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why did God have to rest on the 7th day after creating Earth? Was he tired? Is there a limit to his power? why did it take 6 days? that's actually a long time for a God.
why did God have to rest on the 7th day after creating Earth? Was he tired? Is there a limit to his power? why did it take 6 days? that's actually a long time for a God.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ashleynj
Good question. It might be symbolic?
I have also wondered why God had to ask Adam in the Garden of Eden where he was hiding? Wouldn't God know?
I think the answer to those (and dozens of other questions about things in the bible that don't make sense) come under the works-in-mysterious-ways umbrella.
I have also wondered why God had to ask Adam in the Garden of Eden where he was hiding? Wouldn't God know?
so everything in the bible is symbolic? that's all I hear Christians saying about the bible, the flood during Noah's days was symbolic, the world ending is symbolic, Christ coming back is symbolic
why did God have to rest on the 7th day after creating Earth? Was he tired? Is there a limit to his power? why did it take 6 days? that's actually a long time for a God.
Genesis 1 intentionally references the Enuma Elish, the creation myth of the Babylonians, to redirect its themes into Hebrew theology. The Jews had just come back from Babylon and had a lot of Babylonian ideas stuck in their heads. Unfortunately I do not have the time today to do a full treatment of this. But here is a bit about the resting business.
In Babylonian mythology, Marduk the chief god had a really rough time defeating primordial chaos, itself a god. The Hebrew God brings order out of chaos by merely willing it, without any opposition. Marduk's victory over chaos was only temporary and needed to be ritually renewed every year to keep chaos under control. The Hebrew God did it once and just sat back. Chaos was permanently squelched and order reigned with no further intervention needed. The seven day business refers to the Jewish six day work week and seventh day Sabbath, serves as a framework for the orderly arrangement of creation and just might be a literary redirection device referring to the seven tablets on which the Enuma Elish was written.
Last edited by Alt Thinker; 11-01-2014 at 01:09 PM..
why did God have to rest on the 7th day after creating Earth? Was he tired? Is there a limit to his power? why did it take 6 days? that's actually a long time for a God.
He didn't have to. He wanted to. He rested a day--just like he commanded the Israelites to do.
why did God have to rest on the 7th day after creating Earth? Was he tired? Is there a limit to his power? why did it take 6 days? that's actually a long time for a God.
God rested simply because He had completed His work regarding preparing the earth for man. He was not tired. There is no limit to God's power. He is able to do all that He wills, though He may not will to do all that He can. This does not mean that God can do absurdities such as creating a square circle. It also does not mean that God can do anything that is against His nature. God is truth and therefore cannot lie. God is eternal life and therefore cannot die. God is triune and therefore the Godhead cannot become more or less than the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is immutable and cannot change.
God asked Adam where he was not because He didn't know, but because He was simply focusing Adam's attention on his situation.
I also believe it was to call Adam (and us) out of our imagined 'hiding places' and into a personal, loving relationship where we trust God enough to "worship Him in Spirit and truth."
I agree that God did get tired or did not know where Adam was. He was finished with this part of His work in the creation and He was also teaching Adam something. Many scriptures use the language of anthropomorphism. This is when God condescends or gets down on our level to identify and communicate with us so that we may understand Him. Many times, God "acts like" He doesn't know something as relayed in the scriptures or regrets, for example, that He made man, for His purposes. Jesus was the lamb slain for all people since the foundation or beginning of the world. God already knew what would happen with Adam and He even brought it into existence.
God bless.
Last edited by ShanaBrown; 11-01-2014 at 01:29 PM..
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