God’s rûaḥ [Spirit] in creation
Daily Scripture
Genesis 1:2, 26-27; Psalm 33:6-9
Did You Know?
In Biblical Hebrew, the word rûaḥ meant spirit, wind, and/or breath. “In the OT the spirit (rûaḥ) of Yahweh is God’s power in action. Yahweh’s spirit is God himself present and at work, as are his ‘hand’ and his ‘arm’…. A term for both breath blown out and wind blowing (wind is viewed as God’s breath, Isaiah 40:7; Ezekiel 37:9), rûaḥ has vivid and awesome associations when used of God’s energy let loose. It is so used in nearly 100 of its nearly 400 Old Testament appearances. Yahweh’s spirit is said to… shape creation, animate animals and mankind, and direct nature and history (Genesis 1:2, 2:7; Job 33:4; Psalm 33:6, 104:29–30; Isaiah 34:16).” *
Genesis 1
2 the earth was without shape or form, it was dark over the deep sea, and God’s wind [or spirit] swept over the waters
26 Then God said, “Let us make humanity in our image to resemble us so that they may take charge of the fish of the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and all the crawling things on earth.”
27 God created humanity in God’s own image,
in the divine image God created them,
male and female God created them.
Psalm 33
6 The skies were made by the LORD’s word,
all their starry multitude by the breath [or spirit] of his mouth.
7 He gathered the ocean waters into a heap;
he put the deep seas into storerooms.
8 All the earth honors the LORD;
all the earth’s inhabitants stand in awe of him.
9 Because when he spoke, it happened!
When he commanded, there it was!
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Long before anyone had thought about a word like “Trinity,” the poetic creation liturgy in Genesis 1 said the one God created humans in “our” image, made to be like “us” in character. It described God’s rûaḥ (see note above on this Hebrew word) moving over the waters of primordial chaos. Psalm 33 was a later poem that also portrayed God’s spirit as fully involved in the work of creation. Like Jesus (cf. John 1:1-3), the Holy Spirit was already there, at the very beginning of the Bible’s big story.
- Yesterday we read about the Holy Spirit coming on Pentecost after Jesus’ resurrection (cf. Acts 2:2-4). But Genesis said God’s Spirit existed long before at the world’s creation. Scholar John Goldingay wrote: “The word for spirit is also the word for breath and for wind, and the Old Testament sometimes implies a link between these…. God’s spirit suggests God’s dynamic power…. Breath is essential to life; where there is no breath, there is no life. And life comes from God.” ** Does it deepen your awareness of life’s mystery to see its source in the mists of eternity?
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In our culture, many say (directly or implicitly) that our existence, as individuals and as a world, is just a gigantic cosmic accident, free of any divine direction or purpose. Genesis taught great meaning for existence, coming from God’s creative breath. How does it change your sense of why you exist to believe that the fulness of God (“us”) brought this world, and the life processes that created you, into being?
Prayer
Holy Spirit, you are the spiritual air I breathe. Help me to grow more aware of the inner strength and vitality you offer me as I make you the “oxygen” of my life with God. Amen.
GPS Insights
Lydia Kim
Lydia Kim serves as one of the pastors of Connection and Care at Resurrection Leawood. An avid believer that growing in faith pairs well with fellowship and food, she is always ready for recommendations on local restaurants and coffee shops.
Once, when I was on vacation, I thought I would overcome my fear of heights by jumping off a cliff into the ocean. My friends and I had hiked up to a cliff, and after watching several people jump into the water, I mustered up the courage and jumped. It was exhilarating. Cool, crisp ocean water hit my face, and I was so excited to conquer my fear that I didn’t notice how big the waves were getting.
What was exciting and fun suddenly became dangerous, and I gasped for air, trying to keep my head above the water and swim to safety. I have never thought as much about breathing as I did in those moments. That experience made me realize how much I take that life-giving breath for granted.
I think God’s Spirit is taken for granted in the same way. We talk about God and Jesus, but the Spirit has also existed since the beginning. The Spirit is God. We are reminded in these Scriptures that the Spirit not only created the universe but is the breath that shaped us into God’s very image.
I don’t know what you may be going through right now. You might be enjoying a beautiful day or treading water in a difficult situation. Whatever you’re experiencing, I pray that when you notice your breath today, you will be reminded of the gift of breathing and God’s powerful, life-giving Spirit, who is and will always be with you.
© 2024 Resurrection: A United Methodist Church. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* J. I. Packer, article “Holy Spirit” in New Dictionary of Theology. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988, p. 317.
** John Goldingay, Genesis for Everyone, Part 1: Chapters 1–16. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010, p. 9.
