Too often Genesis 1 is used mistakenly to explain the material origins of our universe and world. This results in perceptions of conflict between science and the Bible. But, we need to remember that the Bible is not a book of science, but a book of meaning, particularly the meaning of our lives in light of God’s purposes and relationship to us. To get at the meaning of any biblical text, we need to read it in its original context.
In Understanding Genesis with John Walton, Old Testament scholar John Walton explains the ancient near Eastern context of Genesis 1. In the first creation story, God rests on the 7th day. An ancient listener would have understood that gods rest only in temples, so this is a temple text. Our ancient ancestors saw the temple as the place from where God presided over the cosmos. When God “rested” in the temple, it was “to settle down to the work now that everything was setup and ready to go.” And temples were considered sacred spaces. In sum, Genesis 1 tells us that God established our world as a temple, a sacred place where God would dwell.
In this view, Genesis 1 invites us to renew our sense of wonder and look with fresh perspective at the world around us. Our surroundings aren’t just the backdrop for our lives. The natural order has been ordained by the Author of Life for relationship. We live, and breath, and move in a sacred space that from the beginning was intended as the place we would encounter God with us. Today as we go forth into the world, may we see the sacredness that is all around us!
Photo credit: Ziggurat at Ur—this work has been released into the public domain by its author, Tia2006 at English Wikipedia.
