Illustrated Bible lesson
The story of Genesis
Choose a story beat to open its full lesson. Each page develops the spoken narrative, explains its significance, connects the exact KJV passage, and gathers directly related songs and videos.
Genesis 1–2
Creation and human calling
God brings an ordered world from darkness, fills it with life, and gives humanity the dignity and responsibility of bearing his image.- 01Scene image plannedGenesis 1:1–25
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Genesis 1:1–25
Before anything else in the story, God is present and speaks. Light breaks into darkness, waters and sky are ordered, dry land appears, and the earth brings forth plants. God appoints the lights of heaven and fills sea, sky, and land with living creatures. At every stage, God sees that his work is good.Open the full lesson - 02Scene image plannedGenesis 1:26–31
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Genesis 1:26–31
God then creates humankind, male and female, in his own image. He blesses them and entrusts them with the care and rule of the living world under his authority. Humanity is not an afterthought in creation. People receive a shared calling and a dignity that comes from representing their Creator.Open the full lesson - 03Scene image plannedGenesis 2:1–25
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Genesis 2:1–25
On the seventh day God rests, blessing and setting apart the day. The story then draws close to the man formed from dust and placed in Eden to tend it. God gives a generous provision and one clear boundary, then forms the woman as the man’s corresponding companion. Their life begins with work, trust, unity, and no shame.Open the full lesson
Genesis 3–5
The fracture spreads
Distrust enters the garden, exile follows, and the violence of Cain shows how quickly sin travels from the human heart into human history.- 04Scene image plannedGenesis 3:1–24
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Genesis 3:1–24
The serpent questions God’s command and persuades the woman and man to eat from the forbidden tree. Their opened eyes bring shame instead of freedom, so they hide and blame. God confronts each participant, announces painful consequences, clothes the couple, and sends them from Eden so they cannot take from the tree of life.Open the full lesson - 05Scene image plannedGenesis 4:1–16
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Genesis 4:1–16
Cain and Abel bring offerings to God, but Cain grows angry when his offering is not regarded. God warns him that sin is crouching at the door and must be ruled. Cain ignores the warning, kills Abel, and denies responsibility. God hears Abel’s blood from the ground, judges Cain, and still places a mark of protection on him.Open the full lesson - 06Scene image plannedGenesis 4:17–6:8
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Genesis 4:17–6:8
Cain’s descendants build cities, develop music and metalwork, and also magnify violence. Another line begins through Seth, and in the days of Enosh people call upon the Lord. The generations continue toward Noah, yet death repeats and human corruption spreads until the thoughts of the heart are continually bent toward evil. Noah, however, finds grace.Open the full lesson
Genesis 6–9
The flood and the covenant
Judgment falls on a world filled with violence, yet Noah, his family, and the creatures in the ark carry creation through the waters into a renewed covenant.- 07Scene image plannedGenesis 6:9–7:24
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Genesis 6:9–7:24
Noah walks with God in a generation filled with violence. At God’s command he builds the ark, brings his family and the appointed creatures inside, and waits while the waters rise over the land. The flood closes the old world beneath the waters, but the ark carries a preserved household and the seed of renewed life.Open the full lesson - 08Scene image plannedGenesis 8:1–22
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Genesis 8:1–22
God remembers Noah and all that are with him in the ark. A wind passes over the earth, the waters recede, and the ark comes to rest. Noah sends out birds to test the land, waits for God’s direction, and finally steps onto dry ground. His first recorded act outside the ark is to build an altar and worship.Open the full lesson - 09Scene image plannedGenesis 9:1–17
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Genesis 9:1–17
God blesses Noah’s family, renews humanity’s commission, and establishes a covenant with them and every living creature. The rainbow becomes the sign that the earth will not again be destroyed by flood. Yet Noah later becomes drunk, and the resulting family shame shows that survival through judgment has not removed sin from the human heart.Open the full lesson
Genesis 10–11
The nations and Babel
Humanity spreads across the earth but gathers to build a name for itself. Babel scatters the nations and prepares the way for one family to be called for the blessing of all.- 10Scene image plannedGenesis 10:1–32
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Genesis 10:1–32
The families descending from Noah’s sons spread into many lands, clans, nations, and languages. Genesis pauses to name them because the nations are not a faceless crowd. They are related branches of one human family, already moving outward across the earth after the flood.Open the full lesson - 11Scene image plannedGenesis 11:1–9
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Genesis 11:1–9
Humanity still shares one language and settles together in Shinar. Fearing dispersion, the people build a city and tower to make a name for themselves. God comes down, confuses their speech, and scatters them. The unfinished city is called Babel, a monument to proud unity that could not secure its own future.Open the full lesson - 12Scene image plannedGenesis 11:10–32
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Genesis 11:10–32
The line of Shem is traced through the generations to Terah and his sons, including Abram. Abram marries Sarai, but she has no child. Terah leads the family from Ur toward Canaan and stops in Haran. The great public project of Babel gives way to a quiet family whose human inability will become the setting for God’s promise.Open the full lesson
Genesis 12–22
Abraham follows the promise
God calls Abraham from the familiar into a life of faith, covenant, failure, rescue, and a promised son through whom the nations will be blessed.- 13Scene image plannedGenesis 12:1–9
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Genesis 12:1–9
God tells Abram to leave his country, relatives, and father’s house for a land that God will show him. God promises to make him a great nation, bless him, make his name great, and bless all families through him. Abram goes, enters Canaan, receives God’s promise of the land, and builds altars as he travels.Open the full lesson - 14Scene image plannedGenesis 15:1–21; 17:1–27
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Genesis 15:1–21; 17:1–27
Abram worries that he remains childless, but God brings him outside and promises descendants as numerous as the stars. Abram believes, and it is counted to him for righteousness. God seals the land promise in covenant, later changes Abram and Sarai’s names, gives circumcision as a sign, and promises that Sarah will bear Isaac.Open the full lesson 
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Genesis 18:1–33; 21:1–7; 22:1–19
Abraham welcomes heavenly visitors and intercedes as judgment approaches Sodom. Sarah then bears Isaac at the appointed time, turning long waiting into laughter. Years later God tests Abraham by commanding him to offer Isaac. Abraham obeys, but God stops him and provides a ram, preserving the son through whom the promise must continue.Open the full lesson
Genesis 23–26
The promise continues through Isaac
A burial place, a marriage, and the birth of another generation show the covenant taking root even while famine and family tension threaten its future.- 16Scene image plannedGenesis 23:1–20
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Genesis 23:1–20
Sarah dies in Canaan, and Abraham mourns for her. Though God has promised him the land, Abraham still owns no burial place, so he carefully negotiates for the field and cave of Machpelah. He buries Sarah there, making a grave the family’s first legal holding in the land of promise.Open the full lesson - 17Scene image plannedGenesis 24:1–67
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Genesis 24:1–67
Abraham sends his trusted servant to find a wife for Isaac from among his relatives. The servant prays for guidance, and Rebekah’s generous offer of water answers the prayer. Her family hears the account, Rebekah chooses to go, and Isaac welcomes her as his wife. Through many ordinary decisions, the covenant household moves into a new generation.Open the full lesson - 18Scene image plannedGenesis 25:1–26:35
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Genesis 25:1–26:35
Abraham’s life ends, and the story turns to Isaac’s household. Esau and Jacob struggle even before birth, and Esau later trades his birthright for food. During famine, God repeats the covenant promise to Isaac. Isaac faces fear and conflict but keeps reopening wells until he finds room, while favoritism divides his growing family.Open the full lesson
Genesis 27–36
Jacob becomes Israel
Jacob grasps, flees, wrestles, and returns. Through loss and grace, the deceiver receives a new name and becomes the father of a nation.- 19Scene image plannedGenesis 27:1–46; 28:10–22
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Genesis 27:1–46; 28:10–22
Rebekah and Jacob deceive the aging Isaac so that Jacob receives the blessing intended for Esau. Esau plans revenge, and Jacob flees. Alone at Bethel, Jacob dreams of a stairway joining earth and heaven. God repeats the promises of land, descendants, presence, and blessing, and Jacob marks the place with a stone.Open the full lesson - 20Scene image plannedGenesis 29:1–31:55
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Genesis 29:1–31:55
Jacob meets Rachel in Haran but is deceived by Laban into marrying Leah first. Rivalry, longing, children, years of labor, and changing wages shape the household. God prospers Jacob despite Laban’s manipulation, then directs him home. Jacob leaves secretly, Laban pursues, and the two finally make a covenant of separation.Open the full lesson 
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Genesis 32:1–33:20; 35:1–29
As Jacob approaches Esau, fear drives him to prayer and careful preparation. During the night he wrestles until daybreak, receives a wound, a blessing, and the name Israel. Esau meets him with an embrace instead of revenge. Jacob returns to Bethel, faces further family grief, and eventually comes home to Isaac.Open the full lesson
Genesis 37–50
Joseph preserves the family
Betrayal carries Joseph into Egypt, but suffering becomes the road to deliverance. The family is reunited, forgiven, and preserved for the story that continues in Exodus.- 22Scene image plannedGenesis 37:1–36; 39:1–23
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Genesis 37:1–36; 39:1–23
Joseph’s dreams and Jacob’s favoritism intensify his brothers’ jealousy. They seize Joseph, throw him into a pit, sell him, and deceive their father. In Egypt Joseph serves faithfully in Potiphar’s house, refuses the advances of Potiphar’s wife, and is falsely imprisoned. Even there, the Lord remains with him and gives him favor.Open the full lesson - 23Scene image plannedGenesis 40:1–41:57
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Genesis 40:1–41:57
In prison Joseph correctly interprets the dreams of Pharaoh’s servants, but he is forgotten for two years. When Pharaoh dreams of coming abundance and famine, Joseph gives God the credit for the interpretation and proposes a plan. Pharaoh raises him to authority, and Joseph stores grain during the years of plenty to prepare Egypt for hunger.Open the full lesson - 24Scene image plannedGenesis 42:1–50:26
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Genesis 42:1–50:26
The famine brings Joseph’s brothers to Egypt, where he tests them and sees Judah offer himself for Benjamin. Joseph reveals his identity, forgives them, and brings Jacob’s household to Egypt. Before dying, Jacob blesses his family, and Joseph promises continued care. Joseph dies trusting that God will visit them and bring them back to the promised land.Open the full lesson