Creation

Genesis begins with “in the beginning God.” This is the main idea of the creation account. Unlike the pagan mythologies, Yahweh has no beginning, according to the Bible. Yahweh merely states that He was and is and that He created everything. The fact is that His kingdom has always existed (Ps. 29:10; 74:12; 93:1-2). The main idea is not about how Yahweh created the world in a detailed, scientific way but that, unlike the pagan gods, He was the only one responsible for creation and created it in a very different way from what they claimed to be the origin of creation. The Hebrew word for God in Gen.1:1 is “Elohim,” which has the idea of a sovereign king ruling over his kingdom. In this way the creation account is a polemic against the gods just as much as the plagues of Egypt and Elijah’s battle at Mount Carmel were polemics.

There are six major differences between the pagan gods and their creation accounts and Yahweh and His creation account.

1. The pagan gods are portrayed as having a beginning, therefore they can have an end. In contrast, Yahweh is portrayed as an eternal God who existed before time began and will continue on for all eternity.
2. The pagan gods are portrayed as immoral, selfish beings who are just as sinful as humanity and so are not trusted nor respected by humanity but rather feared. In contrast, Yahweh is not only seen as a morally righteous being who is unlike any other in creation but also is the standard of all righteousness.
3. The pagan gods are portrayed as creating the world out of already existent, chaotic, and evil matter. They often create in the midst of some violent cosmic battle among the gods, sometimes using the corpse of a god for the foundation of creation. In contrast, Yahweh is seen as creating, out of nothing, something that is fresh and new. There is no chaos or violence, and each day is pronounced as “good.”
4. The pagan gods are responsible for the creation of one or two elements but sometimes none at all. In contrast, Yahweh is seen as creating all things in creation on every day of the creation week.
5. The pagan gods are thus limited in power and control over one or two elements and are also portrayed as being limited in power over only certain regions/nations. In contrast, Yahweh is sovereign over all things in creation because He created all things.
6. The pagan gods created humanity to serve them as slaves and to be pawns for the gods. In contrast, Yahweh not only created humanity in order to have a loving relationship with them but also to represent Him and to share responsibility over His creation.

For someone living in the ancient Near East, reading the Bible’s creation account would have been revolutionary and refreshing. Consider the fact that Abraham was worshiping the gods of Babylon when Yahweh came and spoke to him, offering a mutual relationship. Yahweh’s unique nature and character are why Abraham immediately abandoned his gods and followed Yahweh.