Journey to see God: Genesis 1-2 “wonderfully made in God's image and likeness”

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.)

Journey to see God: In the beginning

The watchman has been led to seek God as God is. Here is the beginning of a new journey. A journey to see God from the Book of Genesis.

(The watchman invites all to read with him. Some of his own notes are in brackets.)

Genesis 1:1-25 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) Parashah 1: B’resheet (In the beginning) 1:1–6:8

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

(God was in the beginning…)

² The earth was unformed and void, darkness was on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God hovered over the surface of the water.

(The Holy Spirit was in the beginning…)

³ Then God said,

(Jesus, the son of God was in the beginning…In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. John1:1)

“Let there be light”; and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good, and God divided the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. So there was evening, and there was morning, one day.

(God created light first. When He came to the world as Jesus, He announced that He was the light of the world.He who does the truth comes to the light. he who practices evil hates the light. John 3:20-21. God uses light to differentiate who belongs to Him and who does not.)

⁶ God said, “Let there be a dome in the middle of the water; let it divide the water from the water.” ⁷ God made the dome and divided the water under the dome from the water above the dome; that is how it was, ⁸ and God called the dome Sky. So there was evening, and there was morning, a second day. ⁹ God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let dry land appear,” and that is how it was. ¹⁰ God called the dry land Earth, the gathering together of the water he called Seas, and God saw that it was good.

( 2 Peter 3:5-6 J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS) ^5-7 They are deliberately shutting their eyes to a fact that they know very well, that there were, by God’s command, heavens in the old days and an earth formed out of the water and surrounded by water. It was by water that the world of those days was deluged and destroyed, but the present heavens and earth are, also by God’s command, being kept and maintained for the fire of the day of judgment and the destruction of wicked men.)

¹¹ God said, “Let the earth put forth grass, seed-producing plants, and fruit trees, each yielding its own kind of seed-bearing fruit, on the earth”; and that is how it was. ¹² The earth brought forth grass, plants each yielding its own kind of seed, and trees each producing its own kind of seed-bearing fruit; and God saw that it was good. ¹³ So there was evening, and there was morning, a third day.

(Note God’s priorities: 1. the plants and fruit trees were created first, after the light. 2. the requirement that the plants and trees bear seed bearing fruits. The key essence is “SEED-BEARING”. Psalm 126:5-6 (NKJV) ⁵ Those who sow in tears Shall reap in joy. ⁶ He who continually goes forth weeping, Bearing seed for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, Bringing his sheaves with him.)

(Matthew 13:23 (PHILLIPS)^18-23 “Now listen to the parable of the sower. When a man hears the message of the kingdom and does not grasp it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is like the seed sown by the road-side. The seed sown on the stony patches represents the man who hears the message and eagerly accepts it. But it has not taken root in him and does not last long—the moment trouble or persecution arises through the message he gives up his faith at once. The seed sown among the thorns represents the man who hears the message, and then the worries of this life and the illusions of wealth choke it to death and so it produces no ‘crop’ in his life. But the seed sown on good soil is the man who both hears and understands the message. His life shows a good crop, a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”)

(A: ii) ¹⁴ God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to divide the day from the night; let them be for signs, seasons, days and years; ¹⁵ and let them be for lights in the dome of the sky to give light to the earth”; and that is how it was. ¹⁶ God made the two great lights — the larger light to rule the day and the smaller light to rule the night — and the stars. ¹⁷ God put them in the dome of the sky to give light to the earth, ¹⁸ to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ So there was evening, and there was morning, a fourth day.

(God sets marking for day, night, signs, seasons, days and years. These are marks for human to count, and know where they are at any point of time. Moses said in Psalm 90:12 (CJB) “¹² So teach us to count our days, so that we will become wise.” Moses knew it was more important to see how each individual measures before God. David too knew the measurement of one’s life before God counts at the end, Psalm 39:4 “LORD, make me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am.”

Jesus reminded that we should discern the crucial spiritual signs of the times instead of looking at physical signs. Matthew 16:3 “…Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times”.)

²⁰ God said, “Let the water swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open dome of the sky.” ²¹ God created the great sea creatures and every living thing that creeps, so that the water swarmed with all kinds of them, and there was every kind of winged bird; and God saw that it was good. ²² Then God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, multiply and fill the water of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” ²³ So there was evening, and there was morning, a fifth day.

(A: iii) ²⁴ God said, “Let the earth bring forth each kind of living creature — each kind of livestock, crawling animal and wild beast”; and that is how it was. ²⁵ God made each kind of wild beast, each kind of livestock and every kind of animal that crawls along the ground; and God saw that it was good.

(God took the bother to make each kind and every kind of living creature. Looking at the vast variety of living things in the world, we cannot help but marvel at how creative and particular about details our God is. The same characteristic is revealed when God instructed Moses the exact pattern and details of everything about the tabernacle of God, and later David on the temple of God. To the prophet Ezekiel He revealed again the exact pattern and measurements of the heavenly Temple that was never built on earth.)

(God measures the earth, the church and each individual too. Habakkuk 3:6 “He stood and measured the earth; He looked and startled the nations.” Zechariah 2:2 “So I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.” How do we measure when aligned with God’s measuring rod? )

Finally for today’s Bible reading, let all who read this blog take heed of what Apostle Peter had urged all followers of Jesus, in 2 Peter 3:10-12 (NKJV)

The Day of the Lord

¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. ¹¹ Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, ¹² looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?