AND GOD SAID!
AND GOD SAID!
Bible students know that these familiar words are used in association with each of the six days of creation (Gen. 1:3, 6, 9, 14, 20, 24). On each day the “Word” of God preceded reality. You may not have noticed, however, that on day 3 and day 6 the expression “God said” occurs two times (Gen. 1:11, 26). Both of these repetitions involve the creation of life.
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On day three in addition to dividing the water and the dry land “God said, ‘Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds’” (Gen. 1:11).
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On day six, in addition to creating living creatures like livestock and wild animals “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’” (Gen. 1:26).
As you can see, both of these double commands from God involve life. On day three God spoke and created the first physical life. On day six He spoke and created the first spiritual life.
As you probably know, scientifically speaking the origin of life is a mystery. Darwin did not solve the problem and assumed that the origin of a “simple cell” would someday become so obvious that it was not necessary for him to waste time on it. Darwin was wrong! New discoveries prove that the “simple cell” is not simple at all. The Encyclopedia Britannica concedes, “A living cell is a marvel of detailed and complex architecture. . . . The information content of a simple cell has been estimated as around 1012 bits, comparable to about one hundred million pages of Encyclopedia Britannica.” Science has no explanation of how life began and new discoveries indicate that even life in a “simple cell” could not be accidental!
Every form of life that we know comes from other life. When we plant a living seed it will produce something that is alive. Planting a dead rock does not produce life. Life comes from life! The Bible teaches that God is the Author of all life, both physical and spiritual. After centuries of research there is still no better explanation for the origin of life than God.
The tallest tree in the world is in the Redwood National Park in California. It is 379.7 feet tall and has been called “Hyperion” after a person in Greek Mythology. It began as a tiny seed only 1/8th of an inch long. The corrosive elements of earth tried to destroy that seed and the struggle began. The root system struggled to find nourishment and stability. Above the ground this living seed competed with other trees for sunlight and space. This giant tree has struggled for literally hundreds of years. When the tree dies the struggle will be over.
The oldest man who ever lived was Methuselah. He lived to be 969 years old (Gen. 5:27). He was born struggling for a breath of air and he died the same way. Life involves struggle!
Since all of life began with a Word we should not be surprised that the Word of God provides guidance in the struggles of life. Remember! Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matt. 4:4). God knows our frame and remembers that we are dust. Consequently He has provided the Bible as a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. Note, however, that while nature always obeys the voice of God man doesn’t. The wind and the waves obeyed Jesus, but people do not (Matt. 8:23 - 34). Jesus came unto His own but His own received Him not (Jn. 1:11). While Jesus came as the Light of the world sinful men chose to love darkness more then light (Jn. 3:19).
So we have a choice. We can obey God and discover life or we can disobey God and discover death.