The Eighth Day of Creation
God is:
- Truth - Psalms 138:2, John 3:33, John 14:6
- Good - Psalms 34:8, Psalms 25:8, Psalms 118:1, Nahum 1:7, Mark 10:18
- Faithful - Deuteronomy 7:9, Hebrews 10:23, Revelation 19:11, 2 Timothy 2:11-13
I am:
- In direct communication with God - Hebrews 4:14-16
- Heard by God - 1 John 5:14, Jeremiah 29:12
- Christ's friend - John 15:15
Creation
It amazes me that God was so VERY thoughtful re: Creation. Each day the needs for the following days were created. There wasn't one item of God's creation that needed something that hadn't already been considered and provided. He forgot nothing!
Day One - Light
Nothing lives without light in one form or another. Yet light is very complicated. Consider:
- the spectrum of colors without which "white" light would not be possible.
- the transparency of light
- the reflection of light which generates the colors as we see them.
- the speed of light that makes vision virtually instantaneous (as opposed to sound which travels more slowly. Interestingly, we are not told about the creation of sound)
- the subsequent creation of the eye - different interactions with light depending on each creature's sight needs.
Day Two - Air
Another design more complicated than initially obvious.
Not just oxygen, Air is made up of 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.04% carbon dioxide, and other gases in meager amounts.
To keep the air healthy, there is nothing like a thunderstorm. Neither nitrogen nor oxygen typically exists in its elemental form in the atmosphere. Instead, two of each pair up as N2 or O2. When the lightning heats the air, it splits the bonds between them — and that’s when random Ns or Os can start hopping around.
Most of the atoms pair back up once the air cools. But some reshuffle. Some of the O atoms combine with O2, producing O3: ozone. It’s unusual to get large concentrations of ozone at the surface, and it has a distinct scent. It is noticeable right after a lightning strike.
Scientists shocked to discover how much lightning may clean the atmosphere. Lightning produces crucial chemicals that help break down atmospheric pollutants like methane and carbon monoxide.
Third day - Plants
Symbiotic relationship between people and plants. Besides providing food, they also help to keep the air breathable for us.
When it's dark – Only respiration takes place. Oxygen is consumed while carbon dioxide is released in plant respiration at night.
On cloudy days, evenings and mornings when the light is dim – Photosynthesis rate equals respiration rate. A plant consumes all the oxygen photosynthesis generates. It also uses all the carbon dioxide respiration creates. As a result, no gas exchange takes place with the environment.
Bright, bright sun-shiny days – Photosynthesis uses carbon dioxide and makes oxygen faster than respiration produces carbon dioxide and consumes oxygen. Extra oxygen is released into the atmosphere. Is this why we feel better on bright sunny days?
And so on . . .
Language in Eden
It is not the intention of this lesson to discuss Creation for its own sake. Rather to observe the detailed thought behind the design itself and the anticipation of our needs in the order of the design.
As with Sound, the creation of language during that first week is not described, but it is clear that it was a thing. Genesis 2:16 starts "And the LORD God commanded the man, saying . . ." God makes clear His intention to communicate with His creation.
Genesis 2:23 "And Adam said . . ." Now the creation is speaking.
Then in Chapter 3 of Genesis, the serpent starts to speak (lie) to the woman and all hell breaks loose! Language originally meant for the good of humanity, to allow us to communicate with our Creator and each other, is used to curse, a tool of evil.
According to traditional, biblical genealogy; following a literal rendering of the generations, it takes only 1656 years for that perfect creation to become so abhorrent that God is sorry He ever started this Earth project and decides to rip it up and start over.
Language at Babal
God has wiped all living things on earth with a flood that covers everything. The exception: a family of eight, the patriarch of which has found favor with God.
Several generations have been born since the flood and there are some really smart people who have managed to develop many of the skills and much of the knowledge that had been available prior to the flood. They have decided they are going to make sure a flood never gets them again, so they start to build.
God identifies two things that are contributing to this second massive downfall of the human race. Longevity and the ability to communicate.
Let's pause just a minute to consider the complexity of language.
English parts of speech: noun, pronoun, adjective, determiner, verb, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection
One must also consider syntax, tenses, accents and dialects / slang.
Some languages have feminine and masculine forms.
Many languages are read left to right, some right to left.
Some have symbols that are strung together to make various words, others have a picture style representation for almost every word in the language.
To make communication even more challenging, there are unique usages of words that are specific to career types. Have you ever been in a group of medical people? Or chemists? Or botanists?
I have a nephew who, like me, works with websites. We were at a family gathering not long ago and I was particularly frustrated with some work I'd been tasked with. Thinking maybe he could offer suggestions, I asked him about it. It took only a few minutes to realize that while we understood each other, the rest of the family was lost. We changed the subject.
When God created languages, He didn't mess around. This was serious! Language was complicated.
The plan worked!
It has been at least 4000 years - as many as 500,000 years, depending on who you talk to - since we were able to work together / share knowledge that could move us in the direction of trouble. Furthermore, we have not had record keeping skills that could replace the oral traditions of those who lived to be almost 1000 years old.
Language Now
Then came the Information Age (also known as the Computer Age, Digital Age, or New Media Age) This is a historical period that began in the mid-20th century, and is characterized by a rapid epochal shift from the traditional industry established by the Industrial Revolution to an economy primarily based upon information technology.
Not only are records of all things known easily accessible - Just ask Google! - Google, and other apps will translate for you. Point your phone at a storefront sign, hold your smart phone's mic up to someone else's mouth, language translation is instantly available. You can understand anyone and they can understand you.
And within the last few years, "knowledge" has shifted from facts to innuendo and suggestion posing as facts. Lies have bombarded us. Fake news makes it almost impossible to discern what is real and what are deceptions.
It is sobering to realize that we are even now standing at that tree in the center of the garden trying to understand what to believe.
There is Hope
Pentecost is especially meaningful to me within the context of language.
First, the sign of the Holy Spirit's coming was tongues of fire on the recipient's heads.
and, those who heard the disciples speak after they'd received the Holy Spirit, heard their message in their own language.
Special music experience
Romans 8:26 The Holy Spirit prays for us
John 14:16-17 The Holy Spirit leads us into all truth
John 14:26 The Holy Spirit helps us remember what Jesus taught
A new day is coming. It will not always be like this! -Zephaniah 3:9-13
For Consideration
Trigger words
What words that may mean nothing but the dictionary definition to others can make you crazy?
What promise(s) can you claim to neutralize them?
A Word of the year
The practice of choosing a “Word of the Year” is that, instead of setting a lot of different New Years Resolutions, you select one single word to be your focus for the year. You can use that one word to set goals or intentions for each area of your life but have them all tie back to the single word.
Songs
I discovered that hymns about God talking to us were not easy to find. Following are two.
What songs can you think of - they don't have to be hymns - that describe God communicating with us?
