Before The Beginning There Was God

Every good story has an origin or beginning and an author telling his story.  What is the purpose of the Creation Story in the book of Genesis?  This is a great question since God could have easily spoke everything into existence in a single moment there is something more we are to learn from the Creation Story. We know from 2 Timothy 3:16-17 That all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17) That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.  So, every word in scripture has a meaningful purpose to those who seek after God and his righteousness.  God did not wing-it as we might often find ourselves doing through life.  God had a well thought out plan from before "the beginning" of His creation.  Genesis starts off describing who was there from the beginning, "In the beginning GOD!"  and the orderly process of how God spoke all things into existence from God's perspective through his Prophet, Moses. In Hebrews 4:12 we read, "For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword." We see this example with Creation as God powerfully  Spoke in Genesis 1 on three separate occasions that states, "Then God said"  and he did this through his spoken Word which created everything from nothing as stated in Hebrews 11:3. Isaiah 55:11 "So shall My Word be which goes out of My mouth; it will not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." In this creation story God is establishing foundational truths and boundaries that will last until the end shall come. God also establishes time in that he created all things in a six day period having a 24 hours as he presents each day by saying, "and the evening and morning were." Each day of creation reveals that God was pleased in that "God saw that it was good." He spoke creation into existence in six days and in Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.  2) And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3) And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.  In the first three days God formed the earth with three important bodies; heavens land, and the seas.  God also establishes a seven day week.  The number seven represents completion and/or perfection that carries on all throughout scripture.  

How was the Creation Story revealed to us?  We have to go to the book of Exodus  chapter 33 where in verse 18 tells us that Moses, a prophet of God, says to God, "I beseech thee, shew me thy Glory.  God answers him in the next verse, "I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. 20) And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. 21) And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: 22) And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a Clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: 23) And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen. What did Moses see when God took away his hand?  This was not a physical occurrence as God is a Spirit (John 4:24) at this time God doesn't have a physical body with a front or a back. God called Moses for such a time as this and had a personal relationship with him. In doing so Moses wanted to know more about him.  God grants Moses his request by showing Moses from the time of his own death all the way back to the very beginning of Creation thus revealing his glory to Moses. This is how Moses wrote the first five books of the bible also known as the Law of Moses. In Joshua 8:31 As Moses the servant of the Lord commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, and in verse 32 says that he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, while in the presence of the children of Israel. 34) And afterward he read all the words of the law, 35) There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel.  Jesus also confirms in his ministry often times referring back to the writings of Moses as in John 7:19 Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law?

We were given the creation story by Moses from God's perspective in Genesis that sets the foundational truths for the entire bible and is not compatible with the belief that the world just happened from nothing.  God demonstrates his Omnipotent Sovereign Power, authority and order in creating everything fully formed in a six day period.  Exodus 20:11 "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it."  Nehemiah 9:6 Thou, even thou, art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that  are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou perservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.  God set the foundational 24 hour period and the 7 days of the week right from the beginning. In Genesis God uses a number and the phrase "evening and morning" to describe the first six days of a 24 hour period. He introduced time and numbers that each have their own meanings and purpose in God's plan that is used all throughout His scriptures.  God's creation was perfect and he saw that it was very good. Even the order of creation matters as every little detail matters, as Jesus states in Matthew 5:18 "One jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." as the Word was inspired by God even though written by about 40 writers from all various places and people.  Since everything has a purpose in God's plan that means you do to.  He already had you in mind before he framed the whole wide world.  

We are going to dive into the biblical and foundational numbers God setup in Genesis 1.  There is spiritual power in God's spoken word that even the elements had to obey.  Biblical numerology is a study of the spiritual significance of how the Bible uses numbers. God outlines his plans from the very start in an orderly and precise detailed 7 day plan right at it's very beginning. God created everything in first six days that had a beginning and an end with the evening and morning.  However, on the 7th day He rested that never ended.  In Genesis 1:31 And God saw every thing he had made, and, behold, it was very good.  And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.  Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2) And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3) And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.  These 7 days set a foundational order that is full of purpose that will last till the end of time.    

1st Day: 

God created Light on the first day.  Not only do we know this from Genesis 1:1-5, but also in John 1:1-5.  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2) The same was in the beginning with God. 3) All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4) In him was life: and the life was the light of men. 5) And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. Scripture goes on to say that John the Baptist was not the light, but he came to bear witness of the Light.  Who was this Light? vs. 14 lets us know it was Jesus Christ.  Jesus tells us when you have seen me you have seen the Father and that he and is Father are one. Light is inseparable and cannot be divided and the number itself has no additional number like the others do, therefore the number 1 represents unity.  Throughout the Old Testament the Lord God made it known that he was a jealous God and the Lord our God is One.  Even Ephesians 4:5 tells that the there is One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism.  We are all one body in Christ Jesus.  Psalms 133 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! You want to know God's presence get together with the body of Christ and worship him in unity, you will find him.  

2nd Day: 

Genesis 1:6-8 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.  7) And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8) And God called the firmament Heaven.  And the evening and the morning were the second day.  The number 2 represents a few different significances throughout scripture.  We can see here and throughout the scriptures where there is division in 2's:  Light and darkness which represents good and evil, heaven and earth, first son and second son. God often uses division to multiply in a good way.  However, there are other representations of the number 2 such as the disciples being sent out two by two that sets another fundamental aspect that truth is often established based on the evidence of two or more witnesses like in Deuteronomy 17:6 states. God confirms His word by two immutable things also two witnesses. (Read John 8:17-18)  There is the concept of getting a double portion (Elisha Story) or being the favored of God as the second child such as the story of Jacob and Esau, the first man Adam and the second Adam, Jesus Christ.  There is also redemption or 2nd chances as we are born into sin because of  man's fall in the Garden but we can be reborn into the body of Christ.  

3rd Day: 

Genesis 1:9-13 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 10) And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. 11) And God said, Let the earth bring froth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 12) And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 13) And the evening and the morning were the third day. The number 3 plays a significant part throughout scriptures and appears in the Bible 467 times. The number 3 symbolizes new life, divine intervention, and spiritual significance, resurrection and redemption.  In John 2:19-21 Jesus told the Pharisees that if they destroyed this temple in three days I will raise it up.  This was fulfilled when they crucified him on the cross for our sins and he was buried and rose on the third day.  There is a whole study of this number in itself all throughout scriptures full of meanings.    

In the first three days of creation God speaks and creates the habitable space of light, separation of waters, and dry land. He is also setting boundaries between light and darkness, between the different kinds of waters, and between sea and land.  

4th Day:

Genesis 1:14-19 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15) And let them be fore lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 16) And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17) And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18) And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. 19) And the evening and morning were the fourth day. As God made the universal nature of creation number 4 symbolizes the universality in scripture for example in Ezekiel 7:2 , the Lord declares: ' An end, the end is come upon the four corners of the earth.  These four corners gives us our compass; north, south, east, and west.  We also have four seasons and four moon phases.  In Revelation 7:1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. In this vision God's angels held back the universal judgement.  No matter what is being discussed the number 4 throughout all scripture is used to illustrate the universality. 

5th Day:

Genesis 1:20- 23 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. 21) And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their king, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.  22) And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. 23) And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.  The number 5 represents God's grace and unmerited blessing.  The holy anointing oil for the tabernacle had 5 ingredients, there were 5 kinds of animals to be sacrificed in which they all reflect the grace of God's forgiveness for our sins.  There were 5 time periods in the dream Daniel interpreted for King Nebuchadnezzar that provides basic structure for understanding biblical prophecies and end time events that God extends his unmerited grace.  2 Corinthians 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. 

6th Day:

Genesis 1:24-31 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 25) And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 26) And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27) So God created man in his image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.  28) And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.  29) And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.  30) And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.  31) And God saw every thing that he had made, and , behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Genesis 2:2 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 

God created man on day six so the number 6 represent the number of man. What does this mean?  The best description I can across what that 2x3=6 and from the numbers above #2 represents division and the #3 speaks of God.  This denotes that #6 is man's division from His Creator and was separated from him with the fall of Adam.  Praise be to God, that we can still find His unmerited grace with a new birth experience that we may enter into God's rest through the redemption blood of the Jesus Christ our Lord.  Revelation 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. Here John the Revelator tells us that the number 6 is the number of man. Genesis 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.  This was different from all other of God's creation that He simply spoke into existence.  Genesis 1:27 states that God created man. Genesis 2:7 Formed him from the dust of the earth and then breathed the breath of life into him and man became a living soul. He also gave him dominion over all the other creation.  Man was created in God's image to reflect God's glory and mirror his triune image as man was given a body, soul, and spirit that makes us unique.  

In the later three days of creation God fills that habitable space with plants, heavenly lights, sea and fowls of the air, land animals, and forms male and female. God also set boundaries with vegetation and animals after their own kind, that human kind has dominion over all other creation.   

7th Day: 

Genesis 2:2-3 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3) And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. The number 7 is the completion and perfection of God and all his work.  The number 7 is found in scriptures 735 times.  I like to think that number 7 is God's favorite number as He set it apart from all other numbers and sanctified it.  Number 7 represents complete spiritual victory and total redemption through Jesus. Jesus performed 7 miracles on the Jewish Sabbath that went against the religious leaders who was appalled that Jesus did such acts on the Sabbath but this shows that God's healing power is perfect no matter what the issue might be. The number 7 that is full of prophetic fulfillment found numeral times in Revelation.  There is mentioned of 7 horns, 7 spirits, and 7 eyes that represent the Holy Spirit of God in his omnipotence (totality of His power), omnipresence (the totality of His Presence), and omniscience ( God is all-seeing and all-knowing). God is a sovereign God who's rule is complete and perfect and always in control of whatever situation. 

There are also 7 dispensations that divides God's purpose for man into different periods of time.  I have mentioned a few of these in my other studies.  The Dispensation of Innocence, The Dispensation of Conscience, The Dispensation of Promise, The Dispensation of Law, The Dispensation of Grace, and The Millennial Kingdom of Christ.  We are currently in the Dispensation of Grace which started at the resurrection of Jesus Christ and we are currently nearing the end. You may also hear it called the church age which began when Jesus was on the cross bearing our burdens and sin when a soldier pierced Jesus side blood and water flowed down birthing the church who is now the body of Christ.  In order to enter into God's rest we have to follow after Christ.  We must be reborn of the water and of the Spirit or we cannot enter into the kingdom of God. God is perfect in all his ways.  His plan is perfect with every last little detail.  Psalm 8:3-6 When I consider they heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; 4) What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?  5) For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. 6) Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of they hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:  How excellent are you Oh Lord!  I will exalt thee forever!!!

 In this study we have found that numbers not only represent numerical value but has several spiritual meanings found all throughout the scriptures as God wants us to know him and understand him on a personal level.  1 Corinthians 2:6-7, 12-14 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought; 7) But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:  2) Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13) Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14) But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness' unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. God setup the 7 days of the week from the foundation of the world for all of human history that to this day is universal.  In knowing this it is awesome to know that in Ephesians 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5) Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6) To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7) In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grave; 8) Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; 9) Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

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