Creation and Structure of the Cosmos -Genesis 1

Transcription

1 LESSON 3 OF 24 OT511 Old Testament Theology 1 Richard E. Averbeck, Ph.D. Professor of Old Testament and Semitic Languages at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois The following lecture has been produced for the Christian University GlobalNet and is copyrighted by Christian University GlobalNet, Grand Rapids, Michigan. All audio rights are reserved worldwide. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form whatsoever without the written permission of Christian University GlobalNet. The lecturer holds exclusive publication rights to all of the intellectual material in the lecture. Richard E. Averbeck, Ph.D.: We come now to Genesis chapter 1: The Creation and Structure of the Cosmos. And we want to start by talking about Genesis 1 in relation to science for a few moments. This is one of those topics where we get into hot discussions and sometimes there is a lot more heat than light that is shed on the subject. We have Creation vs. Evolution and everything in between: Recent Creationism vs. Old Earth Creationism ; Atheistic Evolution vs. Theistic Evolution ; Creation by Intelligent Design Discussions. Today all sorts of things are continuing to develop in terms of how people are handling the issue of the relationship between creation, by God in the Bible, and evolutionary science, whether atheistic evolution or theistic evolution. We need to take the fact that God does override nature seriously. Consider, for example, even the changing of the water to wine in John chapter 2. You can t have that unless God is overriding the basic principles of nature. He is not bound and does not bind Himself to natural processes. He created the processes and miracles, by definition, are overriding what is the natural process of things. So what we have in the Bible tells us, in the first place, that God does override nature and He can do things the way He does them. He does not have to follow the processes that would make sense to us in our study of the natural physical laws of nature. Now given that, in terms of basic foundational discussion, there is a lot of scientific data that is being brought to bear on this from different points of view. What we want to focus on first of all, though, are the Biblical issues. There are some strong textual reasons for taking the days to be literal days in Genesis 1. For example, in Genesis 1, we have this expression that comes at the end of the days even before the sun and the moon are created on day four. We have in day one at the end of 1:5: And there was evening and there was morning, one day. Now normally, we would understand this to be a regular day. 1 of 13

2 In fact, that would seem to be a natural way to read it. Moses is writing this to the ancient Israelites who would have understood that expression normally to be referring to a regular 24-hour day. So this would be a natural understanding. Also, we have other passages that would suggest this same reading of the passage. For example, in Exodus 20 in the 10 Commandments, the fourth commandment is the Sabbath command. It says starting in 20:8: Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Well the logic here would seem to suggest that God is saying this is literal days. They were not thinking in Exodus 20 when the Sabbath commandment is given that they should work for six ages and then rest in the seventh age. They were thinking in terms of literal days. And so, this kind of point would suggest that we should take these as literal days in Genesis 1. There are, however, some indications that the account may have been shaped according to a familiar pattern in order to make it more understandable to the ancient Israelites of Moses day. There is literary procedure in the writing of literature (and remember the Bible is the Word of God, but also it is literature) and there are features related to literature. Now there is this thing called preshaped literary patterns or plots, where you have a certain pattern that is followed in telling certain stories. I would like to illustrate this just by thinking today about Old Westerns that we may have seen on television or whatever. There is a certain pattern in them. You can know what the plot is going to be before you even watch them. Basically, you know who the good guys are because they have the white hats and sometimes even the white horse. And then you have the bad guys and they have the black hats. And you know it will start out where things are ok, but then something happens that creates a dilemma. The good guy comes in and he takes care of the dilemma and you end up in the end with everything resolved, with everything as it s supposed to be. I grew up watching those kinds of Westerns. Now everything was fine with that until Clint Eastwood went to Italy and filmed Westerns under an Italian director who didn t know what Westerns were. And he got it all messed up. So now we get The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly types of Westerns and so on. And now you can t trust a Western to be in the preshaped literary pattern that is normal in the days before the breaking of the pattern. Patterns are a part of the way we do things. We write letters in a certain pattern with the address, greeting (dear), body, closing (sincerely 2 of 13

3 yours, or whatever). Certain types of patterns are a part of literature. Now in the Biblical account we have these 6 days and then the seventh day of rest. And this six/seven pattern shows up elsewhere in Scripture too in many different places. One good clear example, for example, is in Proverbs chapter 6 starting with verse 16: There are six things which the Lord hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, A lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, feed that run rapidly to evil, A false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers. So you have six yes seven, the six/seven pattern is a common thing we find. Seven patterns, of course, are constantly found in the Bible. And even in the early chapters of Genesis we have some of these sorts of things even in the mouth of the Lord. When He talks, for example, and promises Cain that He is not going to be killed and He appoints a sign for Cain. In that context it says: Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold (Genesis 4:15). [We have] this pattern of seven the completeness. Then in verse 24 of the same chapter, we have Lamech saying this: If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold. And also in this chapter again, if you go from Adam down to Lamech you get seven generations. So this pattern of seven is common. There is another place where this shows up and that s in the Tabernacle construction account starting in Exodus 25 where Moses is given instructions by the Lord on Mount Sinai. And it is setup in terms of a pattern of seven units that are introduced by introductions. And then in the last one, it has to do with the Sabbath. So in Exodus 25:1: Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Tell the sons of Israel.... So you get the introduction to Moses there. Then, that is a section that goes all the way through Exodus 30:10. Then in 30:11 we read: Then the Lord also spoke to Moses, saying... So that is the second unit. Then in Exodus 30:17: The Lord spoke to Moses, saying... And then over in 30:22: Moreover, the LORD spoke to Moses, saying... Then the fifth one is in 30:34: Then the LORD said to Moses.... And then the sixth one in 31:1: Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying.... The seventh one is starting in 31:12: The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, You shall surely observe My Sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. So we have a pattern of six and the Sabbath is the seventh. The point that I am making is that we have this kind of patterning that shows up with six and then seven and then just sevens that sort of thing very explicitly and predominate in the Bible. It shows up in lots of different places. 3 of 13

4 Now that could suggest that what we have here is a kind of preformed kind of plot design using this sevenfold pattern. In Genesis 1:1 through Genesis 2:3, we also have a different pattern than we do in the rest of the book of Genesis. There is no generations formula at the beginning of the book in verse 1. Whereas through the rest of the book starting in chapter 2:4, the generations formula begins with something that is there and then goes on to introduce what is coming next based upon what is there. Well, in Genesis 1:1, there is nothing there before the beginning except God: In the beginning God.... So it starts that way. This suggests that perhaps Genesis 1 stands outside the historical framework as that kind of prologue to the book of Genesis and to really to the whole Bible. So it sets a foundation in terms of the concepts of how the world fits together. And some would suggest that means it s not really historical in the same sense as starting in Genesis 2:4 with the story of Adam. The third point there are problems in reading Genesis 1 literally. For example, you have light on day one and then you have the lights the sun and the moon and the stars not created until day four. Some would suggest that is just showing that God did create light. That s not the issue. What God did was create light, however, in a certain way. And this story is told in a way that doesn t reflect upon the actual sequence that actually God did things in. So, some would argue that that gives us more understanding. This is more of a preshaped pattern that tells the story in a way that is symmetrical and really reflects the fact that God creates an ordered universe and so on without saying that we necessarily have six literal days and a seventh day of rest here. That s the question that is raised with many in regard to the biblical issues. So what we really have then comes down to this: did God intend the ancient Israelites to read this as a literal account of His creation of the universe or as a literary account? Now clearly these are not mutually exclusive. If it is written it is literary, so what is said is said in a literary way. But think of it [in these] terms for example: you can tell the same story and be accurate in telling the same story but telling it in a different way. We have this in many places in the Bible. Think, for examples, of the four Gospels. They tell the life of Christ. And they are accurate about the life of Christ, but each tells it differently. Some arrange it chronologically. Some arrange it more in terms of particular themes and things like that. We also have a synoptic history in the Old Testament. We have the history in Joshua through Kings. And we have the post-exhilic history of Chronicles through Ezra/Nehemiah. And the stories are told (and they are accurate), but they are told in a different way. You can tell the same story in different ways and still have an accurate account. And if is literary, that s a very real possibility. We have examples of it in the Bible as we ve just discussed. Did the six/seven pattern in Genesis 1 derive from the literary world of ancient Israel, or did Genesis 1 create the pattern in the first place? God, after all, is a God of symmetry. 4 of 13

5 One of the problems we face, of course, in this discussion is that Genesis 1 was written long before the Creation vs. Evolution debate arose. Perhaps we need to focus our attention on the kinds of things that it says to people whether we understand accurately what is going on in the interpretation of Genesis 1 or not. Now I, myself, am very hesitant to give up on literal days. I think the text is naturally read in that way. But, as I ve mentioned, there are also good reasons to take a literary approach to it rather than a literal approach. In any case, whatever one does with that, one of the main questions we need to ask is: what does this chapter tell us about who God is? What is the nature and structure of the universe God created? How do we fit, relate in both to God and to the universe God has created? How reasonable and important is it that we believe in God as Creator even if we disagree on how He did it? I think it is both reasonable and important that we believe in God as Creator. I, myself, am very open to the literal approach and recognize the problems that come from observations from a literary side. The problem that I see with this whole discussion in many cases is that it becomes so much of a polarization between Christians who are sincere believers in Christ many times who hold differing views. There are: Recent Creationists vs. Others ; and Old Earth Creationists vs. Others ; and Intelligent Design Theorists vs. Others, and so on. We need to admit that we don t know for sure. We were not there when God created. But we need to take account seriously for what it does teach. And we need to move on and now talk about some of the points that it makes that are central to understanding this chapter no matter what view you take on the relationship between Genesis 1 and science. Now creation as a nest. This is one of those places where we have a very interesting picture of how God has designed things for us. He has made a perfect environment in Genesis 1 and He has created us in His image and likeness as the crown of that creation to have rest and dominion, peace and purpose, be involved with Him and His world through this context that He has created for us. Now Genesis 1:1, generally speaking, could be taken as either a kind of a pre-summary (telling about what is to be described in the chapter). That s the NIV Study Bible approach to this. Others take it as the original creation of matter (perhaps a temporal clause leading into verses 2 and 3). You recall that in the previous lecture we talked about the natural place of starting a creation story is a watery abyss. And that s what we have here in Genesis 1:2. No matter what view you take of Genesis 1:1, Genesis 1:2 reads this way: Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. As you walk through the days that begin actually in verse 1:3, what you begin to see is that there is a progressive elimination of this pattern in verse 1:2. For example, God said on day one, Let there be light. Well that 5 of 13

6 eliminates the total darkness of verse 2 where it says that darkness was covering the whole deep. Day two, actually eliminates the undifferentiated wateriness of the thing. There is just one big watery blob, and it says, Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters. So you have this division of the waters above from the waters below. So we are actually creating an atmosphere, then, between the waters, clouds above, and waters below. Then on day three, you have not only a division of the waters but now the waters are actually gathered to a place and the dry land appears. So we are eliminating this total wateriness of verse 1:2 in these days. And that s really what happens on days one through three. There is a well-known parallel that develops, then, between days one through three and four through six in this chapter. You have days one through three really about forming or making a shape of the world within the context of God s creation. You have light, water, and sky and land and plants. If you go on to day four, you have the lights, and they correspond to day one light. Day five, you have water and sky and animals and that corresponds to day two creation of water and sky. And then day six, you have the land, animals, and mankind on the land amidst the plants and so on. Now this is not exact in every detail, but it is a very useful generalization, and it does help us to understand many things that are going on within the context of Genesis 1. We need to go further with this. Day three stands out in a special way. They are distinctive because they really have two creative acts on days three and six. If you walk through the chapter starting in 1:3, you have the introduction to each day as being, Then God said... So chapter 1:3: God said, Let there be light. There is only one of those expressions in the first day. The same on the second day starting in 1:6: Then God said, Let there be an expanse. When you come to day three, however (in verse 1:9), you have: Then God said, Let the waters below the earth be gathered into one place. And then in verse 1:11: Then God said, Let the earth sprout vegetation. You have two Then God said expressions on the third day. Now on the fourth day and the fifth day, again, you only have one Then God said expression. But if you come to the sixth day, you really have two that are creative, and one that explains the creation. Verse 1:24: Then God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind cattle and creeping things, so the land animals. Then in verse 1:26: Then God said, Let us make man in our image, so the creation of mankind. Finally in verse 1:29: Then God said, Behold, I have given every green plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree. And these are to be provisions for the food for mankind and the animals on the landed earth. The point here is that day three begins with the emergence of dry land and climaxes with the land sprouting vegetation. And both of these are done at God s command. Day six also has two creations with the land, bringing forth the land animals, and climaxes with the creation of 6 of 13

7 mankind, male and female, in the image and likeness of God. And then at the end, God blesses, giving instruction concerning the dominion and the sustenance on the land in the last verses of chapter 1. It is interesting to note that the combined length of the narratives for days one and two equals that of day three. And that of days four and five equals that of day six. This works in Hebrew and pretty well in English as well. Also, the combined lengths of days one through three equals that of day six. It helps us to understand that day three provides a climax for days one through three, and day six provides the climax for days four through six as well as the whole chapter. So day six becomes the climax of the whole thing the ultimate focus of creation. Now this is important because the ultimate creation on that day, day six, was the creation of man and woman mankind. God has made us the crown of His creation, being created in the image and likeness of God. We ll say more about that later. We are very important to God. God made us to be important in the world. And the fact of the matter is we re important in His creation, but we re also the focus of redemption. God did not send His only begotten son to die for unimportant creatures. We are important to God from the beginning to the end. The plants, then, created in the climax of day three are taken into day six as the final climax of day six. So we have this planted world working as a sustaining nest for land animals and mankind. We find our sustenance in that nest. That s the idea behind the creation. And we ll come back and say more about the nest concept later. Now God and God s original design we can understand some things about God basically from this. First, In the beginning God... Genesis 1:1. God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, the lesser light to govern the night. These lights are not gods. God is the only God, and in the beginning God is the one who created everything that others may consider to be Gods. There are no other gods; that s one of the main points of Genesis 1. God makes that very clear. Also, in 1:31, God saw all that He had made... and it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. It was good. God is a good God and He does good things, and that s an important principle to keep in mind we have a good God and He s the God who created everything. The plural for God is an interesting thing and needs a little bit of discussion here. In verse 26 we have the pronouns let us and make man in our image in our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created man in His own image. Now you ll notice that we come back to His own image singular for God In the image of God He [singular] created him; male and female. And 7 of 13

8 now we go to the plural for mankind. He created them. So we have a plural for God, then we have a singular for God, and we have a plural for us as male and female created in the likeness of God. What does this mean, Let us make man in our image according to our likeness? That s the real question that has been raised. Some think it s simply a retention of mythological concepts in the Bible (a), so we have polytheism reflected here. That I don t think is going on. Others will say that it s a literary device (b) God is calling like to the earthly elements. Remember, sometimes He calls forth the earth to bring forth vegetation, for example. So it s like saying, Let the earth bring forth mankind. Others talk about it as perhaps an address to the heavenly court (c). Now there are many places in the Bible where we get this concept of the heavenly court of God where God speaks within the heavenly court context. So for example, in Job 1:6: Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. God is calling the sons of God into a council in heaven. The same thing shows up in chapter 2. Then in Psalm 89, there s an expression that s a good illustration of this in the Bible. Psalm 89:7 talks about God as a God greatly feared in the council of the holy ones, an awesome one above all those who are around Him. So God s in this heavenly council kind of context. And so some would say that what God is doing is He s speaking in the heavenly council and saying, Let us make man in our image, that idea. So it would be God saying, He s in our image, and He s speaking within a heavenly council context. Others say that this really reflects the plural of majesty for the name of God (d). The name of God here is Elohim. And that, that im ending on that word is a plural. Now this is normally associated when it s referring to the true God rather than the plural gods. It s normally associated with singular pronouns like He or Him or verbs that are singular in the Hebrew language. Some think however that the reason it s plural is because you have the plural name of God (e). That s probably not likely because there are too many cases in which the pronouns with this name are singular. Plural of deliberation is another view (f). We could say, for example, in the context of this lecture, we know that the land of Mesopotamia is between the Tigris and Euphrates, and back around 2500 BC a man by the name of Amatena ruled. Now when I say that, perhaps most of you do not know about Amatena. Well I m using it as an editorial we we know. That means not us who are talking here, but we in a scholarly world know this. It s an editorial we. Some have taken that to be the way these pronouns are being used in the plural. Others take it to be a plural of fullnesss (g), the plurality of the godhead ultimately the trinity. And the expression does leave that as a possibility. 8 of 13

9 My own suggestion is that it is a combination of (c) and (f), that what God is doing here is He is making this pronouncement in the heavenly court and speaking in a heavenly kind of court context. This is the announcement of the greatest thing that has ever been and ever will be created. And so He is making this big pronouncement in the heavenly court. Now this is probably the best way to interpret it, and that of course leaves open the whole issue of plurality of the fullness of God. The trinity is not really taught in the Old Testament in any clear sort of way, although it may be reflected in this plurality, these kinds of expressions here, and elsewhere in the Bible. Now with that in mind, we need to talk, then, about man in God s original design, because it s connected to this discussion about the plurality of the pronouns here. What is this image and likeness? The Hebrew words tselem and demut (I have got them transliterated there for you). Some would say that it s a physical likeness. There are actually times when God appears in human form (of course ultimately in Christ Himself). But the point is that God can appear in various other forms. He s not limited to that form. So, some have related this to physical appearance. I don t think that s the primary idea here. Others take it to be metaphysical. Instead of physical, [it is] metaphysical aspects of our nature in ways that are not material in terms of our visible appearance or physicality, but different capacities that we may have. For example, a capacity for a relationship with God, a capacity for relationships with others that are of a different level than between the animals, things like this. These are all ways that people talk about this in a metaphysical way. Some relate it to the whole question of human personality and the dichotomy vs. trichotomy view of human nature you know the material vs. the immaterial has two parts, whereas trichotomy or other approaches body, soul, and spirit and so on but I don t really think that s what this is about either. Most likely it refers to our functioning in God s image and likeness. In this context, the text seems to point us in this particular direction. So if you look at verse 1:26 for example: Then God said, Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea. You ll notice as you move from the image and likeness, the next point that is made is ruling. Ruling over the fish of the sea and the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all of the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. God created man in His own image in the image of God He created him; male and female. He created them (Genesis 1:26-27). God blessed them, verse 1:28, and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea. So again you get this dominion idea, this functioning with dominion within the world connected directly with the idea of being created in the image and likeness of God. 9 of 13

10 The context then develops the image and likeness in terms of dominion having dominion over the world which we were created to be over as it says in the passage itself. So the context suggests this. But this is also supported by texts from the Ancient Near Eastern world. The point that I need to make here is that we actually have texts one text in particular that I want to point to in which we learn about the creation terminology that we have here: image and likeness. The one that I m referring to is an inscription of a king by the name of Hadad-Yith i from Tell Fekheriye in northern Syria. This is in cost too. I have the pages there in Aramaic. Now Aramaic is a language very closely related to Hebrew. It uses some of the same basic words, has a little bit different grammar, things like this. And in that context, we have image and likeness used interchangeably for the statue of the king that stands in the place there to represent his authority in that region. So these are the terms that are used then for the statue that stands for his authority. Even though he s not there, the statue reflects his authority. So I will just read a little bit from this inscription. It begins this way: The statue [and that s the word demut] of Hadad-Yith i, which he set up before Hadad of Sycon. And it is of course a memorial inscription to this particular king. So we have this expression demut used for the statue. But again, later in the inscription we have the word tselem used for this statue, this statue of Hadad-Yith i, ruler of Gulzon and of Sycon, and so on, the places where he rules. And that happens twice, because in another line he has made this statue, and that s demut; and in another line he has presented his statue, and that s tselem. We have this interchange of these terms used for this physical image of the king standing for his authority in the particular place. Now the reason this is important is that when we look at the passage here in Genesis 1, it looks like that s what s really going on. God is making us His image and likeness. We re to stand in the middle of the world in the midst of it being the authority the one who is empowered in order to manage it properly, to have control of things, make sure things function properly. And that seems to be who God has made us to be. He has made us to function in the world as people who are like Him, who would rule like Him, who would take on His character, and therefore manage the world that He has created properly according to His will. Now, of course, for this to happen, God gave us all the capacities to function in that way. But the main point in the passage, it seems, is that we are to rule. In other words, to function is the idea. That s the real focus of the image and likeness. We function in God s image and likeness, and that s what we re called to in the world. When we get down to the basic call, even before the fall, we get down to God wanting us to be like Him in the way we handle ourselves in the world with God, with the world, and with one another. 10 of 13

11 The unity of man and woman stands out in this passage, and this is something that is sometimes not observed about the image and likeness, and that is that the image and likeness involves male and female together. Verse 1:27: God created man in His own image. In the image of God He created male and female. He created them. Now the word for man here, then, is probably best translated mankind or humankind, because it s an overall term for male and female in the context here. We function together in the image and likeness of God not individually. We cooperate together to do this, and it can t work any other way. So, for example, it says, Be fruitful and increase in number. Well that can t happen without both the man and the woman. That s important to keep in mind. And subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea, and so on. All of this is addressed to the man and the woman as they function in the world together. We have dominant and dependant characteristics. We are given to be God s diseurs, God s under-rulers in the world to manage the world well, but we re also dependant. We need the support. That s why he brings up the plants at the end of the chapter to support us. We need the sustenance within the nest that God has created. And we feel the pull of each. We feel the pull to be dominant, to control things, and to be the managers of the world. But even in our fallenness we also feel the dependence, the need for supply and enablement. Also, we re created to be dominant and dependent, but also responsible and relational. We re to be responsible to God with this call and we re to be productive in terms of how we handle the world and we are, along the way, to relate well to both God and one another in the process. So basically then we can think of the world as like a nest that God has created and we re the nestlings within the microcosm of this world of this man. We don t control the whole universe, but has put us in a certain place to manage the landed earth well. And it s filled with plants and animals, and it s surrounded by a big world. So we have the microcosm the little world of mankind and the macrocosm the big world, the whole universe consisting of the seas and the sky and all that is in them. And this structure of the world or universe really is that of a series of nests, the first supporting the second, which lies inside of it, and so on. And this can be suggested by several things. You ll see an illustration on the next page of this where days one and two and four and five really talk about the macrocosm, the larger world the seas and the sky, the universe, sun and the moon all of that is surrounding our world really. It s like a nest within which we sit, and that nest surrounds the whole world it s a whole environment. And then on days three and six, you have this development of what happens within the world of mankind. Out of the sea rises the dry land, so you have a nest there. Within the dry land there s the vegetation of the 11 of 13

12 second part of day three. And then on day six, you get the land animals and mankind within that vegetated world having a properly supplied world where it s nourished and also given responsibility in the image and likeness of God. Then you have the rest on day seven, which shows that God intended that the world the microcosm and the macrocosm together be a peaceful place, a restful and nurturing home for the first man and woman and their offspring. And you can compare this, of course, with Exodus 20, the Sabbath. God has always wanted us to have rest in the midst of the creation. Our lack of rest, our lack of peace and purpose within the world comes from our fallenness. God created the world without it from the start. And so there are many different passages talking about God wanting to give us rest. I mentioned earlier Matthew 11:28, Come unto Me, all who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Rest is one of those major themes in the Bible, and it starts right here in this context not only with day seven in [Genesis] 2:1-3, where God had finished His work so He stopped, but also the whole chapter, it seems to me, is the building of this kind of nest-like structure. The nest is just an illustration to get the idea of the kind of world that God has created for us. The nest is a resting place. It s a properly arranged place, a place of supply, a place of security, and a place where all that we need is there for us. So this terminology of the spirit of God hovering in verse 1:2 is connected to this. It s used elsewhere only in Deuteronomy 32:11, where the Lord is being described like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young. That s the word that we have in Genesis 1:2. He [the Lord] spread His wings and caught them [that is Israel], and carried them on His pinions. This is His deliverance of them from Egypt, but He s like a hovering bird that is taking care. And that seems to be the same image we see in Genesis 1:2. In fact, the Jewish rabbis make much of this in the Talmud and they say that it is reminiscent of a dove that hovers over her young without touching them. See, God rested on the seventh day not because He was tired but because His work was done. Everything was completed as it should be. When the work is done, you rest. That is the way for Him to show that everything is the way it is supposed to be. It s complete, so He rests on the seventh day. You get the expansion of this sixth day in Genesis 2:4-25, especially the fact that God placed man in a special paradise a garden orchard and fashioned a helpful suitable for Him. Now Genesis 2, the actual creation part of it begins in verse 7: Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. So the first creative act in the chapter 2 account starting in verse 4 is really the creation of mankind. That corresponds to the sixth day in Genesis 1. So we have an expansion then of the nest and of the environment and of the relationships within it and so on in chapter 2. We ll come back and talk more about that next time in the next lecture. 12 of 13

13 The point is here that we have this environment where we have a proper relationship with God and with the world and with one another, especially the relationship between the man and the woman being of primary importance. No physical or relational barriers between them. So Genesis 2:4-25 provides us this expanded account. Now if you look at the chart that we have there, you can look at it and review just a moment here. First you have the nest and one inside the other ultimately with the crown of creation; the image and likeness of God; the man and the woman together in the garden, ultimately, in Genesis 2 but also in the sixth day in Genesis 1. Then you have this macrocosm first. Thinking about that, you have the macrocosm underlying and surrounding the whole thing. Within it you have this progressive development of the creation that we have in days three and six. Then the crown of that creation is man and woman in the garden. It s where we really belong. We were created for paradise. That s where we re headed back to, according to Revelation 21 and 22, if we know the Lord. But the fact is we re not there anymore. That s the problem that gets developed as we go on to chapters 2 4. Remember the toledot section, the generations section starting in 2:4, extends all the way to the end of chapter 4. And to anticipate what we re going to talk about there, the fall was essentially the corruption of the nest. We messed up the nest with the fall, and it s impacted the whole series of nests. The whole creation now groans because of the corruption that came through the temptation and the fall in Genesis. We need to take seriously this whole issue of the paradise in Genesis 2, the way God set it up, the way it is supposed to work. And that s what we re going to move onto in the next lecture. This course is a part of the curriculum offered through Christian University GlobalNet (CUGN). To learn more, visit us at All material in the preceding lecture is protected by registered international copyright and may not be reproduced in any form whatsoever without the written permission of Christian University Globalnet. 13 of 13