Genesis 1:1-2
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2The earth was without form [tohu] and void [bohu]. and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
Matthew Henry: “The work of creation in its epitome [condensed account].
I. In its epitome, v.1, where we find the first article of our creed, that God the Father Almighty is the maker of heaven and earth.
1.Observe, in this verse, four things:--(1) the effect produced—The whole frame and furniture of the universe. The world is a great house, stately and magnificent, uniform and convenient and every room well and wisely furnished. The heavens are not only beautified to our eye with glorious lamps which garnish its outside, of whose creation we here read, but they are within replenished with glorious beings, out of our sight. In the visible world it is easy to observe, [1] Great variety, several sorts of beings vastly differing in their nature and constitution from each other. [2] Great beauty. He azure sky and verdant earth are charming to the eye of the curious spectator. How transcendent [beyond the ordinary] then must the beauty of the Creator be! [3] Exactness and Accuracy. To those that, with the help of microscopes, narrowly look into the works of nature, they appear far more fine than any of the works of art. [4] Great power. It is not a lump of dead and inactive matter, the earth itself has a magnetic power. [5] Great order. A mutual dependence of beings, an exact harmony of motions, and an admirable chain and connection of causes. [6] Great Mystery. There are phenomena in nature which cannot be solved. But from what we see of heaven and earth we may infer the eternal power and Godhead of the great Creator. Our duty as Christians is always to keep heaven in our eye and the earth under our feet.
That ends the first of four things Matthew Henry observes: The effect produced. One thing about Henry’s commentary is it betrays he is one great outliner. More seriously though, looking at what he had to say…
We have here in Genesis 1:1-2 a condensed account of the creation of matter, space, and time. It is brief and to the point. It reminds me of the effortlessness it took. No big deal, God created the seemingly infinite universe and the huge mass of a planet earth, which will be the focal point of His creative purposes. As if it were nothing, it is simply stated that God created it. This is because it should be presupposed by every man, although man will do anything and believe anything to ease their minds of there actually being a God to be held accountable to.
Henry points out six things that can be observed by our eyes in looking at the world we live in.
1. Great variety: We have grass and many different kinds of grass. We have trees and many different types of trees. We have people of various races. We have animals, insects, flowers, plants, foods, soils, chemicals, gases, colors, smells, sounds, seasons, events, etc…It is evidence of an infinitely complex Creator.
2. Great beauty: Sunsets, stars on a clear night, planets as seen through telescopes, flowers, people, landscapes, oceans, islands. Every time we plant a garden or flowerbed, we are enjoying the privilege of manipulating God’s creation to form beauty…it should remind us of the beauty of God.
3. Great Exactness and Accuracy: Everything is perfect per se, to sustain life for planet earth. Things could happen in space to exterminate us, but it does not happen. If the earth tilted an inch to the left or right on its axis we would freeze or fry…but it won’t. Because Jesus Christ upholds all things by the word of His power.
4. Great Power: A recent earthquake in Haiti reminds us of the sheer power held back on this planet. This planet is powerful enough in itself to kill us all. But it does not, because it is controlled by a higher power, an almighty power, and omnipotence beyond comprehension.
5. Great Order: Symbiosis is an amazing thing to consider. This world is so interdependent. We could not live without trees. Trees need sunlight and water. We need insects. We need food. It is amazing that a person would believe that all of this came from nothing and is an accident. How is it that one thing came from nothing and that things survived and somehow reproduced with something it needed…eventually separated into male and female and every other thing there is….trees, planets, chemicals, foods, perfect for interdependence? All by accident? And we are the “unsophisticated ones? This reminds me of our dependence of on God
6. Great Mystery: Scientists scurry about spending trillions of dollars for answers of how we got here. Through research after research they keep discovering things they cannot explain. It is all there to remind us that although God humbles himself to look down on us and draw near to us, He is also a transcendent God who is utterly other than us. Psalm 113:4-6—The LORD is high above all nations, His glory above the heavens. 5Who is like the LORD our God who dwells on high, 6Who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in the heavens and in the earth?
