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Genesis 1 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
In his book, The Good Book, author Deron Spoo gives us perspective on what we should treasure about Genesis 1. In his opinion, the primary purpose of this first chapter is to affirm that we are more like God than anything else in creation.
We bear His image.
“When we read Genesis 1, it’s easy to become sidetracked from this truth by focusing on lesser ideas. For instance, people have long debated the age of the universe. If it were essential to our faith to know the exact date of creation, I suspect God would have share it with us. He didn’t. Nevertheless, many modern readers and heavy thinkers dig into Genesis 1 and immediately debate the age of the cosmos. Answers range from billions of years to a mere six thousand. Entertaining such theories will distract you from the wonderful truth in the first chapter of the first book of the Bible: you bear a striking resemblance to your Creator.”
-The Good Book, Deron Spoo
This is such a refreshing angle. It’s sad to think about how we spend a lot of our time focused on questions we can’t answer instead of absorbing what God is actually communicating through His Word. God made us in His image. The characteristics we possess are not random. In fact, even angels take on the “appearance of man” when they come to Earth. Our bodies are the perfect vessel to contain the spirit of our being, all fashioned by an infinitely creative God.
The Hebrew word for image is ‘tselem’ which actually means “to shade.” When the first man (Adam) had his son (Seth), the Scriptures use this exact same term. It’s fascinating to consider this same word is used to describe the idols (images) fashioned out of wood that served to draw humans away from God. Think about this. God created man in His image and we worshiped Him. After sin, man created images of little gods and worshiped them instead of the Creator.
But the focus here in Chapter 1 centers around God’s prized possession. There is incredible variety and complexity that exists within creation. Think over the details of His universe and let it lead you to awe and wonder. Then, once again consider that you are a unique part of His creation that distinctively bears His image. Even on our worst day, we are more like our Creator than anything else on the planet.
When we realize God is our creator and sustainer, we are able to set ourselves free from the temptation to control our own lives and fashion our own false images. If we were made according to God’s design, we are surely made with a purpose. Our future is securely in His hands. Trying to figure out God and reduce Him to a controllable, completely understandable Being only breeds more stress and anxiety that we weren’t made for. Standing in awe and wonder at His amazing creation and believing that we are the most treasured of everything postures us to receive from Him what we long for the most. We were created for relationship and purpose!
Interpretive Angle
It is my opinion that the Bible should be interpreted according to its original context and that means first reading it through the lens of the original audience. Instead of imposing an interpretive context from our modern minds, let’s just allow the Bible to speak for itself. If we do this, we will gain a deeper and more accurate understanding of what it meant to the original readers so that when we apply our application, it is guided by that original context.
I am not a literalist when it comes to Genesis 1 because I believe that when you study all the other ancient Near East creation stories, you find similar vocabulary and similar motifs. If God’s purpose had been scientific accuracy (with Genesis 1), we wouldn’t be able to understand it. If modern-day science had everything figured out, then we might have a chance of understanding it, but science is far from accomplishing that feat. The point I’m making here is that we must utilize the tools we have to understand the context in which Genesis 1 was written.
“Our modern evangelical contexts are alien to the Bible. Frankly, any context other than the context in which the biblical writers were moved to write is foreign to the Bible.”
–Dr. Michael Heiser
I believe Genesis 1 is more of a literary description of creation and less of a literal scientific description of creation. Don’t hear what I’m not saying. I believe Genesis 1 is making historical claims about authentic (literal) space and time events, but I believe they are being described using the language and the metaphors of their time (in the ancient Near East context).
“…as you read Gen 1–2 in the light of broader ancient Near Eastern ideas, it insists that God is sovereign and supreme. He has no rivals, and that’s utterly unique in the ancient Near East, where the creation stories talk about multiple gods who are fighting with each other for supremacy. God is sovereign and supreme.”
-Tremper Longman III
Genesis 1 reveals to us the nature of God, the connection we have with Him, and the plan that God has for His creation.