Free The Lost World of Genesis One by John H. Walton Page B

creation, God takes up his
rest and rules from his residence. This is not new theology for the
ancient world-it is what all peoples understood about their gods
and their temples.
    In the Old Testament the idea that rest involves engagement
in the normal activities that can be carried out when stability has
been achieved can be seen in the passages where God talks of
giving Israel rest in the land:
    But you will cross the Jordan and settle in the land the Lord
your God is giving you as an inheritance and he will give
you rest from all your enemies around you so that you will
live in safety. (Deut 12:10; cf. Josh 21:44; 23:1)
    Although security and stability might allow one to relax, more
importantly it allows life to resume its normal routines. When Is rael's enemies no longer threaten, they can go about their lives:
planting and harvesting, buying and selling, raising their families
and serving their God.

    In the same way, a temple is built in the ancient world so that
deity can have a center for his rule. The temple is the residence
and palace of the gods. Like the American White House, it is the
hub of authority and control. It is where the work of running the
country takes place. When a newly elected president looks forward to taking up his residence in the White House, it is not
simply so he can kick off his shoes and snooze in the Lincoln
bedroom. It is so he can begin the work of running the country.
Thus in ancient terms the president "takes up his rest" in the
White House. This is far from relaxation. The turmoil and uncertainty of the election is over, and now he can settle down to the
important business at hand.
    The role of the temple in the ancient world is not primarily a
place for people to gather in worship like modern churches. It is
a place for the deity-sacred space. It is his home, but more importantly his headquarters-the control room. When the deity
rests in the temple it means that he is taking command, that he
is mounting to his throne to assume his rightful place and his
proper role.
    In ancient Near Eastern literature this concept appears early
and often. One of the earliest available Sumerian literary pieces is
the Temple Hymn of Kes:
    House ...... inspiring great awe, called with a mighty name
by An; house ...... whose fate is grandly determined by the
Great Mountain Enlil! House of the Anuna gods possessing
great power, which gives wisdom to the people; house, reposeful dwelling of the great gods! House, which was
planned together with the plans of heaven and earth, ...... with the pure divine powers; house which underpins the
Land and supports the shrines !2

    In this hymn we can see the idea that the temple is a place of
rest ("reposeful dwelling"), that it is central in functional creation
("planned together with the plans of heaven and earth"), and that
it is the place from which control is exercised ("underpins the
land").
    In the famous Babylonian creation epic, Enuma Elish, the work
of creation by Marduk is followed by the building of a temple for
him. Note the following: The gods give Marduk kingship (5.113),
and Marduk responds with the statement, "Below the firmament,
whose grounding I have made firm, A house I shall build, let it be
the abode of my pleasure. Within it I shall establish its holy place,
I shall appoint my holy chambers, I shall establish my kingship"
(5.121-24). This place is to be the "stopping place" of the gods
(5.138). After humankind is created at the beginning of tablet six
and the gods are given their responsibilities, the head gods make
a declaration: "We will make a shrine, whose name will be a byword, your chamber that shall be our stopping place, we shall find
rest therein" (6.51-52).3 These sections demonstrate the close relationship between creation (cosmic and human), organization of
the cosmos, rest, temple and rule.
    God's resting in Genesis 1 does not specifically describe his
engagement of the controls,