Genesis 1 details the creation of the universe. Many of us are intimately familiar with the fact that “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” The following observations take a look into the various dynamics of said creation, and help us better appreciate the utter greatness of God.
There has been a big deal made, especially in recent years, to describe the age of the universe, as well as precisely how the universe came into being. Unfortunately, science and faith have often been at odds regarding the answers to these inquiries. What we will see in Genesis 1, though is this: The Bible does not speak as much to questions of when and how, but rather of Who and why. These questions are where we spent our focus in this week’s discussion.
In the Ancient times, every nation had its own god, and every nation with a god had its account of how the world came into being. In addition, several of these nations had more than one god, and each god controlled a particular entity within the universe. For example, the sun god would control the sun, the storm god the storms, etc.
Furthermore, other creation stories of the Ancient world involved work from pre-existing material. In order to make everything, there had to be some sort of raw material to begin with. And, because of the fact that each of the gods was in charge of his own domain, there would frequently be strife between the gods. In several of the stories, different elements are created because of some fight or deviant action among the supposed gods.
Contrast this with our God as described in Genesis. Notice how He creates: He does not use anything to begin. He speaks, and it happens. His jurisdiction involves every single element of creation, not just one particular aspect thereof. He created everything…out of NOTHING. And, when He saw what he had done, He evaluated it: “It is good.”
Several things come to mind when we consider what Genesis 1 teaches us about God. First, God is completely powerful. He is big enough. There is no aspect of the universe that is outside of His control. He is over everything—the sun, the plants, the waters, the animals—EVERYTHING.
Think about this: In the other religions of the time, there was this calculated, frivolous attempt to manipulate circumstances into one’s favor. If I wanted it to rain, I would pray to the rain god. However, I would then eventually need the sun to shine, and I would then pray to the sun god, and offer sacrifices to the sun god to appease him because he might be mad that I prayed to the rain god and…
It seems all a big waste of time and nervous energy, right? The thing is, several of us in the room admitted to doing this same thing. Though we know that God is big enough, and that He is over everything, we sometimes feel like we are the ones with the control, that we call the shots, and how God ought to respond is up to us. Or, in other situations, we proceed as if it is our responsibility to make something happen.
God is big enough. He can handle it! If He took nothing and made everything, He will most certainly handle each of our current situations in the best possible manner. We need not be afraid to trust Him to know what He is doing, or to think that we can somehow take matters into our own hands and make something good happen (Several of us admitted to doing this, and with unfavorable results). God is big enough. We can trust Him.
Second, when God saw what He had made, He called it “good.” There were no accidents, no mistakes, no unintended effects. He intended to make everything He did, and He blessed it by calling it good. Perhaps the bigger issue with creation/evolution debate is not the age or process of the universe, but rather whether it was intentional or merely accidental.
What would this do for us if we were to live everyday with this perspective, that what God made is good? What if we took time to notice the world around us, and to remind ourselves that this was no accident? How would we treat the people around us? How might we be inclined to respond when things do not go our way? What would it be like to be drawn into a mindset of worship by noticing the beauty of every sunrise, or the fact that each snowflake is unique, or even the order and purpose of the seasons? What God made is GOOD, and He did not put anything here by accident.
So the message of Genesis 1, more than telling us how many days it took God to make everything (and we discussed the science of how a “day” could be interpreted differently if one were on the outside of the time-space continuum), is actually about Who God is, and why He made everything. He is good, and He wanted to reflect His goodness in what He made. This God who is absolutely good is also absolutely powerful; there is nothing outside of His domain. This is the God who is worthy of our praise, of our admiration, and of our trust.
This is where we begin. Next time, we will discuss 1:27 through the end of chapter 2, discovering how this good God interacts with His people. Within this chapter we will see perhaps the biggest trouble with the theory of natural selection. After that, in chapter 3, we will see how it all falls apart, and things God intends to be good get messed up.
Stay tuned!!
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