It is hard to overstate the importance of the creation account in Genesis 1:1-2:3. This highly condensed, intricately constructed chapter lays the foundations for everything that follows in all the books of the Bible. The big idea in the creation account is ORDER. We begin in 1:2 with the earth covered with waters, a common ancient symbol for chaos and death. God then establishes his perfect order, and this order is associated with life. This theme of order is expressed even in the literary features of the text. There are important literary patterns throughout the text. If you count all the repeated words and phrases, you will find rich numeric symbolism (numbers in Hebrew thought had theological significance). In the original Hebrew the first verse consists of seven words (7 is the number of perfection). The second verse then consists of 14 words. The account of the seventh day consists of 35 words, another multiple of 7. There is a rich theological artistry in this chapter in these and so many more respects. Here is the point: this isn’t just what God did; it is what God does. He brings order to chaos. And his order creates the conditions for life. When our priorities get out of order, then our lives fall into chaos. This is the significance of the great flood in Genesis 7. Because humans rejected God’s order, then the world returned to the watery chaos of Genesis 1:2. If you obey God’s word (“And God said”) then he will make a path through the chaos for you just as he did for Moses at the Red Sea. His order will then give you rest.
Reflect on the patterns and the repeated terms and what they might mean. Ask God to order your life.
Read Genesis 1:1-2:3
