Genesis 1:11-13
Categories: Bible Study LessonsAs Moses enumerates the features of the visible universe he comes to those things that are in the realm of provision for man and beast. One can learn from this passage that God is the ultimate provider of man’s food. There is no god made of wood, stone, or metal to thank for it. Man is not responsible for it’s creation. God deserves the thanks and praise.
It is important just here to say a word about the length of these days of creation. Many wish to “harmonize” scripture with today’s interpretations of the geological record and suggest that these days are, in actuality, vast ages. Our passage, however, will not allow that to be so. The plants that we are familiar with along with the children of Israel require sunlight to survive. Since the sun was created on the day following, and we understand the sun to be necessary for the survival of the plants, an age cannot be what was intended here. We can as well see that a twenty-four hour day is intended in Exodus 20:8-11, that is, there is no reason to call the days of creation longer than the Sabbath day. This and other factors commend a 24 hour creation day to us. I don’t recommend trusting in the shifting interpretations of modern science. Its foundations shift too much.
Another very important principle to understand is the seed principle taught here. It is essential to understand in agriculture as well as in spiritual matters. Moses says that God created the agricultural system so that a seed produces after its kind. This is true spiritually as well. Luke 8:11 teaches that the seed is the Word of God. When the Word of God is planted in a good and honest heart a child of God, a Christian, is produced, never a child of the devil. When Mormon doctrine is planted, a Mormon is produced. And so for Catholic, Baptist, “Jehovah’s Witnesses”, Hindus, Moslems, and so on. When their doctrine is taught a corresponding child is produced. It is extremely important that we understand this when false teachers begin to change the doctrine the Bible has taught us, or ridicule the idea that the church can be restored or that we in the 21st century can be Christians just as they were in the first century.