BIBLE STUDY LESSON 1

SERIES A --- YHVH’S PIONEERS

IN THE BEGINNING

THE WAY THE WORLD BEGAN

From Genesis 1:1–2:3:
In the beginning YHVH created the heavens and the earth. At first, the earth was a desolate waste, and a deep, brooding darkness covered the great empty places. Above it all, the Spirit of YHVH hovered. Then YHVH sent forth a Command over this wasteland. [Let light appear!] He ordered. The shadows scattered and light came upon the earth. YHVH was pleased with the light and separated it from the darkness. When the light shone it was day, and when the darkness appeared it was night. This is how YHVH made the first day, assigning a certain time for darkness and light to appear, separating them with evening and morning. Then YHVH ordered the waters of the earth to separate. The waters below became vast oceans, and the waters above became clouds and vapours. Separating the two was the great canopy of the heavens called the sky. By now, the end of the second day had come. On the third day YHVH caused the oceans to gather together into certain places, permitting the dry land to appear. YHVH called the dry land Earth, and the gathering of the waters He called Sea. With this work YHVH was pleased, for it was a good work.

[Now let the land be clothed with vegetation, seed-bearing plants and fruit trees that carry their seeds in the fruit, so that the seeds may continue to produce their own kind of plants.] As YHVH Commanded these things, they happened, and the third day ended. With all of these things YHVH was pleased. YHVH continued His work with this Command: [Let bright lights appear in the sky to light the earth and separate the day from the night, to designate the seasons, the days, and the years. Let them shine in the sky, giving light upon the earth.] It all happened as YHVH Commanded. He made two great lights, one to govern the day and the other to govern the night, and He also made the stars. YHVH placed them in the canopy of the heavens, the sky, to shine upon the earth and to determine the times of light and darkness. YHVH was pleased with these things, too. When He finished this work, the fourth day had ended. On the fifth day, YHVH gave another Command. [Let the waters come alive with fish and sea creatures, and let birds of all kinds fly above the earth in the great canopy of the sky.] So, it happened the way YHVH said. YHVH made the waters come alive with all kinds of sea creatures, great and small, and placed the winged creatures in the sky. YHVH was pleased with all these things and blessed them, for they were good. [Multiply!] YHVH told them all.

[Fill the seas and the skies with your own kind!] When this work was finished, the fifth day came to a close. Once again YHVH spoke. [Let the earth produce every kind of living creature -- cattle, reptiles, and the wild animals to roam the earth.] So, it happened. YHVH made every kind of wild animal, cattle, and reptile, and YHVH was pleased with the creatures that He had made. Then YHVH said: [Let Us make man to be like Us, and let him be in charge of all the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the cattle and the wild animals, and the reptiles that crawl upon the earth.] So YHVH created man to be like Himself. In the image of Elohiym, man and woman were made. YHVH blessed them and told them, [Multiply and fill the earth and bring it under your management. Rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all living animals on the earth. For your food you will have all the seed-bearing plants and the trees with seed-bearing fruit, for I have given them to you. And to these creatures, I have given the plants to eat.] Then YHVH looked upon His work and recognized how good it was. With this, the sixth day came to a close. So, the work of creation was finished, and the heaven and the earth were completed. On the seventh day YHVH laid aside His work to rest. YHVH blessed this seventh day and made it Holy, for that was the day He had rested after all the work of His creation.

COMMENTARY

THE BIBLE WORLD
The first words of the Old Testament introduce us to the Bible’s central message. [In the beginning -- YHVH.] Behind the physical universe is a Living Person. This Person is not only Powerful, but is also magnificently creative. All the wonders and beauties of our world existed first in the imagination of Elohiym. Then He spoke, and they were created… from nothing. How great this YHVH we meet in the Bible must be! The world of the Bible was a relatively small world, especially compared to the world of today. If a large world map were stretched across these two pages, less than two square inches would represent the part known as the Bible world. Within these two inches, the names of some nations have changed, while others remain the same as they have for thousands of years. Names such as Jordan, Turkey, Iran, and Iraq would have been unfamiliar to the ancients. But Egypt has been a continuous nation for thousands of years. Canaan became Israel, which disappeared for two thousand years, to appear again in this generation. Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Hittites, Philistines and many other nations and empires have gone down, to be raised again only by the archaeologist and historian. Landmarks in the Bible world, rivers, mountains, lakes, and seas remain much the same as in Bible times. Some cities, such as Jericho and Damascus, have kept their names for thousands of years, even though the cities have changed greatly. The world of the Bible was a relatively small world. But it has left a mark upon today’s world far greater than its size would suggest.