A Mere Five Words

How far into the Bible does an artist, or anybody, need to read before he or she finds something relating to the arts? Not far at all. A mere 5 words. “In the beginning God created…” Reading Genesis 1:1-2:2 reveals an interesting process of creation and at least 7 interesting observations. 1) The heavens and the earth were the canvas that God created and the earth was “formless and empty” and dark (New International Versions [NIV]) – a blank canvas (1:1). 2) The Spirit of God was present from the beginning of the creation process (1:1). 3) In the words, “God saw that […] was good” we see that he paused, ‘stepped back’, evaluated his creation, and was able to give a positive self-review. The 7th time this phrase appears in this passage the significant adverb ‘very’ is added - “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good” (1:31). (4) As artists generally do nowadays, God was the 1st artist to name his works of art – “God called the light ‘day’” (1:4), before he gives names to other parts of his creation in following verses. 5) Regarding sources of inspiration, and degrees of realism in art, God made humanity in his image (1:26). 6) The variety of God’s creation is indicated in the words, “The heavens and earth were completed in all their vast array” (2:1). 7) God set an example for artists when he rested on the 7th day. Further, he blessed the 7th day and made it holy “because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done” (2:3). Following my Creator’s example, having shared these 7 observations in this blog post, I will now rest.