IN THE BEGINNING PART 7

The Making of Land Animals

Let the earth bring forth: it is no coincidence that people and animals are made up of the same elements as the earth.

Livestock

This would be animals that can be tamed and domesticated for mankind’s use: for transportation, food, or clothing.

Discuss how these animals are perfectly designed to be beneficial to us. Look at wool as an example.

Creeping Things

Creeping things would include snakes and lizards, but also insects, and animals with short legs (such as mice).

Scientists estimate there are 20 quadrillion ants on Earth – that's 20 million billion.

Without bees, the availability and diversity of fresh produce would decline substantially, and human nutrition would likely suffer.

Beasts of the Earth

This would be four-legged animals of some size that wouldn’t be tamed under normal circumstances. It would include lions, tigers, bears, giraffes, etc...

A cheetah can reach speeds of 75 mph.

Psalm 50:10-11 “For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine.”

Mention the Lord making Balaam’s donkey talk. He shuts the lions’ mouths when Daniel is thrown in their den. He sends a bear to attack those who were mocking the prophet Elisha. He called up frogs on the land of Egypt. He also called gnats, flies, and locusts.

Let Us Make Man in Our Image

A genome is all of the genetic material in an organism. It is made of DNA (or RNA in some viruses) and includes genes and other elements that control the activity of those genes.

3.2 billion… That's how many base pairs—or sets of genetic "letters"—make up the human genome. In order to list all those letters, a person would have to type 60 words per minute, 8 hours a day, for about 50 years! However, humans are by no means the species with the most base pairs. The marbled lungfish has about 133 billion of them in its genome.

6 feet… That's how many feet long the DNA from one of your cells would be if you uncoiled each strand and placed them end to end. Do this for all your DNA, and the resulting strand would be 67 billion miles long—the same as about 150,000 round trips to the Moon.

.0002… That's the length in inches across a cell's nucleus, which holds your DNA. If you sliced human hair into tenths lengthwise, each slice would be about that big around.

The DNA of any two people on Earth is 99.6 percent identical. But 0.4 percent variation represents about 12 million base pairs, which can explain many of the differences between individuals, especially if the changes lie in key genes. Our environment also contributes to our individuality.

Your brain’s storage capacity is considered virtually unlimited. Research suggests the human brain consists of about 86 billion neurons (or nerve cells). Each neuron forms connections to other neurons, which could add up to 1 quadrillion (1,000 trillion) connections. Over time, these neurons can combine, increasing storage capacity.

Brain information travels up to an impressive 268 miles per hour. When a neuron is stimulated, it generates an electrical impulse that travels from cell to cell. A disruption in this regular processing can cause an epileptic seizure.

A piece of brain tissue the size of a grain of sand contains 100,000 neurons and 1 billion synapses. However, damage to neurons can have great impact. During a stroke, for example, blood is not able to get oxygen to the brain. As a result, brain cells can die, and abilities in that particular area of the brain can be lost.

The Triunity of God

It is not until the New Testament that you see a more complete clarification of the Trinity, but the Old Testament makes it evident as well.

How many persons are there in the Godhead? There are three persons in the Godhead; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. (Westminster Shorter Catechism)

In the first two verses of Genesis, we see reference to God making the Earth, and the Spirit of God hovering over the earth. We see Psalms like Psalm 2 when God talks about sending His Son to be born and to rule the nations. It is actually all over the place in the Old Testament if you pay attention.

The Image of God

Humans are moral beings. Even as fallen creatures, we have an innate sense of right and wrong; in other words, we have a conscience. We have emotion, intellect, and will. And being made in the image of God, we are able to reflect His glory in a way that the rest of creation cannot.

1 Peter 1:15-16 “but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.””

Ephesians 5:1 “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.”

Matthew 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

What is the chief end of man? A. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever. (Westminster Shorter Catechism)

Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”

Tasks Given to Mankind

1. Have dominion over the animals.

2. Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

3. Subdue the earth.

God Provides Food For Mankind and Animals

Because there was no sin, there was no death at this point. So people and animals were vegetarians.

Genesis 9:3 “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.”

When God saw all that He had made, He said it was very good.