Month: November 2011

Genesis 2:4-15 (To Serve and Worship)

Charlie Garrett Genesis (Written)

Genesis 2:4-15
To Worship and to Serve

Some time ago, I started a through-the-Bible study class and we’ve gone slowly and methodically through each verse in an attempt to miss as little as possible, but while preparing for this sermon, I was stunned to see how much I missed in Chapter 2 of Genesis.

There are patterns and parallels which are wonderful to see and yet I’d never considered them until I looked more deeply into things in preparation for today. It makes me realize how immense God’s word is and how arrogant we can be to assume that we could ever understand everything that He’s give us in the pages of this wonderful book. An infinite mind is, after all, infinitely intelligent.

I chose the title for today’s sermon “To Worship and to Serve” based on a translation of verse 15 which is completely different than any translation you’ve probably ever read and yet it’s one which is more than likely correct based on patterns in the rest of the Bible, including the very last page in Revelation 22.

What was the reason God created man? Was it to work the ground of the earth as most Bibles indicate? Or was there a completely different reason which is actually reflected in the Westminster Shorter Catechism’s first tenet and which we’ve looked at before –

What is the chief end of man?
Answer: Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.

If this is true, and it is, then it only makes sense that the Bible would proclaim this as well – and actually,it does.

Introduction: We need to remember that God is complete in and of Himself. He lacks nothing and therefore anything that He has created is a demonstration of His own goodness and should reflect His infinite worth. Man pursuing works doesn’t fit this particular picture very well and so what we need to do is look deeper into God’s intent for man in the Garden of Eden – the spot where God dwelt and fellowshipped with him.

Text Verse: Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness!
Tremble before Him, all the earth. Psalm 96:9

May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Man Became a Living Being

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,

Liberal theologians claim that Chapters 2 and 3 of Genesis are a completely different account than Chapter 1 and were written by different people at different times. Their claim is that the two accounts just don’t fit.

The obvious reason why someone would come to this conclusion is that they don’t want to believe that the Bible is really what it claims to be – God’s word to mankind. If different people wrote the two accounts, then by implication God didn’t author the Bible and it is just a book, like any other – full of myths.

Instead of this, all one needs to do is simply evaluate the chapters to see that they are merely a detailed insert into what’s recorded in Chapter 1. Imagine getting instructions for assembling something, say a computer. There will be general instructions of how to put everything together and then there will be separate instructions for specific parts – like the printer. Chapters 2 and 3 are simply these finer details inserted into the larger overview of Chapter 1.

Because this is God’s word, then the account is included to give us specific insights into something that must be rather important for us to know. A jillion unimportant details weren’t recorded, such as the height of Adam or the color of Eve’s hair. They’re not recorded because they have no importance to the story and no bearing on what would occur later. The name of Adam’s first puppy, which could have been Fido, is irrelevant…

Remembering this is a good lesson for each of us. When you’re reading the Bible, always ask yourself why a particular passage is included. If God included it, then it has importance to the plan and relevance to the story.

In the verse we’re looking at we see a new name of the Creator – the LORD God or Jehovah Elohim. In Chapter 1, only the word “Elohim” was used, signifying the God of Power – He’s the Creator. Elohim is what’s known as a “majestic pronoun.” Here in Chapter two, the title Jehovah Elohim or the God of Power and Perfection is seen.

Matthew Henry describes Jehovah this way, “Jehovah is that great and incommunicable name of God which denotes his having his being of himself, and his giving being to all things; fitly therefore is he called by that name now that heaven and earth are finished.”

We continue with verse 5 and onto 6…

…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; 6 but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.

In what I just read, it appears that man’s purpose is to “till the ground.” From this verse it would seem hard to assume otherwise. Why else would tilling the ground be included here? And so, it’s from this perspective that later verses in the same account have been translated, even though there’s a large problem with this.

7 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.

A few weeks ago, we looked at what it meant to be created in God’s image. We bear His image mentally, morally, and socially, among other ways, but in this verse we learn that Adam consisted of both heaven and earth. Man was formed out of the dust and then the divine Creator breathed life into him.

This doesn’t imply that he or we are in any way divine, but that the life of man came from God, not by random chance. The spark of life which quickened the clay jar was none other than the breath of the Creator. The man has become a living being. He is the final act of creation. He is the highest form of what has been made. And he is fearfully and wonderfully sculpted.

From God’s hand and His breath
Is how man came to be
From an act of His wisdom and love
Man came not from the slime or from the sea
Nor from a meteor that rained down from above

In His image He created the man
And for His glory and praise
This was for us the original plan
To see Him face to face all of our days

To worship and serve in eternal peace
Was God’s intent for us from the start
Our days were intended never to cease
This was the desire of the Creator’s heart.

God created the heavens and the earth out of nothing on the first day of creation. Five days later, on the sixth day, He created His final and most stupendous work of art – in fact a masterpiece – out of the simplest and most common part of the creation, dust.

First there was nothing, and then there was dust. God took this “next to nothingness” material and after forming it, breathed His life into it. If we jump ahead just a little bit we’ll see that Adam disobeyed God and died spiritually at that moment. Because of this, the thing that made us most like God disappeared at that moment too. Isn’t that a humbling thought?

We walk around as if we’re pretty big stuff when in fact we are as close to nothing as the breath in our lungs. From the dust we came and to the dust we shall return… Without a new birth, our next to nothingness is all we have to live for. Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.

The dust of the earth is what man was created from; the most common stuff on earth. He didn’t use gold dust, He didn’t use silver dust, He didn’t even use zinc… Instead, he used the earth. And to this day we are of the dust of the earth.

Paul explains this in 1 Corinthians 15, but so does the psalmist in the 139th Psalm. He says there, “My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.”

We are so closely tied to the earth that David describes the womb in which we’re formed as eretz, or “the earth.” In the same way, Job calls the place where we’re going back to our “mother’s womb,” meaning the earth.

The word for womb in Hebrew is behten and is comprised of the Hebrew letters Beth, Teth, and Nun.

The meaning of the Beth is “house.” The meaning of the Teth is “mud.” And, the meaning of the Nun is “heir” as in continuance into the next generation. The womb then is the house where the one of mud continues on. Even in the word itself we see our lowly state. Mix a little water with the dust and you have the man…

On our own, we simply can’t get away from the dust from which we were created. We live by what it produces and when we die we will return to it.

However, and despite the unappealing material, the Bible says God “formed the man.” The Bible uses the Hebrew word yatsar and it implies a careful and attentive shaping of him. This same word is used in the books of the prophets when describing a potter shaping a bowl from the clay. In the case of man, the Latin phrase rings true –

Materiam superabat opus – “The workmanship exceeded the materials.” We marvel at the detail of a watch made of intricate tiny pieces of metal; we look with wonder at sand sculptures and finely constructed artwork of hand blown glass. And yet nothing man has ever made comes even close to the intricate beauty of the human form.

Thus the man became a living being. God shaped man into the form He determined and we are as He decided. In the New Testament Paul asks the obvious question –

Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” Romans 9:20

Oh, but question we do! But God formed us for His purposes.

The book of John records two wonderfully beautiful parallels to the passage we’re currently looking at where it says, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life..”

“When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And He said to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.” 9:6, 7

And again…

So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 20:21, 22

This God, Jehovah Elohim, who created the heavens and the earth and who formed man out of the dust, breathing into him the breath of life, also formed new eyes for a man to see and gave the same breath again to His apostles in the regeneration of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus, God incarnate, gave both instances as a confirmation of who He is and the power He displays in creation and in the regeneration.

II. The Garden of Eden

8 The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.

After creating man – only after creating man – does it say that Jehovah Elohim planted a garden eastward in Eden. Eden means “delight” or “pleasure” and was, if man obeyed, a place not for work, but for a different purpose.

This is an important point to consider when looking at the previous verse that said there wasn’t yet a man to till the ground. This garden is something special and something intended for the man He formed. The ground which needed to be tilled was outside of the Garden, not in it.

If you stand back and look at the larger picture of the Bible, it’s clear that God knew before the fall that man would fall. And so the garden, despite being made as a place where God would fellowship with man, didn’t fill the entire earth. Instead, the Garden was a localized place of grace, of abundance, and of provision from God above, not from the ground below.

It was, as God knew from the beginning, a temporary place for Adam to dwell. This isn’t readily apparent though. In this verse the word “put” is translated from the Hebrew word sum, but as we’ll see in a little while, a different word is used later which is also translated as “put.”

Appreciating the garden meant they would need to leave the garden. This is how we learn to appreciate anything, by contrast. If there is no contrast, then we have no ability to appreciate our current state.

God knew that we would start in a garden and then be removed from that garden because of our interaction with, believe it or not, a tree. But God’s plan is that we are to be restored to the garden because of our interaction with another tree. The plan is so intricately woven and presented in the Bible that it’s almost beyond imagination. Everything fits so beautifully.

III. A Tale of Two Trees

The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Of the many plants of the garden, only two trees are named and there they were, right in the midst of the garden. And of these two trees, the fruit of only one is forbidden. As we’ll see next week, the LORD said to Adam, “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.”

More than a little is tied up then in these two trees. Choices are tied up in them, conditions are tied up in them, blessings and curses are tied up in them, life and death are tied up in them, the law and grace are tied up in them, and even the Lord’s Supper, our Holy Communion is tied up in these two trees.

As a choice:

The tree of life – you may eat of it.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil – you shall not eat of it.

It’s important to note that although Adam was told to not eat of this tree, the choice was still his. God placed the tree in the Garden when he could have simply not have placed it there at all. By placing it there then, it was possible for Adam to eat it even though he was told not to. Obedience is always a test of our priorities and allegiances.

**I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live. Deuteronomy 30:19

As a condition:

The tree of life – Life is granted through its fruit.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil – Death results from its fruit.

**I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.

As a blessing and a curse:

The tree of life – you can live with me forever.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil – you will be separated from me. Admittedly, Adam had no idea what death really meant, but innocence dies not negate guilt. And death was to be the penalty for guilt.

**I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.

As life and death:

The tree of life – eat and live.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil – eat and die.

**I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.

As the Law versus Grace:

The tree of life – Eat and find eternal life – God’s grace; His unmerited favor.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil – eat it and be punished. As Paul says, “because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.” Romans 4:15

**I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.

As the Lord’s Supper:

The tree of life – Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. John 6:54

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil Believe and be saved, disbelieve and be dammed: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” (John 6:53) In other words, go back to the tree of life and by faith receive what God has given you.

**I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.

God set the parameters in Eden, He set them for Israel, and He sets them now for the world. Choose life. To me the most magnificent aspect of what He does though is that He gives man the choice.

IV. The Water of Life

10 Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. 14 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.

The theme of the Water of Life goes literally from Genesis to Revelation and winds throughout both testaments. Right here in the Genesis account, we see that one river flowed out of Eden to water the garden and from there it parted and became four riverheads.

This is amazingly similar to the gospel message in which the Lord delights, and in fact, Eden as I said earlier means “delight.” From both the Garden of Eden and from His Gospel we see amazing parallels. The rivers names are Pishon, meaning “increase;” Gihon, meaning “bursting forth;” Hiddekel, meaning “rapid;” and Perath, meaning fruitfulness.

Each of these rivers came from one source and together they wound their way around the world. In the same way, the gospel comes from one source and yet it branches out into four different accounts – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Each of these gospels reflects the glory of the Lord as was revealed in a vision of God to Ezekiel –

As for the likeness of their faces, each had the face of a man; each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, each of the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and each of the four had the face of an eagle. Ezekiel 1:10

The Lion’s face is the Gospel of Matthew which describes Jesus as the King of Israel. This is also symbolized by the river Gihon which means to “burst forth.” Later in the Bible, the Gihon is where the king was anointed as ruler of Israel. In Ezekiel 32, the king of Egypt is said to burst forth (geeakh) like a lion or a sea monster. This is actually the root of the word Gihon.

The Ox’s face is the Gospel of Mark which describes Jesus as the Servant, the ox being a servant animal. This is symbolized by the river Pishon which means to “increase” which parallels Proverbs 14:4 – Where no oxen are, the trough is clean; But much increase comes by the strength of an ox.

The Man’s face is the Gospel of Luke which describes Jesus as the Son of Man. This is symbolized by the river Perath which means “fruitfulness.” Just as man was told to be fruitful and multiply in Genesis 1:22

And the Eagle’s face is the Gospel of John which describes Jesus as the Son of God. This is symbolized by the river Hiddekel which means “rapid.” The rapid nature of the eagle is noted in Jeremiah 4:13 – Behold, he shall come up like clouds, And his chariots like a whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles.

Together, these four accounts which stem from a single source go out to water the world with the knowledge of the Lord and to proclaim the Water of Life which was symbolized by the four rivers flowing out of the Garden of Eden.

In the first Psalm, we see that a person who delights in the Law of the Lord “shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.”

And from this we can learn a few more things about the rivers of Eden. They symbolized spiritual life but after the Fall of Man the rivers’ origins have changed. The Pishon is no longer flowing at all, symbolizing death. The Euphrates and the Tigris run through the lands which in the Bible are opposed to God – Babylon. These symbolize spiritual enmity with God.

Only one river flows out of God’s chosen land of Israel – the Gihon. If you know the size difference, there is no comparison. The Gihon is a small spring that it almost unnoticeable. This is comparable to what Jesus said in Matthew 7 –

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Though the Gihon is just a small brook today, it is symbolic of the wellspring of spiritual life in a world dead in sin; this, in opposition to the immense amount of water flowing through the rivers of apostasy and false world religions which is symbolized by Babylon. The 46th Psalm says –

There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,
The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;

This is represented by Jerusalem, the city which is in spiritual opposition to Babylon. Again, the psalms help us understand this –

By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept
When we remembered Zion. 2 We hung our harps Upon the willows in the midst of it. 3 For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song, And those who plundered us requested mirth, Saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 How shall we sing the LORD’s song In a foreign land?

The Jews exile from their home to Babylon is symbolic of our exile from Eden and God’s presence. The good news is that in the near future, Isaiah prophesied that “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”

This is symbolically represented by the river which Ezekiel says will flow out of the south side of a future temple in Jerusalem. It will be the Gihon, which will “burst forth’ – just as its name implies – to bring the dead back to life. –

Then he brought me back to the door of the temple; and there was water, flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple faced east; the water was flowing from under the right side of the temple, south of the altar. 2 He brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gateway that faces east; and there was water, running out on the right side. 3 And when the man went out to the east with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the water came up to my ankles. 4 Again he measured one thousand and brought me through the waters; the water came up to my knees. Again he measured one thousand and brought me through; the water came up to my waist. 5 Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross; for the water was too deep, water in which one must swim, a river that could not be crossed. 6 He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?” Then he brought me and returned me to the bank of the river.” Ezekiel 47:1-6

V. To Worship and to Serve

15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.

Let’s look at how different translators of have worded this verse, but notice how each variation follows the same theme –

to dress it and to keep it
to take care of it and to look after it
to tend and keep it
to tend and guard and keep it
to tend and watch over it
to till it and to guard it
to cultivate it and keep it
to cultivate it and guard it
to serve it, and to keep it
to care for it and work it
to farm the land and to take care of it
to work it and to keep it
to work it and take care of it
to work it and watch over it
to work the ground and care for it
to work the soil and take care of the garden

If you noticed, despite the flowery changes in terminology, every one of these translations demonstrates work is being proposed for the Garden of Eden. If you look at the purpose of the Garden, this makes no sense. Earlier, in verse 5, we read that man was to till the ground. However, this was before God planted the Garden of Eden. Man was formed outside Eden and then placed there.

I quoted John Sailhamer last week, let me refresh your memory – “The man was ‘put’ into the Garden where he could ‘rest’ and be ‘safe,’ and the man was ‘put’ into the Garden ‘in God’s presence’ where he could have fellowship with God…”

The word for “put” in verse 15 is the word yanach, a completely different word than what was used in verse 8. Dr. Richard Howe of Southern Evangelical Seminary notes this about the word yanach –

“… the sense of the verb is causative, meaning that God ‘caused Adam to rest’ in the garden.”

If God “caused Adam to rest” in the garden, then why would man need to tend and keep it? Dr. Howe notes, “The problem with these translations is that the pronoun in the verse does not agree in gender with the word ‘garden.’”

The word ‘garden’ is masculine in Hebrew and so ‘garden’ can’t be the object of the verbs. Because of this, either this verse is an exception to the rule of the Hebrew language or the verbs aren’t referring to the garden at all and instead something else is meant.

Doctor Howe’s conclusion is that the verbs should be taken as abstract in meaning and that “The significance of “resting the man in the garden” is not to demonstrate man’s relationship to the garden, but rather to provide a setting for the story to demonstrate man’s relationship and responsibility to God.”

Therefore, his translation has an abstract meaning. Instead of “tend and to keep” he says they should be translated “worship and serve,” as both words are translated elsewhere in the Bible.

And isn’t this exactly what the gospel itself proclaims? We can’t in any way supply for ourselves our own good. Instead, Jesus is the One who supplies our every need. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

It wasn’t the garden to which Adam was responsible, but to God – to worship and to serve Him. Dr. Howe notes that, “Before the fall, Adam’s attention was directed upwards toward God.” He was to serve God through keeping His commandment and he was to worship Him through trust and obedience.

But “After the fall, Adam’s attention was directed downwards toward the ground.” Instead of looking to God for sustenance, he had to look to the ground. Instead of looking to God for eternal life, he would look to the ground as his final resting place.

The lesson here is that we also have a choice. We can look upward to God, to worship and serve Him as He determines, or we can look to the ground and attempt to have our own works justify us. In the end, the ground is a hard master, one of bondage and pain, but the Lord – Oh, the Lord is gentle and mild.

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

The Garden was lost to man, but through Jesus, it can be restored. In the Garden was a river of life. There was no curse – just the chance to worship and serve the Creator. Jesus promises the same to us on the final page of the Bible –

“And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 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. 3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.” Rev 22:1-4

To worship and to serve the Lord our God
Eternal fellowship in a land of Delight
On hallowed soil our feet will trod
And the Lord shall always be in our sight

In His light, to walk and also to praise
The Lamb of God who was slain
Illuminated by His ever-glowing rays
No tears, no fear, no sorrow, no pain

Come to the waters and be restored
Drink and receive Grace from the Lord
Heaven’s door is open for all to go through
But you see it’s guarded with cherub and sword

So to pass through the gate, this you must do
It is the gospel, “Call on the Lord”

By faith in His work and by faith alone
Access is granted past Heaven’s sword
His blood was shed for your sins to atone
Again I beg you, call on the Lord

Again I implore you, call on the Lord

A while ago, I said that we learn to appreciate things through contrast. If there is no contrast, then we have no ability to appreciate our current state. Beauty ultimately derives from comparison; hence, the infinite beauty of the cross.

Let’s take a moment and Enter that Cross…

 

Genesis 2:1-3 (A Day of Rest)

Charlie Garrett Genesis (Written)

Genesis 2:1-3
A Day of Rest

This was found in a church bulletin: “Tonight’s sermon: ‘What is hell?’ Come early and listen to our choir practice.”

I’m not really sure if that’s what I want to do on my day of rest…

Speaking of our day of rest, let me read you a passage from Matthew. I wonder if any of you see the same fuzzy logic in these verses that I do – “Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus. Matthew 12:9-14

So… we can’t heal on the Sabbath, but we can plot to kill someone on the Sabbath? Yeah, that makes sense… Unfortunately, this thinking fits most of us in one context or another. We all tend to get judgmental about this issue or that. And when it comes to denominational mindsets, the judgments get even wilder. At the top of the list is one of the most misunderstood and most argued concepts in Christianity – that of the Sabbath.

Four prevalent and many lesser views exist concerning the Sabbath – The seventh day Sabbath; the Puritan Sabbath; the Lutheran Sabbath; and the Fulfilled Sabbath. Only one is correct and therefore only one can be termed “biblical” for the Christian.

The problem with this is that the exact same verses used to defend a position are often applied by proponents of an opposing view to establish their doctrine. So resolving this dilemma isn’t something either easy or which will be agreed on by others. It’s simply not going to happen.

Having said that, I will tell you which view is the correct one and why. Just because people don’t agree doesn’t mean the issue can’t be resolved.

Introduction: God created in six days and as we’ll see in the upcoming verses, He rested on the seventh day. This set a pattern for the people of Israel to observe a Sabbath day as well, but the seventh day Sabbath wasn’t only based on creation, it was also based on redemption, a point we’ll define as we look into our own weekday life cycle and how we should handle it biblically.

As we look at these things, please know for certain that this isn’t a minor issue for a number of reasons. What God ordains and why is naturally of immense significance and so we need to properly regard His word and His decisions.

Text Verse: ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts,
And they do not know My ways.’
So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest.’” Psalm 95:10-11

May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. God’s Work

Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. 2 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. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

What’s the reason you’re here today? I can think of a few possible answers. Maybe you’re here because you love the beach and also want to enjoy some fellowship with other Christians. Or you might possibly want to learn something about the Bible you’d never thought of. Some of you might say, I know I’m supposed to go to church on Sunday and this is the least oppressive place to do it. Maybe you feel guilty because you know you’re supposed to take a day off and spend it in some religious context.

Whatever the reason, because you’re here you’re not working. If nothing else, this is certain. That means this is your time off from work. In America, we generally get two days a week off and if someone demands a certain day for religious reasons, then they usually get that day if at all possible.

A lot of the rest of the world doesn’t get two days off, but pretty much everywhere I’ve been, people get at least one day a week off from their job. Whether they use that day to relax or to work a second job is totally up to them, but most cultures and groups follow the one in seven pattern. It’s as if it’s built into us.

Is how we’re spending our day off in line with the Bible and if so, how do we know? Seventh Day Adventists believe that the Saturday Sabbath that was given to the nation of Israel is binding even to this day. Here’s what their statement of faith from the Adventist website says –

“The seventh day (Saturday) is an extra-special part of the relationship. The Bible, from Genesis through Revelation, describes the seventh day as the one day God has set aside for focused fellowship with His people.”

“The beneficent Creator, after the six days of Creation, rested on the seventh day and instituted the Sabbath for all people as a memorial of Creation. The fourth commandment of God’s unchangeable law requires the observance of this seventh-day Sabbath as the day of rest, worship, and ministry in harmony with the teaching and practice of Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a day of delightful communion with God and one another. It is a symbol of our redemption in Christ, a sign of our sanctification, a token of our allegiance, and a foretaste of our eternal future in God’s kingdom. The Sabbath is God’s perpetual sign of His eternal covenant between Him and His people. Joyful observance of this holy time from evening to evening, sunset to sunset, is a celebration of God’s creative and redemptive acts.”

Is this correct? If so, then everyone here – who assumedly works from time to time on a Saturday, is going to hell. That’s what they teach and that’s what they believe. First, their statement which said “The Bible, from Genesis through Revelation, describes the seventh day as the one day God has set aside for focused fellowship with His people” is completely false. How someone could say this with a straight face is beyond belief.

They also said, “The fourth commandment of God’s unchangeable law requires the observance of this seventh-day Sabbath as the day of rest, worship, and ministry in harmony with the teaching and practice of Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath.”

This mindset comes from a confused theology about the work of Jesus Christ. It also comes from a misunderstanding about how God works.

Calling the seventh-day Sabbath one of God’s unchangeable laws relegates God to the law, not the law to God. Some things are a part of His very nature, such as moral issues. These would be unchangeable because they reflect His character. The Sabbath, in Jesus own words is not a part of His character –

And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27, 28

As you can see, God created the Sabbath for man; it is not a part of His nature and is therefore changeable. Anythingcreated by God for man is something that is not, by necessity, eternal in nature. Before God created, time didn’t exist and therefore a seventh-day Sabbath didn’t exist. Once we understand this, then we can properly evaluate the purpose of the Sabbath and how it pertains to us in the context in which God purposes it.

What we need to do is to start first by reviewing the Sabbath law as given to Israel, the covenant people of God.

In Exodus, we read the fourth commandment –

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God.  In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.  For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day.  Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.  Exodus 20:8-11

The fourth commandment is repeated in Deuteronomy, but the reason for the Sabbath is actually different there –

… And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.  Deuteronomy 5:12-15

If you notice the difference, the first reason given in Exodus at the time the people were brought to Mount Sinai was based on the creation account – “For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day.”

The second reason given in Deuteronomy is based on the consummation of redemption and the promise of entering His rest – “And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm;….

Everything in the Old Testament is a picture of something greater coming in the Person of Jesus. He is the true Redeemer and He has provided the complete rest which could only come about with His fulfilling the Law given to the Israelites.

The Law was given to Israel alone. Until the coming of Christ, the Sabbath was a sign, like circumcision, of the covenant law received at Mount Sinai and agreed upon by the people of Israel.

Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. Exodus 31:13

This is mentioned three times in Scripture and is very specific. It was to be a sign between God and the Israelites as a part of the covenant law. So the question arises, “Are we as Christians under the Law of Moses or not?” The answer to this question is the defining mark as to whether we must adhere to its precepts or not.

Unfortunately and again, there are many interpretations from an “absolute yes” to a, “well, partially” to a “not at all.” The “absolute yes” people are the most confused of all because they stand on Sabbath and dietary laws, but they ignore the laws which tell them they have to go to Jerusalem three times a year, perform sacrifices, not wear clothes with two types of materials … among 613 other laws, many of which are impossible to fulfill in today’s world.

The “well, partially” people attempt to make a distinction between the “ceremonial laws” and the “moral laws” found in the Law of Moses. In other words, the “ceremonial laws” are all the little things they don’t want to do, like wearing clothes of only one type of material, and the “moral laws” are the Big Ten that they’re afraid will crush them if they don’t follow them perfectly.

Unfortunately, these “well, partially/moral law” folks generally pick and choose some of the “ceremonial laws” as taboo too – like eating pork. This is confused thinking based on poor biblical interpretation.

The only sound option concerning the Law of Moses – meaning the entire law, including the Ten Commandments which are a part of that law, is that the law is not applicable to Christians today. There is no distinction made between ceremonial laws and moral laws in the Law of Moses. The reason the law isn’t applicable is because it’s what the Bible teaches. Three times in the book of Hebrews this is stated explicitly and it is implied numerous times –

Hebrews 7:18 and Hebrews 10:9 say the law is “set aside” by the work of Christ and the establishment of the New Covenant. In Hebrews 8:13 it is said to be “obsolete.”

When it says this, it’s referring to the entire body of law and no distinction is made between what is ceremonial and what is moral. What we couldn’t do in living out the law, Jesus did on our behalf.

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. Matthew 5:17

II. He Sat Down

So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. John 19:30

Jesus finished the work His Father sent Him to do and with His last breath, he acknowledged this for an anxious world, lost in sin. After that, He gave up His spirit, having paid the penalty you and I owe and fulfilling the law that you and I could never meet.

When Jesus died the work was done
Perfect obedience performed by God’s own Son

The law complete, fulfilled by the Lord
And a new covenant was given in His blood

In His deeds we find our rest
By faith in them, the only test

Who can bring a charge against God’s elect
When it is Jesus who saves us by His grace
In the saved no sin can the devil detect
Nothing can move us from our place

Resting then in His work alone
On Sunday through Saturday, each day at peace
The glories of His work be known
So that from our work, we do cease

What is it we do when we finish a given task? In the case of Jesus, He sat down.

In the temple, there were all kinds of furniture. There was an altar to burn sacrifices, there was a laver for washing, there was a table with bread that needed to be changed out at regular intervals, there was a lamp which needed to be filled with oil, and there was an incense altar that needed fresh incense. There were all kinds of things that needed to be done morning and evening, day in and day out, all year long. The priest’s work was never finished and so there was no chair in the temple.

When a priest reached retirement age, there was someone to replace him and the cycle continued on without any interruption. What happened in the temple was similar to that of an auto assembly line. Day in and day out cars are made and people work their lives putting out new cars.

No matter how many cars they make, there will always be a need for more. Old cars wear out, cars get in accidents, new people turn 16, and the cycle goes on. In the same way, new people were born in sin, sinners kept on sinning, the law kept on being broken, and so the work of the priests never ended.

Every Saturday, the people would rest in acknowledgment of God’s creation and His redemption, but they never really entered God’s rest as we’ll see a bit later when we look at the 95th Psalm. The work went on and the need for something greater still lay ahead.

Suppose cars never broke down and everyone that had a car was happy with it. And suppose there were no more 16 year olds coming along in need of new cars. Eventually there would be a day when no more cars would be needed. The workers would probably have a big party and then they’d go home … and sit down.

This is what happened with the Law of Moses. It was designed with the purpose of ending if it could be fulfilled. But until it was, it kept steaming along from day to day. Enter Jesus Christ – “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

The Law and the Prophets are as binding today as they were at the time of Jesus. Not a letter or a brushstroke will fall from the Law and all people are bound under that law. If so, then why am I arguing that we are free from the Law? Because this is what Paul argued! If you’re in Christ, then the law is set aside.

Jesus fulfilled the law which couldn’t otherwise be fulfilled. The last sin was atoned for; the last car on the assembly line was finished. The law was made obsolete for those who follow Jesus. When He finished His work, He did something no other priest could do while in the temple. He sat down. As it says in Hebrews –

…looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

Jesus Christ is at the right hand of the throne of God – there in the Most Holy place sitting down, His work complete. And He promises the same for any person who, by faith in Him, acknowledges Him as Lord. By doing so, they overcome the work of the devil, and they also overcome the Law of Moses, and they are granted peace with God. Jesus gives us the wonderful words of release in the book of Revelation –

To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. Revelation 3:21

What does all this have to do with the Sabbath? As a part of the Old Testament Law, it is obsolete in Christ. The only laws which carry over from the Old Testament to the New are those which are restated in the New Testament…a covenant which was initiated on the night of Jesus’ Crucifixion.

Therefore, anything recorded in the gospels prior to that moment is a part of Jesus fulfilling the law on our behalf. Only that which is restated as binding after the cross is a part of the New Covenant… and the Sabbath isn’t. No we can’t murder, the New Covenant says so. Yes we can eat pork, the New Covenant says so. No we can’t steal, the New Covenant says so. Our doctrine for life in Christ comes from His New Covenant in His own blood.

The Sabbath is a part of the Old Covenant, not the new. It was based on God’s work of creation and God’s work of redemption, both of which are answered in Jesus. He is the Redeemer and in Him we are a new creation. Both actions are directed to the cross.

Look at the law this way. Israel was working six days and resting on the seventh. This can be equated with the anticipation of Rest which still lay ahead. Biblical Christians following the pattern set in the New Testament, worship on the first day of the week and then work after that. Israel was working in order to Rest, we Rest in order to work.

This can be equated with the fulfillment of Rest which we look back on. In other words, the Cross of Calvary is the central focus of the faith – be it looking forward by Israel or looking back by the Church.

Jesus Christ sat down on His Father’s throne and He promises that anyone who overcomes will have the right to sit with Him. Guess what, that is anyone who has called on Jesus Christ as Lord –

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-7

When Jesus finished His work, He sat down. When we trust in Jesus we are seated with Him.

Praise be to God! He sat down.

III. We Who Believe

In the book of Hebrews, the author goes into great detail concerning the work of Jesus and the superiority of His covenant over that of Moses. He then quotes the 95th Psalm to make a point about God’s Sabbath Rest.

“Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
In the day of trial in the wilderness,
Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me,
And saw My works forty years.
Therefore I was angry with that generation,
And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart,
And they have not known My ways.’
So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest.’”

In what takes considerate thought, the author of Hebrews quotes King David from hundreds of years earlier saying “Today.”

He then spends all of the rest of chapter 3 explaining who the disobedient were and how they failed to enter God’s rest. Then starting with chapter 4, he says this –

“Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.” Hebrews 4:1, 2

If King David said “Today” when he wrote the 95th Psalm, then he was speaking from his point in time on and he was saying that the word had to be mixed with faith, but Paul explains elsewhere that “..if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect,”

In other words, it is faith and faith alone in what God promises that brings His people into a state of rest, not the law. And so the author of Hebrews tells us in verse 4:3 – “For we who have believed do enter that rest…”

Go back to King David. If he is saying “Today” at his time, then the promise of rest was still an open issue. It could not have been consummated at the crossing of the Jordan or at any time up to when King David was alive. It was the present at David’s time and present at the time of the New Testament as well.

This is what God asks of us – to receive the works of His Son by faith and to acknowledge that He is Lord and that by His unmerited favor we stand justified in everything that the law could never justify us in – including the Sabbath Day observance.

In fact, if we go back and attempt to meet that then we are remixing in the law which is already fulfilled. In our next point, we’ll see the error in that type of thinking.

IV. A Day of Rest

Do you remember as we started today that I said only one of the four Sabbath options is correct? Paul couldn’t be any clearer in the book of Romans concerning the days of the week and how we handle them –

One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord;and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. Romans 14:5, 6

We’ve been instructed by Paul to be fully convinced in our own mind about the propriety of elevating one day above another – in other words, demonstrating faith in our convictions. To sit in a church that mandates a Sabbath, in any form, is not demonstrating faith. So even if you’re simply going to church out of compulsion, then you’re not demonstrating faith.

Paul, using circumcision as a benchmark for the work of Christ, says this –

And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. Galatians 5:3-5

Circumcision was a sign of the covenant between Israel and God, just as the Sabbath was a sign. And just as every man who becomes circumcised is a debtor to the whole law, so is any man who attempts to merit God’s favor in any other aspect of the law, including the Sabbath.

Circumcision is now a neutral issue … not a neutered issue! If one wants to circumcise their children for health reasons then cut away without fear of reprisal, but if you are circumcising your children or are considering circumcision yourself because of the law, then grace is nullified and you are a debtor to the entire law.

This is exactly the same consideration as a mandatory Sabbath. If you are doing it to fulfill the law, then you are in debt to the entire body of law. You have fallen from grace, and your deeds will testify against you at the judgment.

Our day of Rest then is God’s day of rest – the seventh day. Unlike the other six days in the creation account which say “evening and morning were the 2nd (or 3rd, or 4th, or whatever) day. The seventh day says nothing about evening and morning; it is an eternal day… creation is over. The author of Hebrews explains it this way –

…although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.” Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said:

“Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts.”

This is the “Today” that was present for David and obviously still awaiting some future realization. God’s rest, which occurred on the 7th Day was open to Israel and remained open at David’s time. Hebrews goes on to complete the thought –

For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

Out of the four major views on the Sabbath, I only specifically addressed one of the three incorrect views. There’s really no need to address the other two because the only option which is reasonable in refuting the seventh-day Sabbath is the Fulfilled Sabbath. Because this is so, it is therefore the correct view of the Sabbath. If it is fulfilled, it is set aside.

We don’t observe a Sabbath day because we are living in our Sabbath Rest – God’s eternal seventh day. If you wish to come to Church on the Beach on Sunday, you’re welcome to come. If you wish to set aside a Monday, a Tuesday, a Wednesday, a Thursday, a Friday, or a Saturday to worship the Lord, then you may do so. If you don’t want to set aside any day, then you may do that as well.

Let each of you be convinced in your own mind, and without compulsion to follow the Lord as you rest in His work and in it alone.

One final point about the 7-day creation pattern – God worked for 6 days and then rested. This is a picture of the 7000 years of man on earth. The period known as the MillennialKingdom is the last 1000 years before God initiates His new order. During this time, Jesus will sit on His throne in Jerusalem. When He does, Isaiah calls it His place of Rest –

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD
As the waters cover the sea.
“And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse,
Who shall stand as a banner to the people;
For the Gentiles shall seek Him,
And His resting place shall be glorious. Isaiah 11:9, 10

Those who have already received Jesus have entered that Day of Rest in advance of His glorious throne. As we live out our lives, we should acknowledge this, to His glory.

Next week we will see how the Fulfilled Sabbath is actually prefigured in Adam’s time in Eden; something he had a right to and lost. As a foretaste of that today we’ll note that John Sailhamer says this – “The man was ‘put’ into the Garden where he could ‘rest’ and be ‘safe,’ and the man was ‘put’ into the Garden ‘in God’s presence’ where he could have fellowship with God…”

What should never cease to amaze us is that what we had, we gave up voluntarily – rejecting God’s authority over us and determining to do it our own way. And yet, and despite this, God sent His Son to right the wrongs and to lead us back to Him through the work of the Cross of Jesus Christ.

He sat down, His work complete
Christ sat down on His heavenly seat

Jesus fulfilled the Law for Adam’s seed
And sat down with the Father on His Throne
Where Adam failed, He did succeed
To the world, let His victory be known

Christ sat down His place of rest glorious
And to each He offers a place as well
The Lord prevailed for each of us
And ransomed fallen men, from the clutches of hell

Hail to the all majestic and glorious King
To Him let the redeemed of the ages sing
Spotless and pure in the finest gown
Praise to the Lord, He sat down

For all eternity, sing His renown
Hallelujah! Christ sat down

Let’s take a moment and Enter that Cross…

Genesis 1:26-31 (A Little Lower than the Angels)

Charlie Garrett Genesis (Written)

Genesis 1:26-31
A Little Lower than the Angels

I like to come up with little quips to post on Facebook every day. A couple weeks ago, I posted this – “In today’s living world, there were over 7 billion chances to prove evolution in humans; all failed. Add in animals and you’re in the trillions. Epic fail.”  There is nothing in the archeological record to substantiate even the slightest hint of evolution occurring anywhere in any form of life.

The best the record shows is changes within species to adapt to current environmental conditions. Some people call that “micro-evolution” but even that is an erroneous term; “adaptation” would be much better. A good example of this would be the size of people living in Japan. When my dad lived there in the 50s, he was a head taller than anyone on the bus with him. When I was there in the 80s, I was taller than all the old people, but the younger ones were no different than young people in America.

All of this was the result of better diet. By the time I got there McDonalds had moved in and they were all over the place. The rice of the previous generations limited their size but the Big Mac changed all that and so the people adapted accordingly. But there has never been evolutionary development of any kind.

If evolution were true, out of the trillions of life forms that come and go with each generation, we would see not a few, but thousands of developments in every generation. But none have occurred… not one. At the top of the ladder of species is and always has been, man.  And every new baby’s smile is one more nail in evolution’s already well-nailed coffin. In the end, a faulty premise equals a faulty conclusion.

The order of the creation is as it was because it is the way God ordained it to be. On the second half of the sixth day of creation, God created man. Since then, some people have been born as dummies and some have been born as geniuses, but none have developed according to the evolutionary model. Unusual change does occur though in certain circumstances –

The movie The Rain Man was based on a real person named Kim Peek. What he can do is truly astounding. He’s read about over 12,000 books and remembers everything in them. He’s known as “Kimputer” because of this. He actually reads two pages at once – his left eye reads the left page, and his right eye reads the right page.

It takes him about 3 seconds to read through two pages and he remembers everything on them. He can recall facts and trivia of 15 major subject areas from history to geography and sports. If you tell him any date in history, he can tell you what day of the week it was and he also remembers every piece of music he’s ever heard.

Another savant, Daniel Tammet, is one of the world’s only highly functioning autistic savants. He has exceptional mathematical and language abilities. He first became famous when he recited Pi from memory to 22,514 decimal places. Numbers are special to him because he has a rare form of synesthesia where he actually sees numbers as having their own unique shapes, color, texture and feel.

He can “see” the result of a mathematical calculation, and he can “sense” whether a number is prime. He’s even drawn what pi looks like – a rolling landscape full of different shapes and colors. He speaks 11 languages, one of which is Icelandic.

In 2007, a documentary challenged him to learn the language in a week. Seven days later, he was successfully interviewed on Icelandic television in Icelandic. And it is quite possibly the most complicated language on earth and one which many native speakers find too difficult to master.

Different savants have different gifts – sculpture, mapping, painting, music, mathematical calculations, learning languages, etc… Savants usually acquire their ability after having an illness or receiving a blow to the head. In other words, these abilities were brought out of what already existed in their minds.

This means that any person potentially has these same abilities – all of them. But we are hindered by the limitations that are placed on us – like a transmission in a car. If we were to remove the limitation, or “switch to the proper gear” then we would be able to access the same level of ability.

Introduction: As we’ve seen over the past 25 verses of Genesis, God created from the simplest to the most complex beings in order. First He created the heavens and the earth. After this, He created light, then a firmament, and then He divided the waters from the land. After this, He created the grass, herbs, and trees and then the great lights in the heavens.

Then He made the sea creatures and the birds, and after that the living creatures on the land – “cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth.” After all of this marvelous beauty, order, and complexity, God had one more thing to create.

Everything else was prepared for the arrival of this final participant in the great unfolding drama of the universe in which we live.

Text Verse: When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. Psalm 8:3-5

May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. The Crown of Creation

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.” Vs. 26

God’s final part of the created order was man. Man is the most complex and sophisticated organism in the universe and even more, man bears God’s image. Here, in the first chapter of the Bible we see another aspect of God that reveals His nature. The account says, “Let Us make man in Our Image, according to Our likeness…”

Everything in creation resembles the Creator in a limited way, but the Bible proclaims that man is created in God’s image. What does it specifically mean to be created in God’s image? Let’s review a few ways that we, as God’s image-bearer, reflect Him –

Mentally – We have mental powers to deduce things, to search things out, and to act rationally. We have reason and we have free will. This resembles God’s intellect and anytime we use our mental capacities in a constructive way to invent, write, paint, enjoy, calculate, etc. we reflect God in this way.

Morally – We have a sense of righteousness, justice, mercy, truthfulness, etc. and we act on these because theycame from God in whose image we were created. In other words, these moral tenets aren’t arbitrary.

Instead when we act in a moral way, we acknowledge that we were created in God’s image and He is the ultimate expression of the morality we display, even if we don’t always make our moral decisions correctly. Paul reminds us of this in Romans chapter 1 when he speaks of the wrath of God which is directed at us for our incorrect moral thoughts and actions.

When we exercise our morals in a positive way, we reflect right morals instilled in us by our morally perfect God. Opposing abortion reflects God’s image because it protects life created by Him. When we steal, we move away from God’s image which is uprightness and justice.

When societies or people write just laws, punish evil, and promote proper behavior, we confirm that a higher standard exists that reflects God’s image. When we use our talents in a way that brings Him honor, we reflect His image more perfectly.

Socially – we were created for fellowship by the God who understands fellowship. Remember what it said in the verse we’re looking at – “Let Us make man in Our Image, according to Our likeness…” According to the Bible, there is only one God. But the Bible explains, even in the Old Testament, that within God, there is a Godhead – three Persons in One essence. These three exist in eternal harmony and love. The term “Us” in this verse confirms this concept and is also confirms God’s social nature.

When God created man He did it in order to fellowship with him. There was no need to create us, but because of His goodness and His social nature He did. This great act of Genesis 1 demonstrates that He is a Being who cherishes fellowship. Our fellowship between each other therefore reflects God’s social qualities. Every time a man marries a woman, or when someone makes a friend, hugs a child, or attends church, he demonstrates that part of God’s image in his life.

Not only are we created in God’s image, but God said “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.”

God has given man dominion over the other creatures of the earth. Although these creatures are wonderfully made and are to be cared for by man, they are not on the same level as man. Unfortunately, people have taken the care of animals to an extreme never intended by God. Activist organizations like PETA and even the UN are looking for animals to be given the same rights as humans and are thus overturning what God decreed in the creation of man.

We as the caretakers of God’s world have been given the right and the responsibility to manage the animals of the earth. Even in the Bible during the times of Israel’s judges, God acknowledged that animals needed to be kept in check so as not to overrun the people dwelling in the land –

Moreover the LORD your God will send the hornet among them until those who are left, who hide themselves from you, are destroyed. You shall not be terrified of them; for the LORD your God, the great and awesome God, is among you. And the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you little by little; you will be unable to destroy them at once, lest the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. Deuteronomy 7:20-22

In Genesis as well as elsewhere in the Bible, an animal that takes a man’s life is to be destroyed because it has killed God’s image bearer. And the same is true with man. If a man intentionally kills another man, his life is to be taken because he has killed a person created in God’s image.

Unfortunately, like PETA with animals, many liberal thinking people cry out against the execution of criminals who commit capital crimes, but the Bible is perfectly clear that the bloodshed of a person can only be atoned for by the blood of the person who committed the murder. We reject these laws at our own peril because they stem not from human governmental laws, but from God’s eternal laws based on His image.

Here’s some of marvelous facts about our construction, which God did on the six day of creation. They show how beautifully we have been sculpted –

1. The stomach’s digestive acids are strong enough to dissolve zinc. Fortunately for us though, the cells in the stomach lining renew so quickly that the acids don’t have time to dissolve it.

2. The lungs contain over 300,000 million capillaries, or tiny blood vessels. If they were laid end to end, they would stretch 1500 miles.

3. Human bone is as strong as granite in supporting weight. A block of bone the size of a matchbox can support 9 tons. Believe it or not that’s four times as much as concrete can support.

4. The largest organ in the body is the skin. In an adult man it covers about 20sq ft. The skin constantly flakes away and in a lifetime each person sheds around 40 lbs of skin.

5. The average person in America eats 50 tons of food and drinks about 11,000 gallons of liquid during his lifetime.

6. Each kidney contains 1 million individual filters. They filter an average of around 2.2 pints of blood per minute, and expel about 2.5 pints of urine a day.

7. The focusing muscles of the eyes move around 100,000 times a day. To give your leg muscles the same workout, you would need to walk 50 miles every day.

8. In 30 minutes, the average body gives off enough combined heat to bring a half gallon of water to boil and the majority of pores are on the head… now you know why some people are so hot-headed…

9. A single human blood cell takes only 60 seconds to make a complete circuit of the body.

10. A foreskin, the size of a postage stamp, from circumcised babies takes 21 days to grow skin that can cover a vast area and is used in treating burn patients. Dr. James McGuire, head of wound management at the Foot and Ankle Institute at Temple University said, “In some cases, we can get four football fields of skin out of one baby foreskin. If taken care of, skin can grow and grow.”

12. The skin on the palm side of the hand and fingers is unique for several reasons:

It has no hair.
It contains fingerprints completely unique to the individual.
This skin will normally have no pigmentation and no ability to tan.

It’s tough and durable, yet sensitive and it’s anchored down to the bones beneath it through an intermediate layer of fascia. This arrangement keeps the skin of the palm from sliding around like a rubber glove when we use our hands to grip and twist.

We could go on all day with amazing facts about the complexity of the human body which is a form created by an infinitely intelligent Being who understood not only how we would end up working – such as being able to see, smell, taste, talk, etc., but giving us things to excite those abilities, such as flowers, smiles, cold showers on hot days and hot showers on cold days.

He’s given us crickets and birds to delight our morning hours, and every day he paints a new sunrise and a new sunset into the skies for our enjoyment. We can appreciate all of this and so much more because of the way He formed us. As King David so wisely said –

For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well. Psalm 139:13, 14

In our text verse for today, the psalmist said, you have made him a little lower than the angels. This seems to put us in a lesser category than the angels, but if you go to Hebrews chapter 1, it says this –

But to which of the angels has He ever said: “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”? Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation? Hebrews 1:13, 14

Although we are a “little lower than the angels” it is the angels who have the job of ministering to the people who will inherit salvation. Angels were created, but they are spirits, lacking potential. On the other hand, man has potential and it is unlimited in amount and variety. And above all the other potentials that man possesses is the ability to be redeemed.

We live in a fallen state in the world, but God has placed angels in our lives to minister to us when we have come to the point of salvation. From that point on, we can infer that angels are there working in ways we don’t even know to guide us in our redemptive walk.

The crown of God’s wonderful creation plan,
Is God’s image-bearer, known as man,
Angels tend to his needs unaware,
And the domain of earth is under his care,

As special as God formed him to be
Man turned away from the Creator, you see
And so there is a rift between God and man
And this rift is a vast one that we cannot span
But God did the work to reconcile the two
He sent His Son Jesus, all things to renew
And so again we can stand in His glorious light
Because of the Savior who has made all things right

II. Male and Female

27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Although this point ought to be obvious and unnecessary, it seems that in the confused world that we live in people can’t figure out even the obvious. God created man as man and God created women as women. In an attempt to deny this, modern thinking has taken almost everything to extremes never intended simply to deny the difference between the sexes.

Despite this, men have qualities that are suited for men and women have qualities that are suited for women. Neither is better than the other, but both fit what God has created for the purposes He created them.

Concerning the brain alone, there are huge differences between us… as if that shouldn’t already be obvious.

In relationships, women tend to communicate more effectively than men. They focus on how to create a solution that works for a group, talking through issues, and utilizing non-verbal cues such as tone, emotion, and empathy, whereas men tend to be more task-oriented, less talkative, and more isolated. Imagine that, men… less talkative than women. hmmm

Men have a more difficult time understanding emotions that aren’t explicitly verbalized, while women tend to intuit emotions and emotional cues. These differences explain why men and women sometimes have difficulty communicating and why men-to-men friendships look different from friendships among women. Thank goodness for that.

Men normally process better in the left hemisphere of the brain while women tend to process between both hemispheres. This difference explains why men are usually stronger with left-brain activities and follow a task-oriented perspective while women typically solve problems more creatively.

It seems to me that their creative problem solving techniques are usually best noted when they drive their cars and is the reason why I choose to drive when I’m with my wife…

Men normally process language in their dominant hemisphere, but women process it in both hemispheres. I guess this makes sense because it seems to me that women have a lot more to say than men. If they can learn other languages then they can keep talking wherever they travel without interruption.

Women have a thicker parietal region of the brain, which hinders the ability to mentally rotate objects. Research has shown this ability in babies as young as 5 months old and so environmental influences have nothing to do with this ability. So if someone says to a woman she’s thick-headed, they may not be far off…

In all honesty though, my daughter is definitely the exception to this rule. She can take a three dimensional puzzle and construct it in her head without ever touching it. Then she can put it together the first time without any effort at all. I, on the other hand, usually can’t solve these things even after long periods of time.

As you can see, not only are we physically different, but men and women are mentally different as well. Understanding the differences between men and women is part of understanding our different roles as people, as partners, and as members of the church.

A man is never complete without a woman and a woman is likewise incomplete without a man, but together the two are made to be one. We’ll talk about this more when we get into Genesis chapter 2 in a future sermon.

One more note on this point though is that the Bible never diminishes the worth of women, instead it exalts them. However, the Bible does note cultural distinctions between the sexes such as the Jewish culture, the Greek culture, etc. Just because cultural distinctions are made in no way means that they are to be universally applied. Only when a verse is prescriptive in nature is it to be applied to men and/or women.

III. What God has Ordained

28 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.”

Chapter 2 deals more with the personal relationship between a man and a woman and the subject of marriage is better left until then. However, this verse sets the pattern for physical relationships. God told them, “be fruitful and multiply.” What’s implicitly stated here is that sex is meant for the people of the world, but that it has been ordained to be between a man and a woman.

The earth can’t be filled with people engaged in homosexuality. Instead, God created us male and female for the purpose of procreation in order to fill the earth. Anything contrary to this then is a perversion of what God has ordained. Accounts such as the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah are recorded specifically to deal with the issue of homosexuality.

Unfortunately, in order to twist what’s written there, homosexual advocates say that what is implied in the Sodom account is a belligerent and unwelcoming attitude of the people, not homosexuality. If they would simply complete their reading of the Bible, they’d find that the Bible interprets this passage elsewhere –

And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Jude -6, -7

The Law of Moses also gives us insights into the matter –

If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. Leviticus 20:13

Speaking of what is obvious from creation, including interpersonal relationships, Paul says this in the book of Romans –

For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. Romans 1:26, 27

Another of God’s ordinances that we saw previously is also mentioned in verse 28 when God said that man is to “have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Man has been given ruling authority over the animals of the earth, both for their care and their control. To elevate animal life to the same level as man is to actually bring dishonor on God because God created man in His image. By claiming that animals are comparable in rights to man is to thus negate the very authority of God’s established hierarchy.

As a society, it is right to work actively against any attempt to give animals rights beyond the normal care and control that was ordained by God Himself. Likewise, it is right for Christians to oppose any and all attempts to normalize homosexual rights and claims within a society.

Issues such as these don’t mean we are uncaring about either animals or those who are caught up in homosexuality. But it does mean that we are to hold what God has ordained above what man desires when it’s contrary to God’s natural laws.

In the end, verbal and physical attacks against Christians are only going to increase in the years ahead when we stand against violations of God’s ordinances, but choices have to be made and each person has to determine, in advance, what is and what isn’t acceptable and then be ready to stand on those principles in the face of harsh criticism and even attack.

IV. It Was Very Good

29 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. 30 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. 31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

On the sixth day, God created all of the beasts of the earth and He created man, thus completing His creative effort. These verses then are a reminder of what was available for man to eat. This seems to imply that there was nothing poisonous in the herbs, the grains, or the fruit at that time. Instead everything was edible to all living creatures and this is what you’d expect from the original creation before sin and death entered the world.

After making His pronouncement about the food available for life on earth, God expands on the comment of the previous five days which said, “it was good.” Instead, God says, v’hine, tov meod. “And indeed, it was very good.”

It must have been an immensely splendid and beautiful place before the fall of man. And even after the fall but before the Flood, the world must have been in an exceptionally beautiful and life-accommodating state. It will again be this way in the millennial reign of Christ when God restores much of what was lost so long ago.

Matthew Henry says in his commentary of this portion of Scripture, “The time when this work was concluded: The evening and the morning were the sixth day; so that in six days God made the world. We are not to think but that God could have made the world in an instant. He that said, Let there be light, and there was light, could have said, “Let there be a world,” and there would have been a world, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, as at the resurrection.”

Mr. Henry is saying that God could have done everything instantly, but he chose to do it in a series and for specific reasons. As we noted last week, God created from the least complex to the most complex which should inspire us to do the same with our own works, ever improving on what we do.

God also did His work in 6 days to show us a good and proper cycle of living; taking one day a week off for rest and relaxation. And also, these six days are representative of a greater picture in redemptive History. God concluded His works on the sixth day and, as we’ll see in the next sermon, rested on the seventh. When we analyze that next week, we’ll look again at the reason for it.

Until then, let’s remember that this world is God’s creation and man was created to dwell in it, to fill it, to subdue it, and to care for it. Let’s contemplate these aspects of God’s plan as we use the water He provides, the food He gives us, and the terrain below our feet as we walk the highways and hills of life.

Everything we see, feel, smell, taste, hear, and sense is a gift of and from God, and each demonstrates His intelligence, wisdom, and love. As the psalmist said, “Bless the Lord, O my soul!”

It was very good said our God
When he gave His creation an approval nod

Man has a home and a place to live
I’ve prepared it all for Him and to Him it I give

I know he’ll go his own way
and that in the end
I’ll have to save the day

But when he sees the love I show in my own Son
Again, his heart I will have won
After the cry on that cross… it is done

Again it will be perfect and without a flaw
But better than it was before
Because man will stand in humbled awe
Of the work of Jesus who stands at heaven’s door

All who pass through will in Him delight
And praise His work of powerful might

For eternity man will live
In the perfect joy that I give
The waters of life free for all who will but receive
The gift of eternal life if you will but believe

v’hine, tov meod. “And indeed, it was very good.”

Genesis 1:20-25 (Tasty and Delicious)

Charlie Garrett Genesis (Written)

Genesis 1:20-25
Tasty and Delicious

One day a zoo-keeper noticed that a monkey was reading two books – the Bible and Darwin’s The Origin of Species. In surprise he asked the ape, “Why are you reading both those books?”
“Well, I’m trying to figure out if I’m brother’s keeper or my keeper’s brother.”

Most people love to go to zoos and see all the fun animals God created. When Hideko and I lived in Japan, we lived literally right next door to the Hamura zoo. My daughter has just started out on a new adventure – raising and handling big cats. She’s responsible for three tigers right now. One of them she named Thorr after our son, her brother.

Wherever we go, there are animals to excite our imagination and entertain our lives. I was watching a special on crows just a few days ago with Hideko and it was amazing to see how intelligent they are. They are one of only three types of life that not only use, but actually make their own tools. They can also perform cognitive thinking in multiple stages – something that was previously thought only humans and primates could do.

Crows can recognize individual humans and remember them for over two years and can communicate their knowledge of specific humans to hundreds and even thousands of other crows. If I catch a crow and keep him trapped, after I release him, he will instruct all the other crows to stay away from me, teaching this even to the next generation.

At the Hamura Zoo by our house in Tokyo, they kept crows in a special area so that the people could accurately predict coming earthquakes before they happened. They are such amazing creatures and yet crows are a miniscule part of the vast array of life God created on planet earth.

Introduction: In a little less than two days, the fifth and part of the sixth days of creation, which were Thursday and Friday of the first week, God created every type of animal that exists. On Thursday He created the birds and other winged creatures and all of the life in the sea. And then on Friday, before creating man, he created all of the land animals that we’ve come to know and love – as pets, as natural curiosities, and as nummy nummy dinners.

Just as with the rest of creation, these creatures were prepared by God for man’s expected arrival. Today we’ll talk about the six verses which have come to be the focus of our fishing vacations, our dreams of flying like the birds, and our afternoon naps with snuggle partners of the four footed variety.

Text Verse: Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?” Ecclesiastes 3:21

May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. God’s Creation

Remember the words which open the pages of the Bible –

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

God is the Creator and therefore the creation is His. What happens to the creation should be as He purposes. He divides up the lands and the nations as He so chooses. He ordains what man can and cannot eat. He bestows authority on His creatures as He sees fit. He is the Creator and therefore the entire creation is subject to Him. He is the potter and the clay can be used, reformed, or disposed of as He determines.

Although all of this should seem painfully obvious to us, we unfortunately often fail to see it as clearly as that. Our modern world treats God’s sovereign decisions as if they came from a lunatic.

God has reserved the land of Israel for Himself. Eight times in the Old Testament God specifically calls that piece of property “My land” and He implies it probably thousands of times. It is His alone to parcel out to whom He sees fit. And He has sovereignly given it to one group of people, Israel –

And because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them; and He brought you out of Egypt with His Presence, with His mighty power, driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land as an inheritance, as it is this day. Deuteronomy 4:37, 38

But like many other issues, we snub God, spit on His word, and actively work against His ordinances. The land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people as a heritage forever. And because the world is actively working against this edict, the judgment of God will fall on all nations –

For behold, in those days and at that time,
When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem,
I will also gather all nations,
And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
And I will enter into judgment with them there
On account of My people, My heritage Israel,
Whom they have scattered among the nations;
They have also divided up My land. Joel 3:1, 2

Several things don’t matter a bit, not an iota concerning this verse, 1) what you think about it, 2) what I think about it, or 3) what the rest of the world thinks about it. The only thing that matters is what God thinks about it. We are currently working to divide the land of Israel in a search for peace, but the Bible says that instead of peace we will only find war, destruction, and judgment.

Another unfortunate action man has recently pursued is the folly of “global warming.” In an attempt to restrict how we live and what we do with the world God has given us, people make up bizarre theories about our ability to affect global temperatures, despite the evidence being exactly the opposite.

Because of following this path, the oil God placed in the earth for our use is considered unclean. The trees God gave us for houses and fuel are placed as sacred idols which deserve worship instead of a chainsaw. But God ordained a different path for us –

“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.” Genesis 1:28

King David elaborated on what God ordained in Genesis when he penned the 8th Psalm –

What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?
For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
All sheep and oxen—
Even the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air,
And the fish of the sea
That pass through the paths of the seas. Psalm 8:4-8

Just like the Land of Israel and the earth we blasphemously call “Mother,” it’s become fashionable to reject the foods that we are given by God. Instead we treat them in a harsh manner as well. We can’t enjoy a good steak without being made to feel guilty about it by someone. People demand rights for animals when God has ordained that animals are to be eaten if we so desire. Later in Genesis 9 we read this –

Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. Genesis 9:1-3

And even those who do eat meat will often put restrictions on what kinds of meat we can and can’t eat. Misunderstanding our freedom in Christ, sects and denominations forbid pork, shellfish, and other tasty treats. None of this is biblical and all of it is harmful to the relationship we enjoy in the freedom of Jesus Christ.

Speaking of nummy nummy food, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14 –

I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; vs 14.

We’ll talk more about the food we can eat a little later, but remember that the God of creation is the ultimate authority on what is allowed and what is forbidden in the use of His creation. If He allows something, then we interfere with that at our own peril. If we add restrictions that He didn’t without obvious and valid reasons, then we are adding to that which isn’t at our prerogative.

Likewise, if we detract from His restrictions, then we violate what He alone has the right to mandate. Either way, when we disobey God’s law, then we state that we are more intelligent, more compassionate, or more important than He is.

II. The Fifth Day – An Abundance of Life

Have you ever taken the time to watch a bird of prey catch what it’s after? My mom sent me a link a while ago of an Eagle Owl coming in for a piece of meat which was attached to a camera. The camera was set to record 1000 frames per second and the video lasted 59 seconds or a flight of 59,000 frames was recorded.

At first, the bird swoops in at ground level, below where the target is. As it gets closer, it starts to flap its wings to slow itself down while at the same time lowering its legs with its massive claws tucked in like a clenched fist.

As it got closer, it tucked it’s legs back behind itself and put its wings out straight, having readied itself for the final few feet – its eyes never diverting from the target. A little closer and its tail feathers begin to fan out like a parachute behind the space shuttle as it lands. Within just a couple feet of the target, the wings fan out along with the tail so that the bird is flat like a wall, facing the target.

Just at this time, its legs rise to point straight out in front of it, while its body remains completely facing out. Within inches of the target, the claws open up just like the mouth of a monster on a sci-fi show. During this entire time, the eyes of the bird never divert in any direction. At the same time its claws are opened up, its wings draw back and the wind rushes against them as it prepares to grab the target and simultaneous fly away.

The perfection of what occurs during this entire display is simply amazing to watch. When all of this occurs in real time, it happens faster than we could ever imagine. This type of beauty and precision comes directly from the mind of God as He constructed His creatures to both amaze us and dazzle our senses.

On the fifth day, which was Thursday, God did a marvelous work when He ordained life in the form of birds and sea life to flourish on the earth.

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.” 21 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.

As a side note on these verses, the King James Version translates verse 20 differently than most other translations. It says, “And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.”

This translation seems to imply that the sea creatures and the birds were produced out of the waters. However, a different translational choice will allow for a more probable interpretation –

Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens. …”

The modern translations clear up any sense that the waters were the source of the life of these creatures. Instead, God is the source and the water was the medium in which He created the sea life. The birds of the air were created by the same great Creator and their domain is the sky above us.

This should seem obvious, but it’s important to separate these so that people can’t jump to the conclusion that the waters are the source of life. For all we know, Darwin, who was raised in a Christian context and most probably with the King James Version, could have come to this insane conclusion as he developed his notion about the origin of species.

On this day God created the immense and much debated Leviathan which is mentioned in the book of Job. The description of it takes up the entire chapter and this, along with another beast we’ll talk about later, the Behemoth, are highly disputed among liberal and even some conservative theologians today. Here’s a portion of the description about Leviathan –

7 Can you fill his skin with harpoons,
Or his head with fishing spears?
8 Lay your hand on him;
Remember the battle—
Never do it again!
9 Indeed, any hope of overcoming him is false;
Shall one not be overwhelmed at the sight of him? …
14 Who can open the doors of his face,
With his terrible teeth all around?
15 His rows of scales are his pride,
Shut up tightly as with a seal;
16 One is so near another
That no air can come between them;
17 They are joined one to another,
They stick together and cannot be parted.
18 His sneezings flash forth light,
And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
19 Out of his mouth go burning lights;
Sparks of fire shoot out.
20 Smoke goes out of his nostrils,
As from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
21 His breath kindles coals,
And a flame goes out of his mouth….
26 Though the sword reaches him, it cannot avail;
Nor does spear, dart, or javelin.
27 He regards iron as straw,
And bronze as rotten wood.
28 The arrow cannot make him flee;
Slingstones become like stubble to him.
29 Darts are regarded as straw;
He laughs at the threat of javelins.
30 His undersides are like sharp potsherds;
He spreads pointed marks in the mire.
31 He makes the deep boil like a pot;
He makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
32 He leaves a shining wake behind him;
One would think the deep had white hair.
33 On earth there is nothing like him,
Which is made without fear.

I didn’t cite the whole description, but it was something that God spoke to Job about as if he was already well familiar with it. Modern scholars try to claim this was probably a crocodile, but describing a crocodile like this would be like giving a description of a 747 when speaking about a little boy’s toy kite. This was undoubtedly a dinosaur of some type that Job had seen with his own eyes.

Have you ever wondered about the question “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” We have the answer in the verses we’re looking at as well. God created the birds in a dazzling array of types and kinds, including the chicken. When the first rooster sidled up to the first hen and rolled his eyes at her, she gave a coo, he gave a cockle-doodle-doo, and a little while later there was mom sitting on the first eggs.

Matthew Henry says of the fifth day of creation, “Each day, hitherto, has produced very noble and excellent beings, which we can never sufficiently admire; but we do not read of the creation of any living creature till the fifth day, of which these verses give us an account. The work of creation not only proceeded gradually from one thing to another, but rose and advanced gradually from that which was less excellent to that which was more so, teaching us to press towards perfection and endeavour that our last works may be our best works.”

Mr. Henry is equating each day’s increased nobility of the creation with a general guideline for us to live our lives. We should endeavor to increase the quality of our works as we develop in life so that what we accomplish is progressively better, thus emulating God’s handiwork in creation.

In a similar manner, our lives as Christians should develop as well. Instead of getting saved and then spending the rest of our lives at a marginal level of Christian maturity, we should be actively reading our Bibles, learning about what God has given us in creation, and working out the fruits of our salvation in the help of others through discipleship and ministry.

And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

Let’s move on to verse 24 and into the sixth day which is Friday –

24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Have you ever stood and watched a cow as it chews the cud? Their mouths just kind of move from side to side and their eyes look off into absolutely nothingness. I can’t think of a more monotonous sight in the world. When I see them doing this, I wonder what they’re thinking… The funny thing is, God knows.

Every animal on earth, whether it’s the bizarre cats that control our entire life, or the monkey swinging from the tree, whether it’s a squirrel or a yak, every animal has a specific purpose and was designed in a specific way in anticipation of the coming man. God knows every thing about every one of them, every thought they think, and every move they will make. King David says in the 139th Psalm – “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it.” This is exactly how I feel when I think of the works which come from the hand of God.

On this day came the other great and marvelous creature described in Job. This animal is often footnoted as an elephant or a hippopotamus but listen to the description of the Behemoth and see if it matches either –

15“Look now at the behemoth, which I made along with you;
He eats grass like an ox.
16 See now, his strength is in his hips,
And his power is in his stomach muscles.
17 He moves his tail like a cedar;
The sinews of his thighs are tightly knit.
18 His bones are like beams of bronze,
His ribs like bars of iron.
19 He is the first of the ways of God;
Only He who made him can bring near His sword.
20 Surely the mountains yield food for him,
And all the beasts of the field play there.
21 He lies under the lotus trees,
In a covert of reeds and marsh.
22 The lotus trees cover him with their shade;
The willows by the brook surround him.
23 Indeed the river may rage,
Yet he is not disturbed;
He is confident, though the Jordan gushes into his mouth,
24 Though he takes it in his eyes,
Or one pierces his nose with a snare.

First, this description says that he moves his tail like a cedar. Have you ever seen the tail of either an elephant or a hippopotamus? Both of them are like little dinky pencils. This creature had a tail like a large tree. Second, this guy is said to be the “first of the ways of God” as spoken from God’s own mouth. To say this is a hippo or an elephant is to call into question the truth of the inspiration of the Bible. This creature was massive; so large in fact that when the Jordan was at flood stage, raging at a full flow, the Behemoth remained unmoved.

As with the Leviathan, this creature was both familiar to Job and perfectly fits the description of a dinosaur. As a final nail in the doubter’s coffin, no such animal exists in the Jordan basin today, clearly indicating that it was neither an elephant nor a hippo. Rather, it was a type of animal no longer in existence today’ a dinosaur

III. Tasty and Delicious

On of my favorite things to do, second only to sleeping, is to eat. And tasty animals are right at the top of my food enjoyment meter. Other than bread and an Asian fruit called durian, I don’t think I enjoy anything more than eating a well cooked beast.

If you’ve been to one of my barbecues, you’ve seen that I buy enough meat for 5 times as many people as show up. This is so I can eat barbecued tasties for weeks after the party. (buuurp… oh excuse me!)

One area indicating a weak understanding or a poor interpretation of the Bible is revealed on the dinner tables of the Christian, or pseudo-Christian world. What God ordains as good is acceptable for the believer. Finding fault in or misrepresenting what God has allowed then is sin…plain and simple.

Christians have every right to claim as their own the Chinese proverb which says, “If it flies in the sky, if it swims in the ocean, or if it moves on the earth, I will eat it.”

We saw earlier that in the first verses of Chapter 9 of Genesis, God allowed Noah and those after him to eat all forms of life. “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you.” Not every “every” in the Bible really means “every” just as not all “alls” in the Bible mean “all.” Context is always king when interpreting the Bible, and in the context of this verse the “every” does mean every.

There were no restrictions on the people of the world about what they could eat all the way up until the time of Moses and the Law. At that time, God set aside a special group of people for His own special purposes. The restrictions levied upon them were upon them alone and all the other people of the world were allowed to continue with Saturday morning bacon fests and Tuesday afternoon possum cook-offs.

When Christ came, He fulfilled the Law on our behalf and the law is set aside in Christ. This is stated explicitly three times in the book of Hebrews and it is alluded to numerous times in the New Testament. The Law is in no way binding on the Christian, in any way shape or form. We obtain our doctrine for life and conduct from the New Testament. To add to, subtract from, or misrepresent the New Testament for the believer is sin. Period.

There are numerous references to the suitability of all foods for the believer, but the example of Peter in Acts is as clear as they come:

Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour. Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth. In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. And a voice came to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.” And a voice spoke to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed you must not call common.” This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again. Acts 10:9-16

This account hearkens back to the book of Ezekiel where he was told to eat defiled food as a sign to the people of Israel that they would likewise eat defiled food in their exile. But Ezekiel cried out to God –

“Ah, Lord GOD! Indeed I have never defiled myself from my youth till now; I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has abominable flesh ever come into my mouth.” Then He said to me, “See, I am giving you cow dung instead of human waste, and you shall prepare your bread over it.” Ezekiel 4:9-15

In the case of Ezekiel, God allowed him to substitute a clean source of fuel for an unclean one. By doing this, he maintained Ezekiel’s ability to uphold the law. However, in Peter’s case, God repeated His statement that what was presented to him was no longer unclean and he was to acknowledge this.

This account actually has two separate applications, both of which are equally valid and both of which are to be understood in the greater context of the New Testament. In the first application, God was ordaining all foods as clean because of the work of Jesus – the fulfillment of the Law.

In the second application, God was showing Peter that Gentiles, whose tummies were full of these previously unclean animals, were to be considered clean when they called on Jesus as Lord. He purified them of any defilement and therefore no further cleansing, such as dietary restrictions, was needed then or in the future.

Because we’re talking about food today, and specifically about what the Bible allows I want to take a moment and warn you about “biblical diets” which people promote in advertising and on Christian channels. These are never more than a sham and are always taken out of context for someone to make a buck. Maybe you’ve heard of the Ezekiel Diet.

This is a diet which supposedly is the biblical way of staying healthy… it must be right? It’s in the Bible. The Ezekiel diet comes from the passage I referenced a moment ago – “Also take for yourself wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt; put them into one vessel, and make bread of them for yourself.”

So some money grubber put together bread made of this stuff and is selling it as a nutritious diet so you can live forever. Never mind the fact that the reason for Ezekiel eating this stuff is mentioned a few verses later –

Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, surely I will cut off the supply of bread in Jerusalem; they shall eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and shall drink water by measure and with dread, that they may lack bread and water, and be dismayed with one another, and waste away because of their iniquity. Ezekiel 4:16, 17

Ezekiel was told to eat this stuff as a subsistence level diet – just enough to keep a person alive each day, but not enough to live properly. The devil is in the details that the Ezekiel Diet folks left out. Be really careful about anyone who promotes a diet which is supposedly a biblical remedy to health and fitness. Whether it’s the Daniel Diet, the Jesus Loaf of Bread Diet, whatever…

Paul explains in the New Testament the goodness of the foods God has placed in the world and the deception concerning them which is pushed upon the unsuspecting –

Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, 3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; 5 for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. 1 Timothy 4:1-5

IV. Care for the Creation

We have just one more short section today because I feel compelled, after talking about eating all the tasty animals that God has given us, to make sure each of us looks at God’s creation as valuable and worth preserving and that we don’t abuse it or waste what is so precious.

I talked about the owl awhile ago and how splendidly it flew in to grab its meal. When we carefully consider them, every animal, every bird, every sea creature that God created is a marvel of imagination and a delight to our minds. Let me read a few of the marvelous things God has given us in the animal world –

Flying frogs change color throughout the day. They are greenish-blue in sunlight and green in the evening. At night there are black.

The king Cobra can grow to almost 20 feet in length and is regarded as the largest poisonous snake in the world. A tiny amount of its poison can kill up to 30 people.

Anteaters protect their long claws by walking on their knuckles. That’s why they look as if they are limping.

Bats eat all types of food. There is no restriction where their diet is concerned.

The hippopotamus’s eyes, ears and nostrils are on the top of its head. This enables it to stand or sit, almost completely covered by water with as little showing above the surface as possible.

There is no sideways movement for a cat’s jaws.

Armadillos have four babies of the same sex at a time. They are perfect identical quadruplets. They sleep for an average of 18.5 hours a day and they can walk underwater. They are the only other species outside of humans that can carry and transmit leprosy.

Giraffes have no vocal chords, but cats have 100 vocal chords.

A goat’s eyes have got rectangular pupils.

A camel’s milk never curdles.

I could go on with fun facts all day. God has presented us with such a dazzling array of life on this planet and every type fills a specific role. If God has given such tender care and detail to the life He’s created, we then should be equally careful to preserve it for the generations to come.

I love my little dogs,
But to me cats just don’t please
The way I enjoy a cow,
is with potatoes and some peas

Bears are amazing, but one needs to keep some space
If not you may lose an arm, or the nose right off your face

Watching squirrels reminds me
That God knows humor too
Who can’t but laugh at how they act
And the funny things they do

Wherever you go on this big round ball
All types of creatures abound
From the really big to the really small
Everywhere, they can be found

God has lavished us with His loving hand
In the beasties that He’s made
Everywhere and in every land
In the open sun or in the darkest shade

So let us take good care
Of the beasts He put under our control
Whether out in nature, or in a zoo,
Or beside our dinner roll

And God saw that it was good.

This is the middle of the first Friday on earth which is the sixth day of creation. Everything to this point has been created by God in anticipation of His final great act. The house is complete and He has one more thing to make to finish His marvelous work. Next week we’ll look at the stupendous wonder of the sixth day – the creation of man.

Last week I told you that only on the third day of creation did God say “it is good” twice. However, after creating the animals on the sixth day he says “it is good” and then pronounces an even greater blessing at the end of the day. The first Friday on earth was a very good day. And since the time of Jesus’ cross, Friday has become known as Good Friday, forming a wonderful parallel to the first Friday when God finished up His wonderful works of creation. Next week, we’ll look over those last verses.