The first Covenant

Kelly Salbato

1.     Look at Genesis Chapter 1.

2.     When God creates in seven days, he creates a house. He builds himself a home that he can move into so that he can dwell in our midst as a father, not just as a creator.

3.     In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. It also states that they were formless and empty. Lets look at how He did it.

The first day: God created day and night. (He creates time)
The second day: God created the sky and the sea. (He creates space)
The third day: God created the land.

(The first 3 days of creation, God gives the earth form.)

The fourth day: God creates the sun to rule over the day and the moon and stars to rule over the night.
The fifth day: God creates the beings to rule over the sky and the sea namely the fish to rule over the sea and the birds to rule over the sky.
The sixth day: God creates the creatures to rule over and inhabit the land. Namely beasts and Man.

In the second three days of creation, God filled the structure with living beings.

This is important: Remember that the Hebrew term "covenant" is built upon the verb "to seven oneself" This explains why Gods creation is depicted in seven days, because what is God doing in the act of creating the cosmos? He's swearing a covenant to His world. He is not just master. We are not just slaves. He's not just creator and we creatures.

That is true, but it doesn't go far enough.  If he had stopped on the sixth day, we would be creatures, slaves and the private property of God. But He went on and blessed the seventh day and took a rest and INVITED US INTO THAT REST. That represents the covenant relationship that He establishes with His creation.

The seventh day: Gen. 2:3 "God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work he had done in creation."

Holy: The word holy is often used to mean pious. The actual meaning is set apart.

Note: In the second depiction of creation in Gen. 2:8 , we see God planting a garden in Eden, in the East. We often think of a garden as being open, but in this case, the garden, of paradise, was an enclosed garden.  Surrounded by a wall. The gate to this garden was facing the East. Another word often used to describe the Garden of Eden is paradise. The term Paradise. is borrowed from Persia and means a walled-lush garden.