Make, Maker
God as Maker of All Things
The Bible's opening chapters establish God as the supreme Maker. Genesis 1:7, 16, 25, and 31 repeatedly use the Hebrew word asah ("to make") to describe God's creative work — making the firmament, the heavenly lights, the animals, and ultimately declaring everything He had made to be "very good." While the related word bara ("to create") emphasizes bringing something new into existence, asah captures the broader sense of fashioning, constructing, and bringing order to creation.
The creation of humanity receives special emphasis. Genesis 5:1 states that God "made" mankind in His own likeness, and Genesis 2:22 describes God "building" the woman from the man's rib. These accounts present God not as a distant force but as an intimate craftsman, personally involved in shaping every aspect of His creation. Job 10:8 reflects on this with wonder: "Your hands shaped me and made me."
Making Covenants and Constituting Leaders
Beyond creation, the Bible uses "make" extensively for God's covenant-making activity. God "made" a covenant with Abraham (Genesis 15:18; 17:2), promising to make him the father of many nations (Genesis 17:5-6). He made Ishmael into a great nation (Genesis 17:20) and Moses "as God to Pharaoh" (Exodus 7:1). These uses reveal that God not only creates the physical world but actively shapes history by establishing relationships, appointing leaders, and constituting His people.
The making of the tabernacle demonstrates how human making participates in divine purpose. The detailed instructions in Exodus 25-31 show God directing the construction of a dwelling place where heaven and earth intersect. Every element — the ark, the lampstand, the curtains — was to be made according to the pattern shown on the mountain (Exodus 25:40). Human craftsmanship, empowered by God's Spirit (Exodus 31:1-5), becomes an act of worship.
The Maker in the Psalms and Prophets
The psalms and prophetic literature celebrate God as Maker with exuberant praise. Psalm 95:6 invites worship before "the LORD our Maker." Psalm 100:3 declares, "It is he who made us, and we are his." Psalm 104:24 marvels, "O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all." Isaiah 17:7 looks forward to a day when people will have regard for their Maker and look to the Holy One of Israel.
The prophets also use "make" language to expose the folly of idolatry. Isaiah 44:9-20 offers a devastating critique of those who make idols, describing a craftsman who uses half a log for fuel and carves the other half into a god. The contrast is stark: the true Maker created the craftsman and the tree, while the idol, made by human hands, is powerless. Jeremiah 10:11 pronounces that "the gods that did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish."
Human Making and Responsibility
Scripture also addresses human making in terms of moral responsibility. Proverbs 6:12 describes "a worthless person" who makes trouble, while Proverbs 16:4 declares that "the LORD has made everything for its purpose." Human beings are called to make just judgments (Deuteronomy 16:18), make peace (James 3:18), and make disciples (Matthew 28:19). Our making is always derivative, always dependent on the Maker who gave us existence and purpose.
The New Testament deepens this understanding through the incarnation. John 1:3 declares of Christ, "All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made." Colossians 1:16 affirms that all things were created through Christ and for Christ. The Maker entered His own creation, becoming what He had made, in order to remake a fallen humanity.
The Maker's Final Purpose
The Bible's vision of God as Maker extends to the future. Isaiah 65:17 promises, "Behold, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth." Revelation 21:5 records the words of the One on the throne: "Behold, I am making all things new." The God who made all things in the beginning will make all things new in the end. The work of the Maker is not finished but moves toward a glorious completion where creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay (Romans 8:21).
Biblical Context
The concept of making and God as Maker appears from Genesis through Revelation. The creation narratives establish God as the original Maker. The covenant narratives use 'make' for God's constituting of relationships and nations. The tabernacle and temple construction narratives show human making directed by divine design. The Psalms and Prophets celebrate God as Maker and critique idol-making. The New Testament identifies Christ as the agent of all creation and the one who makes all things new.
Theological Significance
God as Maker is foundational to biblical theology. It establishes divine sovereignty over all creation, human dignity as the work of God's hands, and the purposefulness of existence. The contrast between God's making and idol-making exposes the futility of false worship. The New Testament revelation of Christ as the agent of creation connects creation theology to Christology, while the promise of 'making all things new' points to the ultimate fulfillment of God's creative purposes in redemption.
Historical Background
Ancient Near Eastern creation myths typically portrayed the world as emerging from conflict between deities. The biblical account stands apart in presenting creation as the purposeful act of a single sovereign God. The Hebrew word asah (make) was an everyday term for human craftsmanship, applied to God's work to convey both His power and His personal involvement. Archaeological evidence of elaborate idol-making workshops throughout the ancient Near East provides context for the prophetic critique of manufactured gods.