6 GENESIS
THE CREATION EVENT
(CONTINUED)
Genesis 1:1–31
(see article, p. 17). Adam was commissioned to watch over and care for creation and, as
a steward, to bring all of it under subjection and order (see article “Humanity, the Crown
of Creation,” p. 682).
Finally, on the seventh day, seeing that everything was “very good,” God rested from His
work, culminating the creation act and establishing an order for work and rest. The creation
was complete, requiring only the sustaining grace of God’s presence. 6
HUMANITY IN GOD’S PLAN
While God is the central character of the biblical story, there are other characters as well.
Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden where they enjoyed special communion
with God and were given the tasks of procreation, cultivation, and classification (see articles
“Adam,” p. 17, “Eve,” p. 11, and “The Garden of Eden,” p. 9). Through patterns of work,
rest, and intimacy, they glorified their Creator. Nothing was lacking.
STORYLINE
Genesis chapters 1 and 2 show the origins of the world, revealing the Creator to be all-
powerful (omnipotent), all-knowing (omniscient), ever-present (omnipresent), and good.
The Lord is intimately involved in every aspect of His creation, which He ordered according
to His plan and called “very good” (see article “God,” p. 768). But, according to Genesis
3, something drastic and traumatic happened (see article “The Fall,” p. 13). The biblical
story is a story of creation and covenant, rebellion and fall, and redemption and restora-
tion. What began in a primordial garden will end in a celestial city (Revelation 21:1–27).
FOR FURTHER STUDY
K. A. Mathews, Genesis 1–11:26, vol. 1a, New American Commentary (Nashville: Broad-
man & Holman, 1996); Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis 1–15, vol. 1, Word Biblical Commentary
(Waco, TX: Word, 1987); Timothy Keller, What Were We Put in the World to Do? (New York:
Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2006); Bruce K. Waltke, Genesis: A Commentary (Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 2001); Victor P. Hamilton, The Book of Genesis: Chapters 1–17 (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990); Kenton L. Sparks, Ancient Texts for the Study of the Hebrew Bible:
A Guide to the Background Literature (Peabody: Hendrickson, 2005); Tremper Longman III,
How to Read Genesis (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2005).
1. The Bible brings this plurality of God’s personhood into greater detail—the Trinity, with the three persons of
God coexistent and eternal.
2. Every day except Day 2. The Greek Septuagint “corrected” the omission, but English translations leave it out.
Some scholars posit that the term, “and God saw that it was good,” was omitted because the creation on Day 2
was as yet incomplete. Note that Day 3 includes this statement twice. For an examination of other Ancient Near
Eastern creation accounts see the article “Ancient Near Eastern Creation Artifacts.” p.669.
3. This light did not come from the celestial bodies such as the sun and moon, as they were not yet created. Later
Scripture perhaps indicates that this light came from the very presence of God Himself (as the poet in Psalm
104:2 depicts the Creator wrapped in light as with a garment).
4. Genesis’ description of the expanse comes from the position of the observer (a feature the modern reader
should recognize running through this narrative).
5. The ancient cultures would recognize that the barrier between the seas and the dry land resulted from God’s
protective order, without which all life would be overrun by the waters.
6. As a whole, the six-day story of creation provides a unique literary picture: the opening three days (Genesis
1:3–13) change the barren world into a land that produces vegetation (Genesis 1:11–13), and the final three
days inundate the empty terrain with life above and below (Genesis 1:14–31). Days one and four regard light and
the light bearers; days two and five speak of the skies and waters that are filled with fowl and fish; and the third
couple, days three and six, concern the productivity of the land that sprouts its flora for the sustenance of the
created beast and human. Even the literary structure of the passage emphasizes the ordered and structured
results of God’s work, as opposed to its original disordered state. We might describe the first three days of
creation as a forming process and the final three days as God filling the newly formed world.