This week we
begin on our journey through the Old Testament, in leaps and bounds.
Timeline
on screen
If wall is
the time of Abraham, and the pulpit the time of Jesus, then the David story is
about half way, and the exile about here [between 2/3 and ¾ 580 BCE]
Every culture
has a creation story, and this is one of 2 creation stories in Genesis. The other
is in chapter 2, starting at verse 5, and is different to the one we heard this
morning.
Many other ancient
cultures had creation stories that were polytheistic, that is having many gods,
often with a different god responsible for a different area of life. Some of these stories had battles between the
gods, and the creation was made from the losing god.
The people of
Israel had been called out of slavery in Egypt, and while they had often let
God down, they knew they were different, they knew there was only one god, and
that creation was not because of a battle between the gods, but out of the desire
of God.
This creation
story from Genesis 1, was written down during the time the people of Israel
were in exile. This creation account was not written by people living happily in
their own land, but people in exile.[i] It was written, along with much of the Old Testament,
at a time when people were in a strange land.
The exile was
time for the people to Israel to think about God. It was thought that the fall
of Jerusalem, meant that the other Gods were stronger than their God. During the
50 years or so the people were in exile, there would have been some wondering:
is God really able to protect us? to save us from our enemies?
This creation
story is a way for the people to hold onto their faith, to grow in faith, when
things were not looking too good for them. [ii]
Here in
Genesis 1, God creates order out of chaos.[iii] An
affirmation by, and for, people who were not in control of what was happening to
them.
….
In
the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth didn’t have any
shape. And it was empty. There was darkness over the surface of the waves. At
that time, the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
God
said, “Let there be light.” And there was light. God saw that the light was
good. He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day.” He
called the darkness “night.” There was evening, and there was morning. It was
day one.
…..
Then God said, “Let us make human beings so that they are like us.” …. So God
created human beings in his own likeness.
He created them to be like himself.
He created them as male and female.
God
blessed them. ……
God
saw everything he had made. And it was very good.
New International Reader's Version
(NIRV)
In the
beginning …. and God saw that it was good. I wonder how often do we think of creation
as good, or ourselves as good?
What might it
mean to be created in the image of God?
I mean, we don’t
all look the same, or like the same things, so what does it mean that we are
created in the image of God?
I have a few suggestions:
I have a few suggestions:
We are each
unique, just as there is only one God, there is only on you or me.
We are
creative
We are spiritual
You may be
able to think of others.
But “If nothing
else, the creation story insists that God's mark is imprinted on my very being.
I might ignore or distort it, but the mark is always there. Whether I
acknowledge it or not, I reflect something of God's joy, God's intentions,
God's love, and God's beauty just by virtue of existing on the earth.”[iv]
Beginning our
overview of the Old Testament, with this passage from Genesis reminds me of a
few things:
1. Creation is good, and is to be valued
2. I am made in the image of God –
whatever that means; so, I need to treat myself and others with respect.
3. This story tells us about God, who is able to
create, protect and save, who is active in creation.
I am now
going to read another version of the creation story, and this one has pictures.
It is Let there be light by Desmond Tutu.
[i]
Spill the Beans
[ii]
Spill the Beans
[iii]
http://johndobbs.com/introduction-to-god/
[iv]
https://www.journeywithjesus.net/Essays/20140609JJ.shtml
