Genesis 1 is the account of God's creation.
This is the revelation of God to Moses. No one was at the beginning except God.
• No one would know what happen unless God reveals. Moses spent many one-on-one, extended moments with God.
• When he was in the wilderness shepherding the flock, before he took on the task of leading Israel out of Egypt.
• When he spent 40 days and nights on Mount Sinai receiving the Law. When he go into the Tabernacle to meet the Lord one-on-one.
We believe these were the moments he received from the Lord the revelations of all that he writes in the Law of Moses, the Pentateuch.
• A careful reading of it gives us a clearer picture of who God is. When you see His works, you will be able to tell the Person.
• When we see His creation, and how He creates, we will be able to know the Creator. Let’s just read the first five verses - Genesis 1:1-5.
Let me run through very quickly the 7 days mentioned here.
• Day 1 - God created light and separated the light from the darkness, calling light "day" and darkness "night."
• Day 2 - God created an expanse to separate the waters and called it "sky."
• Day 3 - God created the dry ground and gathered the waters, calling the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters "seas." On day three, God also created vegetation (plants and trees).
• Day 4 - God created the sun, moon, and the stars to give light to the earth and to govern and separate the day and the night. These would also serve as signs to mark seasons, days, and years.
• Day 5 - God created every living creature of the seas and every winged bird, blessing them to multiply and fill the waters and the sky with life.
• Day 6 - God created the animals to fill the earth. On day 6, God also created man and woman (Adam and Eve) in his own image to commune with him. He blessed them and gave them every creature and the whole earth to rule over, care for, and cultivate.
• Day 7 - God had finished his work of creation and so he rested on the 7th day, blessing it and making it holy.
There is a clear ORDER here. One builds on the other. Each creation builds on what is being created earlier.
• You need to separate the dry ground from the waters, then you can have plants and trees. Only then can you have creatures of the sea and animals on land.
• This order is carefully planned out, not haphazard.
We also noticed a movement here. At the start, “the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep.” (v.2)
• Nothing to appreciate, nothing to enjoy; it was bare and it was dark.
• But with each passing day of creation, the Lord said, “It was good!” Until the last day – 6th day – when “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.” (v.31)
It is a movement from darkness to light, from chaos to order, from barrenness to abundance, from deadness to life!
• Beyond just good ORDER, we see good DESIGN. It seems that each creation, we see not just something new but something more beautiful and varied.
• From light, to land, water and sky, to plants and trees, and then moving creatures of the sea, the sky and on land.
• Finally it culminates with the creation of man – in His own image! We see a movement from a lesser design to the grander DESIGN.
No wonder God needs to create LIGHT right at the beginning.
• 1:3-4 “And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness.”
• When I was young, I got all these jumbled up. I thought when God created light, that’s the sun. It wasn’t the sun.
• This was light that comes from God. The sun wasn’t created until day 4.
There was no other light for the universe then. Without this, everything is in complete darkness.
• It is the ONLY thing God created on that FIRST day. It comes across as the simplest of all His creation. Why just create light? What is this so special?
• It is significant because without it, the rest of creation doesn’t matters.
• Nothing can be seen, no matter how good or beautiful. You see nothing. You cannot say, “I SAW that it was GOOD!”
But light came. Light came, and now we can SEE the wonders of God’s creation.
• Light came, and now we can APPRECIATE what God has done.
• Now we can appreciate what Jesus says in John 8:12 – “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Without Him, I will never be able to SEE and UNDERSTAND and therefore APPRECIATE life.
• All of us can only guess WHY we are here and what is the meaning and purpose of life. All of us are born here, so none of us can give you a definitive answer.
• Except God, the One who created it all. Jesus was there at the beginning. He is the light of the world. He alone has the answer.
Paul writes in 2 Cor 4:4-6
4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
Finally in Genesis 1 we see the PURPOSE of God.
God announces His purpose when He made man in His own image (1:27).
• To manage the creation - Gen 1:28 “God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
• To enjoy its fruits – Gen 1:29-30 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground - everything that has the breath of life in it - I give every green plant for food." And it was so.
Chapter 2 describes it again:
• Gen 2:8 “Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.” God PREPARED everything FOR man.
• Gen 2:9 “And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground - trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food… [for man’s enjoyment]
Jesus said it right in John 10:10. God’s intention is not just to give us life but LIFE MORE ABUNDANTLY or to the full (NIV)
• That’s not all. Gen 3:8 gives us another glimpse of the life in the Garden of Eden.
• After Adam and Eve sinned, Gen 3:8 says, “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.”
The picture is very clear:
(1) Man is made to enjoy God’s creation, which is made WITH them in mind and FOR them.
(2) Man is made to enjoy God’s fellowship in this creation, not apart from Him.
Isn’t this wonderful? This is God’s plan and purpose for us.
That’s the revelation of God we have in Genesis 1. That’s the God we come to know.
• Not One who is out to judge us and makes life miserable for us. He is not against us, but FOR us.
• He is determined to give us the best of life (without sin), and an abundant one that we can truly enjoy (in His presence)!
Man has chosen to walk away from this plan. Man makes life miserable when he walks from God.
If this is how God works – with clear order, creative design and a meaningful purpose, then we can expect Him to do the same with our lives today.
• Nothing is haphazard. Nothing is by chance. Nothing is careless.
• God in His infinite wisdom has drafted a grand life for us.
• And therefore whatever we are facing today, God has a reason for allowing it to happen.
• We may never understand His WISDOM, but we can trust His WILL.
Rom 8:29 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
• The Message: “That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.”
Trust Him. If God did such a wonderful job with creation, rest assured He can do a better job with your life and mine.
• Jesus says in Matt 6 that we are more valuable than the birds of the air, the grass of the field.
• Be His willing partner in this adventure of life. Submit to His will and we will enjoy life to its fullest!
