July 22, 2002
LifeWay Family Bible Series for Aug. 4
The 'Who' of creation supercedes the 'how'
___Genesis 1:12:3
___By Barbara Kent
___University Baptist Church, Fort Worth
___If you were going to write an account of how the world began, how would you begin? What would you say first to be sure you had the reader's attention? What would be the purpose of your account? What would be the focus of your account? Our study looks at how the writer of Genesis approached this task.
___The "Who" of creation
___The writer of Genesis must have pondered his task long and hard before he wrote any words. When he did begin, he clearly identified his intent in writing. As one Old Testament scholar has said, his purpose was "to give a witness to the fact that it is God who has made us, and we are his" (Psalm 100:3).
___We will do well to remember that the writer of Genesis did not have the benefit of centuries of scientific exploration and discovery. He had only what his eyes could observe and what his heart told him.
___The point of his beginning identifies clearly that he had experienced a relationship with the Creator of the universe. He wanted to tell others of what he had learned and experienced. His purpose was not to generate debate about how the world came into being. Rather, his purpose was to speak about the One who caused it to happen. Surely his task must have been one of joy and celebration. Imagine what it would be like to write for all generations an account of how it all began.
___Genesis 1:1 says in utter simplicity, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth." There is no defense of his authority to do so or of his ability. The writer assumes the reader will know who God is. It appears to be self-evident to the writer. The "Who" of creation is God.
___The writer of Genesis expressed the inexpressible with simplicity and awe. How does one describe what has never been seen by the eye of man? The Earth, which most likely was all of the universe as we know it that the writer could conceive, was in some other form than it was at the time the writer observed it. The emphasis focuses, again, on the "who" of creation. Whatever form, state or shape the Earth had at that time was sublimated to the fact the Spirit of God was present (v. 2).
___What the "Who" did
___Which of us has not wished to be able to speak and make things happen? The creative activity of God was the result of his speaking. While the organization of the creation account uses the concept of "days," the emphasis is on God's speaking. Again and again through these verses, the writer of Genesis says, "And God said... ."
___Let us review what God did each day. Day 1: God created light (v. 3-5). Day 2: God created the expanse between the waters to separate water from water, and he called it "sky" (vv. 6-8). God gathered the water into one place and let dry ground appear and called them "seas" and "land" (vv. 9-10). Day 3: God created trees and plants of all kinds (vv. 11-13). Day 4: God created the sun, moon and stars (vv. 14-19). Day 5: God created living creatures to inhabit the seas and the sky (vv. 20-23). Day 6: God created living creatures to inhabit the earth (vv. 24-25). On this day, God also made humans (vv. 26-31).
___Read again these verses to hear the marvelous description, given in utter simplicity, of what God did. You might want to consider reading, "God's Trombone," that great poetic rendering of the creation account by James Weldon Johnson.
___God's speaking included not only creative activity but also evaluation and assessment of what he had done. God said the results of his creative actions were good. At the end of his creative activity, God looked at all he had spoken into being and said it was very good (v. 31). God's speaking also included words of blessing on his creation.
___The "Who" of Creation crowns his work___
___The writer of Genesis noted in 2:1, "The heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array." This simple statement resounds with the celebration of the writer observing all he could see, as far as the eye could perceive. One senses inherent in his words the writer's own sense of wonder, awe and gratitude for God's creative power and activity. The account of the creative acts of God moves like a great symphony toward its final movement--Day 7.
___God finished his creation in six "days." On the seventh day, Scripture says, "he rested from all his work" (v. 2). It is inconceivable to think of God being tired, but perhaps the writer felt such great endeavors would produce a need for rest and reflection.
___On this last day of the creation account, Scripture notes, "God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done" (v. 3).
___Might this remind us to be grateful for the investment of himself that God made in the creation we enjoy and of which we were a part?
___The God who spoke in creative power still speaks today. Our prayer should be that we will be able to hear.
___Question for discussion
___
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