Seven times in Genesis 1 we read the exact phrase, "And God saw," yet we only see it two more times in the entire book of Genesis and only two more time in the rest of the Old Testament. Even if we substitute "the Lord" or pronouns referring to God or the Lord, we only have an additional ten instances. So why so many in the first chapter and so few thereafter? 

The words, "And God said," is a refrain that runs throughout the first chapter of the Bible. Genesis 1 teaches us that the Creator of world is a speaking God. And since he made mankind in his image, it is through his spoken word that he reveals himself to us so that we can know him and relate to him. 

In Genesis 1, God changes the world that was originally "formless and empty" into one that has boundaries and is bulging with life. By observing carefully the order and manner in which God completes his creation, we can learn much about how to order our own life and how to help others do the same. 

The first thing we learn about God from the pages of Scripture is that he created. In fact, that verb is the second word in the Hebrew Bible. In this episode we will ponder why our all-sufficient and utterly contented Triune God would even want to create. And if we can glean anything from that, what implications might it have for us as we seek to imitate him?

Welcome to a new GBCM podcast called 7m Ponderings where we will explore a particular book of the Bible for exegetical insights that can assist the biblical counselor in his or her counseling, whether formal or informal. Although the first book we will begin exploring in this way is the book of Genesis, we nevertheless plan to launch several other 7m Ponderings from other books of the Bible in due time. So welcome to 7m Ponderings: Counseling through Genesis.