Creation

The opening verses of Genesis (1:1-2:3) are a poetic overture to the story of God. It sets the stage for the drama, introducing the characters and their roles in the story.
It also gives hints about where the whole story is going. In ancient Near-eastern cultures, stories were circular. Instead of the familiar beginning, middle, end sequence, ancient stories were layed out as beginning, middle, beginning. The beginning would often parallel the end in interesting ways. So, if you wanted to know the goal of the end, you would look at the beginning. In the same way, we can look at this opening account and find hints where this is all going – hints of where God wants to bring us back to in a new, redeemed sort of way.
This poetry also subverts traditional notions about God, humans, and creation. This creation account seems to be modeled off of common Near-eastern creation myths. But here, the writer satirizes the usual tales. Heis making distinct statements about God, the world, and mankind that were contrary to the views of the ancient religions, and revolutionary in the history of religion.
The pagan deities of the ancient world were believed to have created humans as an afterthought. The gods needed creatures to provide food for them, so they created humans as servant-creatures. People in the ancient world believed they had to appease these powerful local deities with food offerings so they could secure blessings and avoid the gods’ capricious anger.
But the writer of Genesis inverts this idea of ruler deities and exploited, servile humans. He portrays a God who graciously makes space for his creation and makes humans the climax of it all. He doesn’t create with a clenched fist, but with an open hand. Here, God is the self-giving one who joyfully gives power and authority and responsibility to humans for stewarding the rest of his creation. For the writer of Genesis, God invites humans into a relationship of trust, vulnerability, and active cooperation – co-creators in the divine ordering of the cosmos.
We’re not puppets on a string, nor are we given power to exploit the world. We are trusted, as one writer says, to secure the well-being of every creature. We’re to be guiding, life-giving, loving presences in this world who work for the proper peace and harmony that God intends for his creation.

How are you uniquely gifted to participate in the divine ordering of the cosmos?

Which god do you know – the capricious, unpredictable, power-hungry, anxiety-inspiring gods of the ancient world or the God who gives himself away in a relationship of loving, generous, peaceful trust?

A few words on the seventh day: if God can step away from all his work and enjoy what he created, what does that mean for us? Historically, Christians have reminded each other that the Sabbath day is there because life isn’t about feverish self-securing or fighting for survival. At the heart of life is the realization that life is a gift. Sabbath is a way of saying that it’s all in God’s hands, and it won’t disintegrate if we stop our own efforts. It’s a way of saying that we can trust God.

Are you trying to hold your world together, anxious that it’ll all fall apart? Are you feverishly fighting for survival or protecting your kingdom of security? Is it tearing you apart? God invites you to rest in Him and remember that life is a gift.