Read: Genesis 2:4-25
Key text: The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)
Reflection: The Bible speaks of Creation in two ways; as an event and as a process. Creation is an event – the primordial origination of the world, the beginning of history’. (DofB) This is ‘creatio ex nihilio’, or creation out of nothing. But in the scriptures Creation is also an ongoing, unfolding process (creation continua), for example, Psalm 33.
In the first two chapters of Genesis we have two separate accounts of Creation as event. The accounts are not contradictory; rather they illustrate different truths about the same event. In contrast to all other ancient accounts, Genesis 1 is the poetic narration of a peaceful Creation of the world and all that is in it. By contrast, in the ancient Babylonian account of Creation (Enuma elish), the world emerged out of divine combat and struggle between the gods. In Genesis one, God surveys all he has peacefully made and declares it ‘very good.’ (Genesis 1:31)
In Genesis 2, we move from poetry to prose as man is formed from the dust just as a potter shapes clay. Here we discover the deeply relational nature of Creation. God recognizes that man’s identity can only be fully realized in relation to others (Genesis 2:18), and so woman is formed to complete humankind. The first humans are then given dominion over Creation as with God’s blessing they name the animals. This dominion is consistent with the assertion in Genesis 1 that man (male and female) is created in the image of God. Human beings are not animals – we are God’s image bearers, and as such have worth over and above the great worth of other beings.
Question: What does it mean for you to be fearfully and wonderfully made? (Psalm 139:14)
Watch: A video clip from Louie Giglio’s ‘How Great is our God’ message:
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