Review Of Two Stories
In our last conversation, we discovered that the Hebrew name for God in Creation Story One is Elohim. In Creation Story Two, he is revealed by his personal name, Lord God or “YHVH Elohim” in Hebrew. These two names become important later when we meet the snake. But for now, recall the attributes of the Creator displayed in each story.
In Creation Story One, God’s power and nature are expressed by what he does. In Story Two, things happen naturally and organically. The Creator is highlighted by who he is, and less so by what he does. It is the difference between “doing” and “being” that we see.
The world in Story Two builds on the foundation from Story One. God, who was awe-inspiring, omnipotent, a judge, and distant, now steps into the story and begins to interact with creation. Think about how first-time parents might prepare the home (especially the nursery) for the newborn’s arrival. The structure and environment are prepared before bringing the child home. The Creation Story is no different.
Creation Account One – Separations, Boundaries, And Raw Power
Heaven | Earth , Light | Darkness , Waters Above | Waters Below , Seas | Dry land , Evening | Morning , Sun | Moon , Male | Female
Creation Account Two – Relationships And Connectedness
A river flowed from Eden and then divided. Plants spring up from the land. A mist waters the earth. God plants a garden. The Lord God forms man and breathes into him the breath of life. Man names the animals, and finally, a woman is created from a man.
Chiasm – Connecting Story One And Story Two
Now that we have a clearer picture of the Creator, let us turn our attention to man. Who is man as revealed in these stories? To begin, there is a literary tool frequently used in the Bible called a chiasm. A chiasm is a two-part sentence, phrase, or even a story where the second part is a mirrored reflection of the first. Here are a few simple examples to help illustrate:
“When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
“The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.”
“For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Why Does The Bible Use Chiasms?
Chiastic structures help focus on the true meaning of the context, because the central point of the chiasm is the main point or moral of the story being told. The outer rings of the chiasm serve to establish the theme and context.
With this in mind, let us consider Creation Story One and Creation Story Two as the outer rings or context for the creation of man.
”God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
Genesis 1:27
Let us note what is at the neck of this chiastic funnel: it is “image.” Ok, let’s walk backward from the image to the outer layers of this chiasm.
Middle: Image is the point of the creation
Layer One: Man is made in the image of God.
Layer Two: God creates man, and man, because he bears the image, also creates
Layer Three: Man carries the image of God on the earth.
But we’re not done yet, for the verse continues, “male and female he created them.” The image is both the man and his wife, Adam and Eve. They are called together to express the image of God on the earth.
| Layer Three | Layer Two | Layer One | Central or Main Point |
|---|---|---|---|
| God | |||
| Created | |||
| Man | |||
| Image | |||
| Image | |||
| God | |||
| Created | |||
| Him |
Image | Identity | Purpose | Calling
Is the chiasm just an elegant literary device that God employs, or is something much deeper being communicated? The words in the subheading above are often used interchangeably in Christian circles. Maybe the opening Genesis stories are trying to help us answer the very questions we ask ourselves: identity, purpose, and so on. Man (male and female) are called to be God’s image on earth, made in the image of the one who creates. We are his “mini creators,” made to create in the same way he created.
If we take time to consider the creator in both stories, we find that he creates by bringing order out of chaos, separating things, judging and relating to his environment, establishing relationships among elements of creation, and improving things. Maybe there is a larger chiasm at work – two stories of creation that mirror one another. And this verse about the image is the focal point of both. Both stories provide a picture of what it means to create, and we are given the same charge (to do as he has done).
Think of the beauty in these stories, a chiasm inside another chiasm for the purpose of answering the great questions of life:
Who we are – we are image bearers.
What we are to do – we are to be as he is.
How are we to live – we create in the way he creates.
Where – we will look at this in the section below.
Where: Earth And Heaven
Just as the chiasm above mirrors God and man(layer 3 above), so Story Two reverses “heavens and earth” to “earth and heavens.” Notice verse 2:4.
These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created,
In the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.
Gen. 2:4
In Creation Story One, the focus was on heaven, then on the earth. But in Creation Story Two, the focus is on earth, then on heaven. The earth is our laboratory, given to man to represent God as his mini-creators, creating as he did in the domain he has assigned to us.
Purpose Or Image
We often wonder about life’s purpose or the reason for living. That question seems to carry an underlying assumption regarding work and effort. Maybe the right question is not “What am I supposed to do?” but rather “Who am I supposed to be?”
Image bearing is about “being”, not “doing” – to be as he is. We need to focus on how to be like our creator and live out the image he imprinted on us. Only then will I find my purpose and identity, because we discover his image within us.
Conclusion
As humans, in what environment can we embrace the God expressed in Story One and Story Two as they relate to image? Maybe it’s only possible in the place where Adam interacts with YHVH Elohim – in that place of intimacy – the garden.
Eden was a place where God and man connected. It was the garden of God, a place on earth where God could hang out with Adam. The relationship between God and man was one of God gifting the garden’s resources to man and man tending and caring for those resources, which belonged to God. They would often walk together as they talked about these things.
Is it possible that the Garden of Eden was like a laboratory, not a sterile lab, but a place of human and divine intimacy? It was a place for us to understand Elohim and YHVH, learning what it means to create and bear the image as we follow the example he gave us. Personally, I think the place of Eden, a place of intimacy with the Creator, is still possible, a place of human and divine connectedness where we truly learn what “image” (not purpose) is about.
Questions For Reflection
- What does image mean to you?
- How do you see yourself as a mini creator as you carry his image?
- What does it mean that his image is fully expressed by both male and female? In other words, YHVH is not complete without Elohim.
- As you consider the differences between “doing” and “being,” what practical steps will you consider taking?
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