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Genesis

Genesis

by Rev. Alexandra Robinson on September 04, 2024


Reading :  Genesis 1-3

Wow, that’s a lot of reading for a devotional.  That’s right – welcome to our new narrative lectionary!  We will be diving deep into Scripture which means reading more than just a few verses at a time each week. Why you ask?  Because my hope is that as you are reading the fullness of Scripture, you might see things you have not noticed before.  Our interpretation of Scripture is often formed by what we have been either taught or told by others.  This means we rarely take a fresh look at these sacred texts as if we are reading them for the first time.   

As you read through this Scripture today, I’d like to invite you to notice a few things:

  • There are two creation stories – Genesis 1 and Genesis 2. Genesis 1 is written by the Priestly source in a poetry cosmology emphasizing God’s blessing and goodness in the creation work.  Genesis 2 is written by the Yahwist source, with a more anthropomorphic focus.
  • Humankind is created on the 6th day in Genesis 1:26 in the image of God, for the purpose of having dominion over creation, and both male and female are created in God’s image. They are blessed, encouraged to multiply, and gifted a bounty of creation. 
  • Man is created from dirt and breath in Genesis 2:7 before any plants or rain had occurred, and this created being should actually avoid being referred to as man. The title Adam is a play on Hebrew words ‘adam (human) made from the ‘adamah (dirt).  The point is not that man was made first, but rather that we are made by God from dirt.  Only after humanity is created is the garden planted, because the human’s purpose is to till the ground, and then a helper or partner is given so the human is not alone.  Only then are the animals and “woman” created.
  • Note that in chapter 3, verse 1, the serpent is describe as crafty, and never described as the devil or Satan, but as a wild animal who can speak. The word crafty is often defined as sinister, but in Proverbs is described as sensible or prudent. (The serpent’s connection with the devil in this text was added in about 200 BCE as part of the pseudepigrapha.)  The serpent has a conversation with the woman, who then determines that the tree is good for food, a delight to the eyes, and would make one wise.
  • Consider that God looks for the man and woman when they hide themselves from God’s presence, and the immediate blame they place upon the other for their disobedience.

From this fresh reading a few things stand out: the continuous blessing of creation and one another; the multiple purposes of human interaction with creation, the absence of motive for the serpent, and the continual desire for God’s relationship with humanity even after their sin.   These are just a few points I would encourage you to consider in the context of this Scripture that is so often interpreted as a creation story of man and woman and their fall through temptation by the devil.

A fresh reading awake us to our habits of reading the Bible to affirm our former knowledge.  But as a living Word, the Bible can speak to us afresh through the Holy Spirit’s movement.  So let us listen together for the Word of God, made new for us today.


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