The Theme of the Pentateuch
The ‘Pentateuch’ is theologian-speak for the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. They are generally associated with Moses, although he can't have written all of them since in Deuteronomy 34 he dies and is buried.
If you are trying to get a feel for where Genesis is heading and, in particular, how it helps set up the framework for the rest of the Old Testament, the Theme of the Pentateuch by David Clines (Sheffield: JSOT Press. 1984 [1978]) is gold. Although written for scholars, it is short (118 pages, excluding footnotes, bibliography and indices) and well worth a read as a starting point for getting into the overall theme of this part of the Bible.
Let me quote chapter four in full:
My proposal is: The theme of the Pentateuch is the partial fulfilment—which implies also the partial non-fulfilment—of the promise to or blessing of the patriarchs. The promise or blessing is both the divine initiative in a world where human initiatives always lead to disaster, and a re-affirmation of the primal divine intentions for man ...
The promise has three elements: posterity, divine-human relationship, and land. The posterity-element of the promise is dominant in Genesis 12-50, the relationship-element in Exodus and Leviticus, and the land-element in Numbers and Deuteronomy. The contrast and similarity of the promises to what precedes the patriarchal history is to be developed in Chapter 7 below, on Genesis 1-11.
Top stuff!
Unfortunately, like so many other specialist Old Testament people, he doesn't mention Jesus anywhere in the book. That's okay for the academics, but a bit of a hole if you believe, with Jesus, “that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44). But Clines gets us off to a good start.
And, lest I put the average reader off, let me say that I think a Sunday school teacher or children's worker who has read and appreciated Graeme Goldsworthy's According to Plan (and read this before you read Clines!) will benefit from Clines' insights.