Creation, God’s Handiwork

MEMORY VERSE: “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein,” —Psalm 24:1

GENESIS 1:31; 2:4-9; I CORINTHIANS 8:4-6

OUR memory verse is an interesting one. The earth is indeed the Lord’s. The whole universe belongs to him. Psalm 115:16 reads, “The heavens, even the heavens, are the Lord’s: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.” The earth is the Lord’s by right of creation, but he created it to be man’s eternal home, and he created it not in vain. It will yet be man’s perfect paradise forever.—Isa. 45:18

Having finished preparing the earth for human habitation, we are told that “God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and morning were the sixth day.” Actually, the creation of the earth took place before the six creative days of Genesis 1 began. At the beginning of these six days “the earth was without form, and void.” At the close of these “days” the earth was ready for man. Nor are we to think of these “days” as being twenty-four hours in length. The word “day,” as here used, denotes a long period of time, such as an era, or an age.

The word “generations” in Genesis 2:4 would be more properly translated historical records. It refers back to the account in the first chapter, to the day in which “the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.” Here all six creative days are referred to as a single day. The preparation of earth for man involved the establishment of the “firmament,” with the water above and the water below the firmament.

We are told that up to this point it had not rained on the earth. It is believed that prior to the great Deluge of Noah’s day a great canopy of water surrounded the earth, preventing the direct rays of the sun from penetrating, “and there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.”

The details of man’s creation read, “The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” It is supposed by many that man was given an immortal soul, an entity separate and distinct from his body, which continues to live after the body dies. But this is not what the record states.

The account shows that after the formation of the body, it was imbued with the breath of life, “and man became a living soul.” It was the body animated by the life-giving oxygen of the air that resulted in the living soul. The Revised Standard Version reads that man became “a living being”; and that, after all, is what a living soul really is.

God prepared a beautiful garden home for Adam, and for Eve when she was created. It is referred to as “a garden eastward in Eden.” “Out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food.” It is interesting, we think, that the trees of the garden which were pleasant to the sight are first mentioned. God made every provision to sustain man’s life, but he wanted him also to enjoy life.

In the garden there was also provided “the tree of life.” The Hebrew text warrants the idea of a grove of trees. It is not that there was a single tree with magic life-giving powers in its fruit, but a perfectly balanced food supply which, if man had remained in harmony with his Creator, would have kept him alive and healthy forever. It was only because, on account of his sin, man was driven from this garden and deprived of the tree of life, that he began to die. “In thy favor is life,” wrote the psalmist, and man lost God’s favor because of his transgression, and the potentials of life have been kept out of his reach.

As Paul reminds us, there are many gods and many lords, but to us there is but the one true and living God, who is the Creator of all—“of whom are all things and we in him”—“and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” Here we are reminded that while Jehovah was indeed the Creator of all things, he did his work through his only begotten Son, the Logos.

And this blessed partnership has continued, and we enjoy our relationship to the Father because of the Son who shed his blood on our behalf.

QUESTIONS

Were the creative days of Genesis twenty-four hour days?

Explain the expression, “Man became a living soul.”

Is God’s beloved Son still working with him in the accomplishment of his plan?

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