I know that many of new-and even old-Bible readers believe the most difficult books of the Bible are those of Leviticus, Ezekiel and Revelation. However, after nearly 20 years of studying the Scriptures, I am beginning to wonder whether the first two chapters of Genesis –and especially the first- are not the most mysterious and difficult passages. Yet they are so important for a proper understanding of the Creation, the world, the existence of man, nature, work and above all, God.
Unlike my previous postings, I will engage myself in a different exercise this time: I call it the art of inquisitive reading. Through a series of ‘inquisitive’ questions, I will demonstrate why Genesis 1 is not as obvious as one might think at first reading,while showing how to find pearls and diamonds in the depths of the Word of God as well.
According to the Merriam-Webster and the Wiktionary,the word inquisitive means “given to examination or investigation, eager to acquire knowledge”.
Gen 1:1-11, 13-19, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. 6 And God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters." 7 And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. 9 And God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11 And God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth." And it was so… 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. 14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so.16 And God made the two great lights--the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night--and the stars. 17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.”
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth: In the beginning of what? He created the heavens; so there is a Heaven (vs 8) and then the Heavens?
Darkness was over the face of the deep: What deep? Where is it from? Was it there before heavens and earth were created, i.e. before the beginning? If so, it boils down to wondering what beginning is mentionned here? And where is the darkness coming from? Was it created ? If so, when and why?
The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters... Waters? What waters? Where are they from? Were they there before the famous beginning?
"Let there be light." What kind of light is it? For it is obvious that we are not talking about the sun or moon that would only be created on the 4th day (vs 16).
God separated the light from the darkness... Does this mean that after the appearance of light and before this separation, darkness and light were a single entity?
God called the light (which was before the sun was) Day, and the darkness (that was over the face of the deep before the moon was, and that had been separated from the light) He called Night. Is it possible then, that 'in the beginning', day and night had nothing to do with what we call day and night today? Do we see the possible repercussions on the real age of the Earth? What then represents or corresponds to this first day?
Let’s go a little further to verses 14 and following; not that the other verses speak for themselves and need no questions or comments, but in order to avoid being too long.
God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. …17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. To give light on the earth??? Does this mean that the initial light did not light? Why would the earth still need to be lightened when the first thing that was, was light? Moreover, I thought He had already separated the light from the darkness and the day from the night since the first day; so, what are we talking about here?
God made the two great lights--the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night… What then, was ruling the day before? What kind of light and day was it then? What then, had been ruling the night since the first day? What kind of night and darkness was it so far? Have there been two episodes of separation? A first one between the initial, primary or even 'primordial' light and the 'original' darkness that were over the face of the deep; and a second one between the secondary light (solar) and the secondary darkness (from the ‘absence’ of sun)?
Finally, it is written that: God set them in the expanse of the heavens (vs. 17). That is to say that He set the sun, the moon and the stars in the firmament created on the second day to separate the waters (above it) from the waters (under it); isn’t it? It is also stated that it was to give light to the earth and to be signs for times and seasons, still on earth. Can we therefore conclude that above the Heaven, the sky, –i.e. in the waters above- there is no light? And that the heavens need neither sun nor moon, nor stars, nor counter of periods and years?
I could have gone on and on, but it was not necessary: you can do it yourselves. I do hope however that in trying to answer these questions, you have realized that these few verses of the Book of Genesis are far more profound that they appear to be. The Bible is infinitely rich, it contains inexhaustible treasures that are within the grasp of who really wants to find them: It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out. (Prov 25:2) Are you a king?
If you read the Scriptures in this way, paying attention to every sentence and every word (because none of them is there by chance), prayerfully asking the right questions and thirsting to understand the mysteries of the Law, you will soon realize that your inquisitive reading will quickly become interactive; meaning that you will no longer be only hearing the sound of your own questions in your mind, you will also be hearing the answers that the Spirit of God will communicate to your spirit. And, is that not the goal?
“Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.” Ps 119.18
Have a wonderblessed week,
Peace!
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