Can you spot the differences?

When I was a kid, I used to love when my new "Highlights" magazines would come and there'd be a page with two nearly identical pictures on it. The bottom picture would contain several (albeit hard to find for a four-year-old) changes from the top picture. Perhaps a person's shirt pattern differed slightly in the second, or the item sitting on the picture's counter would be missing. Sometimes it was easier to find the similarities than it was to see the differences; other times by looking for similarities, a difference would jump out and reveal itself as well.

Within the Hebrew Bible (that's the Old Testament (which is the OT in my world...er...writing) of course!), there are stories mentioned in the stories found in Genesis 1-11 that are not mentioned anywhere else. Maybe these stories were not very well-known or that they were created later than other biblical materials (for more information on sourcing, listen to this week's lecture on "Documentary Hypothesis" Part A and Part B). In other parts of the Pentateuch - the first five books of the Bible - we see that there are references to the creation story that differ from the Pentateuch's first book, Genesis.

Although it's not identical to the challenge of "Highlights" magazine's "Spot the Difference" page, let's look at some other passages from the OT and see how they say things went down during creation. Then, we'll look at the Genesis creation story and see how they differ. (Note: All biblical references are from the Common English Bible (CEB) unless otherwise noted.)

Isaiah 51:9 says wake up and get your armor on! Not literal armor (although with all the taking of different cities by force throughout biblical times, perhaps armor is a good choice!)

Job 9:4-14 says God shakes the earth from its place (9:6) and commands the sun (9:7).

Job 26:7-14 says "God stretched the North over chaos, hung earth over nothing" (26:7). In this passage, we also read that God hid the face of the moon (26:9) and stilled the Sea (26:12).

In Job 38:1-11, God reprimands Job and reminds him that he made the earth's foundations (38:4), set its measurements (38:5), and made the sea (38:8).

In Psalm 8:1-9, we read praises about God's making his glory higher than heaven (8:1), laying a strong foundation (8:2), and placing the moon and the stars (8:3). This is the first of the listed passages that mentions God's creating the sheep, cattle, wild animals, fish, birds, and everything that swims (8:7-8).  The language used here is very similar to that of the Genesis creation story.

Psalm 74:12-17 says God shattered the heads of the sea monsters (74:13), crushed Leviathan's heads 74:14), split streams and made rivers dry up (74:15). This passage says that God created the moon and the sun (74:16), established all the boundaries of the earth (74:17), and made the seasons (74:17).

Psalm 89:8-10 reminds us that God rules over the sea (89:9) and scatters enemies with a strong arm (89:10).

Psalm 104:1-9 seems different than the other passages in the ways it talks about God's creation. In it, God is praised for his majestic ways (which He is, amIright?!), but the descriptions of what God has done are light and uplifting. Some other are very powerful, rightfully so, but in a way that is more firm. In this passage, we read that God has opened the skies (104:2), builds His house on the waters (104:3), and established the earth's foundations (104:5)... foundations ---- are you sensing a theme yet?

In Psalm 136:1-9, we read about the One who makes: great wonders (136:4), the sky (136:5), shaped the earth (136:6), made the great lights (136:7), set the sun to rule over days (136:8) and the moon and stars to rule the night (136:9).

Finally, Proverbs 8:22-31 talks about God making the earth and fields (8:26), marking the horizon on the sea (8:27), and making the earth's foundations (8:29).

When we look back at the creation stories of Genesis. there are many pieces from these passages that are similar. We have seen throughout many of the above-mentioned passages that "God created the foundations of the earth" (Genesis 1:1). God created over a period of seven days to include water, sky, animals, and earth. In many of the passages, we see these parts especially repeated throughout.

I have a very difficult time imagining a story that could be created or written including the pieces of the stories that are included outside of the Genesis creation stories. I wonder if I'm too "stuck" in the creation story of God's creating everything out of nothing in seven days that I know and have read about so many times to be able to think of an alternative story. I think in an alternative story to those included in Genesis 1-2, the creation of earth could be more forceful (Um, hello! Everything out of nothing in like an "'I Dream of Jeannie' head bob/arm cross/doooooiiiiiinnnnnn sound" split-second... I get it... it's forceful that way too!), but by more forceful, I think about the passage from Psalm 74 specifically -- head crushing, shattering, splitting force.  This seems aggressive and negatively powerful rather than the creation story we know - one of what I'd call a forceful beauty. Yes, the earth was powerfully and forcefully created out of nothing. Yes, all living things - birds, swimmies, walkers (that's us... and the dogs, I suppose!), and even the creepy-crawlies - were created by God. All of these things seem to have been done forcefully, yet lovingly in the Genesis renditions.

I do want to end on a more serious note: I want to express my deep sorrow at the devastation and loss of life, homes, possessions that is being sifted through as a result of the earthquake in Nepal. We can analyze the biblical history of the creation, but it hurts to see when creation is mangled before our eyes. I pray that God is evident in the lives of those affected and that the peace and grace of God's love is felt by every one who is at a loss.

T-OOTLE-oo!

Melissa