Day 3: Elohim, the Creator God

“In the beginning, Elohim created heaven and earth.” Genesis 1:1

As we sort through the musty old cardboard boxes that have been stored in our garage for the past several years, I hear my husband exclaim, “I found another one!”  I look over and see him holding a piece of cross stitch fabric that has little colored “x”s splashed all over it.  What my husband has found is yet another unfinished craft project.

You see, I am a “maker”.  I love to make things.  Unfortunately, I tend not to finish things.  There is the latch-hook unicorn rug that I started when I was 7, the ceramic christmas village that I started when I was 10 and the cross-stitch baby quilt that I started when I found out that by best friend was having her first child, just to name a few.  That baby is now 10 years old.

It is because of my love for “making” that I am most able to relate to the first name given to God in the bible, Elohim.  In Genesis 1:1 we are introduced to our creator God.  Elohim is the one who created all things, the heavens and the earth, the seas and the dry land and ultimately mankind.  All living things were created by Elohim.

Unlike Elohim, I have never created anything and what I make is far from perfect.  To create means to bring something out of nothing.  In Genesis we see Elohim not just as a creator, but as a powerful and intelligent God who has authority over all things.   

I walk through my house and am greeted at every turn with some sort of unfinished project.  I find joy in the process of making, not necessarily in the final creation.  Genesis 1:31 states, “And Elohim saw everything that he had made and that it was very good.”  God takes joy not just in the process, but Elohim finds joy in His creation. 

And here is the incredible part, Elohim, creator of all things finds joy in us!  Take a moment and let that sink in.  Elohim created us, He said all that He created was good, so He finds joy in me despite what I see as my flaws.  How would we live our lives differently today if we believed this in the core of our being? 

Background

Elohim (e-lo-HEEM) is the plural form of El or Eloah, one of the oldest designations for divinity in the world.  It can refer either to the true God or to pagan gods.  Though El is used more than 200 times in the Hebrew Bible, Elohim is used more than 2500 times.  Its plural form is used not to indicate belief in many gods but to emphasize the majesty of the one true God.  Christians will recognize a reference to the Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  (Ann Spangler, The Names of God Study Bible)