Genesis 1 – 3
Well we start immediately into the creation of the earth, to man and right to the fall. In three short chapters we blow it completely. Chapter 1 is one of the most controversial chapters in the Bible when it comes to science. Here Moses tries to explain how the earth was created to people who had no scientific background. So I am sure there are things left out and glossed over. Verses 1 and 2 state:
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
Then God said “let there be light” and the chapter continues. Day one is over and on to day two when he creates the oceans. The third day he created vegetation and the fourth created the moon and seasons. Day five God creates living creatures. And finally the chapter closes with Day six and God creating man and woman. Interestingly this is not Adam and Eve! Now the Bible’s view and science’s view of creation are very different. What the Bible says takes 6 days to complete; science says it took millions if not billions of years. We could go on for days debating this and one thing is for sure we will never know. Both descriptions of creation require faith and you know I just am not worried about it. Interesting that the rate of rise of the salination levels in the sea implies the earth is only a few thousand years old. But then you can get into fossil records and carbon dating to get millions of years on the time line. You will find people will dismiss evidence that disproves their theory, so always question the source.
Chapter 2 starts with a very import aspect of life, rest. Verse 2 states:
2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.
Do you take time out to actually rest? Or is this crazy world we live in have you running every direction? How many times have you “burned the candle on both ends” and literally burned yourself out? God has something here, we need rest in order to survive in the world. We find that many illnesses result from lack of rest and being overly stressed. Maybe it’s time to take God’s words to heart and rest at least once a week. I know the argument starts here on if it’s Saturday or Sunday and when is worship day, but again I don’t worry about this, the formula is simple … work six days, rest one.
Verse 7 describes the creation of man:
then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
I wonder if Moses wrote this as a description of what happened on day 6 or this was the creation of the chosen people, or the nation of Israel. It’s not clear, but there has always been the question of where did the other people come from and that may explain it. God created man and then created the head of the nation of Israel in Adam. Verse 18 has God create woman from man. Then it goes into some basic growing up with your parents and then your spouse. Again it’s crazy when you look at all this and think that it happened in a day, but then again there is nothing that supports “evolution” other than changes within a species. So again my faith lies in a hybrid of the Bible and science, but again it’s just my idea and nothing more.
Chapter 3 is where man blows it and separates himself from God. The story is well know, Eve falls to temptation and draws Adam into the sin. God calls them out and scolds them. From this point we go through 66 chapters before God and man return to paradise. The difference is Adam and Eve were righteous where in Revelation we return as redeemed through the blood of Jesus. As we read the rest of the Bible note the mirror between the Old and New Testaments as they both have Jesus as the pinnacle. This is the most exciting part of the Bible, is seeing how it all ties together.