Day 673: Creatures great and small - Genesis 1 vs 20 - 25

20-21 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds (flying things) fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22-23 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

24-25 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds - livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:20-25 English Standard Version

Having prepared the land and filled it with vegetation, and having set the sun and moon above the earth to fill it with heat and mark the seasons, God created the living creatures. What has been the common phrase, which we see again at the start of vs 20-21 and 24-25, to describe how God created everything?

It’s the phrase 'and God said'. This is a great mystery for me. The words suggests things suddenly appeared. Yet surely what theologians call 'the omniscience and omnipresence' of God was involved. Those words mean that God has total knowledge of everything, and that He is present everywhere at the same time. So God was surely active in all He brought into existence. But the agency was His word. The Psalm writer declared: “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! For he spoke, and it came to be” (Psalm 33:6-8)

Did you also pick up the common phrase used of the sea creatures, the birds, and the creatures of the land, which had also been used of the vegetation?

They were all created ‘according to their kind’. They were unique. They didn't all evolve over millions of years from some primitive cell. In fact, the sea creatures and flying ones were created at the same time. The sea creatures didn't develop wings to become the flying ones. The first creatures God filled the earth with are also likely to have been adults ones, and they were given His instruction to be fruitful and multiply.

Although evolutionists tend to be atheists, they too can't help but stand in awe and wonder at the variety, complexity, and sheer beauty of the world. In fact, many of the amazing documentaries about creatures great and small have been made by people who don't even believe there is a God who created the very things that so impress them. I think the best response to such people are some questions God put to the man named Job, not only about the day of creation, but also about the ongoing works of God in His world. I'll close today's post with a few of them.

God said to Job: “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth . . who determined its measurements . . . on what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone?” (Job 38:4-6) “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, have you seen the storehouses of the hail? Who cleft a channel for the torrents of rain and a way for the thunderbolt?” (vs 22, 25) “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?” (Job 39:1) “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, but are they the pinions and plumage of love? For she leaves her eggs to the earth and lets them be warmed on the ground, forgetting that a foot may crush them . . . because God has made her forget wisdom and given her no share in understanding.” (vs 13-17)

May all the creatures God has made, both the great and small, not only fill us continually with a sense of wonder and praise, but also with a deep sense of humility. For who is a God like our God?