There have been some attempts, especially by Michael Heiser, to argue the species-uniqueness of Yahweh from the Old Testament. One such text that is employed is Neh 9:6. Blake Ostler wrote the following in response to Heiser on this issue:
Nehemiah 9:6: It is you, O Lord, you are the only one; you made the heavens (עָשִׂיתָ אֶת־הַשָּׁמַיִם), the highest heavens and all their host (כָל־צְבָאָם), the earth and all that is upon it, the seas and all that is in them. To all of them you give life, and the heavenly hosts bow down before you. (New American Bible [NAB])
Nehemiah claims that the hosts of heaven have been made or organized just as the earth was organized (עשׂה, 'asah) with everything on it. However, the sense of “create” here does not entail creation out of nothing but rather organization of the armies of heaven. Further, it doesn’t entail that the armies of heaven are created in all respects. The sun, moon, and stars are not “created” in the sense that they are brought into existence from nothing. Rather, the sun, moon, and stars are “created” in the sense that they are placed in the raqia or dome that separates the waters above the heavens from those below as Genesis 1 states. In fact, the parallel in Psalm 148:1-5 suggests that the “hosts of heaven” refer to the sun, moon, and stars: “Praise the Lord from the heavens; give praise in the heights. Praise him, all you angels; give praise all you hosts. Praise him, sun and moon; give praise, all shining stars. Praise him, the highest heavens, you waters above the heavens. Let them all praise the Lord’s name; for the Lord commanded and they were created” (יְהַלְלוּ אֶת־שֵׁם יְהוָה כִּי הוּא צִוָּה וְנִבְרָאוּ) (NAB).
Based on the parallel between “hosts of heaven” and the sun, moon, and stars in Psalm 148:2-3, the assertion that the “hosts of heaven” are created refers to the creation of the sun, moon, and stars, but only in the sense that the preexisting heavenly bodies are organized by being placed in the firmament or raqia on the fourth day in Genesis 1:14-18. As physically organized things, the sun, moon, and stars are deemed to be created or organized realities in Mormon thought as well. Returning to the Hebrew cosmology, it must be kept in mind that the Hebrews regarded the sun, moon, and the stars as sentient beings that can praise Yahweh. However, the sun and the moon are not among the sons of God who reside in the highest heaven above the heaven of heavens. The creation in Nehemiah 9:6 refers to dividing the waters by fixing the dome to hold back the waters above and the separate the waters from the heaven below the firmament. The sun, moon, and stars are fixed in the firmament and that is what constitutes their being “created” . . . The armies or hosts of heaven like the sun, moon, and stars are the lowest in the heavenly hierarchy. These heavenly hosts or bodies are fixed in the solid but transparent “firmament” or raqia that is below the waters which are located in the heavens above the firmament. The raqia holds back the waters from flooding the earth. The sun and the moon move below the raqia, and the stars are fixed in it like lights in the dome. The sons of God in the council of heaven around God’s throne, in contrast, are above the heaven of heavens in the realm of the uncreated.
Thus, the proof texts reviewed by Heiser do not establish that the “sons of God” are not the same kind as Yahweh because they are created in the sense that they are ontologically contingent and he is not. Rather, they merely establish that: (1) some of the elohim are not considered to be fully divine beings like Yahweh; (2) some of the heavenly hosts such as sun, moon, and stars were created or organized at the time that the earth was created. The sun, moon, and stars already existed to be placed in the firmament. They are created only in the sense that they are organized by taking preexisting heavenly hosts and placing them in their order in the firmament. However it is contrary to the Hebrew scripture to regard the sons of God as created in the sense that they are brought into existence at the time of creation because they were already present with Elohim at the creation of humankind. When Elohim declares in Genesis 1:26: “Let us make man in our own image” (emphasis mine), the plural refers to the council of gods who assist in the creation. When God says in Job: “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? . . . . When all the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4 7), Job cannot refer to the creation of the earth because the stars were placed in the raqia on the fourth day after the foundations of the earth had already been laid. (Blake T. Ostler, Exploring Mormon Thought, vol. 3: Of God and Gods [Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2008], 283-84.)
Blake also makes mention to “creation” not implying creatio ex nihilo; I would strongly suggest one to read his article, "Out of Nothing: A History of Creation ex Nihilo in Early Christian Thought," a response to recent attempts by William Lane Craig and Paul Copan to salvage belief in this post-biblical doctrine.
