Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper [p]suitable for him.” Genesis 2:18 NASB Not good – God’s words, lōʾ ṭôb, are an amazing assessment of the human condition. According to the first chapter of Genesis, everything was good. In fact, more than good. Very good. Blessed. Exactly as intended. But less than 17 verses later, after…
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 NIV Created – How are we to read the opening chapter of Genesis? With our current cause-and-effect model of existence? Or with the eyes of an ancient society surrounded by various gods? Is Genesis 1 an explanation of the origin of our cosmos even if it…
The snares of the wicked have surrounded me, but I have not forgotten Your Law. Psalm 119:61 NASB Not forgotten – Do you want to experience God’s rescue when evil men seek to harm you? I’m guessing you would answer, “Yes.” Well then, the first thing to understand is this: What are the “snares” of the wicked? If…
Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, . . Psalm 96:12-13a NIV All Creation – “Genuine prayer is an event in which man surpasses himself. Man hardly comprehends what is coming to pass. Its beginning lies on this…
By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Genesis 2:2 NASB Seventh – I’ve included two short articles in this study because I believe it is important to see the difference between serious scholarly approaches to the text…
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27 NIV Male and female – A few weeks ago we explored this verse for its latent connection to ḥesed. Since we’ve just looked at the relationship between ḥesed, šāmar, and pāqad, determining that these words are…
then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. Ecclesiastes 12:7 NASB Spirit will return – Pythagoras, the Greek philosopher-mathematician, invented the doctrine of the eternal existence of the soul (in Greek psyche). The ancient world did believe in life after death (e.g., Egyptian burial…
and to put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Ephesians 4:24 NASB Put on the new self – Paul is an orthodox Jewish thinker. Among other things, that means his theology is rooted in the Tanakh, interpreted by the rabbinic traditions. When he writes, even…
When God started creating, He chose to abdicate control. Genesis 1:1 Skip Moen paraphrase When – “Bereshit, ‘in the beginning,’ describes not the clarities of origin and cause, but the potentialities of purpose.”[1] So writes Avivah Zornberg, reflecting on Rashi’s comment on creation. Potentialities demand alternatives. Things might not work out as we expect, and…
Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” Genesis 1:6 NASB Separate – “In the act of creation, there is perhaps inevitable sadness, as the work works itself loose from the vision.”[1] The Egyptians believed in unity, that is, the absolute unity…
