Creation in Six Days.
Part six.
The Creation of Adam and
Eve. Part one.
Bible Reading: Genesis 1:26-31.
26 Then God said, “Let Us make human beings in
Our image, to be like Us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds
in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small
animals that scurry along the ground.”
27 So God created human beings in His own image. In
the image of God, He created them; male and female He created them.
28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and
multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the
birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”
29 Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing
plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food.
30 And I have given every green plant as food for all
the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along
the ground—everything that has life.” And that is what happened.
31 Then God looked over all He had made, and He saw
that it was very good! And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth
day.”
Day Six Continue – The Creation of Man, Genesis 1:26–31.
“And God said, “Let Us make man in Our
image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish
of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the
earth, and over every creeping thing that crept upon the earth” Genesis 1:26.
The last stage in the progress of creation being now
reached; God
said, “Let us make man,”
words which show the importance of the work to be done, the creation of a
creature, who was to be God’s representative, clothed with authority and rule
as visible head and monarch of the world.
The first question that arises is: How
was man created? Note: the
“hands on work of God in the creation of man,” God with His own hands formed
man from the dust of the earth. The creation of the human species seems to
be a real hands-on project for God. For
while He is seen standing back and speaking other created things into
existence, when it comes to making man,
He
gets His hands into the dirt, moulds his form and then breathes His breath into
his nostrils, “Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the
ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man
became a living person” Genesis 2:7. The word human
comes from humus (of the earth).
In Genesis 1:26-27, we read that God created
man in His own image, “Then God said, “Let
us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign
over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild
animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” So,
God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God, he created
them; male and female he created them.”
This indicates man’s ability to reason,
to make moral and ethical choices, to emote, to communicate and create. This is
the image of God in man. The God of Scripture is portrayed with personality.
Man was made to relate with, share with,
communicate with and be in relationship with God. The narrative goes on to tell
of the Garden of Eden where Adam was placed and of the work he was given to do
(Genesis 2:8-17).
God had concluded each of His creation
days by surveying what He had made and declaring it Good. However, as He
observed Adam, He saw something that was missing and He declared, “It is not good for man to be alone” Genesis
2:18.
Finding no suitable companion for him,
God caused him to go into a deep sleep, took one of his ribs and formed Eve (Genesis 2:21-25).
Adam called her Woman, meaning 'Out of
man.' This section of the creation narrative ends with Adam and Eve joined in
the union of husband and wife. In this we see the establishment of the oldest
and most enduring agency of human society, marriage and the family.
The next chapter will tell us that. “And let them have dominion.” God gave
him dominion over the earth, Adam had tremendous authority given to him. We
will find out a little later that God says to him that he is to do certain
things relative to this creation that God has given to him.
Verse 27.
“So, God created man in his own image, in the image of
God created he him; male and female created he them.”
We have here just the simple fact of the creation of
man. This is the third time we find the word bara, which means to
create out of nothing. So, we see that man is created; he is something new. Bara
is the same word that occurred in the first verse of Genesis: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
He created the physical universe. Then He created
life: “And God created great whales, and every living creature that moved …” (Genesis
1:21).
Now we see that God created man: “So God created man in His
own image.” God will give us the details of His creation of man in the next
chapter and we can see from this that God has left out a great deal about the
creation of the universe.
“In
the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” is all the information He has given to us. God could
have filled in the details, but He did not. He will go into more detail about only one act
of His creation, and that is His creation of man.
Do you know why? It is because this record was written
for man; God wants him to know about his origin. It is as if God were saying,
“I would like very much for you to pay attention to your own creation and not be guessing
about the creation of the universe.”
End of part one, part two will follow.
