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"In
the Beginning..." Genesis 1
Continued
from page 1
Day Four:
“And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day
 from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.’ And it was so. God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.”
(Genesis 1:14-19)
God had a purpose in creating the world and having it recorded in this orderly way. He is building a case for himself as the one true God. He is helping us to weigh our preconceptions of God
against whom he is saying he is. In the ancient world, the primary gods were those of the sun and the moon. God is clear here, isn’t he! “They are not gods; I have created all these things!” They are not even named! Just nameless lights, designed by God not to be worshiped by human beings, but to serve human beings—by marking off the seasons and days and years. Barely mentioned in passing are the stars. In an age in which our astrological horoscopes are still seen as legitimate (“What sign are you?”), God says, “The stars do not direct your destiny, I do.”
Now, are starting to see the progress of creation? In day 1, God created light. In day 4, God created the specific “lights” that will separate day and night. Let’s see what God does next!
Day Five:
“And God said, ‘Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.’ So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.’ And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.” (Genesis 1:20-23)
In day 5, we watch as God fills the seas and sky that he created on day 2 with living creatures. And as we watch this, we realize that water does not have the power in and of itself for the spontaneous generation of life. It produced life only when God
spoke life into existence. The Word of God is the source of life; let there be no doubt what the Bible is proclaiming here!
 God created the great creatures of the sea and every winged bird. Today, we see people on boats waving signs that read “Save the Whales!” and other conservation groups seeking to protect certain endangered species and the delicate ecosystems of our planet from us humans, and some of us scoff at them as crazy radicals. But in reality, the whales and all the creatures of the sea and the air and the land are God’s precious creatures, and we should not let our selfishness run them into extinction. That would be
dishonoring to the artist!
Day Six:
“And God said, ‘Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.’ And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good." (Genesis 1:24-25)
So, the progress of creation is now coming to its climax. On day 6, God fills the land that he created on day 3. Do you see the pattern?
Day 1—Light Day 4—The lights
Day 2—The sea and the sky Day 5—The sea and sky creatures
Day 3—The land and vegetation Day 6—The land creatures and humans
The first three days God creates three static places. Nothing is moving; it is the stage that is set for the next three days. On the next three days, there is movement, the sun, moon, and all the living creatures. The inhabitants of the second three days rule over their corresponding places in the first three days. The progress becomes more complex as well. On days 1 and 4, we have one creative act. On days 2 and 5, we have one creative act with two aspects to it. On days 3 and 6, we have 2 separate creative acts.
As we move along the creation account, we notice that the action escalates. Here on day 6, we have a whole lot of action! The amount of ink given something reflects it importance. In fact, day 6 has more ink than days 1-3 combined! So, what is so important about day 6? Look at verse 26!
"Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’
Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.’ And it was so.
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.” (Genesis 1:25-31)
Notice, first of all, that God says, “Let us…” It is not until humans are created that God speaks in this interpersonal way (instead of “Let there be…”). Who is God talking to? Let us? I believe that this is, in the very first chapter of our Bible, evidence of the Trinity. God is called “Elohim” in this chapter—which is actually a plural (the “im” at the end of a Hebrew word is like our “s,” designating plural). This is certainly one God—but the plurality of this God is actually spelled into his name! We have already seen in verse 2 that
“the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” We have seen that, according to John, the “Word” of God that created the world is in some mysterious way Jesus Christ. One God in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—right there in Genesis 1!
God says, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…”
Notice that all the other creatures are created “according to their kinds;” it is only the humans that are created in
the image and likeness of God. This has tremendous things to say to anyone today that sees no difference between humans and the other wonderful creatures on earth. Though we share a lot with the other creatures, there is this huge difference! Yes, those creatures to be given the honor due them as God’s creative work, but when we elevate any other creature to equality of superiority to humans, we are no longer honoring God—for humans alone are created in the image and likeness of God.
We should not treat the other creatures poorly, for we are in charge of their well-being. Look again at verse 26:
“Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
There has been a lot of speculation as to what the Bible means by humans being created in the image and likeness of God. It certainly does not mean a physical resemblance, for God is spirit. There are a number of facets that this image of God entails. One of the major discoveries scholars have made in documents from the Ancient Near East is that when a king of Egypt or Babylon was placed in charge of his dominion, a god would give him his “image.” In other words, to be “in the image of god” meant that the king rules over that kingdom as God’s representative. And that is exactly what we see here in verse 26. So, far from not caring for the welfare of our planet’s ecosystems, rain forests, and endangered species, we humans have been given the awesome responsibility to rule over and care for this dominion. This is an amazing thing—this rulership was warped by other religions to be reserved only for kings, but God wants us to know that we
all are the rulers and caretakers of the earth.
Now, if we are right that God is speaking to the members of the Trinity (“Let us make man in our image, in our
likeness”) then he must be saying that humans are like them in their ability for relationship as well! Being made in God’s image allows us to be relational creatures, just like the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are relational with each other. This is why only human beings have the ability to relate to God in a special way. Certainly all creatures are relational in some sense and God relates to all his creation in special ways—he relates to flowers differently than he does blue whales than he does your pet dog. But we humans are unique—we are capable of actually communicating with each other and with God in more sophisticated ways than any other creature. We are the only ones that can actually read this Bible! We are the only ones that Jesus walked with and talked with. We are the only ones that pray with words back to God. Just as God communicates with the other members of the Trinity here in Genesis, we, being made in the image and likeness of the Trinity, can also communicate with those members of the Trinity.
We also love in more sophisticated ways than any other creature. In verse 27, we read the very first love poem: God says:
“So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.”
We are created in the image of the loving relationship within the Trinity. Just like there is unity in the Trinity, there is meant to be unity in our relationships as human beings. “Man” is created in the image of God—this word “Man” encompasses all of humanity, not just the male of the species. Or as the
New Living Translation renders this:
“So God created people in his own image;
God patterned them after himself;
male and female he created them.”
But let’s be clear what this is saying: We are created in the image and likeness of God. God did not create a bunch of little gods to populate the planet. An image, like a painting, only expresses God as a representation, not as an exact duplicate. In fact, God clearly says, he created humans “in our likeness”—we are
like God in a number of ways, but we are not God; we are distinct from God. There are a number of passages in the Bible where we say that God is being portrayed anthropomorphically (that is, like a human). Waltke points out, “More accurately, a human being is theomorphic, made like God so that God can communicate himself to people. He gave people ears to show that he hears the cry of the afflicted and eyes to show that he sees the plight of the pitiful.”
So, what does this have to say to us in our everyday life here and now?
When we understand the progression of these six days, we realize that all the other days are pointing towards the climax of creation here in day 6. When we realize that all the other creation accounts in the ancient world saw humans as being created as an after-thought as slaves to supply food for the gods, we see how radical Genesis was and still is. Humanity is the climax of creation, and instead of humans providing the gods with food, God provides the food for the humans!
When all is finished, when human beings are finally created, God looks at all that has been made and evaluates it with the superlative:
“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.”
What this is telling us is quite profound. Many of us, at one time or another, some more than others, struggle with finding significance. We go to the secular therapist who can offer us some comfort; but in the end, this therapist’s world view is that we are nothing more than another animal with passionate appetites and desires that are no different than the other animals—only a little more sophisticated. He cannot offer us a worldview that can give us ultimate significance.
But God does so. He says, “You are my ultimate creation. You are made in our image and likeness. You are not just an animal, helpless to your base urges and instincts. You are more.”
We certainly have passionate appetites and desires—all creatures do. In fact, that is the root meaning of the Hebrew word
“creature” there in Genesis 1. It is also translated “soul”
in other parts of the Bible. The literal Hebrew definition is creatures with souls that have passionate appetites and desires. And like all the rest of the creatures, human beings have drives and appetites for food and sex. But we are so much more! What distinguishes humanity from the animals is that our souls have been created in the image of God. And since we are created in the image of God, our soul’s appetite and desire is for something even more profound than the baser urges of the souls of the animals.
Since we are created in God’s image and likeness, we have God stamped on our soul. And our soul’s passionate appetite and desire is for God!
“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.”
(Psalm 42:1)
“O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” (Psalm 63:1)
That is what Genesis has to say to us today! We need significance! We need to have our soul’s desire quenched! This is the heart’s cry of every soul alive in the 21st Century, just as it was in the day when Genesis was first presented to God’s people!
Do you know that you are the pinnacle of God’s creation? That is God’s message for you today!
Do you know that your soul yearns for God? That is your soul’s ultimate passion!
Genesis 1 should help me worship the creator of heaven and earth. It should also help me to thank him for creating me—and for loving me. No wonder he has gone to such great lengths to redeem the height of his creation through the saving work of Jesus Christ! If humanity is his crowning achievement, of course he would go to great lengths to bring these humans back into the beauty that he intended for them. He would even go so far as to…die for them.
On the cross.
He would go the greatest length to make that which was once his perfect and beautiful and pure artistic masterpiece perfect and beautiful and pure once again.
Next message: The Seventh Day of Rest
QUESTIONS FOR APPLICATION AND GROUP DISCUSSION:
1. Do you enjoy nature? What are your favorite things
to do outdoors?
2. Have you ever felt like you were closer to God when
you have been able to commune with him in nature? Explain what happened.
3. How does realizing that humanity is the climax of
creation help us understand our significance and the significance of others? How
should that change how we treat others?
4. What does realizing that our souls have higher
appetites and desires than the animals explain your deep need to connect with
God?
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