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Logos Ministries Incorporated
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GLIMPSES OF GOD - I This is an inductive study of Genesis, chapters 1 - 25. The author leads the reader through an inductive study of the text. I. – INTRODUCTION As we begin this study, we need to become aware of some information about the book. The name "Genesis" is taken from the title given this book in the Septuagint – a Greek Version of the Old Testament. The name stands for "beginning" not just of the creation, but of the recorded activities of God in establishing His kingdom. In the Hebrew Old Testament, the name affixed to this book is "Bereishis" which is the word from verse one "In the beginning". In the German Bible, Genesis is referred to as Moses I. Martin Luther believed that the Pentateuch, the first five books of our Bible, were written by Moses. The heading in the King James Bible reads, "The first book of Moses." This view was also held by several ancient Jewish Rabbis. Other ancient Jewish scholars held that Joshua wrote it. The Mosaic authorship is a view shared by many evangelical scholars today. There are many of the more liberal scholars who believe that the Pentateuch is a compilation of pieces of four different documents which they call J, E, P and D. These letters stand for the following:
No copy of any of these four documents is available for our use at this time. By the same token, no original copy of any book of the Bible is available, either. I personally believe that it was the work of Moses. That, of course, can not be proven. If the book was recorded by Moses, then it would seem reasonable to assume that it was written around 1500 BC It is not possible to be more specific concerning the date of authorship at this time. Genesis is presented in a form of writing called historical prose. It is not a history book. It is a book that uses actual historical events to convey a spiritual message. In order to discover that message, in its fullness, we must delve deeply into the historical facts included in the book. There are four ingredients in historical prose:
Historical events take place as the other three ingredients interrelate and react with each other. As we study this book, we need to be alert to the ingredients and their many relationships. When we have identified the historical ingredient, we will be continually asking ourselves, what spiritual truth is this story trying to convey to us? Most historians write about events that took place before their birth. The author of Genesis, however, begins his historical report by writing about something far different; something he can not fully grasp. He begins writing about a situation before there was time or creation. Understandably, that is a bit difficult for him to write and for us to comprehend. 1:1-5 Day One - The Earth is Formed
The name for God, in verse one, is Elohim. It is interesting to note that the name for God is in the plural, but the word for "created" is in the singular. It suggests that the plural form for God is a form of reverent/worshipful address which can be found in many languages. The singular verb, however, indicates the author’s intent — the one God produced all the action. The text assumes the eternality of God at the time of beginning. (God was not beginning). God, in His eternal existence, was acting to bring about the beginning of all things. When we think of creation, we think of the appearance of things. Creation includes things, but more basic than things is the initiation of time. Time and history came into being. This word "created" is a verb which is exclusively used to describe divine activity. It is significant that the author opens the book of beginnings by ascribing to God the entire sphere of creating. One document says, "In the beginning the SON OF GOD created the heavens and the earth." This is precisely the way the author of Hebrews 1:1-4 speaks. The first chapter of Genesis provides many facts, but the primary message of these verses is simply this - God did it! As we continue through the book, we will sense this message to occur again and again. The six paragraphs of chapter one describe the creation. The paragraphs appear as follows:
Verse 2 indicates that creation was an action followed by a process. When it says, "God created..." it is not identifying the type of action — instantaneous or process. Genesis is simply saying God did it. In a literal sense the word means to "carve", or "hew". In the form used in this text, it always means "to create". God acted and the heavens and the earth were created. Verses 1—5 form a paragraph which describes the Divine activity of one day. This day may be 24 hours or it may represent an era of many years. The text does not give a scientific paper on creation, but stresses the fact - God did it! Verse two describes the initial stage of creation. It uses such words as "formless" "empty" and "dark". The word "formless" or "without form" comes from the root idea of "confusion" or "emptiness". It is a word used in the Old Testament to identify a barren desert wasteland, but not devastation. The words "formless" and "empty" or "abandoned" are used together in several places in the Old Testament. They describe something that is not only void of clear shape, but also untouched. The word "dark" is the opposite of light. In this instance it describes primeval darkness; a condition which is present because no light exists. The paragraph may well be identifying the condition of the earth as being covered completely with water. In view of the way the author describes the scene, that would not be difficult to understand. Notice the way the author says it,
In verse three the author describes how light entered into the world.
It would be phenomenal to be able to make light. It is even greater to speak light into being. Speaking light into being adds authority to omnipotence. Notice that following each step in the creative process, God evaluates that which has been accomplished. The author expresses it this way.
There are 13 words in the Old Testament for "good". The word used here, "toy", is the most common one. It suggests something that is fitting; something that is as it should be. That is not surprising since it is a divine activity. The author indicates that God divided the light from the darkness. He then gave a name to the light – "day", and to the darkness - "night". The author also indicates that this is the end of the first "day" of creation. In true Jewish fashion, he said,
The Jews count their days from sundown to sundown. We, on the other hand, begin our day with midnight. Again, the indication of "the first day" does not necessarily mean a 24 hour period. It is sometimes used to identify a 24 hour span of time, but it is often used to indicate indefinite periods of time. Indeed, in the Psalms it is identified with a period of 1,000 years. 1:6-8 Day Two – The Firmament Having created on the first day, God continues the process of completing His masterpiece. As before, God spoke this creative activity into being. The author wrote,
We call this the firmament. The Hebrew text refers to it as an expanse. It is a gaseous expanse by which God separated water on the earth from water above the earth. This is a work of completion rather than bringing something into existence from nothing. Throughout the Scripture the naming of an object indicates possession, ownership. A man named his son and thus indicated that the son belonged to him. The author of Genesis expressed it this way,
You may have noticed that there is an omission in this paragraph. There is no statement that "God saw that it was good" as found in verse four. We can not be certain of the exact reason for this situation. It is possible that this is because day one represents divine activity bringing something into being from nothing. Day two, on the other hand, represents a divine process of completing that which He had created. We have no clear insight concerning this situation. Again, the author of Genesis identifies the time frame by means of a typical Jewish expression. He said,
1:9—13 Day Three – Plants And Trees God spoke the gathering of the waters under the firmament together. Again this speaking things into being is an expression of authority as well as omnipotence. The result of God speaking the gathering of the waters together caused certain results:
Again, the naming process is described. God identified the new entity. This was necessary because there had never been pools of water or dry ground prior to this time. We must remind ourselves that the naming process also gives an understanding of the fact that naming identifies ownership. As a father names his son, the creator names the different elements of His creation. In verse ten, as in verse four, the author describes God’s evaluation of His creative activity. The author says,
The word for "good" is the same as in verse four. As previously indicated, it is "fitting"; it is as God intended it to be. We will look at this issue throughout chapter one of Genesis. The author continues with his description of the creative activity of God. Up until this time the creative acts of God have followed a progression:
Now, God is going to take another step in the creative process - He will cover the land. The author describes it in these terms:
There is indication here that the pattern God follows in creation is one of lavishness. It is not a picture of a single seed bearing plant or tree. God spoke into being a whole array of plants and trees that bear seeds for their own propagation. This tells us something important about the nature of God. There is a generosity in the nature of God which confounds our understanding. Did you ever wonder why there are so many seeds in a tomato? This is just one more expression of the Divine lavishness. For the first time, God’s creation takes on direction and indicates purpose. This creation is to spread and enlarge the use of the earth. Human semen contains thousands of fertilizing agents when only one is needed. It was a lavish God who brought our creation into existence. Automobiles go through repeated modifications and recalls and never are they really perfected. Creation was different. It was created and it was "good." It was fitting. It was what God intended for it to be - no recalls! Notice that nowhere does Genesis tell us how any of this happened, except to say, God spoke and it was accomplished. This tells you something of the greatness of God and the purpose of Genesis. In verse 12, the author again evaluates, from a Divine perspective, that which had been created:
The wording is exactly the same as in verse four. It is repeated, word for word, as a means of emphasis. The author is stressing that this portion of creation was discerned to be as God had intended it to be; it was fitting in terms of the rest of the divine creativity. There is, however, something distinctive to be found in this statement. Notice that in verses one through four, the statement, "and God saw that it was good", appears only once. In verses nine through 13, the statement appears twice on the same day of creation. The only reason I can see for this change is the fact that in verse four there is just one creative act. in verses nine through 13, there are two distinct creative acts:
This is not a unique situation. We will see it again later on in the chapter. Again in verse 13, the author uses the same time designation used to identify days one and two. This is a form of Hebrew poetry called parallelism. The repetition of this form lends emphasis to the text. It is not a scientific time mark as one would use in research. It identifies an expression, a time designation which sets this portion of creation apart from other stages or parts of it. The author said,
1:14-19 Day Four - Sun, Moon and Stars Again, in this paragraph, the strength of the Divine activity is heightened by the fact that He spoke this portion of creation into being. God said,
God indicated that this portion of creation was to have a three–fold purpose:
Reflection reveals that this embodies several things. First, if these lights are to separate day from night, then it follows that there had not been a separation previously. Apparently it was all the same. Second, if the lights are for a sign to mark seasons, then it follows that there had not been seasons prior to this and there had been no clearly marked identification of time. Look at this paragraph a moment. There are two parts to it.
This is a frequent pattern in Genesis. Notice, beginning with verse 16, the author is being very specific about what he said in verses 14 and 15. In these verses, the author indicates that God said, "let there be lights in the expanse of the sky". In verse 16, the author becomes quite specific pointing out that this meant that there would be two great lights. The greater of these two lights was to govern the day and the lesser was to govern the night. He continues that God also made the stars and placed them in the expanse of the sky. The purpose of these was to give light to the earth. It is interesting to note that God did not give names to the greater lights, which we call planets. The stars, or lesser lights, on the other hand, were identified by the name with which we still refer to them. It should be noted that there is a difference of opinion concerning whether or not there was creation on this day. On day one God created the heavens and the earth. Some say that this infers that the heavenly bodies were created at that time. Still others state that the greater and lesser lights along with the stars were created on day four of creation. The evidence is not conclusive for either position. Again, the author indicates that God "saw". The word the author used is commonly chosen to describe a prophet, a "seer". It is to see from a Divine perspective. God saw that what He had done was "good." It was what He intended it to be. The author again uses the parallelism to emphasize the passage of time:
This is not a description of a 24 hour span of time. It is rather a way to emphatically point out that a certain time period had come to a close. The length of that time period is not at all clear. 1:20-23 Day Five – Fish and Birds The author begins the paragraph with the words,
The implication of this statement is that prior to God’s statement, the water was not teeming with fish and the air contained no birds. God is progressively carrying out His design for His creation. He formed the world first, then filled it with those things which He wanted to live there. This tells you something about the nature of the creating God. Notice that in 1:20, God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures." In 1:21, the author says,
As we have seen previously in the chapter, the speaking and acting of God stress His authority as well as His omnipotence. This gives one further insight into what God is like. The author of Genesis not only tells us about creation, but he also gives glimpses into the mind of God. Note what the author says in verse 21,
The picture of the Divine creative activity is very specific. God did not just create a fish, but a variety of kinds so that the seas were teeming with them. God did not just create a bird. God created a whole host of kinds of birds whose names and pictures would fill several volumes. We now know that God created a plethora of insects which form the food base for many of these birds. There is a lavishness in creation which is characteristic of who God is. How many cucumber seeds does it take to start a new plant? Yet, look at how many seeds there are in every cucumber. The same is true with the tomato, the onion, the dandelion, the pine cone, and many others. Whatever else He is, God is lavish. When God had completed the task of creating the fish and birds, He again "saw" that it was good; it fit exactly what He intended creation to be. God had not placed His blessing upon anything, up to this point. The author forcefully points out that God blessed the fish and birds, when he records:
The word "bless" literally means "to kneel; to endue with power, to enable one to succeed." God approved the enabling and then commanded them to multiply. Again, this is a glimpse into what God is like. Until now, in the creative process, God has placed no demands upon what He created. Now that is changed. For the first time God says,
There is an indication here that God had a specific purpose in what and how He created. He did not just create the birds to look beautiful and stunning. God intended both the fish and the birds to multiply. We now know that they form an important segment in the food chain of this intricate creation. The fact of creation gives God the authority to control the directions and actions of what He created. The author concludes this paragraph, as he completed the others, with the repeated statement about time:
As we indicated previously, the repetition or parallelism is a Hebrew means of strong emphasis. The emphasis is on completion of this phase of the creative activity rather than on the passing of 24 hours. 1:24-31 Day Six — Animals And Mankind In the Hebrew text, these verses comprise only one paragraph, though there are five areas which are covered. They are as follows:
Notice the way the creation of animals is reported.
Now notice how it is reported in verse 25,
In verse 24 God told the land to produce living creatures and in verse 25 it says God made them. Which is correct? Some would say this is an error. I believe not. These are, apparently, two ways of reporting the same event. One can not vouch for exactly how God did that, but it is my understanding that however it happened, God did it. Again, in verse 25, God looked upon what He had created and determined that it was "good"; it had become what God intended it to be. The account of the creation of mankind is different from the report of every other facet of creation. Notice the way the author records it,
Notice that God said, "Let us make man in our image." The words "us" and "our" are plural while image is in the singular. This is not surprising. In Genesis 1:1, where it says "God created", the word "God" is in the plural while the word "created" is in the singular. The plural reference to God is a linguistic means of emphasizing God’s greatness and majesty. It is also a reference to the multipersonality in God. The singular verb, on the other hand, stresses the oneness of God. The word "image" refers to a likeness, a representation, that which causes a distinctive shadow. It is a sharing of a small portion of God’s splendor. God has chosen to place a unique gift upon mankind. This gift sets them apart from all the rest of creation. We are made in God’s likeness; that which sets God apart from all else He created. Human beings share God’s likeness in several ways that are not characteristic of the rest of creation: We have the capacity to think in a way that no other part of creation can. We have a moral capability that is not possible for any other created being. God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness... " The word "likeness" has to do with serious comparison. It does not mean that when you see a person you would recognize God if you saw him. It means that God created man so that he was like God in some manner. It may be in the fact that mankind is intelligent, in a way that no other facet of creation is intelligent. Mankind bears in his being some imprint of the creator and this is a unique gift of God. It must be noted that the word "image" and "likeness" are difficult to differentiate. Some have concluded that one refers to the personal features of God while the other refers to the spiritual likeness. Imagine being created in the spiritual likeness of God! God did not just create mankind in His image. He created man for a specific purpose. God said,
The use of the plural "them" suggests that this took place after the creation of woman, though chronology is a low priority in this description of God’s creative activity. God decreed that mankind was to "rule" over creation. Mankind was to be lord of creation. The word used for "rule" is sometimes used to convey the idea of "to step upon." It is obviously a bestowal of power which is unique in all creation. Mankind was to "rule over" creation, not to abuse it or waste it. He was to exercise authority over; give direction to all creation on behalf of God. Until this is accomplished, mankind is not functioning as God intended. The dominion of mankind over creation is universal. There is no part of creation over which man was not to have dominion. Verse 27 is a recapitulation of the story of the creation of mankind in verse 26. This is often done, in Hebrew literature, for purposes of emphasis. This verse is the first place in Genesis where "woman" is mentioned specifically. She is inferred in the previous verse when the author refers to mankind as "them." One must remember that this is not a scientific report of data, but a description of creation whose major purpose is not to be a schedule of events, but rather a means by which to describe something beautiful about the person and character of God. In verse 28 you find only the second use of the word "blessed". It is the same word used in verse 22 when God blessed the birds and sea creatures. The word bless comes from the root which means "to kneel" or "to endue with power." Both portraits are significant in this instance. Kneeling was considered the grateful response to a gift. When a person is knighted in the British realm, that person kneels before the queen to receive the gift, the endowment. The word "blessed", as used here, is considered a future form. That means that it is unfinished, it is coming to pass. It might be rendered, "God will be blessing them." In concert with that blessing, God also gave to mankind a series of instructions. Notice how He said it,
They are to be "fruitful". This is an imperative, but it can be a military type command, an exhortation, or an entreaty. In this instance, it appears to be an exhortation or mild command. The point of this imperative is obviously directed toward increasing the number of persons occupying creation. Mankind was instructed to "subdue" the earth. It means "to tread upon" or "to bring into subjection." Mankind is to bring the earth under his control. People are portrayed as rulers over the earth. This would be a way of managing the earth so as to preserve or improve upon its usefulness. A look at history indicates that this has not really happened since the Fall. The earth is being exploited, but it is not being managed or improved. God also said,
How does one "rule over" fish, birds and animals? The word "rule over" and "subdue" are similar in some respects. The word "rule over" comes from the root "to tread", as they did with grapes at harvest time. It is used to describe dominion. People are instructed to have dominion; a kind of control which results in management and preservation of the forms of life God created. Mankind is cast in the role of manager in residence of all creation. As we have tried to stress, the creation narrative attempts to speak of time in general terms rather than scientific data keeping. It is interesting to note, however, that there is a progression in God’s dealing with mankind:
God said,
Some have interpreted this to mean that mankind was to be vegetarian. That would be a conclusion from the silence of the text, for nothing is said about mankind eating flesh until after the Fall. That is not a necessary conclusion from this text. It is clear from this, however, that God gave mankind every seed—bearing plant and tree to provide for their sustenance. That is, frankly, all that it tells us. God has assumed responsibility for the provision of every need of mankind. At the same time, God identifies the provision He has made for the birds and animals of the earth. He said,
Again, some conclude from this text that originally all animals were vegetarian. This does not say they were not to eat flesh, it simply says they were given green plants to eat. The emphasis of the author is that God had made full provision for the needs of His creation. In verse 31, God again evaluates all He has created. There is a slight variation in the way the author records this experience. He says,
The change is the insertion of the word "very". After most of the other phases of creation, the author reports that God saw that it was good. There are two facets to this situation. First, God is looking not only at the final stage of creative activity and concluding that it was "very good". God is also looking at everything that He had created and concluded that all of it was "very good"; all of it was accomplishing the purpose for which He created it. As we indicated earlier, there are two places in this chapter where the author deviates from his pattern of reporting God’s evaluation of the day’s creative activity. They are:
In both instances there are two places in the paragraph where it says, "God saw that it was good." Again in this instance, day six, it appears that the reason for the change is that this day includes two very divergent types of creative activity:
The author concludes the report of the six days of creative activity by identifying a time frame. As we have indicated several times, this is for purposes of emphasis rather than for purposes of scientific precision. 2:1-3 Day Seven - The Day Of Rest Chapter two begins with a summary statement concerning the completion of the creative process. The author said it this way,
Using the words "in all their vast array," the author has pointed to all that mankind has been able to discover and identify during the thousands of years they have been on the earth. The sad fact is that we have not yet discovered all that the author was talking about when he said, "all their vast array." We are reasonably certain there is nearly as much we have not pinpointed as there is that we have already discovered. Verse two points to a final but diverse segment of the creative narrative. The author indicates that the creative activity had come to a conclusion by the end of the sixth day. The Christian’s understanding of the seventh day, or Sabbath, is sometimes not very biblical. Notice the way the author states it,
What does it mean to "rest"? It is not the solution for tiredness. God did not get tired, He is omnipotent. Throughout the rest of the Old Testament, this word for "rest" is used to describe the Sabbath rest. It indicates putting an end to something; to cease. It is the announcement that the creative act has been accomplished. It is a celebration of completion. Today, it is the celebration of the conclusion of the work of the week. It is possible that the idea of Sabbath carries with it the notion that this is a day which not only divides the month into weeks, but a day on which the believer should follow the example of God and rest also. Deuteronomy 5:12—15 gives us additional meanings to add to this understanding. Whatever the meaning, God made it clear that this was a day for His rest; the completion of His creative activity. The author presents this in such a way that the Sabbath is included as part of the creative process. If you review this portion of Scripture, you may discover a fact usually overlooked. People tend to think of the creation of human beings as the pinnacle of the creative process. This is not quite the case. Certainly people are the highest form of created beings. The pinnacle of the creative process, as described in this passage, was the divine celebration of the Sabbath, the day of rest. In some way, our celebration of the Sabbath needs to reflect the joy of that Divine accomplishment. The author continues,
God not only used the seventh day as the sign of the completing of His creative activity, He made it a day set apart for God. It was a "holy" day. God sanctified it; He set the seventh day apart from all other days as the exclusive property of God. The author explains this sanctifying of the seventh day as a memorial of the completion of God’s creative activity. We have read the creation story repeatedly. In most instances, I suspect, it is reading without stopping to ask any questions about what it means. We need to ask ourselves, on our day of rest, do we ever pause to reflect upon the creative power of God and praise His unspeakable name? We live in a world that is constantly being amazed at the power displayed around us.- Despite the power of nuclear weapons and all kinds of electronic equipment, no one has been able to create anything. God alone creates. We serve a God whose power is unique in the annals of history. Do we ever stop to reflect on what that means? Does it have any effect on the way we do business every day? Does it make any impression on the way we view our weakness when it comes to dealing with temptation? Does it make any difference in the way we think about what God can enable us to do on His behalf? Just what does it mean to us that God is the omnipotent creator? |
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