05/09/2008
20Then God said, “Let the water swarm with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” 21So God created the large sea-creatures and every living creature that moves and swarms in the water, according to their kinds. [He also created] every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22So God blessed them, “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters of the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.” 23Evening came, and then morning: the fifth day.
Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
Perhaps you have heard that question and then listened as the responder (perhaps yourself) wove themselves in a quandary of reason trying to answer. Some ancient Native American creation myths say that the first man emerged from a single egg, but they don’t say where that egg came from.
Let me put your mind at rest once and for all. The chicken came first. God created fish and fowl with their seed in them. That is, the animals were created with the ability to procreate—and not only to procreate but to “fill” the earth. This would suggest that a small group of animals were created rather than a full population.
The first
creation was time
The second creation was truth (not excluding visible light)
The third creation was space (or three dimensions of geometry)
The fourth creation was land and sea
The fifth creation was vegetation
The sixth creation was the Sun, Moon, and stars
The seventh creation was fish and birds
The creation of fish and birds in this sequence is not inconsistent with fossil records. From fossil evidence, we see that plants proceeded fish and fowl. Other creatures, including humans came later. Ancient humans would not have been able to know this. The critics of the Bible who claim that ignorant humans fabricated the creation story fail to realize that these ancient authors could not have access to the information we have today regarding fossil records.
This leads us to one of two conclusions; 1) they got lucky and guessed right, or 2) God dictated the story as it truly happened.
Let me give you one further bit of information to consider. If humans had fabricated the entire creation story, they would most likely have made humans the first creation (among the living things). This is because the Biblical creation is about humans. The logical order (if one were to fabricate the story from a human-centric standpoint) would be to create humans first and then other animals as their minions.
Did Moses just get lucky in guessing the creation order? I don’t think so. There is too much evidence that suggests an omniscient mind at work. For instance, Genesis 3 where a redeemer is promised. How could Moses have possibly considered this event out of fiction only to have it unfold in the form of Jesus?
Today, make a note to remember God as the supreme author and creator every time you see a bird or fish. Honor Him for His providence and mercy.
Jeff Justus
Cleff Publishing
www.cleffpublishing.com
©2008 Cleff Publishing, all rights reserved.
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