Genesis: Stories From the Begening Week 1

I’ll be honest with you, I’ve done a lot of series while being your pastor. Some of the different series have been: The New Exodus, where we talked about Nehemiah; The Light has come (Christmas last year); Jesus in the Psalms (you can guess what that was about); Rebrand (how important it is for the church to evangelize) and many others. Each of them are memorable to me. All that said, there are 2 series this year that I’ve been looking forward to for a long time…since I put them on my preaching calendar, late last year. One of them is called “How to read the Bible,” it’s a study on Hermanutics or how to properly interpret God’s word. The second one is the one we are doing now…Genesis, stories from the Beginning.

Why would I be so excited to do a series on Genesis-well, Genesis gives us our first look at the creator the universe. Genesis is a unique book, in that it answers a number of questions that science has no answers for. In addition, the creation about in the book of Genesis is so much richer than first glance.

I will give you a little disclaimer. The creation account is one of the most hotly debated things in Christianity. There are a number of different views on creation. We will discuss some of these, and I will give you my own views as we go along. One important thing to understand about this topic is that it has nothing to do with our salvation. Let’s go ahead and pray, then we will get started.

PRAY

Ephesians 2:8-9

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Why would I open up a series about creation with a verse about salvation? Well, a few years ago I had an experience that changed the way I think about the story of creation, but not just the story of creation, but it made me think long and hard on what a person MUST believe in order to have a genuine confession of faith. It is a good thing to study the deep reaches of theology, it is good for a believer to know where they stand on a wide variety of issues…like what they believe about the creation of the world. Sometimes though, we can cling so tightly to these beliefs and pile them onto a person, before they even have a chance to respond to the Lord. Instead of our salvation being based solely upon our faith in Christ, His grace and the work of the cross, it becomes a long list of things we must believe, in order to make a confession of faith.

In my previous job as a pastor I was asked to go and visit the husband of one of the ladies that went to the church. The man did not know the Lord, he was going in for a very serious surgery. I arrived at the pre-op room and began to talk with him. I could tell he was scared, so I did my best to comfort him. I asked him if he believed in God…to which he said “yes.” So, we kept talking. Every once and a while I would throw in a faith based question. After about 10 minutes I concluded that this man was about 1 foot away from making a confession of faith. You know why this man had rejected living a life for Christ? Because he was once told, by a well meaning, but woefully ignorant pastor, that in order to become a Christian, he MUST subscribe to the biblical account of creation.

Prior to this interaction, while I would have never said such a thing to a nonbeliever, in my heart, I pretty much believed something similar to that. In other words, believing in the creation account was a theological wall that could separate someone from the grace of Christ. Very quickly in my mind, I began to go over the many passages that deal with salvation…the verse in Ephesians was one of the first to come to my mind. I told this man that I’m sure the pastor who told him that meant well…but that he was incorrect. I then began to walk him down the Roman’s road. I asked him…did you hear anything in those passages about God insisting you believe that God created the world in a set, specific amount of time?

I further explained to the man that we are recipients of the love and Grace of Christ, and that it is the love of Christ that brings men to repentance....not having a perfectly aligned worldview.

That day, he made a bold declaration for Christ. I also walked away from that little meeting with a new outlook on salvation.

I share that story with you because the creation account that we are covering today, can be one of those invisible lines that we draw in the sand. We must never make topics such as this a litmus test for “true Christians.”

You can turn to Genesis 1, but before I start reading, I want to share another story with you.

I want to take 5 minutes and read you the the Babylonian story of creation. This story comes from a series of tablets called the Enuma Elish; this story is widely believed to be the first creation story ever written down....at least 500 to 1000 years before Genesis was written. As I mentioned, this is how creation took place, according to the Babylonians…which is modern day Iraq.

Marduk Creates the World from the Spoils of Battle

In the beginning, neither heaven nor earth had names. Apsu, the god of fresh waters, and Tiamat, the goddess of the salt oceans, and Mummu, the god of the mist that rises from both of them, were still mingled as one. There were no mountans, there was no pasture land, and not even a reed-marsh could be found to break the surface of the waters.

It was then that Apsu and Tiamat parented two gods, and then two more who outgrew the first pair. These further parented gods, until Ea, who was the god of rivers and was Tiamat and Apsu's geat-grandson, was born. Ea was the cleverest of the gods, and with his magic Ea became the most powerful of the gods, ruling even his forebears.

Apsu and Tiamat's descendents became an unruly crowd. Eventually Apsu, in his frustration and inability to sleep with the clamor, went to Tiamat, and he proposed to her that he slay their noisy offspring. Tiamat was furious at his suggestion to kill their clan, but after leaving her Apsu resolved to proceed with his murderous plan. When the young gods heard of his plot against them, they were silent and fearful, but soon Ea was hatching a scheme. He cast a spell on Apsu, pulled Apsu's crown from his head, and slew him. Ea then built his palace on Apsu's waters, and it was there that, with the goddess Damkina, he fathered Marduk, the four-eared, four-eyed giant who was god of the rains and storms.

The other gods, however, went to Tiamat and complained of how Ea had slain her husband. Aroused, she collected an army of dragons and monsters, and at its head she placed the god Kingu, whom she gave magical powers as well. Even Ea was at a loss how to combat such a host, until he finally called on his son Marduk. Marduk gladly agreed to take on his father's battle, on the condition that he, Marduk, would rule the gods after achieving this victory. The other gods agreed, and at a banquet they gave him his royal robes and scepter.

Marduk armed himself with a bow and arrows, a club, and lightning, and he went in search of Tiamat's monstrous army. Rolling his thunder and storms in front him, he attacked, and Kingu's battle plan soon disintegrated. Tiamat was left alone to fight Marduk, and she howled as they closed for battle. They struggled as Marduk caught her in his nets. When she opened her mouth to devour him, he filled it with the evil wind that served him. She could not close her mouth with his gale blasting in it, and he shot an arrow down her throat. It split her heart, and she was slain.

After subduing the rest of her host, he took his club and split Tiamat's water-laden body in half like a clam shell. Half he put in the sky and made the heavens, and he posted guards there to make sure that Tiamat's salt waters could not escape. Across the heavens he made stations in the stars for the gods, and he made the moon and set it forth on its schedule across the heavens. From the other half of Tiamat's body he made the land, which he placed over Apsu's fresh waters, which now arise in wells and springs. From her eyes he made flow the Tigirs and Euphrates. Across this land he made the grains and herbs, the pastures and fields, the rains and the seeds, the cows and ewes, and the forests and the orchards.

Marduk set the vanquished gods who had supported Tiamat to a variety of tasks, including work in the fields and canals. Soon they complained of their work, however, and they rebeled by burning their spades and baskets. Marduk saw a solution to their labors, though, and proposed it to Ea. He had Kingu, Timat's general, brought forward from the ranks of the defeated gods, and Kingu was slain. With Kingu's blood, with clay from the earth, and with spittle from the other gods, Ea and the birth-goddess Nintu created humans. On them Ea imposed the labor previously assigned to the gods. Thus the humans were set to maintain the canals and boundary ditches, to hoe and to carry, to irrigate the land and to raise crops, to raise animals and fill the granaries, and to worship the gods at their regular festivals.

In this story, Marduk is the main focus, he created the world from the body of Tiamat. Humans were then created to do the physical labor that the gods didn’t want to do. I’ll explain why I shared this story in just a little bit. Now, let’s start in Genesis.

Genesis 1: 1-2

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.”

If you have been a Christian for any amount of time, no doubt you have read or heard these 2 passages many times. The name word Genesis means…In the beginning. The first 2 chapters of Genesis is about 2 things, primarily-how the world was created and how humanity was created.

Have you ever wondered why God had the ancient Israelites copy down the story of creation? Why was it necessary for God to relay this story and include it in (what would be) the Bible? By the time God was beginning to establish the young nation of Israel, the Babylonian creation story would have been well known to most people. At the time, it was the only explanation for how things came to be. In fact, most ancient societies have creation accounts…the Chinese people believe in a god called Pangu.

In this account, the first being, Pangu had been sleeping for a long time. In that creation story, the first thing Pangu did was separate the heavens and earth…sound familiar?

the Korean’s have their own creation story, it involves 2 beings that compete with one another…both of those lands are pretty far from the ancient Middle East not only that, the Babylonian creation account was the first. It’s safe to assume that the stories from the far East were not well known in this region. As you probably know, God desired to raise up a chosen people, they were to be separated from the dominant culture that surrounded them. In order to make this happen, Israel needed an origin story to pass down from generation to generation....just like the Babylonian story had been. God wanted His people to know where they came from and how The One True God, brought forth order out of chaos.

If you remember, according to the Babylonian account, there were 3 gods that were present at the very dawn of time. Apsu, the god of fresh waters, and Tiamat, the goddess of the salt oceans, and Mummu, the god of the mist that rises from both of them. In other words, Aspu, Tiamat and Mummu were the heavens..sky and water.

Genesis 1:1-2

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.”

Interestingly enough, the word for God in Genesis 1 is Elohim, this word is used in other parts of scripture, to describe divine beings…meaning, more than one; of course this makes sense later on in Genesis 1, verse 26 that says Let US make man our of our own image.

Aside from that, the general picture being put forward is one of chaos. There was no order to anything. It was absolute chaos.

If you look up the definition of chaos in the dictionary, you will find a couple different definitions

complete disorder and confusion.

Then, in the secular dictionary, as an example sentence, it says: the formless matter supposed to have existed before the creation of the universe.

Jeremiah 4:23-24

“I looked on the earth, and behold, it was formless and void; And to the heavens, and they had no light. I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking, And all the hills moved to and fro.”

In the beginning, there was utter chaos…darkness and void. No light…yet, in the split second before chaos was turned into order, God’s spirit was moving over the surface. Then, in less time than it takes to blink an eye,

Genesis 1:3-4

“Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.”

Unlike the Babylonian account, where the gods started fighting and creating even more chaos, God brought order…God brought light…and called it good.

There is sometimes some confusion in the creation narrative, as to when the actual sun, was created. Here in verse 3 it says that God says “let there be light,” however, verse 16 says

Genesis 1:16

“God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also.”

If God made the Sun in verse 16, what was the light being referred to in verse 3? Well, verse 3 actually reflects the common belief in the ancient near East that the sun was not the ultimate source of light. I actually have a picture here that shows how the ancients Israelites viewed the world. ‎They divided the world into Heaven, Earth, Sea, and the Underworld. This view of the world came straight from the Babylonian creation story.

Therefore, when God says, let there be light, but ends up creating the sun much later, that would have made sense to them.

Genesis 1:5

“God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.”

Unlike the Babylonian account, which does not give details, God makes sure to be very specific in how the world was brought into order. Let’s talk for a second about the phrase one day…after each act of creation God looks at what He created, calls it good and then counts off one day…all the way up to 7 days. The word translated as “one day” is "yom.” The Hebrew word yom can refer to a number of different things in scripture, including a 24-hour cycle, the daylight hours, or an unspecified future “someday.”

Different translations interpret yom differently, for example,

The NIV says:

5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. NIV

So, the NIV actually says, the first day, the second day, the third day…and so on.

The NASB, on the other hand, says: And there was evening and there was morning, one day, a second day, a third day…and so on. It may not seem like a big difference between saying the second day or the third day vs a second day and a third day, but taking the word yom into account and the various meanings it can have…remember, it can describe a literal 24 hours or it can describe in the future or “someday,” the words used can make a difference. For example, if the writer of Genesis is trying to describe a literal 24 hour day, it would made sense to use The first day, however, if the writer was trying to simply give an estimate of time, it would made sense to use a second day, a third day.

One last thing to keep in mind about the specific days of creation. We get our concept of time from the sun. It rises and sets, it was the very first Apple watch. We are able to measure specific days because of the sun, moon and stars. As we talked about earlier, the sun and moon were not created until the 4th day, meaning, there were no “days” or nights, or even a 24 hour cycle until the 4th day of creation. It is because of this, that I believe the writer of Genesis is not referring to specific 24 hour days, as there were no 24 hour days before day 4.

Moving on, God continues to speak our very world into existence.

Genesis 1: 6-8

“Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.”

This can be a difficult couple of passages to understand. What is the expanse and what does it mean to separate the waters from the waters? If we look back at the way the ancient Israelites viewed the world, this makes more sense. Back then, they separated the earth into 4 categories, heaven, earth, sea and underworld. The Hebrew word used here that we translate "expanse” actually refers to a dome-like structure that was thought to separate the sky from the heavens (v. 8). If we use the word dome instead of expanse, the passage makes more sense to us.

Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, let it separate the waters from the waters. The common belief was that the dome is what kept the water in the heavens from falling. So, when it says that God separated the waters from the waters, it is refering to the waters in the heavens and the water on earth.

Today, we know that the “water in the heavens” is from clouds and not kept at bay by a giant dome.

I’m not trying to suggest that the creation account is a fictional story or that it isn’t possible that God created the world in 6 literal days. I am, however, hopefully giving you a new perspective on Genesis Ch. 1. It’s important to understand that the more we learn, the better equipped we are to have proper beliefs...

It was my goal today to get further, but I think we need to take this information and see what we can learn and apply.

I got through 8 verses, according to the handout, I was supposed to cover 1:1-2:25, but we would be here until Wednesday if I did that. So, what I’d like to do is take some of the things we’ve talked about in the first we verses of Genesis 1 and apply the principles to our lives. Next week I will finish up the day’s of creation, focusing on the creation of humanity.

The story of the Bible is a bit like the coin funnel you can find in science museums. The story’s focus goes from the extremely broad (all of creation) and narrows to humanity. It again narrows from humanity down to a people (the Israelites) and eventually to one family line (the family of David). And as the focus of God narrows, his purposes can be seen more clearly

How can we take the story of creation, which most people view as strictly an O.T. thing, something that has nothing to do with Christ; tie it in with the N.T. and apply it to gain a better understand of our Heavenly Father? The work of creation is very much represented in the New Testament. here are a couple of more examples.

Hebrews 11:3

“By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.”

I think Hebrews 11:3 is the perfect verse to describe how we are to look at the story of creation. Genesis Ch. 1 and 2 were not written down so that the 21st century audience can read it, plant a flag in the ground over the specific details. As I mentioned in the beginning, God desired to provide Israel with an account of how the earth and how humanity came to be. It is written from the perspective of an ancient worldview. Obviously God knew that it’s the sun that provides light to the earth, but that would have been very confusing to the people back then, that’s why the author wrote that light was created first, then the actual sun a few days later. In addition, the most common story of creation at the time had all these gods which represented aspects of creation. The creation story in Genesis makes it clear that Elohim, the one true God, is the true creator and made the world from things that can not be seen.

Next is:

John 1:1-5

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”

Of course, John 1 is referring to Christ as the Word, the LOGOS . God spoke creation into being and Christ was the light that dispelled the chaos. Then, as our redeemer, Christ once again dispelled the darkness of the chaos of sin…and the darkness did not comprehend it. Again, thinking back to the ancient worldview, John is saying that Christ is the literal and figurative light of the world, as the people did not believe the sun is what gave light. Christ is the LOGOS that spoke creation into being and is the light that shines, for the world to see. We take this as figurative, but they would have taken it literally.

Col. 1: 15-17

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

What we must understand about the N.T. references to the O.T. creation story is the importance of teaching that Christ is was a central part of creation. The Jews understood that God the Father was responsible for creation, but they needed to be taught that Christ is just as vital, not just to the original creation, but that Christ is what holds creation together. It was not, nor was it ever Marduk or Tia met. Christ and Elohim are one and the same, serving different purposes.

I’ll say this, as goofy as the Babylonian account may sound to us, to me, that story is more likely than everything just magically coming into being, because the temperature of the cosmic soup was just right. Not only does Christ hold creation together, in Him, all things hold together, meaning you and I.

Just because the story of creation was written so long ago does not mean we are not meant to learn from it. There are many reasons why Genesis 1 is important, for today though, let’s start to wrap up with 2 reasons that the story of creation is important.

It forms the foundation for the rest of scripture

The story of creation is important because it reveals God’s nature and character

The story of creation forms the foundation for the rest of scripture.

The word Genesis means “From the Beginning,” that is why our series is titled Genesis: Stories from the beginning. If you’ve ever been to a carnival and seen one of those coin funnels, where you insert the coin and watch it spin round and round, all the way down. The story’s focus goes from the extremely broad (all of creation) and narrows to humanity. It again narrows from humanity down to a people (the Israelites) and eventually to one family line (the family of David). And as the focus of God narrows, his purposes can be seen more clearly. As we continue through the series on Genesis, that becomes very clear.

It is the story of creation and the subsequent fall of man (that we will talk about next week) that educates us about the fallen condition of man. It sets up the story of our redemption.

1 Cor. 15: 21-22

“For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.”

Continuing on in 1 Cor. 15,

1 Cor. 15: 45-49

“So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.”

These can be a very confusing passages. It refers to the first man, Adam-who was a type of Christ and to Christ, who was the second Adam. Meaning, Adam is the covenantal head of all humans, and Christ is the covenantal head of the new creation. Because of verses like this, where Paul affirms the creation story, we know that it is not a completely figurative story. It may have been written in such a way as to make sense to the ancient Israelites, but it’s still true. The way Paul argues in 1 Corinthians 15:21–22 and 45–49 necessarily implies that Adam really existed as the first human being, it’s not just a fancy story.

So, the story of creation, forms the foundation for the rest of scripture.

Lastly,

2. The story of creation is important because it reveals God’s nature and character.

Unlike the Babylonian story, where you have all of these different warring factions, God looked at his creation and called it GOOD.

Psalm 33: 6-9

“By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.”

Our Heavenly Father is not only all powerful and all consuming, He is also a good God, that loves His creation. Like any loving parent, God disciplines those he loves. Not out of cruelty or vengeance, but because He loves us with a love that we can not comprehend. Sometimes is seems that the God of the O.T. is a different God that we find in the N.T. Those who think that do not fully understand the work of the cross. For some people, the God they worship changes, depending on the book of the Bible they are reading. For example,

Is your God the God of Joseph, Who turns the evil intent of wicked men to His own use? (Gen. 50:20) Do you worship the God of Job, Whose greatness caused that patriarch to abhor himself and be silent? Job 42:1-6 Do you fall down in worship of the Holy, Holy, Holy, God of Isaiah? (Isa. 6:1-5) Do you realize that your life is ruled by the Sovereign Ruler and Omniscient God of Daniel? (Dan. 2:20-23, 27-28; 4:34-35) Do you trust in the God of the Psalms, who does as He pleases? (Psa 115:3; 135:6) Do you pray to the God of Abraham, who calls those things that are not as though they were? (Rom 4:17) Have you met the God of Paul, who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords? (1 Tim. 6:14-16). Are you able to understand that God is all of these, at one time and it’s only through the work of Christ that we have the ability to approach the throne.

Gen. 50:20; Job 42:1-6; Isa. 6:1-5; Dan. 2:20-23; Psa 115:3; Psa 135:6; Rom. 4:17; 1 Tim 6:14-16

The nature and character of our God is so great and is so loving that He sent His only son to die, so that we may be reconciled to Him.

The story of Creation is important, because it reveals the nature and character of God!

To close today, I want to do something a tad different. I am going to close by reading a chapter of Psalms. I think it really captures the splendor of creation and the wondrous majesty of our creator.

Psalm 104

Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty, Covering Yourself with light as with a cloak, Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain. He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters; He makes the clouds His chariot; He walks upon the wings of the wind; He makes the winds His messengers, Flaming fire His ministers. He established the earth upon its foundations, So that it will not totter forever and ever. You covered it with the deep as with a garment; The waters were standing above the mountains. At Your rebuke they fled, At the sound of Your thunder they hurried away. The mountains rose; the valleys sank down To the place which You established for them. You set a boundary that they may not pass over, So that they will not return to cover the earth. He sends forth springs in the valleys; They flow between the mountains; They give drink to every beast of the field; The wild donkeys quench their thirst. Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; They lift up their voices among the branches. He waters the mountains from His upper chambers; The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works. He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And vegetation for the labor of man, So that he may bring forth food from the earth, And wine which makes man’s heart glad, So that he may make his face glisten with oil, And food which sustains man’s heart. The trees of the Lord drink their fill, The cedars of Lebanon which He planted, Where the birds build their nests, And the stork, whose home is the fir trees. The high mountains are for the wild goats; The cliffs are a refuge for the shephanim. He made the moon for the seasons; The sun knows the place of its setting. You appoint darkness and it becomes night, In which all the beasts of the forest prowl about. The young lions roar after their prey And seek their food from God. When the sun rises they withdraw And lie down in their dens. Man goes forth to his work And to his labor until evening. O Lord, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all; The earth is full of Your possessions. There is the sea, great and broad, In which are swarms without number, Animals both small and great. There the ships move along, And Leviathan, which You have formed to sport in it. They all wait for You To give them their food in due season. You give to them, they gather it up; You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good. You hide Your face, they are dismayed; You take away their spirit, they expire And return to their dust. You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; And You renew the face of the ground. Let the glory of the Lord endure forever; Let the Lord be glad in His works; He looks at the earth, and it trembles; He touches the mountains, and they smoke. I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. Let my meditation be pleasing to Him; As for me, I shall be glad in the Lord. Let sinners be consumed from the earth And let the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord!

Let’s Pray!