The Beginning

The beautiful thing about reading scripture is that there is so much to glean from; so much Jesus, it just takes a little bit of looking sometimes. In the very first phrase of the Bible, He is there. When He says He is the Alpha and the Omega in Revelation 22, the beginning and the end, it is spoken over and over again. For today, let’s start with this very phrase; ‘ in the beginning’.

Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” ‘In the beginning’, in Hebrew, is Bereshit (pronouced beh-reh-SHEET). The derivative of this word, reshit, for “beginning”, is found multiple times in the Bible, but under a slightly different lens. Let’s dig.

When reading Proverbs 8 this morning, I was prompted to recollect some things I’ve learned concerning this character speaking out. Before that we should ask ourselves, “who is this "wisdom" character being personified? In Proverbs 8:22, Wisdom says, "The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his way." The word for “beginning” here is the word we found before, reshit. We learn in 1 Corinthians 1:24 that Jesus is the wisdom of God; the true source of wisdom that’s being described here in Proverbs 8. In Revelation 3:14 Jesus describes Himself as “the beginning of the creation of God.” And because reshit is a title Jesus claimed here, it reveals that the One who in Himself created the heavens and the earth is the very One whose name/title is "The Beginning."

There is more. In the first verse lies a signature of His title. Right in the middle of Genesis 1:1, there is a word that doesn't get translated into English: Et (את). It’s made of the letters Aleph and Tav, which are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. It’s like Jesus was signing His name as the Alpha and Omega as being the one in whom God created everything through Him. Continuing this, Zechariah 12:10 says, "they will look on me (Aleph-Tav) whom they have pierced" connecting the very name prophetically to the cross.

The depth goes even further when you realize reshit is also the word for "Firstfruits." Paul connects this in 1 Corinthians 15:20 when he calls Jesus the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. The Feast of the Firstfruits takes place on the day after the Sabbath on the last day of Passover, the day that Jesus rose from the dead.

To conclude, let’s observe Colossians 1:15-17. Paul tells us here that Christ is the image of the invisible God and that in Him all things were created. All things were created through Him and for Him; He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Genesis 1:1 could truly read as: “In Christ, God created the heavens and the earth.” There’s much more to this, but that’s maybe for another time.

For now, let us dwell on the fact that all things were made through Christ. The one who gave His life for His creation. The one who has never stopped seeking after His creation. Those whom He loves. You and I.