The
watchman continued his “journey to see God” in the Book
of Genesis, as led by the Holy Spirit, and he seeks the Lord
daily as in Psalm 24:6 (“This is Jacob, the generation of those who
seek Him, who seek Your face.”) While seeking the Lord, he beholds
the wonders that truly, “The earth is the Lord's, and all its
fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.” (Psalm 24:1)
The
more he sees the more he is filled with awesome admiration for the
Almighty God, Who has revealed Himself as the Creator and the
Provider for all who have breath on earth. One thing that stands
out in the revelation of these verses is that God is very
particular about every detail of His design and pattern. The pattern
for earth is in the word of God, the Bible. He required His creation
to follow exactly to His original design which He considers as
“GOOD”! After man sinned and had fallen short of God's glory, God
provided a second creation for all who believe in Jesus Christ and
His salvation on the cross, this time, through the supernatural born
again experience by exactly the same ingredients: the Holy Spirit and
the incorruptible seed of God -the word of God! We are specifically
told by Jesus that the new creation is born of God and is of the
image and likeness of God, Who is Spirit. (Joh 1:12-13, 3:5-6,
4:23-24; 1 Pet.1:23)
This
is the most important truth for all who seek God.
(The
watchman's notes are in brackets after the following respective
verses as he read them.)
THE MAKE
OF MANKIND: ACCORDING TO THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF GOD
Genesis
1:26-30
26 Then
God said, “Let us make
humankind
in our image, in the likeness of ourselves; and let them rule over
the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the animals, and
over all the earth,
and over every crawling creature that crawls on the earth.” 27 So
God created humankind in his own image;
in the image of God he created him: male and female he created
them.28 God
blessed them: God said to them,
“Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the
fish in the sea, the birds in the air and every living creature that
crawls on the earth.” 29 Then
God said, “Here! Throughout the whole earth I am giving you
as
food every seed-bearing plant and every tree with seed-bearing fruit.
30 And
to every wild animal, bird in the air and creature crawling on the
earth, in which there is a living soul, I am giving as food every
kind of green plant.” And
that is how it was.
31 God
saw everything that he had made, and indeed it was very good.
So there was evening, and there was morning, a sixth day.
(In
the beginning, God already stated that He rules over all.
However, He made humankind in His image and likeness, so that they
could be given the power of attorney to rule over all the earth in
His name. As long as humankind
remain in God's image and likeness, they may carry out this kingly
responsibility.)
(Jesus has
similarly warned on this subject: in John 15:4-6 4 “Abide in
Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless
it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5
I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in
him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If
anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is
withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they
are burned.” )
(As
Jesus has declared, unless Christians are of the image and likeness
of Jesus Himself, they are of no use in the kingdom of God!)
GOD
DESIGNED AN IDEAL LIFE FOR MANKIND AND ALL LIVING CREATURES
Genesis
2 (CJB)
2 Thus
the heavens and the earth were finished, along with everything in
them. 2 On the seventh day God was finished with his work
which he had made, so he rested on the seventh day from all his work
which he had made. 3 God blessed the seventh day and
separated it as holy; because on that day God rested from all his
work which he had created, so that it itself could produce.
(God
showed how He designed an ideal life. He created a brand new
world and made sure everything was well and orderly and provided the
best for the inhabitants. He set out one day to mark the completion
and at the same time to provide refreshment for those who abide in
His rest. Only by drawing near to God and resting in the presence
of God can one be refreshed and made ready for the next phase of good
work. To God the day of rest is set apart for Him only. No one is
to pursue self interest on that day. God only asks for one day out of
seven days. But the carnal Christians complain that is too much!)
ONLY
GOD CAN PROVIDE THE BEST ENVIRONMENT AND RESOURCES FOR AN IDEAL LIFE
ON EARTH
(A:
iv, S: ii) 4 Here is the history of the heavens and the
earth when they were created. On the day when Adonai,
God, made earth and heaven, 5 there was as yet no wild bush on
the earth, and no wild plant had as yet sprung up; for
Adonai, God, had not caused it to
rain on the earth, and there was no one to cultivate the
ground. 6 Rather, a mist went up from the earth which
watered the entire surface of the ground.
(Even
the growth of wild plants require the rain input from God.
When God stops rain no plants can grow. Just look at the
horrors of prolonged drought around the world today and we
know how true this is! Man can never create water out of nothing.)
MEN
AND TREES WERE MADE FROM THE SAME MATERIALS: DUST
7 Then
Adonai, God, formed a person from
the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life, so that he became a living being. 8 Adonai,
God, planted a garden toward the east, in ‘Eden, and there
he put the person whom he had formed. 9 Out of the
ground Adonai, God, caused to
grow every tree pleasing in appearance and good for food, including
the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil.
(God
created man and trees out of the earth/ground. Yet He treated the man
as special. He gave man His breath to make him alive. He even took
care to make sure the trees are pleasing to look at and good for food
so the man would be attracted to eat them and survive on earth!)
WATERS
FROM HEAVEN AND WATERS FROM EARTH
10 A
river went out of ‘Eden to water the garden, and from there it
divided into four streams. 11 The name of the first is Pishon;
it winds throughout the land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 The
gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx stone are also
found there. 13 The name of the second river is Gichon; it winds
throughout the land of Kush. 14 The name of the third river is
Tigris; it is the one that flows toward the east of Ashur. The fourth
river is the Euphrates.
(God
cares for the earth He created. He provides rivers of
waters for the earth. The physical rivers store waters for the
earth. Rivers on earth can run dry. There are spiritual storehouses
for waters in heavens. When the windows of heaven are opened, the
rain pours down, as in the case of the great flood at Noah's time.
Rain from heaven evidences God's blessings. Duet.28:12a (CEB) “The
Lord will open up for you his own well-stocked
storehouse, the heavens, providing your land with rain at just the
right time and blessing all your work.” )
(Note
the provision of “rivers
of living water for the hearts” of those who believe in Jesus, John
7:38.
Like the earth, man's body needs physical water to survive. However,
there is now another “water” which man's total survival must
have, the Spirit of the Lord. The Holy Spirit in the believers flows,
nourishes and strengthens the inner man. Praying in the Spirit is an
important way to tap into this mighty river within us.)
Yom Kippur commemorates the day that G‑d forgave the Jewish people
for the sin of the Golden Calf. Forty days after hearing G‑d say at
Mount Sinai: "You shall not have the gods of others in My presence; you
shall not make for yourself a graven image," the Jews committed the
cardinal sin of idolatry. Moses spent nearly three months on top of the
mountain pleading with G‑d for forgiveness, and on the tenth of Tishrei
it was finally granted: "I have pardoned, as you have requested."
