Week 1; Day 1

Genesis 1-2
DAY 1:  All the questions of life hinge on this day; the day where we learn that God created everything. Why do I exist, Where did we come from, what is my purpose, Do we have value, Why is there evil, Is there a higher power? The questions could go on, but in these first two chapters of God’s very word, we learn “that God is before all things, that he is the cause of all things, that he is therefore above all things, and the he is the goal of all things” (Fee, Stuart, pg. 15). For the believer who has been raised in church and heard the account of creation numerous times, the tendency is to skim the creation account. However, slow down and soak in these words as Moses proclaims them at the base of Mt. Sinai to the children of Israel, the newly freed captives, before entering the promised. They had been slaves for over 400 years and did not know who they were, the incredible promise and covenant of God or that God even existed. Imagine yourself sitting there at the base of the mountain, for the first time in your entire life hearing, “In the beginning GOD.” Rather than approach this incredible account with a “yeah I know that” attitude, let’s pray that God helps us approach it in a fresh and new way. Keep in mind, however, that the purpose for the creation account is not a science lesson but to establish that God is the source of all life and to broadly lay out the process of creation. “The most important truth is that God created the universe and that He did so in an orderly process, and the result was very good” (Harbin, p. 63). As you read, notice that chapter one is a chronological account of creation. The account begins by stating that the earth was “formless and empty.” We see on days 1-3 that God forms the formless earth and on days 4-6, He fills the empty earth. Chapter two is simply a restatement of chapter one, but in a topical format focusing on the relationships of creation rather than the process of creation.

Can you imagine the glory as God, the Father, Son, and Spirit, spoke and there it was. Think of the creativity of creation, the wisdom of creation, the intricacy of creation, the details, the beauty, the imagination, the organization.  Imagine the stars lighting up the sky, the ground coming to life with grass and flowers, and the delight of God as He orchestrates it all. I imagine a beautiful symphony in heaven accompanying Him as He speaks every star, flower and animal into existence. Just through what He created and how He created, we see God for who He is; not only the all-powerful God that is full of glory but that He is creative and wise and personal. The beauty that delights us came from Him, the knowledge of math, science, nature, medicine that we seek came from Him and the purpose we desire comes from Him. Read slowly the distinction of humanity: “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness….So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God….Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into His nostril and the man became a living being.”  Notice that only humankind was created in the image of God and only into humankind did God personally breathe his very breath of life. Unlike any other of God’s created beings, we were given a mind, will and emotions, a soul and a spirit. We are spiritual beings and cognitive beings who are created in the image of God. Therefore, the intimacy of how God created us and our distinction as beings shows us that our purpose is a relationship with Him. Out of His love, God created humankind to share in a relationship with Him.