Genesis 1:20-23

²⁰ “And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.”

²¹ So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

²² And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”

²³ And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.”

As we continue our study of the first eleven chapters of Genesis, we come to the account of the fifth day of Creation.

As we have already seen, on the first day God created time, space, darkness, light, and the 24 hour cycle of darkness and light; on the second day HE separated the water on the surface of the earth from the water above the surface of the earth; on the third day HE separated the waters from the dry land and created all of the vegetation on earth; and, on the fourth day HE created the Sun, Moon, and Stars.

The means by which HE created everything was HIS Word! HE literally spoke Creation into existence!

I have also tried to stress to you over and over again that the question of “Why did HE create Creation?” is more important than the question of “How did HE create Creation?”

So, why did God create Creation?

God created Creation to create HIS people;

HE created HIS people to save HIS people;

and, HE saved HIS people to glorify HIMSELF!

Therefore, while we are the direct beneficiaries of Creation, Creation is about the glory of God!

Psalm 19:1-6

¹ “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.”

² Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.

³ There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.

⁴ Their measuring line goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun,

⁵ which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.

⁶ Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.”

BTW, (for the sophomore science fans) on Days 2 and 3 God created the “four spheres” in which life exists on earth:

On Day 2, he created the Atmosphere (air) and the Hydrosphere (water); and, on Day 3 he created the Lithosphere (surface and top layers of the earth) and the Biosphere (the global ecological system in which all life operates and includes their interactions with the three other spheres.)

Sorry… I couldn’t resist!

OK; so, what exactly is covered in these verses?

First, God created the creatures that live in water! HE created all categories of such life including aquatic vertebrates, invertebrates, and reptiles.

Next, HE creates the creatures that fly in the air!

In the original Hebrew, God uses two very important words in Verse 20: “Chay” (which means life) and “Nephesh” (which means living creature) and is used in the case of higher animals and humans as “one having a soul” – that is – mind, emotions, will, personality, and the five senses.

The first blessing!

²² And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”

We now find the command to reproduce after their kind! They are created according to their “kind” and they reproduce after their “kind.”

Remember: this is one of the unanswerable questions facing evolution… there are thousands of variations within kinds (remember all those apples?) but, there does not exist anywhere any creature that has moved from one “kind” of creature to another “kind” of creature which would be both necessary and common if the godless, mindless, so-called “theory” of evolution was true.

Finally, in verse 23, God reminds us for the fifth time that HE did this in literal, 24 Hour Days.

These are (as are all verses of Scripture) exciting words! It is exciting to remember that God created us, why HE created us, and how HE created us!

I hope to see you Sunday with a smile on your face, your Bible (or smart phone, i pad, tablet, or other device) in your hand, and your family and friends by your side!