Everything was created by God. That’s the point of Genesis 1. And it’s summed up plainly in the first sentence, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
The experience of reading over the next 30 lines that creation took place during seven days is the plot. We should stop and acknowledge that from the outset-
There is a point and there is a plot.
I like to think of an elementary school teacher standing up front who says, “God made everything.” And after a minute of silence, letting the students ponder that statement, a young freckled faced kid in the back might lift her hand and say, “How?”
Not questioning with a suspicious “prove it” kind of demand but with an accepting and curious request to hear more about it. The teacher then lovingly picks up a piece of chalk and shows us in plain view that it was done in seven segments.
Easy breezy lemon sqeezy. Simple enough for all 3lb’s of my brain to accept.
But a lot of us, both Christians and non Christians, love to flail in a sort of Darwinian tantrum from just this first chapter. The first, mind you, in a book that has no less than 1,189 chapters in it. None of which generate nearly as much apprehension as these first few lines (not even those chapters concerning healing from terminal illnesses, resurrections from death, or world’s end).
And yes, there are many theories on what the “seven days” means. Some of the theories are awesome, some are ridiculous. Never the less they are all just theories about the plot, not the point. The point is- God created everything.
If we want to flail and scream about that, then we might need to stop altogether and acknowledge our unbelief in the existence of God- That’s for a different discussion which still uses the bible but starts in the Gospel of John (which you can either email me about or maybe seek from a trusted teacher).
All that being said let me add my two copper cents into an already full pot of pennies. For me personally, I’m not in a position to theorize what to believe and what not to believe in the bible. So for now at least I kinda like to take it at its word.
I know there are chapters of the bible where parables are told. I know there are chapters where analogies are used. But in this particular section of the bible there’s nothing that prepares me to believe this is either parable or analogy.
Others will disagree and that’s awesome.
But at least for now, understanding God created everything in seven days because that’s what the bible says is enough for me.
The following sermon is an excellent, detailed explanation to help our squishy minds come to better terms with the seven day plot in light of things like evolution, fossils, genetic coding and more.
I hope you take the time to listen to it. It’s well researched by a dedicated theologian who teaches in simple terms. The pastor is John MacArthur. The sermon is about 50 minutes. I’ve reviewed a few sources and this is the one I’ve come back to.
And please feel free to share any of your own ideas with me but please also be ready to back your ideas with scripture so I can study and consider them as thoroughly as you have.
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