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Genesis study 1 - 1:1-2:3

Introduction
We start life with lots of ‘why’ questions as we try to make sense of our world. The ancient world contained a number of stories to answer their ‘why’ questions. It is in the context of these stories that Genesis was written.

The opening chapters of Genesis aim to tell us about God and how he relates to his world so that we will respond to him appropriately and live in a way that pleases him, and not be confused by other explanations. These chapters don’t deal with every issue or possible question. They have been constructed in pictorial language to convey key truths and overcome key errors about God, the world and humanity. Just as they taught the ancient people of God in their world, so too they can address us in an amazingly relevant way in the late 20th century.

Optional: read/glance through the summary of the Babylonian creation myth at the end of this study. What does this creation myth tell us about the gods, creation and humanity?

Setting the stage
What stories/explanations/theories circulate in our world about the world’s origins, the role of God and humanity’s place in the world?

Read Genesis 1:1-2:3

Looking at the content of Genesis 1:1-2:3

1. Most people take verse 1 as a summary statement of the chapter. Verse 2 is therefore the starting point. What was the earth like?

2. Make a small chart to outline the 6 days of creation. Fill it in gradually as you and/or the group discovers the content. If it is drawn up as seen in the notes section below, the correspondence of the days should become evident.

3. By repeating words or phrases, an author can highlight certain ideas. What repetitions do you notice in the chapter and what is being highlighted by them?

4. What does the chapter tell us about humankind? Note the relationship to God, to each other, to the world.

5. What is communicated in the concept of ‘rest’ (2:1-3)?

Drawing together some conclusions and applications

6. What key truths have been communicated to you in this chapter? Do any of these truths counter the beliefs of our world (refer to those raised at the beginning of the study)?

   Some examples of beliefs held in our world would be:

   • everything came about by chance
   • sun, moon, stars determine a person’s destiny
   • God is in everything, not apart from everything --> worship of nature, Mother Earth.
   • men are to be in dominion, not women
   • only the spiritual realm is good - true spirituality rises above the physical world
   • what you see is all there is

   Also a frequent Christian error: creativity and enjoying creation is not really important, because it doesn’t ‘advance the gospel’ or achieve anything.

7. In response to the truths of this chapter, is there a change in your outlook you would like to work on?

Action
Perhaps as part of prayer, you and/or each person in the group could thank God for some aspect of creation that amazes him or her.

» Go to Genesis Study 2

Notes for this study
From looking at the summary of the Babylonian creation myth, Some observations:

1. thought of gods like humans, so needed a male and female god for creation.
2. the gods had human needs
3. the gods had selfish motives
4. creating humanity was an afterthought.

2. When comparing what happens on each day, you will note:

• days 1-3 deal with formlessness
• days 4-6 deal with filling.

4. Some background: ‘in his image’ - there has been a lot of debate through the centuries on this phrase. From the text, it could refer to our capacity to relate to God and our dominion over creation, under the sovereign rule of God. In the ancient world, a conquering king would set up an ‘image’ of himself in another land to indicate his dominion over it.)

5. Some background: at the 7th day, creation reaches its goal. God’s rest is the rest of achievement, not inactivity. The day is blessed ---> creation is intended to share in its benefits. Christian commentary - Hebrews 4 - we who believe enter that rest.

Summary of the Babylonian creation myth - Enuma Elish
The myth was written to show how Marduk became the chief god of Babylon. The myth was used for magical recitation to influence natural events. The complete script of the myth takes about 12 pages of small type. It is available if you would like to see it. However, to get a feel for their thoughts, the following is a summary:

In the beginning there were two gods, Apsu and Tiamat, who represented the fresh waters (male) and marine water (female). They cohabited and produced a second generation of divine beings. Soon Apsu was suffering from insomnia because the young deities were making so much noise; he just could not get to sleep. He wanted to kill the noisy upstarts, despite the protests of his spouse, Tiamat. But before he managed to do that, Ea, the god of wisdom and magic, put Apsu to sheep under a magic spell and killed him.

Not to be outdone, wife Tiamat, plotted revenge on her husband’s killer and those who aided the killing. Her first move was to take a second husband, whose name was Kingu.Then she raise an army for her retaliation plans.

At this point the gods appealed to the god Marduk to save them. He happily accepted the challenge, on the condition that if he was victorious over Tiamat, they would make him chief of all gods.

The confrontation between Tiamat and Marduk ended in a blazing victory for Marduk. He captured Tiamat’s followers and made them his slaves. then he cut the corpse of Tiamat in half, creating heaven from one half of it and the earth from the other half. he ordered the earlier supporters of Tiamat to take care of the world.

Shortly thereafter, Marduk conceived another plan. he had Kingu killed and arranged for Ea to make man out of his blood. In the worlds of the story, man’s lot is to be ‘burdened with the toil of the gods.’ To demonstrate their gratitude to Marduk, the gods then helped him to build the great city of Babylon and its imposing temple.

(From: Genesis, Navpress, 1987.)

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