Biblical Journal

Interlude for a Hymn…

C Merrill Kittelson — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:00:00 +0000

While preparing to lead worship at Summit Harvest Church, I came across this hymn. Since I am posting about the magnificent, mighty power of God in creation… I thought it would fit superbly as an interlude.

I Sing the Mighty Power of God

I sing the mighty power of God that made the mountains rise. That spread the flowing seas abroad, and built the lofty skies. I sing the wisdom that ordained the sun to rule the day. The moon shines full at His command, and all the stars obey.

I sing the goodness of the Lord, who filled the earth with food. Who formed the creatures through the Word, and then pronounced them good. Lord, how Thy wonders are displayed, where’er I turn my eye. If I survey the ground I tread, or gaze upon the sky.

There’s not a plant or flower below, but makes Thy glories known. And clouds arise, and tempests blow, by order from Thy throne. While all that borrows life from Thee is ever in Thy care. And everywhere that we can be, Thou, God art present there.

Issac Watts, published in 1715.

Genesis 1:24-25

C Merrill Kittelson — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:44:09 +0000

As I am reading and studying through Genesis 1 I have had to stop for some time now and consider why humans and land-dwelling animals were created on the same day. Was the reason for this creation order biological or theological? Perhaps it is a foreshadow of the fact that certain types of these animals would be sacrificed on the behalf of human sins.(1) Another possibility is that it is a foreshadow of the naming of the animals in Genesis 2:19-20.

Genesis 1:24-25 (NAS) “The God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind’; and it was so. God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.”

(1) This is especially apparent in Leviticus 4.

Genesis 1:20-23

C Merrill Kittelson — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:50:34 +0000

As I read about the creation of the sea creatures I am amazed, but not surprised that even now we are discovering additional species of underwater creatures. Recently a species of the Yeti crab (Kiwa puravida) was discovered 3,300 feet below the ocean surface off of the coast of Costa Rica.

This just goes to show how little we really know about the deep ocean environment. It also shows how awesome and expansive the creative power of God is. He knew when He created each and every living creature what it needed to survive. The Yeti crabs are so far below the ocean surface that they feed on bacterial filaments that grows on them. These bacteria feed on chemicals from seafloor hydrothermal vents, which release methane and sulfide.(1) He also knew that thousands of years after He created the sea creatures on the 5th day we would still be discovering species that have never been seen by human eyes. He really meant what He said when He said “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures.”

Genesis 1:20-23 (NAS) “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.’ God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after 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.’ There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.”

(1) Smithsonian, February 2012, page 13.

Genesis 1:16-19

C Merrill Kittelson — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:07:29 +0000

As I’ve noticed so far in Genesis 1, there are two significant actions that are repeated. The act of dividing and the act of ruling over. In Genesis 1:4 God divided the light from the darkness. In Genesis 1:7 God divided the waters. In Genesis 1:14 and 1:18 God made the lights to divide the day from the night. As far as ruling over, in Genesis 1:16 God made the lesser light to rule the night and the greater light to rule the day. Thus, the classification of matter and elements is a significant detail that is important enough to be put into the inspired Word of God! The act of the lights ruling over the day and night is the first demonstration of delegated natural authority. Just think about how many functions of life on earth are controlled by the sun. Also, think about how many functions and purposes the moon has (tides, navigation, etc.). At first I thought that the creation of the sun and the moon was a foreshadow of the creation of man. However, there is a significant difference. The dividing of light from darkness and the creation of the sun and the moon was spoken into existence. However in Genesis 2:22 it states that the first woman was “built” from man’s rib. On the other hand, the ruling over theme is a foreshadow of the authority that was given to man. In Genesis 1:26 and 1:28 man was given charge to have dominion over and subdue the earth and its creatures. If there are any readers of this blog that are proficient in Biblical Hebrew I would love to hear your comments on the similarities and differences between the following terms “rule over” (Genesis 1:18), “have dominion over” (Genesis 1:26) and “subdue” (Genesis 1:28).

Genesis 1:16-19 (NKJV) “Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.”

Genesis 1:14-15

C Merrill Kittelson — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 05:25:14 +0000

Every time I read “And it was so” in Genesis 1 it gives me such a sure confirmation that there was completion to that particular act of creation. This phrase is repeated 5 times in Genesis 1. So often in our frail human condition we leave things unfinished… a house project, a forgotten promise, an item that we borrowed and did not return to a friend, etc. However, from the very beginning of creation, God Almighty always finishes what He starts. He always keeps his promises. He never forgets to do what do He said He would do.

I pray Father, that You would give me Your strength to be able keep my promises and finish what You’ve given me to start.

Genesis 1:14-15 (ESV) “And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.’ And it was so.”

Genesis 1:11-13

C Merrill Kittelson — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 05:35:40 +0000

“Dad, I got a question… ‘Did God create zebras white and then add black stripes, or did He create them black and then add white stripes?’

“I don’t know, that’s a great question sweety… maybe both.”

Sometimes I feel like the questions I ask about Genesis are like my 10 year old daughter’s question. There is no way to know for sure the answer, but it is really interesting to at least ask the question, and thus ponder the mystery.

My question about Genesis 1:11-13 is this… did God create the grass and seed-bearing plants to live forever? If so, did they start dieing after Adam and Eve sinned and the ground was then cursed (Genesis 3:17-19)?

(The reason this is called a Biblical Journal is because I don’t always provide the answers. Sometimes I just enjoy asking the questions. Often, as I continue to study, pray and meditate through the Scriptures, I find the answers later on. Perhaps that will happen with this question as well.)

Genesis 1:11-13 (NLT) “Then God said, ‘Let the land burst forth with every sort of grass and seed-bearing plant. And let there be trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. The seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.’ And so it was. The land was filled with seed-bearing plants and trees, and their seeds produced plants and trees of like kind. And God saw that it was good. This all happened on the third day.”

Genesis 1:9-10

C Merrill Kittelson — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:46:08 +0000

I should have read verse 9 and 10 before I wrote yesterday’s post. It was actually on the 3rd day when God separated the Earth from the Seas. So I guess what that means is that on the 2nd day God separated the Earth from the Heavens and on the 3rd day he separated the Earth from the Seas. This would seem to mean that on the 2nd day the Earth was all Seas, with no landmass. I wonder if this happened in the way that volcanic islands are pushed out of the Seas… or if He simply created the landmass the way that it is right now. Since it happened in a literal 24 hour day, it must have been the latter. Unless it was a huge mass of volcanic activity that happened in one day.

It is simply amazing to think of what it must have been like to be there watching the universe be created. Simply reading about it is amazing in itself!

Genesis 1:9-10 (KJV): “And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.”

Genesis 1:6-8

C Merrill Kittelson — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:52:25 +0000

“And it was so.” This quote from the end of Genesis 1:7 demonstrates again the creative, awesome power of God. When God acts, things happen. He has no need for natural courses to take their effect and thus evolve the separation between the Sky from the Earth. In fact, everything spoken of so far does not have a natural explanation that can be recreated in a labratory. Have you ever heard of a scientist separating the Earth from the Sky? Of course not, this can only be done by the creative power of the Lord God Almighty! (Also, referring back to verse 2, it seems as though God was making land here as well, since at first “the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”)

Genesis 1:6-8 (ESV): “And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. And God called the expanse Heaven, And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

Genesis 1:4-5

C Merrill Kittelson — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 21:22:03 +0000

The first thing that God made, light, He saw it as “good”. This does not make the darkness bad. At least I don’t think this is what is inferred here. If the darkness was bad, then this would likely have been mentioned as well. Instead He saw fit to separate the light from the darkness.

The second thing God did after creating light was to give it the name, “Day”. I’m assuming that the darkness was created first, since in Genesis 1:2 (NKJV) it states that the “darkness was on the face of the deep”.

Also when the light was separated from the darkness this created the first day. How exactly this happened is not easily understood from Genesis 1:5. However what is important is that it happened, and God did the work to make it happen.

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, Thank you for creating this first day of history. You have so much power that You not only have the ability to create light, but also to separate it from the darkness, and thus create the first day. Even though I don’t understand exactly how this happened, please help me meditate and ponder Your awesome creation power. Also, as I meet those who believe that this universe was created by chance and happenstance, please help me to kindly and clearly share with them the faith that You have given to me.

Genesis 1:4-5 (NKJV): “And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.”

Genesis 1:3

C Merrill Kittelson — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 06:24:54 +0000

Genesis 1:3 is the first time God spoke. In Genesis 1:1 He created. There was not any time as far as I can tell between when God spoke and when the light was created. If there was time… it would have been mentioned… kind of like the days of creation.

Genesis 1:3 (RSV): “And God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.”

God’s words have power. So much power that they have the ability to create light! Nothing under the sun that has been created by man has as much power as God’s words. In fact, nothing, in its truest essence has been created by man. Everything that is, ever was, or ever will be, has been created first by God. He has simply given us the ability to mirror His creative power by putting together the puzzle. He knows the total picture, we simply can participate in putting together the pieces.