A Hymn of Praise to the Creator (preaching resource for 5/31/26, Trinity Sunday)
This post exegetes Genesis 1:1-2:3, providing context for the Old Testament reading on 5/31/26, which is Trinity Sunday. Insights are drawn from commentary by Bruce Waltke ("Genesis, a Commentary"), Allen Ross ("The Bible Knowledge Commentary") and Gordon Wenham ("The New Bible Commentary" and "Word Biblical Commentary").
"Creation of Adam" by Michelangelo
(public domain via Wikimedia Commons)
Introduction
Genesis 1:1-2:3 serves as the prologue to the book of Genesis (and all the Pentateuch). It is divided into ten sections, each beginning with the phrase: "This is the account of" (account of = Hebrew toledot). The prologue provides the interpretive key for the book. This key is theological, showing who God is and why he creates. It is also covenantal, showing that the God of the covenant (with Israel and through Israel with all humanity) is the same as the Creator of all the cosmos.
The prologue seems to be in the form of poetic liturgy—a sort of extended hymn of praise. It is artfully arranged with ten divine commands resulting in eight acts of creation spread over six days. The days are set in balanced, symmetrical correspondence: On day one God creates ‘light,’ then on day four ‘lights’ (sun, moon and stars). On day two, he creates the sky and sea, then on day five the dwellers in the sky and sea (birds and fish). On day three, he creates the land and vegetation, then on day six the land dwellers (animals and humankind), giving them plants to eat. Finally, on day seven God rests from this aspect of creation and enters a new phase—a never-ending new day of redemption.
The crowning feat of creation comes on day six when God creates humankind. The work of the preceding five days provides humankind with a home. This loving concern of God for humankind is made apparent when the Genesis account is compared to creation accounts from ancient Near Eastern pagan cultures. Genesis rejects pagan beliefs in multiple gods and their relationship with the world. In the Genesis creation account there are no gods who fight, marry and bear children. There is but one God. He exists beyond time and sex and before all else. Out of nothing, he creates all things, even the sun, moon and stars, which pagans worshipped as gods. The one God of Genesis requires no magic to do what he does; his creative word is sufficient. This one God is the sovereign Creator to whom all the universe owes its being. Within that universe, God uniquely makes men and women in his image, giving them a place of honor as stewards of his good creation.
Let’s now enter into worship through this hymn of praise to our Creator.
1. Creation begins
Genesis 1:1–2
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
In the Hebrew construction, “in the beginning” is a heading that sums up all that God is about to do in creation week to bring into being the “heavens and the earth” (the cosmos). Implied here (and clearly stated in John 1:1), is the idea that God creates out of nothing. The creation initially is formless and empty (unproductive and uninhabited—perhaps referring to the “stuff” of creation), but over the course of creation week it emerges in a well-ordered and populated form. ‘Create’ (Hebrew bara) is something only God does (this particular Hebrew verb is used only of God). Gen 1:2 notes the presence of the Spirit (spirit=‘wind’) of God that hovers above the ocean. Perhaps we have here a hint of God’s triune nature.
2. Days 1 through 6
Genesis 1:3-31
Now we are given details concerning God’s creating. The account uses as a literary/theological device the structure/metaphor of the seven-day week. It is the view of many commentators that creation week is not to be understood as a literal week of 24 hour long days. Why this view? Several reasons:
• There is a particular literary style, construction and context to this section of Genesis. Gen 1:1–2:3, unlike all other sections of Genesis, is not headed by the title "this is the account of"—the literary device which links proto-history (Gen 2:4–11:26) to patriarchal history (Gen 11:27–50:26). Thus Gen 1:1–2:3 is to be viewed as a prologue to the rest of the book. This is an important clue that what we’re reading here is a different sort of material.
• In Genesis, the Hebrew word used for day refers to a variety of periods: daylight (Gen 29:7), a 24-hour long day (Gen 7:4) and an indefinite period (Gen 35:3).
• That the days of creation week are different from ordinary days is shown by the non-existence of the sun until day four.
• God does not need time in which to create. Indeed, he is able to create instantaneously, by divine fiat.
• The use of “creation week” as a symbol to speak of creation was familiar to the original audience (the idea is used in other Near Eastern creation stories).
• As a literary device, the idea of a creation week speaks to how God sovereignly orders creation—a key concern of Genesis over against pagan creation myths.
• The idea of a creation week demonstrates God’s care in accommodating himself to our human frame of reference, so that we can relate to him. The frame of reference of the original audience for this book is pre-scientific. God accommodates himself to their knowledge of the cosmos at that time.
• This literary/theological device serves as a model of how God develops humanity through successive eras of history.
The idea of God creating in a “week” is thus a metaphorical literary device used to tell us about who God is and why he creates, not how or when. It is an artful and powerful tool to tell us profound theological truths concerning the fact that God creates and that his creation is orderly and purposeful. .
Some Bible students object to reading the account of creation week in this symbolic way. They view it as a literal description of how God actually created, including how long creation took. Some following this approach, try to find a longer duration for creation by viewing the seven 24-hour-long days as lengthy eras. Others place a lengthy period of time between Gen 1:1 (the original creation) and 1:2 (re-creation). But these approaches ask this section to address what it does not (and in so doing, tends to overlook, or at least minimize, its essential message). To those who hold to a literalistic view of creation week, we note that though we may disagree on this point, we do agree together that God is Creator of all and that he created the way he actually did (whatever that might be). One day, we will know exactly how and when. In the meantime, let us approach this matter with humility and grace, accepting each other as brothers and sisters who worship the one God, who is Creator of all. Let us not divide over non-essentials.
Let’s now look at creation week, beginning at day one, with the creation of light:
a. The creation of light (vv3-5)
3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he 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.
The dark world is illuminated when God says, “Let there be light.” More precisely, day (which represents good) is distinguished from night (which represents evil) by the creation of light. The point is that God brings light (goodness and order) to replace darkness (evil and chaos). The refrain "God saw that [it] was good" (cf. vv 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31) affirms the intrinsic goodness of the creation and of its Creator.
b. The separation of the waters (vv6-8)
6 And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning-- the second day.
God again shows his power by limiting the domain of the waters, which had covered the globe (see Job 38:8–11). Some of these waters were in the seas, the rest in the sky. The upper waters were kept there by the expanse. From earth, this expanse appears to be a sort of dome that prevents water in the clouds from falling to earth (Gen 7:11).
c. The creation of land and plants (vv9-13)
9 And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning-- the third day.
Even more important for humankind is the provision, on the third day, of dry land on which man and woman can live, and have plants to sustain their life (Gen 1:29–30). The distinct varieties of plants (vv11–12) bear witness to God’s generosity, creative genius and power.
d. The creation of the heavenly lights (vv14-19)
14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. 16 God made two great lights-- the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning-- the fourth day.
Here is an even more powerful proof of God’s creative power with great relevance to human existence: the existence of the sun, moon and stars. Pagan contemporaries of Genesis regarded these bodies as gods in their own right. To avoid any suspicion that the sun and moon were anything but created by God, Genesis calls them mere "lights." What folly it is to follow the astrological charts of the Babylonians or to join in with the Egyptians in worshipping the sun god. These heavenly bodies are appointed by the God who creates them—his purpose in doing so is to regulate the rhythms of human life on earth by defining day and night and the seasons of the year. We are to worship God, not the heavenly bodies.
e. The creation of birds and fish (vv20-23)
20 And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." 23 And there was evening, and there was morning-- the fifth day.
The symmetrical/parallel construction between God’s work on the first three days and the second three days now becomes clear. On day one, light is created, on day four, the heavenly lights; on day two, sky and oceans, on day five, birds and fish. Once again, this account of creation is given to stress God’s sovereignty over the natural universe and his concern for order. Ancient pagans regarded great sea creatures as divine, but Genesis shows that they are merely part of God’s creation. Furthermore, God wants the waters and air to be filled with his creatures, and his command and blessing guarantee their fertility. No magic or fertility rites are needed to secure it.
f. The creation of animals and humankind (vv24-31)
24 And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." 29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground-- everything that has the breath of life in it-- I give every green plant for food." And it was so. 31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning-- the sixth day.
Here, on day six, creation reaches a climax. Note how much fuller the description of God’s work on this day is than for the preceding days. Note also the parallels with the words of day three (land). Genesis here defines humankind’s purpose and place in God’s plan:
1) Humankind is said to be made in God’s image and likeness. This means that men and women alike, though not God (they are in his likeness), do share his nature (image)—his life, personality, truth, wisdom, love, holiness, justice, and thus are granted the capacity for fellowship with God. In the New Testament, we learn much more about this fellowship and image-bearing. There we learn that Jesus in his divinity and humanity is the image of the invisible God (Col 1:15), and humans share that human image of God in union with Jesus, which means sharing Jesus’ relationship with his Father in the Spirit.
2) God says, Let us make man in our image (Gen 1:26). Along with Gen 1:2, which seems to refer to the Holy Spirit, we may have here a hint of plural persons in the Godhead. It’s also possible that this refers to God conversing with his angels. Either way, the idea is that humans, by God’s design, are highly esteemed and granted great authority and creativity.
3) The focus of humankind as God’s image-bearers is on humans being God’s representatives on earth, who are to ‘rule…over all the earth’ (26). Psa 8:4–8 offers a marvelous comment on this idea. Rule implies lordship, however, it is not justification for exploitation. Humankind is to rule creation as God does—for the good of his creation. Though God legitimizes human use of the world’s resources, he gives no license to abuse or exploit any part of his good creation.
4) God deliberately creates humankind in two genders so as to be fruitful and increase in number (Gen 1:26). He thereby blesses procreation and indicates its importance in his plan. Other ancient tales, hailing from urban Mesopotamia (which was worried by population growth), tell of the gods taking steps to curb human fertility by sending plagues, famine, flood and miscarriage. In contrast, the God of Genesis urges the first people to be fruitful (Gen 1:28; 8:17; 9:1, 7) and promises the patriarchs success in fathering innumerable children. Procreation is thus seen as a vital part of God’s very good creation (v31).
5) God provides food for humankind in the form of seed-bearing plants and fruit trees (v29). Not until after the flood is meat-eating expressly sanctioned (Gen 9:1–3). Genesis, however, is not primarily interested in whether people were originally vegetarian but in the fact that God provides them with food. In Mesopotamian mythology the gods created man to provide themselves with food; Genesis affirms that it is the other way round—God graciously feeds humankind (cf. Psa 65; 50:7–15).
3. Day 7
Genesis 2:1-3
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
A dramatic change of style and structure in the narrative highlights the seventh day as different from the others—inviting humans into a relationship with this one God (with hints in Genesis or his tri-personal nature) who creates all that is (humankind included). We note some interesting things. First, this day is not called the Sabbath (as it came to be designated under the Law of Moses, where the Sabbath is a sign that Israel is set apart for special covenant with this Creator God). What is stated here in Genesis is that by this day, God “had finished” his work of creating the heavens and earth (with its inhabitants), and now ceases (the literal meaning of the Hebrew word shabath, here translated “rested”). But to cease from this one activity, is to enter another. Note that there is no reference here (as on the other six days) to “and there was morning and there was evening…” On the seventh “day” God enters not a mere day, but a never-ending era in his unfolding plan. Concerning this era, Jesus says, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." (John 5:17).
Having ended the work of physical creation, God enters his work of redemption: Creating a new humanity and new heavens and new earth in which they dwell. Indeed, we are told in the New Testament that God’s plan for redemption/re-creation was established, “before the creation of the world” (1Pet 1:18-20). That plan, of course, comes to its climax with Jesus’ incarnation, life, death, resurrection and ascension. It will be fully revealed to all at the end of this era when Jesus and the new humanity is seen by all. Genesis will soon tell us why this new creation/redemption is a necessity.
Conclusion
And so we end our exegesis of this hymn of praise to the one Creator. The purpose of this prologue to the book of Genesis is not to tell us when and how God created, but to tell us who God is (the one, Sovereign Creator, with hints of his tri-personal nature), and why he created.
Understanding this helps us see that Genesis and modern science are not hopelessly at odds. Rather, they address different questions. Genesis addresses who God is and how he relates to the cosmos. It does so, not in the scientific language of the twentieth-first century, but using ideas current in the ancient Near East of over 3000 years ago. Over against the polytheistic world-view that held there were many gods, Genesis declares that there is but one creator God, and rejects the ancient pagan view that humankind was created as an afterthought which the gods later regretted. Genesis affirms that humankind is the goal of creation and that humankind’s welfare is God’s concern.
Science addresses the laws that govern the cosmos of God’s creation, and works backward to trace the course of its development according to those laws. By doing so, science helps us appreciate God’s power and creative genius. But science, by its very nature, does not seek to explain God’s purposes in creating, or his character in doing so—that is the purpose of Genesis (and of all the Bible).