Friday, September 3, 2010

Women of the word


The Women of the Word gathered together on Thursday morning to begin our study of Genesis. Barbara Suhar, our Bible study leader, described the need for us to view the Old Testament with the culture, history, and traditions of the ancient Hebrew in mind.

Genesis Chapter 1, the account of Creation, can be described as more than a biological description of our universe, moreover, it, along with the rest of the book of Genesis, is a beautiful promise of our future. Chapter 1 is laid out symmetrically, which is typical in Hebrew writings:

"building the house"
Day 1: light
Day 2: sky and sea
Day 3: land

"decorating the house"
Day 4: celestial bodies
Day 5: sea creatures & birds
Day 6: land animals & people

Days 1, 2 and 3 are those during which God "built the house," and Days 4, 5, and 6 are those during which God "decorated it." The end of each of the 6 days is concluded with the recurring sentence "and there was evening, and there was morning - the (x) day." There is one significant omission where this phrase was not used - the 7th day, which God blessed, made holy, and on which He rested. It could be said that this day has not been "completed," which begs the question - could our present time be the "7th day?" Given our understanding of God's relative treatment of time (e.g., "a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a day"), if this interpretation holds, then we might still be living the Genesis story, an extension of God's promise for His creation. It's a thought-provoking way to look at Genesis. Come join us on Thursdays at 9 am to learn more about God's exciting Word.
submitted by Gina White

1 comment:

  1. This is very inspiring! Thank you Barbara for leading the study and thank you Gina for sharing,
    Bettina

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