Tag: Genesis 1

Not Good

Posted on by jovial_cynic

Some of our Christian theologies argue that nothing “not good” could have existed before the fall. But here, the text points out that the man was alone, and that being alone was “not good.”

But also, Gen 1 says it was dark and chaotic. God made that, too.

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
Genesis 2:18 (NIV)

Some of our Christian theological perspectives are broken.

The text says God created the heavens and the earth in Genesis 1:1, but God also created the chaos and the darkness in Genesis 1:2. Fortunately, He brings light and order in Genesis 1:3. That’s the correct framework.

Some of our theologies teach “God made it good, but we broke it with sin, so now we have to repent in order to be forgiven,” but this idea doesn’t flow from Genesis. I don’t think this teaching is correct.

Believing that God will heal us and bring us light is the good news.

The Order isn’t the Point

Posted on by jovial_cynic
Genesis 2:4 tells me that the order is not the point of the story. This is why the timeline inconsistencies between Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 don’t bother me. The order is not the point.The message in the center is that God created it all.

This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
Genesis 2:4 (NIV)

Beginning with the End in Mind

Posted on by jovial_cynic
While we may see death/rebirth, night/day as perpetual cycles, an eternity of repetition, the Scriptures teach us something different. Something better.

Genesis 1 ends in the daylight. It ends VERY GOOD. It ends in flourishing.

Genesis tells us the beginning and the end.

No “God-forsaken” places

Posted on by jovial_cynic
Genesis 1:2 introduces us to a word that we translate as “darkness.” The Hebrew word hints at misery, destruction, death.

The book in the Bible that uses this word more than any other is Job. Job uses this word twenty three times.

He knows darkness.

But Genesis 1:2 introduces us to another word. The “ruah” of God. The “Spirit” of God. The “Breath of God” that hovers over the same dark waters.

In the darkness, God is there, too. There are no God-forsaken places. No God-forsaken people.

Let there be Light.

The Vault

Posted on by jovial_cynic
I just had this epiphany today. I’ve always wondered about day #2 of creation in Genesis 1, because it’s the only day God doesn’t say is “good.”

I think I have an answer. The focus isn’t the separation of the waters (chaos above, chaos below)… but about the “vault.”

Some bibles say “firmament,” and some say “vault,” but the image is this space created between the waters that separates the waters above from the waters below. And it’s inside this separation where God separates water from land. Inside this special place.

I often think about working against the curses of Genesis 3 & 4, and how we’re meant to shine as lights in the darkness. A part of our Christian prayer is “on earth, as it is in heaven.” And it’s a prayer to create a protected space in this life where God can be seen clearly…

This protected space is like a vault that holds back the waters of chaos & darkness. It’s space where water is gathered away from land, which represents humanity. And life flourishes on that land.

When we pray “on earth, as it is in heaven,” we’re praying for the firmament.

So why does God not say “it is good?”

Perhaps it’s because it isn’t good *yet.* It represents the good we MUST DO later, after the curse of sin. It WILL be good.

The End is in the Beginning of the Next Chapter

Posted on by jovial_cynic
There’s something odd about the way Genesis is written.

If you look at Genesis 1, it’s clear that it really ends in the next chapter: Genesis 2:1-3. Go look!

Now if you read Genesis 50 (the last chapter of Genesis), it’s clear that it really ends in the next book: Exodus 1:1-7.

My theological takeaway?

The fulfillment of God’s promise may not happen in this lifetime. God told Abraham re: his descendants & the Promised Land, but it was a promise that wouldn’t be fulfilled until the book of Joshua.

God will make things right. Some now. Some later.

Male and Female in God’s image

Posted on by jovial_cynic
Don’t let anyone ever tell you that women are not also created in God’s image. When God made the world, He instructed us plainly: He made them both in His divine image.

Genesis 1:27 is declarative.

So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:27 (NIV)