We are in a series we are calling “Sword Sharpening” and we are looking at how to make the most out of your time with the Bible. This week we will be looking at the first of eight sections of His Story. This first section consists of Genesis Chapters 1 and 2 and we are calling it ‘Kingdom Revealed’. Genesis Chapters 1 and 2 form the creation narrative in the Hebrew Bible. It portrays the cosmos as a cosmic temple and humans as its imagers.
Genesis Chapter 1
Genesis 1:1-5 (NIV)
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
Genesis Chapter 1 presents a structured account of the creation over six days. The first three days involve the creation of spaces – day, night, heavens, earth, and seas – and the next three days fill these spaces with inhabitants – celestial bodies, birds, sea creatures, animals, and humans. This narrative, seen through the lens of ancient Near Eastern cosmology, conceptualizes the cosmos as a divine temple, ordered and made functional by God. Each day involves a ceremony of separating, naming, and blessing, paralleling the practices of temple inaugurations. The seventh day, a day of divine rest, marks the completion and dedication of this cosmic temple.
Genesis 1:26-27 (NIV)
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:26-27 underscores the creation of humans in the image of God (“imago Dei”). This reflects the ancient concept of humans as the divine king’s representatives (imagers) on earth, similar to statues in temples. As ‘imagers,’ humans rule over and steward the creation, reflecting God’s dominion and care. They are the ones who ensure the orderliness and functionality of the cosmic temple.
Genesis Chapter 2
Chapter 2 provides a more detailed account of the creation of humans and the Garden of Eden. It also emphasizes the theme of temple imagery. Eden is portrayed as a sacred space, often compared to a sanctuary, with the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil as central aspects of the divine dwelling. The rivers flowing from Eden to the rest of the world symbolize the spreading of life and blessing.
Adam’s placement in the garden to ‘work’ and ‘keep’ it uses the same Hebrew words (‘abad’ and ‘shamar’) later used for the Levites’ service in the temple. This associates Adam’s role with priestly service, emphasizing his function as an imager to reflect God’s presence, holiness, and care.
Genesis Chapters 1 and 2 depict creation as a divine act of constructing a cosmic temple, filled and ordered by God, with humans as the divine imagers who continue God’s work of maintaining and sustaining this cosmic temple.
Steve Lawes is a Church Consultant and also provides coaching for pastors, churches, ministries and church planters.
