and survey of Old Testament spirituality, see Adam, Hearing God’s Words, 47–80. Note also Sheriffs, The Friendship of the Lord.
9. Olick. States of Memory, 15.
10. Seitz, Word Without End, 11.
1
Creation
Russell L. Meek
Introduction
Creation undergirds the Old and New Testaments. If Yahweh did not create the heavens and the earth—and all within them—then we should abandon the rest of the Bible as well. If Yahweh is not creator, then he also is not redeemer. If Yahweh is not creator, then there is no exodus, no giving of Torah, no judgment through exile, no restoration through repentance, no future hope in the Messiah, no incarnation, no cross, no resurrection. If Yahweh is not creator, then indeed, “we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Cor 15:19b ESV).
This chapter will look primarily at the creation accounts in Gen 1–2 to illustrate the Old Testament’s view of creation. We will also examine creation texts in the wisdom and prophetic books in order to demonstrate how Genesis’s creation account informs the theology of the Old Testament, particularly with regard to its description of Yahweh’s character and the connection between creation and redemption in the Old Testament. Next, this chapter examines how the New Testament, in particular the good news of Jesus’s death, resurrection, and ascension, informs the Old Testament’s creation theology. We will find that the Bible begins with God’s creating the universe and placing humans in the garden of Eden and ends with God’s recreating the universe and placing humans in a new garden of Eden—a place of perfect fellowship with him. This redemption—and new creation—occurs through the work of Christ on the cross and is founded on Yahweh’s creative work in the first chapters of Genesis. Before that time, though, we will see that Christians wait longingly for Jesus’s ultimate redemption and work to restore the created order through reclaiming humanity’s role as priest-kings. The church would not properly understand this responsibility without a clear understanding of the Old Testament’s theology of creation. First, however, we will briefly contemplate the relationship between creation and the gospel.
Creation and the Gospel
My faith tradition has no problem recognizing the personal implications of Jesus’s death and resurrection and the consequent sanctification that occurs as Christians continually submit to Christ’s lordship. We likewise stand strong on the doctrine of Yahweh’s creation ex nihilo of the universe as depicted in Genesis. We preach Christ crucified, urge sinners to repent, promise new life in him—both in this world and the next—and yet often fail to acknowledge the implications of the gospel on our doctrine of creation. I don’t mean that the gospel should impact our view of how God created or that God created or when God created. Rather, I mean that we sometimes forget that the gospel impacts all of theology, including—perhaps especially including—how we view creation.
Jesus Christ makes all things new. This applies not only to the personal implications of a life surrendered to his lordship but also to how we understand and relate to the theology of creation today. First, redemption rests on creation. If there is no creation, there is no redemption. The statement sounds silly, but it’s nonetheless true. It’s true first of all because, of course, Yahweh had to create in order to redeem. There can be no new heavens and new earth if there’s no old heavens and old earth. If there’s no one for whom to die, then of course Christ doesn’t die. But it’s also true because Yahweh’s power to create is the same power to redeem.
Do you ever wonder if God is faithful to save those who call upon his name in faith? You only have to look out your window (or maybe walk through park if you live in an urban area) to see he’s powerful to save. That tree and that grass and that flower and that bird and that squirrel—Yahweh created those. Their presence in this world declares God’s faithfulness and goodness toward us, the crowning of his work in creation.1
Creation affirms that God is powerful enough to enact the gospel.2 We may think for a moment that maybe God can’t forgive us, that maybe our sins are too great, or we’re just out of his reach. We may think—if only briefly—that the grip of sin or the world or the old man is too great for God to overcome. If we think such thoughts, we only have to observe the mountains, the rivers, the seas to know our doubts are unfounded. These most powerful things in the world—waves that engulf, rivers that run wild, mountains that tower above us—God created them. He’s more powerful than the sturdiest mountain, the wildest sea, the fastest river. When we look around and behold the world’s natural wonders, we can know that God is more powerful than them because God created them. And if he’s more powerful than the strongest created things, then surely he’s powerful enough to save us frail humans.
Creation makes us without excuse. With Paul in Romans we can look at creation and affirm that “his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made” (Rom 1:20 ESV). And because of that we, like Paul says, are without excuse. So creation does three things (and probably a lot more): it quells our doubts if we wonder about God’s faithfulness; it denies our concern that God is not powerful enough to rescue us; and it makes us all without excuse on that day.
Analysis of Genesis 1:1—2:4
Genesis 1–2 contains two accounts of creation. The first (1:1—2:4) broadly overviews Yahweh’s creative activity in first six days (seven if we count the first Sabbath). The second (2:5–25) narrows its focus to the jewel of Yahweh’s creation: man and woman. These two accounts have much to say about Yahweh, his character, his creation, humans, and human purpose.
A Few Important Differences
The Bible opens with the simple statement that “in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”3 This is most certainly a faith statement, a polemical stance taken against the “gods” of Israel’s neighbors.4 Other ancient Near Eastern cultures had their own creation stories, stories that narrated the beginning quite a bit differently.5 First, our creation account has only one protagonist: God himself. There’s no other god Yahweh must battle. He goes about his creative work alone. That the Bible does not even mention rival gods highlights the fact that God has no rivals. He is a singular God, the only God who creates, the only God in existence.
Second, creation doesn’t result from a battle between God and his enemies. Verse 2 paints a dim picture of universe before Yahweh sets things in order—it’s formless, void, and dark—but there’s not even a hint at a cosmological struggle between Yahweh and the waters or chaos or any other god.6 Other ancient Near Eastern creation stories, such as Enuma Elish, portray the epic struggle to create vividly, with one god winning out over others and ascending to the top of the pantheon. In Yahweh’s case, though, there is no such struggle because there are no rival gods to fight.7
A Crucial Similarity
One key similarity exists between the Genesis creation account and the other ancient Near Eastern creation accounts: all of the texts presuppose the existence of deity. Those in the ancient Near
