From Chaos to Cosmos E-Book

Sidney Greidanus

• Herausgeber: Crossway
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Serie: Short Studies in Biblical Theology
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 304

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Beschreibung

"I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the LORD, who does all these things." Isaiah 45:7  When God created the world, he brought perfect order out of what was "without form and void." But with human rebellion against God leading to God's curse, disorder was introduced into creation—disorder that we still see all around us today. Tracing the chaos to cosmos theme from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22, pastor-scholar Sidney Greidanus reveals how God is restoring his creation through Jesus Christ, who has already begun to shine light into the darkness and will one day return to bring peace, order, and restoration once and for all. With discussion questions at the end of each chapter and a fourteen-session reading plan, this book is ideal for small groups as well as individual study.

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“Sidney Greidanus poured a lifetime of preaching Christ from the entire Bible and teaching others to do so into this guided tour of Scripture’s unfolding history of creation, redemption, and consummation. With brevity and clarity, he shows our beauty-creating God at work, bringing order to the ‘formless and void’ deep. Then, when Satanic lies and human rebellion injected chaos, disorder, desolation, and death, the Lord executed his eternal plan to redeem and reorder his creation through Jesus Christ. This study is full of God’s Word, set into context by Greidanus’s insightful comment. It offers fresh and ancient perspectives on Scripture’s unity and its central focus: Christ the Redeemer.”

Dennis E. Johnson, Professor Emeritus of Practical Theology, Westminster Seminary California; author, Him We Proclaim; Walking with Jesus through His Word; and Journeys with Jesus

From Chaos to Cosmos

Short Studies in Biblical Theology

Edited by Dane C. Ortlund and Miles V. Van Pelt

The City of God and the Goal of Creation, T. Desmond Alexander (2018)

Covenant and God's Purpose for the World, Thomas R. Schreiner (2017)

From Chaos to Cosmos: Creation to New Creation, Sidney Greidanus (2018)

The Kingdom of God and the Glory of the Cross, Patrick Schreiner (2018)

The Lord’s Supper as the Sign and Meal of the New Covenant, Guy Prentiss Waters (2019)

Marriage and the Mystery of the Gospel, Ray Ortlund (2016)

The Son of God and the New Creation, Graeme Goldsworthy (2015)

Work and Our Labor in the Lord, James M. Hamilton Jr. (2017)

From Chaos to Cosmos

Creation to New Creation

Sidney Greidanus

From Chaos to Cosmos: Creation to New Creation

Copyright © 2018 by Sidney Greidanus

Published by Crossway1300 Crescent StreetWheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law. Crossway® is a registered trademark in the United States of America.

Cover design: Jordan Singer

First printing 2018

Printed in the United States of America

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture references marked NIV are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture references marked NRSV are from The New Revised Standard Version. Copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Published by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.

All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added by the author.

About the cover: The goal for the cover illustration was to convey the nature of God’s creation using the contrast of black and white, which is characteristic of relief printing. The image represents the formation of light out of darkness and creation out of the void—the progression from chaos to order. The interior image is framed by the contrasting rigid shape of the outlining square—depicting that the restoration of a harmonious cosmos is under the sovereign control of God.

Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-4335-5497-1 ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-5500-8 PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-5498-8 Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-5499-5

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Greidanus, Sidney, 1935– author. | Ortlund, Dane Calvin, editor. | Van Pelt, Miles V., 1969– editor.

Title: From chaos to cosmos: creation to new creation / Sidney Greidanus, Dane C. Ortlund and Miles V. Van Pelt, series editors.

Description: Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, [2018] | Series: Short studies in biblical theology | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018016920 (print) | LCCN 2018035748 (ebook) | ISBN 9781433554988 (pdf) | ISBN 9781433554995 (mobi) | ISBN 9781433555008 (epub) | ISBN 9781433554971 (tp) | ISBN 9781433555008 (ePub) | ISBN 9781433554995 (Mobipocket)

Subjects: LCSH: Biblical cosmology—Textbooks. | Cosmogony—Textbooks. | Bible—Theology—Textbooks.

Classification: LCC BS651 (ebook) | LCC BS651 .G794 2018 (print) | DDC 231.7/65—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018016920

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

2022-02-11 11:35:41 AM

This book is dedicated to the memory of

my parents, Nies and Sjoukje Greidanus (née Tiersma),

and my parents-in-law,

Lambert and Reingje Visscher (née Breman).

“Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”

“Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors,

for their deeds follow them!”

Revelation 14:13

Contents

List of Abbreviations

Series Preface

Preface

 1  The Chaos–Cosmos Theme in Genesis, Exodus, and Joshua

 2  The Chaos–Cosmos Theme in Wisdom, Psalms, and Prophets

 3  The Chaos–Cosmos Theme in the New Testament

 4  Preaching or Teaching a Series on the Chaos–Cosmos Theme

Appendix: Reading Assignments for Bible Study Groups

Selected Bibliography

General Index

Selected Scripture Index

List of Abbreviations

BAThe Biblical Archaeologist

BSacBibliotheca Sacra

CTJCalvin Theological Journal

MT  Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Old Testament

LXX  Septuagint

TDOTTheological Dictionary of the Old Testament

TynBulTyndale Bulletin

VTVetus Testamentum

WeslTJWesleyan Theological Journal

Series Preface

Most of us tend to approach the Bible early on in our Christian lives as a vast, cavernous, and largely impenetrable book. We read the text piecemeal, finding golden nuggets of inspiration here and there, but remain unable to plug any given text meaningfully into the overarching storyline. Yet one of the great advances in evangelical biblical scholarship over the past few generations has been the recovery of biblical theology—that is, a renewed appreciation for the Bible as a theologically unified, historically rooted, progressively unfolding, and ultimately Christ-centered narrative of God’s covenantal work in our world to redeem sinful humanity.

This renaissance of biblical theology is a blessing, yet little of it has been made available to the general Christian population. The purpose of Short Studies in Biblical Theology is to connect the resurgence of biblical theology at the academic level with everyday believers. Each volume is written by a capable scholar or churchman who is consciously writing in a way that requires no prerequisite theological training of the reader. Instead, any thoughtful Christian disciple can track with and benefit from these books.

Each volume in this series takes a whole-Bible theme and traces it through Scripture. In this way readers not only learn about a given theme but also are given a model for how to read the Bible as a coherent whole.

We have launched this series because we love the Bible, we love the church, and we long for the renewal of biblical theology in the academy to enliven the hearts and minds of Christ’s disciples all around the world. As editors, we have found few discoveries more thrilling in life than that of seeing the whole Bible as a unified story of God’s gracious acts of redemption, and indeed of seeing the whole Bible as ultimately about Jesus, as he himself testified (Luke 24:27; John 5:39).

The ultimate goal of Short Studies in Biblical Theology is to magnify the Savior and to build up his church—magnifying the Savior through showing how the whole Bible points to him and his gracious rescue of helpless sinners; and building up the church by strengthening believers in their grasp of these life-giving truths.

Dane C. Ortlund and Miles V. Van Pelt

Preface

Studying the chaos–cosmos theme from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22 is a fascinating journey. It deepens our understanding of the original creation and the coming new creation. It helps us see not only the unity of the Scriptures but also the centrality of Christ in the Scriptures. The chaos–cosmos theme makes us aware of the various forms of chaos caused by the fall into sin and God’s cursing the ground: pain, suffering, enmity, violence, enslavement, and death. But it also makes us aware of God’s sovereignty over chaos: his turning chaos into cosmos (or micro-cosmos) merely by speaking, his grace for his fallen creatures, his aim to deliver them, his faithfulness to his covenant promises, and, by making ever new starts, his intent to restore his creation to the cosmos he intended it to be in the beginning.

In this book I quote Scripture extensively, sometimes providing quick explanations in square brackets. I have inserted italics in biblical quotations to emphasize words and phrases important for our topic. In the footnotes I provide more detailed explanations, references, and parallel passages. Articles, essays, and books that are not listed in the select bibliography are referenced in the footnotes. For the sake of consistency, the pointing in all Hebrew and Greek transliterations (also in quotations) have been upgraded to the latest SBL standards.

May this book help many preachers, teachers, churches, study groups, and individuals to discern the unity of Scripture and the centrality of Christ as we trace the chaos–cosmos theme along the biblical storyline of creation, fall, redemption, and new creation.

———

I thank Drs. Dane Ortlund and Miles Van Pelt for inviting me to contribute to the Short Studies in Biblical Theology series, for reserving for me the chaos–cosmos theme which really piqued my interest, and for skillfully editing this contribution. I have thoroughly enjoyed this journey. I also thank the staff of Crossway, especially editor Tara Davis, for competently guiding this book to publication.

I am grateful to my proofreaders, the Rev. Ryan Faber, my former student at Calvin Theological Seminary, and the late Dr. Howard Vanderwell, my former colleague, for their questions, suggestions, and corrections. I thank our local Bible study leader Jan Lanser for her forthright answer when I asked her if she could use this book for her Bible study groups. “Only if it has discussion questions!” was her honest reply. This response led to the inclusion of questions after each of the fourteen lessons—making this book much more user-friendly for both individual and Bible study groups. I also express my appreciation to the staff of the library of Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary for their helpful service.

Again I thank my wife, Marie, for taking care of many of the household chores so that I was able to concentrate on the research and writing of this book. Finally, I am grateful to the Lord for providing me, even in old age, with health, strength, and surprising insights during the writing of this book.

1

The Chaos–Cosmos Theme in Genesis, Exodus, and Joshua1

The chaos–cosmos theme falls under the overarching biblical theme of God’s kingship and God’s coming kingdom. It is also a subset of the biblical storyline of creation, fall, redemption, new creation.

Some biblical scholars prefer not to use the word chaos because the Hebrew does not use chaos but rather several other words, such as without form, void, darkness, the deep, the waters, the seas, Rahab, great sea creatures, and Leviathan, and because scholars use chaos in many different senses, some assuming that chaos is inherently evil.2 We can still use this common term, however, if we define it correctly. Among several options, Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary offers a good, initial definition of chaos: “The infinity of space or formless matter supposed to have preceded the existence of the ordered universe.” Webster’s also offers us a workable definition for cosmos: “The world or universe regarded as an orderly, harmonious system.”

Starting out with these rather general definitions of chaos and cosmos, we can add the more specific forms of chaos and cosmos as we move through the Scriptures from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22. Genesis 1 begins with, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth”—an orderly, harmonious universe.3 Revelation 21 and 22 describe “a new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1)—another orderly, harmonious universe. Between these cosmic bookends (called inclusio) we find microcosmic units of disorder and restored order—units such as the earth, the animal kingdom, humanity, nations, and individuals. All of these ordered microcosmic units prefigure the end-time orderly cosmos described in Revelation.4

The Ancient Near Eastern Background

We must understand the biblical chaos–cosmos theme against the broader background of the ancient world, in which chaos was associated with the sea, the waters. Israel shared with its ancient Near Eastern neighbors the worldview of a three-storied universe. John Day explains: “All those passages in the Old Testament which speak about God’s control of the sea at the time of creation naturally presuppose the archaic worldview shared by the ancient Israelites along with other peoples of the ancient Near East that both above the domed firmament of heaven and below the earth there is a cosmic sea. Rain was regarded as having its origin in the cosmic sea above the firmament and coming down through the windows of heaven, while the world’s seas and lakes were thought of as being connected with the subterranean part of the cosmic sea (cf. Gen. 7:11).”5

The chaos–cosmos theme in Scripture has many similarities with ancient Near Eastern myths. According to the ancient Babylonian creation epic Enuma Elish, the Babylonian head god, Marduk, created heaven and earth when Marduk battled the ocean goddess Tiamat:

The Lord spread out his net, encircled her,

The ill wind he had held behind him he released in her face.

Tiamat opened her mouth to swallow,

He thrust in the ill wind so she could not close her lips.

The raging winds bloated her belly,

Her insides were stopped up, she gaped her mouth wide.

He shot off the arrow, it broke open her belly,

It cut to her innards, it pierced the heart.

He subdued her and snuffed out her life,

He flung down her carcass, he took his stand upon it. . . .

He split her in two, like a fish for drying,

Half of her he set up and made as a cover, heaven.

He stretched out the hide and assigned watchmen,

And ordered them not to let her waters escape.

He crossed heaven and inspected (its) firmament. . . .

Spreading [half of] her as a cover, he established the netherworld. . . .

Then the great gods convened.

They made Marduk’s destiny highest. . . .

They established him forever for lordship of heaven and earth. . . .

His word shall be supreme above and below.6

When Babylonian literature was rediscovered in the late nineteenth century, many scholars assumed that Israel simply took over the Babylonian creation myth. For example, the influential Hermann Gunkel claimed that the Enuma Elish was simply transferred to Israel, where it lost many of its mythological and polytheistic elements until “in Genesis 1 it is, as far as was possible, completely Judaized.”7 As Robin Routledge points out, however, “While there may be enough points of similarity to suggest that the writer of Genesis knew the Babylonian myth and used some of its imagery, it is widely recognized that there is nothing to indicate dependence. The conflict motif [battle against chaos] and ultimate exaltation of the creator god which is a central feature of Enuma Elish is missing from Genesis 1.”8

Contemporary scholars are more likely to look for the background of the chaos–cosmos theme in ancient Canaanite literature.9 Here we also find a myth about a storm god doing battle with a sea god. The storm god (controlling lightning, rain, and fertility) was Baal, and the sea god (the god of chaos) was Yam. Part of the Baal myth reads as follows:

The mace whirled in Baal’s hand like an eagle,

(grasped) in his fingers it crushed the pate of prince [Yam]. . . .

Yam collapsed and fell down to the earth,

his face quivered and his features crumpled up.

Baal was drawing up Yam and scattering him. . . .

“Verily Yam is dead, (and) [Baal] shall be king.”10

Although this myth also speaks of a god, Baal, battling the sea god for control, the result is not the creation of heaven and earth, but Baal’s kingship and his building a palace in the heavens with windows to water the earth.

Biblical authors did not write in a vacuum, of course. To be understood, they had to accommodate their imagery to the prevailing culture, whether Babylonian, Canaanite, or Egyptian. Therefore Genesis, as well as other Old Testament books, must be heard against the background of the stories of the ancient Near East. But just as sermon illustrations using Little Red Riding Hood do not thereby teach that this fairy tale is literally and historically true, so the biblical authors’ use of ancient Near Eastern stories does not mean that they taught that these ancient stories were literally and historically true.

For example, Hebrew poetry called for the use of much imagery. Where were the Hebrew poets to get their imagery? From the stories known in that culture, of course—the ancient myths. Elements of those myths served to embellish the point they tried to make in order to make it more vivid. Instead of looking for similarities between the biblical writings and the ancient myths (often undertaken in order to establish dependence), it is more important to note the differences.11 These differences make us aware of Scripture’s criticism of the pagan myths.

Nahum Sarna has set out the relationship between the biblical references to chaos and those of the myths:

The references appear to be snippets of what was once an epic about the God of creation and mutinous forces of primeval chaos at the outset of the cosmogonic process. The rebels are variously termed Rahab, Leviathan, sea monster(s) / Dragon (Hebrew tănnîn, pl. tănnînim); Sea (Hebrew yām, pl. yāmmîm), River(s) (Hebrew nāhār, pl. nĕhārîm); andElusive Serpent (Hebrew nāhāš bārīah). Isaiah [51:9–10] tells that in primeval times, God’s arm hacked Rahab in pieces, pierced Tannin, and dried up Yam, the waters of the great deep (Hebrew tĕhôm). Habakkuk [3:8] refers to God’s wrath at Neharim and His rage against Yam. The Psalms [74:13–14; see 77:17] depict God driving back Yam with His might, smashing the heads of the monsters on the waters, crushing the heads of Leviathan, crushing Rahab so that he was like a corpse, and scattering His enemies with His powerful arm. . . . Similar echoes of this myth are found in Job [7:12], who asks God, ‘Am I Yam or Tannin that You have set a watch over me?’ In another passage, Job [9:13] states that God does not restrain His anger; beneath Him, Rahab’s helpers fall prostrate. He stilled the sea, struck down Rahab, and pierced the Elusive Serpent [26:12–13].12

Although the Bible uses the same names as the ancient myths, Sarna continues, “What fundamentally distinguishes the biblical references from the other Near Eastern examples is the Israelite, thoroughly monotheistic atmosphere: there is one supreme sovereign God; His foes are not divine beings; the motif of theogony, or birth of gods, is wholly absent; there are no titanic battles in which the outcome appears to be in doubt at one time or another; there is no mention of creation as a consequence of victory in combat; and there is an official, quite different, canonical Genesis creation narrative which expresses numerous polemical, anti-mythic elements.”13

Aside from the “thoroughly monotheistic atmosphere,” there is another fundamental difference between Israel’s faith and that of its neighbors. Bernard Anderson explains:

By and large the religions of Israel’s neighbors were tied to the sphere of nature, where the cyclical rhythms were determinative for man’s existence. Israel parted with the religions of the ancient Near East by declaring that history is the area of ultimate meaning precisely because God has chosen to make himself known in historical events and to call men to participate in his historical purpose. . . . Israel broke with paganism, and its mythical view of reality, at the crucial point: nature is not the realm of the divine. The God Israel worships is the Lord of nature, but is not the soul of nature. Israel’s sense of God’s transcendence resulted in “the emancipation of thought from myth.”14

Questions for Reflection

 1.  The Bible writers seem to accept the ancient Near Eastern view of a three-storied universe. For example, one of the ten commandments stipulates, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth” (Ex. 20:4). Can you give some more biblical evidence that the Bible writers assumed a three-storied universe? Check, for instance, Genesis 1; Genesis 7–8; and Psalms 24 and 104.

 2.  Does it bother you that the Bible writers seems to accept a three-storied universe? Why or why not?

 3.  Give some reasons why the Bible writers would use this ancient worldview.

 4.  What is our definition of chaos and cosmos?

 5.  List some of the words the Old Testament uses for what we would call “chaos.”

 6.  The Bible writers use the same chaos–cosmos terminology as is used in the ancient pagan myths. Give some examples of this.

 7.  Give some reasons why the Bible writers would use the same chaos–cosmos terminology.

 8.  Carefully read Genesis 1. In contrast to the pagan myths, which considered chaos evil, where does Genesis 1 say that chaos was good?

 9.  Think of at least three other ways in which chaos in Genesis 1 is different from that of the ancient pagan myths (for the answers, you will have to look at some footnotes).

10.  “What fundamentally distinguishes the biblical references [to chaos] from the other Near Eastern examples”?

11.  What is another fundamental difference between Israel’s faith and that of its pagan neighbors?

Chaos–Cosmos in Genesis

The foundations of the chaos–cosmos theme are laid especially in the book dealing with the beginning, Genesis.

From Chaos to Cosmos (Genesis 1–2)

According to the ancient Near Eastern myths, as we have seen, the Babylonian god Marduk and the Canaanite god Baal both battled for control with the god of the sea (chaos). By contrast, in Genesis 1 God does not struggle with the forces of chaos, nor is chaos considered a god. In fact, in Genesis the primordial waters are not even personified.15 According to Genesis 1 it was God who created these waters and then, by merely speaking, turned chaos into cosmos.

Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” The NRSV translates verses 1–2 as a temporal clause, “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep. . . .” Bernard Anderson judges that although this translation is grammatically possible, “it poses exegetical difficulties. Chief of these is the problem that the Priestly writer [of Genesis], who intends to stress the transcendence of God as the sole source of all that is, would be adopting the ancient mythical view of a preexistent chaos, independent of God. It is therefore best to follow the Septuagint [the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament] and to read Genesis 1:1 as a complete sentence, a reading which is as defensible grammatically as the translation which makes it part of a temporal clause.”16 Moreover, starting with a complete, independent sentence is in harmony with the generational structure of Genesis where an independent sentence, “These are the generations of . . .” introduces a new sequence a full ten times: Genesis 2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10, 27; 25:12, 19; 36:1; and 37:2.17 Along with the ESV and the NIV, therefore, we will understand verse 1 as a complete sentence, which breaks with the ancient chaos myth of a preexistent chaos by declaring, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”18God is the Creator of everything in the universe (“the heavens and the earth” and everything in between).19 In other words, verse 1 speaks of the result of God’s creative activity over seven days, which was an orderly universe.20 As Robert Hubbard puts it, “Verse 1 narrates that God created the universe (earth included), while verse 2 describes earth’s conditions immediately after its creation.”21

This means that verse 2 backs up from the cosmos described in verse 1 to the opening stage in God’s creative activity and introduces us to what many have called “chaos.”

The earth was without form and void (tōhû22wābōhû),

and darkness (hōšek) was over the face of the deep (tĕhôm).23

And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters (ha māyim).

This verse describes total chaos, piling up five words that will be used in later Scriptures either individually or in combination to refer to some form of chaos: “without form,” “void,” “darkness,” “the deep,” and “the waters.” Genesis 1 adds two more words that refer to chaos: “seas” (yāmmîm) in verse 10, and “great sea creatures/monsters” (tănnînim) in verse 21, for the perfect number of seven words at this stage.24 A few more words and synonyms will be added later in Scripture to allude to conditions of chaos. Note that this original chaos was not evil. God created it. In fact God called the “seas” and even the “great sea monsters” “good” (Gen. 1:10, 21).

The initial description, “without form and void,” “has been widely taken to refer to a primordial chaos, which was then transformed by God. This, again, appears deliberately to recall ancient Near Eastern mythology; though the absence of a conflict motif in Genesis 1 suggests that, as with tĕhôm [the deep], chaos is passive rather than in active opposition to the Creator. . . . The narrator in Genesis 1 is setting out an authentic and distinctive creation theology, but in so doing is willing to use familiar mythological imagery to present important ideas that might not easily be expressed in other ways.”25

Was chaos present from the start, preexistent and eternal like God—as the ancient pagan myths taught and materialistic evolutionism today believes? Or did God create chaos? The biblical answer is clear. Only God is eternal and sovereign: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”26 Therefore it was God who created the chaotic waters.27 Psalm 95:5 declares “The sea is his, for he made it.”28 God can later use these waters for good (making the earth fruitful; Gen. 2:6; Ps. 104:10, 13) as well as for ill (Genesis 6–7, sending the flood). God alone is sovereign. In Isaiah 45:7 the Lord declares, “I form light [cosmos] and create darkness [chaos]; I make well-being [cosmos] and create calamity [chaos]; I am the Lord, who does all these things.”

According to Genesis 1:2, then, all that existed at this point was a formless, empty, deep ocean covered in darkness. Nothing could grow on this earth; it was lifeless. But there was a ray of hope: “The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Gen. 1:2). Although the word for Spirit can sometimes be translated as “wind,”29 in this context of God speaking (a full ten times “God said”), “Spirit” or “breath” is more appropriate.30 The Spirit of God was not part of the chaos; it was hovering over (mĕraḥepet ʿal) the waters as an eagle hovers [flutters] over (yĕraḥēp ʿal) its young encouraging them to fly (Deut. 32:11). “The phrase [Spirit of God] conjures up images of a powerful force sent by God to influence both humans and nature.”31 The breath of God was about to speak and bring forth order, cosmos.

Then God spoke and, step by step, word by word, turned chaos into cosmos: “God said, ‘Let there be light [cosmos],’ and there was light. . . . And God said, ‘Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.’ And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. . . . 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” (Gen. 1:3, 6–7, 9).32 “The imagery is of a powerful sovereign who utters a decree from the throne . . . and in the very utterance the thing is done.”33 With his word, which is law, the sovereign God controlled the waters by setting their limits.34 God channeled the waters so that they could make the earth fruitful.35 Genesis 1:10 states, “God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.” The gathered waters were not evil as in the ancient myths but good. According to verse 21, “God created the great sea creatures [sea monsters/dragons] and every living creature that moves. . . . And God saw that it was good.” “The word ‘good’ carries the sense of correspondence to the divine intention, including elements of beauty, purposefulness, and praise-worthiness.”36 Now life could spring up on the earth.

As a climactic creative act, God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion . . .” (Gen. 1:26). Humankind was special, the crown of God’s creation. “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good” (Gen. 1:31).

The second creation account follows up the first by reiterating that the absence of water was not good: “When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, . . . then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature” (Gen. 2:5, 7). “Breathed is warmly personal, with the face-to-face intimacy of a kiss and the significance that this was an act of giving as well as making: and self-giving at that.”37 God placed humankind in a fruitful garden near life-sustaining water: “A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers” (Gen. 2:10). From the original chaos, God had created a beautiful, fruitful Paradise—an orderly cosmos.

In the book of Revelation, John describes the new heaven and the new earth and begins with an arresting observation: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more” (Rev. 21:1). The very first description of the new heaven and earth is that “the sea was no more.” The implication is that the sea had become a symbol of evil that did not fit into the perfect kingdom of God. One of the questions we will pursue later is when and where the sea, chaos, turned so evil that it no longer had a place in God’s perfect kingdom.

From Cosmos to Chaos: Struggling East of Eden (Genesis 3)

Unfortunately, God’s good creation did not remain “very good” for long. The crown of God’s creation disobeyed God. God had allowed them to “eat of every tree of the garden,” but God had said, “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen. 2:16–17). Tempted by “the serpent” (later identified as “that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan” [Rev. 12:9]), they did eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The effects of the fall into sin were felt immediately in the loss of innocence and the breakdown of harmonious relationships. “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. . . . and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ And he said, ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself’” (Gen. 3:7–10).

The man was afraid of the God who had so lovingly created him, breathing “into his nostrils the breath of life.” God asked, “Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man then had the nerve to blame both God and the woman. Adam said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” The Lord God then turned to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” And she blamed the serpent: “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (Gen. 3:11–13). The harmony of Paradise was broken: fear of God, blaming God and the woman, and blaming the serpent. Chaos invaded God’s good creation.

Then followed God’s judgment: “The Lord God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field” (Gen. 3:14).38 The fact that the serpent was cursed “above all livestock and above all beasts of the field”suggests that the animal world is also living under God’s curse. The lamb has good reason to fear the wolf. The calf has good reason to fear the lion. With the fall into sin, chaos also invaded the animal kingdom.

The Lord continued addressing the serpent: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Gen. 3:15). Enmity between Satan and his offspring and the woman and her offspring will lead to much hardship in human history: “You shall bruise his heel.” But ultimate victory is held out for the offspring of the woman: “He shall bruise your head”—a fatal wound.

With the fall into sin, the chaos of pain and suffering entered the world. To the woman God said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children” (Gen. 3:16). And to Adam he said, “Cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (3:17–19).

The fall into sin resulted in pain in childbearing, pain in providing food, coping with thorns and thistles on a ground cursed by God, eating bread by the sweat of your face, and finally succumbing to the last enemy, death.

Then God drove them out of Paradise; they were to live east of Eden (Gen. 3:24).39 Life had turned into a painful existence in a hostile, cursed world. The blessed cosmos of Paradise had turned into chaos—not the original chaos of Genesis 1:2 but now an evil chaotic world: struggles between animals and animals (3:14, see Isa. 11:6), between animals and humans (3:15), between husband and wife (3:12, 16), between nature and humans (3:17–19), and between humans and God (3:8–10, 12, 22–24).

Today we see this evil chaos east of Eden in the human race in the enmity between people, races, religions, and nation-states: wars, slavery, religious persecution, racism. We see this chaos in the swollen bellies of malnourished children; in people dying from cancer, Ebola, and other diseases and disasters; in the thousands of refugees fleeing their home countries, hundreds of them drowning as they cross dangerous seas in flimsy boats. We see this chaos in the violence perpetrated by drug cartels, in the senseless murders in our inner cities, in the rape of women and children,40 and in the spread of terror organizations whose goal is to destroy people, nations, and cultural treasures.