Genesis 1:1-5: Random thoughts
"1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was [a] formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. "
Who is God? He is, by definition, not human--totally different. He is creator, and we are creation. There is a fundamental difference, and the two can never be the same. We will always be created beings who were brought into existence. God, however, is eternal--and was before this world. Now, that thought always blows my mind. I used to get scared thinking of God just floating around in nothingness. I can't conceive existence without this world I live in. But God is above it, and has always been. This I can't really comprehend. But that is OK--because if I could know all there is about God, then I myself would be a knowledgeable--and thus divine. I must be satisfied with limited knowledge--it is the nature of humanity.
Who is God? According to Genesis, THEY (God) created the heavens and the earth? More than one God? ELOHIM is the term for God here, and it means "gods" literally. What gives? Three possibilities here.
1) There is more than one god mentioned here, or a heavenly counsel that includes angels and other heavenly types;
2) this is a royal "WE." Ancient kings used to refer to themselves as "WE" to indicate both the king and god were making a decision. Some suggest that the plural here indicates a kingly expression for God Almighty.
3) The Trinity may be expressed here by the plural noun. Thus, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in unity decide to create. This is Christian idea that was not in the mind of the Jewish writers, but may well be a part of the Revelation that Jesus brought to light when he came.
So which one is it? Since Judaism and Christianity only hold to one God (monotheism), then option 1 is out. I think the Jews probably understood ELOHIM to be a kingly reference to God Almighty. However, Christian interpretation sees the Trinity. Genesis explicitly shows the Father and the Spirit. Proverbs 8 indicates that "Wisdom" was present as well, showing an Old Testament element to a Christian Trinity. John 1 indicates that this Wisdom was the Word Jesus: "In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God. The Word was God." For me, the Christian interpretation of the Jewish ideas of God, Spirit, and Wisdom makes the most sense.
So, if he created everything in v.1, then why was it dark and void in v. 2? Did something go wrong? The simple answer is "No." Genesis 1:1 is a summary statement for the whole first chapter. 1:2 simply introduces the creative process. There is no need to see two creation stories here. Now, Genesis 2 is a different story. But Genesis 1 is a unified account with an introductory verse followed by the details.
"3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light."
What did God create when he created light? The sun and moon were made on Day 4. So, is this the concept of light? Is it just a physical reference, or did God create good and evil here as well? Note this: the Bible does not say God created darkness. He created light. Yet, the possibility for darkness exists if light is created. It could be simple: God created the foundation for physics and other foundational principles for life, setting the stage for specific creations on earth. It could also be an expression of morality--again a foundational principle for life, but this a spiritual reality matching the physical reality he is preparing to institute. Perhaps he did both. By creating light, he set the foundation for all of creation, physical and spiritual. Perhaps the angels and heaven itself were formed here in preparation for the rest of creation. We are given indications that before he created the earth he made the foundations of the earth. Maybe all this is entailed in light. See further Psalm 102:25, 104:5; Proverbs 3:19, 8:29.
2 Now the earth was [a] formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. "
Who is God? He is, by definition, not human--totally different. He is creator, and we are creation. There is a fundamental difference, and the two can never be the same. We will always be created beings who were brought into existence. God, however, is eternal--and was before this world. Now, that thought always blows my mind. I used to get scared thinking of God just floating around in nothingness. I can't conceive existence without this world I live in. But God is above it, and has always been. This I can't really comprehend. But that is OK--because if I could know all there is about God, then I myself would be a knowledgeable--and thus divine. I must be satisfied with limited knowledge--it is the nature of humanity.
Who is God? According to Genesis, THEY (God) created the heavens and the earth? More than one God? ELOHIM is the term for God here, and it means "gods" literally. What gives? Three possibilities here.
1) There is more than one god mentioned here, or a heavenly counsel that includes angels and other heavenly types;
2) this is a royal "WE." Ancient kings used to refer to themselves as "WE" to indicate both the king and god were making a decision. Some suggest that the plural here indicates a kingly expression for God Almighty.
3) The Trinity may be expressed here by the plural noun. Thus, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in unity decide to create. This is Christian idea that was not in the mind of the Jewish writers, but may well be a part of the Revelation that Jesus brought to light when he came.
So which one is it? Since Judaism and Christianity only hold to one God (monotheism), then option 1 is out. I think the Jews probably understood ELOHIM to be a kingly reference to God Almighty. However, Christian interpretation sees the Trinity. Genesis explicitly shows the Father and the Spirit. Proverbs 8 indicates that "Wisdom" was present as well, showing an Old Testament element to a Christian Trinity. John 1 indicates that this Wisdom was the Word Jesus: "In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God. The Word was God." For me, the Christian interpretation of the Jewish ideas of God, Spirit, and Wisdom makes the most sense.
So, if he created everything in v.1, then why was it dark and void in v. 2? Did something go wrong? The simple answer is "No." Genesis 1:1 is a summary statement for the whole first chapter. 1:2 simply introduces the creative process. There is no need to see two creation stories here. Now, Genesis 2 is a different story. But Genesis 1 is a unified account with an introductory verse followed by the details.
"3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light."
What did God create when he created light? The sun and moon were made on Day 4. So, is this the concept of light? Is it just a physical reference, or did God create good and evil here as well? Note this: the Bible does not say God created darkness. He created light. Yet, the possibility for darkness exists if light is created. It could be simple: God created the foundation for physics and other foundational principles for life, setting the stage for specific creations on earth. It could also be an expression of morality--again a foundational principle for life, but this a spiritual reality matching the physical reality he is preparing to institute. Perhaps he did both. By creating light, he set the foundation for all of creation, physical and spiritual. Perhaps the angels and heaven itself were formed here in preparation for the rest of creation. We are given indications that before he created the earth he made the foundations of the earth. Maybe all this is entailed in light. See further Psalm 102:25, 104:5; Proverbs 3:19, 8:29.
posted by Randy Rogers at
10:25 AM
3 Comments:
'Who is God?'
with possible Job like repercussions in the offing, I would suggest that God is Knowledge, Wisdom, Action.
Elohim may refer to God and his minions, some of whom, after the fall?, became perceived as gods but in reality were demons.(option 1 back in?)
'he created everything in v.1'
hmmm-maybe not heavens and earth are mentioned-places or ideas not necessarily content!
'"3 And God said, "Let there be light,"'
and there was happiness? seems to flow from the rest of the days although it becomes a bit asymetrical in that the others only mention God's pleasure once at a time.
Thanks for the begining of a livened discussin...oops<8~}
RFR
I hesitate to formulate a full-blown heirarchy of angels and demons based on the plurality of Elohim. I think those types of ideas did not even enter the minds of Jewish thinkers until Babylonian and Persian control. That does not necessarily mean that Option 1 is inconceivable, but I prefer options 2 or 3.
"And God saw that it was good." Regardless of the meaning of the phrase, it functions as a formal break between each day of creation. So, the rhythm is this: God made . . . and it gave him great pleasure.
God as Knowledge, Wisdom, and Action? I think you are a bit to ethereal for me, here. I need God to be more than brain waves or energy. There is a substance that is beyond power or knowledge--the "divine" or "holy." I am not sure, though, that I can describe it. I guess I prefer to stay away from scientific descriptions.
What I stated about Elohim is about as much as I can fathom and hardly a full blown hierarchy of angels and demons. I was more arguijng that we should be careful in remobving what God has placed before us. We should be careful in structuring our Bible so narrowly as to leave some truth out in deference to our deference.
I did not mean to imply that God was only K-W-A, but rather the truncation of the Trinity can be fairly easily understood as a single entity of three persons, one who is Knowledge, one who is the Wisdom of how the Knowledge is used, and the other as the effect of a benevolent Knowledge applied wisely(Immanuel)-but of course benevolence and wisdom maybe redundant. God is spirit and a spirit has no flesh or bones. On the other hand what is action if it cannot be observed and if observed, what was seen if it was not physical?
God>=Knowledge
Spirit>=Wisdom
Jesus>=Action
I do believe that the Patriarchs were accustomed to some form of visitation from God and in that visitation by definition is action, and yet, even then, God is that than the greater which nothing can be imagined.
I dont see that report of goodness in Day 2 maybe that is why it is reported as happiness beforehand. Perhaps an enigma of Hebrew grammar.
Ethereal? Is that otherworldly or immaterial, surely not ether?
I wrote a lengthy response to flatness as Biblcal Gospel but Blogger fell out on me and it was lost. Oh well, maybe I will take to coposing these in WP and saving them to HD prior to publishing them here.
All in the Love of Christ,
Robert
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