Rev. Dr. Douglas K. Showalter Scripture: Psalm 74:12-17 First Congregational Church of Falmouth, MA of the UCC June 14, 2009 Copyright 2009 In the Beginning God Created... THIS MORNING I will do some Bible study from the pulpit. Our Lay Reader, Penny Foster, will help me. Our text will be the first story of Creation, found in the book of Genesis. I invite you to follow along in your pew Bible. This story begins on page 1 in the Old Testament section of both the Black and Red Bibles in our pews. I=ve spoken in this pulpit before about the view, long held by many scholars, that there are actually two different Creation stories in Genesis. Those two stories are set back-to-back in our Bible. The first of those stories refers to the Supreme Being as AGod@ and speaks of the world being created in 7 days, including a day when God rested. The second story refers to the Supreme Being as the ALord God@ and talks of the creation of Adam and later Eve. It then speaks of Adam and Eve being driven out of the Garden of Eden because of their disobedience to God. Those two stories have some basic theological themes in common. For example: --both stories affirm that our world was created by the one true God, who existed prior to, and is distinct from, the material world God created. B-both stories also affirm that God, created human beings apart from all other earthly creatures, and that humans are the highest order of God=s Creation. Those two stories share a number of important themes. However, if one reads their details in a very literal way, one finds that those two stories contradict each other at numerous points. HOWEVER, as many scholars, and I, believe, those two stories should not be read as factual accounts. Rather, they should be read as documents of faith which contain spiritual truths, not scientific truths. As I=ve often said, I look to Genesis to tell me WHY and BY WHOM our world was created. In contrast, I look to science to tell me HOW our world was created. In my understanding, those are two different kinds of truth, each of which needs to be respected for itself. And, although different, both of those truths about our world=s Creation can be seen as compatible. WHERE DID the first Genesis story of Creation come from? According to scholars, the first five books of the Old TestamentB-including
Page 2 of 9 GenesisB-were woven together and compiled, by the early Hebrews from four or more Hebrew religious writings, which originally were independent of each other. Of those different writings, the first Creation story is said to have come from the so-called APriestly@ or AP@ document. That AP@ document likely was written in the 6 th century B.C., after Babylonian forces had conquered Israel, destroyed Jerusalem and its great temple, and carried many Jews back to Babylonia where they were forced to live in exile. Scholars believe that AP@ document was written by Jewish priests and scribes in Babylonia during that exile. Likely they wrote it to help Jews maintain their faith, during that difficult period. i THE BELIEF that the first Creation story was written while in Babylonian exile is significant. For, there is a sense in which that first Genesis Creation story is a rebuttal to an even earlier Babylonian creation story, which those exiled Jews likely were exposed to. That Babylonian creation story was contained in a poem called AEnûma Elish.@ Fragments of that poem, preserved on clay tablets, were first discovered in the 19 th century, during excavations of ancient Nineveh. Scholars believe that Babylonian creation story dates back before 1000 B.C. ii Do you recall our unison scripture reading this morning from the 74 th Psalm? Some of the imagery in that Psalm refers back to that old Babylonian creation storyb-namely that Psalm=s depiction of a battle with sea monsters and the division of the sea. That old Babylonian creation story is complex. It contains numerous gods. But here=s the gist of it. In that story, Tiamat is the goddess of the sea. She represents the primordial waters of chaos. Tiamat was sometimes thought of as a great sea monster/serpent or Leviathan who gave birth to numerous sea dragons. As the story goes: the sea goddess Tiamat rebels and the Babylonia god Marduk, who represents order, has a great battle with her. Marduk finally kills Tiamat. That tames the great sea which had become very turbulent. Marduk then cuts Tiamat=s dead body in half. Marduk raises one half of her body to form the heavens, and he uses the other half of her body to form the dry land of the earth. Then, the god Marduk goes on to create such things as the sun and moon, trees and herbs, animals and fish. Finally, Marduk creates male and female human beings. However, Marduk creates them from the blood of yet another god, who was murdered, because he had led the sea goddess Tiamat to rebel in the first place.
Page 3 of 9 After that, Marduk and other Babylonian gods rest and celebrate their newly created world. I ask you, does any of that sound familiar? Apparently, those 6 th century B.C. Jewish religious leaders in Babylon, used some of that Babylonian story in writing their own Creation story. However, they also rebutted that Babylonian story, by transforming it in some very significant ways. For example, their Hebrew story affirms the existence of just the one true God, who has power over all Creation. Their story also avoids the battle and blood-shed aspects of the Babylonian account. Thus, their story of Creation is much more positive in nature. NOW LET=S LOOK at the text of the first Genesis creation story. It begins at Genesis 1:1. Penny Foster will now read Genesis 1:1-2: (1) In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, (2) the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. The traditional Christian doctrine is that God created the world ex nihil, which means Aout of nothing.@ However, in this Creation story, the Adeep@ is already presumed to exist. One might ask, did God also create that Adeep@ before this particular time of creating Athe heavens and the earth.@ That=s a question which this Creation story does not address at all. Similar to the Babylonian creation story, the assumption here is that the pre-creation state was one of water. And, that primordial water tends to be viewed in a negative way, as representing complete chaos, darkness, and destruction. OUR NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION translation says that Aa wind from God@ swept over the face of the waters. Some other Bible translations say that Athe Spirit of God@ swept over those waters. Given the original Hebrew, either translation is possible. Also, the ancient Hebrews tended to identify God=s S[s]pirit with the wind. NOW PENNY will read verses 3-5 which tell of the first day of Creation: (3) Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. (4) And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. (5) God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day." A remarkable thing about this Creation story, is that God is so transcendent and powerful, that God can create things, simply by calling them into being. At the command of God=s voice, things virtually Apop@ into existence.
Page 4 of 9 God=s first creative act is to call light into being. Then God sees that that light is Agood.@ Repeatedly throughout this Creation story, we are told that the things God creates, are considered Agood@ by God. That is a vitally important teaching in this story. Some religions maintain that the material things of our world, including our physical bodies, are inherently badb-particularly compared to spiritual things. But, this story affirms the value of our material world. And that positive view of matter, including our physical bodies, has had a profound effect on Judaism, Christianity, and Western culture, down through the centuries. GOD CREATES LIGHT, then separates it from the darkness to create Day and Night. In this story, did you notice that God does not create the darkness? It is already there. And, God does not call the darkness Agood.@ Here's a curious thing. In this account, God has created light. But to this point, God has not created anything to generate that light--such as the sun, a star, or a fire of any kind. On this first day of creation, there is no earth as we know it. There are no heavens. There is just Day and Night. And the wind or Spirit of God is sweeping over the dark waters of chaos. PENNY WILL NOW READ verses 6-8, the second day: (6) And God said, "Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters." (7) So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. (8) God called the firmament Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. Now God calls a great dome into existence. That dome splits the waters of chaos into two parts and holds them at bay, both above and below the dome. Thus the Sky is created inside the uppermost part of that dome. That dome keeps out the waters of chaos. Many early Hebrews believed, that if God ever stopped holding those waters of chaos at bay, outside that dome, those waters would come crashing in again, and our world would be destroyed. In this story, you will notice that each day is described as evening and morning, in that order. That reflects the Hebrew understanding--still operative in today's Judaism--that each new day begins at sunset, not in the morning. ONE MIGHT ASK: Were the authors of this story, really referring to 24
Page 5 of 9 hour days? Probably they were. For scholars see this story as explaining to early Jews, why their weeks were divided into seven days, and why they should honor the seventh day of each week, as a day of Sabbath worship and rest. Also, by speaking of mere 24 hour days, the authors of this story, likely were emphasizing the magnificence of God=s creative powers. PENNY WILL NOW READ verses 9-13, the third day of creation: (9) And God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. (10) God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. (11) Then God said, "Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.@ And it was so. (12) The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. (13) And there was evening and there was morning, a third day. Once again God commands the separation of waters. This time, the lower waters of chaos are parted, so dry land, called Earth, can appear beneath the dome. Also, the waters set apart from the dry land, are called Seas. God separates the waters of chaos to bring about order. Although on a much different level, that is somewhat reminiscent, of Marduk the Babylonian god, cutting the sea goddesses= body into two parts, to create our world. HERE=S AN IMPORTANT THING to notice: the theme of the one true God, miraculously dividing the waters is a very important one in Hebrew scripture. That theme appears in this Creation story. It also appears in the story of the Exodus, when God parted the Red (Reed) Sea, so Moses and the Hebrews, can successfully flee from Egypt. That theme also appears when the Jordan River was miraculously parted, so the Ark of the Covenant, Joshua, and Joshua=s troops could cross over into the Promised Land to conquer it. The ancient Hebrews considered God=s miraculous parting of all those waters, to be a great blessing. [Joshua 3] PENNY WILL NOW READ verse 14-19, the fourth day: (14) And God said, "Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, (15) and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth." And it was so.
Page 6 of 9 (16) God made the two great lights--the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the nightb-and the stars. (17) God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, (18) to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. (19) And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. On the fourth day, God creates light once again, without anything to generate it. Then God creates the various celestial bodies, and hangs them inside the top of the domeb-almost as one decorates a Christmas tree. This day of Creation was a significant one for early Jewish priests. For those celestial bodies, and particularly the moon, were important for marking the seasons and special times of worship in their faith. PENNY WILL NOW READ verses 20-23, the fifth day: (20) And God said, "Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky." (21) So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind. with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. (22) God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." (23) And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. For the first time, living things are now created. Vegetation, plants, and trees were created previously, on the third day. However, the ancient Hebrews did not view those things as sharing in "life." God now creates living creatures in the sea and in the sky, and God blesses them all. God charges them to be fruitful and multiply. Notice here, that God even blesses sea monsters. In this Creation story, virtually every form of lifeb-as we moderns think of life--is considered good by God. PENNY WILL NOW READ verses 24 and 25: (24) And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind." And it was so. (25) God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good. Now God creates creatures on the earth. But notice this, the plants, fish, and animals on earth are not called into being directly by God. Instead, God commands the earth to bring forth plants and animals. And God commands the waters to bring forth creatures in it. According to this Creation story, God only has an indirect relationship to plants, fish, animals.
Page 7 of 9 This is an important point, which is often missed. I=ll return to it. NOW WE TURN TO verses 26 and 27: (26) Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." (27) So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. In this passage, God suddenly speaks in the plural. God says, ALet us make humankind in our image...@ One might ask: Who is that Aus@ and Aour@ being referred to? That=s a good question. In fact, scholars are divided on it. Most modern scholars don=t think this story is referring to multiple gods here. However, some scholars think, that the use of the plural here, reflects an old Hebrew idea, that God had a heavenly court of creatures [such as angels] to consult with. QUITE POINTEDLY, this Creation story says that God created humankind in God=s own Aimage.@ In fact, great theological works have been written on that theme, for it truly is profound. In the creation stories of other early cultures, human beings were often created to be slaves of the gods. But, that is far from the case in this Creation story. For, in this story, human beings are created with a special dignity, which is derived directly from God. In this story, you will note, that human beings are not created by God=s verbal command. Neither does God call for humans to be created by the earth or the sea. Rather, in this story, God specially creates humans in God=s own image. In this story, God creates humans in a very direct way. God creates humans with an intimate connection to God=s own being, such that humans--unlike all other living things--are capable of enjoying a direct relationship with God. Another aspect of being created in God=s image, is that we humans have spiritual powers somewhat like those of God--though to a much lesser degree. For example, we humans are invested with powers of thought, communication, and self-transcendence. HERE=S ANOTHER important point. This Creation story portrays men and women as being created together, as two equivalent expressions of the same type of being. Unlike, the second Genesis Creation story which speaks of the secondary creation of Eve from Adam's rib, this first Creation story leaves no
Page 8 of 9 doubt, as to the equal dignity of men and women before God. PENNY WILL NOW READ verses 28 through 31 which bring us to the conclusion of the sixth day of Creation. (28) God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. (29) God said, "See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. (30) And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so. (31) God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Just as God has authority over the entire world, human beings are now granted authority over the earth. HERE=S SOMETHING you've probably never noticed. God gives human beings every seed plant and fruit tree to eat. In contrast, animals are only given green plants to eat. However, neither humans nor animals are given any meat to eat. This Creation story assumes that God created the world in such a way that humans and animals would always live together in blissful harmony. It assumes that humans won=t eat animals, and that animals won=t eat each other. However, that idyllic image of earthly life was to change. For later on in the book of Genesis [9:3], after the great flood of Noah=s time, God is portrayed as allowing humans to eat animal flesh. However, there was one major restriction. Even then, humans were not allowed to eat blood, for it was presumed to be the source of a creature's life. That restriction is still observed today by some Jews. NOW PENNY WILL BRING the first Genesis Creation story to an end, by reading verses 1-4a in Chapter 2: (1) Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. (2) And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. (3) So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation. (4) These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created. Thus, the first Genesis creation story draws to a close. Of course, it is
Page 9 of 9 ascribing human characteristics to God, to assume that God would need to rest after working. But the author uses that figure, to present the Sabbath as a day of rest and spiritual reflection, which was built into the very structure of the universe itself, by God, at the beginning. I=ll end here. In more ways than I can tell you this morning, this first Genesis Creation story has profoundly affected our Judaeo-Christian understanding of God, and also our Western culture. I invite you to think about this first Creation story more deeply this summer, as you yourself, likely spend some time, out-of-doors, in the midst of God=s Creation. ENDNOTES i. A very good source on these scholarly views is the NOVA documentary film, AThe Bible=s Buried Secrets@ which is described at www.pbs.org. ii. Alexander Heidel. The Babylonian Genesis: The Story of Creation.(Chicago University Press, 1951), Second edition, 1.