Creation with
Purposeful Order
Genesis 1:1-2:3 (HCSB)
Creation is a beautiful thing that is full of God everywhere
we look. Majestic mountains,
flowing streams, grassy fields and annoying bugs are just a few of the things
God created. It is pretty safe to
say God created everything we see, taste and touch in this world. Well, except Miracle Whip. Now for those of you who enjoy Miracle
Whip, don’t worry…Jesus still loves you.
Have you thought about each day of creation? I’m sure a lot of us could list all the
different parts of creation, but I think there would be a good number of people
who would not be able to list them in order. Now I know you are wondering why it even matters if we know
the proper order of creation. What
If I told you God has a purpose in the way he goes about things? Well duh! Of course he does, but I think it’s important to remember
this quality of God’s personality.
It’s reassuring to know God had a specific plan in creating the world
and didn’t just randomly toss things together. If he did, then we would probably have an animal with the
body of a zebra and the head of elephant, and Adam would have had to name it a
zebraphant.
Tell you what; let’s look at the creation story. However, try and be aware of the order
things are being created. I will
check back with you at the end and see if you picked up on God’s reasoning for
his creation with purposeful order.
Story Time:
In the beginning the heavens and the earth were created by
God, but the earth was just there without any real form or definition. It was dark, empty, and kind of a
bummer place I guarantee nobody would have wanted to call home. God is moving around over the water in
the dark and wants some light; so he speaks for light to shine and it
does. What we don’t know (and this
is true for all the creation days) was how long it took for the light to be
made. Did it slowly get brighter
and brighter like a small fire growing into massive flames of light, or was it
instant like a flash of lightning.
This we don’t know. This is
one part that makes God so fun. He
leaves some things to interpretation and it doesn’t matter if we think one way
or the other. Either way, day one
comes to an end. There was no sun
at this point, but there was an established night and day.
Now I can only assume God didn’t want the earth to be only a
ball of water, so he creates sky - an expanse between all the water. It is not specifically written in
scripture, but I think our minds can wander that along with the sky being
created oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and all those other atmospheric
elements were made. God split
water in half (something he’s enjoyed doing a few times) and placed the sky
in-between the water. With another
morning and evening, day two is complete.
I also assume God didn’t want all of the life he was soon to
create living under water, so he made the land. Now if you look in verse nine you will see it says the water
under the sky was gathered in one place so land could be seen. Here is a place that brings up a
debated question over the years.
When the land appeared did it pop out of the water in places that each
of the seven continents are today or were all the continents somehow placed
together and over time split and drifted apart? The answer is, who knows. Today all the great oceans are connected to each other with
the current placement of the continents.
So it could make sense the land was already separated with verse nine
talking about the water gathering in one place. It also could seem the continents fit together at one point
if you look how they are shaped (theory of plate tectonics that builds on the
concepts of continental drift).
Try this at home – print out the continents and cut them out. Then, like a puzzle, piece them
together. Do you see it?! They seem to fit. Ultimately, however, probably doesn’t
really matter how the continents came about as far as their placement. What matters is God created dry land in
the midst of a world covered in water.
God then continues his day three creation by making vegetation of all
kind - plants and trees. Plants
that grew to produce seed that created more plants, vegetables and fruit. Tress that grew to become maple, oak,
palm, pine, orange, apple and grapefruit.
The earth was now full of land, vegetation, plants and trees on the
third day.
Now came the time in day four to create the sun, moon, and
stars. We are always told God made
these to be the objects that determine the day and night. But there is a second part of verse
fourteen that sometimes gets overlooked.
“They will serve as signs for festivals and for days and years.”
(Genesis 1:14b) Do you see what
else God created here? The seasons
and means for us to eventually create the calendar. Days, months and years were all determined by the placement
of and the duration we see the sun, moon, and stars. Which also brought about the seasons and our weather
patterns. We see the sun less in
the winter, which in turn makes it colder. The summer has the sun hanging in the sky longer during the
day making things hotter. Which in
two places I have lived (Las Vegas and Houston) is no fun. I also feel for those who live in
Phoenix. Day four was now done.
Day five is the day that brings joy to all those seafood
lovers out there. I know I have a
lot of friends in Maryland who like this day because the Maryland blue crab
came into the world. It was also a
good day for bird lovers and not such a good day for people who have
Ornithophobia (or-ni-tho-phobia: fear of birds). On this day, God made eagles, doves, ravens, hawks, sparrows
and even pigeons. He made whales,
sharks, crabs, lobsters, shrimp, and clownfish. He made bees, dragonflies, hummingbirds and
woodpeckers. He made jellyfish,
stingrays, salmon and eels. And when
he was all done, morning and evening fell on the fifth day.
The water and skies were now populated and it was time to put
the land God created to use with more than just plants. Day six brings the creation of
animals. Lions and tigers and
bears, oh my! He also made turtles,
worms, spiders, lizards, sheep, dogs, cats, and emus. God is almost done as it now comes time to create man. The part of his creation that made him
sit back and say it was very good.
The final piece to his purposeful order. How much did God love this last part of creation? Well I could just tell you very much,
but I think reading it for yourself does more justice.
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our
image, according to Our likeness.
They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock,
all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; He
created him in the image of God; He created them male and female. God blessed them, and God said to them,
“Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of
the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.” God also said, “Look, I have given you
every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree
whose fruit contains seed. This
food will be for you, for all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the
sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth — everything having the
breath of life in it. [I have
given] every green plant for food.”
And it was so. God saw all
that He had made, and it was very good.
(Genesis 1:26-31)
Day six comes to an end.
God had now completed his work and there was nothing more to
create. Nothing more to do than to
kick up his feet, grab a nice cold glass of ice tea, sit back, relax and enjoy
everything he created. Day seven
became special. Genesis 2:3 says,
“God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it He rested from His
work of creation.” God took a
Sabbath.
My Thoughts:
Did you notice the purposeful order? Here is a quick list of creation just
in case you need to see it again.
Day 1: Light
Day 2: Sky
Day 3: Land and Vegetation
Day 4: Sun, Moon and Stars
Day 5: Fish and Birds
Day 6: Animals and Man
Day 7: Rested
Do you see it now?
Just about everything in this world survives off of light. Things would die if they didn’t have
light. Since light is such a
crucial part to life, God creates it first. Next comes the sky (and safe to assume stuff like oxygen and
carbon dioxide). Unless every
living thing was going to be sea creatures and water plants, God needed space
where water wasn’t. He needed to
create a space where oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide existed so plants,
animals, and humans could live.
Next came the land and vegetation.
Plants could not have come before the sky because they would have been
underwater and would not of had the proper elements found in the sky to
exist. The plants came before
breathing life because they help with the whole carbon dioxide and oxygen
circulation in the air. They provided for the living creatures to come. If animals came before plants, they
wouldn’t have any food. Next came
the sun, moon and stars for proper light during the day and night. The weather and water tides are now
properly controlled for life to be sustained. Then came the fish and birds. The first of living creatures who ate what was already
created. Now the animals were created. They came after plants, fish and birds
since land animals needed these for food.
Finally, God created man who was placed as the ruler over everything and
needed everything God created prior in order to survive.
There is purposeful order in how God created and when he
created it. Being God, he could
have created these things in any order he pleased. He instead made them in a purposeful order that makes
sense. And to top it all off, he
took a break and rested at the end of it all. Do you live your life inside of purposeful order or inside
of randomness?
Order brings purpose.
“ Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own
understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the
right paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). If
we live inside of randomness we miss things. We skip over needed steps and life becomes confusing. Life becomes chaotic and
disastrous. We were never meant to
live in chaos or disaster. A life
full of hope and a future is one that has a purpose and plans. The Bible describes this life in
Jeremiah saying, “For I know the plans I have for you” – [this is] the Lord’s
declaration – “plans for [your] welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future
and a hope” (29:11). Part of our
life plan also needs to include a seventh day, a day of rest, a Sabbath. On this day we do not work. We do not go into the office and
neglect our family. We do not
consume our heart and mind with work and forget about God. On this day, we rest. We spend time in communion with God and
with our family. A fellow pastor
and friend, Kevin Odor, once challenged me with the idea of taking a Sabbath (Thanks
Kevin). It doesn’t have to be a
Sunday; it just has to be a day you are going to give to God.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it
holy: You are to labor six days and do all your work, but the seventh day is a
Sabbath to the Lord your God. You
must not do any work — you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave,
your livestock, or the foreigner who is within your gates. For the Lord made the heavens and the
earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days; then He rested on the
seventh day. Therefore the Lord
blessed the Sabbath day and declared it holy. (Exodus 20:8-11)
Live a life with meaning and purpose. A life that follows the plans God has
for you. Because if you do, it
will be one God sits back with his glass of ice tea and says, “Very good.”
Discussion Questions:
- Talk/Think about the idea of purposeful
order. Do you think it is God’s
desire for us to live a life with purposeful order?
- Where in your life do you see God working with
purposeful order? Where do you
need to seek out the plans he has for you and apply them to part of your life
that may starting to become or may already be chaotic?
- What are some things in your life you need to
let go off because they are or could be leading you away from God’s plans? How would life be different if you
surrendered these things to God?
- What are your days off from work? Do you treat one of these as your
Sabbath? Do you have a full 24hr
time period where you are work free and off limits?
- What would your life look and feel like if you
worked diligently during your work time but at then end of the day felt good
about what you had accomplished and felt good about having the rest wait until
tomorrow? What would your life
look and feel like if you intentionally took a Sabbath?
- One last thing…make sure you end in prayer.
No comments:
Post a Comment