The Creation Completed--(with Quiz + Notes)
January 19, 2013
Larry R Evans
Sabbath School Study
Introduction
Have you ever picked up a book and read the last chapter
first? Sometimes the anticipation is a
bit overwhelming so we rush to the end.
While doing so has some advantages, there are also some real disadvantages.
We can miss some critical insights if we only focus on the outcome. Likewise
there are also some pitfalls if we take the same approach when reading the biblical
account of the Creation Week. The end has greater significance when we
understand how we got there in the first place!
In Genesis 1:4, for example, we discover that God saw that
the light was good and throughout the week He pronounces other creations as “good”
and “very good.” While in our rush to
get to the description of the creation of man and/or the creation of the
Sabbath experience, we must not conclude that God is only interested in the
“spiritual realities.” H. Ross Cole
points out that “The Black Death wiped out up to half the European population
in the thirteenth century and can be ascribed in large part to an utter
absorption in the spiritual at the expense of the physical.” (see “Genesis:
Introduction to the Canon and to Biblical Theology” in In the Beginning, edited by Bryan W. Ball, p. 56—Pacific Press) Nature is not independent of God’s purposes or
plans. The order and description of
creation has value and deserves our attention too! This becomes apparent when we see that man is
given authority to subdue (rule) over all the creations of the earth that preceded
his own creation. (Gen. 1:26). But we
must not miss the qualifying statement.
Man was created in the image of God.
This begs the question: “How much
care and interest did God give to the creation prior to the creation of
man? We soon see that Adam does for the
animals what God had done earlier for the light and darkness (Gen. 1:5) and the
expanse of the heavens (v.8). Is naming the animals really just a matter of
classification? Being “named” throughout Scripture has personal and special
significance. Perhaps we get an insight
to our role with nature when we see how Noah relates to the creation in
preparation for the flood. Noah, with
the obvious involvement of God, brings animals into the ark for safety. As Cole points out, Noah becomes the first
conservationist! This point is pressed even further when we read that it is
only then because of the pressing emergency that God gives permission for
humans to eat animals, but prohibits the eating of blood, out of regard for the
sanctity of life (Gen. 9:3,4)! In Jonah
we see how God reverses things and uses nature, “a great fish,” to save a
reluctant prophet. Then we see God’s agonizing
concern for the animals as He views the
pending destruction of Nineveh. (Jonah 4:11). I am struck with my on arrogance
when I realize just how much I think the world and the universe is “only”
interested in “my human” well being. By
rushing to the end of the Creation Week in our reading to see our own creation,
it is easy to minimize the importance of earlier creations. How we care for our earth and “all” that
inhabit it is critical if we are ever to fully realize the meaning of being
created in the “image of God.” This
week’s lesson gives us that opportunity. We
have dedicated a coming issue of the Dynamic
Steward to the important issue regarding our role as “Stewards of the
Earth.” You will appreciate the insights
shared by Dr. JoAnn Davidson and others regarding this important concept. (www.adventiststewardship.com)
Reflective Quiz
1.
Day 4 is a repetition of Day 1 – light was created? (Gen. 1:3-5, 14-19) False (but with explanation)
Note the Bible passages.
Do they contradict one another?
On day #1 light was
created but on day #4 to sun, moon and stars were created. Different possibilities. One is that the presence of God provided the
light for the first three days. Another
is that functions for sun, moon and stars were put in place on the 4th
day.
2.
The moon is designed to give support to life. (Gen.
1:14-19) True
“The moon
functions as a time signal, dividing the year into months. It also produces the ocean tides, which provide
signals to regulate the behavior of many organisms. The reproductive behavior of sea turtles,
certain fish, certain worms, and may other marine creatures is regulated by
changes in the moon’s position and it s effects on the tides. The tides also help create beaches and move
materials onto and away from the beaches, effectively cleaning them.” (James
Gibson in Origins, p.30)
3.
The creation account, in contrast to the evolution model,
reveals that there is no single ancestor from which all other species have
descended. (Gen. 1:20-23) True
20 And God said, "Let the water teem with living
creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky."
Notice the usage of “plural.” In the context of the ongoing debate with
evolution, why is this use of the plural significant?
4.
Animals were created to be eaten and sacrificed. (Gen. 1:26,
29) False
Can we assume, then, that man was created to be a hunter
that he might kill in order to live?
“Then God said,
"Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule
over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all
the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
(Gen. 1:26)
Does God’s care and pronouncements of the creations being
“good” give any indication of how He cares for His creations? When God “remembered” Noah on the ark was
there anything else that He “remembered?” (see Gen. 8:1) What significance do you see in that?
If man was created in His image does it suggest what kind of
“rule” we should have over the creations placed under our management
responsibilities? What does stewardship
mean to you? Does stewardship include
being a steward of the earth? How so?
When does the Bible first indicate that animals were
permitted for food?
“Everything that lives
and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I
now give you everything.
"But you must not
eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it.” (Gen. 9:3,4)
Can you think of reasons other than health for the
prohibition to eat meat with blood still in it? (still prohibited in Acts
15:20,29) Could it be that this was a
reminder of the sanctity of life – even that of animals over whom God had given
to man to care for? The flood had
created an emergency situation and though God permitted it in this situation it
dramatically shortened the life span.
“A disposition to cause pain, whether to
our fellowmen or to the brute creation, is satanic. Many do not realize that
their cruelty will ever be known, because the poor dumb animals cannot reveal
it. But could the eyes of these men be opened, as were those of Balaam, they
would see an angel of God standing as a witness to testify against them in the
courts above. A record goes up to heaven, and a day is coming when judgment
will be pronounced against those who abuse God's creatures.”--PP 443 (1890)
5.
God worked hard creating and, therefore, needed a rest. This is the reason both He and we need a
rest. (Gen. 2:1-3; Mk 2:27,28) False (but with explanation)
“By the seventh day
God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested
from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because
on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” (Gen. 2:1-3)
Two words draw our attention: rested and blessed.
“Rested” (shabath) means “to cease.” Isa. 40:28 indicates that God does not grow
weary. The word “blessed . . . and made
it holy”(sanctified) is a declaration that the day was set apart from the
others.
There is no doubt the Sabbath provides a physical rest but
the context in the line of the creative actions of Go is both a sense of
completion and fulfillment as well as rejoicing in all that God has
provided. It is a crowning event. Humanism and arrogance results when the
Creation Week ends with just the creation of man. To climax the week with the
Sabbath presents a purpose that is outside of man but adds purpose and meaning
to his very existence.
6.
Christ’s second coming occurred in Bethlehem. (Gen. 1:1;
Gen. 2:1-3; Jn 1:1-3; 1 Thess. 4:16; Rev. 21:1-4) True
(but with explanation).
The word “advent”, according to the dictionary, means the arrival of a notable person. Consider the following Bible passages:
“In the beginning God
created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen. 1:1)
In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the
beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made
that has been made.” (Jn 1:1-3)
“So God created
mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female
he created them.” (Gen. 1:27)
“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.”
(Gen. 3:8)
"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you
are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be
ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."
(Micah 5:2)
“For the Lord himself
will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the
archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise
first.” (1 Thess. 4:16)
“I saw the Holy City,
the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride
beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne
saying, "Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will
dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and
be their God.” (Rev. 21:2,3)
From Eden to the New Jerusalem our Creator and Saviour has
shown an overwhelming desire to be with us.
He has created that we might find life to be full. Life was created to have meaning and
purpose. Indeed, Matthew captured the
desire of God from the moment He breathed breath into Adam:
28 "Come to me,
all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke
upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will
find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matt.
11:28-30)
From Creation to Creation Restored in the heart of man – a
promise of things to come! The grand
climax couldn’t be better described than in the words of Ellen White:
“The great controversy is ended. Sin and sinners are no
more. The entire universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and gladness beats
through the vast creation. From Him who created all, flow life and light and
gladness, throughout the realms of illimitable space. From the minutest atom to
the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed
beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love.” {GC 678.3}
Conclusion
1-5 Hallelujah!
Praise God from
heaven,
praise him from
the mountaintops;
Praise him, all
you his angels,
praise him, all
you his warriors,
Praise him, sun
and moon,
praise him, you
morning stars;
Praise him,
high heaven,
praise him,
heavenly rain clouds;
Praise, oh let
them praise the name of God—
he spoke the
word, and there they were!
6 He set them
in place
from all time
to eternity;
He gave his
orders,
and that's it!
7-12 Praise God
from earth,
you sea
dragons, you fathomless ocean deeps;
Fire and hail,
snow and ice,
hurricanes
obeying his orders;
Mountains and
all hills,
apple orchards
and cedar forests;
Wild beasts and
herds of cattle,
snakes, and
birds in flight;
Earth's kings
and all races,
leaders and
important people,
Robust men and
women in their prime,
and yes,
graybeards and little children.
13-14 Let them
praise the name of God—
it's the only
Name worth praising.
His radiance
exceeds anything in earth and sky;
he's built a
monument—his very own people!
Praise from all
who love God !
Israel's
children, intimate friends of God.
Hallelujah! (Psalm 148 – Message)
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