On the fifth day of the Creation Week, God created swarms of sea creatures. He also created flying creatures. In Genesis 1:20, God says: “Let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” The birds were not, in fact, in the firmament. When the KJV translates the phrase as “in the open firmament”, the word open reminds us that the birds are simply seen against the background of the firmament, and are not in it. We heard in the previous Creation Moment that God created whole swarms of sea creatures. It could also be assumed that He created a very large variety of flying creatures.
This brings us to the fact that many translations tell us that God made birds. The KJV refers to fowl. The use of a word other than bird in the KJV is significant. The Hebrew word is ôph(עוֹף). There is another Hebrew word that means birds. It is tsippor (צִפּוֹר). In fact, the word ôph is much wider in meaning than birds and includes all flying creatures. For instance, in Leviticus 11:13-19, the bat is included at the end of a list of birds. But the collective word used in Leviticus 11:13 is ôph, not tsippor. So ôph does not really mean birds – it means flying creatures. Hence, the creation of flying creatures in Genesis 1:20 includes not only birds, but also bats, and, by implication, flying insects also – and pterosaurs – the flying dinosaurs.
Once again, we notice the efficiency and economy of the words used in Genesis 1, which gives far more information than at first we think.
Your wonderful book, the Bible, astonishes us again and again as it explains to us how and why You created this world. Thank You for the wide variety of creatures that You put in the world. Amen.
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One of the interesting things that we notice as we read through Genesis 1 is how economical on words the chapter is. A great deal is said with very few words. So when the creation of sea creatures on the fifth day is reported, it is described thus: And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures.”
The Hebrew word for swarm is repeated, which adds extra emphasis. In English, we could probably interpret this as “swarms and swarms and swarms”. The impression is given of large numbers of creatures of a very wide variety. The fourth Century teacher Basil interpreted the verse thus: “Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life.”
Not only that, but these creatures are described as living creatures – in Hebrew, this is nephesh chayyāh. The word nephesh (נפש) refers to life as described in Leviticus 17:11 – “the life of the flesh is in the blood.” It is this word that indicates the great difference between animal life and plant life, as far as the Bible is concerned. Plants can be described as food machines that can self-replicate. Animals, in contrast, are what life is really about. That is why, for example, the blood of certain animals could be offered as a covering for sin as a type of Christ, whereas plants could not. This, indeed, was part of the reason for God later accepting Abel’s offering, but not Cain’s.
There is a great excitement in the description of these first animals. God is a God of variety.
Thank You, Lord, for the spectacular account of Your creation of the first animals. Thank You that, in Your creation, You were laying the foundations for our later salvation by the shedding of blood – the perfect shedding of the blood of the Savior. Amen.
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For Signs, Seasons, Days and Years
There was a time when the stars in the sky were much more important to us than they are today. We still rely on objects in the sky for signs, seasons, days and years, but they tend to be artificial objects – satellites that have been launched to help with issues such as global positioning and weather monitoring.
In times past, stars would have been used to help people find their way. Most people know that there is a star called Polaris which is pretty much above the Earth’s North Pole, but few know how to find it. When you have found it, then you know which direction is North. Not only that, but if you measure the angle of Polaris above the horizon, then you know what line of latitude you are on. And if you watch the stars appear to move around Polaris during the night, then you will get an idea of what the time is.
Where the Earth is in its orbit around the Sun changes what stars can be seen in the sky at different times. That is why, wherever we are in the world, we often speak of Summer and Winter constellations. So the stars also tell us what season of the year we are in and indeed when the year is about to begin again.
All this information is still available to us, and it is worth learning at least a bit of it because the heavens declare the glory of God.
Once again, Lord, we remember that the heavens declare Your glory. As we look at the night sky, we stand in awe of the One who created everything for our benefit and for Your glory. Amen.
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He Made the Stars Also
The Bible gives us a tiny hint in Psalm 19 that the universe is vast when the Psalmist says:
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
The heavens must be vast indeed if they are there to declare the glory of God, because the glory of God is unlimited. Just as the builders of medieval cathedrals in Europe built vast structures to make a statement about how great God is, so our view of the universe, even from the surface of the Earth, shows us the sheer bigness of God.
And yet, the whole creation of the universe is summed up (in the King James Version) in just five little words, in Genesis 1:16: He made the stars also.
Those who believe in God, whatever their view of Creation, are usually able to accept that the existence of the Sun was designed by God to give us heat and light. Creationists would suggest that these attributes were created before the Sun, but, nevertheless, the Sun’s purpose today, since the fourth day of creation, has been to shine down on the Earth. Yet somehow the sheer bigness of the universe causes us to think that the stars have far less of a purpose. The stars are just there. But God placed them for a reason – for signs and for seasons. So if the vastness of the universe points us to the worship of the Creator, then that is good. But apart from God, their importance is only that of five little words.
The heavens do indeed declare Your glory, Lord God. Therefore, we praise and magnify Your holy Name. Amen.
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Fruit According to Its Kind
It can be a bit bewildering, searching through a nursery, to buy a fruit tree. With some fruit trees, such as apple trees, one will often see a notice reminding you that you may need two such trees in order for there to be successful pollination. When I lived in the UK, where apple trees are a native plant, notices often stated that a crabapple tree would suffice as a pollinator for a dessert apple tree.
Crabapples are close to the wild apple varieties. Their fruit tends to be too sour to eat, though the tiny apples make good jelly.
Once, walking by the Peak Forest Canal near Manchester, I came across an apple tree in fruit, growing wild. The apples were small, but the same shape as commercial apples, and they tasted sweeter than wild crabapples. An expert friend suggested that the tree had grown from a discarded apple core, probably thrown away by someone hiking the canal tow path.
Each of these trees were varieties of apple trees. They could easily cross pollinate. But it would not be possible to cross these apple trees with, for example, an orange tree. The trees have developed in the wild into different species and have been artificially bred in managed orchards. But they produce fruit with seed according to their kind. And that is exactly what the Bible said would happen, as it relates God’s creation of plants in Genesis 1:12 – “The earth brought forth… trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind.”
Thank You, Lord, for Your provision of fruit and vegetables. Thank You for the wide varieties that You have made the Earth bring forth. Amen.
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