Part 2: In the Beginning

Review

The story of the Bible is a story of heaven and earth. God created the heavens and earth as a place where He would dwell with His people. The Garden of Eden is portrayed as an overlap of heaven and earth where God’s presence dwells with humans.

Adam and Eve fail to achieve God’s mission for them. Exile is the result.

The Tabernacle/Temple was intended to recreate a Garden of Eden space on the earth where God would dwell. However, in time God’s people fail to use it properly.

Jesus comes as a Temple, makes the ultimate once-for-all sacrifice for humanity, and creates a new temple for God to dwell on earth.

The church (people of God) is now the Temple in which God’s Spirit dwells.

In the end creation returns to an Eden-like state.

The Point of the Bible Story: God wants to dwell with humans. No matter what failures that humans introduce to the story, God refuses to give up on His mission to dwell with His people.

Follow the Patterns

Genesis 1-11 gives us multiple patterns/themes that are threaded into the rest of the story. As we read Genesis we should note certain words, phrases, ideas, and events that will be repeated and fleshed out. These patterns help us learn to read the Bible the way the authors intended. Patterns ultimately help us use scripture to interpret scripture.

Genesis 1-11 also tells us how or why the world got the way it is. It provides some answers to ancient questions we are still asking today. Questions like: Where did we come from? Why are we here? What is evil? How did evil become so prevalent in the world?

In the coming weeks we will discover what these patterns are and how to follow them through the storyline.

Rules for Reading

R - Recognize your limitations.

E - Evaluate your presuppositions.

A - Adopt the author’s perspective.

D - Develop humility.

Debates about Genesis

Obviously, the creation account in Genesis has been highly debated in recent history. There are various debates on the age of the earth, six literal days vs. six long periods, creation vs. evolution, etc. The result is unnecessary division.

This is dangerous. If we stake our claim on only one view and tell our children that our entire faith, and the entire Bible, rises or falls by that one view, we may regret it.

For example, imagine a child is raised to believe that the Bible teaches that the universe cannot be more than 6,000 years old. What happens to their faith when a college professor shows them convincing evidence to the contrary? What will that do their view of the Bible? They may start to question whether or not Genesis is true. They may abandon the Bible and their faith completely over this ONE chapter of Genesis!

How do we avoid this problem?

We must read the Bible for what it is and on its terms.

We must pay attention to what the biblical author DOES and DOES NOT say.

Many of the debates about Genesis are centered around what the text DOES NOT say.

Genesis 1:1–2 ESV

1 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.

In the beginning = Heb. בְּ רֵאשִׁית (b rēšîṯ) - what comes first without any indication of how long ago. In modern terms we would say, “way back when” meaning we don’t know how long ago. In Hebrew this is a broad term that communicates that the author did not know when God created the heavens and the earth. When modern people say they “know” that God created the earth 6,000 years ago, they are imposing that idea on the author of Genesis who himself indicated that he did know.

God = Heb. אֱלֹהִים (ʾělō·hîm) - This is NOT God’s name. This is a general term in the Hebrew Bible that refers to spiritual beings. Spiritual beings other that God are also referred to as elohim in the Old Testament. It’s a generic term for beings that are spiritual and not human. This word is almost always plural unless indicated in the text.

In the OT, Yahweh Elohim (the LORD God) is the Creator. When you see a reference to “gods” or “sons of God” in the Bible, they are not make-believe gods but real spiritual beings (elohim) that were created by God before Gen.1 (see Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:4-7). Some of these elohim rebelled against Yahweh and encouraged humans to worship them as God instead of Yahweh the Creator (Gen. 6:1-4; Deut. 32:8-9; Psalm 82).

Created = Heb. בָּרָא (bā·rā) - to bring something into existence out of nothing

Heavens = Heb. שָׁמַיִם (šā·mǎ·yim) - Skies, always plural in the OT. This specifically refers to the heavens that are visible to us, but can also include the realm of God and spiritual beings. Uninhabitable for humans.

Earth = Heb. אֶרֶץ (ʾě·rěṣ) - land, ground, dry surface. There is no ancient Hebrew idea of a globe. No ancient people understood the world as a globe. This word refers to land only. The land is the proper place for humans.

Therefore, the phrase “heavens and earth” should be understood as what’s “up there” and what’s “down here”. The heavens are God’s space and the land is our space.

Without form = Heb. תֹּהוּ (tō·hû) - shapeless, without order, wild (chaos)

Void = Heb. בֹּהוּ (bō·hû) - empty, wasteland, uninhabited

Darkness = Heb. חֹשֶׁךְ (ḥō·šěḵ) - lack of light, used later as a metaphor for confusion, terror, chaos, evil, non-existence

Deep = Heb. תְּהוֹם (tehôm) - refers to the deep waters of the sea. In the ancient mind, the sea was a chaotic and life-threatening place. Uninhabitable for humans.

Spirit = Heb. רוּחַ (rûaḥ) - breath, wind, spirit, life-giving

Hovering = Heb. רָחַף (rā·ḥǎp̄) - refers to a back-and-forth motion. Used later to refer to the motion of a bird’s wings. In the New Testament, the Spirit of God “descends like a dove” and rests on Jesus (Matt. 3:16).

Questions:

Has the author given us any indication of time or the age of the earth?

Is the author trying to solve the modern debate on the age of the earth?

If not, then what is the author’s point?

The author’s point is to tell us WHO created the universe, not exactly WHEN, nor scientifically HOW God created it. The author’s focus is on WHO created everything.

If the universe was proven to be 14 billion years old, would that change anything the author has told us so far? Can the age of the universe prove or disprove anything about who created it? Not at all. If God’s existence (or even the validity of the Bible) hangs on the age of the universe God would probably have said, “You better get the age right or I won’t exist and you can’t trust anything I say.”

Note: No one in the Bible ever argued about the age of the universe. That should be a clue to us that no one cared.

Next Week

Here’s your homework: Read Genesis 1:1-2:3

How many times does the word “God” appear?

How many times does “God said” appear?

How many times does “God saw” appear?

How many times does “God blessed” appear?

Write down any other observations or questions.