in the beginning.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1.

These ten English words begin a journey of knowledge, faith and revelation beyond the capacity of the human mind to exhaust. In the realm of science they are as unalterable and confronting as another list of ten. Of course that list is the Ten Commandments which deal with faith and morality.

Briefly we meditate upon the first three words. The next meditation will direct our heart and mind to the Creator.

Who wrote such confronting words? He must have been told about the event, not being present at the beginning. I’d suggest it was Adam who kept the record from his conversations with God. As we will discover Adam was no grunting, evolving ape. He was created fully endowed with physical, mental and spiritual capabilities beyond our comprehension.  To get some idea of this man you need to see him through the lens, as it were, of the 2^nd Adam as Jesus is called. Ultimately it would be Moses who compiled the account with other sources to give to us the first five books of Scripture.

 This verse in one breath sweeps away any notion that the universe is eternal or imbued with God’s nature. Later on this is re-enforced by the announcement of Isaiah 65:17: ‘See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.’ Why was this necessary? We will consider the reason in a future meditation..

The word for ‘beginning’ also is translated as ‘first, chief and first-fruit.’ Would I be off beam to say God is here establishing a principle He would require from His people? They were expected to bring of the first-fruits of their crop and herds as a gift to Him. In the opening verse of the Bible the Lord God prepared a magnificent first fruit gift of His creative act for Adam and future generations. The heavens not only declare the Lord’s glory, they express His generosity.

By stating the universe and everything it in had a beginning points to the Lord as being before it. Within the pages of Scripture we come across one of His titles, Alpha and Omega. Revelation 1:8: ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’ says the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.’ In the Greek alphabet Alpha is the beginning and Omega is the end. Again we are confronted by a principle. The Lord claims the right by His very being as well as by His creation of Humankind to be their and our, Alpha. Only then can we be assured He will be our Omega when our life comes to its full stop. We need to heed Isaiah 45:21-22: ‘There is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Saviour; there is none like me. Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.’

If you or I take the accounts of Genesis as beautiful fiction, fantasy or fable we will succumb to a mishmash of theories. These will weaken our foundation for faith and cause malnutrition of the spirit. Genesis is fact, plain and simple it may be, but fact it remains. You will never need to apologise for your faith because God’s word is eternally true and not subject to ever recurring changes to so called scientific findings.

In the beginning, God!

He is pre-eminent in creation.

Is He in my life?

Therefore I resolve to make it my business to build my life on the foundation of God being my Alpha and Omega.

The day God sings solo.

Zephaniah 3:17 The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.

Those who hold the Bible as God’s Word telling of promised events, some fulfilled, others still to take place, are aware of a great tragedy unfolding. Everyday rumblings of this coming event can be heard, a nightmare in the making. The fact of it being detailed is to prepare God’s people to face it with the confidence of His victory. Following what various prophets and the Lord Jesus spoke about concerning the nightmare to come Zephaniah presents a most tender finale. What he wrote about the Eternal God and Jerusalem surely can find a similar experience in your life, my life, when the nightmares of existence come to terrorize.

            The Lord is with you. Unseen, often unfelt yet He made a promise to be with those who have called upon His Name. We overlook such verses as Isaiah 63:9 “In all their distress he too was distressed.” When Saul was persecuting the Church Jesus confronted him with these words, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Every time a disciple was afflicted it cut into the heart of Jesus.

            He will take great delight in you. It’s as though when you enter His presence through the furnace of oppression the Lord desires to make it up by enjoying your company in a special way. The picture to the heart is one of the Lord with the individual sitting together looking at a sunrise and the Lord listening to the person’s story.

            He will quiet you with His love. The turmoil, tears, tragedy which haunted and harmed body, soul and mind begins to subside in the Lord’s presence and compassionate understanding. It has a renewing affect in the goodness and grace of the Eternal God. Isaiah looked down the tunnel of history to make this observation “The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever” (32:17). The reality of Christ’s imputed righteousness is the basis for future, as well as present day peace and confidence in the sovereignty of God and His companionship.

            He will rejoice over you with singing. What an amazing promise waits to be the experience by those who greet the Christ on His return. The Bible is filled with the redeemed singing praises to the Name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Zephaniah is the only place where God sings. What does He sing? It is untitled but it is a song of joy and victory, of pleasure and love. Maybe Isaiah 62 gives a clue. For there the Lord gives an illustration of a bridegroom rejoicing over his bride. A love song from the Lord over His people. Wow! Can you imagine what a glorious solo this will be on their behalf? This is specifically promised to Jerusalem and the redeemed of Israel. Surely it also embraces all who find salvation and security in Christ Jesus.

            The voice of the Lord will be heard from one end of the universe to the other and will begin a festival of celebration.  What a fabulous victory concert is in store. We may live through sorrow, grief and pain but with Christ as our lord and His word as our guide we look forward to hearing the Lord God burst into song.

©Ray Hawkins November 26 2017