What can be gleaned from the creation account, no matter if you interpret it literally or non literally? Here are some thoughts off the top of my head, from A to Z.

A. Everything is here the way it is because of God’s will somehow. Creation was God’s will and God’s idea. It has a purpose that involved humans and God. Gen 1:1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

B. God has an order to what He does. He wants people to likewise have purpose and order. This is reflected in the creation week and the seventh day Shabbat. The Shabbat was the template or example for the Israelites later on. Ex 20:8-11.  “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

C. God only did good things until sin entered the equation. Then evil/judgment was necessary. Gen 1:31. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

D. The devil is a tempter. He is evil. Recognize the nature of your enemy. Recognize our natural aversion to be humbly reliant upon God and His will. Gen 3:1. Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.He said to the woman, “Did God actually say…

E. Man natural is prone to be stupid and do dumb things under pressure, be wary of that. Hosea 6:7. But like Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me.

F. Don’t lead others into your own stupidity and sin like Eve did. Gen 3:12. The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree

G. Don’t be so naive like Adam acted at the tree of knowledge. Be a man or a woman and stand up for truth. Gen 3:17. 17 And to Adam he said, of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life.

H. God hates the devil because the devil tempts man to sin. Gen 3:14. The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field.

I. God’s original intentions for man and the creation are temporarily retarded by sin. God has promised (Gen 3:15) to fix this. Jesus began this repair of the world.  I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

J. The way that God does things (i.e. create, speak things into existence, make people from dust, etc.) is mysterious to our understanding. Gen 1:3 …And God separated the light from the darkness.

K. Man is the greatest of all living things because we are called “the image of God.” God chose to make His children out of the most worthless substance in the universe- dust. His breath of life is in man uniquely. The moral is that mankind is very personal to God. The only thing that separates us from the rest of creation is our spiritual nature that God engages in a relationship with us with. Gen 1:26-27.  “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

L. All life is sacred, but especially mankind. This is reflected in the charge God has given to mankind over other life. Gen 1:28. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

M. Man is called to be a good steward over the creation, taking care of it and protecting/preserving it. Gen 1:28. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

N. When God judges Israel and sends them into exile, he will begin to work out a better plan for them, eventually. This is demonstrated in the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the garden situated in the west of where he was originally, Gen 2:8. This is also demonstrated in Cain’s expulsion and exile. God severely judged him but Cain had a productive life after that episode. Cain and Abel have a lot of allegorical meanings that are applicable to ancient Israel and consequently those messages are fruitful for believers today to understand and apply to daily life.

O. The devil is an evil creature. He is associated with the “evil” things like snakes and people who are “clever” in a negative sense. Gen 3:1. Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

P. Since light and dark can not be united as one thing, we can safely say that God’s methods of creating things and just doing things in general is beyond the scope of human comprehension and it is supernatural to a large extent.
And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. Gen 1:4

Q. There is only one God who made/makes everything. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  Gen 1:1.

R. There are other intelligent beings in the universe, like the devil in the garden. “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.He said to the woman, “Did God actually say…” Gen 3:1. This is contrasted with “Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper…” Gen 2:18.

S. The devil wants us to have a critical, unbelieving attitude of heart towards the God of the Bible. He wants us to just doubt God’s true intentions and God’s clear word (the clear parts, not all the in depth debatable things.) “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.He said to the woman, “Did God actually say…” Gen 3:1.

T. God provides for his people. God gave Adam food, clothes, a woman/companionship/family, authority to accomplish God’s call on his life, and genuine fellowship with Himself. “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. ” Gen 2:15.

U. God leads us into his plans for us. “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. ” Gen 2:15.

V. God is personally interested in us and He is fascinated by our thoughts. God brought the animals to Adam to see what he would name them. God allows mankind to learn new things. God is personally interested in what we do with our knowledge and why. God is very much like a good Father and his children. “Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. “ Gen 2:19.

W. God knows what we really need even when we just don’t know what that is. God made Eve for Adam because God knew it was not “good” for a person to live alone. “Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Gen 2:18.

X. God desires to be in community with people like he did with Adam and Eve. “Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Gen 2:18.

Y. Life is tough (the curses from sin). Realize that God still has a redemptive plan and purpose for us that is going to be fully accomplished before it over. “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” Gen 3:15.

Z. God is a hard, thorough, master worker who does things in a “very good” manner. God made everything in 6 days and then rested, just like the Jews ought to do if they want to be on the same page as God who is there as their lawgiver for their good. “Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” Ex 20:9-11.

 

 

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