Genesis chapters 1 and 2—it’s the story everyone thinks they know. For years, we’ve been drawn into debates over how these passages square with science, often getting caught up in the evolution vs. creation conversation. But what if Genesis has always been about something far more profound than “how” creation happened? What if, instead of focusing on science, Genesis aimed to reveal something essential about our identity and purpose?

Ancient readers of Genesis weren’t hung up on debates about fossils or the age of the earth. They lived in a world where gods were fierce, and creation stories often focused on war. But Genesis? It tells a different story. Let’s dive into Genesis through ancient eyes and discover why this ancient text is more relevant to our lives than we may think.

How Genesis Stands Out in a World of Creation Myths

If you grew up in church, Genesis likely sounds familiar: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” But step outside that lens for a moment. Imagine being an ancient person surrounded by cultures like Egypt and Babylon. In their myths, creation begins with epic battles between gods. Gods fight, blood spills, and somehow creation stumbles into existence. In the Babylonian myth Enuma Elish, the god Marduk slices a sea monster in half to create the world. Creation is a battlefield, born out of struggle and power plays.

Now look at Genesis: Yahweh simply speaks. There’s no battle. No one gets sliced in half. Creation responds instantly, as if chaos has no choice but to obey. In Genesis, God’s power comes not from conquering other gods, but from the power of His spoken word.

Here’s where it gets even more interesting: Genesis not only redefines power in the ancient world; it foreshadows the power of Jesus’ message. Just as God’s word creates, Jesus’ words heal, challenge, and transform. When He said, “Lazarus, come out,” death itself had to listen.

This idea of authority through words, not violence, turns ancient expectations upside down. The Jews of Jesus’ time wanted a warrior Messiah to crush Rome. Jesus, however, took the nonviolent path, wielding not a sword but His spoken word. And it changed the world far more profoundly than any army ever has.

The Genesis Creation Story: A Functional, Ordered World

Genesis isn’t a random collection of events; it has a clear poetic structure with purpose behind every word. The seven-day creation structure tells us much more than “this happened, then this.” In the language of ancient culture, Genesis isn’t describing the materials of creation, but functions. Each day of creation establishes a different purpose.

And Day Seven? It stands apart. It’s the “temple in time,” a day set aside as holy—a day of sacred rest.

This isn’t just about taking a break; it reveals the purpose of creation itself. God builds a world, fills it, and then rests with His creation, inviting humanity into that sacred time. In Genesis, God didn’t create humans as cheap laborers. He created us as partners.

In other ancient cultures, only kings bore the image of the gods. Common people were there to serve—basically, the gods’ personal workforce. Genesis challenges this. Every human bears God’s image. Every human participates in His purpose for the world.

When God again partners with humanity after the flood, He makes the same promise of sustaining the functions necessary for life:

Bearing God’s Image: A Divine Partnership

The Genesis account reveals that creation wasn’t complete when God “finished.” Look closely at His command: “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.” This implies that creation was left “unfinished.” God invites humanity into a partnership to bring His order, His beauty, and His character into every corner of the world.

This is where Genesis gets really practical. Bearing God’s image means more than reflecting His likeness. It’s about acting as He acts, mirroring His character in the world. The ancient world might have struggled with this, but we have an example in Jesus. Jesus didn’t subdue chaos with power and might. He did it by washing feet, by serving, by loving those deemed unlovable.

To be God’s image-bearers, we’re called to “subdue” the world—not by force but by showing God’s character. That means confronting injustice, lifting the oppressed, and loving sacrificially. It’s hard, messy work, but it’s the work we were created for.

What This Means for Us Today

If we take Genesis seriously—not as a scientific textbook, but as an ancient, divine revelation—what changes?

• Identity: You are God’s image-bearer. You’re not an afterthought; you’re a co-creator with a purpose.
• Purpose: God’s “unfinished” creation calls us to bring His character into every corner of our lives. We don’t just worship God in church. We bear His image by how we treat people in line at the grocery store, how we listen to a friend in need, and how we care for the planet.
• Community: Every person around us also bears God’s image. Genesis democratizes dignity. It’s not just kings who reflect the divine, but every single human being.

And here’s the clincher: Genesis’ story shows us that God’s power doesn’t need violence to change the world. He speaks, and creation obeys. Jesus speaks, and lives are transformed. We’re called to live with that same kind of power—changing the world through words of love, compassion, and truth.

Moving Beyond the Debates

We can spend our lives caught up in debates, defending theories and timelines, but we risk missing the point. Genesis wasn’t written to satisfy our curiosity about science. It was written to call us into a relationship with the Creator and to challenge the way we live. When we see Genesis in its ancient context, we stop asking “how” and start asking “why.”

Why does Genesis matter? Because it tells us who we are and what we’re here to do. It’s a story of how the world began and how it continues—through us.

So, let’s stop focusing on theories and start living our purpose as image-bearers, as partners in God’s unfinished creation.