The Creation - Sunday School Stories part 1
The Creation of Stories : Genesis 1-2:3
As we begin today, I would like to state right away I will not be teaching anything regarding the age of the Earth. Genesis 1 does not give us the number of years for the Earth’s age, and it disregards the meaning and purpose of the text to conjure one. Likewise, I will state, whether you follow an Old Earth or Young Earth model, both of these are extra-biblical, which is why God-fearing Christians will disagree on the matter. Instead of concerning ourselves with a modern dilemma (which by the way, is not that modern), it will be much more productive to read Scripture and listen to what it actually says concerning the very beginning of humanity, time, space, and all that is or ever will be.
The First 3 Days : 1:1-13
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And 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, the first day. 6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. 9 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
Our first point today is the most important for all the chapter, and even all the Scripture:
In the beginning, GOD created the heavens and the earth.
It has been said that if a person can wrap their head around the first verse of the Bible, then the rest of the Bible will make perfect sense. In fact, the so-called problem of miracles, mythological narratives, supernatural involvement in the natural world, and all the other varieties of sticky points for the modern mind will all dissolve away once the reader understands this simple fact: our existence is owed to the Supreme Creator who built the natural world and can interact with it as He sees fit.
In the early days of Christianity, one of the primary arguments from critics had to do with this point. For the pagan world, even the gods were subject to the laws of nature. They did not have a problem with declaring a Supreme God above all the other gods, but they would argue that even the Highest God was subject to natural laws. The material world had always existed, and therefore held its own laws apart from whatever the gods, or God, did.
Today, we hear the same complaint. How can God part the seas? How can God calm the storms? How can God cause the sun to remain in the sky throughout the night? How can God raise the dead? How could God become a human?
How can God do anything? Because He is God! He is the beginning of all things, and all that we see, all that we don’t see, and everything that ever will be exists because God has made it so.
God can create, shape, and re-shape how He sees fit, because He is God.
As we move forward, look closely at what is made on the first 3 days.
Day 1 - Light
Day 2 - Sky and Oceans
Day 3 - Dry Land & [Vegetation break in prose]
Notice the logical order to His work. Each day marks a step in the Creation process, and I should note the linguistic device of using ‘days’. We are told on each day, “there was evening and there was morning, the [nth] day.” But, if the sun and moon do not appear in Creation until the fourth day, we can be sure we are to read these ‘days’ as narrative devices. This narrative device functions in a few ways:
The Reason for ‘Days’
First, they create parallels in the Creation Process in order to distinguish the significance of the 7th day. Notice how the first three days create spaces in which God will later place His creations. The first day brings forth light, which has traditionally also been understood to be the heavens, a place for the sun, moon, and stars. The second day brings forth the sky and oceans, a place for birds and fish. The third day brings forth the dry land, a place for the beasts, creepy crawlers, and of course humans.
Second, they coordinate with the days of the week which brings us to the Sabbath which will be discussed in a bit.
Third, I should quickly add these are literal 24 hour days. Now, I do argue Genesis 1 has more poetry than scientific text, but I do not mean that we can interpret ‘day’ to mean ‘a general time period or epoch’. You may be familiar with the Day-Age theory which postulates the ‘days’ could be interpreted to mean ‘stretches of time’. This theory came about as theologians attempted to harmonize the Creation account with modern theories of evolution and an Old Earth. Regardless whether one believes in an Old Earth or Young Earth, the Hebrew does not allow for ‘day’ to mean ‘generalized long set of time’. While it is true Yom is used much as the English ‘day’, we must always understand words in their context. In each day, we are also told ‘there was evening and there was morning.’ These are literal descriptions of the days and do not allow for ‘a general time period’. If the Bible reader wishes to argue for some form of theistic evolution, then by all means make your attempt, but do not misuse Scripture to do so.
The last point goes to the structure of the text. I have already mentioned the set of days create a parallel with the first three on top, then the second three in parallel with them. But, not just the matter created on each day presents this parallel, but also the flow of the text. Notice what happens on the third day in verse 10.
Verses 9-13 reads much like the previous, God speaks and calls forth a bit of Creation. He then calls the bit by name. And then He looks and sees it is good. But then, in verse 11, He speaks again to the land. He calls forth vegetation. There is extra time spent on the third day, because God brings forth food for the creatures that are about to come. But, it also places a pause in the narrative as a storytelling clue that the first section has been completed.
The Second 3 Days : 14-25
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. 24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
The second set of days bring us to the particular creatures and inhabitants of this new Universe. It is important here to note that all of Creation, except for humans which we will read in a bit, have been brought forth by God. The next main purpose for Genesis 1 is connected to the first:
The things that we see are not God, or gods, because they have been created by the Creator God who stands above Creation.
Keep in mind, as Moses is compiling these stories of his people, they are also coming out of Egypt. It is important as they become their own people once again they remember they serve the One true God, not a pantheon of deities who are products of creation. They do not serve a god who looks like a bird, because God created birds. They do not serve a bull god, because God created bulls. I imagine that when Moses came down the mountain to find his brother leading the people in worship of a golden calf was the point he decided to write down Genesis 1. If we look at the things created in the six days, we see the parallel of spaces and things, but also we see each pagan deity, each idol, has been deemed false, because God does not consist of animals, light, or created things, He is the Supreme Creator who made all these things.
Day 4 - Lights in the Heavens
Day 5 - Water creatures & Sky Creatures
Day 6 - Earthen Creatures
The Image of God in Creation : 26-31
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps 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 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
The sixth day also has a pause in the narrative much like day 3. However, notice that instead of calling forth humans from the ground, God does something very special. He says He will make something in His own image. Now, we know from chapter 2 that He descends upon the earth and fashions the human out of the dust of the earth, but notice three times the phrase ‘image of God’ is used.
We see this image is in “His likeness”. The words used are the same as those used by an artist to state what he has created. Humans are not God, but they share in some of the qualities of God. They are given dominion over the creatures of the world which entails they have the wisdom and ability to hold that dominion. Theologians have long speculated on the exact nature of this image, but here are a few which connect with other truths in Scripture.
First, as stated, humans hold dominion over Creation. Each person reflects the image of God in that they are given authority over a sphere of creation.
Second, humans are given the intellect to hold dominion. We are able, and called, to seek wisdom and knowledge in this world. It would be a rare treat to find some raccoon building a telescope in order to study the stars above, or to find birds fashioning scuba gear in order to study the fish of the sea.
Third, humans are given a spiritual nature in addition to their physical one. In chapter 2, God breathes life into the man symbolizing the giving of a spirit. The word ‘breath’ is the same for ‘wind’ and ‘spirit’ in Hebrew. The image of God also consists in the soul of the human who would have lived eternally in this good Creation had he not sinned.
Last, notice it is both male and female that are created in the image of God. This points to the truth that God is not confined to a particular gender, though historically and Scripturally we call Him Father, but each gender reflects God in a particular way. Traits which are typically considered male, and traits which are typically considered female, are both traits in which one finds in God.
Perhaps one of the most important verses in the Gospels that is often overlooked is Matthew 23:37 and its counterpart in Luke 13:34.
Jesus says, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”
Jesus compares Himself as a protective mother hen who longs to gather the children of Jerusalem under her wing, but they would have none of it. In the power, majesty, and authority of God, do not forget His mercy and care for His people and Creation.
Humanity, both male and female, and in all its varying shades of melanin, reflect the image of God because they are made in the image of God.
The Sabbath Rest : 2:1-3
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
Day 7 - God rests and sanctifies the 7th day
On the seventh day, God has completed the task of Creation, and so He rests. It is on this day the Sabbath is instated. Because God rests on the seventh day, we are told to rest as well. It is to be a holy day. Where the six days establish the things of Creation, the seventh establishes the rhythm of Creation. For six days work and activity should abound, with a nightly rest in between. Then, on the seventh day, there should be a ceasing of activities to allow for recuperation.
Six days are made for work and productivity, and the seventh day is for rest.
This is the rhythm of life and creation.
Now, as God surveys all that He has created, notice each day what He says. “And He saw that it was good.” And, on the last day, He surveys all that He has done and states, “It is very good.” God’s original design worked flawlessly. So what went wrong?
The seven days of Creation have been corrupted by sin’s curse.
We know that in chapter 3, humanity will introduce sin into the world, and it becomes a much darker place. Now, Paul writes, creation itself groans for the renewal that is to come. The animals have been subjected to the corruption of sin by means of pollutants and attacking each other. Humans are unable to live at peace with themselves and nature. The image has been tainted.
Humans no longer hold dominion over all creation, they are subject to the wild animals, catastrophes of nature, and must grow their food by the sweat of their brow.
Humans no longer hold heavenly wisdom, but are deluded by demonic influences and fleshly desires to make horrible, destructive decisions.
Humans no longer can live in harmony between the sexes and each other. Men and women fight, lust, and generally treat each other with contempt. They have been divided by this unbiblical, and sinful term ‘race’ which posits that ethnicity also denotes a different type of human altogether implying some are better than others.
And last, humanity now has a corrupted spirit and soul which is doomed to die of its corruption. The life humans are given at birth is a ticking clock which will inevitably end in death. And without supernatural intervention, even the soul is doomed to be destroyed by its sinful corruption.
It is in this state that Jesus has come to make all things new.
By going to the cross and rising from the grave, Jesus has inaugurated a new age of Creation. The former is passing away, and all things are being made new. Through Christ we are given new life. And in this new life, we are able to once again reclaim what was lost to sin.
Christians are called to bear God’s image once again,
Living in harmony with the natural world,
Living in harmony with the opposite sex and the myriads of humans,
Living with a renewed soul that longs for eternal life and God who gave us life.
To be saved by Christ is to be re-created in God’s image, to live by humanity’s original God-given design, and to enter the Sabbath rest.
This is the process in which we live in today. God is restoring what was lost in that first week of Creation. The beauty of this story is also in that it is bookended by the last story found in Revelation in which a New Heaven and New Earth is brought forth by God, and in which sin is no more.
Today, as we look at our beginning, and we see just how far we have fallen as humanity, let us also look forward to the time when our Lord will make all things new. But that new world is only for those who have been restored and re-created by our Savior Jesus Christ. Turn to Him today for forgiveness of sin, and restoration of soul. And in doing so, you will find that Sabbath rest that is available to all who are weary of the sin of this world.