Genesis - Chapter 1-2a

In this transcription, the speaker, Julie Callio, discusses the book of Genesis and the creation story. She mentions that Moses is traditionally believed to have written the first five books of the Bible, which are known as the books of Moses or the books of the law. The title of the book Genesis means beginning, and it covers various significant events such as the creation of the world, the first humans, sin, and the formation of the Jewish nation. The speaker also mentions the Trinity, the importance of rest, and the value of human beings as representatives of God in creation. She emphasizes the responsibility to rule over creation and use talents and creativity to bring glory to God. I am Julie Callio, your host, and thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedules to tune in with me today. If by chance you want to contact me, you can do that at theab.bc.pc at gmail.com. Today we are beginning the book of Genesis. We will look at chapter 1 going into chapter 2 verses 1 through 3, the 7 days of creation. The traditional view is that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible, which are called the books of Moses or the books of the law. In Hebrew the word for law is Torah, or if one is English speaking it is Torah, as well as it can be called the Pentateuch, which means the five scrolls. The title of the book Genesis means beginning, and in this book we have the beginning of our world, the first creatures, the first humans, the first sin, the first murder, the first tribes, the first nations, and the beginning of the Jewish nation with the patriarchs. The title of the book comes from that first word, and in the English Bible it reads, in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. From this verse we see that God was beyond our beginning, and that God was the initiator of our beginning. Genesis 2 through 5 read, and the earth was without form, and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good, and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light day, and the darkness he called night, and the evening and the morning were the first day. Now we find that the Spirit of God moved or hovered over the waters. This is the same connotation of the Spirit of God hovering over Mary at the incarnation. Another thing to note is we have God, we have the Spirit, and we have the words of God spoken. And in the Gospel of John, Jesus' disciple started his Gospel with, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. John teaches us that Jesus also was our creator, as we see a glimpse of the Trinity in the creation story. Now one of my classes at seminary was called Worshipping Church by Dr. Westerholm, and I want to share with you some of his insights into this creation story. In verses 2-31, we have the first six days of creation. It started formless and void, but then God formed it and filled it. In day one, we have light and darkness. Day two is water above and waters below. With day three, we have the waters under the heavens and the dry land. With each of these days, God formed it, separated or divided it, and then he named it. The light and darkness are called day and night. The water above and the water below are called heavens and the skies. The water below and the dry land are called seas and earth. Then with days four through six, God fills his creation. With the day, we have the sun, and with the night, we have the moon and the stars. Dr. Westerholm said, the most humble statement in the Bible is, quote, he made the stars also. One little phrase, and at night we look up and are in awe of those amazing stars. With the heavens and the skies, they are filled with sea creatures and winged creatures. With the sea and the dry land, we have land creatures. We see in verse four, God saw the light that it was good. Verse 12b, God saw that it was good. Verse 18b, and God saw that it was good. Verse 21b, and God saw that it was good. Verse 25b, and God saw that it was good. One way a biblical writer shows emphasis is by repeating words or phrases. So we see that creation is good. Another thing Dr. Westerholm said, God forms it and fills it for further fruit. He also pointed out that the biblical creation view changes. It was built with creative capacity, and it is increasingly filled. God doesn't say to keep it exactly like it is. Now in verses 26 and 27, we have the peak of creation. 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. So God created man in his own image. In the image of God created he him, male and female created he them. Now there is so much debate as to what it means to be made in the image of God. Is it physical? Does it refer to our mental capacity? Is it that we are spiritual beings? Is it that we know right from wrong? It may be yes to all of those things. Dr. Abraham Kuruvilla said in his commentary on Genesis, it means humans are representatives of God to every other part of creation. One thing that seems clear in scripture is first of all that human beings are different than all other creatures. Human life is special. Another thing that is unique to humans is we are called to have dominion or rule over creation. Westerholm defined this as, quote, working to bring order to chaos for the purpose of flourishing, and the responsibility of subduing is to creation, to others, and to glorify God. He also stressed that when we subdue for our benefit or to manipulate others, then we are subduing wrongly. Also in verses 26 and 27, we find God as plural. The word in Hebrew for God can be either God or gods, depending upon the word surrounding it or its context. In verse 26 it reads, let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Many people believe that this shows us the trinity in creation, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Then it says, let them have dominion over. Let them, male and female. The responsibility of ruling is not just for the male. We also see in verse 27 that God purposefully made man as male and female. This shows us two sexes and that the female was not an afterthought. God's plan was from the beginning to have both male and female. My view is that when male and female work together, we reveal even more of what it means to be made in the image of God, just as God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit work together. Now after God made humanity, male and female, in verse 31a we find, and God saw everything he had made, and behold, it was very good. The world with humanity in it is better than good. It is very good. Now one other word that was repeated in this section of scripture is blessed. In verse 22, after God created the living creatures of the sea, it reads, and God blessed them saying, be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the sea and let fowl multiply in the earth. Then after God made the land animals and humans, in verse 28 we read, 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. There is one more time that God blessed in the creation story and that is with day seven. Chapter two, verses one through three read, thus the heavens and earth were finished and all the host of them, and on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. To sanctify means to set apart as to be holy. One thing I think all three of these have in common is they produce life. If the Lord took a day of rest, then how much more do we need to take a day of rest? It rejuvenates us and gives us life to keep on going. Plus the Lord sanctified it, he set it apart. One thing that amazed me in our reading of the Old Testament last year was how many times the Lord stressed the sin of not keeping the Sabbath rest. When we take a day of rest, we trust the one who is our provider, plus we are to focus and worship our creator, because we are the created. Now why would Dr. Westerholm teach about the creation of the world when his class was about the worshiping church? He was showing us that as humans, God gave us the ability to create. He stressed that we don't create like God did because God created out of nothing, but we create with things that he created. And he explained that our creativity is one thing that makes us like God. For instance, a sculptor takes marble and separates it and forms it and names it and fills it. He is removing the statue from the block. Now others look at the marble and are inspired to flourish and glorify God because of it. Then he used the example of a musician. Music is divided by time and tone. The time of music is divided by beats and rests and we name them quarter note, half note. Tone is divided into 12 and given names such as G, C, and F. Then a musician fills the page with beats and rests and tones and makes a song and he names it. He ended his lecture by saying, music as human creativity receives and recognizes the goodness of God's creation, acknowledges the potentiality of the created order, and subdues by separating and naming time and tone. Only God is worthy of worship, but creation is not worthless. Creation is of worth because God created it. They are gifts from a Father who loves us. Thank you so much Dr. Westerholm. So ladies, do you realize how valuable you are to God? You are not just good, but you are very good. Do you know that you are loved by the one who created you? Do you know you are created in his image and as a female you are not an afterthought? Plus, you also are to rule over your sphere of influence, not for self gain or for manipulation, but to honor God and to bring order to chaos. Do you realize that God gave you talents and creativity to bring him glory? Are you using your gifts to serve him? Do you take time to rest in God's Sabbath and trust that he will take care of you as you rest and when we rest in him we are blessed? If you have heard his voice today, please don't harden your heart, instead let's be women who rest in his presence and pray, worship, create and obey his calling for our lives. Until next time, and thank you so very much for listening.