Creation Days: Interpretation

 

The creation days establish an interpretational pattern that is used throughout the entirety of the Bible, in the narratives and writings of the prophets in the Old Testament, ultimately finding fulfillment in Christ. To understand the pattern and framework of the creation week, we must first consider a principle of biblical interpretation on the relationship between the historic and the symbolic.

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Since the creation account in Genesis is the foundation of all cosmic order, purpose and fulfillment, we must first affirm it as being historically accurate, meaning that it is literal in a historic sense: God created the entire universe out of nothing in six days (24 hour periods). There are various reasons for this, but most compelling is that the creation narrative flows directly into the fall of man narrative, the consequences of which become the primary biblical theme, all being resolved in Christ. If the creation narrative is only symbolic, it is difficult to root the fall and all proceeding narratives as both historical and ontological realities. In order for the work of the Second Adam to redeem humanity, the fall of the first had to be actualized in history just the same.

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The historical context does not in any way degrade the symbolic significance of the narrative. The symbols are actualized by the activity of God and suffused into every detail of nature, then revealed with intentional language in the narrative. We ought not confuse the symbolic language of the creation narrative with language of science or physics- it is not an attempt to describe the creation in terms of function, but rather, a symbolic explanation in terms of appearance that correspond to the reason of each created part.

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God created the world in a particular creative order and it was recorded with specific descriptive language to reveal the purpose and reason of the world. These two aspects of the Scriptures together function as a blueprint for a patterned creation week that offers insight not only into the larger biblical themes, but into the language imbedded in the creation, all bearing testimony to the Eternal Word of God.

Part 2 of 12 of the Creation Days series