These words are directed not to the earth, out of which man was made, as consulting with it, and to be assisting in the formation of man, as Moses Gerundensis, and other Jewish writers F6, which is wretchedly stupid; nor to . In the former he speaks as one having authority, in this as one having affection; for his delights were with the sons of men,Proverbs 8:31. Nizzachon, p. 5. made, as consulting with it, and to be assisting in the formation *It seems almost too trivial to notice what Dr. Davidson and Bishop Colenso (or their German sources) say of Genesis 2:5-6, as if inconsistent with Genesis 1:9-10. Although we have set aside all difference between the two words we have not yet ascertained what this image or likeness is. When God created human beings as male and female he formed them to exhibit a oneness in their relationship that would resemble the relationship of God and his heavenly court. Scripture does not say more, and we must hold to scripture. Again, let us note the confronting of the serpent, not with man, who always falls under Satan's power, but with Christ, who always conquers. This passage, of course, refers to the humiliation of Christ, whose being made "a little lower" than angels actually means "made lower for a little while," in the matter of his passion and death; for the same passage indicates that man, as he was created, ranked higher than angels, for, "Not unto angels did he subject the world to come," an honor reserved for man. There is something striking in the introduction of the expression "and over all the earth," after the different races of animals have been mentioned, especially as the list of races appears to be proceeded with afterwards. Not only the Hebrew idiom forbids it, but our own, and no doubt every other language. And God here too beautifully marks His feeling. 26 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.". It is hardly so common-place and ordinary a matter as many suppose. A numerous lasting family, to enjoy this inheritance, pronouncing a blessing upon them, in virtue of which their posterity should extend to the utmost corners of the earth and continue to the utmost period of time. The word of God is before them. Does the plurality, then, point to a plurality of attributes in the divine nature? and why is thy countenance fallen? As to how, when, and why it was, there is silence. Christ only is the express image of God's person, as the Son of his Father, having the same nature. Chapter 12 Abram moves to Canaan by faith and fails in Egypt. Certainly he did not well. This concrete essence of the divine likeness was shattered by sin; and it is only through Christ, the brightness of the glory of God and the expression of His essence (Hebrews 1:3), that our nature is transformed into the image of God again (Colossians 3:10; Ephesians 4:24). But we have on the first day light, and a most remarkable fact it is (I may in passing just say) that the inspired historian should have named it. So here God states the great truth of creation; for what is more important, short of redemption, always excepting the manifestation of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God? * If Canaan drew his father into the shameful exposure of Noah, all can see how just the sentence was. Thanks be to God, One has come who is before Him in unfailing sweet savour, so that if sin be in the background, there cannot but be also what He introduces of His own free grace. We have to do with facts. And God said, Let us make man It is evident that God intends to impress the mind of man with a sense of something extraordinary in the formation of his body and soul, when he introduces the account of his creation thus; Let US make man. In the New . Finally, it has the singular and superlative merit of drawing the diurnal scenes of that creation to which our race owes its origin in the simple language of common life, and presenting each transcendent change as it would appear to an ordinary spectator standing on the earth. correct. Cain looked at Him in the place merely of a Creator, and there was his wrong. Then there are other seeds that put a little hook on the end of the seed, and you or an animal walks by, and that little seed hooks on to your pants and it gets a free ride or it hooks in to your socks. Men have been planting grains of wheat for millenniums and he has yet to plant a grain of wheat and have a corn stalk grow out of it. We have no ground, therefore, for transferring it to the style of the heavenly King. Here indeed the principle of reserve does apply, not in withholding from man's soul the deepest blessing of grace for his deepest wants, but in furnishing no more than that which was suitable for man to learn about the matter. Some have found a difficulty (which I simply touch on in passing) from the conjunction with which verse 2 commences. It recognizes, as far as can be expected, the relative importance of the heavens and the earth, the existence of the heavenly bodies from the beginning of time, the total and then the partial absence of light from the face of the deep, as the local result of physical causes. Such views as making it like an editorial "we," or the majesterial plural, or as an inclusion of angelic hosts or other heavenly beings are totally inadequate. *How this agrees with the dispensational dealings of God with Israel needs no argument. And the months were originally lunar months, the time it takes the moon to go through its full cycle, as it orbits around the Earth. See also Merrill, pp. When Noah brings his sacrifice, it is evidently of that nature also. Not "El", but "Elohim" created the heavens and the earth.And the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, moved over the face of the waters. John 1:1, which affirms that the Word was God, and in the beginning with God, and that without Him there was nothing made that hath been made, supports the thought that both Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit (revealed in Genesis 1:2 as active in the creation) should be understood as included in "us" and "our" here. First, however, it was an insinuation infused and allowed against the true God. What dispensation or age was there here? - Genesis 1:27. Hitherto, it had been said, "Let there be light," and "Let there be a firmament," and "Let the earth, or waters, bring forth" such a thing; but now the word of command is turned into a word of consultation, "Let us make man, for whose sake the rest of the creatures were made: this is a work we must take into our own hands." In reading the Bible we must understand not only what the Bible says but also what it means. Here on the fifth day, now, we have the more complex life forms. But what characterises this scene is not the state in which man as such was this we had in Genesis 3:1-24 but what man did in that fallen state, and more especially what he did in presence of God and faith. The plural form of the sentence raises the question, With whom took he counsel on this occasion? InGenesis 1:1-31; Genesis 1:1-31 it is said that "the dry land" was called earth; in the others, that though no rain yet fell, a mist went up. Now not only is it not too strong to deny that there is the least ground for such an inference, but one may go farther and affirm that the simplest and surest means of guarding against it, according to the style of the writer, and indeed propriety of language, was afforded by here inserting the word "and." God and man share a likeness that is not shared by other creatures. likeness. In the post-diluvian earth God establishes principles which hold their course throughout the whole scene till Jesus came, or rather till He not only come and affirm by His own power and personal reign all the ways in which God has been testing and trying man, but deliver up the kingdom to the Father, that God may be all in all, when He shall have put down all rule, and all authority and power. We don't know for sure.Emmanuel Vilikovski again in his book, "Worlds in Collision" as you get into the book, we'll find out that his theory that the introduction of the planet Venus into our solar system that caused the change of the Earth's orbit around the sun. We thus learn the compatibility of these two things, which in fact were true of man a fall from the relationship of innocence, in which he was originally set with God, and a rise in moral capacity, which, without faith, entails immense misery, but which is of the utmost value when one is brought to God by our Lord Jesus. The thing indeed is true; but I do not think that anything of the kind entered the mind of Moses. "And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew; for Jehovah-Elohim had not caused it to rain upon the earth; and there was not a man to till the ground. Man feels that this is exactly what is appropriate to God. Never been there before, yet somehow, God has built into this little bird that kind of instinct; and that's a bird brain. Hence, therefore, as closing all the previous state of things, where man was not spoken of, preparing the way for the Adamic earth, the Spirit of God is seen brooding upon the face of the waters. Flesh and spirit, heaven and earth, must be put together in him, and he must be allied to both worlds. The spirit of prophecy comes upon him, and, like dying Jacob, he tells his sons what shall befal them, Gen. 49:1. The mere. plural number as expressive of honour and majesty; since such a As they stand, they are in exact harmony. There is not a speech nor a language" (Psa 19:1-3). Man was the pinnacle of His splendid super-structure, underlining the peculiar importance of man in God's economy, for man was to be God's representative on earth, crowned with his Maker . It is not in this connection "created," it will be observed, but "made" them. Somehow, the earth's orbit was changed around the sun, and now it is three hundred and sixty-five years, nine hours, fifty-six minutes, nine and four-hundredths of a second. Genesis 1:2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. The creation of man and his installation as ruler on the earth brought the creation of all earthly beings to a close (Genesis 1:31). Undoubtedly there is teaching of the Spirit of God founded on the facts of revelation. The difference in the divine titles is due to a distinctness of object, not of authorship; and it runs through the Psalms and the Prophets as well as the Law, so as to convict of ignorance and temerity the learned men who vaunt so loudly of the document hypothesis as applied to the Pentateuch. On the words "in our image, after our likeness" modern commentators have correctly observed, that there is no foundation for the distinction drawn by the Greek, and after them by many of the Latin Fathers, between (imago) and (similitudo), the former of which they supposed to represent the physical aspect of the likeness to God, the latter the ethical; but that, on the contrary, the older Lutheran theologians were correct in stating that the two words are synonymous, and are merely combined to add intensity to the thought: "an image which is like Us" (Luther); since it is no more possible to discover a sharp or well-defined distinction in the ordinary use of the words between and , than between and . He offers of the firstlings of his flock that which passed under death to Jehovah. In chapter 2, we have a flash-back and more explanation about the events on the sixth day. The Bible alone is a revelation of facts, and, we can add (not from the Old Testament, but from the New), of a person. Today we will be continuing to make our way through Ephesians Chapter 5, verses 21 through 33. The author passes on from the cattle to the entire earth, and embraces all the animal creation in the expression, "every moving thing () that moveth upon the earth," just as in Genesis 1:28, "every living thing upon the earth." So, the parents fly off to Hawaii, leaving their kids in Alaska! [Note: Hamilton, p. They build their nests, they lay the eggs, they hatch their young. I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree. 80.]. [Note: Bruce K. Waltke, "Reflections from the Old Testament on Abortion," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 19:1 (Winter 1976):8. Is it credible that animals may be killed but that man may not be killed because his stature is slightly different? By will we choose, determine, and resolve upon what is to be done. creation of all things, and particularly of man: hence we read of Was it with himself, and does he here simply use the plural of majesty? Some . The chief governing characteristic of God is His self-determination, His will, His ability to choose and to determine His own destiny or His own mind. See Wenham, pp. "The earth was without form and void." But, as it is, scripture means nothing of the sort. the formation of him; not because of any difficulty attending it, And as we suggested last Thursday night, it is possible that He'll be the only handicapped person in there. [Note: Sailhamer, "Genesis," p. How small are the remains of it, and how great the ruins of it! So designed, so constructed, that you can fly off of that page, and just the wide variety! The distinction drawn between (in the image of God created He him) and (as man and woman created He them) must not be overlooked. This relation, however, is to be not in matter, but in form; not in essence, but in semblance. This is the divine ethnology. There was no longer trial in Paradise, because man was turned out. Both were weakened and defiled by the fall, but were still retained in a greater or less degree. The word of God is always right. them", which shows that the name "man" is general in the 164-72.] "Most theologians have recognized that that [sic] we cannot interpret it [i.e., the phrase the image of God] literally-that is, that mans physical being is in the image of God. . [Note: See Tremper Longman III, Song of Songs, pp. *, *It is deplorable but wholesome to see how superstition and rationalism agree in the grossest ignorance of man's condition before the fall and through it. Likewise when it says that God made man from the dust of the earth (Genesis 2:7), it does not mean that he took in his hands a ball of clay and formed it into a human shape as a baker makes a gingerbread man, but that he made man out of common chemicals. mind of man thinks it a mighty difficulty that what appears to be so small a matter should be pregnant with such awful results. The union of attributes which constitute his spiritual nature is his character or likeness. Would there not have been a sin-offering on these occasions had the law been then in force? The teaching of Scripture, that death entered the world through sin, merely proves that the human race was created for eternal life, but by no means necessitates the assumption that the animals were also created for endless existence. For, to reply to the last objection first, geology has offered no conclusive evidence of its doctrine, that the fossil remains of beasts of prey and bones with marks of disease belong to a pre-Adamite period, but has merely inferred it from the hypothesis already mentioned of successive periods of creation. It may be well to glance at it just to show the importance of heeding the word of God, and all His word. However, this explanation does violence to the Hebrew text. II. Though the same kind of organization may be found in man as appears in the lower animals, yet there is a variety and complication in the parts, a delicacy of structure, a nice arrangement, a judicious adaptation of the different members to their great offices and functions, a dignity of mien, and a perfection of the whole, which are sought for in vain in all other creatures. Should any one take the exception, that he was merely studying brevity; I answer, (87) that where he twice uses the word image, he makes no mention of the likeness. His condition was that of a sinner, and he looked not out of himself to God. Yet, the NIV Study Bible also writes in its commentary on Genesis 1:26, Us . Seth therefore was begotten in Adam's own likeness, not in God's. But Adam now becomes a father, not innocent, but fallen before he became the head of the race. Let us not forget the deceitfulness of sin. See Pooles Synopsis. The next chapter (Genesis 3:1-24) shows us the result of the test which we have seen laid down by Jehovah-Elohim. Which would include the angels, for the angels are called the hosts of heaven.And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made (Gen 2:2). I don't, I want God to leave me alone!" he", that is, (hyha) , "I . Eden was to be the scene of the moral trial of man. Here he gave them, 1. Again, as even in the present order of nature the excessive increase of the vegetable kingdom is restrained, not merely by the graminivorous animals, but also by the death of the plants themselves through the exhaustion of their vital powers; so the wisdom of the Creator could easily have set bounds to the excessive increase of the animal world, without requiring the help of huntsmen and beasts of prey, since many animals even now lose their lives by natural means, without being slain by men or eaten by beasts of prey. for him; a consultation is held among the divine Persons about It has nothing to do with moral relationships. Abstract. Never was there a moment when man was verging more evidently towards apostacy from the truth, and that not merely as to redemption, but even as to creation, as to himself, and above all as to his relationship with God. Thus man was rich before he was born. 2. Journal of Dispensational Theology 12:37 (December 2008):5-24. The end of this chapter shows that the man in whose person the principle of human government was set up could not govern himself. But what man would have thought it, or said it, if he had not been inspired? over the Believers and unbelievers might agree on how nature provides humankind with food, but believers add something extra, because they see God working through nature. Such was his relation to the creature; he was put in that place by God. The word "meor" is a light holder. Genesis 3:21) we are told, that "to Adam also and to his wife did Jehovah-Elohim make coats of skins and clothed them." Ed. Nay, more, now that it is clearly revealed, they have no competency to appreciate it never take in its force; and for this simple reason, that man invariably judges from himself and from his own experience, instead of submitting to God and His word. A holy being might and does so know, i.e., a being who, while knowing, has an intrinsic nature that repels the evil and cleaves to the good. So all of the animals at that point lived off of the grasses and vegetation. Such was not the usual style of monarchs in the ancient East. Genesis 1.26. I can understand, when all is clear, a word used figuratively; but nothing would be so likely to let elements of difficulty into the subject, as at once giving us in tropical language what elsewhere is put in the simplest possible forms. "And in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word was God. But after the flood we find a covenant is made with the earth (Genesis 9:1-29): the principle of government is set up. "After His likeness". From the fourth verse of Genesis 2:1-25, therefore, we first meet with a new title of God. God does not give such knowledge by direct revelation. We can easily see the propriety of this. Yet such misunderstandings occur. And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. "Image" is a word taken from sensible things, and denotes likeness in outward form, while the material may be different. p. 344. I do not think that the expression means a sin-offering, as is sometimes supposed; for it does not appear that there is ground for inferring that the truth of a sin-offering was understood in the slightest degree till long afterwards. It is a real joy to know that it is coming; but until that day God always has before Him, as the theatre and material where He acts, a world ruined ruined by sinful man. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, and herb yielding seed, and fruit trees yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so (Gen 1:9-11). His quotation is from R. F. R. Gardener, Abortion: The Personal Dilemma. He had described what she was rather than who; it was only when sin had come in, and when others, had there been any, would have called her naturally the parent of death, that Adam (by what seems to be the guidance of God in faith) calls her rather the mother of the living. See also Bishop Patricks Commentary on this verse. Observe. All this is an added account. In this new section accordingly it is written, "These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created [going up to the first], in the day* [here the writer comes down] that Jehovah-Elohim made the earth and the heavens." This completes, then, the restoration of that order and fullness the absence of which is described in the second verse. Man was made the same day that the beasts were, because his body was made of the same earth with theirs; and, while he is in the body, he inhabits the same earth with them. The Bible demonstrates this order of importance from the outset by fitting the story of creation into a mere week, into the opening page of a 1,000-page Bible.The Bible was never intended to be a scientific textbook. 11 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that . The victims of sin knew shame, now fear. They were all merged in one; and hence it is that we find that Job's friends, though guilty in the Lord's sight, yet alike with him offer burnt-offerings. Oneness in marriage is essential if husband and wife are to fulfill Gods purposes for humankind. (88) Synecdoche is the figure which puts a part for the whole, or the whole for a part. our image, after our likeness": and again, "let us make man"; to . preceding clause, and includes male and female, as we find by the And may I not put it to the conscience of every soul whether such an event is not exactly where it should be, according to the internal and distinctive features ofGenesis 1:1-31; Genesis 1:1-31; Genesis 2:1-25? They take off over the thousands of miles without suitcases, without spare gas tanks, without compasses or navigational equipment. (Compare also Leviticus 6:4 with Leviticus 27:12, and for the use of to denote a norm, or sample, Exodus 25:40; Exodus 30:32, Exodus 30:37, etc.) We were created directly by God to represent Him on the earth and have dominion over every other . And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. Tela ignea, vol. The name of God, not just being "Elohim" as it is in chapter one, but more personal because we are dealing with more the creation of man, and we are being given details of the creation of man in chapter two. The soul of man, considered in its three noble faculties, understanding, will, and active power, is perhaps the brightest clearest looking-glass in nature, wherein to see God. These prophets may be the stars themselves. This is that form of God in which he has created man, and condescends to communicate with him. If in the first chapter the true God shows Himself in creative power and glory, and in the perfect beneficence which marks too that which He had made; if in the second special relations display yet more His moral way and will, so the serpent does not fail to manifest his actual condition and aim not of course the condition in which he was made, but that to which sin had reduced him. Having prepared the natural creation for human life, God now desired humankind to enjoy that creation with him (2:1-3; seventh day). Oneness involves being in agreement with Gods will and purposes.
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