Creation Bible Study Outline
GEN 1-3 CREATION IS THE HOME PREPARATION STORY NOT THE STEP BY STEP OF HOW THE HOME (earth within universe) WAS BUILT
It describes God ordering the world to be a home to dwell together forever with humans. It’s not a science book that provides the details. It begins with the 7 day preparation to make a sacred place for God and humanity to dwell together.
Key theological questions answered…
WHAT THE WORLD/EARTH IS?
WHO WE ARE?
WHAT’S OUR PURPOSE?
HOW DO WE FIT INTO EVERYTHING?
WHAT’S OUR FUTURE?
....who defines and answers these questions?…God; by interacting with humans, we capture His story and learn the answers.
1.ARCHETYPE & PROTOTYPE- Adam & Eve represent all humans but also are individuals (real people with a real past)
2.AUTHORITY [not a science book]
“For us, but not to us”
Message transcends culture, but form is culture-bound.
The Bible wasn’t written to answer my questions, though it often does, but is God’s story
We must take our place in His audience.
We need to try and penetrate the ancient text, culture, and author. Think CHARACTER STUDY.
3.SCIENCE & THE BIBLE
Natural/Supernatural (not separate in the ancient world. Separation of body, spirit is an enlightenment way of thinking not ancient. Also, the concept of soul is unbiblical derived from Platonism and was never part of the early Jewish tradition).
Observation of natural cause and effect does not remove God from the picture
Psalm 139:13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb
We are created by natural causes but God is our ultimate creator and architect
4.GENESIS 1 - God creates the heavens and earth (humanity, plural)
FORM & FILLING (order from disorder by separation)
GEN 1 Is a summary of the creation of the skies and earth. That’s it, nothing else.
DAYS 1&4 Separates light and darkness (domain of time) then populated with sun, moon, & stars
DAYS 2&5 Separates waters above from below (domains of sky and water) then populates
DAYS 3&6 Separates earth and creates plants and food (domain of earth) then Populates with animals and humans
Day 7 Rest - Sabbath rests like a King on His throne- God rests on His throne to rule
Note: 7 Day rhythm for humans - 7 day cycle is not based on celestial bodies but divine command. 7 symmetry and liturgical import: 7 year agricultural cycle, length of feasts, length of priestly ordination, temple dedication, creation, etc.
Note: Day 5 God creates sea serpent before swarms of fish (metaphor of leviathan for Pharaoh - God is sovereign over all creatures, even those that are scary and untamable)
Day 6: God creates domestic creatures first then humans.
God calls forth animals from the land but spends time to make humans from clay (not dust).
5. THE BIBLE’S FIRST 5 BOOKS ARE LITURGICAL - dates match up to the feasts and celebrations. Ultimately it is about fruitfulness and God as the master farmer. 7 day week and agricultural cycles are worship, not necessary aligned to optimal seasons.
6.WHEN GOD’S REALM IS IN ORDER HE RESTS LIKE A KING.
Genesis 1 is a temple inauguration like Solomon’s temple.
7.ALL CREATION IS A TEMPLE FOR THE WORSHIP OF GOD
Note: DAY 7 does not have a morning and evening - does not end
8.HUMANS ARE THE CROWN OF CREATION
Image of God - Kinship & Kingship Humans to God / Seth to Adam
We rule on God’s behalf - angled mirrors that reflect God’s wise rule out and praise back to God up
Teamwork - Partnership of God and humans to cultivate (no rain from God or humans to cultivate)
God first plants the garden then has humans to maintain and protect (priestly language
Like a statue that represents a king - we repreeent God here on earth
9.GENESIS 2 - Genesis 2:4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth.
Everything in Genesis 2 regarding human origins is first and foremost archetypal
Not just prototypes (a prototype is the first in a series)
The “forming” accounts are most relevant to Adam and Eve as archetypes rather than individuals
Identified as archetypal if it refers to everyone, not just individual
10.FORMED FROM DUST [describes our identity (mortal) not our material origin]
Not chemistry or craftsmanship (cannot form or shape dust)
Dust = mortality (Gen 3:19 for dust you are and to dust you will return)
Immortal people would not need a tree of life
“For he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust (mortal)” Psalm 103:14
“First man of dust and all from dust” 1 Corinthians 15:47-48
We are born of a woman, formed of dust (mortality not what were made of, clay)
Dust may equal our representation of God who fills the universe - we fill the earth like dust
Why would God put a “tree of life” and “tree of knowledge of good & bad” in the center of the garden?
11.TREE OF LIFE, GOOD & BAD
God provides everlasting life and wisdom. His original intent was to teach primitive humans (naked) what is good and bad like a Father sharing wisdom with His children.
12.DOES ADAM BELIEVE EVE IS MADE ONLY FROM HIS RIB?
Side of Adam or rib
Ancient Hebrews didn’t think in terms of surgery
Deep sleep was a vision / dream like Abraham
Azor - helper : allied soldiers who assist in battle (Josh 1:14) God as Israel’s helper (Gen 49:25, 2 Chron 2:38, etc) 90Xs used in OT in military context as ally (help needed to fulfill or overcome)
13.WORK AND BEING A COWORKER
Image bearers and order bringers
Work is fulfilling - imagine not being employed or underemployed (demoralizing) - God’s gift is purpose (be His representative by cultivating and guarding)
To be a person is to act or work - Good work expresses our purpose but does not define who we are (Lev 19:1-10 farmers to leave edges so poor can work for their food Lev 25:2-7)
Consider again how God creates his living images to rule with him as you compare Genesis 1:27-28 with Exodus 20:4-5. What ends up ruling over humans when they create carved images for themselves, and how do consequences multiply through generations?
Consider how Jesus—the exact image of God (Heb. 1:3)—chooses to rule. Read Matthew 20:25-28. To rule as image bearers like Jesus, what does Jesus instruct us to do?
Jesus shows us the mindset we need in order to rule as images of God. Read Philippians 2:3-15 and describe the attitude of Jesus, the complete image of God. What is one way we can shift our mindset to be like him?
14.GETTING BACK INTO THE GARDEN IN EDEN
Why do we die? Why does our hair turn gray (or fall out), our bodies break down, and wrinkles line our faces? Why do we all die and eventually return to dust as Gen 3:19 says?
“By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.” Genesis 3:19
15.SELF STUDY EXTRA CREDIT: Potential parallels between the Garden in Eden and later Sanctuaries (Tabernacle, Temple)
1. Just as the temple was the place of God’s unique presence experienced by the priests, so Eden was the place where God walked with Adam. “The same Hebrew verbal form (Hithpael) used for God’s “walking back and forth” in the garden (Gen. 3:8) also describes God’s presence in the tabernacle (Lev. 26:12; Deut. 23:14 [23:15 MT]; 2 Sam. 7:6-7; Ezek. 28:14).”
2. Adam is depicted as a priest with respect to his task, namely, “to work” (עָבְדָ֖) and “to keep” (שָׁמְרָֽ) the garden, which is the priest’s task in the temple (Num. 3:7-8; 8:25-26; 18:5-6; 1 Chron. 23:32; Ezek. 44:14). It’s also possible that Adam donned priestly attire, we are not sure who is figuratively referred to in this passage (Ezek. 28:13).
3. The cherubim assumed Adam’s function to guard the tree of life (Gen. 3:24), which became memorialized in the tabernacle (cf. Exod. 25:18-22).
4. The “tree of life” (Gen. 2:9) was probably a model of the lampstand in the tabernacle (Exod. 25:31).
5. Israel’s tabernacle and temple had wood carvings that gave it a garden-like ambiance (1 Kings 6:18, 29, 32, 35; 7:18-20).
6. Just as the entrance to Israel’s later temple was to face east and be on a mountain, and just as the end-time temple of Ezekiel was to face east (Ezek. 40:6) and be on a mountain (Ezek. 40:2; 43:12), so the entrance to Eden faced east (Gen. 3:24) and was situated on a mountain (Ezek. 28:14-16).
7. The ark, which contained the law, in the Holy of Holies echoed the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as both lead to wisdom.
8. As a river flowed out from Eden (Gen. 2:10), so a river flows from the eschatological temple (Ezek. 47:1-12; Rev. 21:1-2; cf. Ps. 36:8-9; Rev. 22:1-2).
9. Just as gold and onyx are in the garden (Gen. 2:11-12), so they are used to decorate the later sanctuaries and priestly garments (Exod. 25:7, 11, 17, 31).
10. Just as the temple had a 3-tiered structure of concentric circles of holiness (Holy of Holies > Holy Place > Courtyard), so the garden of Eden had the same (Eden > Garden > Outer World).
11. Ezekiel refers to “Eden, the garden of God… the holy mountain of God” and also alludes to it containing “sanctuaries” (28:18; 7:24; Lev. 21:23; Jer. 51:51).
12. Just as the climax and purpose of creation was rest (Gen. 2:1-3), so the construction of the tabernacle culminates with rest (Exod. 31:12-17).
The first garden seems relatively simple compared to the final garden on earth, why do you think?
