Thanks for joining me today as we continue to look at key foundational truths from Genesis.
We saw last week the beauty of God creating and naming the things He creates. There is power in a name. Names give and express identity. And if we jump ahead to Genesis 2 we see how God delegates authority to man to name things.
Then in verse five as God wraps up the first day of creation we read a very interesting thing, “So the evening and the morning were the first day.” Here we see God establishing the order of a day. The evening and the morning were the first day (not the morning and evening). The Jewish people understand this. It is a concept we see throughout scripture.
One of the principles we learn from this rhythm is we are called to live and work from a place of rest. We start the day by preparing our hearts, bodies, minds, and spirits to slow down and rest throughout the night. As we lay down to sleep we should realize that this is not only about physical rest, but a time when God restores and renews us spiritually and emotionally as well.
And I want to take the time to point out that God gets to define what He has created. In this case that is the concept of a day. And it’s worthy to note. . .there is no sun or moon at this point. God is the one sustaining the earth and holding it in space. God is the one who ultimately defines a day, not sunset and sunrise.
Let’s move forward to day three. Here God speaks and separates out dry land from the waters and names them both. Then in the middle of the day God pauses, ponders, and acknowledges that what He has created is good. This is a simple but huge lesson for me. He doesn’t wait until the end of the day. Oh, that we would take time during the day to pause and reflect.
Then on day 3 God speaks and creates the grass, the herbs, the trees (all types of vegetation) with fruit and seeds in the fruit. He declares each plant will yield fruit according to its kind and it was so.
Next week we will look at this in more detail. But before we wrap up today let’s look at some of the foundational truths we have learned. God is:
- Creator
- Names things
- Admires His work
- Sustains things
Do you believe that God is not only the Creator but the Sustainer? He is! Ask God this week. “What am I trying to hold together in my own strength?” And when He shows you, give it to Him. Declare with me, “I trust you Lord with all things. You are the Sustainer, not me!”
