Bible Reading 1

One of the projects I have decided to undertake in retirement – now a week old – is reading the bible from its Genesis to Revelation. I have also decided I will post my reflections on my readings – they probably won’t be daily but hopefully regularly. These are not going to involve any kind of formal exegesis but rather my thoughts and experiences which seem – at least at the moment - to be related to the text for the day.

The beginning is naturally in the beginning. I approached this with the expectation that the story of creation wouldn’t hold many surprizes for me. However, I was reminded that so much of the creation involved separation – light from darkness, land from water, day from night. I also noticed – was reminded - that God did not declare ‘his’ work on the second day good. This seems to be an oversight on his part. What would there be about that activity that was not good? The dome of the sky seems to be something that should be good. The waters above and the waters below were separated. Was this something that God was ambivalent about? Separation – breaking up – can be hard to do as the song says. Perhaps this was prescient regarding the ambivalence God might have had about having to through Adam and Eve out of the Garden. This act seems necessary if humans were going to grow up and become mature rather than staying as children in the womb of God’s Garden. In any case more of that later.