In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. And God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.” So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.” And it was so. God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation. These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created. (Genesis 1:1-2:4a, NRSV)
Reading this made me think of the joke, “Where is there baseball in the Bible?”
In the Big Inning…
This is the first of 2 different creation accounts in the Bible. The stories have completely different details on how it happened. In this account the wind blew over the water and the Lord spoke things into existence. In the second God formed man and breathed into him the breath of Life.
You see as Christians we read this story on Trinity Sunday (today in congregations that follow the liturgical calendar) because we see the Trinity in it. There is God, the Father. There is the Holy Spirit in the wind, you see the word in both Hebrew and Greek for wind, breath and spirit are the same word. So the wind blowing over the water is the spirit, and the word spoken is the word of God or the Son. Father, Son and Holy Spirit…
But stop for a moment and realize this story is from the Hebrew Scriptures, and is read by Jews who do not see the trinity here. True God does say later “Let us form man in our image.” But that is still not Trinity language to the Jews. That is the heavenly hosts, all the angels and other surrounding God.
So how did creation happen and was Jesus and the Spirit there?
I will answer those in reverse order. Yes Jesus and the Spirit were there. As Christians though we must remember while the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) our part of our story, they also belong to God’s chosen people that do not read Jesus and the Spirit there.
And how did creation happen… There is a lot to discuss here, but I will say I believe the Bible tells us WHO created. So there is no need for battle between Bible and science. Science may tell us how, but no one will convince me otherwise of the fact the Bible tells us who created! God created, and Jesus and the Spirit were there to be a part of creation.
Meaning they created you, and knew you before they knitted you in your mother’s womb!
So breath, and speak of the love God has given you!
aSacredRebel 