Occasional Theological Interpretations of Verses in the Pentateuch (1): Genesis 1:1
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen.1:1) Familiar words, huh? Perhaps too familiar? This first verse of the Bible contains seven Hebrew words. Seven is the number of completeness. These seven words give us a “God’s eye” view of things. Everything else in life revolves around this great reality. We may like and embrace it or dislike and disavow it but nothing we do can change it. Here’s a paraphrase that might make you stop and think a bit about what this foundational truth means. “In the beginning (not “once upon a time”) . . . When God acts something happens, things change, reality is altered. This is no fable or fairy tale from which we try and discern a moral or a point by which to live our lives. No, this God is action, a verb, “the” verb! Prayer to this God alters reality – both for God and for us, since God often makes us the answer to our prayers! Faith in and l...