Creating by Extraction — How God Brings New Life from What Already Exists
Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. – Genesis 1:11-12
We are still learning about how God creates. The third creation principle He used which we shall focus on today is extraction. God created some of His creations by extracting a new creature from an existing one. As we can see from the passage above, He extracted grass, herbs, trees and other plants from the earth. This was also the same principle He used in creating sea creatures, animals, ants and other creatures that creep.
See excerpts below:
Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded (Genesis 1:20-21).
Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind (Genesis 1:24-25).
It takes imagination to see the potential of a new from an old, or what can be from what currently is; and imagination is something God has plenty of. Not just that, He has endowed us humans with it when He made us just like Him.
It is refreshing to note that humans have also made several things through the process of extraction. Isn’t that the way we came by the various products that are extracted from crude oil? Further, sculptors, carvers, masons and other creatives have made many a beautiful creature by extracting them from what used to be.
More significantly, that is the process scientists are using for cloning, making a new from a part of another. Although that remains an issue of great contention in some circles. To put this in context, it is the same way God created Eve – by extracting a rib from the body of Adam.
And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman (Genesis 2:21-22).
So, you can say that Eve was made from an extract of Adam, a reproductive clone in the context of science. Putting it this way, It is quite interesting to see how much science agrees with the Bible as well as how much the Bible can help us to make a sense of science. We just need to open up our mind and be willing to process happenings beyond what we have been told to be true or false, right or wrong.
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. – Habakkuk 2:14
Creating by Separation | God’s Principle of Dividing to Create
And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. – Genesis 1:4-5
In continuation of our meditation on some of the principles that God applies in His creation, today we will dwell on the principle of separation. God creates things by separating one thing from another to form a brand-new creature.
From our reference scripture above, after God created the light, He also saw potential for another creature from the light He just made. He immediately set to work by dividing the light from darkness which was the pervasive entity around when He started His work. With these entities thus separated, God called the light day and the darkness He named night.
This was not a one-off principle that God used in the creative process, He also deployed the same method in creating other elements such as heaven, earth surface, and the body of ocean. Find excerpts below:
Thus 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. And God called the firmament Heaven... Genesis 1:7-8
Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas… (Genesis 1:9-10)
With this, God demonstrated to us that by separating certain entities, a new, unique, standalone creation can emerge. It is important to clarify that this principle will not work for every form of creation, as God Himself also proved by not creating everything that way. He only did so with the elements that were amenable to that form. But who says you cannot try it yourself and see which works and which will not?
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. – Habakkuk 2:14
Creating by Declaration Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. – Genesis 1:3 We are still exploring the personality and attributes of God. For the next…
Creating by Declaration
Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. – Genesis 1:3
We are still exploring the personality and attributes of God. For the next few days, we will be meditating on how He goes about making His creatures. The reason we are focusing on this aspect of God is that it may help us to create things ourselves when we are ready to step up to our God-given authority or live up to His divine potential in us.
The first method of creation that God used which we shall dwell on today is declaration. God creates by declaration. As we can see in Genesis 1, everything that God created was first expressed through His mouth before they were formed. Below are excerpts:
Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” (Genesis 1:6)
Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear;” (Genesis 1: 9)
Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth” (Genesis 1:11)
Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; (Genesis 1:14)
Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” (Genesis 1:20)
Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; (Genesis 1:24)
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; (Genesis 1: 26)
These underscore the fact that God does not create anything unless He has first declared it through His mouth. This is also in agreement with a New Testament verdict that God created everything through the word (John 1:1-3). Moreso, this also holds true in line with the common belief that our words have power, be it creative or destructive one, depending on what kinds of things we say.
We humans are created to be, think, act and operate like God. The issue is that most people do not get to experience this divine stature in a lifetime, while some experience it in moments which are far between, whereas only a very few individuals get to live up to a full measure of their divine nature.
We can use our words to (re)create our world and circumstances as we desire them to be. This is called affirmation in contemporary terms. Words have power and we should exercise our power of agency to decree things that we want to into being in our life, home, family, business, career, community, nation and the world at large.
Now some who try this may get an instant result, while some may not. That is one of the mysteries of divinity. Only God knows why this is so. But for those who try and do not get an immediate result, it is important not to get discouraged and stop. If you persist and do it with sincerity, with time, your realities will start to align with your declaration.
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. – Habakkuk 2:14
God’s Quick and Dispassionate Decisions — A Lesson From Eden
Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life. – Genesis 3:22-24
The way God dealt with Adam and Eve on account of their fall, even after just attending to their welfare by clothing them, reveals another of His personality traits. He is quick in action and dispassionate in His dealings.
After ensuring that Adam and his wife were adequately clothed and protected from whatever hazard they could face by having their bodies exposed, God wasted no time in removing the couple from the garden immediately after. Why did He do this? Because He did not want them to go ahead and eat the fruit of the Tree of Life, as that would be more disastrous than them eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Eating from the fruit of the Tree of Life would make Adam and Eve, and perhaps their descendants, immortal. In their fallen state, this would have had far-reaching effects and distorted the agenda of God for humankind, as He had an ultimate plan of enjoying everlasting fellowship with humans in an innocent state, whereas no unholiness can stand in His sight.
Therefore, to prevent humans from sentencing themselves to a lifetime of impurity, God wasted no time banishing them from the Garden of Eden. He did not wait to legislate to see if they had really changed and might not repeat their mistake with the Tree of Life. He does not take such chances.
He also did not want to start considering the pros and cons of their remaining in the garden or being evicted from it. He knew what the odds were and so took a dispassionate decision to remove the couple from the garden, He also set an angel by the entrance to guard the garden in case they wanted to sneak in.
This scenario underscores the quick wit of God and His impassive disposition to matters, even when His love and affection remain unchanged. The way He dealt in the affairs of Adam and Eve was quick, decisive, and dispassionate. Leaving them in the garden could lead to unwanted consequences and He would not have that, so He did something about it.
That’s the God we serve.
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. – Habakkuk 2:14
Understanding God: He Cares Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. – Genesis 3:21 Today, we will be meditating on the…
Understanding God: He Cares
Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. – Genesis 3:21
Today, we will be meditating on the caring nature of God. He cares for His creatures, more so humans.
While He must still be very displeased with Adam and Eve after their disobedience and having served them punishment for their misconduct. He did not entirely banish them from His sight or etch their names in a black book. That is if He keeps one.
According to our reference passage today, God went out of His way to make tunics of skin to clothe Adam and Eve. It is pertinent to note that when the couple discovered their own nakedness, the best they could do for themselves was to sew “fig leaves together and made themselves clothing.” (Genesis 3:7).
However, when God saw what they had on, He knew they needed something more than that. Even though He was not happy with them, He still made better and more suitable clothing for them to cover their nudity. He could have chosen to ignore them and allow them to wallow in their misery. That would have served them right for their disobedience, wouldn’t it?
He could have also had a good laugh at their folly for using fig leaves as covering. He could have smirked in mischievous amusement to see how long the leaves would serve them. These are some of the things someone less intelligent or without the nature of God would have done. Not God.
He is too caring and affectionate to endure the suffering of His children. Therefore, even when He must still be smarting from the disregard of Adam and Eve, He still provided better clothing for them to cover their shame. He did not allow them to make do with leaves that would dry up with time. He gave them something better because He cares.
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. – Habakkuk 2:14
Understanding God: He Cuts to the Chase Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the…
Understanding God: He Cuts to the Chase
Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” So the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”
– Genesis 3:9-15
Another attribute of God, as exemplified in our reference scripture today, is that He cuts to the chase and does not beat around the bush in addressing matters. He is direct in His approach and does not ramble in an attempt to sound diplomatic or be politically correct.
Immediately Adam told God he was hiding from Him; the next thing God asked was if he had eaten the fruit He forbade him from eating. God could have played the fool and kept pillowing Adam with questions to get him to expose himself. But He is not like that. He is straight to the point.
Once Adam admitted that it was the woman who gave Him the fruit to eat, the next thing God did was to address the woman. He did not even give attention to the accusing undertone in Adam’s statement that it was the woman He gave him that made him sin so. Someone of lesser intelligence or stature might have taken umbrage at this and start to debate with Adam if He did wrong by finding him a partner. Not God. He does not indulge in platitudes.
After calling out the woman, she in turn named the serpent as the culprit who made her eat. At this point, God did not need to ask the serpent any question. Doing so would have been a reduction of His stature. Instead, He pronounced a judgment on the serpent for the terrible thing it did.
In His methodical way, once He was through with the serpent, He addressed the woman next, saying:
“I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception;
In pain you shall bring forth children;
Your desire shall be for your husband,
And he shall rule over you.”
– Genesis 3:16
From the woman He went back to the man who was His primary contact in the first place. He first expressed His disappointment at the man’s error in placing more importance on heeding what his wife told him over a charge He God had given him. See His statement of disappointment: “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:
“Cursed is the ground for your sake;
In toil you shall eat of it
All the days of your life.
Both thorns and thistles it shall [f]bring forth for you,
And you shall eat the herb of the field.
In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
Till you return to the ground,
For out of it you were taken;
For dust you are,
And to dust you shall return.”
– Genesis 3:17-19
Even though these passages do not inspire much cheer to read, they nonetheless shed light on the nature of God; the way He approaches issues. How He reacts to disobedience as well as how direct He is in getting to the root of the matter; and how prompt He is in making His verdict known.
He is a frontal God who cuts to the chase with no fuss or ceremony. Some of us can learn from that.
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. – Habakkuk 2:14
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