So much can be learned from this very first chapter of the Bible, and it's one of my absolute favorites! So, I want to take a closer look at the story we've heard since childhood - and give you a few new, grown-up insights to the beauty of God's word!
I once heard a teacher say, "If you have a spare key to your house, I would be willing to bet that you hid it under the doormat. In the same way, God put the key to understanding the whole Bible, and His whole plan, right at the beginning, at the first word, and the first letter - at the doorway." So let's look at the doorway:
The first letter, the large one on the right, is a bet. Every letter in the Hebrew alphabet is also a picture (kind of like Egyptian hieroglyphics) – and Bet is a picture of a house. You may see that as coincidence, but I think it's because through His Word and His plan, God is building a house, a family, and He's doing it “for, by and in” the beginning.
In Hebrew, this word, pronounced “Bereisheet,” is the very first word in the Bible, and it is translated
in your Bible as “IN THE BEGINNING.” However, since Hebrew words often have more than one meaning, it can also be translated “FOR” the
beginning/head/leader or “BY” the beginning/head/leader. That is significant because "the beginning" is more than a reference to the
start of time – it is also a PERSON:
Here are a few verses that give us a key:
For
by Him all things were created, both
in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or
dominions or rulers or authorities—all
things have been created through Him and for Him.
Colossians
1:16
He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.
Colossians
1:18
In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He
was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and
apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
John
1:1-3
All of these verses are in reference to Jesus
Christ – He is the head, the beginning, the one who was with God when it all
began. So, from that first word in the Bible, we can see:
Our Heavenly Father is building a house for His
son JESUS, so that He can take a bride. That’s you! That was always His plan. That’s
why Jesus says “Abide in my love” and “I go to prepare a place for you.” Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice has created a home, a family, safety and
refuge for you.
v.2
The
earth was formless
and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God
was moving over the surface of the waters.
The italicized word "was" is pronounced “haita” and it
means “became, to fall out, to pass” – so really it became formless and void, it wasn’t created that way. How do I know?
For
thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth
and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed
it to be inhabited)
Isaiah
45:18
Somehow, the earth that was created to be
inhabited BECAME formless (without order, chaos, confusion, useless) and void (empty, a wasteland). I don’t know exactly how that happened…or what is
between verse one and two - But if you’re just dying of curiosity, here’s what I
think: Jeremiah also uses that expression, formless and void – and the immediately preceding verse
seems to hold the key to why it became that way:
For
My people are foolish,
They know Me not;
They are stupid children
And have no understanding.
They are shrewd to do evil,
But to do good they do not know.
They know Me not;
They are stupid children
And have no understanding.
They are shrewd to do evil,
But to do good they do not know.
Jeremiah
4:22
What I take from that is that rebellion and distance
from God, embracing evil leads to chaos, desolation, and death. Darkness is the
physical embodiment of that death and separation.
Let's think about that for a minute - isn't that so encouraging? We are NEVER so far away from God's plan as to escape His
presence. He is always right there with us. What a comfort it is to me that we can’t
mess up so much that He leaves us all alone. And the even better news is that He will never leave us in the
darkness – there is always hope, because He wants so much to bring us in to the warmth of His divine light...
Day One
Then
God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
Now, I'm betting you just imagined daylight, sunlight, a
light bulb snapping on. But let’s look at some other places in scripture where
this word is used and what it means there:
Job 3:16, 20: light is life
Job 28: light is awareness
Psalm 38:10 – light is the ability to see, vision,
understanding
Psalm 119:105: God’s word is light
Proverbs 6:23: God’s commandments and teaching are
light, illuminating
1 John 1:5: God is light, his presence is light
John 8:12 (Jesus): I am the Light of the World
The proof of this is in Revelation, where we are
told that when Jesus returns and establishes His king on earth, HIS presence
will be our very light once again:
And
there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of
a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them…
Revelation
22:5
So here we see spiritual light and darkness
separated. He doesn’t say that darkness is good – why? Because death is not a
part of His nature or plan - life is! So here light is purposed to be associated with life, and darkness is purposed to be associated with death.
Since these things are opposites, according to God's divine order, they cannot dwell together. This is a principle we will continue to see in Scripture. God
separates things that are not of the same nature – He doesn’t like mixtures (old
wine skins, cloth, fabrics, you see tons of examples in scripture). Jesus
Himself says “I came not to bring peace, but a sword.” The sword of the Spirit
divides things, truth from lies, physical from spiritual, right from wrong.
…for
what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has
light with darkness?
Corinthians 6:14
Genesis 1 contains a “TYPE” – maybe you have begun to pick up that there is a
pattern here that applies even to even YOUR life! Let’s recap:
1. God has created something good, with potential and purpose.
2. Somehow it falls away from that purpose into
chaos, into darkness, into death.
3. In His mercy, God calls forth light and life through His Word, giving the created thing a piece of Himself, and begins to
redeem it for His purpose once again.
I don’t know about you, but this sounds A LOT like
my testimony. Maybe in the middle of a sermon, through a friend, in a desperate hour of
darkness like me or in a moment of triumph – suddenly you too realized that God is very real - and so is the difference between good and evil.
God redeems in the same way all the time – In Genesis 1, what you are seeing is a type – a picture of REDEMPTION.
God
called the light day, and the darkness He called night....
This word, “call” means to be purposed. The light was not named day, it was given a purpose and a place.
God has a purpose and a plan for YOUR life, work
for you to do – that’s why you have the interests, appearance, friends, family and life
circumstances that you do – it is to achieve everything that He created you to
achieve. You can’t possibly find your purpose outside of God, who created you.
For
we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Ephesians
2:1
Day two
On day two, the waters are separated – notice that
this is the only day God does not call the activity GOOD.
Why do you think that is?
Here’s my theory on the spiritual implication of this – I remember when I first came to
know the Lord – I picked up His Word for the first time, and began to read the
definition of holiness. I read that I was supposed to love, to behave myself,
to put the needs of others first. I was told that I needed to read and seek to
understand and apply the whole Bible, which was intimidating and overwhelming.
I knew when God called to me that He had bigger
and better things for me, but those things seemed so far from what I found
myself to be – and THAT is what I believe this big space between the waters
above and the waters below is all about.
Things that are alike are not supposed to be
separated. It’s not good! With awareness of God comes the awareness that we are
not where or what we should be – we recognize our spiritual poverty, as well as
our potential - and we desire for that space between who we are and what God
wants us to be to go away. We feel conviction, shame, and suddenly we long to
be united with our heavenly father and our heavenly family (our brothers and
sisters in Christ) – to become the best version of ourselves - for our soul, spirit and body to be united in obedience to their maker.
Day 3...let dry land appear...Let the earth sprout vegetation.
The spiritual implication behind this day is about acting on the desire to
close the gap that we experience. Do you see how the land rises up out of the water
– it was once in the darkness, below the surface of the water, far beneath the
depths, drowned, a picture of death – and we see it powerfully and triumphantly
rises up out of the water, new life blooming all over it.
What do rising up out of the water and new life make you think of?
Baptism! We are, after all, made up of dust (see
genesis 2). And when we are baptized it is a symbol that our past sin and self
are buried and washed away, but we are now walking in the newness of life, committed
to God’s plan and the lordship of Christ. And that heart change makes new life,
eternal life, accessible to us!
Day 4
Only once we submit to God’s authority in our lives,
can we begin to see and understand heavenly things. (The sun, moon and stars are
kind of a picture of the heavenly realm in the Bible, a picture of heavenly governance). We can see that everything
has a purpose and intended design, and that God is always speaking to us,
instructing and guiding us.
This made me remember the moment that Jesus was baptized - right as He came out of the water, there came a sign from heaven - the Spirit descended as a dove - a heavenly affirmation of His beautiful obedience.
Day 5
The first four days were all about separating
things – in the beginning of our journey with God, a lot of things have to be
divided away from us – negative an sinful behaviors, influences, relationships –
and as we mature and are obedient to seek first the Kingdom of God, He begins
to add things in.
When we first saw life blooming on day 3, it was
on the surface of the land – but what we see here is that life is bursting
forth at the heights and the depths – This is a picture of growth. A great
example of this is in reading scripture – as we grow spiritually, things that
seemed dull and meaningless and hard to understand become full of light and
meaning and excitement.
Day 6
Ah, here is the day that God creates animals and
man -
I never noticed it before, but I believe a
distinction is being subtly made – we have a choice before us – we can be like
those wild animals, living according to our appetites and instincts – or we can
obey God and let Him make us into the Image of His Son.
The more we grow and walk with Him, the more like
Him we should become in our outward appearance. In His Image simply means that
we have His characteristics and attributes, that through our action we become
an accurate reflection of Him – this is a picture of spiritual maturity and
also a reminder of the ministry we can have to those we encounter.
As His ambassadors, it is our job to protect life, and cultivate it wherever we go. And as we are faithful with that, more will be given to us.
Day 7
However, the fact that God’s design calls for rest
– a Sabbath – is important. Because of His design, we get to experience rest
from our work to try to earn salvation – and it also serves as a reminder to us
that we look forward to His kingdom on earth, where there will be no more
struggle with sin and death, the ultimate believer’s rest.
And because we have submitted to His plan and
trust in His return, observing His weekly Sabbath shows the world that we live
by His design and trust His plan. It’s a ministry to the world to show that you
have rest and live by God’s order for your life. It shows that there is
perfection and completion and wholeness in this life, but only HE can give it
to us.
Closing thoughts...
I want to emphasize that while these things
LITERALLY did happen, they possess a deeper symbol and picture of His overall
plan, and that’s what this lesson is all about. But a closer look reveals that, beneath the surface truth, there is a spiritual principle: He is, and always was, building a house for the family - and He knew you and I would come to abide, and to forever rest, in the house built with love through the
sacrificial life of Jesus, our Savior and our God.
Every new beginning we experience can remind us of His ultimate
plan of salvation, can remind us to make sure we are in tune with His plan and
not just our own – because that is the plan that leads to life and prosperity.
All other plans lead to separation, chaos, and death. We must have order in our
lives, that means separating from some things. What needs to be separated from
your life right now? Do you need a new beginning? As long as there is breath, sweet friends, there is H O P E...
Blessings!
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