Torah Portion Breisheet - By the Word of the LORD

By Dan and Brenda Cathcart

The video version is available at: https://youtu.be/sTGbmP5H2uk

The scripture reading is Genesis 1:1-6:8

We all know the story of creation recorded in the book of Genesis. It is probably among the first Bible stories that we were exposed to as young children in Sunday school. Unfortunately, that first exposure has often left us in our adult years with only a superficial understanding of the unimaginable nature and scope of creation itself. The Psalmist perfectly captures the profound nature of our created universe.

Psalms 33:6 NKJV 6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.

On the other hand, much of our public education is dedicated to denying this power of God’s word and attributing the origin of the universe and our very existence to random chance, ie: evolution. So, as we grow up, we are conflicted with these two world views. Is the Biblical creation account a myth? Is it a poetic allegory, meant to give a primitive people a foundation on which to build a functioning society? Or is the Bible story of creation an absolute true accounting of the origin of all that exists and thereby transcending the ages?

The viewpoint of Judaism, and therefore Christianity, regarding the origins of everything is unique among ancient societies. The Biblical creation account is constructed as narrative, unlike other ancient cultures where epic poetry is the norm. The Biblical account of creation is not about a pantheon of gods battling it out for supremacy among each other with man caught in the middle. The Bible tells us the story of a loving God who created a universe, a heaven and earth, for the benefit of man whom He made in His own image. With a careful examination of the Genesis account, we can begin to see a small piece of the incredible power of God’s word and His work of creation by His word.

God has given us the ability to look up to the heavens and see the beauty and majesty of His creation. We are often rendered speechless in awe and wonder at the magnificent variety and complexity of what He has done. He has given us the intelligence and awareness to examine His creation and to seek out its hidden mysteries.

Proverbs 25:2 NKJV 2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

The Hebrew word translated as search is, rqh Kahaw-kar’, number 2713 in the Strong’s Concordance meaning to examine intimately, to search or seek out. We are given the ability and charged with the task to intimately examine God’s creation; to uncover the mysteries of God to the best of our ability.

Before we can even begin to examine God’s creation, we must first examine and understand how all that we see around us came into existence. The first mystery to be discovered is contained in the very first day of creation.

Genesis 1:1-5 NKJV 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

This first day of creation, of course, lays the foundation for all that was to come. But there is more to the first day than just that. There is a kind of chronology implied. In verse one, God created the heavens and the earth from the very first moment. In this first moment of creation, God spoke, and by his word alone, all the basic substance of the universe came into existence. For most of the rest of the six days in the creation account, God is manipulating this basic substance, both matter and energy, and forming the universe that we recognize.

One of the keys to understanding this creation account is to understand certain words. The word translated as create is arb bara’, number 1254 meaning literally to create, to do or to make. When we, that is man, “creates” something, we are merely manipulating materials already in existence. In the case of God and the creation account of Genesis chapter one, He begins with nothing as we know it, and by merely the power of His word, brings everything into existence.

The word bara is used in only two other places in the creation account of Genesis one; in verse 21

Genesis 1:21 NKJV 21 So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

And in verse 27.

Genesis 1:27 NKJV 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

I would suppose the use of the word bara begs the question, did God create the sea creatures, birds of the air, and man by the power of His word alone? Well, not quite. The account of the creation of man in chapter two perhaps clarifies the answer.

Genesis 2:7 NKJV 7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

In this verse we see that God “formed” man from the dust of the ground; from a substance already created, presumably on day one. But there is a catch, God breathed into the nostrils of man the breath of life. This brings us back to our opening verse from Psalms.

Psalms 33:6 NKJV 6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.

The Psalmist identifies two instruments of God involved in creation, His word, and His breath. Both are in play with the creation of Man. This aspect of the creation of man is found in Genesis 2:7, which we just read, where God breathed the breath of life into man. The word breath is emsn Nesh-aw-maw’, number 5397 meaning vital breath, intellect, inspiration, soul, or spirit. God breathed intellect, soul, and spirit directly into man by His breath of life! By giving man the breath of life, Nesh-aw-maw’, God has instilled in us a soul and spirit to fellowship with Him and the intellect to pursue the mysteries of His creation.

Another word of interest in Genesis 2:7 is the word translated as formed. It is ryi Yaw-tsar’, number 3335 meaning to mold into, form or make, as in a potter. But there is something unique about Yaw-tsar’ in this verse. Something that one does not see in our English translations of the Bible. In the original Hebrew, as written in the Torah scrolls, the word Yaw-tsar’ is spelled beginning with two letter yods (ryii). In the ancient form of written Hebrew, the letters of which were borrowed from Egyptian hieroglyphics, the letter yod was represented by a picture of an outstretched hand. The implication of this is that when God formed man from the dust of the ground, He used two hands instead of one as the spelling of the word Yaw-tsar’ elsewhere in the Torah scrolls indicates.

In keeping with theme and title of this series, Words from Our Father, let’s pursue these mysteries of His creation by taking a look at a few of God’s words concerning His personal involvement with the creation of man contained in the very beginning of the Bible with Genesis 1:1

Genesis 1:1 NKJV 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

In Hebrew, this verse contains only seven words, where the English translation has ten. The first Hebrew word is tisarb B’reisheet and is translated as “in the beginning.” It is a variation of the word tisar re’shiyth number 7225 meaning first in place, time, order or rank, beginning, chiefest, or firstfruits. A letter b beit is added to the beginning of the word. As a prefix to a word, the beit adds the meaning “in”, or “through”, or “with thought of.”

With this in mind, Genesis 1:1 could also be translated “In the beginning, through or with the firstfruits, God created the heavens and the earth.”  So who or what is the firstfruits? The apostle Paul spoke of Yeshua as the “firstfruits.”

1 Corinthians 15:20 NKJV 20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

John, in his gospel, recognized the foremost position of Messiah Yeshua.

John 1:1-3 NKJV 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

The letter beit has a meaning in and of itself. It means “house.” When added to re’shiyth, ie: firstfruits, we see that creation is a house for the firstfruits!

The writer of Hebrew also recognizes that Messiah Yeshua was an active part of creation from the beginning.

Hebrews 1:1-2 NKJV 1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;

We have already touched on the second word of Genesis 1:1, bara, created. But when we take a closer look, we see the Son of God, Messiah Yeshua emphasized again. Bara is spelled arb. The first two letters spell the Hebrew word bar which often means son as in bar mitzvah. The last letter is the aleph, which is the first letter in the name of God used throughout the creation account in Genesis, Elohim, the third word. So, we see that the Son, bar, along with the Father, Aleph, is the one doing the creating, bara! Messiah Yeshua, the Son of God is heir of all created things. When He returns, all of creation will be His kingdom!

The third word of Genesis 1:1 is Miela Elohim number 430 which can mean gods in the ordinary sense. But here in the Genesis account, Elohim always refers to the supreme God. It is used to denote God in His attribute of justice, as ruler, law giver, and judge of the world. This is the name of God used exclusively throughout the creation account until the creation of man! At that point efei or Yehovah is used for Gods name indicating His loving, covenant keeping attributes.

The fourth word is interesting from a variety of aspects. It is ta ayth number 853 and is not translated at all because it has no equivalent in English. The Strong’s concordance defines it as:

#853. ta 'eth, ayth apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely):--(as such unrepresented in English).

Ayth is spelled using the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In Hebraic thought, this spelling would be taken to represent all the letters of the Hebrew alphabet as well as all the words God spoke as He created the heavens and the earth! The use of the word ayth in Genesis 1:1 emphasizes that the entire creation was created at this time by the hand of God! Ayth emphasis the creation of the heavens and the earth, the objects of the verb bara, or created.

We can’t overlook that Yeshua refers to Himself as aleph tav in Revelation.

Revelation 1:8 NKJV 8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

The Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet and are the equivalent to the Aleph and Tav in Hebrew.

The Aleph and Tav are strategically place in the center of the seven Hebrew words that comprise Genesis 1:1. Messiah Yeshua is the centerpiece of creation. He is the Aleph and the Tav, the beginning and the end! We can think of the seven Hebrew words of Genesis 1:1 reflected in the seven lamps of the Menorah in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple. The middle lamp of the Menorah was always kept lit.

In the Genesis creation account, we see that the sun was created on the fourth day to bring light into the world.

Genesis 1:16-19 NKJV 16 Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. 17 God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

When the new heavens and the new earth are created, there will be no need for the physical sun because Yeshua is the light!

John 1:4-9 NKJV 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

In the new creation that John spoke of in Revelation, there will be no need for the sun and moon because Yeshua is the light of the world!

Revelation 21:23 NKJV 23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.

On the second day of creation, from the power of His word alone God molds the universe, as if He were a potter, to prepare the earth to accept the life that He planned for the earth.

Genesis 1:6-8 NKJV 6 Then God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters." 7 Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.

The third day God brought forth the grass, green plants, and fruit trees.

Genesis 1:11-13 NKJV 11 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 So the evening and the morning were the third day.

I mentioned previously that the fourth lamp of the Temple Menorah was always kept lit. It is on the fourth day of the creation account that God created the physical lights that we need on the earth.

Genesis 1:14-18 NKJV 14 Then God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; 15 "and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth"; and it was so. 16 Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. 17 God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.

God had originally created a perfect world for us. To fellowship with Him and be with Him forever. He breathed the breath of life into man. God breathed life into Adam and place him in God’s perfect garden. We are the only creature in all of creation that have God’s very breath in us! He created us in His image. We alone have the intellect, soul, and spirit to interact with Gods creation and to wonder and explore its multitude of mysteries. We alone have the ability and privilege to worship our Creator God.

As we move forward in this series of teaching over the next year, we will be digging deeper into the words from our Father contained in the Torah. Our focus will be on each Torah portion throughout the year covering Genesis through Deuteronomy. From the creation of the heavens and the earth and the perfect world that was the garden of Eden, to the promise of restoration and rest as the children of Israel are on the brink of entering the Promised Land.

Study Questions:

Teaching Questions:

1.      At the opening of the teaching, we mentioned that there are two disparate world views of the origin of the universe. How are believers today influenced by the theory of evolution? How has the Church been influenced and changed by secular science?

 

2.      In the Genesis account of creation, there are two tools or instruments which God uses over the six days of creation. This is reflected in two different words in the Hebrew; one is bara, number 1254, translated as create or created, and the other is asah, number 6213 translated as made, make, or yielding as found in Genesis 1:12. Discuss these two different words, how they are used, and what they imply about God’s act of creation.

 

3.      The fourth Hebrew word of Genesis 1:1 is ta, aleph and tav, the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Read Isaiah 41:4, 44:6-7 and 48:12-13. In these verses, God refers to Himself as the first and the last. How do these verses reinforce the idea that the fourth Hebrew word in Genesis 1:1 represents all of creation?

 

General Portion Questions

 

4.      List three aspects of God revealed in the creation account. (look beyond Genesis chapter 1) Elaborate on these aspects. How do they allow us to experience God in our lives?

 

5.      Genesis chapter 2 seems to be a repeat or summary of the creation account given in chapter 1. How are these two chapters different? Are they complimentary or is there contradiction?

 

6.      What other insights did you gain from this teaching? What indicators are there in this Torah Portion that point to Messiah Yeshua?

 

© 2022 Moed Ministries International. All rights reserved.