January 26, 2017
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Order! Order!

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Opening Prayer

Sovereign and Powerful God, remind me today that all authority is in Your hand. I willingly submit to You.

Read Genesis 1:1–25

[1] In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. [2] Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. [3] And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. [4] God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. [5] God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning-the first day. [6] And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” [7] So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. [8] God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning-the second day. [9] And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. [10] God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good. [11] Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. [12] The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. [13] And there was evening, and there was morning-the third day. [14] And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, [15] and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. [16] God made two great lights-the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. [17] God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, [18] to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. [19] And there was evening, and there was morning-the fourth day. [20] And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” [21] So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. [22] God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” [23] And there was evening, and there was morning-the fifth day. [24] And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. [25] God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Reflect

“God who made the earth, / the air, the sky, the sea, / who gave the light its birth, / he cares for me” (S. B. Rhodes, 1829–1904).

We usually think of Genesis 1 as being about creation, but even a quick read-through shows clearly that the focus is not so much on what is being created as on who is doing the creating. Check out how often God is presented as the subject of a verb. God created, God said, God blessed, God made, God called, God set, God saw—it happens more than 25 times in the chapter. We all are aware that what is created tells us things about the Creator, just as the things that we create tell others about us. In the sewing lessons that I endured as an 11-year-old, there were those, like me, whose apron or skirt just about passed muster from the front, but turn to the wrong side and it was a total mess. There were others whose “wrong” side was as tidy and beautifully produced as the front. Paintings produced in art classes showed very clearly which students were good observers, or full of imagination, or saw things in straight lines! What we produce gives insights into who we are and about our gifts, strengths, interests and character. So what do we learn of the Creator God in these verses? He cares about order; he turns what is formless and empty (the sense is chaotic) into a carefully planned and structured universe. The world makes sense—and scientific observations of the world are therefore meaningful—because the Creator is a God who likes things to make sense. He cares about purpose; he wanted what he made to be fit for purpose, that is, to be “good.” The world is gradually built up, a layer at a time—light, sky, sea, land, vegetation, followed by sea creatures and land creatures—so as to be a fit environment for the climax of his creation, which we shall read about tomorrow.

Apply

What else might these verses teach us about the God who made the earth? Look at creation today: how do you understand it? What can you see of its Maker?

Closing prayer

Mighty One, I worship You. You created this world and You created us, Your children. How great You are!

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