Notes on Genesis 1
Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
This one verse says everything. While God has no beginning and no end, the earth
did have a beginning. Our sense of time is not the same as God's. It is hard for
us to imagine no beginning and no ending. Dad used to tell me to try not to
figure it out, because we can't figure it out. Some things have to be left to
the Lord. At least He understands it. Some teach the big bang theory but then
something had to exist before that big bang to cause the explosion. I believe
there is someone in charge and I believe it is God.
Gen 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the
face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
One explanation for the dinosaurs and other fossils could be that the earth was
inhabited before the creation of the earth and mankind. There could have been
thousands of years between verse one and verse 2. The earth was without form and
it was in darkness. Or this could be the beginning of the earth and there was no
earth before this creation took place. Either explanation should not be a threat
to our faith in God. He doesn't have to explain everything to us if He chooses
not to.
Creation scientists tell us that if the earth was billions of years old it is
less likely that we would have any fossil records because when something dies it
usually decays leaving no fossil record. In order for there to be a fossil
record a great disaster had to take place first forcing animals into the earth
to be covered and thereby they might become fossils and not decay.
I will point out however, that if Dake is correct and there was a previous flood
before the creation as we know it, then either old earth or young earth theories
can be correct. The big bang and no God theory though has no merit and cannot be
explained. How can something come from nothing?
Gen 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
God is the one that we can give all credit to when it comes to the light that we
see every day as we rise in the morning. We can also give credit to God for
spiritual light that He gave to us when He sent His Son Jesus to bring light
into the world. Think about Jesus for a second.
1. Before Jesus, women had no hope and were considered second class citizens if
any. Any so-called Christian religion that abuses women or treats them with
disrespect, do not follow the example of Christ.
2. There was no hope for salvation of the Gentiles before Christ. The law and
promises were only given to Israel.
3. Before Christ the Holy Spirit was only given to certain individuals chosen of
God like the prophets or leaders. After Christ the Holy Spirit is given to all
who believe in Jesus as savior and Lord.
There is physical light and spiritual light and that is what I think of when I
read verse 3.
Gen 1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light
from the darkness.
We can find no fault with God's light whether it is spiritual or material. It is
truly good.
Gen 1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And
the evening and the morning were the first day.
Light and dark, day and night was created the very first day.
Gen 1:6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters,
and let it divide the waters from the waters.
The firmament was what we see as the sky. This was called Heaven but was not the
heaven that God abides in.
Gen 1:7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under
the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
Gen 1:8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning
were the second day.
The division of the waters above the earth from that which was below was done on
the second day.
Gen 1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together
unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
Gen 1:10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the
waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
We see how God creates provision for mankind before He creates man. I find no
fault in God at all. Dry land appears on the third day making a place for
animals and mankind to live.
Gen 1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding
seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself,
upon the earth: and it was so.
Gen 1:12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his
kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and
God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.
We see that after the dry land, God provided the fruit and seeds to begin to
take root and grow so that the creatures that He plans to create would have food
and nourishment.
Gen 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to
divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and
for days, and years:
Gen 1:15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light
upon the earth: and it was so.
Gen 1:16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and
the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
Gen 1:17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the
earth,
Gen 1:18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light
from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
God created light on the first day but now we see how God brings order. He put
lights in heaven to bring light both in the day and night. We see the stars at
night only because the earth has rotated and the sun is blocked out for a period
of time. The other half of the earth has the daylight while one half has night
for resting. God is good. The moon is seen at night to light the night also.
Gen 1:20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving
creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open
firmament of heaven.
Gen 1:21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth,
which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged
fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the
waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
Gen 1:23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
God made the fish of the sea and the fowls of the air before He made the other
animals.
Gen 1:24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after
his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and
it was so.
Gen 1:25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after
their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God
saw that it was good.
Notice that animals were made first and then man.
Man is different from animals. To teach that one evolved to another is kind of
stupid. If there are similarities perhaps it is because both animals and man
have the same designer.
We can see clearly that men are different from animals. Animals unless they are
tamed and trained by man, cannot so what men can do. They act by instinct. Man
can make decisions, invent inventions, understand, learn to read, and many other
things that animals cannot do. The main reason they are different from animals
is that they are made in the image of God. I believe that this image may be
physical but also spiritual. Man has a spirit, a soul and a body. Three in one.
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.
Notice again, God said, Let us make man in our own image. Who is God speaking
to? Is it not Jesus, (Yeshua) or the future Christ? Jesus always existed long
before He was born of woman. Jesus is God but God the Son. There is a Father, a
Son and a Holy Spirit. I may not understand exactly how that works but I know
there is a Father, A Son and a Holy Spirit.
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.
Chapter three explains more in detail about the creation of the woman but He
actually created her the same day as He created Adam.
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.
Mankind was given dominion over the earth. God blessed them and gave them
dominion. I believe Eve had dominion with Adam over the animals.
Gen 1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed,
which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the
fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
They didn't yet eat animals but only vegetables and fruits. These are the first
vegetarians. Animals also ate fruits and vegetables. There were no deaths yet
even among the animals.
Gen 1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and
to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given
every green herb for meat: and it was so.
Gen 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very
good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Everything was created perfect. I don't believe Adam and Eve were as cave men
who were deformed and ugly. Ugliness didn't come on the scene until after the
fall. Eve was probably the most beautiful perfect woman ever to exist. I would
say that Adam had no disease and was a perfect man. A perfect God would create
the most perfect specimen ever to exist. We will see in future studies how
though everything was created perfectly, God gave man a free will to choose. He
wanted our fellowship and our love but He didn't want puppets. He wanted us to
choose to live for Him and have fellowship with Him. We have a choice to live
for God and be free from sin or to stay in our sins and be lost. Adam's sin
caused sin to enter the whole earth but God immediately made plans for mankind
to be free from sin and be reconciled back to Him. He sent us the second Adam,
Jesus Christ to free us from the curse the first Adam brought to us.
1Co 15:21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of
the dead.
1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.