In my last article we discussed what God says about how the universe came to be. “In the beginning,” the bible begins. That is to say, “When God began to create everything…” or “before everything that is…” God began his creation of the universe with nothing. I like the paraphrase, “In the beginning, God created matter.” The biblical text moves on then to God beginning to shape what he created to be a fit place for humans and animals to live. It continues in verse three.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Once again, the text clearly states the continued action, “and then…” (this time translated). The whole account of the creation echoes this idea. “God created, and then he formed, and then he did create light…” With the creation of light, God changes one of the four conditions that existed before. God puts light into the darkness. Many have asked how light could exist without the light bearers, the sun and the stars. The answer is quite simple. Genesis simply states that God creates the universe as a series of miracles not a natural process. It goes back to the question, “Can God create the world in six days?” The answer is a resounding “yes!” The problem we often face is thinking that God must have used natural processes to create the universe, instead of using miracles.
And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
Day one. God creates the first day, a 24-hour day. Nowhere in the bible does the word “day” (Hebrew Yod) used with a number mean anything else. In fact, when the word “day” is used it always means a 24-hour day. If the writer had intended long eons of time, he could have used a word specifically meaning that (Hebrew ‘olam). In fact, every one of the 2,225 times “day” is used in the Old Testament, it means a 24-hour day. Further, whenever “day” is used in the plural, it also means the same. Exodus 31:17, for example says, human beings are to work six days, because God worked six days in creation. Also, when “day” is used with “evening and morning” it always refers to a 24-hour day, full 19 times outside of the first book of the bible. The real issue here is not whether the text says that God created everything in six 24-hour days, but whether we believe what the text says.
At issue with creation is accountability to the Creator. If there is a God who created everything (in six days), then he created all people. If he created all people, then all people are accountable to him. God then, as creator, is the only one who can determine the rules for living life. People rejecting the Creator and his rules for living are an age-old problem. The first human beings did just that. When they rejected God’s rules, they rejected their relationship to God. Since everything was created to work together, in relationship to God, the way everything works was broken. The whole creation “groans” under the weight of it (Romans 8:22). Floods, earthquakes, and all sorts of human misery, broken relationships, pandemics, and riots are the result.
But as we see in the creation account, God’s love pours out on his creation. He has devised a way to fix the problem at its root. He has a way to restore his relationships to all people. He sent Jesus. He is the only one to live in perfect accountability to God. Everything he did, was in perfect harmony with God’s rules. It even included dying on a cross, under the anger of God. Jesus receives all the punishment all people deserve for rejecting God. He makes it possible for people to revive their relationship to God. That relationship is restored when people believe that Jesus’ life, death and resurrection are the answer. And that all that God did through Jesus he did for them personally.
For questions or comments please email me: pastor@wattswhat.net
Each month a member of the Cook County Ministerium will offer Spiritual Reflections. This month our contributor is Pastor Jonathan Watt of Life in Christ Lutheran Church in Grand Marais. Please feel free to contact him with comments or questions. Pastor@ WattsWhat.net
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