Thank You Heavenly Father - Genesis 1-2

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” Genesis 1:1-2

As the earth was without form and void, and full of darkness, so is every human soul in relationship to God until the Lord by His Word and Spirit speaks life into it. The Hebrew words for without form and void both have the connotation of like a wasteland or ruins. The perfect situation for God to make a difference. The Spirit is hovering over this formless existence like a mother hen over an unhatched egg. When God speaks, the Spirit brings forth new creation.

“Then God said, ‘Let there be light;’ and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So, the evening and the morning were the first day.” Genesis 1:3-5

Psalm 119:130 says, “The entrance of Your Word gives light. It gives understanding to the simple.” It is difficult to understand what is before you when there is no light. God turns the lights on for our souls so we can see, hear and sense His presence. His light helps us to discern between what is good and what is not good for us.

“And God said, ‘Let there be a firmament between the waters to separate water from water.’ So God made the firmament and separated the water under the firmament from the water above it. And it was so. God called the firmament ‘sky.’ So the evening and the morning were the second day.” Genesis 1:6-8

What would we do without water? The answer is die. God made abundant water for people. Spiritually speaking, after we receive the light of God into our souls that brings salvation, the next step is to be baptized in water in His Name. Thus, water is involved in both our physical and spiritual births.

“Then God said, ‘Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear;’ and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:9-10

God created the ground that we walk on. Thanks be to God for firm foundations to build our lives upon. After we are born again spiritually, we need to align our practices with the Word of God. In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus indicated that obeying His teachings is like building one’s house on bedrock... a firm foundation.

“Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth;’ and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the third day.” Genesis 1:11-13

Food! The Lord set the table before the guests arrived. Humans, animals, birds, bugs and fish will all need grass and seed bearing plants and fruits of trees to eat. In Matthew 13:1-23, Jesus compared His Word to seed. God’s Word, properly received in a human heart, produces the kind of harvest that God desires. In Galatians 3:16, Paul calls Jesus the Seed through whom all the promises made to Abraham come true. It is not enough to have the Bible, we must also have the Messiah of which the Bible speaks, namely, JESUS.

“Then God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth;’ and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.” Genesis 1:14-19

Thanks be to God for various lights that help us navigate during day and night. They also serve as counters of seasons, days and years. When God turned the lights on, He made heaven and earth less confusing. In John 8:12, Jesus is the spiritual light of the world. In John 1:1, Jesus is the Word of God. In Psalm 119:105, God’s “Word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”

“Then God said, ‘Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.’ So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.’ So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.” Genesis 1:20-23

Now, God fills the water and sky with life. He blesses His creations and tells them to multiply, which they wisely do. God fills creation with life. In John 10:10, Jesus said, “I have come that they [people] may have life, and have it to the full.” Where God is, there is a culture of life.

“And God said, ‘Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.’ And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:24-25

God fills the land with living creatures of all sorts. Many people enjoy going to zoo’s and watching movies to observe the amazing creatures that God has made. Some make pets of these creatures. They have character traits and abilities that teach us about God and ourselves.

“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in His own image; in the image of God, He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’ And God said, ‘See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food;” and it was so. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So, the evening and the morning were the fifth day.” Genesis 1:26-31

God [Elohim in Hebrew], the Triune God created people in His image. He created us to live in relationship with others as opposed to being a solitary entity. God says, “Let Us make man in Our image.” The word for “one” [Echad in Hebrew] refers to a collective one or one in essence. So, when God says, “Let Us make man in Our image,” He does not contradict Deuteronomy 6:4, “The Lord your God is one.” Jesus revealed to us that God is trinitarian in nature. This is why Christians baptize new converts in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (See Matthew 28:19).

God blessed Adam and Eve. He wanted them to be fruitful and multiply. “Fill the earth!” “Subdue it!” He created herbs and fruits for them and creatures to eat.

Imagine this! Revelation 7:16 says that those who go to be with God in the afterlife never again hunger or thirst. Therefore, we should not worry about food or drink on earth either. God is able to provide food and drink for us in any place and at any time. He will feed us for eternity, and He will keep us fed now.

“Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.” Genesis 2:1-3

God set apart the seventh day of each week as a rest day. In Mark 2:27, Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” God meant Sabbath to be a day to rest peacefully in His love and to take joy in all that happened in the preceding six days.

“This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.” Genesis 2:4-6

This is a history according to God. He revealed the details to Moses by His Spirit and Word.

The Lord tells us that before He created people, He kept plants watered by an underground watering system. No rain. A mist went up from the earth and watered the ground.

“And 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 being.” Genesis 2:7

Science has verified that all the elements that make up a person can be found in the earth.

Rather than speak humankind into existence as He did with other creations. God stoops down to the ground and takes the soil and molds it into His image. Next, God breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life. We are His workmanship. We are His image bearers. He gave us life.

After Jesus resurrected from the dead, in John 20:19-22, He breathed on His disciples and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” This act connects Jesus to God breathing life into Adam. Since Jesus atoned for their sins on the cross, He can now freely give to them of His Spirit.

“The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Genesis 2:8-9

The Garden of Eden was likely in Mesopotamia. The orchards there are beautiful to behold and their fruit is delicious. There are two special trees in the garden of God. One prolongs life and the other contains knowledge that is both good and evil.

“Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.” Genesis 2:10-14

This river flowing out from Eden is a reflection of heaven. In Revelation 22:1-2, in the city of God, John saw “a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” Eden has the main water source from which the other rivers flow. In the same way, the throne of God and of the Lamb are the source from which all spiritual and eternal life flow.

God hid precious treasures in the earth for people to find. Treasures like gold! Bdellium is a transparent aromatic gum. The onyx is a precious stone, so called from a Greek word signifying a man’s nail, to the color of which it nearly approaches. In a similar way, God has placed great treasures in His Word, the Bible, those who mine it for messages from God will be blessed.

“Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:15-17

So, Adam had an entire planet with all its vegetation and living creatures to enjoy. He had the best of food to eat. In all creation, God only restricted Adam from eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If he did, he would die. We should ask God to help us obey Him.

“And the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.’ Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.” Genesis 2:18-20

God is already contemplating a mate for Adam, but in the meantime, He brings to Adam beasts and birds and tells Adam he can name them. Imagine that! He had no one but God to lean on for help. No creature had been named yet. That’s a lot of names to come up with. I wonder how long that project took. Genesis 5:5 tells us that Adam lived 930 years so he did have a lot of time on his hands.

“And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.’ Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” Genesis 2:21-25

Here, we have the first surgery. God put Adam to sleep and removed a rib and closed up the wound. When Adam woke up, there she was. “Thank you Father God!” He was well-practiced at giving names by now, so he easily came up with a name for her. “Woman!” But there’s more news. More people are in the making! “Man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife.” No one is a father or mother at this point, right? How is a man going to leave his parents if he has not yet been born? God had a plan. Adam and Eve would multiply.

God made everything good. He set up a paradise. There was no lack of food or water. Adam had God bringing animals and birds to him. Adam had God creating a woman for him. God is a good father. He loves Adam, and then, extends that love to Eve. He has plans for more people to be born. He wants a multitude of people not just a few. “Thank You Heavenly Father!”