Day 659: Lesson from the lilies - Genesis 1 vs 9 - 13
9-10 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth (land), and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
11-13 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, (small) plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. Genesis 1:9-13 English Standard Version
God not only shaped the first oceans and continents, but it was He who called them seas and earth. No one knows how many continents or oceans there were before the worldwide flood in Noah's day but the landscape would have changed dramatically. Psalm 104 speaks of the sort of power God exerted at creation, and when He sent the flood upon the whole world. It says “You clothed the earth with floods of waters covering up the mountains. You spoke, and at the sound of your shout the water collected into its vast ocean beds, and mountains rose and valleys sank to the levels you decreed. And then you set a boundary for the seas so that they would never again cover the earth.” (Psalm 104:6-9 Living Bible) David Watson suggests that the highest mountains were not pushed up until the time of the flood when the deep ocean basins were hollowed out to hold the vast quantity of surplus water. So Adam's world would likely have been flatter than ours and the seas shallower.
Having gathered the waters into their own place and formed the land, God then filled the earth with an abundance of vegetation. Some quick statistics from Mr Watson's book. There are some 200,000 kinds of flowers today of every shape, size and hue. There are also about 20,000 types of tree. And then there is the abounding variety of fruits that fill the earth. What is the significant phrase that God used of the vegetation He had filled the earth with?
They were ‘each according to their kind’. They were unique creations. Pumpkins didn't evolve from apples, Redwood’s didn't come from Oak trees. And the plants brought forth seeds 'according to their kind'. You can't plant potatoes from apple seeds. The implication also is that God must have created fully formed plants that would spread their seed. There's no room for the theory that a new species emerged from something totally different. In fact, some plants can only be pollinated by specific insects. If they had to wait for those insects to evolve from somewhere the plants would have died out. What was God's own response to the things He created and filled the earth with?
He saw that they were good. In some ways that seems an understatement! But I think the word good there should be understood in it's fullest meaning. It would include things such as amazing, beautiful, beneficent, excellent, wonderful – and so much more. Do we take time to ponder the vegetation God has filled our world with? Do we remember to give Him heartfelt thanks for the harvests we enjoy?
And let's also not forget how Jesus spoke of these things. He said: “Therefore I tell you, don't be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:25,28-30)