Genesis Lessons 1: 1-6, 26-31 - God Creates
INTRODUCTION: Genesis Chapter 1 is nothing less than the over-arching claim that God created the expanse of the universe and everything within it. It's sweeping language and poetic form has generated volumes of scholarly debates, interpretations, and models over the years; however, for purposes of our study, we will limit ourselves to a very basic and literal approach to the text. Whatever method you take, one truth is evident: That God means Himself to be known and praised as the Creator of all things. Chapter 1, in the original Hebrew, unfolds according to a terse, poetic structure that reveals a series of patterns and revelations. Gen. 1:1-13 describes the first three days of Creation in a common pattern: (1) God speaks; (2) God creates; (3) God names; (4) God declares His creation "good"; and (5) finally, each "Day" is numbered. Each of these first three days prepares creation for what God will create in the second three days: (1) Day 1 creates light, night and day, preparing for the sun and moon on Day four; (2) Day two creates the oceans, preparing for sea creatures on Day five; (3) Day three creates dry land and plants, preparing for animals and humans on Day six. Gen. 1:26-31 describes the origin of human beings, the centerpiece of God's creation. Man is uniquely created "in the image" of God, invested with authority over the earth, and commanded to "fill" it-i.e., populate it abundantly. These three points establish the critical aspect of the Christian worldview and the proper attitude towards the sanctity of human life. If you will take time to read all of Chapter 1 (only 31 verses), you'll notice that the six days of creation aren't reported sequentially but form two groups of three, with correlation between the pairs formed by the respective days of the two groups. Finally, based on this revelation of a divine and all-powerful Creator, we can derive one overriding truth: that humanity is the purposeful creation of the One True God, and we occupy a unique place and responsibility in the universe He created.
Read Gen. 1:1-2 - IN THE BEGINNING
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 And the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
v. 1a: "In the beginning" - As well as the "beginning," this phrase implies the 'end' of the universe and human history. Indeed, it causes us to remember that the Bible deals with the end of time as well as the beginning-and that the NT closes with the Book of Revelation. Moreover, this "beginning" cannot mean the absolute beginning, because God is eternal and has no beginning.
v. 1b: "God created the heavens and the earth." - This comprises the entire universe and contradicts the secular view of an eternal or cyclical universe. By the revealed truth of His Word, we understand and accept God foremost as our Creator, that He created the entire universe as we know it, and that only God could do such a thing. Any belief that views the universe as an accident or part of some other natural process is false. Even the most hardened scientists are still asking how the universe came into being. The Bible is the answer.
v. 2: "And the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters." - This describes the state of the earth immediately after the initial creation: formless, dark, and covered in deep water, incapable of supporting life. The "Spirit of God...hovering" over the earth hints at preparation for the great creative and constructive acts that were soon to follow.
Truth 1: Based upon the revelation of His Word, we believe God created the entire universe and everything in it. Any belief that views the universe as an accident or part of some other natural process is false. Even the most hardened scientists are still asking how the universe came into being. The Bible is the answer.
Read Gen. 1:3-5 - LET THERE BE LIGHT
3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness He called "night." And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
v. 3a: "Then God said," - This verse records God's first spoken words in the Bible. It as at God's word that creation takes place. When God speaks, things happen, and even chaos obeys Him. v. 3b: "Let there be light"; and there was light." - God literally speaks light into existence in the universe. God intends us to understand Him as the creator and source of light and that without Him, there would only be darkness. In the Bible, metaphorically, light and darkness will become symbols representing good and evil.
v. 4a: "God saw that the light was good;" - This is the first of several creation accounts where God will pronounce what He has just made as "good." This verse begins a pattern repeated in the rest of the creation account. In each of the next days of creation, God will speak something into existence, observe the effect it has, declare it "good," then the text will list the number of the day. Notice also that God did not call the darkness good. In Hebrew literature, using God's model, light would become synonymous with wisdom, goodness, and knowledge.
v. 4b: "and God separated the light from the darkness." - Here, God acted to separate the light from the darkness. Henceforth, the two would exist separately from each other, with light being the dominant force. To the extent that light appears, darkness will always recede. Having no resistance to light, darkness does not have any substance itself, but is in reality simply the absence of light.
v. 5: "God called the light "day," and the darkness He called "night." And there was evening and there was morning, one day." - Genesis is a book of firsts. In v. 3, we heard God's first recorded words, and now we will see God name the things He creates for the first time, calling the light "day" and calling the dark "night," and dividing them between "evening" and "morning" as "one day." In ancient times, Kings had the sovereign right to assign names to various things, so we see God exercise His naming rights here as king of the universe. Naming something in this context is a claim of ownership or dominion. Later in Gen. 2:19-20, God will instruct Adam to name the animals as part of his human work in ruling and subduing the earth.
Truth 2: God is the source and creator of all light. Without God there would be on only darkness. In Scripture, this is why light and darkness became metaphors for good and evil, respectively. Light is also symbolic of wisdom, goodness, and knowledge.
Note: We are skipping the creative accounts of the next 21 verses: The waters, heavens (not the eternal but the sky as seen above), the dry land, vegetation, lights in the heavens (stars), the sun and moon, sea creatures and birds, and finally all manner of land animals and creeping things. I recommend that you read these verses in your free time.
Read Gen. 1:26-31 - LET US MAKE MANKIND IN OUR IMAGE
26 Then God said, "Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth." 27 So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth." 29 Then God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; 30 and to every animal of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to everything that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food"; and it was so. 31 And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
v. 26-27: "Then God said, "Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth." 27 So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." - This is a distinct creative account from all those that preceded it and is imparted as the capstone-the highest order-of creation. Unlike other living creatures, which were created in relation to the "waters" or on the "earth," there's no external agency involved in the creation of humans. While other creatures were created "after their kind," humans are created in the "image of God." The meaning of being created in the image of god is manifested by mankind's unique ability for moral and rational awareness. God created humans to be inherently different from other animals and built into us many of His own qualities like the experience of personality, truth, beauty, meaning, will, reason, as well as love, grace, and generosity. These attributes allow us to relate to God in ways that created animals cannot. That we are made by God, in His image, is what gives all men and women deep value.
Truth 3: God created man in the image of Himself. This was the highest order of creation. The meaning of being created in the image of god is manifested by mankind's unique ability for moral and rational awareness. These attributes allow us to relate to God in ways that other created animals cannot.
v. 28: "God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth." - After creating humans as male and female in the previous verse, God pronounces a blessing on these first people made in His image: Built into this blessing is the capacity to reproduce new generations of human being-and notice that He commands them to do so. God gives them four instructions: (1) "be fruitful" (have many babies), (2) "multiply" (produce new generations-many grandbabies), (3) "fill the earth" (populate everywhere), and (4) "subdue it" (have authority over and management of all other creatures). Thus, humankind's first responsibility was to populate the earth with people and manage the rest of the creation.
Truth 4: God's purpose in creating man was to fill the earth and manage the creation. Humankind's first responsibility was to populate the earth with people everywhere and manage the creation.
v. 29-30: "Then God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; 30 and to every animal of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to everything that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food"; and it was so." - This is God's provision to them: After forming humankind on the Sixth Day, God now instructs the humans what they are to eat-the fruit and edible vegetation of the all the plants and trees God created on day three. We might also note that God designed the trees and plants with seeds so they could reproduce themselves. Notice that God doesn't allow humans to use animals for food at this point in history. Some Bible scholars theorize that there was no animal death before sin entered the world, just as human beings were not subject to physical death until after the fall. Today, much of the world's population has little or no meat in their diets and still live healthy lives.
Truth 5: God not only created mankind but also provided their means of survival. God gave humans (and animals, v. 30) the fruit and edible vegetation of all plant and trees as their provision. God did not allow humans to eat meat until later, after Noah and his family debark from the ark. (Gen. 9:1-19).
v. 30: "And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day." - In the same manner that God expressly had made clear that all humankind could make use of every seed-bearing plant and tree for food, He now says the same is true for the animals, birds, and everything that moves. At that moment, by implication, God does not expressly allow animals as food for humans. Whether or not animals were by nature predatory at that time is a matter of speculation. In any case, the general idea here is that the self-sustaining plants and trees are to be the core source of food for both humankind and the animal kingdom, and that God, by definition, is the provider.
v. 31: "And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day." - On each day of the creation, God observed that which He had made was "good." But now, having created humankind to populate and rule over the creation, God now declares that what He has made is "very good." The balance of nature, the means of procreation, and the stewardship of mankind over it are all part of this higher goodness. So, after six days of creation, the universe not only existed but was perfect in its beauty, function, purpose, and potential. God saw it all and was very pleased.
Truth 6: After the six days of creation, the universe was perfect. By the end of the Sixth Day of creation, the universe not only existed, but was in perfect order in terms of its beauty, function, purpose and potential. God was so pleased with it that He said it was very good.
NOTE: We'll now skip up to chapter 2, which begins with the Seventh Day of creation, when God rested from His work. Of all the days of the week, God declares the Seventh to be both blessed and holy, which points forward to a time when God would command the Israelites to honor the Sabbath Day and keep it holy; and the symbolism and importance of this resting by God will become a major theme of the rest of Scripture.
