Promises, Diversity, and Blessings! Oh My! || Deeper Creation || Week 6

Welcome back! This series is “Deeper Creation,” We’re taking a deeper look at Genesis 1 and 2 to see how the Creation story gets told throughout the Bible!

Last week, we looked deeper at the 4th day of creation. We discussed how God’s timing might not align with ours, but his timing exists for good. We talked about the beauty and majesty God created on this day and how we can remember that in times of anguish. We then talked about the different bodies of the universe we see and have and that each body is unique to God’s purpose. 

Today, we’re looking at Day 5 and creating land and sea animals. We will discuss the promises shown here and the diversity of creation, previewing our discussion on Day 6.

Let’s read our focus scripture now! Join me in Genesis 1:20-23

20  Then God said, “Let the waters swarm with fish and the other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind.”

21  So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that scurries and swarms in the water, and every sort of bird – each producing offspring of the same kind. 

22  Then God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas, and then let the birds multiply on the earth.” 

23  And evening passed and morning came, marking the fifth day.

God’s Promises 

We get a more profound sense of how God created these animals in Genesis 2. It’s Genesis 2:19, and it says:

19  So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. 

God created the land and sky animals in the same way that Adam was. From the ground, God created all the wild animals and birds of the sky. It seems that God created them with a purpose too. As seen in 2:20, God created the animals to be a helper for Adam. Adam fulfilled the promise given to man on Day 6: reigning over the animals. He was able to name each animal as God created them, which is one of the first times (if not the first) we see God’s creation fulfilling the purpose he created them for. 

The Psalmist from Psalm 146 reacted similarly to God’s creative ability. Hear what they said in Psalm 146:6

6  He made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He keeps every promise forever. 

This psalmist views help from humans as unstable and temporary and help from God as lasting and complete. There’s a lot of truth in this. Humans can’t do everything for everyone all the time. We have our limits physically, mentally, and spiritually. God cares for each one of us and wants us to thrive through him. We can be a blessing to someone but are not a Savior for someone. There are many examples of God fulfilling promises for his people. Those promises come to fruition in his time and his way, but God still does it. 

God promises us the gifts of grace and mercy daily. God promises us new life. God promises to listen to our prayers. God’s promises are “yes and amen.” God promised the people of the past blessings beyond their comprehension, and our God and their God are the same, then we are promised blessings beyond our comprehension.

Diversity of Creation 

We discussed the purpose and how God created the animals, but let’s discuss how diverse God’s creation is. Listen to what the Psalmist says in Psalm 104:25-26 

25  Here is the ocean, vast and wide, teeming with life of every kind, both large and small. 

26  See the ships sailing along, and Leviathan, which you made to play in the sea. 

Psalm 104 talks about how God both creates and maintains what he creates. We can find joy in ourselves in the care that God provides. Think of the Pacific Ocean, which clocks in at 63,800,000 square miles. For context, the United States is only 6% the size it is. This ocean has 226,000 different ocean species. Those are both huge numbers. The Psalmist talks about the ships co-existing with the Leviathan, which, let’s put that into context. Let’s use a typical ocean-going cargo vessel. These are 965ft long, 106ft wide, and 39.5ft deep. The Leviathan is about 50 feet long from head to tail, about 20 times smaller than a cargo vessel. Compared to me, a 6ft-2 human, the Leviathan is slightly over eight times bigger. 

I didn’t even mention the 10,000 species of birds and the 6.5 million species of land animals God created, not to mention the 7.949 billion people on earth. God’s creative abilities are diverse with every creature, reminding us how unique we are in God’s eyes. 

I also should mention that we see God blessing these creatures, telling them to be fruitful and multiply. This blessing is the same blessing we see God gave humans, too, except humans also get the ability to have dominion over animals. This blessing is crucial to continuing God’s purpose and promises throughout the biblical story. To be fruitful, make many descendants, and grow God’s kingdom. The same promise that God gave to Abraham. Something interesting to explore in a future series.

I’m going to wrap this up here. We discussed God’s promises to Adam and how these promises continue for the rest of humanity. We also discussed the diversity of God’s creation and recognized how unique each being is. We then discussed God’s blessing to the creatures, what it means to us, and the future of Adam’s lineage. 

I’ll be back next week to look at Day 6 of creation, where we will explore the land creatures and humans and what this sets up for the rest of the biblical narrative. Until then, stay blessed!