Importance of Creation (Gen 1:1)

[alon]

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

In reading Gen 1, note how God assigns everything its own place. He makes separations. In fact, בדל badal, meaning ‘to separate’ occurs 5x in this first chapter. Light and darkness, day and night, heaven heaven and earth. God assigned each it’s place, its name, and its purpose. The result of interchanging the terms as ‘we’ see fit would be (and sadly ‘is’) chaos!

Man was created from the אֲדָמָה ‘ădâmâh (earth). אִשָּׁה ishshâh, woman is created from the צֵלְעָה tsêlâh (an entire side) of Adam. She is then brought back to the man. Separation and reunion. The two complete each other; different and yet reunited in marriage to become one flesh. If you want real chaos, just confuse these two nouns- “man” and “woman”

Genesis 1:31a And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.

Man can’t improve on that.

(Excerpted from a teaching by Chad Bird, www.facebook.com/writingsofchadbird)

Bird is a Christian scholar and teacher, however his teachings are very insightful and do not necessarily follow the "party line" laid down by the church fathers. I recommend following him. 

Discussion?

[alon]

The term בָּרָא bârâ', translated to mean creation 'ex nihilo' in Gen 1:1 has this beautiful message of order. But my Vine's has over a full page on this one term. I think the Almighty knew what He was doing when He chose Hebrew as the language of His Word, as it is rich in dual meanings- בָּרָא bârâ' also has connotations of ordering and organizing. God did create everything; He then later (how much?) organized His creation specifically to be useful to mankind- the last thing He placed in His creation after making it a wonderful home just for us.

The significance of this dual understanding/meaning is stunning! It has implications in everything from the 'scientific' creation arguments to the Exodus to absolutely thrashing Marduk (supreme Babylonian deity), and informs every other thread in our Bible! It is the Temple story before there was even a Tabernacle in the Wilderness (Mishkan). The New Testament is saturated with this connection!

Our Father's first words to us: I would suggest this is something worth studying and meditating on.

Comment?

[kalev89]

I like the bara explanation goes in hand with Dabar (the word) meaning order it also a sub meaning of nothing but its not a nothing meaning without or emptiness, theres a substance the force that which came out of the fullness before creation. Ive seen multiple times people breaking down Bereshit and saying bar is son that it points to Yeshua. I couldnt accept it since ben is son in Hebrew and bar is Aramaic. It made me think of the prisoner they let go Named Barrabas (Son of Father) Yeshua was his first name, while the true salvation from the father was tortured and hung. How easy is it to pick a false messiah .

[alon]

Been thinking a lot about this one, and so the applications to our lives keep coming up. I have a brother who is struggling both spiritually and physically. In my broken condition I may not be able to help much with the physical. But the spiritual ...

But what does that have to do with creation?

Well, if the Almighty was construction His Temple when He made then later reorganized heavens and earth, and the last thing He installed in His Temple was His statue, and that statue was mankind, then when people look at us they should see the deity we represent, YHVH. The early Jews were not (as we were all falsely taught) monotheists. They were henotheistic, believing in many gods. But theirs was One God over all other gods. The only God worthy of prayers, worship, and respect. That is the God we represent. 

His Ruach indwells and transforms us. One of the biggest ways we are different is we are living statues. Our God is alive, and so are the petty deities (gods) those statues in pagan temples represent. But that statue cannot empathize. It cannot clasp a hand or give a hug; cannot sit and laugh or cry with one in need of a true friend. The statue cannot reach out- you must go to the statue. The Ruach Elohim is shared with others through us. So we make the time, find the money to take them to breakfast or whatever we need to (and what we find is God provides for us). Give of ourselves wherever we can:

James 2:14-24 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.

This is the difference in a statue of wood or stone and a "living statue."