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Session 6 - Creation Week - Part 2

Class Discussion (02-14-10)

The Fifth Day

The first introduction of animal life was not a fragile blob of protoplasm that happened to come together in response to electrical discharges over a primeval ocean, as some evolutionists believe.

The Hebrew word sherets, is often rendered “moving creature” or “creeping thing” in the eleven other places where it occurs. It seems to be synonymous with remes, which is also translated “creeping thing” (See Genesis 1:24, etc.) however, it appears to refer to large gatherings (swarms, teeming, etc.) of any kind of animals including marine animals, invertebrates, vertebrates, reptiles, etc.

The word “life” (nephesh) occurs for the first time in this verse. This word is also used for “soul,” and is frequently used to refer to both the soul of man and the life of animals. The word appears 753 times in the Old Testament, in the King James Version 475 of those appearances it is translated “soul” while it is translated “life” only 117 times. Apparently plants were not given this form of life or soul (a form of consciousness) however both animals and humans were given it.

Along with animals for the water sphere, there also appeared animals for the air sphere: birds to fly in the “open firmament of heaven” (KJV). The word translated “open” in the King James is pene, and can carry the meaning “face of.” Birds indeed fly only in the lower region or “face” of the atmosphere.

The first animals specifically mentioned as the product of this act of creation were the “great creatures” this word is most often translated “dragon” in the Bible. The term includes all large sea-creatures, even the monsters or dinosaurs of the past that are now extinct. The frequent references to dragons in Scripture may give merit to the many stories found in the records and traditions of most ancient civilizations.

Though not an object of God’s love as man would be, animals nevertheless are objects of His care and concern. Not even a sparrow would ever fall to the ground without His noticing and caring (See Matthew 6:25-26 and 10:29).

The blessing (God’s words) included both a command and provision for the continued multiplication of the animals He had created, so that they would soon occupy all parts of the world. We will see a similar command given to the animals emerging from the ark after the Flood (See Genesis 8:17).

The Sixth Day

It is interesting that God “made” (Hebrew word asah) these land animals, compared to the air and sea animals where He “created” (bara) them. It would seem that the air and sea animals were of a higher order than the others and therefore they should have taken a higher category of divine activity. Another possible explanation could be that the act of creation in verse 21 was that of “every creature” and not just sea and air creatures so there was no need to mention it again on the sixth day. The formation of land creatures could have been merely reshaping materials already in existence including the nephesh (life).

The land animals made during the early part of the sixth day are categorized as “livestock, creeping things, and beasts of the earth.” This description is evidently intended to be comprehensive. The term “livestock” refers to domestic animals, “beasts of the earth” refers to large wild animals, and “creeping things” refers to all animals that crawl or creep close to the surface of the ground including insects, smaller reptiles, and probably amphibians and many smaller mammals (See Leviticus 11:29-31).

The world was now ready for its human inhabitants, who would be given dominion over it. The formation of land animals must have taken only a small portion of the sixth day. The second chapter describes in greater detail the remaining events of the sixth day, events that are only briefly outlined in the first chapter. Chapter two will shift gears and become more “anthropomorphic” centering on the development of humans and begin the story about Adam and Eve. The Creation text in chapter two will not contradict the Creation account in chapter one, however it will not duplicate all of the events of chapter one. The Bible often uses the style of giving the reader a general rendition of the story followed by a more detailed view focusing on a specific topic or theme (possibly the best example would be a detailed inset of a major city on a state road map).

In this verse God speaks, as it were, to Himself. He is not speaking to the angels, because man was not going to be made in the likeness of angels but in the likeness of God. God could only have been speaking to Himself; one member of the uni-plural Godhead was addressing another member or members. This type of exchange within the Godhead appears several places in the Bible (See Psalm 2:7, 45:7, 110:1, and Isaiah 48:16). Even in the New Testament the relationship between Christ and the Father is noted in such passages as Matthew 11:27, John 8:42 and 17:24 as well as many other places.

The highest, most complex of all creatures was to be made by God and then was to be given dominion over all the rest – all the animals of the sea, air, and land. Man’s body would be formed in the same way as the bodies of the animals had been formed (See Genesis 1:24 and 2:7). Similarly, man would have the “breath of life” like animals (See Genesis 2:7 and 7:22) and even have the “living soul” like animals (See Genesis 1:24 and 2:7).

In the Image of God

Even though man’s structure, both physical and mental, would be far more complex than that of the animals, it would be of the same basic essence; therefore God proposed to “make man in our image.” There was to be something in man, which was not only quantitatively greater, but also qualitatively distinctive, something not possessed in any degree by the animals. Man was to be in the image and likeness of God Himself! Man was both made and created in the image of God.

This is another truth that is impossible to fully comprehend (which is why it is not surprising there has been much difference of opinion about its meaning). It is not sufficient to say that man was given a spirit, as well as a soul, unless these terms are more explicitly defined. The term “spirit” in the Old Testament is the Hebrew word ruach, which is also commonly translated “wind” and “breath.” As such, the “breath of life” (literally “spirit of lives”) is a possession of animals as well as man. If, however, the term is used to define that aspect of man which is like God (“the likeness of God”) an eternal spirit, possesses of aesthetic, moral, spiritual attributes – then it may be a proper statement, at least in part. The spirit of man, like the angelic and demonic spirits, and like God Himself, is an eternal spirit; where the spirit of an animal ceases to exist when the body dies (See Ecclesiastes 3:21) and goes back to the earth. In any case, there can be little doubt that the “image of God” in which man was created must include aspects of human nature which are not shared by animals – attributes such as a moral consciousness, the ability to think abstractly, an understanding of beauty and emotion, and, above all, the capacity for worshiping and loving God! And since none of this was a part of the animal nephesh, the “soul,” it required a new creation.

Image of God?

Many readers may ask if God in His omnipresence is not corporeal, but is Spirit (See John 4:24) how could man’s body be made in God’s image? Even though God Himself may have no physical body, He designed and formed man’s body to enable it to function physically in ways in which He Himself could function even without a body. God can see (See Genesis 16:13), hear (See Psalm 94:9), smell (See Genesis 8:21), touch (See Genesis 32:32), and speak (See 2 Peter 1:18), whether or not He has actual physical eyes, ears, nose, hands, and mouth. Whenever He has designed to appear visibly to men, He has done so in the form of a human body (See Genesis 18:1-2); and the same is true of angels (See Acts 1:10). There is something about the human body, which is uniquely appropriate to God’s manifestation of Himself, and since God knows all of His works from the beginning of the world (See Acts 15:18), He designed man’s body with this in mind. He designed it, not like the animals, but with an erect posture, with an upward gazing countenance, capable of expressing emotional feelings, and with a brain and tongue capable of articulate, symbolic speech.

Both in body and in spirit, Jesus was indeed Himself the image of God (See Hebrews 1:3; Colossians 1:15; 2 Corinthians 4:4). It does not seem too much to infer that God made man in the image of that body which He Himself would later send to save mankind. In this sense it is true that, physically as well as spiritually, man was both made and created in the image and likeness of God the Son.

Having created man and woman, God pronounced a blessing on them and then gave them basic instructions and a commission. Whether He created more than one pair of each kind of animal and thing is not stated (although through inference with words like “swarms” and “abundantly” there may have been many pairs made). In any case, only one man and one woman were made, Genesis chapter two makes this very clear.

The first command given to this first man and woman was to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” The King James translation uses the word “replenish” but it does not refer to a “refilling.” Both the Old English term and the Hebrew (male) means simply to “fill” or “be filled.” Man has not yet filled the earth in accordance with God’s command. Even so there are many people today that are alarmed over the “population explosion” urging government controls of population growth. The same command is given after the Flood in Genesis chapter 9. We can be sure that God’s command was made in full knowledge of the earth’s ability to support a large population and it was never rescinded.

In addition to the command for procreation, God instructed man to “subdue” the earth, and to “have dominion over… every living thing that moves on the earth.” These could be considered military terms – first conquer, and then rule. However there is no conflict suggested, since everything God had made was pronounced “good.” This twofold commission to subdue and have dominion, embraces all productive human activities. Science and technology, research and development, theory and application, study and practice, etc. are various ways of expressing these two concepts.

This command, therefore, established man as God’s steward over the created world and all things therein. In Psalm 8:6-8 David tells us that we were made to have dominion over the “works of thy hands,” however the author of Hebrews in quoting the Psalm in Hebrews 2:6-8 tells us “But now we see not yet all things under him.” The problem is, of course, that man has failed in his stewardship. Instead of using the earth for good, under God, he has denied God and abused his stewardship. This primeval commission has never been revoked.

After giving man his commission, God told him of the provision for his most essential need, that of food. Man had work to do, and would need a repeated renewal of energy to continue the work. This energy supply was to be perpetually available through the fruits and herbs of the biosphere established by God on the third day of creation. The supply could not be exhausted, since these plants were designed to replicate themselves via the bearing and yielding of seed. As man spread out and filled the earth, his food would be available everywhere, “on the face of all the earth.” There were no deserts or other uninhabitable regions at that time.

The animals, too, were to obtain their food from “every green plant.” They also had work to do, under man’s direction, however at this point we don’t have any idea what each animal’s intended function was. It is clear that, in the original creation, it was intended that neither man or animals should eat other animals for food. As far as man was concerned, this all changed after the Flood.

As far as carnivorous animals are concerned, their desire for meat was a later development, either at the time of the Curse or after the Flood. Even today such animals can and will, only if they have to, live on a vegetarian diet. Whether such structures as fangs and claws were part of their original equipment, they only became dominant following the Curse. Scriptures do predict that, in the world of the future, after Christ has returned and restored the earth in part to its original perfection, there will be once again no predation or struggle between animals or between animals and man (See Isaiah 11:6-9 and Hosea 2:18).

God had now completed His work but, before settling down to “rest” in contemplation of what He had produced, as it were, He first surveyed it all and pronounced the whole creation to be “very good.” Six times before, He had seen that what He had made was “good”; but now that it was complete, with every part in perfect harmony with every other part, all perfectly formed and with abundance of inhabitants, He saw with great joy that it was all (literally) “exceedingly good.”

Chapter Two

Essentially this verse is sufficient to refute any theory, which tries to accommodate the geological ages concept in the Genesis record of creation. Everything in the universe (the next verse specifically includes all the host of heaven in its scope) was still at this time exceedingly good, in God’s own omniscient judgment. There could have been nothing that was not good in all creation: no struggle for existence, no disease, no pollution, no physical calamities (earthquakes, floods, etc.), no imbalance or lack of harmony, no disorder, no sin and, above all, no death! Even Satan (Lucifer) was still good at this point; his rebellion and fall must have come later.

Fossils, of course, speak of death, often violent and sudden death. They also speak of disease and injuries, of storms and convulsions, in short, of a world like the present world, “the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now” (Romans 8:22 ESV). Since death only “came into the world” when sin came in through man (See Romans 5:12), and since the whole creation was very good before man sinned, it is obvious that the fossil record now found in the sedimentary rocks of the earth’s crust could only have been formed sometime after man sinned. The fossils could not have been deposited either before the six days of creation (as in the gap theories) or during the six days of creation (as according to the progressive creation or day age type of theory). How could God have possibly looked upon a world of struggle, and looked into the rocks to see the remains of billions of dead animals, and then describe it all as exceedingly good? Such a suggestion in effect makes God out to be a monster, not the “God of all grace” who cares for every sparrow, not the God of love and mercy, the God of perfect wisdom, the God of omnipotence, and the God of infinite order, as revealed in the Bible.

As we will see later, the cataclysmic events of the great Flood in the days of Noah are quite sufficient to account for all the phenomena of the sedimentary rocks and the fossil record. At the time of man’s creation, however, the whole universe was a beautiful, perfect creation, the finest that the mind and heart of God Himself could devise for man. The “host” (Hebrew tsaba’, “large group”) mentioned in Genesis 2:1 refers primarily to the stars (See Deuteronomy 4:19; Nehemiah 9:6; Jeremiah 33:22 for examples), but may well refer also to the angels (See 1 Kings 22:19; 2 Chronicles 18:18; Luke 2:13).

The Seventh Day

The fact that the seventh day is not formally summarized as are the other six days at the end of each day certainly does not mean that the seventh day is still continuing, as some day-age advocates have suggested. The Scripture does not say, “He is resting on the seventh day,” but rather, “He rested on the seventh day.”

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