Genesis is the first book of the Bible. It tells the story about how the Heavens and Earth came to be.
Every culture has an origin story, even within our current scientific paradigm. We all know about the Big Bang, the appearance of life and then the slow evolutionary process which resulted in our world today. This is a creation story. It seeks to help the culture make sense of where they’ve come from.
Creation stories are very important. If we look at origin myths, we can see how the values within those stories inform the values of those nations or communities.
Think about how the Evolution creation story has impacted secular cultures.
The Biblical creation story in Genesis 1 has its own inbuilt values. God brings order to the formless Earth. He gives function and purpose to His Creation. He says that all the Creation is ‘very good’. Think about how these values would effect a culture.
Did God create the Earth in six days?
This is a common question, particularly with what the scientific method has uncovered about the age of the Universe.
Some people believe it was created over an exact six day period.
Others believe it was over a longer period of time, but each event took a single day to occur. So millions of years would pass between each day of creation.
I understand, back in the Middle Ages, some people believed that the ‘day’ mentioned in Genesis, was equivalent to 4 hours. So God would have made the Earth in 24 hours, in a single day.
Personally, I am not too interested in these discussions around how long it took. I prefer to look at pattern of Creation.
Pattern of Creation
The Bible shows God creates the Earth using a pattern.
He first creates the opposites and then populates the space between them and then assigns a purpose.
He creates the Heavens and the Earth (Or as St Paul says in Colossians 1, the Seen and Unseen). They are opposites.
Into this God then populates it with the rest of Creation.
He divides the Day and Night, setting out the opposites again. He later populates this space with the Sun, Moon and stars.
He then gives them a purpose.
Genesis 1 v 14-15
And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.”
This pattern continues throughout the whole text. He splits apart the sky and the ‘waters below’, populating them with birds and fish. He splits apart the land and sea and populates it land animals.
When God creates humanity, he sets up the opposites, Man and Woman. He tells them to ‘be fruitful’ and populate Creation.
Then God gives them the command to subdue the Earth.
The Pattern in the Red Sea Crossing
We see this pattern in other parts of the Scriptures.
God splits the Red Sea, separating the sea from the dry land. The Children of Israel ‘populate’ the vacant space. After they reach the other side, they are given the purpose to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
Exodus 19:5-6
Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine. And unto Me you shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’
God creates a nation for Himself.
The Pattern in Christ
We see this pattern when Jesus died on the Cross. On one side hung the good thief, on the other, the bad thief. The opposites were separated. Between the opposites, Christ hangs. God populates the space between the opposites.
Then Jesus fulfils His purpose, in triumph and glory, and sits at God’s Right Hand.
Would they be opposites necessarily? Why not 'complements, to illustrate something? Just a thought...As always, I appreciate your writing.