Genesis 202
Lesson Four

This is the second study now regarding the sixth day of God's Creation. In the first lesson we looked at God creating the animals of the earth, and then how God created man in His image. In this lesson we are going to continue looking at God's crowning creation of man.

Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

We already looked at how God created man in His image, but let us look further at this verse. The second thing that we see is that God gave man dominion over all the rest of His creation. Man is the Stewart of earth, and all that God has placed on it. The word "dominion" means, "to have rule over". This does not mean we can do whatever we want because we are to be good Stewart over His creation.  We can kill and eat the meat of animals, but we are not to be killing just for the sake of killing. We can use the resources of Earth, but we are not to abuse them.

Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Now we come to a very interesting verse. The interesting part is not the first part, we have already looked at that. The interesting part is the "male and female" part. When did God create the woman? Most people could not answer that question. Some say that God created the woman sometime after His original creation...almost as if it was an afterthought, after all, the woman is not even mentioned until chapter two.

The thing that one must remember is that chapters one and two are actually the same story. Chapter one is a very broad look at all of God's creation. Chapter two, starting with verse four, tells the same creation story, but zero's in a little more on the creation of man. Chapter three then zero's completely on man, the fall, and God's redemption. So, with that in mind, on day six, when God created man, he caused him to fall into a deep sleep and from the meat and bone of Adams side, He created the Woman. So, the Woman was created on day six right along with the man.

The word "man", literally means, "Ruddy, Human", and comes from another word that means "to show blood, red in face". It does not mean "male", like many think. It is a general term that refers to man AND woman. Since God "rested" on the seventh day from ALL His creation, He could not have created the woman after the sixth day because He did not create anything else after the sixth day.

Gen 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Notice the little word "them" in the first part of this verse... "And God blessed THEM..". This is further proof that when God created "man", it was male and female.

Some might be lead to believe that the Animals and Man were all created the same. But, there is a major difference, and it is found in chapter two and verse seven. Here we find God say that He "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life". God breathed into the man. This is not something He did for the animals. You see, we are not animals. We did not evolve from animals, and we are not just another species of animals, advanced or not. We are unique and special to God, loved by Him and created special for Him. Never forget that. God's very breath of life flows through our veins. Here in this verse, we see another thing that separates us from animals. Remember in a previous lesson we saw that God have His animal creation one command.. "be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth". Animals only command is to reproduce. But in this verse, Humans are given this command as well, but then are told to "subdue it: and have dominion over.." the rest of creation. We are told to take control of God's creation and to rule it.

And then finally we come to verses 28. This verse has caused much controversy over the years. Notice what God says....

Gen 1:28   And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth....

The problem comes in when we get to the word "replenish". Some Bible experts say that this referees to the fact that at one point the earth was full of people and then they were all destroyed for some reason. After that, God had to recreate the earth and command man to replenish it. However, this is not the case. Remember when God created the water creatures and birds of the air? He told them to be fruitful, and multiply and "fill" the earth. He did not say "replenish". Upon a deeper look, you will find that the word is the same. The word translated "fill" and "replenish" both mean "to fill, be full, fill wholly, replenish". That word "replenish" simply means to fill the earth. Don't read anything more into it. Remember, the Bible was written for us, during this time period that God created for us. It was not written to tell us things that do not pertain to us. Did God have other creations? We do not know, the Bible does not address these things, and it does not matter. What we need to concentrate on is what pertains to us, and our relationship with God. It is Satan who gets you involved in these other arguments. Don't let him pull you into these types of discussions. Concentrate on YOUR relationship with God, not on things that do not matter.

The rest of these verses simple tell us that man was originally suppose to eat fruit, herbs and seeds. Animals were originally suppose to eat green herb (grass). It was not until after the fall of man that we started to eat meat. We will address this in other lessons.

And then, in closing, God proclaimed that everything He created was "very good". It is interesting that in all other parts of His creation He says it was "good", but here it is said that His creation was "very good". This phrase adds one little word in the Hebrew, "meh-ode'" and means, "vehemence, passionate, intense... used often with other words as an intensive or superlative". So, as God looks at His whole creation all together, He declares in an intense, passionate way that it was "VERY good".