We come now to the final Day of Creation – and it is a grand finale!
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. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:24-25
Creation – Day Six
God now turns His attention to filling the dry land. He brought forth the “living creature” (remes – “creeping thing, moving thing”) according to its kind. God Created cattle, creeping things, and every beast of the earth – each according to its kind. The Hebrew word for “kind” is miyn and means “form, sort, species.” Scientists have identified about two-million species of living beings on earth, but believe there may be as many as five-million to 100-million species on our planet. Imagine that – 5,000,000 to 100,000,000 species – and God Created them all!
God Created three types of living creatures on dry land – cattle, creeping things, and beasts of the earth. The Hebrew word for “cattle” is behemah and means “animal, beast, cattle.” We’ve already seen the word for “creeping things” (remes). It comes from the Hebrew word ramas, which means “to crawl or move with short steps.” The words for “beast of the earth” are eres hayyah and mean “earth living being.” Every living thing on the land (except for humans) is included in this Sixth Day of Creation. God “made” (asah – “do, make, accomplish, perform”) the cattle, creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their kind (species).
If you compare the Creative Work of God to a symphony, He has been building the beauty and suspense of the Supernatural Song toward this next moment.
Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. Genesis 1:26
This is the crowning moment of Creation – God reveals that They are going to Create a living being in Their image – Their likeness! Think about that – God has Created Heaven, angels, water, the firmament, the earth, stars, planets, moons, creatures that swim, fly and walk, but none of them were in God’s image and likeness. Now, on this final Creative Day, the Almighty God is going to Create a living being that will be like Him.
“Let Us make man in Our image.” The Hebrew word for “image” is selem and carries the idea of a strong physical likeness to the person or thing it represents. “Likeness” is demut and means “resemblance, similar in form, to be like something else in action or appearance.” It comes from the root word dam, which means “blood.” Something that is of the same “blood” will have a genetic similarity that manifests itself in physical characteristics. What is the “image” of God? Look at Adam, the first man, and you will see.
The word “man” is a translation of the Hebrew adam. It is used in the Bible both for the human race and for the name of the first man – Adam. In the context of Genesis 1:26, the word is used for the race of man, male and female – “let them …” The idea here is that every member of the human race would be in the image and likeness of God. That image and likeness included God’s moral attributes (e.g. holiness, goodness, kindness, gentleness, meekness, etc.), creativity, and free will.
God Created us with a similar resemblance or form. We have a mind that can dream, create, know, understand and have fellowship with God’s Mind (1 Corinthians 2:16; Philippians 2:5). We also have physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual desires. We have a free will to make personal decisions and a built-in moral compass (i.e. conscience) as a guide to help us make judgments. We have a soul that can commune intimately with His Spirit. God Created us to be one even as He is One. God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We are mind, body and spirit. We don’t look at a man and think of him as three different people – even though he has a body, mind and spirit. We don’t look at God and think of Him as three different Gods – even though He is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is One God – man is one man – woman is one woman. Each has the ability and freedom to make decisions for themselves. That’s how God made us – in His Image.
It’s important to note that God does refer to Himself in Genesis 1:26 as “Us” and “Our.” He chose to speak of Himself in the plural. The Hebrew word for “God” in Genesis 1 is elohiym and is used more than 2,500 times in the Old Testament. Elohiym is the plural form of el, but it is helpful to understand the usage by looking at the pronouns used with Elohiym. The pronoun “He” is often used in Scripture, which gives the impression that God is to be understood as singular. We see that usage in Genesis 1:5 – “God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night.” We see the masculine pronoun used again in verse 16 – “Then 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.” The next use of a pronoun with Elohiym is in verse 26 – “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” Remember that God is revealing Himself to His Creation. He presents Himself as both “He” and “Us” – singular and plural.
The student of the Bible should take careful note of the pronouns used with Elohiym throughout Scripture. God has revealed Himself as both One God – “The LORD our God, the LORD is one!” (Deuteronomy 6:4) – and as Three Names in One – “… in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit …” (Matthew 28:19). This is another revelation of the Deep Magic of God – He is both One and Three at the same time. As we will see, the Oneness of the Three describes both God’s Supernatural Character and the Unity of His Person.
What is the similarity between the Image of God and the image of man? That has long been discussed and debated through the ages. What do we learn from the Mind of God in the context of Genesis 1:26? “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God has Dominion over all Creation and He gave man “dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Man is in the image and likeness of God, and part of that representation is having “dominion” over that which God Created.
The Hebrew word for “dominion” is radah. It means “to rule, reign, tread down, subjugate, dominate.” Even as God ruled the universe, He Created man to rule the earth with Him. That is a part of man being Created in the “image” and “likeness” of God.
So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Genesis 1:27
“Male and female He created them.” The use of the Hebrew word adam, followed by the use of “male and female,” is a reminder that God Created both man and woman in His Image.
Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth. Genesis 1:28
God blessed the first man and woman told them to: 1) be fruitful and multiply, 2) fill the earth and subdue it, and 3) have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth. God Created the human race to share in ruling a great portion of His Creation – and He did more than just tell them to subdue and have dominion over the earth – God gave them His Power to rule. We’ll see how that plays out in the next part of our study.
“Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”
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