Drawing on what the text itself provides, tell me what meaning is being conveyed. What primarily is God doing in this account? The human person? And taking it as an obvious truth that God doesn’t need to rest, what is this business with the seventh day?
At the surface, the opening in Genesis gives us a retrospective and structured narrative (without intentionally maintaining historical accuracy) of the creation of the universe.
The creation of the universe is split into seven days, but it can be reasoned that these were merely seven periods, with no relation to the 24 hour period of day and night we experience in our lives. This becomes evident especially when we consider that God didn’t create the sun until the fourth day. These days break up the major parts of creation into individual pieces, each of which follows the same basic structure. First, God commands that X be created. Then X is created, and it is good.
This consistent structure, coupled with the repetition throughout, helps maintain the simplicity of the passage. By keeping the passage simple and easy to understand, it opens the passage to a wider audience.
On the seventh day, God looks over his creation and takes a day to rest, officially acknowledging the end of the creation story. Now, the process of creating/recreating has been passed to mankind, leaving God at rest.
jrundle 