--- - - - - -- -. -- -- - - - - -- - GoD CREATED PEOPLE Lesson Scripture: Genesis 1:26-2:7 Focus Scripture: Genesis 1:26-31; 2:4-7 Key Verse: God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27 (NRSV) GENESIS 1:26-31; 2:4-7 (NRSV) Genesis 1:26-31 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 them; male and female he created them. 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. Genesis 2:4-7 4 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created. In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 5 when no plant of the field was yet in the 16 GENESIS 1:26-31; 2:4-7 (NRSV) Genesis 1 :26-31 26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. 31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Genesis 2:4-7 4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 5 And every plant of the field before it was
earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up-for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground; 6 but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground- 7 then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being... in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. 6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. 7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. KEY TERMS the created world? We recognize that it is God who has made us and not we Dominion - Rule, control ourselves (Psalm 100:3), and that alone Fruitful -Increase, grow is a wonder! The story of Genesis 1 and 2 Multiply - Become much, many informs us that not only did God create us Multitude- Entire creation - in God's very own image - but that God placed humanity with a responsibility: to Rested- Stop labor faithfully steward the rest of creation. Blessed - Made holy; to consecrate While the story of humanity is complex Subdue -Conquer and multifaceted, the story begins with Hallowed - Set apart, made it holy our affirmation that we are made by God, in the divine image, and that we are a INTRODUCTION valued part of creation. The story does not stop with the TELLING THE BIBLE STORY creation of the vegetation of the land and the animals of the earth. Chapters The poetic voice in the Genesis creation 1 and 2 of Genesis present the story of account gives us a Hebrew reader's the creation of the first person, and by perspective on creation's beginning. The extension, the creation of all humanity. spirit of God brooded and moved over This portion of the story not only accounts a deep void of nothingness and gave for the creation of humanity, but it also shape, life, vitality, energy, and existence provides us with the framework for the to all that is and declared it good. After meaning and purpose of that humanity. God finished forming and constructing the How are we to live on the earth? What earth and creating all the vegetation and is our role in the grand arrangement of animals that were needed to populate the 17
world, God decided it needed one more thing. God knew the plants and animals needed a caregiver. God knew someone was going to have to tend to its growth. It needed people. So, God reached down into the dust of the earth and created SANK OFA A native African of long ago from the lbo tribe in West Africa described the gift of an unspoiled and bountiful earth that blessed his village for many generations. "Our land is uncommonly rich and fruitful humankind. God created humanity, and produces all kind of vegetables in unlike the animals or the plants, in God's image (v. 27). Being created in this image of God means that humanity is made to reflect God's essential nature in the way great abundance. We have plentyoflndian corn and vast quantities of cotton and tobacco. Deliciously flavored pineapples grow without cultivation in which we live in the as did various spices world. B~ei ng created in this including peppers. Not only did God image of.god means People enjoyed gums, create humanity, but honey, and a great that humanity is made God gave them very variety of other fruit. All specific assignments, to reflect God's essential of our work is exerted to callings if you will. nature in the way improve those blessings Humankind's first of nature." in which we live in the calling was to be fruitful We can learn a lot and multiply and have world from the I bo tribe about dominion over all that had been created, and eat ofthe vegetation of the land. Although humanity was created on the same day as the animals, God gave humans a unique place in the created world. The charge for humanity is to take care of the creation in a positive way, exercising faithful stewardship over all living things. After all was done, God stepped back, looked at this beautiful place, and declared a final time, "It was being good stewards of the earth. They lived with a communal ethic of land ownership. An individual did not own land; but, people used the land for the corporate and holistic well-being of the community. Today, this might look like bringing fresh foods to the community by planting a community garden or working with the local department of agriculture to develop edible landscapes along walking trails and school routes for children or good!" And with that God rested. 18
farmers' markets, which feature goods and services from growers and planters and agriculturists from the community. This also may look like community beautification and clean-up days where trash is not only picked up from the ground, but receptacles are available for disposal, flowers and trees are planted, and those that have died are removed and replaced. Environmental stewardship is still our first calling as humankind, and we must go back and recall into our way of living. Lesson 3 and reported rashes and concerns about bacteria. This was follo~ed by rampant cases of lead poisoning and other bacteria-borne diseases, including Legionnaires' disease. While actions have been taken to restore clean drinking water to the people of Flint, the water is still dirty. Water is supposed to refresh and restore our bodies. It is supposed to nourish our crops and ensure we have fruits and vegetables to eat. how those before us God was so pleased It was created by God maintained integrity to with creation that it was to help sustain life on earth. We live in God's this call and incorporate pronounced "good." delicate ecosystem: the traditions and values day and night, the sky, CASE STUDY On April 25, 2014, the city of Flint, Michigan, switched its water supply from Detroit's system to the Flint River. The leaders of Flint, so proud of their cost-cutting decision, proclaimed, "Flint water is safe to drink." The city of Flint failed to treat the water with an anti-corrosive agent, which would make the water drinkable, while also protecting the pipes delivering the water around Flint. Soon after, residents began to complain about the water's color, taste, and odor, 19 the earth, vegetation, trees, fruit, and the waters. God was so pleased with creation that it was pronounced "good." Yet, there are times when God's creation doesn't bear "good fruit." This happens because God's creation is either unappreciated or abused by God's people. Flint may be an extreme example of how humans disregard God's creation; however, there may be small ways we fail to see, appreciate, and protect God's creation. While we may not be directly responsible for a city's drinking water, we should take the time to appreciate and protect God's creation - because
it is good. And we should be moved to Zion reminds us of this. When a member aid those around our country, and our world, who suffer from such abuses of our natural resources. LIFE APPLICATION The profound message of the Genesis creation stories is that human stewardship and righteousness and the fate of the earth are inseparably linked. The replenishing and bountifulness of the earth's resources depend on our living as righteous stewards in love ' justice, and care of God's creation. The glory of a good creation is God's gift to humanity. We are overseers of God's creation, and the estate agents of care and love, which we are to give to each other and to the earth's animal species, soil, water, and fertile green-lands so that God's blessings and abundance will continue to bless future generations. The stewardship implication is that if we live in ways other than God intends, such blessings are not possible. We must also remember that our very being is rooted in the earth. The story affirms to us that humankind, or the adam (v. 26), was created from the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7). God took up the dust of the earth, breathed the breath of life into the dust, and from the earth itself emerged humanity. The liturgy of our of humanity dies, the minister prays at the graveside: "We therefore commit (his or her) body to the ground, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust." 4 Since we recognize that it is God who has made us, and since we affirm that we were created from the earth itself, then we must also recommit ourselves to be good caretakers of the earth and of creation. The theme of stewardship is inextricably linked to the creation of humanity in God's own image. God desires that all of creation would exist in peaceful harmony with the rest of creation. The story of creation in Genesis echoes a grander meta-narrative that Isaiah 11 demonstrates, wherein the wolf dwells with the lamb, the leopard lies down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling live together (Isaiah 11 :6). The grand story is that creation would exist unharmed, and that, "They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain" (Isaiah 11 :9). Accordingly, we believe that God created humanity to be a valuable part of God's world. The Lord gave humanity "dominion" of the earth, which is distinct from "dominating" the earth in cruel or harmful ways. We have been given an active role in the ongoing facets of creation; we are responsible for ensuring that the story of creation 4 "The Order for the Burial of the Dead" in The Doctrine and Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church 2016 (Nashville, TN), 642. 20
goes forth unfettered by abuses of human agency. Being created in the image of God provides us with that charge: to ensure ecological justice prevails in our world. 1. In Genesis 1:26, God said, "Let us make humankind in our image." If God is using the plural words "us" and "our," who was with God during creation? 2. If humanity is made in God's image, that means that we should carry the attributes of God. Discuss with the group some of the attributes of God that you are striving toward. How can we honor the image of God in all persons, even those for whom it is difficult for us to love? 3. God charges humanity with the Lesson 3 responsibility to steward the rest of creation - the plants, the animals, and the ecosystem. What does this lesson teach us about our stewardship of the earth that should be faithful and considerate? CLOSING DEVOTIONS Closing Song: I'm Glad (God Made Me) by Margaret Douroux All People That on Earth Do Dwell, AMEC Hymnal #73 Closing Prayer: Almighty and everlasting God, the brightness offaithful souls: fill the world with your glory, we pray, and show yourself by the radiance of your light to all the nations of the world; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (AME Hymnal, Prayer #768) HOME DAILY BIBLE READINGS September 1 0-September 16 Monday Tuesday Psalm 104:1-4 (God Glorified in the Heavens) Ephesians 4:17-24 (People Created in God's Likeness) Wednesday 2 Corinthians 4:1-6 (Light of the Gospel) Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday 1 John 1 :5-10 (Living in the Light of God) Deuteronomy 5:12-15 (Observe and Keep the Sabbath Holy) Genesis 2:1-3 (The Seventh Day, Hallowed and Blessed) Genesis 1:26-31; 2:4-7 (God Created People) 21