{"id":26390,"date":"2026-01-13T10:04:52","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T15:04:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=26390"},"modified":"2026-01-13T11:03:41","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T16:03:41","slug":"26390","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=26390","title":{"rendered":"The Gift of Two Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"O Come, O Come Emmanuel (with Lyrics) - Matt Maher\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rx3a-XV3QUc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Biblical scholars Jennifer Garcia Bashaw and Aaron Higashi point out the difficulties that arise if Christians try to read the Genesis creation stories literally: &nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It can be difficult to fully appreciate the seven-day schema of creation in Genesis 1 when we\u2019re reading the text in the modern world, where the sciences all attest to an earth that formed over billions of years. Many people in fact feel uncomfortable with this apparent contradiction\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Indeed, there are many Bible readers who, out of a sense of loyalty to a literal-historical understanding of Genesis 1, feel compelled to deny the conclusions of modern sciences. But this feeling is unnecessary because Genesis 1\u20132:3 does not claim to be a literal-historical text. Rather, it\u2019s a part of a common genre of ancient religious literature known as the creation myth, which is not intended to be a historical representation of events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The second creation story in Genesis contradicts much of the first. Garcia Bashaw and Higashi show how both are needed:&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Genesis 1, God is a transcendent being who creates the world through acts of speech in a structured process where each step is already anticipating the next. In Genesis 1, God is so successful in creating the world that each day is called good, and God can rest at the end, certain that everything is working as intended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Genesis 2, we see something different. In this passage, God is a human-like being who creates by forming things with God\u2019s own hands and breathing life into them. The process in Genesis 2 is fraught with setbacks, where God discovers man\u2019s loneliness isn\u2019t good. God proceeds to make animals to try to fix that loneliness, and then makes Eve because the animals don\u2019t suffice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to the chapters\u2019 portrayals of God, the stories flatly contradict each other in their orders of creation. In Genesis 1, vegetation is created before animals, then animals are created before men and women, who are made at the same time. But in Genesis 2:4 and following, Adam is created before any vegetation, then animals are created before Eve.\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In many ways, the Bible does us a favor by beginning with two contradictory stories. In so doing, the Bible signals to us at the outset what this text actually is: a diverse collection of religious traditions that have been brought together by different communities of faith over a long period of time\u2026. When you read the Bible, you\u2019re reading an anthology of ancient religious literature\u2014not a textbook, not an instructional manual, not a love letter from God, and not a complete work of systematic theology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, just because it\u2019s an anthology of ancient religious literature <strong>doesn\u2019t mean it can\u2019t be inspired by God, or say true things about God, or be helpful in trying to understand God.<\/strong> Its being an anthology just means that <strong>whatever is in it that is true, inspired, or helpful will come through in many, sometimes conflicting, voices.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>==================<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>JAN 13, 2026<br>Preparing for the Presence to Return<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"auto\" height=\"15\" src=\"https:\/\/mcusercontent.com\/87188c8737bc50c1a2fb8e2c9\/images\/b66516eb-1f2d-8d90-0e02-d4223f78f6f7.png\">       The Old Testament book of Ezekiel records a vision of God\u2019s presence departing from the temple in Jerusalem. Remember, God warned the people repeatedly that their sin and idolatry represented a rebellion against his covenant, and Israel\u2019s calling to mediate God\u2019s presence to the world would be broken. That break comes in Ezekiel 10 when God\u2019s glory moves from the Holy of Holies to the threshold of the temple. Then, in Ezekiel 11, his glory leaves the temple through the east gate of Jerusalem and departs from the city entirely. <br><br>The year was 586 BC.  Generations passed, the exiles slowly returned to Jerusalem from Babylon, they rebuilt the city, and they constructed a new temple. But God\u2019s presence never returned; the covenant was not reconstituted as the prophets had foretold. For centuries, the people waited for the return of YHWH\u2019s glory and for his presence to dwell among them again.<br><br><strong>This hope changes how we read the opening chapters of the New Testamen<\/strong>t. For example, after the angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and confirmed that Mary\u2019s pregnancy was from the Holy Spirit, Matthew says: \u201cAll this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: \u2018The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel\u2019 (which means \u2018God with us.\u2019)\u201d (Matthew 1:22-23).By citing this verse from Isaiah,<strong> Matthew linked Jesus\u2019 birth to the long-awaited return of God\u2019s presence among his people<\/strong>. According to the gospel, Jesus\u2019 arrival is the glory of God that departed the temple in Ezekiel 10-11, now returning to finally end their long exile. This view is reinforced by the opening of Mark\u2019s gospel. Speaking about John the Baptist, Mark identifies him by also quoting from Isaiah: \u201cI will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way\u2014a voice calling in the wilderness, \u2018Prepare the way for YHWH, make straight paths for him\u201d (Mark 1:2-3 and Isaiah 40:3). The text from Isaiah goes on to say, \u201cAnd the glory of YHWH will be revealed, and all people will see it together\u201d (Isaiah 40:5).<br><br>To Jews living under Roman occupation in the first century, and who\u2019ve been waiting for YHWH\u2019s glory to return for hundreds of years, Mark\u2019s message would have been both clear and shocking. The time had finally come. God\u2019s presence had finally returned to dwell once again among his people. But <strong>this time his glory would not reside in the hidden inner chamber of a building, but in a man from Nazareth<\/strong>.<br><br>DAILY SCRIPTURE<br><br><a href=\"https:\/\/withgoddaily.us2.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=87188c8737bc50c1a2fb8e2c9&amp;id=4849e43c25&amp;e=f52fc38132\">EZEKIEL 10:18-19<br>ISAIAH 40:1-5<\/a><br><br>WEEKLY PRAYER.    from Clement of Alexandria (c.150 &#8211; c.215)<br><br>Be kind to your little children, Lord. Be a gentle teacher, patient with our weakness and stupidity. And give us the strength and discernment to do what you tell us, and so grow in your likeness.<br>Amen.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Biblical scholars Jennifer Garcia Bashaw and Aaron Higashi point out the difficulties that arise if Christians try to read the Genesis creation stories literally: &nbsp; It can be difficult to fully appreciate the seven-day schema of creation in Genesis 1 when we\u2019re reading the text in the modern world, where the sciences all attest to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26390"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26390"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26390\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26395,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26390\/revisions\/26395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}