Genesis 1.1-2.3

GOD CREATES ALL THAT IS (Gen 1.1)

Genesis begins with the most basic truth: God created everything.

• This occurred "in the beginning"—an unspecified period of time, long ago from the standpoint of the author. He simply thinks back as far as possibly can be imagined, to a time when there was no sky, no land, no world as we know it. At that time God created the terrestrial world and the skies above it.

• Back then, God created "the skies and the land." The author is writing from the earthly point of view, looking out over the world and describing the panorama he sees as a pre-scientific observer. Don't picture a globe in outer space amidst all the other heavenly spheres—that is not the author's perspective. Rather, he is standing with the reader and looking out on a landscape, motioning with his hands across the whole sweep of the view and saying, "God created all of this." In describing what he sees, he uses a compound phrase that signifies, "all that exists."

• God "created" all that is. This special verb is only used with God as its subject in Scripture. It indicates that, out of nothing, God brought into being everything that exists.

• This was done by "God." Though this chapter is not overtly polemical, its teachings stand in eloquent opposition to the idolatrous notions of the nations in Moses' day. Genesis 1.1 looks back to the absolute beginning and asserts that the Source of the entire material universe is the one true and living God, who existed before all things and made all things.

GOD PREPARES A LAND FOR PEOPLE (Gen 1.2-31)

The divine activities described in the subsequent verses do not tell us how God created the universe. The original creation is the subject of 1.1. Beginning with Gen 1.2 the focus shifts and narrows down to the "earth" (or "land") and shows us how, within the universe created in 1.1, God prepared a special place as his own Temple, where human beings could live within his blessing.

The Uninhabitable Land (1.2)
The idea of Genesis 1.2 is: "Now the land was an uninhabitable wasteland, covered with water and thick darkness. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." This emphasizes that "the land" was at one time unfit for human habitation. Nevertheless, God's Spirit was present, ready to change that situation. By God's work over six days as described in the following verses, it will become "good," a place where people can live within his blessing.

"The land" which is the subject here is not the entire earth, but the Promised Land. This is the same land described in chapter 2 as "Eden," where God planted a garden and created human beings. This is the same land God promised to Abraham. This is the same land before which Moses and the people stood when he gave them the Torah.

Moses wanted to show the Israelites who were about to settle in this land that, within the world God created, he had prepared a special place as his own Temple, where human beings could live within his blessing, and from which they could be fruitful and multiply and fill the entire earth. In Moses' day, Israel's entrance into the Land was to be, as it were, a "new creation" through which God would restore his original blessing to the world. Genesis 1 grounds their mission in the soil of God's original plan.

The description of the first condition of the land in Gen 1.2 would have resonated with the Israelites who first heard Moses' words. In the Exodus, they faced the uncrossable waters, which God separated to deliver them. In the uninhabitable wilderness, where they had lived for 40 years, they had to trust God to lead them by pillar of fire through the darkness.

Big Picture: God makes the land "good" (1.2-31)
The rest of Genesis 1 describes the six days when God prepared the land for human habitation. Bruce K. Waltke gives this summary of this passage:

What, then, is the genre of the Genesis creation account? …We can describe the creation account as an artistic, literary representation of creation intended to fortify God’s covenant with creation. It represents truths about origins in anthropomorphic language so that the covenant community may have a proper worldview and be wise unto salvation. It represents the world as coming into being through God’s proclamation so that the world depends on his will, purpose and presence.

In other words, what we have here is not straightforward, journalistic reporting, but a presentation of historical events in the literary form of a six-day workweek followed by a day of rest. By using this literary framework, Moses portrays God’s creative acts in anthropomorphic language. That means that he describes God in human terms. God is shown speaking, creating, naming, seeing, blessing, and resting. The resulting portrayal is that of:

• God as a master craftsman, doing his daily work with excellence in a six-day workweek
  

• Providing as a good father for his children

• Building a temple (palace) in the world by creating sacred spaces and filling them with sacred objects

• Then taking his place as King by completing his "house," ordaining priests to serve within it (human beings in his image), and resting (which signifies his rule) upon his throne.

The Six Days (1.2-31)
Because Moses employs a literary framework, the events described on the six days are not necessarily chronological, but logical. On the first three days, God forms a place for human habitation:

• DAY ONE: Day and night. God forms his sacred place by dispelling the darkness and setting up the function of time. He calls the sun to break through the morning darkness and names the division of time "day" and "night". This passage is not about the creation of light and darkness, but about overcoming the perpetual darkness that lay over the uninhabitable land and then naming the periods of time marked by darkness and light for humankind's benefit.
  

• DAY TWO: Waters above and below. God forms his sacred place by making space between the waters. This description reflects the common Ancient Near East understanding of a "firmament"—a dome over the world under which life may flourish.

• DAY THREE: A fertile land. God forms his sacred place by dividing the waters below so that land may appear and produce fruit.

The "shell" of God's temple on earth is now completed. God has "formed" the "unformed" land of Gen 1.2 into a space where his creatures may live in his blessing.

It is no longer of place of darkness, but a place where day and night may be distinguished.

It is no longer a place flooded by raging waters, but a place where the waters have been separated and a protective "roof" set in place overhead, with a dry land below that produces food for human nourishment.

What remains in the next three days is for God to "fill" this "unfilled" land.

• DAY FOUR: Lights. God fills his sacred place first of all by placing "lamps" to shine in the day and night (note the parallel to day one). This is the same word used in the Torah to describe lamps in the Tabernacle. The purpose of these heavenly lights is for signs (to point to God, not to themselves as "gods" like the nations around them believed) and for seasons (to help Israel know when to worship God at his appointed festivals).

• DAY FIVE: Sea and sky creatures. God fills his sacred place by making creatures to dwell in the waters below and sky above (parallel—day two).
  

• DAY SIX: Land creatures and human beings. God fills his sacred place by first having the land (parallel—day three) bring forth living creatures. Then, in a passage that stands out because it breaks the literary patterns of the other days, God creates humankind in his own image, gives them dominion over the other creatures, blesses them, describes the provisions he has given them and the other creatures, and ends by pronouncing it all "very good". The picture of human beings here in God's image and likeness suggests that he is ordaining them to be the priests who oversee his temple and serve as his representatives in the world.
  

And so, God completed preparing his temple—a sacred land in the world where human beings and living creatures might live within his blessing and under his Kingly rule.

God takes his throne (2.1-3)
Though set apart by a chapter division, these verses should be read as the culmination of the temple-building project of Genesis 1.2-31.

On this day, with his work complete, God "rested". He also blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because this was the day of his rest. John H. Walton argues that this is the climax of the temple imagery in Genesis 1. God's rest is not so much about relaxation as it is about God taking his throne as King (Isaiah 66.1).

God's Sabbath is not a withdrawal from the world and its operations (e.g. 'My work is done, it's all yours now; good luck!); instead it represents his taking his place at the helm. This is what Israel's observance of the Sabbath gives recognition to.

Here we see the God ascending the throne and sitting down, signifying completion of his creative work, a scene that will be repeated in later events, as when his glory filled the Tabernacle and the Temple upon their completion and dedication, and most importantly, when Jesus ascended and took his place at the right hand of the Father, making eternal rest available to all in a new creation (Hebrews 4).

CONCLUSION
The language of this sublime portion of Scripture may be called, "exalted prose". When one examines the literary underpinnings, such as repetition, the use of the number seven, etc., the artistry revealed is magnificent. Some have suggested that this passage may have been used in Israel's worship as a liturgical piece celebrating God the Creator and King. Whether or not that is so, reading Genesis 1 should certainly lead us to worship and contemplation as we ponder its majestic words.