If people are willing to doubt God’s account of his work in creation, what else are they willing to doubt?
Rephrased, this might say,
If there is reason to doubt God’s account of creation, then isn’t their reason to doubt the rest of the Bible?
Let’s take a look at Exodus
Let's look at the way the original audience would have heard it...
at what the author was telling these freed slaves about God...
at what was going on the in their world...
at what other cultures were saying about their gods...
at the little things like writing styles...
Let's let their story give us a new look, a new taste.
May our eyes begin to be opened to the richness, the fullness, the life that is in the Word.
In the beginning…
Genesis wasn't written down until after Moses brought the Israelites out of slavery, out of Egypt.
This story would have such power and meaning to that audience, slaves in a foreign land filled with all sorts of mystical gods and tales.
This story would have such power and meaning to that audience, slaves in a foreign land filled with all sorts of mystical gods and tales.
Think about it.
Here they are in Egypt, and there is a god for everything - a god for every aspect of life.
a god who carried the sun
a god who brought rain
a god who controlled the Nile
a god who protected the livestock
a god who brought fertility to people
a god who brought good health
a god-man who ruled the people
To boldly state that God created everything; without him, nothing was made; God is above all; God brings order out of chaos.
It was a powerful statement to a people who were oppressed by the people of these gods.
Isn't this still a powerful statement in today's world, today's culture?
There was evening,
and then there was morning…
There is this beautiful image that is everywhere we look in nature.
There is evening, then there is morning.
There is a new moon, then there is a full moon.
There is winter, then there is summer.
There is death, then there is life.
There is chaos, then there is order.
Taking the first three days of creation and matching them with the last three:
(1) First there is light and darkness, then there is the sun and the moon. (4)
(1) First there is light and darkness, then there is the sun and the moon. (4)
(2) First there is water and dry land, then there is fish and birds. (5)
(3) First there is plants and seeds, then there land animals and humans. (6)
There is chaos, then there is order.
God spoke.
Chaos became order.
Death became life.
Simplicity became complexity.
And it was good.
But the seventh day...
On the seventh day, God ceased from all the work of creation that he had done and blessed that day.
That’s the end of the story.
There is no evening and then morning on the seventh day.
The story teller leaves this part out.
Why?
His work was complete!
Everything was good.
Order had been made from chaos.
So, is there more to the saying, “And then there was evening, and there was morning.” then simply stating a measurement of time?
Certainly.
You can’t even have evening nor morning with out the sun.
The rotation of the earth in reference to the sun is how we define evening and morning.
So, what then?
What is the danger of making Genesis a scientific document with exact details of creation?
Because it’s so easy to miss the point, the beauty, of what the story is all about.
God created everything; without Him, nothing was made.
God brings order out of chaos (and we are so adept at bringing chaos out of order).
God is above all.
God is in all.
If we put our stakes in the exact English interpretation of the Bible separated from the original culture, audience, author, history, people, you name it...
we can quickly miss the point,
the beauty,
the awe,
the wonder,
the story of God is doing in this world and the people who asked the same questions and struggled with the same things that we do today.
If we put our stakes in the very literal interpretation of the Bible
then when we walk out and learn about things like the big bang and the expansion of the universe and the distance of stars and we missed the point,
we will certainly have reason to doubt.
However, the more that I have learned about the big bang and relativity and geology and radio dating and particle physics and petroleum, I am utterly amazed and lost in wonder.
When I see that the story of creation that God told to his people 4,000 years ago closely parallels scientific discovery, I am greatly encouraged and excited to learn more and pursue more.
Discovering these things about science and more about the original culture and audience and people of the Bible makes my walk with God more rich, more meaningful, more alive.
Taste and see.
It's a beautiful story of
a God who brings order out of chaos,
a God who creates everything,
a God who is above all,
a God who breathes life.
All of a sudden, fourteen billion years confirms seven days in more intimate ways than seven days alone ever could.
If looking at the original audience, their culture, their story, their world opens our eyes to a greater story, deeper truth of God's account of creation, then what can our eyes be opened to in the rest of the Bible?
Those words and stories no longer are children’s stories told to in the hopes that our kids turn out right, but they become stories of real people, living real lives, walking with the very real God, facing real trials, and asking the same real questions and struggling with the same issue that I do today.
If this discussion, just can't get off of your mind and you are hungry for more, check out Part 1
For more information (read 'mind blowing awesomeness') on the expansion of the universe, light and darkness before the sun, moon, and stars, and other awesomeness about physics, check out this MinutePhysics video and his awesome channel:
minutephysics - Why is the dark at night?
minutephysics - Why is the dark at night?
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