Genesis Chapter 50 - Turning Inadequacy into Victory

The end of an era had come…Jacob had died. Joseph loved his father very much, and he mourned his death deeply. He followed the Egyptian tradition of embalming, which took 40 days, and Egyptian mourning, which lasted 70 days. After that Joseph asked permission from Pharaoh to honor his father’s last request of being buried in the family tomb back in Canaan that had been purchased by Abraham. There was a very large funeral procession with Jacob’s sons and their households, along with the dignitaries of Egypt who went in support of Joseph, their beloved ruler.

Once again the brothers were afraid of Joseph. Now that Jacob was dead, they wondered if Joseph would finally seek revenge. However, Joseph had truly forgiven his brothers, and he reassured them of his continued provision for them and their families. He once again reminded them that even though what they had done to him was evil, God brought good out of it. To see things from God’s perspective is the essence of wisdom, and Joseph was a very wise man. He continued to live in the land of Egypt until his death, but he knew a day would come when the Israelites would go back to the land of Canaan. When that happened they were instructed by Joseph to carry his bones out of Egypt with them.

Throughout the rest of the Bible there will be references to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These three patriarchs had made their place in history in the nation of Israel for all time to come. The fact that they were buried in Canaan, at their request, was indication that they truly believed this land would be given to their descendants, as God had promised. This is the point where Moses ended his book of beginnings, the book of Genesis. He gave us a living portrait of the earliest fathers of faith. None of them were perfect. They were all very human, and they made their mistakes. But it was their underlying faith in God that made them repent and move forward at God’s instructions. They were very inadequate men who recognized that it was in following God that they became victorious.

I trust you have found the same great assurance that I have found in this study of Genesis. The Almighty God of the universe, through whom all things were created; the Faithful God of the patriarchs, through whom they were led…this same God is Lord of my life and abides in me. I am His created being; I am His chosen servant. God, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, is in control of my path. I can rest in Him and rely on Him. Throughout the book of Genesis in my Bible, He has spoken to me:
"I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless." (17:1)

"Is anything too hard for the Lord?" (18:14)

"The Lord will provide." (22:14)

"The Lord, before whom I have walked, will...make your journey a success..." (24:40)

"I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go," (28:15)

"...God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done..." (50:20)

"How big is God! How big and wide His vast domain,
To try to tell these lips can only start;
He’s big enough to rule His mighty universe,
Yet, small enough to live within my heart."
(Stuart Hamblen, Copyright 1959, Hamblen Music Co.)

Joy and Peace to you,
Carol

Genesis Chapte 48 - Hold On

Mark Lowry, in his video "Mouth In Action", talks about his favorite Bible verse: "And it came to pass......" He said no matter what we are going through, it will pass. That should be words of encouragement to us today. I suppose when Jacob’s sons came home one day from the fields with a shredded and blood-soaked coat that belonged to Joseph, Jacob thought life might as well be over for him. His favorite son was dead. There seemed to be no reason to live. Then the day came when Jacob learned that Joseph was alive. Not only alive, but he was also a very powerful ruler in the land of Egypt. In fact, through Joseph’s wisdom there was food available for them that would save the rest of Jacob’s family from starving to death during the time of famine.

Just knowing Joseph was still alive had to be joy unspeakable. When he heard that Joseph was a rich ruler, such news was full of glory. And then to hear that his very own son was inviting him to come live with him in Egypt, and Jacob and all of his family would be provided for…well, the half was yet to be told! I can just heard Jacob singing, "I have found His grace in all complete; He supplieth ev’ry need......" And continuing on:

"I have found the joy no tongue can tell. How its waves of glory roll!
It is like a great o’er-flowing well, Springing up within my soul.
It is joy unspeakable and full of glory, full of glory, full of glory.
It is joy unspeakable and full of glory. Oh, the half has never yet been told!"
(B.E. Warren)

Jacob was getting near death now, and he called Joseph to him. He promised him that Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, would inherit land as though they were Jacob’s own sons. It was as if God had not only given him Joseph back, but two more sons besides. Jacob blessed the two boys, purposefully giving the younger son (Ephraim) the greater blessing. He had learned that God works in mysterious ways, ways that were unpredictable and unexpected. But now at the end of his life, he could look back across the years and see that God was always there, had always provided, had fulfilled every promise.

Whenever Jacob was distressed over his present circumstances, they came to pass. When he did not see how any good could come from tragedy, things turned out better than he could have ever imagined. Yes, Jacob’s life was full of trials and perseverance, but in the end God allowed him the opportunity to see how His Holy Presence had been there all along. Jacob, the young conniving lad, had become Israel, the father of God’s chosen people.

Probably most of us can recall a time in our lives when we felt a sense of despair. We could not see how anything could happen to erase the present sorrow from our lives. We have been hurt and disillusioned. Life has dealt us some ugly blows. Sometimes we just did not feel like it was worth it to get up and go on. But we did. Time passed. Things that did not make sense seemed to lose their importance.

Or maybe a time has come when God has revealed some of life’s mysteries to us. Regardless, we know we can trust God. We can look at the life of Jacob and know that God has a plan for each of our lives, and He will see that plan through to its completion. He’s going to be there for us. For whatever we are going through, this too shall pass. "Hold on my child!"

"If you’ve knelt beside the rubble of an aching, broken heart,
When the things you gave your life to fell apart;
You’re not the first to be acquainted with sorrow, grief or pain,
But the Master promised sunshine after rain.
Hold on my child, Joy comes in the morning,
Weeping only lasts for the night;
Hold on my child, Joy comes in the morning,
The darkest hour means dawn is just in sight."
("Joy Comes In The Morning", William J. and Gloria Gaither, Copyright 1974)

Genesis Chapter 45 - God is Always in Control

God is sovereign. What does that mean to you? Could you explain that to someone if asked? Joseph had a good grasp on what the sovereignty of God meant. His statement to his brothers is the essence of what it means for God to be sovereign: "So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God." (vs. 8). God has a plan, and He will work His plan through us…or in spite of us. We do not get in the way of God’s overall design for His creation. We are pawns in His hands, and He can move us about as He pleases. Or He can create circumstances, whatever it takes to fulfill His plan.

When Joseph could contain himself no longer, he wept openly before his brothers and told them who he was. While they were afraid of what he might do to them, he assured them of the sovereignty of God. Anything that they had done to try to harm him had actually been the hand of God at work in all of their lives. Not only was Joseph saved from evil and harm, God’s larger blueprint was that all of Jacob’s family would be saved from the famine of the land. They would be preserved and made into the nation of Israel. God was not finished with them yet…He was only just beginning.

God is not finished with us yet either. He tells us, "For I know the plans I have for you...plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11) No matter what satan throws our way with the intention of destroying us, God is ultimately in control. It is so good to be able to turn and grin at satan, knowing God gets the last laugh. satan is a loser…always has been, always will be. Only losers give into him. The Power of God at work in us is so much greater than the power of evil that is the world. Claim that Power. Walk in the Spirit.

Apostle Paul admonishes us in Galatians 5:16: "So I say, live by the Sprit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature." That is the secret to living an undefeated life, just as Joseph did. He knew that God was in control of his destiny. He placed his trust and his hope in God, knowing that all things would work out in the end. If Joseph could have read the New Testament, he probably would have chosen Romans 8:28 as his credo: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

What a day of excitement it must have been when the brothers got back home to their families and their father Jacob and told them of the good news about Joseph. Their load of guilt was gone, and their future was secure. They would all be moving to Egypt where Joseph could provide for them during the years of famine. Jacob and his beloved son Joseph would be reunited! Even Pharaoh got in on the excitement of Joseph being reunited with his family. He offered them the best land in Egypt to settle in. He even gave them carts to move their families with. He offered them the best of everything Egypt had to offer.

We all love happy endings. We need to just stop the story here for a while and rejoice with Joseph and his family. Together again. The past is behind them, the future is in God’s hands, and they have this moment of time to rejoice. Enjoy the moments of your life to the fullest, for they are passing. Gaither penned some words that tell us we need to take full advantage of the moments we have today:

"We have this moment to hold in our hands
and to touch as it slips through our fingers like sand;
Yesterday’s gone and tomorrow may never come,
But we have this moment today."
(Copyright 1975 William J. Gaither)

Genesis Chapter 44 - Follow the Leader

Have you ever played "follow the leader"? If you have, then you know sometimes the leader did something you really did not want to do, or went a direction you did not really want to follow. In this chapter we observe a leader that had done things we would never think of doing, and took some paths we just would not have chosen. Let’s turn our focus from Joseph and give closer attention to his brother Judah, the natural born leader amongst Jacob’s sons.

We first find Judah taking leadership out in the field with all of his brothers, trying to decide what to do with "the dreamer". It was at Judah’s suggestion that they sold their youngest brother to a band of traveling salesmen headed toward Egypt. Would you sell your own flesh and blood into slavery? No, at this stage Judah’s leadership leaves much to be desired.

In Chapter 38 we studied the character of Judah in depth as we watched the story unfold about his compromising relationship with Tamar. When we contrasted his character with that of his brother Joseph, we found Judah to be immoral and lacking in the discernment and integrity that Joseph displayed. Judah gave in to his temptation for a "quick fix" with a "prostitute" (a disguised Tamar), but Joseph fled from the temptation of Potiphar’s wife. Would you make Judah your role model here? No, I don’t think so. But there did seem to be a turning point in Judah’s life at this intersection. When faced with his guilt, he admitted it. All of a sudden Judah is starting to stand a little taller. He’s beginning to display characteristics that we can admire. For this, he starts to gain our respect. We have political leaders and church leaders today that could learn something from Judah.

We move into Chapter 43 of Genesis and we find Judah taking leadership in speaking to his father Jacob, trying to persuade him of the necessity of taking Benjamin back to Egypt with them in order to get more food. He even counted the cost and was willing to risk his own life for the sake of all the rest of his family. He would do whatever it took to keep them from starving to death. And it appeared, in this current chapter, that Judah would indeed have to give his life on behalf of his brother Benjamin.

Joseph had played a trick on the brothers once again, and had again placed their silver back in their sacks. He also had his silver cup placed in Benjamin’s sack. This was a test Joseph had devised to see if his brothers truly had a change of heart from when they had sold him into slavery. When the silver cup was found, Benjamin was to become Joseph’s slave while the rest of the brothers were to be sent back home. Judah knew this would be the death of his father, and he took full responsibility for Benjamin’s life. He was ready to make a personal sacrifice of his own life in order that Benjamin could go free. The same brother who was the leader in selling Joseph into slavery, now offered himself as a slave in the place of his youngest brother. Would you follow this kind of leader, someone who was willing to risk his very own life for you?

One of Judah’s descendants has done that very thing for each of us. One day Jesus Christ stepped forward and said to the Ruler of the universe, "Father, let me pay the price for their guilt. Let me give my life as a payment of their ransom. Let me be crucified so that they may be freed from their sins, their guilt, their bonds that hold them so tightly." Jesus willingly paid the ultimate price by being stretched out and nailed to some rugged pieces of wood in the form of a cross. The price of leadership. Would you pay it? The good news is, we do not have to. Christ paid the price once for all.

"There is a Savior, what joys express,
His eyes are mercy, His Word is rest.
For each tomorrow, for yesterday,
There is a Savior who lights our way."
(Copyright 1986 New Wings Music/Greg Nelson Music)

Genesis Chapter 13 - When Life Is Unfair

After leaving Egypt, Abram and Lot both became very successful herdsmen. So successful, in fact, that the land could not support them both. Also, there were petty arguments between their workers. Abram, being older and wiser, saw the need for the two parties to separate. He gave Lot first choice as to where he would dwell…to the east or to the west. Lot chose the appealing area of the east as it looked more fertile. It was the lust of his eye that drew him, a choice that would be detrimental to his family. Lot chose to move to the area of Sodom, where there was much wickedness.

What a contrast between these two men. Abram had every right to be first in choosing the land he wanted. He was older, a father figure to Lot. Probably most of what Lot had was due to Abram’s generosity. Also, God had already promised the land to Abram, not Lot. So for Abram to give Lot first choice shows a man full of grace. His example in resolving conflicts is good for us to observe:

1. Abram recognized the problem, the family conflict, and took the initiative to correct it.

2. Abram elevated the desire of the other person above his own desire, even though the outcome might be unfair.

3. Abram sought to have peace in the family above all else. Hebrews 12:14 reminds us: "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord."

While it appeared that Abram was very determined to live by the standards of God’s holiness, Lot was a man who lived by his own standards. He sought what was best for him, not really caring about anyone else. You would have thought out of respect for his uncle who had raised him he would have given Abram the best land, the first choice. However, greed led Lot to make a foolish choice. Foolish choices lead to disaster, step by step. When we ignore God’s best for us, and decide to go our own way, we have made a foolish choice, and we, too, can expect eventual disaster.

After Lot left to pursue his own pleasures, God again came to Abram and promised him all the land he could see and a multitude of descendants. God said to Abram, "Lift up your eyes and look.....and you will see....for I am giving it to you." (vs. 14-17).

God knows when we are left behind, put down, rejected, passed over, ignored, left out. He knows that sometimes life is unfair, and the unfairness brings pain, grief, and loneliness. But He says to us the same words He spoke to Abram. He wants us to look above and beyond our present circumstances. He has a plan far greater than we could ever imagine. His blessings far surpass what we could choose for ourselves. If we are obedient to Him, He is going to reward us for that faithfulness, on that we can rely. We need to take our eyes off ourselves and off those around us who have treated us poorly, and we need to see Jesus.

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." (Hebrews 12:2-3)

Abram showed us how to respond when life is unfair. He believed God was in charge of his destiny, and he built an altar to the Lord. That was his worship, his way of expressing gratitude to God, and his dependence upon God. Let us show our gratitude to our heavenly Father as we depend on Him to see us through our "unfair" circumstances.

Genesis Chapter 12 - Man Steps Out, God Steps In

Abram was a man who believed and followed God. When God called him to leave his home country and go to a new land, there was no hesitation on Abram’s part. God had selected Abram to be the father of a great nation, a nation that would be known as the people of God, the children of Israel...a nation that would be a blessing to others.

Following God cost Abraham his obedience. God said to "leave behind..." and follow Him, but He did not say where. He asked of Abram the same thing He asks of us today: "Trust me, and I will lead you one step, one day at a time." What has He called us to leave behind? Can we let go of it completely and walk through God’s open door? When we do, God blesses us for our obedience, even as He blessed Abram.

When Abram left Haran to follow God, he took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot with him, along with all of their possessions and the people they had acquired while living in Haran. When they arrived in the land of Canaan, God again spoke to Abram. The land of Canaan was to become Abram’s land, and in this land God’s people would dwell. It was in actuality a small parcel of land, compared to other countries of the world, but a very strategic piece of property. All of history would be marked by the events that would take place in this land.

Upon arrival in Canaan, Abram built an altar to the Lord. We will find that he was often building altars, for they signified a point of promise and praise. God would promise, and Abram would praise…he would give his worship to this God who was leading him. Do we remember to thank God in our daily walk as we sense Him at work in our lives? He is so worthy of our praise!

Abram, with all the faith he had in God, was still human, he was not perfect. His choices were not always the best ones. When famine came, Abram forgot to trust God, and he headed down to Egypt. One step away from God led to another, and soon Abram was devising his own plans to take care of himself instead of trusting God to take care of him. Of course, Abram’s plan was foolish, and many were hurt by it. His plan was that Sarai would say she was his sister, rather than his wife. Abram feared that he would be killed so that Pharaoh could acquire his beautiful wife. As her brother, however, they would both benefit and be given many gifts. God intervened in the middle of Abram’s stupidity, and warned Pharaoh that Sarai was Abram’s wife. Pharaoh rebuked Abram and sent him, with Sarai and all of his belongings, out of Egypt.

I am glad that Abram was not perfect in his faith, for I see that God is always there. He did not leave Abram alone and helpless when Abram faltered. There have been times when I have taken the reins out of God’s hands, thinking my way of doing things was the best way. Did God get angry with me? Did He turn His back on me? No, just like He stepped into the middle of Abram’s fiasco, He has been there in the middle of my muddled messes. What I have broken, He has mended. That is His business…to mend brokenness. And in my brokenness, He has mended me. Thank you, Father, for always being there for me. Thank you for picking me up, wiping my tears, loving me, equipping me, and putting me back on your path.

"I love You, Lord, and I lift my voice to worship You. O my soul rejoice!
Take joy, my King, in what You hear; May it be a sweet, sweet sound in Your ear."

(Laurie Klein, Copyright 1978, 1980 House of Mercy Music,admin. by Maranatha! Music)

Genesis Chapter 10 - Descendants Designed By Us

Okay, I admit it. Some chapters of the Bible just do not seem to be too interesting to read, nor do they seem to hold any importance to us today. Sometimes we get bogged down with too many details, and we know more than we want to know. If this chapter in Genesis leaves you feeling like "Who cares?", perhaps we can fill in some blanks and find a purpose for this being included in God’s inspired Word.

The three sons of Noah did as God had told them to do when they left the ark...be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it. (Genesis 9:7) The earth was once again replenished by the descendants of these three men. All the nations we read about in the Bible can be traced back to Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Let’s take a brief look at which nations came from which son.

Ham is the son who discovered his drunken father’s nakedness and ridiculed Noah to his brothers. Because of his lack of respect, he was cursed by his father to be the slave of his brothers. From Ham we have the Canaanites, Egyptians, Philistines, Hitites, and Amorites. Currently those nations may not mean much to us by name, but as we continue on through the Bible, even through Genesis, we will find that these are the nations that were always causing trouble for God’s chosen people.

We will find that the Israelite people, those separated for God’s purpose, will continually be tempted by and intermarry with the Canaanite women.

The Egyptians will become such hard task masters that Moses will confront their leader, and then all of the Israelites will be chased by Egyptians into the desert.

The Philistines will be the "giants" in the land that a little boy named David fights single-handedly.

The other nations will be mentioned in battles that lay ahead for the people of God. Did Ham have a clue that he would be responsible for centuries of disobedience by his descendants? Surely the curse Noah placed on him proved to be everlasting.

Japheth was blessed by Noah, who asked that God extend his territorial boundaries. Probably Japheth’s descendants traveled the farthest, and they settled in Europe and Asia Minor. In years to come we will find the first missionary, Apostle Paul, traveling to these far away regions to take the gospel of Jesus Christ, and many churches will be started along his journey among the nations fathered by Japheth.

Shem, the third son of Noah, was the most blessed of the three surviving sons of the flood. His descendants will include the Hebrews, Chaldeans, Assyrians, Persians, and Syrians. Some of the big names that will come out of his line are Abraham, David, and Jesus. It is from Shem that God will call a people to come out and be separate from all the other nations. They are to be His chosen nation, the nation of Israel. But now we are getting ahead of the story.

If you were to be chosen as a father or a mother of a nation, what would your descendants be like? If they were carbon copies of you, would you produce a belligerent slave driver or a fearless leader? A great big bully or a child with conquering faith? A miser or a missionary? Each of us do leave a part of us behind. We influence lives every day by the way in which we live, whether it is our children, our co-workers, the grocery store clerk, or the driver in the other car. What kind of impression are we making? Would God be pleased?

"May those who come behind us, find us faithful!"

Genesis Chapter 6 - Bath Water

If you think the Bible is boring, having no intrigue or mystery, try reading Genesis 6:1-4. What is meant by the "sons of God and the daughters of men"? We know that they married and produced children, but who were they…aliens or earthlings? The best explanation that biblical scholars come up with is that the sons of God were descendants from Seth, the third son of Adam and Eve. The daughters of men were descendants from Cain. Remember, he was the first born son of Adam and Eve who was sent away to become a restless wanderer for having murdered his brother Abel.

Sons of God would refer to those that were still living under God’s rule because Seth had honored the Lord. However, Cain had turned his back on God, and his descendants were evil (daughters of men). When the two groups got together, the good influence of the men of faith fell into moral depravity, following the evil ways of the daughters of men People turned very wicked and brought sorrow to God.

The world He had created had become very smudged and dirty. It desperately needed a bath to wash away all of the filth. The tub would have to be filled to overflowing…there would have to be a flood to cover the complete earth.

God would have wiped out all of His creation had it not been for a man called Noah. Noah was found righteous in the eyes of God, for he was a man who walked in the ways of his Creator. God looked on Noah with kindness. Here was one of His creatures that did not deserve to die. He had Noah build a vessel with very specific instructions. Noah, his wife, his three sons, their wives, and a male and female of each animal species would be saved from the flood by boarding this ark. If you can imagine a structure that is as long as one and a half football fields, and reaches the height of a four story building, you get the picture of this "boat".

When God does things, He does not cut corners or scrimp. He goes all out. When I think about the celebration that He is planning for eternity, I mean, you talk about a party! I would not want to miss it! Disney World has nothing over God! How do you even compare a few acres in Florida with the whole universe. Our God is very creative, and He knows how to use space well. (No pun intended.)

Not only do we know that God is all-powerful, we also are aware that God knows everything. Let’s stop and think about it. Since He knew He would be grieved at the evilness of man, why then did He create man in the first place? Why would He cause Himself so much anguish? Could it be because God is love?…because He loved man...and love brings pain. He sacrificed Himself already knowing it would bring rejection. What an awesome God!

Noah was righteous, blameless, and walked with God. If God were to decide to destroy the earth today, would He find those character traits in me? Would He find at least some of His creation worthy of redeeming?

Oh, Lord, make me holy, let me walk with you, blameless and righteous. I desire intimacy with you, God, that I might be worthy of being called your son, your daughter. Amen.

"Our God is an awesome God, He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom, pow’r and love---Our God is an awesome God!"

(Rich Mullins, Copyright 1988 Edward Grant, Inc.)

Genesis Chapter 4 - The Consequences of Choices

Let’s take a look at the First Family of the Bible. The first created man and woman, Adam and Eve, procreated with God and gave birth to two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain was a farmer and Abel was a shepherd. They both brought offerings to the Lord, but God did not accept Cain’s sacrifice. However, He looked on Abel’s with favor. Could it be that Abel gave his best, and Cain offered only leftovers? Because of his jealousy, Cain killed Abel. God punished the world’s first murderer by sentencing him to wandering the earth. However, God put a mark on Cain so no one would kill him. After that Adam and Eve had another son named Seth.

Here we are only in the fourth chapter of the book of beginnings and we already have a murder. It doesn’t take long for sin to fester and boil over. What began with a wrong choice for Adam and Eve has now cost them the life of their son. We never know how far reaching will be the results of the choices we make.

Before Cain had committed murder God warned him, "Sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." Those are good words for us to give heed to. There will always be the temptation to sin as long as we walk this earth, but with God’s help we can overcome that temptation.

God does not want us to choose evil, but to choose Him. He gives us nudges along the way that He is there for us. Only when we become determined to have our own way, as Adam, Eve, and Cain had done, do we become mastered by sin. We need to count the cost of our choices before we so willingly and thoughtlessly make them. Each choice has a consequence and an outcome. What price are we willing to pay for the choices we make?

Genesis Chapter 1 - God, The Awesome Creator

Don’t you just love fresh new beginnings? There is something about having a blank slate with no smudges that makes one feel like he or she can conquer the world. It’s like standing on the top of a mountain looking at the other sparkly snow covered peaks around you...peaks where no man has been...no imprints...no dirt...just fresh fallen snow glimmering in the sunlight. You take a deep breath of fresh air and feel its sharpness rush through your nostrils and down your wind pipes, and you just feel "clean all over."

You stand there and ponder the awesomeness of this scene from nature and the One who created such beauty...One who was there before the mountains existed, or the sun shone, or the breezes blew.

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. (Genesis 1:2)




Don’t you wish you could have been there---to observe God with His clean slate...to hear Him speak and see the world take formation?

We were not there. Nobody was there, but God. However God knew His creatures would be curious, and so He gave us Genesis -- the first book of the Bible...the story of creation...the beginning of everything that exists. As we begin to read how He created day by separating light from darkness...

• how He created sky by separating the mists of the air from the water of the earth...

how He formed land by separating dry ground from the seas...

and how He planted all of the vegetation...

we begin to get a sense that this Being is some kind of artist!

We look at His slate again and we squint as we see the bright orange glow of the sun.






At night we look up and study the big round moon to see if we can see a face on it. Then the stars start to twinkle around us...and we begin to think this is better than any fireworks display!! Before God is finished creating He:



puts birds in the sky,




cattle in the fields,

• wild animals in the forests,




and fish in the seas.

To top it all off He decides to make a being in His own likeness and calls this being man, and gives him authority over all the other creatures.

You shout out in ecstasy, "Brilliant!! How did you do it, God?"

He turns, He looks, and He sees that He has made everything perfect. He is pleased with all of His creation, calling it good...very, very good.

Did I say only God was there that week? You need to know that God, the Creator, is three dimensional, and we find that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit were all present together at creation. We know this by what is written in His Word:

God the Father: And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. (Genesis 1:3)

Jesus the Son: For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. (Colossians 1:16 - refers to Jesus - see context)

The Holy Spirit: The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life. (Job 33:4)

All Three: Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. (Genesis 1:26)

Think about this: we were created in the image of God…perfect…no flaws! Since God is holy, this means we were also created holy. That original nature created in us changed to sinful because of choices that were made by the first man and woman, as we will discover very soon in our study of Genesis. I look forward to when we again shall be made like Him, restored to perfection.

Lord, I desire a perfect heart, holy and acceptable to you. May this study lead me to become once again more like you. Amen.