Who is God? Jehovah Elohim “Our Creator” Part 3

The Creation of the Universe

Psalm 33:6-7 By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. (NIV)

              

               God had finished creating His beautiful angelic host. You can probably imagine God taking a look at what He had done and was wonderfully pleased at the final results of His creation – intelligent and powerful beings that were not equal to Him, but were magnificent at the level that He made them. Nonetheless, His work did not stop there. God had a vision far beyond the view of Heaven. He desired to create an entire universe full of beauty and life unmatched to anything one could have possibly imagined. Colossians 1:16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. (NIV) God started out with nothing but empty space and made it into being. Genesis 1:2 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 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 (NIV)

               There was no shape to the earth. There was no model to go by. God took a plain canvas and made it into what we know as the earth. The earth was God’s original design because He is the Creator and Originator of all things that are good. Because God is Light, He wanted the earth to experience a part of who He is; therefore, through the darkness, God spoke light into existence, and it became so. Genesis 1:3-5 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning – the first day. (NIV) There was now a major distinction between the darkness and light, which ended the first day of God’s work.  

               God took His creation a step further and created a wonderful sky. The earth needed a covering to enjoy the light that He had created. The sky is like the earth’s blanket. It acts as a shield for the rest of creation to behold and no one can remove it from its place except the One who created it. Genesis 1:6-8 And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so.  God called the expanse “sky.” And there was evening and there was morning – the second day. (NIV) The second day had just been completed as the earth was coming together as God had planned.

               There was more work that God wanted to do. Therefore, He arranged for water to be in certain places of the earth as well as the appearance of dry ground. God knew that it would be important to separate the two so that His later creations would be able to thrive in their separate environments. Genesis 1:9-10 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas” And God saw that it was good. (NIV) God even gave names to the water by calling it sea, and the dry ground, He called land.

               With there now being a separation of land and sea, God was ready to make more things. He created plants and trees with fruit that would have seeds to reproduce themselves. If you notice, you do not see apple trees bearing oranges, or pear trees producing peaches. Everything still follows the rules of God as long as man doesn’t tamper with it. There was and still is no need for Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) because God made everything to be able to reproduce without any need for interfering with His original design. Genesis 1:11-13 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and the trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning – the third day. (NIV) This was the completion of the third day. 

               Now, many of us learned in school that plants need sunlight in order to live. God knew that His creation would be incomplete without the sun, but not only the plants, man would need this fiery ball of gas as well to provide him with vitamin D and light. Therefore, God made two separate types of light. He made one for the day, which was the greater light, and then one for the night, which would give a lesser light. Genesis 1:14-15 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth” And it was so. (NIV) The word “season” in the Greek is “Kairos” which means, “opportunity or fitting-time.” You may ask, “Why is that important to know?” Well, God also uses the sun and the moon as signs to deliver messages to His people. Joel 2:30-31 I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and dreadful day of the Lord. (NIV) As we get closer to the Lord’s return, we will see more signs in the heavens and on the earth, for the earth is mourning due to the sin that is overflowing in it.

               The stars were also used as a sign for the Magi to follow, after the birth of Jesus, as a guide to lead them to Bethlehem. Matthew 2:1-2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”`(NIV) Isn’t it wonderful how God uses His creation to speak to His creation to deliver messages that He wants them to know? The creation of the greater and lesser lights marked the end of the fourth day.

The Creation of Living Creatures

Isaiah 66:2 “Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the Lord….(NIV)

               God’s work was coming together wonderfully as planned. The earth had been formed, the sun, moon and stars were in the sky, and the land and sea were appropriately placed to allow for the trees and plants to spring forth. All that God had created was good. Nehemiah 9:6 You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you. (NIV) God was pleased with His work and yet, there was still more that He wanted to add to His design. Therefore, He created the birds of the air and the creatures of the sea. God handcrafted every single creature to be unique according to their own species. From Eagles to parrots and whales to starfish, God made each one unique in its own merit. Isaiah 66:2 “Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the Lord. (NIV)

               God pronounced a blessing over His living creatures and commanded them to be fruitful and multiply. God did not want His creation to be limited to only the number He made. He wanted them to repopulate themselves and increase in numbers and this was the completion of the fifth day. Genesis 1:22-23 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” And there was evening, and there was morning – the fifth day. (NIV) Just think, every time you see a blue jay, cardinal, canary, owl, or even a Robin, it is a reflection of the mind that our Creator has.

                

          God had more living creatures in mind, so on the next day, He made creatures that would live and move about the ground. These creatures included grasshoppers, turtles, sheep, tigers, giraffes and even zebras just to name a few. There were so many creatures that we can’t name them all, but God was pleased with them all. Genesis 1:24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground and wild animals.” And it was so. (NIV) 

The animals did not have a thirst for blood or a desire to feed on each other. The plants that were in the garden were to be used as food for even the lions. Genesis 1:30 “And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground – everything that has the breath of life in it – I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. (NIV)

               Everything that God made was perfect and aligned itself to God’s divine order. The lions reproduced with lions, the birds with birds, the turtles with turtles and the list goes on. Nothing was crossbred, but all the living creatures followed suit just as God had spoken it. God had one more creation in mind and that was to make mankind in His image. Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move on the ground. (NIV)

 

The Creation of Man

Hebrews 2:6-8 But there is a place where someone has testified: “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet.”

              

               God had completed His task of making the earth. The sun in the sky, sea, land, plants and trees along with the other parts of the earth displayed the remarkable creativity of our Creator. Animals, birds and other creatures were now able to be its residents and were made in accordance to God’s brilliant design. Everything was perfect and God was absolutely pleased with His handiwork. There was just one more creation that God wanted to make and that was a man in His own image. Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” (NIV)

               None of the earth’s inhabitants were made in the image of God other than man. God formed him out of the dust of the ground with His own hands and breathed life-giving breath into him; man became a living soul. God gave the man, whom He called Adam, far more intelligence than any of the other creatures He had made. Adam could think, act, love and even make choices unlike God’s other creation for he was given freewill. God gave Adam the responsibility of naming all the other animals in the garden. This was part of his delegated duty, for he was superior to all of creation, but made a little lower than the angels and under the submission to God. Psalm 8:3-9 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! (NIV)

               Adam named all the animals, birds and beast of the field that God created. There was just one thing missing. There was no one for Adam. None of God’s other creation was a suitable partner for him. God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and God took a rib from Adam’s side and made a woman. Genesis 2:22-23 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man. (KJV) Eve was the missing piece to Adam, and now God’s creation was finally complete. There was no man for man or woman for woman. The man and woman were made to complement each other, be a companion, and reproduce. God is the One who established the sexes, created the pronouns, and ordained marriage. This was the completion of the sixth day. 

               God rested the seventh day from all His work as an example for man to do the same. He told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply for this was His will in order for the entire world to be populated with people. God is our Creator, and no one is superior to Him. He made us all in His image and because He is the Creator of all things, His name is Jehovah Elohim…our Creator. We are to praise Him and bless His holy Name, for the Lord is good and worthy to be praised. Psalm 100 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord, he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his presence with thanksgiving, and enter into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. (KJV)