In the Beginning: Creation and Covenant
Blog Series Intention Recap
This series will explore the grand story of Scripture—from Creation to Consummation—showing how every part of the Bible contributes to the overarching narrative of God’s redemption through Messiah. We will see the Father’s design for humanity to dwell with Him in covenant love and reflect His image in the world. Scripture reveals how God chose a people to carry His blessing and preserve the hope of salvation for all. From that people, Yeshua (Jesus) stands as the living center of Scripture, fulfilling every covenant and restoring fellowship between God and His creation. Finally, we see the complete over-story, as heaven and earth are renewed and the Father once again dwells with His redeemed people forever. From Genesis to Revelation, the same heartbeat sounds: “I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
This page is a post in the series “Over-story: The Meta-Narrative of Scripture.” Click here to see the rest of the posts.
Let’s jump into Week #1:
In the beginning, God created… Before history began, our God authored a story of unending love—a divine plan woven through time to reveal His heart for communion with His creation. From the first breath in Eden to the final promise of new creation, every page of Scripture echoes His longing to dwell with His people. Covenant becomes the language of that love, binding heaven and earth through faithfulness that neither sin nor death can undo.
Why it Matters:
Creation displays God’s wisdom and relational intent.
Humanity bears His image to represent His rule.
Sin fractures creation’s harmony but not God’s purpose.
Covenant becomes the framework of restoration.
Go Deeper:
The Story’s Opening Scene
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1, ESV)
Every story begins somewhere, but the story of Scripture starts everywhere. Genesis 1 is not merely an origin account—it is the overture to redemption’s symphony. Out of nothing (tohu va-bohu, “formless and void”), God brings cosmos from chaos, beauty from barrenness, and life from the deep. His creative speech—vayomer Elohim (“And God said”)—is both command and communion. He does not form a world to observe from a distance; He creates a dwelling for Himself and His image-bearers.
The Hebrew verb bara means to create with divine intentionality. Creation is not accidental, nor is it impersonal. It is an act of covenant generosity. Every boundary set—light from darkness, sea from land, heaven from earth—demonstrates divine order. The world is not a stage for human performance but a sanctuary for divine presence.
On the sixth day, the narrative slows. The rhythm of repetition—and God said… and it was so… and God saw that it was good—suddenly expands into intimacy:
“Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” (Genesis 2:7)
Dust and divinity meet. The Hebrew adamah (ground) gives the name to Adam, the first human. Out of what is lowly, our God shapes what is holy. When He breathes His Ruach—His Spirit—into Adam, He transfers not merely oxygen but purpose. Humanity becomes the living image of the invisible God.
Creation: Wisdom and Relationship
Proverbs 8 personifies chokmah—wisdom—as being with God in the beginning: “When He established the heavens, I was there… then I was beside Him, like a master workman, and I was daily His delight.” (Proverbs 8:27, 30). Creation, then, is an act of wisdom expressing relationship. The world reflects divine order not through mechanical laws but moral harmony—shalom.
The Hebrew worldview sees no divide between sacred and secular. All of life is meant to declare the glory of its Creator. The sea teems, the sky sings, and humanity, male and female, completes the chorus. “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” (Genesis 1:26). This plural counsel points to divine fellowship—Father, Word (Yeshua), and Spirit acting in perfect unity.
From the beginning, the story is relational. Our God does not create because He lacks companionship; He creates to share His love. The universe is an overflow of divine chesed—steadfast love. Humanity, therefore, is not an afterthought but the centerpiece of this relational design.
Bearing the Image of the King
“So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27)
The word tselem (image) carries royal meaning. In the ancient Near East, kings placed images of themselves in distant lands as a sign of their authority. To see the image was to acknowledge the ruler’s reign. Humanity, then, is the imago dei, our God’s living image—His royal representatives in creation.
To bear God’s image is to exercise dominion, not domination. Dominion means stewardship under authority—tending the earth as priests in God’s temple. Humanity’s first command, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it,” (Genesis 1:28), is a mission statement. We are to extend Eden’s order to the ends of the earth. Creation is not static; it’s meant to be cultivated.
In Genesis 2, our God plants a garden in Eden—an enclosed sanctuary. He walks there with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. This image of God’s presence walking among His people anticipates the tabernacle in the wilderness and, ultimately, Messiah Himself. Every act of God from this point forward—every covenant, every command, every prophet—flows from His desire to restore what was lost: intimate dwelling with His people.
The Fracture of Shalom
The story shifts dramatically in Genesis 3. A serpent speaks, and its words invert creation’s order: a creature instructing humanity rather than serving it. The temptation—“You will be like God”—was not about curiosity but autonomy. Humanity chose self-definition over divine dependence. The result was catastrophic.
Sin shattered shalom—the wholeness of creation. The ground (adamah) now resists its steward; pain enters labor and birth; death begins its reign. Yet even in judgment, mercy breathes. God clothes the guilty and curses the deceiver: “He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” (Genesis 3:15). This protoevangelium—the first gospel—announces that the seed of the woman will crush the serpent’s head. Redemption is seeded in ruin.
Here, the overstory takes shape: God will not abandon His creation. His plan bends toward restoration through covenant promise and faithful love. The same God who walked in Eden will one day walk again among His people.
Covenant as the Framework of Redemption
The Hebrew word berit (covenant) appears later in Scripture, but its structure is already implicit in Eden. God gives commands, blessings, and consequences—the building blocks of a covenant relationship. In every generation, He reveals Himself through covenants that renew His intent to dwell with humanity.
With Noah, the covenant preserves creation from total collapse (Genesis 9). The rainbow declares divine mercy after judgment—a sign of steadfast restraint and hope.
With Abraham, covenant promises land, descendants, and blessing to all nations (Genesis 12, 15, 17). The stars overhead echo Eden’s mandate of fruitfulness, now rooted in faith.
With Moses, the covenant forms a nation to model holiness (Exodus 19–24). Sinai becomes a mountain of meeting—a renewed Eden where God descends in fire.
With David, covenant points to a coming King whose throne will endure forever (2 Samuel 7). This messianic line will carry the promise of restoration forward.
And with Yeshua (Jesus), the New Covenant fulfills them all (Jeremiah 31:31–33; Luke 22:20). The covenant written on tablets of stone becomes inscribed on human hearts by Ruach HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit).
Each covenant narrows the focus of redemption, guiding history toward Messiah. In Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah)—the Word through whom all things were made (John 1:3)—our God’s original intent comes full circle. He becomes flesh and “tabernacles” among us (John 1:14). In Him, Eden reopens.
The Garden, the Temple, and the Cross
Throughout Scripture, the theme of dwelling recurs: Eden → Tabernacle → Temple → Yeshua → Church → New Jerusalem. Each stage advances the same purpose—to restore divine presence.
The Tabernacle’s design mirrors creation’s order: light, water, vegetation, and humanity symbolized in golden lampstands, basins, and cherubim. When Ruach HaKodesh fills the Tabernacle in Exodus 40, it parallels the Spirit hovering over the waters in Genesis 1:2. Creation and covenant are inseparable: God creates to dwell, and He covenants to restore.
At the cross, Yeshua (Jesus) fulfills both. The One through whom the world began endures its curse to remake it anew. The thorns that crowned Him recall the cursed ground; His cry—“It is finished”—signals not defeat but completion of creation’s restoration. Through resurrection, He becomes “the firstborn from the dead,” the first fruit of new creation (Colossians 1:18).
How does this help me understand the concept of “Over-story: The Meta-Narrative of Scripture?”
Living in the Over-story
You were created for communion, not mere existence. Live as one shaped by divine breath and sustained by covenant grace. Reflect His image where you work, love, and lead. Let your faith restore what sin has fractured—families, friendships, and faith communities.
Every act of obedience retells Genesis in miniature: light overcoming darkness, order rising from chaos, and love revealing the Creator’s heart. To read Genesis rightly is to see yourself within it. The creation narrative is not an ancient myth but a modern mirror. You were formed by design and redeemed for a relationship. The same Spirit that hovered over the waters hovers over your chaos, ready to create new life.
Humanity’s task remains the same: bear God’s image in the world. Represent His reign through creativity, compassion, and covenant faithfulness. Each time you choose truth over deceit, mercy over vengeance, stewardship over selfishness, you participate in the over-story of redemption.
Covenant faithfulness is not cold obligation—it’s relational trust. To walk with God is to echo Eden’s fellowship and anticipate the day He will dwell with His people again.
Connect with God
Use this prayer to connect with our God:
Heavenly Father, Creator of heaven and earth, breathe on me anew.
Restore Your image in my thoughts, words, and actions.
Let my life be a living covenant—faithful, fruitful, and filled with Your Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit).
Through Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah), make me a dwelling place for Your glory, until the earth is filled with the knowledge of You as the waters cover the sea. Amen.
