Worship
Genesis 1:1-2:3
I. History Matters
a. Evolution and Length of Days
In a conversation with an unbeliever, if Genesis 1 comes up, it is often used to discredit evolution. When Christians talk about Genesis 1, the conversation often gravitates toward the length of the “days” of creation. While these topics are legitimate concerns of Genesis 1, they are not the primary concern of the chapter. To get to the primary concern, we need to understand the historical context into which Moses wrote Genesis.
b. Exodus
For several generations, the nation of Israel had lived in Egypt, eventually being used as slaves for the citizens of Egypt. During those generations, Israelites adopted the religious practices of the Egyptians. It is likely that Israel worshiped the sun god of the Egyptians. They probably worshiped fertility gods, strength gods (perhaps symbolized by an ox or a bull), rain gods, etc. The popular thought of the day was to worship a god for each area of life so that by your attention to him (or her) you might win blessings for yourself and family. Then Israel was freed from their slavery by a God calling himself Yahweh. The natural thing to do was to add Yahweh to the list of Gods to worship. Genesis 1 describes the God who had rescued Israel from slavery as the God responsible for creating everything. In other words, the Sun which the Israelites (and the Egyptians) had worshiped was created by Yahweh. The ox or bull, which represented the strength god, had been created by Yahweh. The rain, plants, fertility of the earth and the womb, etc. all came from one God, Yahweh who had rescued them. The central application was to stop worshiping the other things and worship the one true God, creator and rescuer. For us, the application is similar; we are to stop worshiping created things, man made things, etc. We are to see God alone as our rescuer (money, power, fame, accomplishment, friends, approval from men, nor anything else except for God can be our rescuer, our creator, our object of worship).
II. Quality of Creation
a. Goodness
While directing people to worship the one true God is the primary matter of Genesis 1, if that were all that was intended, the author could have simply said, “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God said, ‘Let there be animals,’ and there were animals….” Rather there are two refrains that echo throughout the chapter. The first one is “God saw that it was good,” or something similar to express God’s approval of what had been made. What must be understood by God’s comment on his creation is that all of creation has value to be explored, discovered, enjoyed, and/or harnessed. The implication for us is to see the various callings of our lives as an act of worship in valuing God’s creation. For instance, engineering is a godly thing to do because it is a study of how God’s world works and how we can make use of that world for the aid, comfort and enjoyment of mankind. Teaching is an act of worship because we are training people to learn and discover God’s world and to live in it productively. Enjoying a sunset or a beautiful animal or a spectacular waterfall are godly things to do. The goodness of creation gives meaning to our ordinary, everyday lives.
b. Filling the Earth
Similarly, the creation doctrine of Genesis 1 warrants us to take care of the earth, since it properly belongs to God, and we are stewards. It means that Christians ought to be environmentalists, because we have the doctrine of the earth and creation that equips us to see how to both harness the resources of creation as well as to preserve it for God, its creator.
III. Order of Creation
Lastly, we see the second refrain: “There was evening, and there was morning, the nth day.” The refrain ends with God having completed his work of creation in six days and resting on the seventh. The refrain builds on the first two verses where you see the empty, void, formless earth being shaped into the beautiful creation that God describes as “very good” at the end of chapter one. God was imposing order upon the world. This order is the foundation for scientific inquiry. Further the order includes the repetitive week that we experience. Part of that week, by God’s design is to work six days and rest on one. For college students, this would mean taking the class work, employments, etc. and diligently disposing of your obligations in these areas six days each week. Then taking the remaining day to rest from those same employments and class work the whole day. More specifically, do your homework Monday through Saturday, then don’t do school work on Sunday. You will get more done in six days than you will in seven.