New beginnings are always exciting. So, starting from the beginning of the greatest book on earth, the Bible, is a real adventure. The story is so familiar that most of us can recite at least the first few verses. We know about the six days of creation, the appearance of the “man made from mud”—into whom God breathed his life, and the Sabbath rest on the seventh day. But reading the Word deeply, knowing that each word was breathed by the Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16), changes this ancient, well-known story into a real adventure!  We must bring our questions to every text, but especially this one. The creation of the entire universe is pretty heavy stuff, and I for one have lots of questions.

My two major questions for this article are as follows. Why does the first word in the Bible begin with a “b” and not an “a” in the Hebrew text; if this is the beginning of everything, why not start with the first letter of the alphabet? And what’s going on with the light in verse three? We’ll have plenty to ponder just in these first three verses.

About this first question, Jewish rabbis have debated. The first word of the Torah written by Moses in Hebrew is the word Bereshith which is usually translated “In the beginning” God created (the Hebrew word is closer to “built”) the heavens and the earth. So why do I see what looks like trouble in the next verse with words like “formless,” “empty,” and “darkness”? Was there a creation before the creation that Genesis reports? Could this have to do with the creation of angels, (which are not included in chapter one of Genesis) and refer to the rebellion that Lucifer led taking many angels with him (read Isaiah 14: 12-15 and Luke 10:18)? If so, this could give us a clue about where that evil snake came from who shows up in Genesis chapter three.  Lots to think about. But the rest of verse two tells us that along with this darkness over “the deep” the Spirit of God was hovering.  This is good news.

And then God speaks! Can we imagine what his voice sounded like? Boom! The English version of verse three usually reads, “And God said, ‘Let there be light, and there was light.’” But the Hebrew is simpler, “And God (Elohim) said: ‘Let light be, and light was.” Wait a minute, I thought God ordered light to be, but the tense in the Hebrew does not use the command or imperative, but the tense that tells us that God simply willed the light to appear, and it obeyed!

But this leaves us with more questions because we know that the lights that we know about, the sun, moon, stars, weren’t created until the fourth day!! So, what is this Light that appears at the word of God? I believe that this is the same Word and Light with which the Gospel of John begins, “In the beginning was the Word . . . through him all things were made . . . in him was LIFE and that LIFE was the LIGHT of men. The LIGHT shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it.”

This light is supernatural light, not created light! It is the Shekinah glory light of God. His Shekinah glory is his presence that appears to believers throughout the scriptures. Think of the cloud and fire that led the children of Israel out of slavery and into the promised land (Numbers 9:15-17); think of the light that shone on Moses’ face when he had talked with God on the mountain (Exodus 34: 29-35); think of the transfigured Jesus on the mountain (Luke 9:28-36). But most exciting for us, think of Paul’s words about US who believe, using the metaphor of Moses meeting face to face with God:

 "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit...For God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Corinthians 3:18; 4:6)

 Colossians 1:13 also says, “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.”

Jesus said, “I AM the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). The Word from Genesis chapter one is now translated for us: The Light is Jesus who brings life and always defeats darkness!  The psalmist wrote, “even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you” (139:12).  John wrote in his letter, “God is light and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). And we read in Revelation, “The city [the new Jerusalem] does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp . . . there will be no night there” (21:23, 25).

It’s amazing to think that the sun, moon and stars that the ancient pagans blindly worshipped as gods are indicative of the same darkness that those who today do not yet walk in the Light of Jesus. The lost have not experienced the “true light that has come into the world.” When Albert Einstein discovered the Quantum Theory of light, he could only analyze the light produced by the sun. Did he know that he spent his life discovering the properties only of a created light and not the Shekinah glory of God’s light that cannot be measured but can only be inherited when one is found by Jesus, the true light? There was a story that Einstein spoke to a rabbi when he was teaching at Princeton University. It was reported that he said to the rabbi that he had found the basis for his theory of relativity by reading Genesis one in Hebrew. I wondered what Einstein’s thoughts might have been about the third verse!

As we think about this supernatural light, the Shekinah glory of God’s light seen in the face of Jesus, we will be moved to long for all who are lost to come into the reach of his saving love and grace. We are called, after all, to be light in our dark world. Come, Holy Spirit!

Tags: genesis, creation, life, light of the world, shekinah, light of life