Creation Days 5 & 6: The Water and Land Creatures
Creation Days 5 & 6: The Water and Land Creatures [TRANSCRIPT]
Look at the world around us, beneath us and above us. There is nothing haphazard about it. From the movement of the heavens to the tiniest subatomic particles, it all moves, thrives in a synchronized dance of order. Why is that? Why does it work so repetitively consistent? Why can we declare what we call laws in nature? Why is there something and not nothing? And why is the something that we find so vast, varied and reproducible? This is what I want us to look at and examine as we look at Creation Days 5 & 6 and why it’s important, on Truth Matters.
When someone decides to build a house or a building structure, there are some steps that have to be taken and have to be done in a certain order. Oh, you can skip a step or two for sure. But if you truly want a building to last, then you have steps that you must take and do them in order. For instance, you begin by preparing the land. It must be leveled so that what you place on it is itself level. We call this groundwork. Then comes the foundation and all that that entails. Then you build and fill out the structure. Now, the building is ready for its residents.
Well, if there’s one thing we’ve already seen in the Creator, is that He displays just such a process in His creation. We have seen in the days of creation both the groundwork and foundations that are put into place and now readied for its residents. The Earth now has form. There is a delineation of the day and the night. There’s an atmosphere. There are bodies in the heavens that provide designations of the times and the seasons. There is a division of land and water. And now vegetation fills the Earth. It is now ready to populate. So, enters day 5 and 6.
Let’s begin with day five. Genesis 1:20-23 says,
Again, the creative work is activated by the voice of God. Just as God had separated the land and the waters as well as the expanse above the waters and the expanse below the waters, He populates it the same way by filling the waters and the skies with life.
If you look at the creation days you see a patterned outline of His work. For instance, on day one, He created light and then on day four He lit up the heavens. On day two He separates the seas and sky and then on day five He fills the sea and the sky with living creatures. On day three He makes the dry land appear and then on day six He fills the dry land with living creatures.
I love how the language of the Scripture puts it. It literally says in verse 20, “Let the waters swarm with swarming living creatures.” There is no process here. God fills the waters with all manner of living creatures by His word. We see today and are still discovering how the seas are filled with a multitude and a variety of living creatures. It’s, it’s swarming with them.
At His word the air is filled with living creatures. “Let birds fly above the Earth.” Again, birds are made completely ready and able to take to the air. There’s no gradualism in them taking flight. They are made ready with the ability to fly. What God did in an instant with these creatures, mankind has worked long and hard to imitate and perfect. And yet, these tiny delicate creatures display with amazing perfection the way they fly and they move.
Now, I want you to notice something. What He states in simply description in verse 20, He expands in the description just a bit in verse 21. It says, “God created the great sea creatures.” It’s interesting that He singles out the largest of the sea creatures. Why is that? Well, I appreciate what one person’s suggestion was they said that it sprang in response to the ancient belief that these large sea creatures were viewed as gods which the people feared and worshipped. The Scripture wants to make it clear that they were created beings and not deities. And so, both the large and the multitude of every living creatures are made by God. This also applies to every winged creature of the air.
Again, notice that with both these categories there is a boundary set in place by the Creator. They were created “after their kind.” Within the abundance of varieties there are delineations, kinds. God saw what He had made and states His approval “it was good.”
Now, what God’s Word says flies directly in the face of Naturalism. You see, they have no ability to make a statement of “it was good.” They have no basis to make a value judgment on nature. In order to explain the multitude of creatures they want to provide an evolutionary process to connect everything together. But they don’t wish to connect is all to a Creator. No, they propose a process which recognizes no boundaries. Instead, this process describes an interconnected pattern of accidental steps moving towards an unplanned destination. And if the destination is both unknown and unplanned, how can they say that it is good?
But God states that He created an abundance of variety with demarcations that literally provides the groundwork for His next command. God then blesses what He had made and He gives them a command in verse 22. He says, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”
We can only continue to marvel at this work which He declares to be good. You see, when God says something is good, you can be sure it is good. The living creatures and organisms which God creates have properties which should never cease to amaze us. Living organisms, unlike anything that we can create, possess three amazing abilities. First of all, they are self-sustaining. In other words, they can care for their own life. They can breathe on their own. They can nourish and defend themselves. They are self-sustaining.
Secondly, they are self-repairing. Their bodies can repair and recuperate from injuries or fatigue. Built into their very bodies are self-repairing mechanisms. Have you ever stopped to be amazed that you can cut your finger and in a few days your body is self-repairing itself? This ability is in you. And you don’t even have to think about it. It’s built into our bodies.
Thirdly, they are self-reproducing. We take this for granted without being amazed by the work of the Creator. Our very cells reproduce themselves. The living creatures can reproduce themselves. We say this without thinking about it or how it happens, that it happens at all. And by the way, reproduction happens within kinds. It’s built into the structure.
Each of these three properties of God’s living creatures are amazingly placed within them. Think about this a moment. There’s a man. His name is John Neumann, a Hungarian scientist and mathematician. He has hypothesized the possibility of creating a self-sustaining, self-repairing and self-reproducing machine. But, it is only a hypothesis. It hasn’t been done. But think about this. If a man could accomplish and build a self-sustaining, self-repairing and self-reproducing machine, they would be viewed as a genius. It would in fact require intelligence and skill of the highest order. And yet, within a tiny bird or a simply sea creature we find each of these properties perfectly displayed. And observing them, studying them, scrutinizing them, Naturalism is totally blind to see the genius behind them. Remember, simple doesn’t mean simplistic.
Day five now ends and day six arrives. Let’s look at it. In Genesis 1:24-25 says,
On day six God continues His creative work but now with land creatures. The waters and the air are filled with living creatures and now He populates the land with creatures “according to their kind.”
God describes three basic categories of land creatures; animals of the earth (of the ground), livestock, and crawling things.
They start with the cattle or dumb beasts. The word describes livestock and animals that are capable of being domesticated. This would include sheep, goats, cows of course, oxen, camels, and other such animals. Each of these share commonalities digestively. They are designed to eat from the field and from that provide both milk, skin, or hide, fabric products like wool, and of course meat.
Then there’s the “creeping things.” This broad category can include insects, worms, snakes, reptiles, arachnids and small mammals. These are not among most beloved of creatures but they serve a purpose in whole structure of the created order. And make no mistake, even though they may not be among the most appealing category of animals, each of these are fearfully and wonderfully made.
And as if to provide a final inclusive category he writes, “animals of the earth.” The word earth is erretz. It literally means the land, or ground. This simple phrase reaches out to include all the other creatures that inhabit the land. This would include lions and tigers and bears oh my and elephants, wolves and vast numbers of animals. I mean, the list would too long to even begin to mention.
The varieties within each of these mentioned are astounding. We have yet to discover and classify the exact number of these. Yet, within each of these is the same amazing building blocks that underlies all of life.
I remember someone asking me how there could be so many life forms and varieties within each group. I asked her, “How many letters are there in the alphabet?” She answered 26. I then asked her, “How many words can you create from these 26 letters?” She spread her hands out and said, “Countless.” Okay. I then asked her, “How many distinct words or expressions could I make if my creative possibilities, my alphabet, were in the billions?” She looked at me sort of puzzled. I simply said, DNA. It’s already there.
One writer look at the explanation of Naturalism and said,
Now, we know that the information structure of life is spelled out in a genetic language called DNA. Within the structure of DNA is the possibility of unnumbered varieties while creating boundaries that eliminate certain things from continued existence.
What am I saying by all of this? God stated it in simple terms that the wonder and variety of life which was created. Naturalism does acknowledge the Creator, so they have to have an alternate explanation. They propose that time, accident, environment, mutation, genetic recombination all explain the appearance and variety of life. All of this simply because they will not accept a Creator. Dr. James Lester, in his book Genetics: No Friend to Evolution, stated this,
The skeptic may scoff at the simple words of Genesis. But again, simple doesn’t mean simplistic. God stated that He created all these living creatures according to their kind. And you know what? I have no reason to doubt Him. In fact, the more I examine the work of the Creator the more impressed I am of God, not that He needs my approval.
It’s amazing how much work and striving has been exerted to disprove and deny the Creator of all the wonders all around them. They praise the amazing so called evolutionary process, yet scoff at the One who creates at the command of His voice. Think about it.
Psalm 4:2 describes this way so well, “You sons of man, how long will My honor be treated as an insult? How long will you love what is worthless and strive for a lie?”
This is not who we are or who we are to be. As His people we are to acknowledge our creator. Looking at all of this, invites me to join in the reflections that is found in Psalm 139:13-14.
Everything about what God has created amazes those who know Him. Scoffers will come and go but God remains. I am reminded of something I once heard. God always lives on to bury His pallbearers.
I will resist the idea and attempts to make me accept a godless naturalistic evolutionary explanation to the varieties and abundance of life on Earth. Instead, I will wonder at the One who has displayed His creative desire in the world all around us.
It makes a difference what you believe. Why? Because Truth Matters.
When someone decides to build a house or a building structure, there are some steps that have to be taken and have to be done in a certain order. Oh, you can skip a step or two for sure. But if you truly want a building to last, then you have steps that you must take and do them in order. For instance, you begin by preparing the land. It must be leveled so that what you place on it is itself level. We call this groundwork. Then comes the foundation and all that that entails. Then you build and fill out the structure. Now, the building is ready for its residents.
Well, if there’s one thing we’ve already seen in the Creator, is that He displays just such a process in His creation. We have seen in the days of creation both the groundwork and foundations that are put into place and now readied for its residents. The Earth now has form. There is a delineation of the day and the night. There’s an atmosphere. There are bodies in the heavens that provide designations of the times and the seasons. There is a division of land and water. And now vegetation fills the Earth. It is now ready to populate. So, enters day 5 and 6.
Let’s begin with day five. Genesis 1:20-23 says,
Then God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.” And God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind; and God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
Again, the creative work is activated by the voice of God. Just as God had separated the land and the waters as well as the expanse above the waters and the expanse below the waters, He populates it the same way by filling the waters and the skies with life.
If you look at the creation days you see a patterned outline of His work. For instance, on day one, He created light and then on day four He lit up the heavens. On day two He separates the seas and sky and then on day five He fills the sea and the sky with living creatures. On day three He makes the dry land appear and then on day six He fills the dry land with living creatures.
I love how the language of the Scripture puts it. It literally says in verse 20, “Let the waters swarm with swarming living creatures.” There is no process here. God fills the waters with all manner of living creatures by His word. We see today and are still discovering how the seas are filled with a multitude and a variety of living creatures. It’s, it’s swarming with them.
At His word the air is filled with living creatures. “Let birds fly above the Earth.” Again, birds are made completely ready and able to take to the air. There’s no gradualism in them taking flight. They are made ready with the ability to fly. What God did in an instant with these creatures, mankind has worked long and hard to imitate and perfect. And yet, these tiny delicate creatures display with amazing perfection the way they fly and they move.
Now, I want you to notice something. What He states in simply description in verse 20, He expands in the description just a bit in verse 21. It says, “God created the great sea creatures.” It’s interesting that He singles out the largest of the sea creatures. Why is that? Well, I appreciate what one person’s suggestion was they said that it sprang in response to the ancient belief that these large sea creatures were viewed as gods which the people feared and worshipped. The Scripture wants to make it clear that they were created beings and not deities. And so, both the large and the multitude of every living creatures are made by God. This also applies to every winged creature of the air.
Again, notice that with both these categories there is a boundary set in place by the Creator. They were created “after their kind.” Within the abundance of varieties there are delineations, kinds. God saw what He had made and states His approval “it was good.”
Now, what God’s Word says flies directly in the face of Naturalism. You see, they have no ability to make a statement of “it was good.” They have no basis to make a value judgment on nature. In order to explain the multitude of creatures they want to provide an evolutionary process to connect everything together. But they don’t wish to connect is all to a Creator. No, they propose a process which recognizes no boundaries. Instead, this process describes an interconnected pattern of accidental steps moving towards an unplanned destination. And if the destination is both unknown and unplanned, how can they say that it is good?
But God states that He created an abundance of variety with demarcations that literally provides the groundwork for His next command. God then blesses what He had made and He gives them a command in verse 22. He says, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”
We can only continue to marvel at this work which He declares to be good. You see, when God says something is good, you can be sure it is good. The living creatures and organisms which God creates have properties which should never cease to amaze us. Living organisms, unlike anything that we can create, possess three amazing abilities. First of all, they are self-sustaining. In other words, they can care for their own life. They can breathe on their own. They can nourish and defend themselves. They are self-sustaining.
Secondly, they are self-repairing. Their bodies can repair and recuperate from injuries or fatigue. Built into their very bodies are self-repairing mechanisms. Have you ever stopped to be amazed that you can cut your finger and in a few days your body is self-repairing itself? This ability is in you. And you don’t even have to think about it. It’s built into our bodies.
Thirdly, they are self-reproducing. We take this for granted without being amazed by the work of the Creator. Our very cells reproduce themselves. The living creatures can reproduce themselves. We say this without thinking about it or how it happens, that it happens at all. And by the way, reproduction happens within kinds. It’s built into the structure.
Each of these three properties of God’s living creatures are amazingly placed within them. Think about this a moment. There’s a man. His name is John Neumann, a Hungarian scientist and mathematician. He has hypothesized the possibility of creating a self-sustaining, self-repairing and self-reproducing machine. But, it is only a hypothesis. It hasn’t been done. But think about this. If a man could accomplish and build a self-sustaining, self-repairing and self-reproducing machine, they would be viewed as a genius. It would in fact require intelligence and skill of the highest order. And yet, within a tiny bird or a simply sea creature we find each of these properties perfectly displayed. And observing them, studying them, scrutinizing them, Naturalism is totally blind to see the genius behind them. Remember, simple doesn’t mean simplistic.
Day five now ends and day six arrives. Let’s look at it. In Genesis 1:24-25 says,
Then God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kind: livestock and crawling things and animals of the earth according to their kind”; and it was so. God made the animals of the earth according to their kind, and the livestock according to their kind, and everything that crawls on the ground according to its kind; and God saw that it was good.
On day six God continues His creative work but now with land creatures. The waters and the air are filled with living creatures and now He populates the land with creatures “according to their kind.”
God describes three basic categories of land creatures; animals of the earth (of the ground), livestock, and crawling things.
They start with the cattle or dumb beasts. The word describes livestock and animals that are capable of being domesticated. This would include sheep, goats, cows of course, oxen, camels, and other such animals. Each of these share commonalities digestively. They are designed to eat from the field and from that provide both milk, skin, or hide, fabric products like wool, and of course meat.
Then there’s the “creeping things.” This broad category can include insects, worms, snakes, reptiles, arachnids and small mammals. These are not among most beloved of creatures but they serve a purpose in whole structure of the created order. And make no mistake, even though they may not be among the most appealing category of animals, each of these are fearfully and wonderfully made.
And as if to provide a final inclusive category he writes, “animals of the earth.” The word earth is erretz. It literally means the land, or ground. This simple phrase reaches out to include all the other creatures that inhabit the land. This would include lions and tigers and bears oh my and elephants, wolves and vast numbers of animals. I mean, the list would too long to even begin to mention.
The varieties within each of these mentioned are astounding. We have yet to discover and classify the exact number of these. Yet, within each of these is the same amazing building blocks that underlies all of life.
I remember someone asking me how there could be so many life forms and varieties within each group. I asked her, “How many letters are there in the alphabet?” She answered 26. I then asked her, “How many words can you create from these 26 letters?” She spread her hands out and said, “Countless.” Okay. I then asked her, “How many distinct words or expressions could I make if my creative possibilities, my alphabet, were in the billions?” She looked at me sort of puzzled. I simply said, DNA. It’s already there.
One writer look at the explanation of Naturalism and said,
In the middle 1800s, some scientists believed that variations caused by the environment could be inherited. Charles Darwin accepted this fallacy, and it no doubt made it easier for him to believe that one creature could change into another. He thus explained the origin of the giraffe's long neck in part through 'the inherited effects of the increased use of certain parts'. In seasons of limited food, Darwin reasoned, giraffes would stretch their necks for the high leaves, supposedly resulting in longer necks being passed on to their offspring.
Now, we know that the information structure of life is spelled out in a genetic language called DNA. Within the structure of DNA is the possibility of unnumbered varieties while creating boundaries that eliminate certain things from continued existence.
Gregor Mendel, the father of genetics, and Charles Darwin, the father of modern evolution, were contemporaries. At the same time that Darwin was claiming that creatures could change into other creatures, Mendel was showing that even individual characteristics remain constant. While Darwin's ideas were based on erroneous and untested ideas about inheritance, Mendel's conclusions were based on careful experimentation. Only by ignoring the total implications of modern genetics has it been possible to maintain the fiction of evolution.
What am I saying by all of this? God stated it in simple terms that the wonder and variety of life which was created. Naturalism does acknowledge the Creator, so they have to have an alternate explanation. They propose that time, accident, environment, mutation, genetic recombination all explain the appearance and variety of life. All of this simply because they will not accept a Creator. Dr. James Lester, in his book Genetics: No Friend to Evolution, stated this,
The first three sources of variation (environment, recombination, mutation) are woefully inadequate to account for the diversity of life we see on earth today. An essential feature of the creation model is the placement of considerable genetic variety in each created kind at the beginning. Only thus can we explain the possible origin of horses, donkeys, and zebras from the same kind; of lions, tigers, and leopards from the same kind; of some 118 varieties of the domestic dog, as well as jackals, wolves and coyotes from the same kind.
The skeptic may scoff at the simple words of Genesis. But again, simple doesn’t mean simplistic. God stated that He created all these living creatures according to their kind. And you know what? I have no reason to doubt Him. In fact, the more I examine the work of the Creator the more impressed I am of God, not that He needs my approval.
It’s amazing how much work and striving has been exerted to disprove and deny the Creator of all the wonders all around them. They praise the amazing so called evolutionary process, yet scoff at the One who creates at the command of His voice. Think about it.
Psalm 4:2 describes this way so well, “You sons of man, how long will My honor be treated as an insult? How long will you love what is worthless and strive for a lie?”
This is not who we are or who we are to be. As His people we are to acknowledge our creator. Looking at all of this, invites me to join in the reflections that is found in Psalm 139:13-14.
For You created my innermost parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, because I am awesomely and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well.
Everything about what God has created amazes those who know Him. Scoffers will come and go but God remains. I am reminded of something I once heard. God always lives on to bury His pallbearers.
I will resist the idea and attempts to make me accept a godless naturalistic evolutionary explanation to the varieties and abundance of life on Earth. Instead, I will wonder at the One who has displayed His creative desire in the world all around us.
It makes a difference what you believe. Why? Because Truth Matters.
Posted in Truth Matters - with Emilio Lartigue
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