4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens
This verse begins with the closing statement of the previous section and ends with the beginning words of the next section. Many people miss this important structural element of the text and therefore misinterpret the text as a whole. The first part of the verse says “this is the account…” and closes out Chapter One’s material. All of Chapter One deals with the creation as a whole. Starting with the second half of this verse we are dealing with the creation of man, Adam in particular. This next section ends with this same phrase in 5:1 “This is the written account of Adam’s line.” This is important because some want to believe that Genesis is just a bunch of collected stories. But there is a structure to these accounts that tie them together as a whole. There is no way to separate the various “parts” from the whole without destroying the whole. The book of Genesis is intricately woven together by the Lord in such a way that all the parts fit together and if one part is removed, the structure of the whole falls apart. These two sections are not two different creation stories collected by a later writer and stuck together. They are one account of creation, revealed by God to mankind. We can trust what is written. So what did God teach us about Himself in the first chapter? He created everything out of nothing. If it is something, God created it. He created an orderly, inhabitable place in this huge creation for humankind to dwell. He revealed a six day/one day structure to these activities which will serve as a pattern for later instruction to us. As He looked at what He made He said it looked good to Him. There is only one God and yet that One God talks about Himself in the plural. Life on earth was created to sustain itself. All the creatures and plants were created as complete, identifiable entities (kinds) and created to reproduce themselves, in other words, evolution as it is taught today is bunk. Humans reflect God’s character is some marvelous and unique ways in creation.
The Arnold Journey 