Introduction.
The first book of the Bible is actually a compilation of the stories of 10 men and their Creator. Our Lord tells His story in Genesis chapter 1 through 2:3 and after that each story begins with the phrase “These are the generations of … ” or “This is the account of ….” Adam’s story begins at 2:4 and continues through chapter 5 and explains why the creation account of chapter 2 differs slightly from that of chapter 1. Noah’s story is told in chapters 5 through 9, with the account of his sons Ham Shem and Japeth in 10 and part of 11. Shem’s story, begins in 11:10 and ends in 11:26. Terah’s story covers 11:27 through 25:11 and is really the life of his son Abraham. Ishamel’s story requires only 7 verses, 25:12 through 25:18 whereas Isaac’s story begins in 25:19 and continues through the end of chapter 35. Much of Isaac’s story describes the life of Jacob. Isaac’s oldest son, Jacob’s twin Esau, gets one chapter, 36, and then the rest of Genesis has Jacob telling the story of his 12 sons with Joseph in the starring role. It is my firm conviction, from archaeological discoveries and other extra-biblical sources, that Moses had the written accounts of these men in his possession when he compiled them into the book of Genesis. Next week we’ll begin telling the stories of these 10 men as if from their own lips. But first …
The Creator’s Story … Genesis 1:1 through 2:3
In beginning We created the Heavens and the Earth. I say We because My Son, Who you call Jesus, and the Holy Spirit were there with Me. We didn’t make it by combining parts of other things, or fashion it out of something else, or sit back and watch as bits and pieces of it slowly came together, but created it directly from nothing. We’re the only ones who can do that. If I do say so Myself, it was perfect, a beautiful work of art with everything in order and harmonious.
But then one of My closest subordinates, who guarded My throne and led the angelic host in praise and worship, and to whom I had given Planet Earth as his home, rebelled against Me and tried to take for himself that which I had given him freely. He wanted to possess the Earth and its atmosphere, to own it and be its god, not just have use of it. Well, there can only be one will in my Creation, and only I am God, so when he convinced a bunch of angels to join in his rebellion I pronounced judgment against him, and in a flash My beautiful Earth became an uninhabitable ruin, desolate and chaotic. He and his cohorts were left to sit there in the dark smoldering ruin, unable to do anything to restore it. Remember, We’re the only Creator. Finally he confronted Me saying, “It’s not fair! You don’t love us.” (Sounds just like one of your children, doesn’t it?)
Perfect Justice And Perfect Love
In response, I implemented a four-step rebuttal. First I re-created my beautiful planet, an act that caused all the host of heaven to shout for joy. Then I created man, a being vastly inferior to my angels, but sharing with them the qualities of eternal life, intellect and emotion, and agency or freedom of choice. Third, I published my Law, promising that everyone who kept my Law to the letter would spend eternity with Me enjoying blessing after blessing, but anyone who so much as thought of breaking even one of my laws, no matter who he or she was, would spend eternity in a place of punishment forever separated from Me and My Love. I did that to show that I’m eminently fair. Everyone gets exactly what he or she deserves. Finally, knowing that my standards are far too high for any human to meet and that everyone would be subject to judgment, I determined to punish myself for their violations in the person of my Son, promising to pardon without prejudice everyone who would accept His vicarious atonement in faith, not only relieving them of the punishment they deserved but blessing them as if they had never broken My law in the first place. That should have forever put to naught the accusation that I don’t love my creation. .
The Six Days Of Creation
My first act of step 1 was to restore light. This was not simply an act of bringing light to that which was dark, but also of bringing truth to that which was ignorant or misled. My now sworn enemy and his followers would know who was God and who was not. Since that was my first act of bringing order out of chaos I created the word evening from a root meaning chaos and morning from a root meaning order. (I guess you know I speak Hebrew.) Then I had the day begin at evening to symbolize this. Each morning as the dawn breaks order is restored out of chaos, awareness returns to those who were unconscious, and that which was hidden or obscured becomes clear. This was Day One and I pronounced it good.
Since the universe is filled with ultra-violet and infra-red rays that can be harmful to mankind and high winds that can cause storms, I next created a sheltered atmosphere around Earth by making a water vapor canopy to surround it and deflect these rays and high winds. I called the expanse between the surface of the Earth and this canopy the sky. This shelter appealed to my enemy’s followers who immediately inhabited it. That’s why I didn’t pronounce my work on Day Two as good.
On Day Three I did two things. First I separated the land from the water to give my people a safe place to live. Then I caused all kinds of vegetation to grow to provide food for them. This so delighted Me that I pronounced My work good twice, and from that time forward my people have chosen Tuesday, the third day of creation and the day of double blessing, as their preferred wedding day.
On Day Four I created repositories to house and reflect the light I had restored on day one. The larger repository that houses the light I called the Sun, while the smaller one that reflects light is called the Moon. I did this to establish a regular cycle to the life that was coming and to further instill a sense of order coming out of chaos.
Now’s a good time to explain that along the way I’ve established certain “natural” laws on Earth. One of those natural laws has been named Entropy, which states that absent any external controls, order always devolves into chaos. Clothes wear out, homes need maintenance and repair, mountains erode, weeds take over the garden, the list goes on. But in each of the six days of creation the law of entropy is reversed. Order proceeds out of chaos. Randomness becomes design. Evening becomes morning. What greater testimony does man need for the truth of creation over the lie of evolution?
On Day Five I created an even richer environment for my people by populating the land and sea with all kinds of animals, birds and fishes. Remember at the beginning, man was vegetarian and there was harmony and even communication between all the species. This was also good.
Finally, on Day Six My crowning achievement, man. I gave mankind a sense of my own image so they could enjoy My creation like I did, and so I could have fellowship with them. As I had done with all My living creatures, I made male and female versions with reproductive capability and modified the act of creation into procreation so they could multiply and replenish the earth. Then I put man in charge, giving him dominion over all creation as I had once given it to my now sworn enemy.
On the Seventh Day I rested, all My work of Creation finished, and the model of order out of chaos firmly established. In six distinct acts of creation I had demonstrated My power over the “natural order”. I could have done this all at once in the blink of an eye, but I wanted no doubt as to My identity for I am God and there is no other. And so in resting I put in place all the systems and cycles that would henceforth govern My Creation, and from that time forward man would have six days in which to work and one for rest. The moon and the sun would announce the evening and the morning of each 24-hour day, the moon also defining the number of days in a month and the sun counting off the days in a year. This “space-time” reference would never change for all the age of man. It’s a system unique to planet Earth and absolutely essential for the survival of every living thing that dwells here. It’s been so since the beginning of Creation.