The reason the Torah did not begin with the Book of Shemos, the laws to live by, is to teach us an important lesson. Serving God and our relationship with God are not only to be found in meditating about God and keeping his laws. If that is all God asks of us, the first verse in the Torah would suffice, and the entire book of Beraishis could be skipped.
The book of Beraishis teaches us to observe and ponder the origin of the world, world history and Jewish history. These observations and thoughts should move us to see God in all aspects of life. Each object, plant, animal, individual, society, country, at its own state of development, serves Hashem at its own level, in its own way. See how all of existence serves Hashem! Allowing these observations to penetrate our thoughts and emotions should inspire us to obey His Law with dedication and appreciate that this is the very purpose of our time on Earth. This is the message of Psalm 104 ברכי נפשי.
Bereishis1:1, Page 6
