the creation account of genesis 1 is a literary masterpiece it is remarkably short for such a lofty subject and yet it is carefully crafted with deliberate precision and complexity skillfully using formulaic expressions and poetic devices to describe a historical event of immense significance however although the structure of genesis 1 is very precise with a deliberate numerical sequence and specific information the method and process is not described in detail we are told about what god created and why but not how although constrained by the limitations of human speech and language at the time genesis 1 could have given a simple but scientifically accurate depiction of the universe and the way in which it was formed yet it does not do this clearly god had other priorities when inspiring the creation account the purpose of genesis 1 is religious not scientific it describes the universe from god's point of view not ours scripture tells us god views the universe as his dwelling place his holy temple psalm 11 4 heavenly temple psalm 18 6 and sanctuary psalm 102 19 he declares he has no need of a house built by human hands since the entire cosmos is his temple isaiah 66 1. the creation narrative of genesis 1 is structured very precisely to describe the building of a cosmic temple the purpose of the narrative is to describe god as the creator and ruler of the universe and humanity as his servants made to serve as his priests in his temple although the depiction of creation in genesis 1 is similar to the description of the tabernacle the strongest parallels are to be found with solomon's temple structure of genesis 1 matches the form of the temple the division between heavens and earth mirrors the temple's division of the most holy place the heavens where god dwells and the holy place the earth where god's priests serve the order of creative events in genesis 1 likewise matches the key features of the temple light is created in genesis 1 3 matching the gold lampstands of 1 kings 749 which give light to the holy place light and dark are separated in genesis 1 4 matching the doors of olive wood which separated the well-lit holy place from the temple's most holy place which remained in darkness the firmament is created in genesis 1 6 the word for firmament here is not the normal word for the heavens occurs only in seven other passages of the bible and describes a solid object reference to a solid object in the sky above the earth seems both unusual and unsuitable until we realize that it is describing the temple's ceiling as in 1 kings 6 9. the waters are gathered together in genesis 1 9 and called the sea matching the waters gathered in the temple's large bronze basin which is called the sea in one kings 7 23 trees bearing fruit are created in genesis 1 11 to 12 matching the palm trees and flowers in bloom which one kings 629 describes as being carved into the inner walls of the temple lights in the firmament are created in genesis 1 14 to 18 providing natural light at different times and seasons matching the windows high up near the temple's ceiling which had the same function as described in 1 kings 6 4. animals are created in genesis 1 20-25 matching the living beings or carobs on the inner walls of the temple as described in 1 kings 6 29 finally humans are created in god's image in genesis 1 26-30 matching the priests who serve in the temple's holy place as described in 1 kings 8. the primary message of genesis 1 is that the entire universe is god's house his cosmic temple built for his glory and worship however there is also another message even more powerful for the hebrews to whom genesis 1 was originally written it is the absolute supremacy of yahweh as the one true god of the universe and a complete rejection of all other gods the most powerful message of genesis 1 is not only that the universe is yahweh's cosmic temple but that it is his alone god is declaring this is my house which i built to be inhabited by my servants and there is no one else here as convincing as this understanding of genesis 1 may seem some people may feel it's too close a fit too good to be true a modern reinterpretation of the text which would never have occurred to the original audience however the cosmic temple of genesis 1 was seen in the text by some of the earliest jewish and christian commentators in fact this understanding can be found as early as a century before christ and is widespread in the jewish and christian literature of the next 700 years around 100 years before christ this interpretation can be found in the jewish book of jubilees then during the century of christ it is found in the jewish writers philo and josephus it is also found in jewish commentary from the 3rd to the 5th centuries in christian literature it is found in the writings of ephraim the syrian fourth century theodore of mobswestia jacob of sarug and narsai all of the 5th century and constantine of antioch 6th century this concept was highly influential on byzantine christianity and can be found in byzantine art and architecture from the 6th to 8th centuries of course just because an interpretation is old doesn't mean it's accurate however in this case the interpretation is supported by a number of passages in the bible which describe the cosmos as the holy dwelling place of god and the fact that it is not only a very early interpretation but it is quite widespread this proves it is not a recent invention intended to get around some kind of difficulty it is a natural reading you