Drulogion's Hexameron - Wrap Up

Our series on the first creation account (Gen 1:1-2:3) has come to its close. Here's a list of the links for each installment in the series:

___The First Day
___The First Day
___The Third Day
___The Fourth Day
___The Fifth Day
___The Sixth Day
___The Seventh Day

Here's the seven theses around which each installment was structured:

1. God speaks light so that we may know.
2. God separates the waters so that we may live.
3. God names the dry ground "land" so that we may be bear fruit.
4. God sees the goodness of the signs of time so that there may be order.
5. God blesses the great creatures of the sea so that we may have courage.
6. God addresses humans so that we may enjoy and serve him and his creation.
7. God sanctifies the seventh day so that we may rest.

Here's the modes of divine action highlighted each week,
also known as answers to the question: How does God create?

1. Speaking
2. Separating
3. Naming
4. Seeing
5. Blessing
6. Addressing
7. Sanctifying

Here's a list of things God creates on each day,
a.k.a., answers to the question: What does God create?

1. Light
2. Firmament b/w Waters
3. Land
4. The Signs of Time
5. Great Sea-Creatures
6. Humans
7. Sabbath

Here's a list of the significance identified for each of God's creative works,
a.k.a., answers to the question: Why does God create?

1. Knowledge
2. Life
3. Fruitfulness
4. Order
5. Courage
6. Service & Enjoyment
7. Rest

Any thoughts?
Do you see any overall patterns in this treatment?
Are there any themes you think have been missed?
Any outstanding questions that need to be addressed?
Do you have any suggested reading for further study?
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Drulogion's Hexameron - The Seventh Day

This week we come to the end of our series on the first creation story in Genesis. Although it was later placed at the head of a new chapter, the seventh day is not the beginning of the second creation story but the conclusion of the first. This mistake was understandable, for the work of creation was completed on the sixth day. But it is still a mistake, for the first creation story comes to its conclusion on the seventh day. In creating, God not only works. God also rests. And, as we shall see, even in resting God creates. Even as God ceases from his creative work, God does not cease being the creator. In order to flesh this out, let's take get the text in front of us and put to it our usual questions of how, what and why.

2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

How does God create?
God sanctifies.

On the seventh day, God ceases his creative work. God rests. This ceasing is not only meaningful in itself, but also says something in relation to what came before. God ceases his creative work because it is finished. Looking back over the work of the six days in all their vast array, God sees it is not only good but very good and so deems it appropriate to stop. So the ceasing on the seventh day tells us that the sixth day was the final day of the work of creation. God's creative work has reached its apex. God's creation is complete.

And so, God rests. Resting is the first intransitive verb to appear in the first creation story. Speaking, separating, naming, seeing, blessing, and addressing are all transitive verbs -- they ask for objects. They are all done to something or someone. But resting is not done to anything or anyone. One simply rests. "God rests," is a complete sentence. On the seventh day, God does something for himself. He rests.

But resting is not the only new verb that appears on the seventh day. On the seventh day, God also sanctifies. And unlike resting, sanctifying is transitive. So even as God ceases his creative work, he still manages to create something by doing nothing. God ceases his creative work in order to sanctify the seventh day. By resting on the seventh day, God sets aside the seventh day as a special, different kind of day. It cannot be simply numbered among the first six days or coordinated within its complex parallelism. The seventh day is in a class of its own. It has been set apart, and set apart for God's use, to be his day of rest on which he does not make anything new but simply is the creator. And by simply being the creator at rest on the seventh day, this day is sanctified.

What does God create?
God sanctifies the seventh day.

God sanctifies seventh day among the others. He sets this one apart for himself. The seventh day is his. And so from the beginning the practice of sabbath is instituted. Even at the moment of creation God already has in mind his covenant with his people. Now this word "sabbath" can easily carry too much freight. We must be reminded from time to time that "sabbath" is simply the Hebrew word "to cease" and that it is closely related to "shabbat" which means "seventh." The shabbat is the seventh day of the week, "Saturday" in the Roman calendar with which we are more familiar. And to sabbath on the shabbat is to cease, to remove oneself of one's work for one day. And as God ceases his work, the creation commences its most proper work: the praise of God. The sabbath is a day of worship. On the first sabbath, God receives the praise of his completed creation. On the first sabbath, God is the basis of the trust of his sustained creation. On the first sabbath, God is the source of hope for consummated creation. The sabbath was made by God for God.

Why does God create?
God sanctifies the seventh day so that we too may rest.

But God not only sanctified the seventh day for himself, but also for us. The sabbath is not only a day of worship, but also a day of rest. As Jesus puts it, "Man was not made for the sabbath, but the sabbath for man." The incorporation of the sabbath tradition within the creation story could be read as a priestly legitimizing move, claiming that sabbath regulations are a part of the created order. But the incorporation of the sabbath into the creation story could also be read as a prophetic relativizing move, placing the sabbath regulations under a more basic creative intention. Both readings are plausible, and perhaps can be reconciled as the "foreshadow" and "foundation" of sabbath law. However it is read, God's sanctification of the seventh day from the beginning of creation must not be viewed as a burden but as a gift. God not only rests but invites us to rest with him. During our week we may work under God or even for God, but on the seventh day we rest with God. It is a day for communion with him. We join him in ceasing from our work. We can take it further and say that we rest in God. We not only commune with him but participate in him. We depend on him as the creator who sustains us. Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in God. We can take it even further and say that we rest like God. In some sense, we are the most like God when we rest. God rests; we rest. And so God's sanctification of the seventh day leads to God's sanctification of us, for to be sanctified to be made like him.

How does this happen? The short answer: in Christ. On the first day of the week, God raised Jesus from the dead. In Christ, we have died and our life is hid with Christ in God. In Christ all God's children find their rest. Like him we too will be raised. On the day of the Lord, when Jesus will be revealed, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he truly is. Then we will rest with, in and like God. We will enter God's rest. As we worship on the first day of the week and rest on the seventh day, we have a foretaste of the eight day of creation, when all things will be made new and all God's children will find their rest in him.
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Drulogion's Hexameron - The Sixth Day

We now turn to the sixth day within our series on the first creation account in Genesis. On this day the "work" of creation comes to its conclusion (hence the traditional title Hexameron or "six days"). However, the creation story is not yet concluded because there remains a seventh day on which no "work" is performed and yet the story continues with an arrow pointing toward the future. We'll discuss the unique seventh day next week. But this week we will address the rather lengthy sixth day.

24 And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, [b] and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so.

31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

Now there's a ton going on here. We can't discuss everything, but a preliminary observation is in order. Following the parallel structure of the creation story, the parallel between the sixth and the third day must be noted. On the third day, God acts twice. This double action is signaled by the double mention of God speaking ("Let there be...") and God seeing ("And God saw that it was good"). First, he creates the land by gathering the seas with his word. Second, he calls forth plants from the land. On the sixth day, God again acts twice. The pattern of double speaking and double seeing recurs. First, he calls forth land creatures from the earth. Second, he creates human beings in his own image.

This not only creates an aesthetically pleasing parallel, but also makes an important material point concerning the differentiated unity of animals and humans. On the one hand, humans and animals are united. Human beings are members of the animal kingdom. They are among the land animals created on the sixth day. This unity must be remembered in the face of any 'spiritualistic' tendency to rip human life out of its created ecological context. On the other hand, humans and animals are distinct. Human beings are in a class of their own. They are created as a second step on the sixth day, and in the image of God to boot! This distinction must be remembered in the face of any 'naturalistic' tendency to reduce human life to its biological properties.

But what does it mean for human beings to be unique? What does it mean that God has created them in his image? Putting our usual questions to this passage to draw out themes may help to begin answering this question.

How does God create?
God addresses.

First, let's not a unique twist on an old theme that takes place on the sixth day. In this series there has been a lot of talk about talk. That God creates by speaking what the first theme identified in this series. That God names what he creates was the third. That God blesses what he creates was the fifth. The God who creates is a talkative God. He is talkative prior to the creation of humans. But, God talks with humans in a unique way. When God speaks to the creatures of the sea and air on the fifth day, only one verb appears in the original ("God blessed them"), followed by a quotation that constitutes the spoken content of the blessing. But when God speaks to humanity on the sixth day, two verbs appear: "God blessed them and said to them." God does not simply talk at us, but talks with us. He expects a verbal response from us -- something which God does not demand from the rest of his creation (though he can call it forth if he so chooses, cf. Balaam's donkey and Jesus' rocks that would out if we did not). God initiates a conversation with us. This conversation comes to the forefront in the second creation story (Genesis 2) and continues throughout the Bible as its central story line. But God's initiating moment in this conversation, the moment of address, appears on the sixth day of creation. God addresses the creature whom he has made in his image.

What does God create?
God addresses humans.

Of course, we have already been talking about what God creates when we talk about God addressing humans. And perhaps the most important thing that could be said about humans is that God addresses us. But that is not the only thing we can say about humans, for the narrative of the sixth day goes on to say a little bit about the humans which God creates. It does so by interjecting a little poem:

So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.

From this little poem we can glimpse at least a bit of what it means to be created in the image of God. There are lots of theories floating around, both old and new, concerning the content of the image of God. Variety rightly rules the day, because there is not a lot to go on from this pithy little poem. Perhaps some other time I will discuss these options. But at this point we can assert that there is at least one thing that must be part of any account of the image of God: sexual differentiation. In closest possible proximity to the soaring statement that we are created in the image of God is the carnal claim that we are created male and female. Too much can be made of this divinely-willed distinction. But too little can also be made of it. The crucial thing is to recognize is that the story of humanity as the creature addressed by God begins not with a solitary individual but a differentiated community of persons. Note that the first time God says something is "not good" in his creation is the aloneness of Adam prior to the creation of Eve (Gen 2:18). The conversation God initiates with the human community has as its corollary (image?) the conversation within the human community. As God addresses us, so we address one another.

Why does God create?
God addresses humans so that we may enjoy and serve him and his creation.

God addresses humans with both command and promise. He begins his address to us with the imperative verbs of v. 28: "be fruitful," "fill," "rule." Then he shifts to the gift-talk of v. 29-30: "I give you." Yet these commands and promises cannot be separated from each other, for they are nearly identical in content (befitting the style of Hebrew parallelism). So the command is the promise and the promise is the command. We could say that God gives promissory commands that are also commanding promises. God simultaneously blesses us with possibilities and charges us with necessities. Similar to the creatures of the air and sea, we are called to be fruitful and multiply (v. 28a). God blesses us with the possibility and charges us with the necessity of reproduction. Unlike the other animals, we are called to "subdue" the earth (v. 28) while along with the other animals we are given plants and their fruit for food (v. 29-30). God blesses us with the possibility and charges us with the necessity of horticulture. Unlike the other animals, yet similar to the luminaries who govern day and night, we are called to "rule over" the animal kingdom (v. 28b). God blesses us with the possibility and charges us with the necessity of husbandry. In all these spheres, God calls us to the task of serving creation while at the same gives us the gift of enjoying creation. Within this interplay of gift and task, we are reminded again that human beings are both united to and distinct from the rest of creation. Humanity is both the apex of creation and also its weakest, most dependent member. As such it is addressed by God. God addresses humans so that we may serve and enjoy his creation.

Within the command and promise to serve and enjoy God's creation is prefigured our service to and enjoyment of God himself. This covenantal response is not yet narrated in the first creation story. We must wait for the shift in perspective that comes with the second creation story to see the initial unfolding of the back-and-forth conversation between God and humanity. But God initiates this conversation on the sixth day of creation. God addresses humanity as a creature who may respond not only by fulfilling her God-given role as other creatures do, but also by talking with God as the one creature made in his image. These are two responses are not absolutely distinct but intimately related, for we talk with God about the fulfillment of our role within creation. When the rest of creation fails to perform its God-given task, it is simply dealt with by the orderly system of nature. But when we fail to perform our God-given task (which we do far more often than the rest of creation), God addresses us. God in his justice calls us to task, and God in his grace gives us the time to perform it. In the conversation that ensues, we come to serve and enjoy God himself. God addresses humans so that we may serve and enjoy him as well as serve and enjoy his creation.

Any thoughts?

• Do you buy the claim that God speaks to humanity in a different manner than the rest of creation? Does the language of "address" adequately describe this difference?
• Is the 'communal' reading of the image of God I have presented here work? Does it fit with the theme of 'address' in the way I propose?
• Do command and promise interweave in the way I suggest? If not, how would you speak of their relation?
• What are some other exegetical details (parallels, patterns, themes) that you notice?

Next Week: The Seventh Day (a.k.a., the last installment in this series)
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Drulogion's Hexameron - The Fifth Day

We now turn to the fifth day in our series on the first creation account in Genesis.

[20] And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." [21] So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. [22] God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." [23] And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

As with all the latter days in the creation story, parallels must be noted with the former days. The parallel here is quite straightforward: the waters and skies that God separated on the second day are populated by the fish and birds that God creates on the fifth day. On the second day God creates the setting; on the fifth day God creates the characters. Let's ask how God creates and engages with these characters in order to ascertain the good news of the fifth day of creation.



How does God create?

God blesses.



A new theme is introduced on the fifth day. For the first time, God blesses what he creates. On the previous days God created by speaking and separating. God names what he creates and sees that it is good. On the fifth day, God does some of these things too, but now adds a blessing: to be fruitful and multiply. God shows his favor on them and their future.



Now, we've seen fruitfulness before, in the plant kingdom that emerged on the third day. But there was no blessing on that day, no promise and command to be fruitful. The reproduction of plants seems to be simply given along with their existence. But animals in their autonomy need the direction given by God's blessing, God's promise and command to be fruitful. They must not merely swim and fly about, but must also be guided by God's blessing to reproduce and fill their God-given space. With this special direction these living creatures are brought into a special relationship with God, as those who are blessed by God. The first explicit signs of God's covenantal history with his creation can be glimpsed here. God not only has a place for his living creatures, but also has a plan for them. And so, with this plan in mind, God blesses them.



What does God create?

God blesses the great creatures of the sea.



On the third day, God creates the first members of the animal kingdom. These first animals can be divided into two large groups: sky animals and sea animals. The sea animals can be further divided into two sub-groups: the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems. The distinct reference to the great creatures of the sea intrigues me. Furthermore, it is interesting that they are mentioned first among the animals created on the fifth day. Why mention these in addition and even prior to the more general mention of living things in the sea?



There are good reasons to think that the creation story has in mind great creatures such as the Leviathan, mentioned throughout the Psalms and featured prominently in Job 41. In the Bible, the great creatures of the sea are images of terror and fright. They are the particular animate form of the more general threat of the chaotic waters. The many wiggly fishes with which the waters teem are innocuous. But the great creatures of the sea are the occasion for fear.



The good news of the fifth day of creation is that God is the creator not only of the innocuous fishes and reeds, but also is the creator of the great creatures of the sea. Even the Leviathan is God's creature. The great sea creatures may be a threat to us, but God has made them and they are his. And not only are they made by God, but God blesses them. The terrifying great creatures of the sea are the object divine blessing. God has given them a future in his great plan.



Why does God create?

God blesses the great creatures of the sea so that we may have courage.



What does this mean for us? What does it tell us about God and his covenantal dealings with us that God blesses even the great creatures of the sea? The fifth day of creation serves to cast out fear. Repeatedly when the angel of the Lord appears, he says "Do not be afraid." This always kind of humors me, because fear is not so easily gotten rid of by a simply command. But the repeated message reminds us that God does not primarily intend to strike fear in our hearts, but to give us courage in the face of an often-frightening world. The message of the angel "do not be afraid" is already being spoken on the fifth day of creation, when God speaks a blessing onto his great creatures of the sea. Their blessing is our blessing too. Because God is the blessed creator of a blessed creation, we shall not fear.



Any thoughts?

• Are there any other parallels between the second and fifth days I've missed?
• Is the connection to the Leviathan in Biblical tradition appropriate and does it help illumine the passage?
• I have focused on the blessing of the great sea creatures; what thoughts can you add concerning the teeming things and the birds?

Next Week: The Sixth Day
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