From Di Beginning

Before morning dey. Before ground dey wey person fit stand on top, or sky wey person fit look up. Before anybody dey wey go tell story. God dey. And na so Bible take start.

Di first pages of Bible na treasure for people wey dey live near land. Farmers and shepherds. People wey dey watch sun as e dey rise for di hills of Canaan, and as e dey sink inside di Great Sea. Dem know real darkness. Dem know flood. Dem know how harvest fit spoil just like dat. And all around dem, di nations get dia own story about how world take start. Story of gods wey dey fight war. Story of katakata and fear. But Genesis get different story. Listen well.

From di beginning, God create heaven and earth. Di earth no get shape, e empty. Darkness cover di deep water. And di Spirit of God dey hover for top of di water. Then God talk. “Make light dey.” And light come dey. No struggle. No fight. Na just one word, and light pour enter di darkness. God see say di light good. E separate di light from di darkness. E call di light day, and di darkness e call am night. And evening come, and morning come. Na di first day be dat. For di second day, God make one big space, like roof of sky, and e divide di water wey dey up from di water wey dey down. Evening. Morning. Di second day.

For di third day, God gather di seas go dia own place, and dry land show. Then di land begin grow tins. Grass. Plants wey dey carry seed. Trees wey fruit full well-well, each one carry di seed for di next one. For di fourth day, God put lights for sky. Di bigger light to rule di day. Di smaller light to rule di night. And di stars join dem. Dem go dey mark di seasons, di days and di years. For di fifth day, di water begin full with living tins. Fish dey shine like silver for shallow water. Big-big creatures dey move for di deep. And birds fly comot enter di open sky. God bless dem. “Make una born plenty,” e talk. “Fill di sea. Make di birds multiply for di earth.”

For di sixth day, di land come alive. Cow and wild animals. Small-small tins wey dey crawl for grass. And then God do something new. “Make we make human being for our own image,” e talk, “like us.” So God create human beings for im own image. Man and woman na im e create dem. E bless dem, and e give dem one work: make dem fill di earth and take care of am, make dem rule over di fish, di birds and every living tin. E give dem seed and fruit to chop, and every green plant for di animals. Then God look everytin wey e don make. E no just good dis time. E good well-well. Evening. Morning. Di sixth day.

And then, for di seventh day, God rest. No be say e tire o. Na because di work don finish. Heaven and earth don complete, with everytin wey dey inside dem. So God bless di seventh day and e make am holy. Day wey e set apart. Day to stop, and enjoy wetin e don make. Di whole world, with order, full, and good. And for di middle of am, people wey God make to show di face of di One wey make everytin.

See one tin wey good make you know. Oda people for di old Near East get dia own creation story too. Di one wey popular pass na one Babylon poem wey dem dey call Enuma Elish. For inside am, di god Marduk win one wicked fight against di sea goddess Tiamat, e split her body into two, and e use am build sky and earth. Dem make human beings to do di hard work wey di gods no wan do again. But Genesis sound different well-well. No fight dey. Dem no even call di sun and moon by name; na just lights, wey God put for where e want. And human beings no be slave. Dem carry God own image, and dem dey blessed. Scholars like John Walton don show how dis difference go clear well-well to di first people wey hear Genesis.

Dat story come from Genesis, chapter one, reach chapter two, verse three. Di world no start with katakata and fear. E start with one voice, one word, and one God wey call am good. So see one tin wey you go think about dis week. If God make you for im own image, wetin dat one suppose mean for how you dey treat di people wey dey around you, and di world wey you dey live inside?