The picture above is titled Love and was painted by Akiane Kramarik when she was 13 years old.
In the following quote of Julian of Norwich 1343-after 1416, a mystic that had visions.
“And in this [sight], he showed a little thing the quantity of a hazelnut, lying in the palm of my hand as it seemed to me, and it was as round as any ball. I looked therein with the eye of my understanding, and thought: “What may this be?” And it was answered generally thus: “It is all that is made.” I marveled how it might last, for it seemed to me it might suddenly have fallen into nought for its littleness. And I was answered in my understanding: “It lasteth and ever shall, because God loveth it. And so hath all things being by the love of God.”
The following commentary is by Veronica Mary Rolf from her book Illuminating the revelations of Julian of Norwich.
Julian understands three properties of the hazelnut. Not its hardiness, usefulness, and tastiness. Rather, “the first is that God made it, the second is that God loves it, the third is that God protects it.” This trinity of hazelnut attributes strikes her mind with great clarity. Still, she is not sure what the meaning of its sudden appearance in her imagination could be, here and now, for her: “But what is that to me?” she asks, in internal dialogue. The answer comes immediately: “Truly, the maker, the protector, the lover.” Consideration of the humble hazelnut raises Julian’s mind once again to the contemplation of Trinity as creator, protector, and eternal lover revealing itself not only in the reality of Jesus Christ, but in and through everything that is made.
In the following quote of Julian of Norwich 1343-after 1416, a mystic that had visions.
“And in this [sight], he showed a little thing the quantity of a hazelnut, lying in the palm of my hand as it seemed to me, and it was as round as any ball. I looked therein with the eye of my understanding, and thought: “What may this be?” And it was answered generally thus: “It is all that is made.” I marveled how it might last, for it seemed to me it might suddenly have fallen into nought for its littleness. And I was answered in my understanding: “It lasteth and ever shall, because God loveth it. And so hath all things being by the love of God.”
The following commentary is by Veronica Mary Rolf from her book Illuminating the revelations of Julian of Norwich.
Julian understands three properties of the hazelnut. Not its hardiness, usefulness, and tastiness. Rather, “the first is that God made it, the second is that God loves it, the third is that God protects it.” This trinity of hazelnut attributes strikes her mind with great clarity. Still, she is not sure what the meaning of its sudden appearance in her imagination could be, here and now, for her: “But what is that to me?” she asks, in internal dialogue. The answer comes immediately: “Truly, the maker, the protector, the lover.” Consideration of the humble hazelnut raises Julian’s mind once again to the contemplation of Trinity as creator, protector, and eternal lover revealing itself not only in the reality of Jesus Christ, but in and through everything that is made.
Author and date
Moses wrote the Pentateuch which make up the first five books of Old Testament. Moses wrote after the exodus from Egypt, 1445 B.C. and prior to his death 1405 B.C..
Setting John MacArthur's study bible notes this:
Genesis has 3 distinct, sequential geographical settings: 1) Mesopotamia (chaps. 1–11); 2) the Promised Land (chaps. 12–36); and 3) Egypt (chaps. 37–50). The time frames of these 3 segments are: 1) Creation to ca. 2090 B.C.; 2) 2090–1897 B.C.; and 3) 1897–1804 B.C. Genesis covers more time than the remaining books of the Bible combined.
Historical setting Moses is writing to the Hebrews that just came out of 400 years of captivity in Egypt. They would have been indoctrinated into the Egyptian's world view and customs. God will give Moses the unique Israelite history.
John MacArthur notes that Genesis is made up of two sections:
Genesis 1–11 (primeval history) reveals the origins of the universe, i.e., the beginnings of time and space and many of the firsts in human experience, such as marriage, family, the Fall, sin, redemption, judgment, and nations. Genesis 12–50 (patriarchal history) explained to Israel how they came into existence as a family, whose ancestry could be traced to Eber (hence the “Hebrews”; Gen. 10:24, 25) and even more remotely to Shem, the son of Noah (hence the “Semites”; Gen. 10:21). God’s people came to understand not only their ancestry and family history, but also the origins of their institutions, customs, languages, and different cultures, especially basic human experiences such as sin and death.
Moses wrote the Pentateuch which make up the first five books of Old Testament. Moses wrote after the exodus from Egypt, 1445 B.C. and prior to his death 1405 B.C..
Setting John MacArthur's study bible notes this:
Genesis has 3 distinct, sequential geographical settings: 1) Mesopotamia (chaps. 1–11); 2) the Promised Land (chaps. 12–36); and 3) Egypt (chaps. 37–50). The time frames of these 3 segments are: 1) Creation to ca. 2090 B.C.; 2) 2090–1897 B.C.; and 3) 1897–1804 B.C. Genesis covers more time than the remaining books of the Bible combined.
Historical setting Moses is writing to the Hebrews that just came out of 400 years of captivity in Egypt. They would have been indoctrinated into the Egyptian's world view and customs. God will give Moses the unique Israelite history.
John MacArthur notes that Genesis is made up of two sections:
Genesis 1–11 (primeval history) reveals the origins of the universe, i.e., the beginnings of time and space and many of the firsts in human experience, such as marriage, family, the Fall, sin, redemption, judgment, and nations. Genesis 12–50 (patriarchal history) explained to Israel how they came into existence as a family, whose ancestry could be traced to Eber (hence the “Hebrews”; Gen. 10:24, 25) and even more remotely to Shem, the son of Noah (hence the “Semites”; Gen. 10:21). God’s people came to understand not only their ancestry and family history, but also the origins of their institutions, customs, languages, and different cultures, especially basic human experiences such as sin and death.
CREATION DAY ONE
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
vs 1 The beginning. From our perspective nothing existed until God began. God exists eternally and the laws which govern His creation do not apply as fully or the same to Him. God begins with nothing and creates something. Nothing in this creation can do this. God will do what nothing else can do in the opening chapters of Genesis, He will bring order from chaos.
All that we perceive were created by God. In one very vague verse God creates all of the laws of nature and the materials from which we will be created for.
vs 2 without form and void. The master potter has his medium in which to begin shaping His masterpiece. darkness on the face of the deep. No light and the earth is covered in water. Spirit of God, not only is the Holy Spirit present at creation, but God the Son also.
vs3 God said, once again vague. God could have elaborated a little bit more. Let there be light, The sun and moon are not yet created, so I will conclude that God provided the light, and then withheld the light to create a period of darkness. Note that as far as time is concerned, the only understanding we have is based upon the sun and the moon.
vs 4-5 good, When God says it is good, whatever He just created, is fulfilling the purpose for which it was created.
By dividing the light and the dark God has given us the understanding of a day. This will be the pattern upon which the sun and moon will operate.
All that we perceive were created by God. In one very vague verse God creates all of the laws of nature and the materials from which we will be created for.
vs 2 without form and void. The master potter has his medium in which to begin shaping His masterpiece. darkness on the face of the deep. No light and the earth is covered in water. Spirit of God, not only is the Holy Spirit present at creation, but God the Son also.
vs3 God said, once again vague. God could have elaborated a little bit more. Let there be light, The sun and moon are not yet created, so I will conclude that God provided the light, and then withheld the light to create a period of darkness. Note that as far as time is concerned, the only understanding we have is based upon the sun and the moon.
vs 4-5 good, When God says it is good, whatever He just created, is fulfilling the purpose for which it was created.
By dividing the light and the dark God has given us the understanding of a day. This will be the pattern upon which the sun and moon will operate.
DAY TWO
6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
vs 6 This is a description of a flat piece of metal beaten into a dome.
DAY THREE
9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. 11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.
vs 9-13 God creates dry ground and orders the bodies of water. Then He brings forth life. This life will sustain those creatures that are yet to come.
DAY FOUR
14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15 and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. 19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
vs 14-19 This is the creation of the day as we understand it. It is not until day four that the current concept of time is created.
DAY FIVE
20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. 21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. 23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
DAY SIX
24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. 31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. 31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
vs 24-25 All living creatures have a kind. It appears that God creates different families of creatures. God saw it was good. They were all fulfilling their purpose.
vs 26-27 Now we get to the good part. The word us here could have multiple meanings. The majestic, the assembly of heavenly beings, or the Trinity. Perhaps all three.
We are made in His image. We are created with body, soul and spirit. Reflecting the Trinity. We also possess understanding. We are also to be a reflection of the Creator.
Male and female. Both will be created equally. Just as the other living creatures were created to help sustain the creation, male and female would have their roles. Here we do not see a distinction of domination of one over the other.
vs 28 Our purpose is clearly outlined in this verse. We are the stewards of this world. We will manage it and we will maintain it. By being fruitful we will have more help to complete this task.
vs 29-30 Everything was vegetarian. At this point there was no death. Since I like vegetables, I think the tradeoff would be a good one.
vs 31 The conclusion of the creation.
vs 26-27 Now we get to the good part. The word us here could have multiple meanings. The majestic, the assembly of heavenly beings, or the Trinity. Perhaps all three.
We are made in His image. We are created with body, soul and spirit. Reflecting the Trinity. We also possess understanding. We are also to be a reflection of the Creator.
Male and female. Both will be created equally. Just as the other living creatures were created to help sustain the creation, male and female would have their roles. Here we do not see a distinction of domination of one over the other.
vs 28 Our purpose is clearly outlined in this verse. We are the stewards of this world. We will manage it and we will maintain it. By being fruitful we will have more help to complete this task.
vs 29-30 Everything was vegetarian. At this point there was no death. Since I like vegetables, I think the tradeoff would be a good one.
vs 31 The conclusion of the creation.