Week 1: Genesis 1:1-2:3

Week 1: Genesis 1:1-2:3

At A Glance:

Author: Moses or "P"

Form: Ancient Origin Story

Themes: Goodness of Creation, Order of Creation, Power of God, Sacredness of the Seventh Day

Summary: God creates and orders all creation from chaos into goodness.  The pinnacle of his creation is in vs 26-27 where he creates humankind in his image and likeness.  The story culminates at the resting of God on the 7th day, the only day that he both blessed and made holy.  There is a recognizable pattern to creation: The Opening (then God said), God's Command (Let there be light!), Fulfillment of Command (and there was light), Judgment (God saw how good it was), and Naming (God called the light "day"...).  The first three days of creation correspond to the last three, with the third and sixth days having 2 parts of creation.  If this were a building of a theater you could say the stage and scenery are created on the first three days, then the props and actors fill those stages on the corresponding following three days.  Pictured it looks like this:

1:1 - The first verse of creation is marked with God's words and show of power.   God speaks and out of nothing things are created.

1:2 - The word "wind" is the Hebrew word "ruah" meaning spirit or breath proceeding forth from God revealing that even the chaos of the waters prior to their ordering is not out of God's control.  He allows the chaos only to show his presence, power, and glory in the midst of it.

1:3-5 - There is an argument in meta-ethics called Divine Command Theory. It claims that if what God says is "good" is what classifies something as "good" then goodness is arbitrary and God could just as well change his mind making something else good or bad.  On the other hand if God simply recognizes something's goodness because it is good of itself then "goodness" is beyond God's control and thus God is must submit to something above him.  The author here points out that "God saw how good it was" yet maintains the claim that it came from God and in vs 3 God names it showing his mastery over his creation.  This revelation shows the false dilemma in the Divine Command Theory.  It reveals that God is goodness and that all things that are created share in his goodness (to a less or greater degree as we shall see in chapter 3) and the summation of all God's creations is "very good" (vs 31).

1:20-22 - God creates birds and fish and in vs 22 he "blessed" them pointing to their blessing to reproduce and fill the waters.  This is the first time God blesses anything and it anticipates his blessing of humankind.

1:26-28 - Before speaking the creation of humankind God reflects saying "Let us make" indicating that this coming creation is something different than what has already been created.  Some Christian scholars interpret the "Let us" as foreshadow or proof of the Trinity.  Others point to God as discussing with the heavenly host assembled around him sharing his plans of creation for us.  It is as if God cannot contain his excitement amidst the creation of humanity.  He has to share his thoughts and plans with the heavenly hosts gathered giving him praise.  Could this be the theorized moment when God revealed his ultimate plan for humanity and 1/3 of the angels abandoned him along with Lucifer? 

God creates humanity in his image and likeness then proceeds to expand on how we participate in his image and likeness with blessing and dominion.  God blesses us like he did the birds and fish and commands "be fertile and multiply.”  When Man and Women enter as lover and beloved in the marital union they become the sign of the image of God on earth (Eph 5:31-32).  God is a communion of love.  He is Lover (Father), Beloved (Son), and the Fire of Love between them is so real it is the third person of the Trinity (Holy Spirit).  In God’s perfect communion of love he creates the universe and all living things.  Through creating Man and Woman in his image God uses our union as husband and wife as a sacred sign point to his perfect love.  Our human communion of love participates in God's primary action in this pericope: the creation of life.  God makes human sexuality a sacred sign revealing and fulfilling our purpose as man and woman, which is to reflect God’s image and that image is love (1 John 4:8)

The word "dominion" is the Hebrew word "ra-dah", it is used most often in the Old Testament to refer to a king's rule or reign over their kingdom.  In the ancient Near East there was a tradition in which the King was called the image of the deity and had the deity's authority.  The emphasis here is not simply authority.  The author does not intend a domination like that of today’s cultural context, rather the word "ra-dah" implies kingly care, protection, governance, etc.   The emphasis is responsibility.   We share in God's likeness by our kingly care for his creation.  The image and likeness together make us the pinnacle of God's creation and the completion of his creative activity.

1:31-2:3 - God looking at the summation of his creation saw that it was "very good".  This is the 7th mention of the word good and on the 7th day.  The number 7 is now forever tied to the idea of completion and perfection.  Since the work of creation was 7 times good and completed the 7th day will now be a holy day of rest.  Creation is completely good and wholly completed, there is no need for God to change what has been completed so he rests and asks his creation to rest with him.  That rest is the Hebrew word "shabat" or sabbath a time of an intimate but active "doing nothing with God". 

Final Thoughts:

            Reading this account of creation my attention is drawn to the larger picture of Scripture.  In this reading God creates everything in 6 days, and it is the creation of us on the 6^th day that is the climax and ultimately the focus of his work, but his work was not complete until he rested on the 7^th day.  In the Old Testament there are 5 major covenants (we will discuss each covenant as they appear), but all of Scripture surrounds the revelation of a 6^th covenant, a perfect covenant through Jesus.  We currently live in that covenant in Christ, but God’s work is not yet completed.  Just as on the 7^th day of creation God rests, there is a promise of rest for each of us in Christ’s covenant.  A day where God will “wipe every tear” a day of rest and “there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain” (Rv 21:4).  These first verses of Scripture that remind me of the last verses of Scripture, where we will have our eternal shabat with God. 

            I am encouraged in my reflection by the fact that God has control over what appears to be chaos.  So many things in my life and in society at large can appear to be out of control.  I’ve heard it said that our culture is in a downward spiral, that we (Christians) have already lost.  I often forget that even in the midst of chaos God is in control just as his ruah (vs 2) hovers over the chaotic waters.  God does not lose.  Truth be told he has already won, but it is only through the chaos where we are molded into his image and likeness.  We are given opportunities to reveal his presence through our love for one another and through our kingly care of the creation that he has entrusted to us. 

I find this thought both inspiring and challenging.  Challenging because in my self-centeredness I can doubt God’s hand on the chaos in my life, but in my heart I know that this chaos is an opportunity to reveal his image to the world.  He has made it my responsibility to do that.  He has invited me to participate in his work of revelation to all people.  Our existence as creatures in his image and likeness demands that we all take this responsibility, in the midst of own chaos.  A great challenge indeed. 

I would love to hear your thoughts and insights on this passage too.  Please comment so that all may gain from your experience in God’s word.