Creation

Reading Genesis 1-3 shows that God is a very generous and providing God. The first example of this is in Genesis 1:26, when God makes man out of his own image. The fact that God gave up his unique appearance so that we could share it with him was something very generous of him. Also, we see God providing for Adam and Eve in many ways. In chapter 1 verse 29, God gives man food from every plant on the planet so that they can survive. Also, even though it is a small detail, when God sends Adam and Eve out of the garden in chapter 3 verse 21, he makes them clothes for them as they go. This shows how even in discipline, God provides.

We can also investigate the nature of God through observing how he creates. In chapter 1, almost every paragraph about each different creation has the phrase, "And it was so." in it. This means that all creation obeys God, and all he has to do is speak, and he can create or destroy. For example, Chapter 1 verse 3 says, "And God said, 'let there be light,' and there was light." This shows that God has absolute power.

Chapter 2 verse 7 says, "Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature." We can tell a lot about the Hebrew point of understanding from this verse. This shows a great level of segregation between God and man. Man was literally created out of dust, and God breathed his spirit into us so that we could live. We are not anywhere near God's power or authority. The Hebrews see God as the truly almighty being that he is, and they see humans as well beneath his power.

We can characterize much of the Hebrew worldview through four questions. The first is, "Who am I?" The Hebrews believe that we are the creation of God, made in his image and likeness. The second is, "Why am I here?" The Hebrews believe that Man was created as a steward of God's creation. We were made to keep the land, and have dominion over it (Genesis 2:15-20). The Third question is, "What is God like?" As we discussed before, God is a providing and merciful God. He provided man with food and cloth. Also, when he saw that man needed a companion, he didn't leave him to suffer, but made a companion for him- woman (Genesis 2:22). The final question is, "What is truth?" What we can see about what the Hebrews view as truth is shown in Genesis 1-3. They believe that God spoke the world into existence, and that God's holy word is truth.