In ancient Mesopotamia, there was a well-known story about the creation of the world. It spoke of how Marduk, the chief god of Babylon, made the heavens and the earth out of the corpse of an evil goddess he had killed in battle. Then, because he had some raw material left over, he made humans as an afterthought—to serve as labourers for the gods.¹

Genesis 1:26–30 presents a very different picture. Human beings are by no means an afterthought of God. In fact, God’s creation of humanity brings the story of the creation of the universe to its climax.

The narration draws attention to this in two ways. First, we see God himself giving special attention to this creation. Before speaking humanity into being, He announces his intention in some detail. Second, unlike on previous days when He simply said, “Let there be” (vv. 3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24), on the sixth day He says, “Let us make” (v. 26). Notice how personally God involves himself in the creation of men and women.

Today’s brief account brings out four great truths. First, human beings uniquely bear God’s “image” (vv. 26–27). Although for many of us, the word “image” brings to mind a reflection in the mirror, the ancient hearer of Genesis would have understood the word in terms of an important person’s statue, situated in a public place like a city centre. The statue was meant to represent the king, as if he was there himself (see Daniel 3:1).

Second, human beings are differentiated by two distinct genders: male and female (Genesis 1:27). This truth affirms that both men and women bear the image of God and represent Him equally.

Third, human beings are “blessed” to flourish, and appointed to “rule over” creation (v. 28). Sinful people have abused this privilege by exploiting the created world. But God intended for us to faithfully represent His gracious character in the way we take care of our environment and the animals—to care for them as He would, and to honour the purposes for which He made them. This truth emerges clearly in Genesis 2. There, Adam is given charge over the garden of Eden, even having the authority to give each animal a characteristic name (2:19).

In Genesis 1:29–30, God instructs the man and woman to treat the earth as a resource to be shared among all creatures: the “green plants” are food both for humankind and for “everything that has the breath of life in it” (v. 30). Such an understanding challenges our present tendency to exploit the earth’s resources with little regard for other living things.

How significant it is that God’s work of creation reaches its climax only after humans appear in the world. On every previous occasion when a creation-day was ended, God proclaimed His work to be “good”. But now, having created humankind, He says with noticeable satisfaction: “It was very good” (v. 31; italics added).

¹Bill T. Arnold and Bryan E. Beyer, Encountering the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2015), 52.