The Sixth Day Part 1
Notes
Transcript
Handout
24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so.
25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.
30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.
31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
When we come to God’s Word, it is always good to look at what the text says under the guidance of the Spirit before we draw conclusions. Will you join the Spirit and me in observing the structure of Genesis 1:24-31?
A couple of weeks ago, we observed that the fifth day broke from the pattern to emphasize God as Creator.
The sixth day resumes the pattern in verses 24-25: “And God said, 'Let…’ And it was so. God made … And God saw that it was good.” This is our constant reminder that God does what he says, and what God does is good. It is amazing how quickly we forget.
In verses 26-28, the passage repeats the pattern of “And God said, ‘Let…’ So God created… And God blessed them. And God said…” This is the pattern of the fifth day, emphasizing the creative power of God in making humanity. God made each of us.
In verse 27, we observe that the format changes in the ESV to indicate that this verse is written in a chiasm, emphasising that “in the image of God he created him”
In verse 28b, we observe what God said in his blessing to man/humanity as male and female. The first three commands are the same as on the fifth day. He blessed them with the command to be fruitful, to multiply, and to fill the earth.
In verse 28c, we observe a break from the pattern of the blessing for the animals, and he blesses humanity with the commands to subdue the earth and have dominion over the fish, the flying creatures, and the land creatures. This lays the foundation for each of us as to our purpose as image bearers. More on that later.
In verse 29, we see the phrase, “And God said,” repeated, and with this declaration, he blesses them again through command by informing them that every plant yielding seed and tree with seed in its fruit is food for humanity.
In verse 30, the blessing through command continues by addressing what the animals of God’s creation are to eat - every green plant. This section of blessing closes with, “And it was so.”
In verse 31a, we have the repeated phrase, “And God saw”. It breaks from the daily pattern to include everything that he had made. In the repeated pattern, the text would read “It was good,” but here, for emphasis, Moses adds “very.” It was very good. “God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” Do you believe that what God does is very good? He is working in each of our lives right now, and it is very good, though it does not feel good.
The section closes in verse 31 with the phrase, “And there was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day,” reminding us that God, the orderly Creator, created the cosmos in an orderly fashion.
We have looked at the structure of the passage. Now, with the help of the Spirit, we will apply the investigative questions to the text.
In review, what are the investigative questions we have in our toolbox?
Who, what, when, where, why, and how.
Let’s jump in under the guidance of Spirit and see what he has for us through the investigative questions. Look at Genesis 1:24 with me, asking, “What did God say?”
And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so.
God commands the earth to bring forth living creatures according to their kinds. The living creatures are categorized into three groups: livestock, creeping things, and beasts, each reproducing according to its kind.
The phrase “living creatures” is a key phrase of the passage. What insight can we gather from this phrase in the Hebrew?
Having done a word study on this phrase and looked up its definitions, the phrase “living creatures” has the connotation of “souled creatures.” My observation of its usage is that the OT does not sharply distinguish between an animal's soul and a human’s soul. This is demonstrated by Solomon in Ecclesiastes 3:21: “Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth?”
Now we know where the spirit of man goes depending on his or her belief in Jesus’ death and resurrection. If one believes in Jesus' work, he or she is saved and inherits the New Heaven and Earth. If one rejects Jesus' work, he or she receives his or her just recompense (Matthew 8:10-12; John 3:18).
What happens to the soul of an animal? Scripture leaves it as a mystery, though Paul in Romans 8:19-21 sheds some light on the encompassing power of God’s redemption for all creation, including the animals. We do not know if that includes every animal that has ever lived. So if you have lost a dear pet, take comfort in God’s redemptive work of setting all things right.
The church, through the teaching of Thomas Aquinas and Augustine, who based their teachings on the Greek philosopher Aristotle, has held that animals do not possess rational or immortal souls. This has caused many to be definitive concerning the state of animals' souls, when in truth we do not know. What we do know is that God is redeeming all things. Come, Lord Jesus, come.
Please, look with me at Genesis 1:26.
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
What are the key words in this verse?
First, we have God identified as “us” and “our”.
Second, we have “image”. Third, we have “likeness”. We cover these in verse 27.
Fourth, we have “dominion”. We cover this in verse 28.
Why is God referred to as “us” and “our”? The answer to this has baffled many.
I will attempt to give an answer in two parts: from the World Behind the Text, and the World in Front of the Text.
The first part comes from how ancient Israelites, Egyptians, and Mesopotamians held court, which they modeled after God’s heavenly court. It was normal for the ruler to include the court in the decision, even if the ruler alone was acting. The plural usage is considered “the royal we.”
The idea of God having a heavenly court is clear from several passages. If you would like to look them up, they are Job 1:6-12; 1 Kings 22:19-23; Psalm 82; Daniel 7:9-10; and Revelation 20:11-15.
The idea here is that God chooses to include his royal court, i.e., his heavenly family, even though he acts alone in verse 27. This reminds us that God is relational and chooses to share his power with both his heavenly family and his earthly family.
The second part comes to us through progressive revelation, the Church Fathers, and the Reformers. Through these sources, we know Yahweh as one God who is three individual persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each person being fully God and always acting in unity.
We call this the doctrine of the Trinity. If you would like to explore this more, read Genesis 1:2, Isaiah 48:16, John 1:1-3, John 10:30, Acts 5:3-4, and John 14:16-7, 26. The “us” and “our” then are understood to be the Father speaking within the Godhead to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, thus making this the first subtle revelation of one God as three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Both of these interpretations are true; we do not have to choose, for the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit lead the heavenly court. Now things can be sticky if we say it only refers to the Trinity; when we do that, I do not think we are being true to the original context.
The reason this matters is twofold. First, we need to recognize that we are part of the cosmic family of God and that he has a part for each of us to play in his redemption story. I personally know how easy it is to get sucked into my narrow view of the world, feeling that it all revolves around me and forgetting that he has called me to be part of his cosmic redemption. This is bigger than me. This is bigger than you. Yet God, three in one, has invited us to join him in his work.
Second, God created us in his image. This is foundational to who we are as individuals and foundational to how a society functions. We will explore this more next week.
We have covered a lot. For some, it is engaging; for others, it is exhausting. No matter where you are on that scale, hear this: Yahweh, the Creator, is working toward the redemption of all things; thus, he is working his redemption in the lives of those who believe. Do you believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection? If not, then now is the time. Trust him and join him in his cosmic work of redemption. If you have believed, then be comforted: he will finish the work he has begun in us. Be encouraged because we are part of something so much greater than ourselves.
