Genesis 1.24-31-The Sixth Day of Restoration
Wednesday August 10, 2005
Genesis: Genesis 1:24-31-The Sixth Day of Restoration
Lesson # 7
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 1:24.
This evening we will study Genesis 1:24-31, which contains the record of the 6th and final day of restoration.
Genesis 1:24, “Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind’; and it was so.”
“Cattle” is the noun behemah (hm*h@B+), which is pronounced be-hay-maw and is a very broad term referring to all types of “domestic animals,” because of its manifest contrast in Genesis 1:24 with the “beasts of the earth,” thus it would include cattle.
It refers to a particular category of living creature that is four footed and whose habitat is on land as opposed to the other two classes of living creatures that exist either in the air, the birds (Gn. 1:20-23; 6:7) or in the sea (marine life in Gen. 1:20-23).
The behemah also are different from the other living creatures that reside on the earth such as insects, small reptiles, most amphibians and small mammals called “creeping things” in Gen. 1:24 and 1 Kgs. 4:33, and “(wild) beasts of the earth” mentioned Gen. 1:24.
“Creeping things” is the noun remes (Cm#r#), which is pronounced reh-mes and refers to insects, small reptiles, most amphibians and small mammals.
“Beasts” is the noun chay (hY*j^\\), which is pronounced: khah-ee and refers to wild or undomesticated animals, which would include large mammals such as lions and elephants.
Genesis 1:25, “God made (‘asah) the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.”
“Made” is the verb `asah (hCu) pronounced gah-sah and means, “to produce out of existing material” and is used in reference to the physical bodies of animal life and the birds, which were produced from the dust of the earth and Psalm 104:24-25 indicates that the physical bodies of marine life were as well.
The verb bara (arB) pronounced baw-raw in Genesis 1:21 means, “to create out of non-existing material” and is used with reference to the souls of marine and animal life and the birds, which were created out of non-existing material.
Genesis 1:21, “God created (bara) the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good.” NASU
The verb yatsar (rx^y*) pronounced yaw-tsar in Genesis 2:19 means, “to construct out of existing material” indicating that the physical bodies of animal life and the birds were constructed out of existing material, namely, the earth and the verb in Psalm 104:26 indicates that the physical bodies of marine life were as well.
Genesis 2:19, “Out of the ground the LORD God formed (yatsar) every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. NASU
Genesis 1:26, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make (‘asah) man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’” (NASU)
“Make” is the verb ‘asah and in Genesis 1:26 means, “to model” in the sense that the soul of mankind is a “copy” of God and is “patterned” after God’s invisible essence, thus man as to his essence is the shadow image of God who is invisible, thus the essence of man is invisible, i.e. the soul
The verb bara in Genesis 1:27 indicates that the soul of mankind was created out of non-existing material whereas the verb `asah in Genesis 1:26 indicates that the soul of man was “modeled” or “patterned” after God’s invisible essence.
Genesis 1:27, “God created (bara) man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” NASU
The verb yatsa in Genesis 2:7 means, “to construct or form out of existing material” indicating that the physical body of man is constructed out of the dust of the earth.
Genesis 2:7, “Then the LORD God formed (yatsar, “to construct out of existing material”) man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. NASU
Therefore, we have the “dichotomy” of mankind meaning that he is composed of body and soul.
Regenerate human beings meaning human beings who are saved are “trichotomous” meaning they are composed of body, soul and spirit.
1 Thessalonians 5:23, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Adam and Ishah were “dichotomous” (Gen. 2:7) and not “trichotomous” since eternal life is not imputed to a human spirit until the spiritual birth or regeneration.
In 1 Corinthians 15:45, Paul’s statement that the first Adam, “became a living soul” clearly indicates that God did not create Adam with a human spirit since if He did create him with a human spirit, the Scriptures would not have called him a “living soul” but rather a “spirit” as is stated of the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:45, “So also it is written, ‘The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.”
Genesis 1:26, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’”
“In Our image” means that humanity was modeled according to the invisible image or likeness of God meaning that humanity was to reflect God’s invisible essence, thus man as to his essence is the shadow image of God who is invisible, thus the essence of man is invisible, i.e. the soul.
“Let them rule” indicates that the Lord delegated authority to Adam and the Woman to rule over every living creature in the sea, in the air and on the land, which was another way that he would reflect the image of God who is sovereign over creation.
Genesis 1:27, “God created (bara, “to create out of nothing”) man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (NASU)
(1) “God created out of nothing the essence of man in His own image”: Mankind is the direct result of the creative activity of God and that as to his essence, he is the shadow image of God who is invisible and the essence of man is his soul.
(2) “In the image of God, He created him out of nothing”: Mankind is unique among God’s creatures in that he was created in the image of God.
(3) “Male and female, He created them out of nothing”: The soul of both the male and the female were created out of nothing according to the image of God and that mankind was created as two individuals (male and female) who were to form a unit and were to be united.
Genesis 1:28 contains five commands in which the power of God is expressed, thus teaching us that God’s omnipotence is exercised by blessing us through His Word.
Genesis 1:28, “God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’”
“Blessed” is the verb barakh (Er^B*) pronounced: bah-rach and means, “to bless,” in the sense that the Lord endued Adam and Eve with power to produce offspring in great numbers by the Word of the Lord.
“Be fruitful” is the verb parah (hrP) pronounced paw-raw and means, “to be fruitful” in the sense of to reproduce.
“Multiply” is the verb ravah (hbr) pronounced raw-vaw and means, “to multiply, to increase” in number or quantity and denotes not only the concept of multiplication of one’s progeny but also sexual prosperity.
“Fill” is the verb male (al@m*) pronounced mah-leh and is used here of mankind and is never used in reference to bird life or land animals since the earth was given to man whereas the word is used in Genesis 1:22 with reference to marine life filling the various bodies of water on earth.
Psalm 115:16, “The heavens are the heavens of the LORD, but the earth He has given to the sons of men.”
“Subdue” is the verb kavash (vb^K*) pronounced kaw-vash, which refers to harnessing the potential built into the earth by the Creator for his own comfort and prosperity and well-being.
“Rule” is the verb radhah (hrr) pronounced: raw-daw, expresses the fact that Adam would reflect the image of God who is sovereign by exercising sovereignty over every living creature in the sea, in the air and on the land.
Genesis 1:29, “Then God said, ‘Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you.’”
Genesis 1:30, “and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food"; and it was so.” NASU
Genesis 1:29 and 30 teaches us that the Lord Jesus is the Gracious Provider of food not only for the human race but also each and every living creature on the earth.
Genesis 1:31, “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.” NASU
“Made” is the `asah, which in this particular context means, “to do” since it summarizes the Holy Spirit’s work in creating, restoring, constructing, producing and modeling during the six days of restoration, which was in response to the commands of God the Son.
“Very Good” describes the “absolute perfection” of the Holy Spirit’s work in creating, restoring, constructing, producing and modeling during the six days of restoration, which was in obedience to the commands of God the Son as well as in accordance with the Father’s will, purpose and plan.
The adjective tov appears seven times in each of the six days recorded in Genesis 1, which is significant since seven is the number of “spiritual perfection.”
The adjective tov is used seven times in Genesis 1 emphasizing the “perfection” and “completion” of the Holy Spirit’s work in creating, restoring, constructing producing and modeling during the six days, which was in obedience to the commands of God the Son and in accordance with the Father’s will.
The phrase “there was evening and there was morning” appears in Genesis 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23 and 31.
Evening always precedes morning for several reasons:
(1) God is working in the midst of darkness in restoring creation, which in turn typifies God’s work of redeeming first of all mankind and then the earth itself, which was brought under a curse because of Adam’s disobedience to the Lord in the Garden of Eden.
(2) It typifies God’s work in our lives where at the moment of salvation we have been called out of the spiritual darkness of Satan’s cosmic system and transferred into God’s kingdom, the kingdom of light (Col. 1:13).
(3) God is dealing with His creatures and His creation in love, mercy and grace.
(4) We can do nothing without Him and that He is working in our lives that have been filled with spiritual darkness.
(5) God is revealing to us a spiritual principle that God’s omnipotence finds its consummation in not only the impotence of creation but also the impotence in our lives as human beings.
The sixth day is significant since six is the number of man and of his imperfection meaning he is destitute of God, without God, without Christ.
Man was created on the sixth day, which emphasizes mankind’s importance to the plan of God in that he would rule over the works of God’s hands.
Satan usurped the rulership of the first Adam over the earth but the Last Adam, the God-Man, the Lord Jesus Christ has regained that rulership over the earth.
Hebrews 2:6, “WHAT IS MAN (mankind in general), THAT YOU REMEMBER HIM? OR THE SON OF MAN, THAT YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT HIM?”
Hebrews 2:7, “YOU HAVE MADE HIM (mankind) FOR A LITTLE WHILE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS; YOU HAVE CROWNED HIM (mankind) WITH GLORY AND HONOR, AND HAVE APPOINTED HIM (mankind) OVER THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS.”
Hebrews 2:8, “For in subjecting all things to him (mankind), He left nothing that is not subject to him (mankind). But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him (mankind).”
Hebrews 2:9, “But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.”
The sixth day typifies the completion of the new creation, the church in resurrection bodies ruling over the earth with Christ during His millennial reign.