God's Prized Possession | Genesis 1:28-31
Read Genesis 1:28-31
God has created Adam and Eve; now He has given them their first job to do: To rule over the created rule, to subdue, to have the natural world serve them and for them to serve / worship the creator of all things: God.
The Point: God has given life to humanity, and we are given the gift of life from God. Humanity is uniquely loved and blessed by God.
- Humanity is God’s prized possession. God loved Adam and Eve; God loves Humanity.
God has now created the world; He’s created the natural order and has created humanity. He looks at Adam and Eve and “blesses” them as we see in Vs.28, this word blessed gives us a glimpse of God’s perfect character and how much He loves His creation.
The Hebrew Word “Blessed”:
בָּרַךְ bârak, baw-rak'; a primitive root; to kneel; by implication to bless God (as an act of adoration), and (vice-versa) man (as a benefit): —abundantly, altogether, at all, blaspheme, bless, congratulate, greatly, indeed, kneel (down), praise, salute, still, thank.
Notice how God “blessed THEM and God said to THEM, ‘be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it…’” God isn’t talking to the plants or nature here (He has already commanded nature/the animals in the sea to be fruitful and multiply in Vs. 22) so we know that God is directly talking to Adam and Eve; He’s directly telling them to be fruitful and to multiply.
God blesses His entire creation BUT He continues to pour out this specific blessing upon humanity, upon His people throughout scripture. Humanity is God’s prized possession; God loves Humanity.
- “He created them male and female, and He blessed them and named them (A) Man in the day when they were created” – Gen. 5:2
- “And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” -Gen. 9:1
- “The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the dwelling of the righteous.” –Proverbs 3:33
God continues to Bless His people in the New Testament; God does this because God loves his creation EVEN after His creation is tainted by sin.
--2 Peter 2:9-10
“We are special because we belong to God. A museum may be filled with quite ordinary things: hats, canes, shoes, and so forth; but they may be significant because they once belonged to someone famous. God takes ordinary people; and because He works in them, they are special.”
--Enduring Word Commentary
God also loves the WHOLE WORLD. Everyone needs to hear the good news about Christ’s love for them.
“Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sin; and not for ours only, but also those of the whole world.”—1 John 2:2
- Adam and Eve are commanded to subdue creation, to use it for their gain and to watch over it.
God is doing two things here: a) He is providing life and food for Adam and Eve, b) God is making Himself known to them through His creation.
If we look closely, God’s created world, is literally feeding Adam and Eve. –Gen. 1:29
God is also providing food and sustainability for all the natural world He created: –Gen. 1:30
Jesus even reminds His followers about the peace that comes from God through God’s provision in Matthew 6:25-26. Jesus reminds them that God even takes care of the animals and the natural world; you are worth more than them therefore God has you, He is taking care of you, He loves you.
God establishes the scientific method in which we have today in Genesis 1:28.
Science and the scientific method are biblical. God is making Himself known through creation.
כָּבַשׁ kâbash, kaw-bash'; a primitive root; to tread down; hence, negatively, to disregard; positively, to conquer, subjugate, violate: —bring into bondage, force, keep under, subdue, bring into subjection.
God is giving rulership to Adam and Eve over creation. Humanity is to subject nature to itself, to rule it, govern it, to use it as it serves us. Humanity is also called to dissect it, study it, to learn who God is through creation as we govern/rule over creation.
“The key elements of the scientific method are actually derived from Biblical precepts. The first and foremost is “test everything; hold fast what is good” (1Th. 5:21). Testing everything that you think to be true is the very heart of the scientific method.”
--Rabbi Mikha’el Bugg
“I argued that the Genesis narrative was not primarily meant to address our modern scientific issues, but nevertheless had been supernaturally designed in such a way that when we gained more knowledge, we would see that it is still true”
--Rabbi Mikha’el Bugg
-- https://returnofbenjamin.wordpress.com/2017/04/27/creation-the-scientific-method-is-biblical/
- God has given life to Adam and Eve. God sees that life is good.
God creates this amazing world. He creates food for the animals, food for humans, He creates this warm, lush paradise covered by a greenhouse like expanse of water surrounding the globe. He sits back and calls it all “good.” God blesses His creation, God loves His creation, God is in community with His creation.
God is the maker of life, He is a creator, God brings life into the world and even brings life back where there is death.
“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” –Mark 12: 30-34
“Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sin; and not for ours only, but also those of the whole world.”—1 John 2:2
Questions:
- How has God revealed Himself to you through creation?
- Did you know that God loves you? What comes to mind when you think about God’s love for you?
- What comes to mind when you think of God forgiving your sins?