When read closely, I found there were many things in the creation story that my Sunday school class had left out. Though it was healthy for me then as a child, now I must broaden my ideas about how creation really took place.
In class I learned that Gen 1 is the bases for Judaism and Gen 2-3 is the bases for Christians. The writer's world was much different than ours is now, scientifically and morally. Therefore, I must read the text through the author's eyes, the way they would have interpreted the world.
Verse 2 already reveals something I had never thought of: something was in existence before God created "Earth."
2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. -NKJ
I had originally believed that there really was a flash of light and BOOM, God created the planet earth. However, as seen here that's not the case. It presents a question as to how that earth came to be. If the earth was already formed, were the other planets already there as well? Is God simply waiting to populate them? Dr. Pigott mentioned that the word "Spirit" in this translation was added by the Christians to interweave the Holy Trinity. But the original translation can mean many other things such as wind, breath, etc. The Hebrew phrase is ruach Elohim. Elohim meaning "of God." I love the meaning breath because I can picture God's presence and His word being spoken into the earth.
Verse 5 creates a separation from the believe of mythological gods to one all-powerful God.
5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. -NKJ
God has only created day and night, not the sun. This means the author has centered on God as the center of light and not, as some believed, the mythological god Apollo. The days are connected by God's light in the beginning and not run on a solar time. I think this is very interesting and very important. God is trying to win over the hearts of man who have believed other religions. Therefore, he must separate himself and define who he is and what he stands for. Being light, the symbol of good, he connects to the people through something they see everyday. His hope is for others to see the light and want to do good.
I enjoy the repetition of the endings in each paragraph: And God saw that it was good. 13 So the evening and the morning were the third day -NKJ
This consistency reaches out to me that I can always trust God to be there. He covers every aspect of the world in chapter one, seeing all as being good. He will forever look to me and say "She is Good." It creates a personal goal for me to continue that love and faith he has in me.
God allows the earth to put forth the vegetation. I think this is important to mention because it gives some individuality to the earth. God did not create directly each blade of grass, but let the earth grow to its fullest by what God provided it with. He was able to nurture the ground and give it hope to create something to please him. The thought can transfer to humans. We have free will to choose God. He gave us gifts to use for him, producing pleasing sights, or we could use them for evil and create what would symbolize thorns.
It is so encouraging to know that from the beginning, we were created in God's likeness. 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
There is so much that I could say to describe my gratitude but putting thankfulness to God in words is really difficult. So, I shall be content with saying that I do love the fact that in me is Him. Something interesting that we talked about in class is how only humanity is made in God's image. The animals of the earth are not. We are the children of God who preside over the earth.
On the subject of dominion, the Biblical text does not mean what most people think: ruling, powerful, authority. While we do have some authority, we are not to be tyrants over the animals but servants. Justice and righteousness should be the focus of our leadership.
Chapter 2 includes a second creation account that most people think is a completely separate account. HERE are my thoughts on the subject and a little comparison of both. The ending of Chapter two is my favorite because it talks about marriage, and of course as I get older in life I look forward to being married and having a husband. 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. -NKJ
Becoming one is such a powerful image that can be interpreted multiple ways, companionship being one. The Hebrew word for woman (Ishshah) is part of Man (Ish), they took the symbolism and continued it into their language.
Chapter 3:
After reading this chapter, I came to realize many of the ideas I thought about the "Fall" are not true. First, the serpent is not associated with evil. The mention of the word isn't even in the text. Secondly, Adam was "with her" meaning Eve when she partook of the fruit. This means that he stood by and watched her sin and followed suit. John Milton makes a case that he did so out of love for he did not want her to sin and die alone. This is wrong. If Adam had loved her truly, then he would have prevented her from sinning. He should have stopped her from eating the fruit. Thirdly, the serpent may have not been originally on its belly because only AFTER he's cursed does God say, "upon your belly you shall go (3.14)." Lastly, 22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— -NKJ
This quote states that the only thing keeping man from being like God was eternal life, immortality. That's a scary thought. I would never want the world to be run by selfish humans. Luckily, God sent Adam and Eve out of the garden to till the ground. I can understand why God did this, but it makes me wonder what he was thinking putting the trees so close to human grasp. What if they had chosen immortality instead of knowledge? Would our world be as it is today? Or was knowledge the only thing that allows sin? If you do not know you are sinning, can we call it sin?
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