It's a compelling and famous first line to the Bible. It's also the first word about God.
When Israel compiled the Hebrew Scriptures, the stories of Genesis, of their beginnings, they start with their dramatic and poetic retelling of Creation. But they do it in a unique way: they chart out the unfolding of creation in accordance with the days of the week, which culminates in the Sabbath, the seventh day becoming holy, set apart for rest, since the work is done.
Clearly the Creation story of Genesis chapter one is about much more then a scientific accounting of how the universe was formed. Israel clearly makes the claim that YHWH is the Creator of the whole universe - he is the one and only true living God who forms a universe where life begets life.
This is against the competing creation narratives that shaped the cultures around them. Whether they be Assyrian or Babylonian creation narratives, the story of Genesis is a stark contrast. Compare it to the remarkable and ancient Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, which dates back to around 1800BCE. Though the Hebrew Scriptures weren't gathered together in their final form until around 300BCE, the Genesis stories date back to the era of Gilgamesh. And it's easy to see the similarities. But it's the differences that matter. And understanding the culture and aims of ancient Israel will help us understand their poems and stories, their theology and beliefs, which is crucial to us in our believing and living in accordance with the Bible.
If we are going to move forward in our faith in Jesus Christ and our love for one another based on what we understand from the Scriptures, we need to move forward in our knowledge of the Bible. Not just what the Bible says, but why it says what it says. To best understand Jesus of Nazareth, we read the Gospel according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. To better understand the Christian context in which the Gospel was recorded, we read Acts and the Epistles of the New Testament, which predate the actual compilation of the Gospel according to MMLJ, but historically flow from the events recorded in them about Jesus. To better understand the early development of the church and the beliefs and culture of Jesus, we need to move forward in our understanding of the Old Testament and its world.
To help us move forward in our understanding of the Old (or First) Testament, I've identified five key stories that provide an overarching flow of the narrative in the Hebrew Scriptures. They point us forward to Jesus, who fulfilled the story of Israel in his life, death, resurrection and ascension.
The five stories are: Creation (Genesis 1-11); Covenant (Genesis 12-Deuteronomy); Exodus (Exodus - Ruth); Kingdom (1Samuel - 2 Chronicles/Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Songs) and Exile (Ezra - Malachai/Job and Ecclesiastes)
This is the first of five blog posts on each of these five over-arching stories. Gaining understanding of Israel through the stories, poems, and laws that they selected to be part of the Hebrew Scriptures gives us great insight into their life with God. Especially the story of Creation, of which their are at least three different accounts of the beginning of the world in Genesis 1-11.
If you notice, chapter 1 of Genesis seems to be a poem of sorts. It's not really a story, it's not a law-treatise, it's not your typical poem. But there are some unique features among the six days of creation: they are a move from chaos to order, of emptiness being filled, of work that is good and moving forward towards more life. It's obvious that the creation culminates in a day of rest, the seventh day is made holy, work - even good work that creates life - ceases and relaxes and enjoys the fruit of its labor. Clearly this chapter is not about science, but about an understanding about life and God at work in this world of ours. It's not an exhaustive recounting of Creation, for it has an emphasis all its own centered around the days of the week and the rhythms of life.
It is an interesting contrast to chapter 2 of Genesis, which is an obvious story about Creation, but one that ends in tragedy and even an early narrative of exile. There is very little overlap between the the first two chapters on the order of Creation, from a scientific point of view they don't correlate. But they are not meant to convey science, they are meant to convey knowledge about humanity and God and our relationship and purpose on Earth. It's a beautiful story that reveals much about how Israel understood God and themselves and humanity. It's beautiful and it resonates as true because we can see how those stories still play out today between men and women, husbands and wives, brothers, and humanity towards God (see chapters three and four.)
There is yet another Creation account in chapter five, a genealogy that traces history of humanity from Adam to Noah (and later one we'll have another genealogy that traces humanity from Noah to Abraham, the father of Israel). Genealogies are how you remember where you came from, they are a connecting of names and memories that shape your identity, that reveal your past so that you can better understand the direction of your life and those connected with you in your community. Without genealogies we have little sense of where we came from.
And that's one of the goals of Genesis: to lay out for Israel their understanding of where they came from, where the Earth and universe came from. We have recorded in elegant, sophisticated, brilliant form their Creation narratives. Even the dark story of the flood recorded in Genesis 6-9 is a creation story of sorts, for in it the whole world is destroyed by water due to God's anger towards humanity and their rampant evil that had corrupted his good creation. Through Noah and his sons, God makes a new covenant with humanity that he would never destroy the world by water again, no matter how full of evil it becomes. This is a new beginning for God and the humanity, with Noah, who is like another version of Adam. God binds himself to humanity, requiring massive creativity in his response to the unending, exponential infection of evil throughout the Earth.
Chapter ten is like another version of chapter 5, giving the forward looking genealogy of Noah, which ends up providing the introduction of the origins of Israel's arch-enemies: Assyria and Babylon. Chapter eleven becomes a very interesting chapter: it is our first story of Israel's enemy Babylon constructing an ingenious tower - but in defiance of God and fueled by human pride and ambition.
How does God respond to this evil but technically advanced collaboration now that he's made the covenant with Noah? Instead of destruction through violence, the story reveals the introduction of multiple languages such that the people were confused and could not communicate and thus not collaborate on their temple project. They then despaired of their tower and dispersed across the land.
This is Israel's accounting of why there are multiple languages, of the origins of Babylon, and a revelation of their belief about how God works in the world: he comes down to us. The men of Babel were seeking to go up to God in the heavens in an effort to exert power and dominion over humanity - which is in stark contrast to God's intentions that humanity work together for the flourishing of all creation and one another.
From a scientific approach to these eleven chapters, there are all sorts of conflicts. Whether it's geology or astrophysics or biology or botany or anatomy or anthropology or linguistics or any other branch of science, there are multiple points of disagreement with the narratives of Scripture. To insist that Genesis 1-11 must completely correlate with science is asking too much for what ancient Israel intended to convey. They sought to make sense of the world as best they understood it - not only accounting for the natural reality of the world, but the social, moral, spiritual, political, economic, domestic, and legal realities of their world.
We are doing similar work as they are: seeking to make sense of our life and world. We are building upon what they have started. But does the new knowledge we have gained about the origins of the universe and all that is in it made Genesis 1-11 less true? No. The sub-structure of the narratives, the ultimate points they seek to make about living are outside the aims of science. The narratives do point to a real reality of humanity in which the God of Israel is at work in the world as it actually exists.
There is more to learn about humanity and God from Genesis 1-11, we've only scratched the surface of what the narratives are seeking to reveal. It's not primarily scientific knowledge, but knowledge of life which profoundly shapes those who seek the truth - not only men and women of science, but for our community and for love, as revealed by the Lord.
We are introduced to the God of Israel through Genesis 1-11, and since Jesus is both a son of Israel and the son of God, we must submit ourselves to that reality as we seek to move forward in our faith and love of the Lord and our neighbor.
If nothing else, these Creation narratives should move us forward in our awe of the natural world and the vastness of the universes, humble us as we consider our place in the galaxy, but inspire us as we learn about a Creator who initiates life and a world that he made to be good. It is a dangerous world that has been infected by evil, and violent destruction is it's hallmark, but not the answer. There is a way to peace, but we don't learn about it in the first chapters - if nothing else we learn of it's origin and our desperate need for it. Which sets the stage for the unfolding story of Jesus.
A few takeaways for us:
* science and faith in God do not need to be enemies. It is beautiful when our scientific inquiry reveals the complexity and wonder of the world. This can bolster our faith and gratitude towards God. It can both strengthen our faith in God the Creator while deepening our knowledge and curiosity of the universe. We can vigorously believe that the God of Israel is the Creator of the universe without being compelled to lay out the exact way he did it.* reading the Old Testament is a task which pulls you into an ancient world that is intriguingly and confusingly different from our own, and yet full of similarities. To enter into the Old Testament with the expectation that it will speak directly and easily into our post-modern American life is naive and lazy. We must humble ourselves to learn about them in order for the narratives of the OT to speak into our existence. And they have much to say to us, if we will work and listen.
* the Hebrew Scriptures are trustworthy for revealing knowledge of God and for pointing us forward to Jesus. The Gospels repeatedly record Jesus teaching from the Hebrew Scriptures in order to help people see Him in it. The Apostles all teach from the Hebrew Scriptures to help people move forward in their faith in Jesus. We can benefit richly from the Old Testament when we make the effort to understand it on its terms.
* many of the stories and poems of the Old Testament have multiple layers of meaning. There is a thick richness to the truths and realities being conveyed to the reader about the Creator and Creation. Be open to always moving forward - in depth and in insight - as you immerse yourself in these old but true words of Scripture.
