Creation

      

     This week's Sabbath reading portion is titled B'reishit, meaning "In the beginning", and brings us back to the beginning of Scripture, back to the beginning of everything. B'reishit is also the Hebrew name for the Book that we call "Genesis", and comes from the word resit/ros, meaning "first, beginning, firstfruits, chief/head, top, total, sum, front, beginning, highest and supreme, multitude". Genesis is the Greek word meaning "to be born, origin, source, establish, all events established".

     The word "created" from Gen. 1:1 is the Hebrew word bara meaning "to create [always with God as the subject], creator, choose, make, produce, shape, fashion, cut down, carve out, beget, separating, to feed".

     As we can see from the word meanings above, the Creator cannot be separated from the creation, and so we have in Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning, God (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) created the heavens and the earth." As we know from the Genesis account, all of the separate parts of the creation began as the spoken word out of God's mouth, the first thing created being light: "Then God said, 'Let there be light', and there was light." (Gen. 1:3).

     In John 1:1, we read a parallel but more revealing view of creation: "In the beginning (arche/archomai/archo - beginning, origin, first person or thing in a series, the leader, the first place, principality, rule, the extremity of a thing/to begin, the first to do, leader, ruler, designate office of dignity/to be chief, to lead, to rule, to be first in rank or power) was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made." (Jn. 1:1-3). "The Word" used here is the spoken word, logos, and is identified later as Jesus: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (Jn. 1:14). The Greek meaning of the very word "beginning" must include with it a leader, ruler, highest power. "The beginning" also includes the idea of "the extremity of a thing". The beginning must be followed by a continuation of a thing all the way to the end or outermost extended part, no matter how distant that end might be. For instance, the creation continues or perpetuates through many generations from a beginning point. The flower we see today is the result of generations of flowers and seeds. The people that live today came from a long line of generations that had a physical beginning point in Adam and then Noah. The Jewish people have the concept of the creation as being a "cosmic womb" or a perpetual or eternal pregnancy. God placed this perpetual cycle of birth and renewal within the characteristics of His creation. We will see that creation was not just a special one-time event that happened long ago.

     The LORD demanded in His Word that we know this: "Remember this, and show yourselves men; Recall to mind, O you transgressors. Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure,' ... Indeed I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it." (Isa. 46:8-11).

     In one of our reading portions for this Sabbath, Job, a godly man who ministered to his community, from those in the highest ranks to those most humble, in an almost Christ-like manner (see Job 29), forgot the above wisdom in his troubles, and God rebuked him: "Then the LORD answered (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Job out of the whirlwind, and said, 'Who is this who darkens (hasak - darken, grow dim, be hidden, conceal, confuse) counsel (esa/ya'as - counsel, purpose, advisement, prudence, wisdom/devise, plan, guide, purpose, give counsel, minister of a king) by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding."" (Job 38:1-4). The LORD then continued through several chapters to question Job's neglect of the knowledge of God's sovereignty and omnipotence as revealed in the secrets of His creation. The nature of God and creation has a necessary wisdom to teach us.

     What had Job said that caused God to speak to him in such a way out of the whirlwind? In Job 3, we read: "After this Job opened his (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) mouth and cursed the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) day of his birth. And Job spoke and said, 'May the day perish on which I was born, and the night in which it was said, 'A male child is conceived.' May that day be darkness; May God above not seek it, nor the light shine upon it. May darkness and the shadow of death claim it; may a cloud settle on it; may the blackness of the day terrify it. As for that night, may darkness seize it; may it not rejoice among the days of the year, may it not come into the number of the months...because it did not shut up the doors of my mother's womb..." (Job 3:1-6, 10). Did Job think that the beginning of his life was in his own hands or the hands of any man? Did he not know that the LORD had ordained his birth from the foundation of the world? As we start our Sabbath readings from the beginning, I think that this is the serious warning and message for us as well this year. Have we, with our words and deeds, "darkened counsel", or caused the supreme wisdom and omnipotence of God to be hidden from sight and forgotten? The LORD may well make demands of us to give an account, as He did with His servant, Job.

     After the LORD gave Job a thorough dressing down concerning his failure to see the sovereignty of God in His continuing manifestation of the purpose of His creation, Job says to the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) LORD: "I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. You asked, 'Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know....I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." (Job. 42:2-6, excerpt). One purpose of the omnipotence of God in the creation is that our eyes may "see" Him in revelation understanding. Do we have eyes to see it?

     After God restored Job, he lived one hundred and forty years longer and went on to have seven sons and three daughters. The three daughters were the only children named in scripture and were so excellent that they were given an inheritance among Job's (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) sons. The daughters' names are translated: "Day of the Dove", "The fragrance of incense", and the "Glistening setting of precious gems (ref. Isa. 54:11)". It is as if Job's daughters were a prophetic picture of the Bride of Christ. This anointed generation and those that followed, were hidden within Job's life, which he had wrongfully cursed. With his repentance, this (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) generation was able to manifest as God intended from the beginning.

     We, as believers in Christ and heirs of salvation, were "seen" by God from the beginning: "...just as He (God and Father) chose (see bara, "created", above) us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved (agapao - to welcome, to love dearly, to have a preference for, to wish well to, affectionate reverence, unique proof of love such as Christ washing the feet of His disciples)." (Eph. 1:4-6). We were in the knowledge and choice of God from the beginning, and each of us manifested physically at the appointed time here within the creation because of that ancient choice. We have a tremendous responsibility as holders of this almost overwhelming knowledge that our Creator has entrusted to us, but are we sidetracked like Job from this truth by the cares, distractions and desires of life? Jesus warned us against this danger that is so easy to fall into. (see Mk. 4:18-20, Lk. 21:34-35). 

     The creation of man was a very personal work for the LORD. (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Man was created in God's image and likeness (Gen. 1:26-28) and became a living soul by the breath of God (Gen. 2:7). Like the rest of creation, continuity was contained within (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) man, being fruitful and multiplying, generation, after generation: "Then God saw (ra'a - behold, appear, foresee, visions, observe, discern) everything (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them were finished (kala - accomplished, end, done, fulfill, to be determined in thought, plotted, come to an end, make an end, bring to pass, completed, perish, vanish)." (Gen. 1:31, 2:1). As He considered His creation, God saw everything that was contained within it, including future generations, and even the end or accomplished purpose of that creation from its beginning. The generations would bring forth the Messiah/Christ, who is the Aleph-Tav/Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, and all of creation would be redeemed and made into a new thing.

     From another reading portion from the B'reishit Sabbath, David considered his own creation which was before he was even formed in his mother's womb: "My frame was not hidden from you, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw (ra'a - see above) my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!" (Ps. 139:15-17). 

     This knowledge that God foresaw and knew everything concerning David's life, even before he was physically formed, was so overwhelming to David that he said: "Such knowledge is too wonderful (pil'i, pil'i - double wonderful, incomprehensible, extraordinary, secret, supernatural, marvelous, difficult thing beyond one's power) for me; It is high (sagab - inaccessible, high, exalted), I cannot attain it." (v. 6). This knowledge should change us also and have a profound effect upon us every day of our lives. This is our God and Creator. Are we seeing His greatness in this? He saw you and me and knew everything about us and ordered our days before the foundation of the earth was established.

     All of the things spoken by God in the creation became submitted to the measure of time when the lights in the firmament of heaven were created on the fourth day "to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons (mo'ed/ya'ad - appointed, time, days, congregation, feast, a fixed time or season, a point of time, a set time/betrothed), and for days (yom - day, time, daily, continually, full, always) and years (sana - division or measure of time, an age, a lifetime, a year, transformation, transmutation)...and to divide the light from the darkness." (Gen. 1:14-19). John Ch. 1 tells us that the darkness will never be able to overcome or conquer the light.

     Ecclesiastes, traditionally understood to have been written by King Solomon, says this: "To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven." And again he says: "...for every matter there is a time and judgment, though the misery of man increases greatly." (Eccl. 3:1 and 8:6). The prophecy of creation manifests at appointed times. All things have already been appointed in time from within the initial creation.

     Jesus came to Galilee to preach the Gospel, saying, "The time (kairos - measure of time, the right time, limited period of time, a fixed or definite time, season) is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel." (Mk. 1:14-15).

     There was an appointed time for Christ to die: "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly." (Rom. 5:6). However, Peter wrote of the order of Christ's death within the Creation: "...knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things...but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was fore-ordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifested in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God." (1 Pet. 1:18-21). The death of Christ is found in the pictographic Hebrew letters composing the words that open Genesis Ch. 1. Then, at the appointed time, it became manifested. All that we see and exists from the beginning, through the middle and to the end, was established within the initial creation, to be manifested at the proper time.

   Paul wrote: "Even so we...were in bondage under the elements of the world. But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman...that we might receive adoption as sons." (Gal. 4:3-5). The creation held that prophecy (Gen. 3:13-15).

     According to His will and good pleasure, God "purposed in Himself that in the disposition of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth - in Him." (Eph. 1:9-10). This is a mystery which God wanted to make known to us. It is Who He is. Can our eyes see Him?

     Paul wrote this instruction to the church: "See that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the LORD is." (Eph. 5:15-17).  How do we view these times in a way that redeems them from evil? We can view them from the creation as God saw it and expected it to manifest at the perfect time according to His spoken will in Genesis 1. As we saw above, "God saw everything that He made, and indeed it was very good." Paul said in the context of these verses from Ephesians that we are to be speaking in psalms and spiritual songs to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God. (v. 19-21). The world curses the day, and the One who made it, but we are not of the world. 

     In another of this Sabbath's reading portions, the LORD identified Himself to His prophet in terms of the creation. He said to Isaiah: "Thus says God the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk on it:" (Isa. 42:5, see also Isa. 44:24). The prophecy that followed the above concerned a picture of His Messiah/Christ. The creation is prophetic and the source (genesis) of prophetic events manifesting as declared from the beginning by God. Notice how God speaks in the present tense of His acts of creation? It is not an event to be consigned to the past.

     Another prophet, Zechariah, wrote what the LORD said to him: "Thus says the LORD who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him:" (Zech. 12:1). What follows this reference to creation is a prophecy about the troubles that will surround Jerusalem "in that day", a phrase repeated seventeen times throughout the prophetic Word delivered to Zechariah, and the revealing of their Messiah/Christ to Jerusalem and the house of David. The LORD was announcing something established within His work of creation into the appointed time of its manifestation "in that day".

     Perhaps one reason that the seventh (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) day became a sanctified day of rest (sabat - rest, celebrate, desist from exertion, to sit down, be completed) for the LORD (Gen. 2:1-3) is because all of His work was not only ended (kala - end, finish, accomplish, fulfill, be fulfilled, bring to pass), but was fulfilled in His sight, and just waited upon the fullness of the appointed time to manifest itself. He had full confidence that His creative Word would continue bearing fruit, and accomplishing His perfect will for all time (see Isa. 55:11). Paul wrote that all things are made manifest by light (Eph. 5:13), and light was the first thing spoken by the living Word (Jesus) of God in Genesis 1. We are called to be the light of the world. Understanding this becomes the place of our rest as well.

     No wonder, then, that nothing has been so undermined and attacked in modern times as the idea that there was a creation fashioned by the Creator, including the creation of man by God, with the world preferring to believe instead convoluted "theories" of godless happenstance. This dead, faithless, powerless secular religion is being systematically taught to our children. We need to speak the wonderful and high truth to our children so that they also may be able to "see God with their eyes".

     If you would like to know more about the continuing manifestation of God's creation, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father and Creator, by Your Word Jesus, You spoke creation and it manifested and continues to manifest generation by generation. Help me to understand by Your Holy Spirit how to change my thinking to incorporate this knowledge that is high, this knowledge of how Your creation continues to bring Your will into manifestation at the proper time. Help me to walk and speak circumspectly each day, so that I am not in opposition to Your spoken will and the manifestation of it for that day. I ask this in the name of Jesus. AMEN."

      *NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The meaning of the two pictographic Hebrew letters can also be interpreted "Adonai (Lord) of the Cross/Covenant". In the New Testament, these letters are translated as Alpha and Omega written as Α Ω , the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These letters are those by which Jesus Christ identifies Himself in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13.