“Genesis” means beginning and indeed this book records the beginning of the creation of the universe, of the earth, of humanity and of a nation called Israel from whom would descend a promised Messiah to redeem all that was lost and broken by sin.
In chapter one, God is exclusively called Elohim, the Creator God. Unlike the many other near eastern creation stories, Elohim does not need to war with other gods; he alone is God and there is no other (1 Sam. 2:2). He needs no pre-existent matter from which to form the world, rather he merely speaks and his words pregnant with inexhaustible power give birth to reality. The Creator and his creation remain ever distinct from one another, the former alone worthy of worship, the latter a witness to his glory. Elohim in Genesis 1 is the very source for the first three of the 10 Commandments and the foundation for the rest (Ex. 20).
Starting in 2:4 and for the rest of the chapter, another name is added, Yahweh-Elohim. In doing so, the author moves us from the all-powerful, all-knowing, distant God of time and space, to a personal, intimate, covenant keeping God who, in the words of that great old hymn, “walks with me, and he talks with me, and tells me I am his own” (In The Garden). Those lyrics were written “in a cold, dreary and leaky basement in Pitman, New Jersey that didn’t even have a window in it let alone a view of a garden,” says the hymn writer’s great-granddaughter. This reminds us that we do not have to go far to commune with God.
O Yahweh my God, may I ignore my present circumstances and visit you this day by entering through the gate of prayer and laying down in the garden of your Word.
