Question 1, Part B - Creation in Six Days, then Rest?

Does the Bible say that God created all things in six days and then rested on the seventh?

In my first post on Aug 11, we saw that the Bible contains two very different stories about how God created the heavens and the earth: Genesis 1:1-2:3 and Genesis 2:4-25.

We saw that the two stories were distinct and seperate with the second story neither continuing nor depending upon the first story.

We saw that the order of things created was entirely different in the two stories.

Content: The Process of Creation

In this post, we're going to compare the "process of creation," as it is set forth in both stories regarding the creation of man and woman. As we do so, what we will see is that the two stories have very different descriptions of HOW creation occurred, i.e., the process of creation.

The First Creation Story

In the “Creation in Seven Days” story in Genesis 1:1 – 2:3, God speaks and his creation comes into existence.

Listen this time to Genesis 1:26-27: “Then God said, 'Let us make humanity in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.' 27: So God created humanity in his own image, in the image of God he created it; male and female he created them.”

God speaks and the creation of humankind occurs.

Other verses in the “Creation in Seven Days” story in reference to God’s creation of other things make this connection between God speaking and creation coming into existence absolutely clear.

Listen to Genesis 1:3: “And God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light.” Or listen to Genesis 1:9: “And God said, 'Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.' And it was so.”

The Second Creation Story

In the second creation story in Genesis 2:4-25, God creates, no, God “forms” the first man from the dust of the ground and then breathes “into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7)

The way, the process, in which God creates human life in this second story is very different from the process described in the “Creation in Seven Days” story.

And, of course, when we compare how the two stories describe how woman comes into existence, we see a striking difference. In the “Creation in Seven Days” story, God creates the female half of humanity at the same moment God creates the male half.

Let’s re-read Genesis 1:27: “So God created humanity in his own image, in the image of God he created it; male and female he created them.” God speaks. Humanity comes into existence. It’s composed of both males and females.

In the second creation story, the first woman comes into existence when God takes a rib from the first man and makes the first woman. (Genesis 2:21-22)

As you can see, HOW creation occurs is very different in the second story as compared to the first story. In the "Creation in Seven Days" story, God speaks "from on high" and the heavens and the earth come into existence. The second creation story portrays God as "hands on" in his creation. He forms. He takes. He breathes.

More to come.