Order out of Chaos - 1:1-2:3

God is the central character of this epic real-life story, and here in Genesis we learn about how He has put things into order from Chaos. We learn from this passage how God has put order into the earth. We see many of these things today - light separated from darkness into day and night, the seas and dry land separated, creatures that multiply according to their kinds, and much, more. God calls all that He did, 'good.'

One thing that I heard from a great speaker, Tim Keller, was that this account spits in the face of what other gods were like. He compares the Genesis creation account to the enuma elish, a Babylonian account of creation, as well as pandora's box. Both accounts show that god, or the gods, created work as a bad thing. In the enuma elish, man is created to do the things that the gods don't want to do - one of which is work. In pandora's box, all of the bad stuff is let out of the box, which includes work. We haven't even come to the fall yet, and already we are seeing that God is creating a pattern - a perfect order - that includes not only man working, but God getting his hands dirty by forming man out of the dust of the earth. So, work is supposed to be good (for a great sermon on 'work', and for those references, listen to Tim Keller's sermon entitled, Made for Stewardship).

Many, many things can be applied to our thinking and our lives from this passage. At this point in my life, these things are what I believe God is telling me from this passage:

• I am to take care (1:28 - subdue) of the earth and the things that are in it - that was the original plan. I am a steward of everything that is around me.
• Work is a good thing, not an evil thing.
• Because we are made in the image of God (we aren't God, but we're made like Him), I am called to create order out of chaos (I can't create something out of nothing - I can only create order out of non-order). This can be done in many ways - fixing a leaking sink, mending a relationship with a loved one, playing music, etc.

After reading through this part of Genesis, what do you think God has for you? Feel free to comment!

Overview: The Big Picture

Genesis forms the foundation of the entire Bible, even in its first words, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." The subject is God, the central 'character' of the entire real-life drama. The history of the world began with God already in existence (by God creating the heavens and earth in the 'beginning' assumes that he preceded the 'beginning').

The book of Genesis was written as an historical account, recounting the origins of many things: the earth, man, sin, and the establishment of God's people (Israel), whom He chooses to make His name known throughout the entire world.

Genesis was most likely written by Moses during Israel's exodus as a reminder of who they were as a nation (the lineage from where they came) and who had chosen them to be His people. They were becoming weary through their wandering in the desert and had questioned who this 'Moses' was who had brought them out of Egypt (how they quickly forgot that God was the one who brought them through the Red Sea, chose to dwell with them through the tabernacle, and established a covenant with them).

As I read through Genesis, I'll keep in mind that God is the central character of the story, telling a people about who He is, whom He has chosen, how He chose them, and what He chose
them for.

**A side-note about Genesis:
Many people stumble at the creation account - wondering whether they can believe in a book that starts with (seemingly outlandish?) scientific claims about creating the earth in 7 days, making a woman out of a man's ribs, etc. In a 'scientific' day such as our own, we question the validity of such accounts. Genesis was not written to give us scientific information, but historical information. Whatever you believe about the creation account (there are several views that are floating around), I encourage you to read through Genesis learning about the character of God, the character of His people, and how God interacts with His people.