God's Relationship with Man
The Book of Genesis can be described as a story, a historical account, or just as a written set of answers to questions that may seem unanswerable. Aside from which category this section of The Bible this may fall into, it has been one of the most influential texts of all time. For this reason, it is pivotal that we examine the text more closely in order to determine certain patterns which may lead to a valid interpretation of a book that has an infinite amount of interpretations. One of the most vital patterns to identify is the growth of God’s relationship with man. By analyzing the passages in The Book of Genesis and how they intertwine, one can see that the relationship is positively advancing in terms of trust and confidence. The text begins describing an account of creation. This is of significant value in establishing God’s relationship with man as it marks the beginning and gives insight pertaining to his intentions with man. As this piece of The Bible unfolds, there is an underlying question that is never firmly answered in the text. That is, “Did God build man for Earth or Earth for man?” The latter interpretation seems to have more textual support. Some evidence that leads to this conclusion is in Genesis 1:26 when God says ‘”Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” It seems logical that if God gave man dominion over earth and all that inhabit it that he would have intended for it to be a gift to man. A less obvious piece of information that points to the latter interpretation is found in Genesis 1:6-8 while introducing the “firmament.” God creates the firmament, also known as Heaven, on the second day before he creates any life or even any land. Heaven is later determined as the dwelling place for man in afterlife (as seen in Revelation 21:3). This also