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“He spoke, and it came to be;
He commanded, and it stood forth.”
(Ps. 33:9; cf. vs. 6.)
The belief that all things in heaven and earth depend upon Yahweh, the Creator, says Anderson, “derives from Israel’s covenant understanding that her whole life depends upon the God who delivers His people, thus binding Israel to Himself. The covenant, rather than a rational principle,133 is the ground of the unity of creation.”134 To say that Yahweh made the earth is to confess that it belongs to Him; He is its Lord (Pss. 24:1-2; 89:11- H 89:12; 95:5). To say that He is sovereign Creator, majestic and worthy of worship, is to say that the heavens declare His glory (Ps. 19:1-4-H 19:2-5). Yahweh must be thus revered, trusted, feared, and obeyed (Ps. 95; Isa. 40:27-31).135 God’s Divine Will utters the Divine Word, creating a reality that adumbrates God’s sovereignty and omnipotence over every mystery unknown.
133 I assume that he means ‘λόγος.’ Otherwise, it can be argued that the covenant follows from a rational principle. In antiquity, vassal Master-Servant agreements were common to ensure protection of one another, and maintain safety and order in societies; practice not much different from Feudal society’s Lord-Serf or Lord- Knight arrangements. Although these covenants arise out of fear, they are governed by the rational desire for order.
134 Anderson, B.W. The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible. An Illustrated Encyclopaedia. “Creation.” Ed. Arthur Buttrick and Emory Stevens Bucke. Volume 1. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1962. 728.
135 Yahwist epic Creation story unfolds with the call of Abraham, the deliverance from Egypt, the guidance through the wilderness, the inheritance of the Promised Land. Anderson, B.W. The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible. An Illustrated Encyclopaedia. “Creation.” Ed. Arthur Buttrick and Emory Stevens Bucke. Volume 1. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1962. 728.
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