A brief note about chronology

The story of the Creation is told in two different forms at the beginning of the Bible. The first is a hymn (Genesis 1), six stanzas all in parallel, praising God for the wonders of sky and sea and earth. Psalm 8 gives us a similar hymn of praise for creation, specifically contrasting the breadth of the skies with the smallness of humanity: “when I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you even notice us? What are mortals that you care about us?” (Psalm 8:3-4).

The second explanation of the Creation comes to us in the form of a story: it zooms in to show us a sequence of details regarding the creation of man and woman. It is especially helpful for gleaning insights regarding God’s original intention for humanity, before anything went wrong. We see, for example, that humanity is given thoughtful work to do: science begins with the observation and naming of animals (Genesis 2:19-20). It will come to pass that humans will have to labor and sweat as they till the ground (3:17-19), but the reality of work – striving hard to accomplish an important goal – is not simply a result of the fall.

We see as well the importance of companionship: “it is not good for Adam to be alone” (2:18). We see that sex is designed for procreation and also for delight: “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (1:28), and also “a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh” (2:24). We see that sex in the garden of Eden was not awkward or embarrassing: “the man and his wife were both naked, and they were not ashamed” (2:25).

We should particularly note that the Bible begins the discussion in a place that is unusual for us. We prefer generally to start with ourselves: how do we feel about something, what is our opinion or perception, how do we know. But the Bible starts differently: “in the beginning, God” (1:1). God is the creator, the author, the lead actor, and we are a small-but-not-dismissed part of the action.

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We give you thanks and praise, O Lord, for all the splendor of your creation. We sing of your goodness. We give you thanks for our place within creation: we are small and frail, yet you care about us and for us. Teach us to be faithful to you, day by day and forever.