A Meditation on Genesis 1

Genesis 1

            The passage says that God created the heavens and the earth, but the earth was formless and void of life, so God created light calling it “day” and darkness being “night.” Then He went on to separate the waters from the earth, and created the sky. God also separated the land from the waters and called it “earth” and called the gathering of the water “seas.” He also created all of the vegetation: plants and trees of every kind. Then God created the sun, moon and stars to provide earth with light. He then created the sea creatures, birds and every living creature that moves; God saw that it was good and blessed them saying, “Be fruitful, multiply and fill the waters of the sea, and let the birds multiply on the earth.” He also created all of the livestock, creatures that crawl, and the wildlife of the earth. Knowing He saved the best for last, the great crescendo, God created man in His own image, and then blessed them by saying, “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.” Then He said that He gave man all of the plants and trees and that the food they produce will be for us, all of the creatures and man – “everything having the breath of life in it.” God then saw all that He made and it was very good.

            To me the scripture means that God is a personal, creative, and imaginative God. He was there from the beginning and breathed life into a void, dark, place. He created everything in His perfect time and as it was valued to Him. I feel like, had God created man first they would have had nothing to do, but wait until the plants and animals were created to tend to them. By waiting last to create man, He showed that we are the crescendo of His work. The built up to us being created is magnificent and because God waited last to display His almighty power best, through created us, He shows how powerful and how intentional His actions really are. He blesses two things after He creates them, all of the creatures, and man. God says to the creatures, “Be fruitful, multiply and fill the waters of the sea, and let the birds multiply on the earth.” He also blesses saying, “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.” The two blessings are very similar, in that God wants both man and creature to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth, but man placed higher than the creatures of the earth, and we are told to subdue the earth and all that is in it. I think God shows through those two blessings that creatures and man are very much his most prized and valued creation but that man is a step higher than the creatures; I think God was very intentional in doing that.

In light of this passage I will remember that God is intentional and personal, He has been here since the beginning and He isn’t leaving. He is The Creator and we are the created; in His image we are to honor and glorify Him. I will remember that we are His greatest creation and He values us above all else.