A STUDY OF GENESIS

Today we continue our study in Genesis, and I cannot but think it is an ironic coincidence that this chapter falls on Memorial Day. We know that many of our readers are from different nations, so allow me a quick second to explain what this holiday is. Memorial Day is a celebration when the United States honors those who have died in military service for the United States. It was originally established after the Civil War, and it’s a moment when we place American flags on graves and other national cemeteries reminding ourselves of those who gave it all for freedom. Now you might be wondering what does this have to do with Genesis, but please wait till the end.

Day four of creation is accomplished, we now arrive at day five. For the bird lovers and water folk this is our day!

Genesis 1:20-23 “20 Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” 21 So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that [it was] good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.”

I love how God takes the two extremes and brings them into creation on the same day. This has been a subtle reminder for me that God is in the highest places on earth and the depths; there is no place God is not capable of being. He made the soaring eagles, the giant squids, and other creatures in the dark deep ocean. People generally think of God only being in Heaven and the sky but Genesis 1:22 reveals that God from the beginning designed the deep as well. Job 38:16 “Have you entered the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in search of the depths?” Day five is the day we would get Shark Week!

However, for everything that He made in day five, He is still not done. Day six we see more!

Genesis 1:24-25 24 “Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, [each] according to its kind”; and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that [it was] good.”

PAUSE!

Up to this moment, there is no mankind. As we learned before, angels are present and there is nothing bad. It is here that God in the Trinity, (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) decide to do the unthinkable. To do something that had not been done before. The angels do not have it, neither does any other created thing…He creates you!

Genesis 1:26-27 “Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” 27 So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

God creates two, male and female. Simple, and yet a resounding rejection to what is being forced upon the world today. There are two. Uniquely designed to benefit one another and ultimately reflect the Lord as being image bearers of the Trinity! What does this mean? Simply put, God created us not to worship creation but to lead creation. We were designed to be the bridge from the creation towards the creator and as we will see in chapter three, we fail! The creation, including us, was good. There was no sin and yet something happened. We failed. Some might blame Satan for tricking humankind, but ultimately mankind through Adam and Eve fell from being good.

When mankind is good, we have a relationship with God. This relationship has purpose, has a reason for being there. The question of “Why am I here” is quickly answered. We are here because God designed and loves us. You are not a mistake. Be male or female, you have purpose. Let’s examine the final verses of chapter one and see what it means when we have a relationship with God.

Genesis 1:28-31 “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb [that] yields seed which [is] on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. 30 “Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which [there is] life, [I have given] every green herb for food”; and it was so. 31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed [it was] very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”

God is clear, precise, and intimate with them. There is no ambiguity, doubt, or even question as to His purpose in their life. Why is this? It is because they have a relationship built on perfection. This perfection is not something you and I can understand without Christ Jesus in our life. This chapter ends in a not so subtle way of God declaring something rather remarkable, “It was very good.” God makes mankind and it is considered very good. Remember He is all knowing! Thus, He is already aware of what we are going to do in just a few short pages! Sin is coming, death is coming, and yet God sees mankind at that moment and recognizes its perfection. Mankind was perfect! But death came.

Sin causes death. Sin causes war, sin causes the need for mankind to stop and reflect on the pain and suffering that we have brought upon the world. At the end of Chapter 1, God knows what is coming and yet He still takes the moment to say it is “very good.” This should cause you to have hope! Because God is a God of the past and future, but more importantly He is a God of the present. This is vitally important for us to understand. When we sin, we die; when we accept Christ into our life and allow His death and resurrection to pay for our sin, we are alive. PERIOD! This means that God works very much in the present. He declares the future to emphasize His divinity, but do not forget that He is very much aware of the here and now. So if you are saved in Christ you are as perfect now as you will be one day in His presence.

Memorial Day is a day for Americans, but it is a day for everyone to remember what mankind brought into this world. Sin came by one man, however, salvation came by a different man. This Man lived a perfect life, and died for you and I. He lived so we could live, He died so we didn’t have to die. He now reigns because He is a very present God who watches out for you and I right now. God has been doing this since the first day of our creation, and it is why we can say with confidence that only in Jesus Christ do you have a living God who is with you every step of every day.

 Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL