God’s Word for You
Genesis 2:1 Completed
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Friday, August 14, 2026
2:1 So the heavens and the earth were finished, in all their vast array.
The first three verses of chapter 2 really belong with chapter 1. Our Bibles were given chapter divisions by a well-meaning professor named Stephen Langton (who was also Archbishop of Canterbury in England). He meant his chapter markings to help teachers and students (and clergy) find passages in the Latin Vulgate. He worked on this during the last twenty years of his life (d. 1228), although we often joke that he did it all on a carriage ride, so that where there is a questionable dividing point (like this one) we can say, “the carriage must have hit a bump here.”
There is a little grammar to notice here. The phrase “were finished” is a pual (piel passive) showing an accomplished action, but could also be taken to be a declaration or an official statement. The final phrase, “in all their vast array,” employs a word (sabaoth) usually meaning “army” or “heavenly host” (either angels or stars). Moses means the whole of creation, all of the animals, all of the stars and planets, and everything in the world. God had finished making all the vast array of the heavens and all the vast array of the earth. After this, he rested. Some readers may know that “rest” in Hebrew is “sabbath,” which sound like “sabaoth” (army) but they are not related, just as “army” and “arm” are not related in English.
Moses is preparing us for what he is going to say about the seventh day of the creation week, which involves the resting of God and the provision God made for mankind to set aside a time to rest and to worship. In this way, this verse echoes the thoughts that we often have when we come to church early. People are still arriving, if there are bulletins, they are already printed and ready. The hymn numbers are posted. The pastor has the pages marked on the missal stand (the raised platform the hymnal or Bible occupies on the altar). The Lord’s Supper might be set out, or the baptismal font might be filled and waiting. In other words, the preparations have been made and now it is time for the people to get ready for worship. “We keep holy days so that people may have time and opportunity, which otherwise would not be available, to participate in public worship, that is, that they may assemble to hear and discuss God’s Word and then praise God with song and prayer” (Large Catechism, Third Commandment, par. 84).
In the Commandment, “Remember (or “sanctify”) the Sabbath Day,” we might be asked by someone, “What does it mean to keep this day holy?” “It means nothing else than to devote it to holy words, holy works, holy life. In itself the day needs no sanctification, for it was created holy. But God wants it to be holy for you. So it becomes holy or unholy on your account, according as you spend the day in doing holy or unholy things” (Large Catechism, 87).
The text of verse 1 proclaims God’s wonderful goodness, proclaiming the completion of all creation. Those who dismiss this proclamation set God behind their back and tell him that he doesn’t know what he is talking about. It’s like a fan telling a musician, “You don’t know what your own song means.” When we say this to God, it is a sin. It’s a form of idolatry that places man above God instead of the other way around. But when God exposes that sin and we repent, bowing the knee and bowing the head and saying, “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner,” we believe that God is merciful as well as just. He forgives. He told his disciples, “If you forgive anyone his sin, they are forgiven” (John 20:23). This is why our pastors proclaim forgiveness when we worship. Jesus said, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you tie up on earth will be tied up in heaven, and whatever you untie on earth will be untied in heaven” (Matthew 16:19). He was talking about sins, and the way he wants us to forgive each other. And he also taught us to pray, “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us” (Matthew 6:12).
When we worship, we usually set this forgiveness forward, right away in the service, after the first hymn and before we hear the lessons. This gives us a clear conscience so that we can listen to the word of God untroubled by our sinfulness, and praise God with a joyful heart. To be forgiven by God is a gift that’s as big as the sky. It lifts the heavy weight from the shoulders and fills our lungs with fresh air. We open our mouths and hearts, and we sing his praises.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.