word asah is used, it still relates to God's sovereign activity—the birds, and the fish, and the sea monsters, which we may look at a little more closely may well have evolved. There may have been a process in their creation which is within the Word, and the Word suggests it or implies it. Nevertheless, behind it is creation and the word bara is used of it. In other words, it is still God. Whatever the method that is used in Genesis 1 for creation in this universe, it is the God of sovereign activity that is behind it; whether He is bringing something into being that was never there before, such as the heavens and the earth; or whether He is causing the waters to swarm with swarming things, and the word literally means teem with teeming things; or whether He is causing the winged things, which are insects and birds of every kind, to come into being—maybe out of the water. It is a possibility that it has something to do with the water to begin with. Or whether it is the sea monsters, it is the God of sovereign activity. Or whether He is doing a new thing altogether as with man, maybe a new thing quite differently. He takes the clay of the ground, molds it, then breathes into it, and man becomes a living soul.

The Name Elohim is in the Plural

Now there is another thing I want you to know. This word, Elohim is very, very interesting. It is a word which is plural. Isn't that wonderful? The rabbis could never understand it, and they got over it by saying "Well, it must mean that God had fellowship with the angels." Because Elohim is in the plural and really is a plural noun, it is, as it were, gods and yet not gods. The idea is a plurality in unity. Now isn't that the Trinity? And we find it in the first three or four words of the Bible: "In the beginning God …" And here is another wonderful thing. This noun Elohim is always used with a verb in the singular. So the thought is that the Trinity is moving in unity all the time. "In the beginning God created…"—as one person. They could never understand this. Of course, when we come to Genesis 2, the whole Trinity is there.

Chapter 1:1 says, "In the beginning God created …" and that is, as I have already said, in the plural; and "created" is in the singular. In verse 2 it says, "The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." The Spirit of God moved, or hovered upon the face of the waters. We find the third Person of the Trinity mentioned there. In verse 26 God said, "Let us make man in our image and after our likeness: and let them have dominion." That is very remarkable, isn't it? "Let us …" speaking of God. And then in chapter 3:22, "The Lord God said, 'Behold the man has become as one of us, to know good and evil.'" The Rabbis could never understand that. They always said that it was God talking with the angels and said to them: "Let us make …" But surely that is not quite right. The angels did not actually join a sovereign equality with God in the creation of this world, did they? They are themselves a creation. So here is the first and earliest inference to the Trinity—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They are working here together.

In other words, the name Jehovah is a name that is peculiarly associated with the Lord Jesus. And the tree of life, of course, is something that is associated with the Lord Jesus. He said, I am the life; I am the true vine. There is a lot that is associated with this tree of life that relates to the garden. So we have here the whole Trinity in covenant together in the creation of the universe and in the creation of man. So in these first three chapters of Genesis we have God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

The Eternal Purpose of God

We also find the eternal purpose of God in these three chapters. Now, where do you find the eternal purpose of God in these three chapters? We see it first of all in the tree of life which is in the midst of the garden. The tree of life is associated with the eternal purpose of God, meaning a humanity in utter dependence for its life and the fulfillment of its responsibility in Christ. God's purpose was that humanity could only live, really live, with a capital "L"—not a living death—in so far as humanity is utterly dependent on Christ. And it could only fulfill its responsibility to have dominion over all things in so far as it was dependent on Christ. That is the eternal purpose of God, and it is summed up in the man and the woman through the institution of marriage. So many think it is something that was instituted for our benefit. It was instituted, of course, for the reproduction of humanity, but primarily it was to show forth in picture form the eternal purpose of God. Marriage is the symbol of the eternal purpose of God because it shows us the end which is humanity in union with God—in utter union with God and in utter dependence on God. The woman was taken out of man's side and fashioned. In other words, she was not formed as man; she was taken out of man in the same way that humanity is, as it were, taken out of Christ. That is the thought. By eating the tree of life she would become incorporated into Christ and in union with Christ, in such a union of dependence and mutual fellowship and love that the whole of responsibility for the universe would be fulfilled. If you want to sum it up in two things, the eternal purpose of God is: Christ the center and sum of all and secondly a people in union with Christ.

The Creation of Man and the Fall

In these three chapters you have the creation of man and the fall. Something awful happened and the whole thing was wrecked from the beginning, and mind you, wrecked in such a way that even when we come to know the Lord, our greatest battle is with our own deceived selves. Something happened at that fall which has left an amazing mark. So intricate and so deep is the work of Satan in humanity, it can be seen in every way. It can be seen in the absolute spontaneous distrust of God. And that is one of our biggest battles when we come to the Lord; there is a quite spontaneous distrust of the Lord. It can be seen in the way humanity was blinded utterly to God's character, quite blinded to what God is like. And then it can be seen in every single way in man. The whole relationship between a husband and wife has been smashed beyond recognition, so that by the very curse itself the whole thing became perverted and reoriented. It became a thing that binds people, chains and fetters them all their lives. Corruption came into their hearts. Man became a slave to the thing over which he should have had dominion. By the sweat of his brow he had to earn his living, and the ground, instead of being flexible and pliable, yielded thorns and thistles and briars. Everything got on top of him, so man is now under it all, absolutely under it. That is all in the first three chapters of Genesis, and oh, if people would only read them, what an understanding they would come to of themselves and of what Satan has done in us. But then, thank God, there is not only the creation and the fall in those first three chapters, but there is the cross and the Lamb slain.

God Rebukes Satan for the Fall of Man

When the fall came you may have thought that God would have turned round and blamed man or blamed woman. But no, the first words God had of rebuke were for Satan. And He said these wonderful words: "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise his heel." Of course, this is a very, very old reference, but Eve knew what He was talking about. And it is a very wonderful thing that a bit later Adam called her Eve, "the mother of all living." He called her first name Ishsha, "taken out of me." That is very, very wonderful. Because Adam had come into the world of death he called Eve the mother of all living because she said, "I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord." I think she really wondered at the very beginning as to whether her first born was going to be the deliverer there and then, as we all do. We like to believe the promise is going to be fulfilled in our lifetime. Eve really wondered straightaway whether this was the Messiah.

The Lord's Promise

Then came the Lord's promise. What was the Lord's promise? He said the most amazing thing. He said that humanity from henceforth was to be divided into two streams—the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. What an awful thing that is! The seed of the woman is what we call the good seed, or the godly seed. The seed of the serpent is what we call the evil seed or the bad seed. It began right there. Cain was of his father the devil. He was of the bad seed. Abel was of the good seed and so was Seth who replaced him. You remember that Cain slew Abel. So we have two great streams of humanity. One line which comes down from Enoch, Noah, Terah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses and so on right the way down to the Messiah. On the other line you have the evil seed, and it is a terrible story. Cities came into being as a product of the evil seed and music, and murder, fornication, adultery, and every kind of evil came in as the seed of the serpent. Now we are all born, naturally, as the seed of the serpent, which is a most terrible thing; but we can all become the seed of the woman. And isn't it a wonderful thing, as someone has said, that there at the very beginning was the virgin birth? Not the seed of man, but the seed of the woman, the seed of the Holy Ghost.

The Cross and the Lamb

We will take Genesis 1 in a more intimate way with a bit more detail later. I have just one other thing to say now and it concerns the cross and the Lamb all found in these three chapters. Where is the cross? "I will put enmity between thy seed and her seed." And that is the story of humanity—the violent hatred of the bad seed for the good seed. It is such a hatred as would blot out the good seed whenever possible and destroy it; and that has always been the case. But listen to this: "He shall bruise thy head and thou shall bruise his heel." What does that mean? It means that the cross, as it were, was the smashing of Satan's head and all Satan could do was to bruise the heel of the Messiah. In other words, the death of the Lord Jesus is looked upon as the bruising of His heel because He rose again, but the cross is looked upon as the slaying of Satan, the decapitating of Satan. His head was smashed, but all he could do was bruise the heel of the Messiah. That is the cross and it is promised there in Genesis 3.

The Lord God Made Coats of Skin

And then of course, the most wonderful of all is verse 21: "The Lord God made for Adam and for his wife coats of skin, and clothed them." This is very, very wonderful. In Genesis 3 we have the beginnings of one thing which has been woven into our old nature. Isn't it a strange thing that when Adam and Eve fell they became self-conscious? That was one of the great marks of the fall. Actually, there is a good deal more that happened by the fall, more than self-consciousness, which I leave you to find out in the word. They stitched themselves aprons of leaves. We may think that is very commendable. Having suddenly discovered that they were naked, and become extremely self-conscious, they stitched themselves clothing. And isn't the Lord sort of saying, "That is most commendable of you that you have covered your sins. But the fact is that you are now empty and aimless and miserable. You have lost the glory. You have lost your original state and condition." But do you know what the Lord did? He took them and made them clothes of skin.

Some people, rather foolishly, say how unjust and severe God was with Cain because he brought the fruits of the ground, whereas Abel brought the firstling of the flocks. Abel was accepted and Cain was rejected; so people say it seems a bit unfair. But the whole point was this. There could have been nothing more vivid in the minds of Adam and Eve than this. When they had made themselves clothes of leaves, God, as it were, undressed them and gave them clothes of skin. Now what does that mean? No natural, self-made covering can possibly give us access before God. The only thing that can cover us is the death of another. With leaves there was no death, but with skins there was the death of a lamb. So their sin was covered. And although God put them out of the garden, it was actually grace that put them out of the garden.

About Lance Lambert

Lance Lambert (1931–2015) was one of the most distinguished Bible scholars and speakers in Israel and had an itinerant teaching ministry worldwide.

Born in 1931, Lance grew up in Richmond, Surrey and came to know the Lord at twelve years of age. He later entered the school of African and Oriental studies at London University to prepare for work in China, studying Classical Chinese, Mandarin, Oriental Philosophy and Far Eastern History. However, the Chinese Communist Revolution closed the door to European missionaries and prevented his entry into China.

In the early 1950's Lance served in the Royal Air Force in Egypt and afterward fellowshipped with the Halford House Christian Fellowship in Richmond, England.

Later in life, Lance discovered his Jewish ancestry—his father and many members of his family had died in the Holocaust. This discovery led him to become an Israeli citizen in 1980, and he made his home next to the Old City of Jerusalem.

Lance became noted for his eschatological views (beliefs about end times), which place him in the tradition of Watchman Nee and T. Austin-Sparks. From his base in Israel, he produced a widely appreciated quarterly audio recording called the Middle East Update, which gave his unique perspective on current events in the Middle East in the light of God's Word. He wrote numerous books and was presenter of the video production, Jerusalem, the Covenant City.

He went to be with the Lord on April 19, 2015, leaving behind a rich legacy of biblical teaching that continues to bear fruit in the lives of countless believers around the world.