In
the book of Genesis, the book explains the origin of the universe as well
as how the characters in the book fulfill their purposes and motives.
Each character that appears in the book of Genesis has some kind of motivation.
Although the book does not indicate specific details about the characters,
it shows enough information of their motivations. The three characters
I would like to discuss in this essay are Noah, Abraham, and God.
The first character, Noah, is described as a righteous man. He is faithful to God and carries out good deeds throughout his life. In contrast, the world at that time is filled with evil and chaos in which God decides to eliminate all living animals on the face of the earth. God tells Noah about his plan to flood the world, and instructs him to construct an ark in order to restructure the world. From that moment on, Noah’s motivations are to survive through the great flood and to reorganize the world. His responsibility is enormous as the fate of all living things depends on him. Throughout the story, Noah’s every action is focused on survival. As a result, him and his family, and a pair of all living animals manage to survive the flood. Noah accomplishes his goal when God says, “I will not again curse the ground anymore for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite anymore every thing living, as I have done.” (Genesis 8:21) This indicates that God recognized Noah’s effort and determination, and that He will never again create a disaster because Noah showed how humans could be caring and dependable.
The next character, Abraham’s motivation is his faithfulness. He is appointed by God as the father of all rulers and that his name will be remembered through generations. Abraham is faithful towards God, and obeys to every word he says. For instance, when God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, Abraham obeys God with no hesitation and tries to slay Isaac. Fortunately one of God’s angels stops Abraham from sacrificing Isaac and instead makes him offer a goat. Although the book of Genesis emphasizes on Abraham’s accomplishment of giving many significant births, the true purpose of Abraham was to stay faithful to God and abide by his rules.
Finally, the most significant and crucial character throughout the bible, God, is described with a rather humanistic persona. In contrast to the New Testament, which describes God as the all mighty loving and forgiving character, the book of Genesis describes God like a human being. He shows emotions and makes mistakes, just like us humans. And through these descriptions do we see God’s motivation. God’s motivation seems to be the creation and organization of the universe. As the creation of the universe is a forever lasting task, God continues to help create the world by providing assistance and prophecies throughout the book. However, a question arose as I was reading further into the book. What truly motivates God for His need for creation? Does He have a purpose? Or does he create just for His existence? I believe that God creates to maintain His own existence. The only way God can show that He exists, is to continue creating. Therefore, God’s motivation is to prove His existence in the universe.
Throughout the book of Genesis, all characters acquire some kind of motivation. Whether it is to survive, or to be faithful, or even to show its existence, the book of Genesis provides distinct characteristics to each individual. However, the book only assumes the motivation, and does not state the characters’ exact purpose. The Genesis is leaving it to us on how we consider the characters, and I believe that is the reason why so many people across the world have been captivated by the bible until this day.