God
Reveals Himself (129) e
Genesis 1:1-31
James R. Davis
Sometime ago I watched
a television program about prisoners' rights. The prisoners were filing
lawsuits against the institutions that were holding them prisoners. One
prisoner filed a lawsuit for his rights to reproduce offspring based upon
Genesis 1:22, God said, "Be fruitful and multiply." He won the lawsuit
on the basis that prison confinement prevented him from practicing his
religious beliefs. Now the prison must allow the prisoner to have visits
supposedly for the purpose of procreation.
According to an article
entitled "Pot Proof" that was printed in Christianity Today, September
22, 1978, p. 43, Herb Overton was arrested in Olathe, Kansas, for possession
of marijuana. Herb Overton based his defense on Genesis 1:29: " . . . and
God said, . . . I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon
the face of the earth . . . " Therefore, he concluded, since God had given
him the drug he had done nothing wrong.
However, Judge Earl
Jones doubted Overton's hermeneutics. According to a Chicago Tribune account,
the judge told the Bible-quoting defendant: "As a mere mortal, I'm going
to find you guilty of possession of marijuana. If you want to appeal to
a higher authority, that's fine with me." 1
In much the same way
we have attempted to find answers in the first chapter of Genesis to mysteries
which may or may not be explained elsewhere. The book doesn't open in a
defensive apologetic manner. Genesis chapter one only asserts its claims.
We come here in an effort to prove the scientific accuracy of the Bible,
or we go with apologetic motives to prove what we believe concerning creation,
or we go looking for the origin of good and evil trying to fit Satan's
fall and judgment into the account of creation. We begin looking for what
to our amazement is not there! 2
"In our approach we
often fail to apply the first chapter of Genesis in a way that is relevant
to our own spiritual lives . . . We come to Genesis one expecting nothing
more than to have our apologetic batteries recharged again." Thus we have
frequently failed to call for any response as we have taught Genesis chapter
one. 3
"There is much about
the world we live in which we do not and cannot understand. The writer
does not attempt, or want, to explain creation . . . He is not concerned
with the question 'How did God do it?' He would not, I think, have been
terribly interested in our debates about the time-scale of evolution, or
the physics of the First Three Minutes. Those are not the questions he
is asking. And when we ourselves bring such questions to the text, we are
disappointed . . . He is concerned with something else. He is safeguarding
and proclaiming something of the unsearchable mystery of God. We mistake
the purpose of this chapter if we expect to answer all the questions we,
with the benefit of modern science, want to ask about creation." 4
Historical Context
of Genesis Important
As with any other passage
of the Bible, the historical setting in which the story was revealed is
important. We must ask some important questions as we look at Genesis chapter
one, "When was it written?", "To whom was it written?" and "What did this
passage mean to those to whom it was originally given?"
After spending half
a millennium in Egypt, Abraham's descendants needed a clear revelation
of God. Joshua indicates the influence Egyptian culture had on the Israelites
when he said, "Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity
and truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River
and in Egypt, and serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:14) In the ancient Egyptian
culture there were nature gods, sun gods, moon gods, rain gods, and so
on. Israel's present need is to know the true nature of the Creator of
it all.
"One can imagine what
a rock of stability this chapter would have provided for the people of
God when faced with the lure of pagan myths around them . . . Genesis 1
calls them back to the worship of the one sovereign majestic Lord, who,
in the transcendent freedom of his creative Word, is the source of all
things, all life, all creatures, all people." 5
"For all time, the skies
have had a tremendous power to evoke wonder - often in the ancient world
leading to the worship of the stars. It was against this that the people
of Israel were warned when they saw the sun, moon and stars and all the
host of heaven not to be drawn away to worship and serve them. The true
worshiper of God knew that it was the glory of God which the heavens are
telling, and his handiwork which the firmament proclaims." 6
Deut 4:19-20
And when you look up
to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars-- all the heavenly array--
do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD
your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. But as for you,
the LORD took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace, out
of Egypt, to be the people of his inheritance, as you now are.
The book was written
to show the Israelites God's redemptive work with mankind from the time
of creation to their present situation as they struggled in the wilderness
of Sinai. When Moses came to the Pharaoh, the Pharaoh dared ask Moses,
"Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go?" (Exodus
5:2) The answer of the Lord was a series of ten plagues. The Lord said,
"For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night and will strike
down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against
all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments--I am the Lord." (Exodus
12:12; cf. 18:11; Numbers 33:4) The plagues defied all the gods of Egypt.
The message of these plagues was that Israel's God is God alone and beside
him there is no other.7
The miracles of the
Exodus are much like the miracles of our Lord when he walked the earth;
they authenticate the message proclaimed. Those miracles authenticate the
first five books of the Bible that Moses wrote. The Exodus proves to the
Israelites that Jehovah God is the only God, the Creator, and Redeemer.
The first five books of the Bible provide the content for Israel's faith,
of which the creation account is the foundation. 8
Meaning of Genesis
for the Israelites of Old
The historical
purpose of Genesis was to encourage and strengthen Israel in her faith
and trust in God. They had suffered slavery and at present were
suffering the trials and temptations of the wilderness wanderings. The
one thing they needed above all else was to be encouraged and strengthened
in their faith in God. Genesis begins to do this by giving Israel a correct
view of God in an effort to increase their faith and trust.
Genesis chapter one
teaches Israel that God is God alone. It is not enough to recognize Yahweh
as a god among other gods. Yahweh is God alone. There is no other god.
He is the creator of heaven and earth. He is not superior to the gods of
the surrounding nations; He is God alone. There is a reason behind the
first commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." There simply
are no other gods. 9
Genesis chapter one,
in brief form reveals the true nature of the God Israel is presently following
as they journey through the wilderness of Sinai. For the Israelites the
proofs about the God of creation did not lie in what was written in Genesis
one but rather in what they were presently seeing with their own eyes as
they experienced the ten plagues, as they crossed the Divinely divided
Red Sea and beheld the Egyptian army drowning, as they ate the Manna that
came from heaven and drank of the water that came forth from a rock in
a barren desert and received the Ten Commandments written by the finger
of God. The miracles of their redemption were enough to produce belief
in the God who was leading them. Yet, the Israelites needed a correct view
of that God. It was essential that Israel know the nature of the God who
was leading them. The miracles were authentic enough to prove his power
but not clear enough to reveal his complete nature. So Moses endeavors
to reveal the true nature of God in the opening chapter of Genesis.
We understand
Israel's reasons for believing and following were more real than the pros
and cons of apologetic argumentation about Genesis chapter one.
As Moses describes God, God is hovering over the Tabernacle by day in a
cloud and in a pillar of fire by night.
When Rahab was hiding
the spies, as Israel was about to cross the Jordan after wandering forty
years in the wilderness, she said, " . . . I know that the LORD hath given
you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the
inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For we have heard how the
LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt;
and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other
side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon as we
had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any
more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God
in heaven above, and in earth beneath." (Joshua 2:9-11) Rahab reveals that
if you knew nothing else about the one leading Israel except what he had
been doing for Israel for the last 40 + years, at least you would know
that "he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath."
Our reasons for believing
today are more real when we experience the reality of the Passover as we
celebrate the Lord's Supper. Jesus Christ, our Passover Lamb, continues
pointing all of humanity to the God above, creator of heaven and earth,
whom Moses describes in Genesis one. Today Christians experience the same
realities the Israelites experienced through knowing God through the Scriptures.
God's Attributes
and Character
The God that Israel
is following is the one true and living God who created and purposed all
things through his sovereign power. Genesis chapter one manifest
God's power, order and progression as he skillfully fashions the creation
of his Omniscient design. The Israelites could look back to creation and
look forward from there and understand the call of Abraham and see his
descendants being developed into a great nation and understand that God,
through the same sovereignty, power and omniscient design he exercised
in creation is now leading Israel out of Egypt as he is sustaining them
in the wilderness. Genesis one, in brief form, describes God's character
and attributes. The should instill courage in the hearts of those that
follow his leading in the wilderness.
God does not present
himself as a mere force but as a Person. God is not just a distant
cosmic force whose transcendence awes us; he is also immanent as a personal
ever-present God. This aspect of God's being is reflected in that he made
man in his own image. (Genesis 1:26-28) Our personhood is a mere shadow
of God's image. We see Adam as God's counterpart naming the animals. We
see God communing with Adam in the garden daily. (Genesis 3:8) God had
provided the sun for our light, the earth for habitation, created man in
his own image, placed man in a beautiful garden paradise and gave him free
access to the personal Creator. 10
God is presented
here in contrast to time as the Creator of time. He is eternal.
In Genesis time begins with creation as opposed to God's eternal existence.
God was before all things including time and he is presented as the origin
of all that now exists. God is without beginning or without end. When Moses
questioned what he should say when asked who sent him to Egypt to deliver
the Israelites, God merely tells him to say that "I Am" sent you; simply
meaning that he is eternal.
God's involvement
with creation, Adam and Eve demonstrates his goodness. Good or
bad is not something dictated by our circumstances. Goodness was reflected
in God's creation. When God declares "it is good", he implies a moral value
system already in place at creation. Genesis one teaches us that right
and wrong were woven into the fabric of creation. This very fact becomes
the foundation upon which the Ten Commandments are given. But more importantly
God's goodness is being manifested and experienced by the Israelites as
they are presently being delivered. In a few short chapters in Genesis
Israel is enabled to see the goodness of God and the perversion of man.
But in those chapters Israel beholds the gracious redemption of God as
he develops a nation for the salvation of mankind and leads them out of
Egypt.
What Is the Meaning
of Creation?
Genesis presents
the God of creation to Israel as one that deserved their praise and obedience.
The
Psalmist looks back at God's creative power expressing praise.
Psalms 104:1-9
Praise the LORD, O
my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor
and majesty. He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches
out the heavens like a tent and lays the beams of his upper chambers on
their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of
the wind. He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants. He
set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved. You covered it
with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.
But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took
to flight; they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys,
to the place you assigned for them. You set a boundary they cannot cross;
never again will they cover the earth.
Yet, Israel's reason
to praise God was even more real and personal. Throughout the Old Testament
the writers pointed back to what God had done for Israel as he personally
led them out of Egypt. They were constantly reminded concerning their need
to follow God.
Psalms 105:23-45
Then Israel entered
Egypt; Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham. The LORD made his people
very fruitful; he made them too numerous for their foes, whose hearts he
turned to hate his people, to conspire against his servants. He sent Moses
his servant, and Aaron, whom he had chosen. They performed his miraculous
signs among them, his wonders in the land of Ham. He sent darkness and
made the land dark-- for had they not rebelled against his words? He turned
their waters into blood, causing their fish to die. Their land teemed with
frogs, which went up into the bedrooms of their rulers. He spoke, and there
came swarms of flies, and gnats throughout their country. He turned their
rain into hail, with lightning throughout their land; he struck down their
vines and fig trees and shattered the trees of their country. He spoke,
and the locusts came, grasshoppers without number; they ate up every green
thing in their land, ate up the produce of their soil. Then he struck down
all the firstborn in their land, the firstfruits of all their manhood.
He brought out Israel, laden with silver and gold, and from among their
tribes no one faltered. Egypt was glad when they left, because dread of
Israel had fallen on them. He spread out a cloud as a covering, and a fire
to give light at night. They asked, and he brought them quail and satisfied
them with the bread of heaven. He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
like a river it flowed in the desert. For he remembered his holy promise
given to his servant Abraham. He brought out his people with rejoicing,
his chosen ones with shouts of joy; he gave them the lands of the nations,
and they fell heir to what others had toiled for--that they might keep
his precepts and observe his laws. Praise the LORD.
Genesis one presents
God as one who can be trusted to provide for our every need. We
sing a song "God Will Take Care of You".11 In Genesis God is presented
as Jehovah-jireh or a God who provides. The Creator is also our Sustainer.
Colossians 1:16-17
For by him all things
were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by
him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Psalms 104:14-23
He makes grass grow
for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate-- bringing forth food from
the earth: wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face shine,
and bread that sustains his heart. The trees of the LORD are well watered,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. There the birds make their nests;
the stork has its home in the pine trees. The high mountains belong to
the wild goats; the crags are a refuge for the coneys. The moon marks off
the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down. You bring darkness, it
becomes night, and all the beasts of the forest prowl. The lions roar for
their prey and seek their food from God. The sun rises, and they steal
away; they return and lie down in their dens. Then man goes out to his
work, to his labor until evening.
Genesis presents
the wisdom of God that should humble us. When Job in his adversity
thought enough was enough, he began to question the wisdom of God. God
responded,
Job 38:1-7
Then the LORD answered
Job out of the storm. He said: "Who is this that darkens my counsel with
words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you,
and you shall answer me. "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?
Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone--while the morning stars sang together and
all the angels shouted for joy?
For those of us who
want to approach Genesis one apologetically demanding all the answers,
maybe we should read the entire chapter of Job 38-40. For when God finished
questioning Job, Job responded,
Job 40:1-5
The LORD said to Job:
"Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses
God answer him!" Then Job answered the LORD: "I am unworthy-- how can I
reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no
answer-- twice, but I will say no more."
Job was challenged to
fathom the wisdom of God in creation. He could not explain or comprehend
it, let alone challenge it. How could he possibly question the wisdom of
God's working if he could not understand the wisdom of God?
If we choose to ponder
any question, ponder and attempt this one, "Why would an infinite God so
concern himself with mere man?" 12
Psalms 8:3-5
When I consider thy
heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast
ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man,
that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the
angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
Conclusion:
God's revelation of
himself necessitates action. But as great as that story may be, it's significance
has been paled by the coming of Jesus Christ. 13
Heb 1:1-4
God, who at sundry
times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the
prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath
appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being
the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding
all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our
sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Being made so
much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more
excellent name than they.
God has presently revealed
himself full in his Son.12 Jesus declared to Philip, "If you have seen
me, you have seen the Father." (John 14:9) There is no way we can ignore
that God was Jesus in the flesh and he came to make us his new creation
by the work he did on the cross. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
He has come to purge
the heavens and earth of the effects of sin.14
2 Pet 3:10-14
But the day of the
Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the
elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it
will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what
kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives
as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will
bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will
melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward
to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. So then, dear
friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be
found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.
Are you ready for that
day? Have you become a new creation in Christ? Are you willing to allow
God to take your shapeless and chaotic life and develop it into a life
of beauty?15
Have you ever been reading
a book with a desire to flip to the end of the book to see how the drama
ends? But you refrain because that would ruin the book for you. But the
Bible is no an ordinary book. If you flip to the end of the book and read
the last chapter you will catch a glimpse of what God is trying to do through
his redemptive work. He is working to restore what was lost in Eden.
Revelation 21:1-7
Then I saw a new heaven
and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,
and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed
for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now
the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will
be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will
wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning
or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." He who
was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said,
"Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." He said to
me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.
To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring
of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will
be his God and he will be my son.
Revelation 22:1-5
Then the angel showed
me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the
throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the
city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve
crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree
are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse.
The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants
will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or
the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will
reign for ever and ever.
As we rush to the last
chapter of the Bible we understand that Genesis one doesn't just present
the Creator of heaven and earth as something to merely believe, but someone
to whom we must respond. The Israelites were encouraged to look at what
God was doing for them presently and believe in Jehovah God as he revealed
himself in Genesis chapter one. As I go to the last chapter of Revelation
and retrace the work of God backward through the pages of the Bible contemplating
all that God has done in the establishing of his kingdom, in coming to
the earth to live, dying on the cross, leading the Israelites, etc. and
as I follow God back through the Bible through all the miracles he performed,
and promises that he has kept for ages, it gives me a profound respect
for Genesis chapter one. This gives me confidence and courage to step out
on trusting faith believing God concerning his revelation of himself as
revealed in Genesis chapter one. Then I can commit my life in trusting
obedience to sovereign power of God who continues to lead his people through
his revelation of himself.
Of course many other
valid apologetic arguments exist, but the Bible to me presents the most
powerful proof of who God is.
Footnotes:
1. Deffinbaugh, Robert,
Series on Genesis, Lesson 2: The Creation of the Heavens and the Earth,
http://www.bible.org
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Atkinson, David,
The
Message of Genesis 1-11, The Bible Speaks Today Series, Inter-Varsity
Press, Downers Grove, IL 1990. Pg.17
5. Ibid., pg. 16
6. Ibid., pg. 32
7. Deffinbaugh, Robert,
Series on Genesis, Lesson 2
8. Deffinbaugh, Robert,
Series on Genesis, Lesson 2
9. Deffinbaugh, Robert,
Series on Genesis, Lesson 2
10. Deffinbaugh, Robert,
Series on Genesis, Lesson 2
11. Deffinbaugh, Robert,
Series on Genesis, Lesson 2
12. Deffinbaugh, Robert,
Series on Genesis, Lesson 2
13. Deffinbaugh, Robert,
Series on Genesis, Lesson 2
14. Deffinbaugh, Robert,
Series on Genesis, Lesson 2
15. Deffinbaugh, Robert,
Series on Genesis, Lesson 2
