The Creator’s Grand Design

Chapter 1 MAN’S MONUMENTAL FAILURE

ASTRONAUTS hurtling through space at unbelievable speeds are awed as they look at the earth on which we humans live. While from their vantage point they can get an impressive view of this little planet, they cannot observe the activities of the countless millions of small creatures who live on its surface, creatures whom we call humans. Nor can we who remain on the earth’s surface comprehend fully the significance of what is taking place around us. There was a time when so-called civilized man thought he understood the meaning of life as well as the destiny of mankind, but today this sense of understanding has almost vanished from the earth.

Actually, what has happened to the world since the beginning of the century proves that the previously accepted view was incorrect. It was believed and proclaimed that man was making steady progress toward peace and security. It was believed, vaguely perhaps, that in some way God was directing this progress. Most of Europe was ruled by church-state governments, and in this country it was held that in some way God was directing the affairs of government.

The so-called civilized world consisted largely of the white race. It was known, of course, that in other parts of the earth, millions of black, brown, red, and yellow people existed. But very few ever thought of these as belonging to “our”world. They were people to be used and exploited. For the churches, they were people to be converted and, as was supposed, thereby saved from being tortured in hell-fire forever. True, slavery had been abolished in America, but the Negroes even here were still looked upon generally as a second-class species of the race, designed by God to be menial servants of the whites.

It was supposed by the wisdom of this world that this status quo would continue. It was known, of course, that white nations were antagonistic to one another and that all of them maintained large armies and an abundant supply of whatever weapons of war were then available. Britain was proud to be the mistress of the sea, while others envied her in this position. However, it was argued that advancing knowledge and understanding would prevent the use of arms to settle disputes; so the world went on complacently unaware of the horrendous upheavals which were about to take place in human society.

The World Ended

In the year 1913 the old world of white supremacy and “glory”claimed to have reached its goal of goodwill among men, for that year was designated an international peace year. It was during 1913 that the Peace Palace at The Hague was dedicated. Throughout the world the rulers and diplomats were wined and dined in celebration of the glorious human attainment of peace. It did not seem to matter much to these that millions of people in Asia, Africa, and many other places were without food, clothing, and homes. Their own world had attained peace, and they were happy.

But their rejoicing was not destined to last very long for in August of the next year, 1914, the First World War of history broke out with fury in Europe. This signaled the virtual end of the pre-1914 social order and a collapse of the smugness with which the so-called civilized rulers of that era viewed their establishment and its future. The results of that holocaust were not immediately apparent; but looking back upon it from our vantage point, we can see the tremendous changes it triggered, not only in the framework of governments but in the viewpoints of the people, both civil and religious.

As a result of that war came the collapse of the powerful hereditary church-state governments of Europe Communism was established in Russia. For a short time Germany became a republic, later to succumb to dictatorship. This was true also in Italy. The British Empire began to deteriorate and has now virtually vanished. All in all, the social order of Europe today is as different from the pre-1914 social order as day is different from night.

It was in 1917, shortly before the close of the First World War, that communism took over in Russia, bringing an end to that country’s age-old monarchy. While America and other nations did what they could to destroy this budding menace, they failed, and now essentially every major decision in world politics is made with a view to either hindering or helping communism. Not only have communist nations become a powerful factor in international affairs of the post-1914 world but their anti-God teachings have made millions of atheists, not alone in Russia and other communist countries but throughout the earth.

Changed Religious Outlook

In the world that was before 1914 the Catholic and Protestant churches were widely separated and, in many instances, antagonistic to each other. Each was striving to promote its own interests in the world around them, and all were energetically fostering missionary efforts in “heathen”lands. Today the differences between the denominations are being more and more set aside The growth of materialism and atheism is threatening the very existence of religion, and the denominations feel they must either work together or else die together.

While efforts are still being made in some areas to continue foreign missions, the fact is that the larger of the “heathen”countries, such as China and India, are making it more and more difficult for missionaries even to live within their borders. Turmoil among the struggling new nations of Africa makes missionary work there most difficult and hazardous. In short, the churches now recognize that their pre-l 914 objective of converting the world to their concepts of Christianity has proved to be a complete failure and has been abandoned as a major project of the denominational churches.

Religious influence is on the wane throughout Europe and the Americas. Shortly after the Second World War as an outgrowth of fears for the future, there was an upsurge of church attendance in America; this has continued to a degree among the fundamentalists while there are millions of upright people in the world today the moral standards of the masses are at a low ebb. This is evidenced by the rapid and steady increase of petty and major crimes.

World War II

With all the devastation and horror of World War r the rulers of the world failed to learn that war is no solution to national and international problems Nor did they learn that being prepared for war does not prevent war. So, in a little over twenty years from the close of the war to end wars,”the nations of Europe were at one another’s throats again. Call it aggression on the part of some if we will, but the end result is the same. Soon, as in the previous struggle, the whole world became involved.

Through the irony of circumstances, the most powerful capitalistic nations of earth were fighting side by side with the communist nations. The one great objective then was to destroy Nazism, Fascism, and the Japanese aggressors. Meanwhile new and more deadly instruments of destruction came into use, the climax of which, at that time, was the atomic bomb. The dropping of these on two Japanese cities blasted the world into “peace.”When the smoke of battle had cleared and agreements had been made, Germany was divided, and Berlin, located in the “Red sea,”called East Germany, was much partitioned; and this situation has continued through the years to be a festering threat to lasting world peace, that unhappy and jittery peace into which the nations had been hurled by atomic destruction.

The Second World War left most of the nations of earth in a state of near bankruptcy. There would have been a total collapse of the European economy but for the fact that the United States began pouring in millions of American dollars. This was done under what was called the “Marshall Plan,”named after the then United States Secretary of State who recommended it in 1947. Later, the designation “Marshall Plan”was dropped, and it is now called “Foreign Aid.”To begin with, these American dollars were intended to help build up the peacetime economy of foreign countries; now the funds are also provided for helping nations on “our side”to be prepared for war. Nor has the United States neglected being prepared for war. This nation of isolation in the pre-1914 world now has the earth ringed with military bases of one sort or another. The atomic bomb has developed into the hydrogen, or fusion, bomb, and it is said that this nation has manufactured a stockpile of these sufficient to destroy the entire population of earth twenty-five times. Russia has a similar stockpile, almost as large. It is these that the rulers are now depending upon to keep the peace.

The Second World War, like the first, did not solve any of the world’s problems. Instead, it stirred up more problems, so that today there is not a spot on earth where there is genuine peace and prosperity. Look where we will, there is discontent, agitation, strife, and in many instances, bloodshed. And there seems to be nothing that can be done about it. The United Nations, another outgrowth of war, is helping where it can in the fields of education, medicine, etc., but it is quite incapable of solving the main problems which arise among its members.

Good Efforts

We are not attempting to give the impression that in the post-1914 world everything is wrong, or evil. It is good that the church-state governments of Europe are no longer ruling the people in that old Roman world. It is good that circumstances have developed which have curtailed the preaching of Dark-Age superstitions among the heathen. Indeed, there is much in the world today that is preferable to conditions prior to 1914. The coming alive of human conscience as seen in the civil rights movement is commendable and good. It is just that human efforts along all good lines, even endeavors to establish lasting peace, seem to engender so much more strife, and many times these efforts fail so miserably that thinking people cannot help asking why this is so.

There is a fomentation in the world today—all over the world—that is frightening, unless we can find the reason for it. Perhaps that reason is to be found, in part, in the inequalities which everywhere exist. Take a look within India and there see the teeming millions of the starving, living in squalor which many farmers in America would consider too horrible even for their livestock. Look at the substandard living to which the majority in many countries are subjected. And there is a large minority even in America that is no better off. Seventy-five percent of the earth’s population is ill clad and underfed.

And then there is the prejudice between the races and nations. As an outgrowth of the last war, the Jewish people were granted possession of part of their ancient homeland. This was good. But because of prejudice between Jews and Arabs, Israel must remain armed to the teeth for protection and live constantly under the threat of being forced into the sea and destroyed. How will this distressing problem be solved?

Population Explosion

One of the paradoxes of our chaotic times is highlighted by the new expression, “population explosion.”The reason this is paradoxical is that medical science, particularly since 1914, and more especially since the close of the last war, has developed ways and means of prolonging human life so that the human life span has greatly increased. And now experts in the field declare that the birth rate must be greatly diminished, else in a remarkably short time the earth will become overpopulated.

It is not our desire to argue with the statisticians. We are merely calling attention to the fact that here is a problem which did not exist in the pre-1914 world. None of the oldsters who lived in that period will recall that a population explosion was then feared. Yet today, although not of immediate concern to many people, this is, nevertheless, a situation which even in the next generation could very well be a baffling one. It is a problem, therefore, which in the long-range planning of world economists must be taken into consideration. Will human selfishness prevent a successful solution of this problem, even as it is preventing a solution of all the various and immediate problems of our day?

Advancing Knowledge

In the pre-1914 world the railway train was the fastest means of mass travel. Traveling by air was just beginning. Sixty miles an hour was considered extremely fast. It was in that era that the expression “like sixty “ came into use to describe exceedingly rapid motion. But in the new world of today this has changed. Going “like sixty”today would be comparatively slow. The speedup of air, sea, and land travel in the post-1914 world reflects but part of the incredible advances which are being made in the field of science and invention.

But this is not helping to solve the problems of the world, for scientific knowledge does not remove selfishness from the human heart; and in many instances it leads to a pride of attainment which spurns the need of God. The claim by many is that the universe came into existence by chance and that now man is learning to conquer the elements which produced him and the universe. These forget that they are unable even to solve the problems of human relationship which their own folly and selfishness have produced.

The greatest basic problem of all now facing the human race is the fact that more than 150,000 are dying every twenty-four hours. Sickness and death have posed a problem for man ever since he has been on earth. Medical scientists are now doing the best they can to conquer the major killing diseases, and this is good; but no one expects that these scientists will be able to conquer death. Undertakers will continue to be much needed in this world of woe. Those who believe in God, and in the Bible as his inspired Word, know that in his grand design for his human creatures death will ultimately be destroyed.—Rev. 21: 4

As a matter of fact, our claim is that the only satisfactory explanation of the present chaotic, suffering, fear-filled, and dying world is to be found in the Bible. But so many ask, who is the God of the Bible, and where can we-find him? A Russian cosmonaut, returning from a flight through space, said that he saw nothing of God out there. But is that the place and the way to find God? Obviously, if we are to find satisfaction in the message of the Bible, we must believe that God exists and is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him.

To be assured that the plan of God as revealed in the Bible will actually solve the many problems of human limitation and selfishness, it is necessary to believe that miracles will be performed in order to carry out that plan. But this should not be difficult for those who believe the miracles of the Bible, miracles which were wrought by the power of the great Creator whose design for his human creatures is outlined in the Bible.

One of the characteristics of the professed Christian world today is lack of faith in the miracles recorded in the Bible. The religious philosophers of our time explain away these miracles. They call them merely allegories, interesting stories, designed, not to relate facts, but to illustrate lessons. Those who hold such views concerning these miracles are not prepared to accept the Bible’s promises that reveal the manner in which God’s plan will provide for the human race that peace, happiness, and life for which all have longed throughout the ages. It is only as we comprehend the beautiful harmony of the Bible in its revealment of the Creator’s grand design that we can see the full importance and necessity of all the miracles for which that design calls, and can have faith that God will make good all his wonderful promises. Our next chapter will begin an examination of the details of the divine plan, a plan which reveals the Creator’s infinite wisdom, unbounding love, exact justice, and unlimited power.

A knowledge of these four cardinal attributes of the Creator’s character reveals his glory, a glory which the Bible declares is yet to fill the earth, and a glory which all flesh will see. {Isa 40:5} Again we read, “The earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”{Isa 11:9} So, while today all human plans are failing, we rejoice to realize that God has a plan for peace and life here on earth which will not fail, and that mankind in general will eventually love and serve him.

Chapter 2 THE CREATOR REVEALS HIMSELF

“The heavens declare the glory o God; and the firmament shows his handiwork. “—Ps 19

MANY great scientists of modern times have openly Stated their belief in the existence of a supreme, intelligent Creator. A. Creassey Morrison, in the book, “Man Does Not Stand Alone,”says, “By unwavering mathematical law we can prove that our universe was designed and executed by a great engineering Intelligence.”Prof. Louis Pasteur, the noted French chemist, testified that he prayed while he worked.

Throughout all the centuries the wise and the learned have endeavored to pry into the secrets of creation and explain how the great universe came into existence While these have discovered many of the laws which govern nature and are able, up to a point, to utilize this knowledge, they cannot explain how, out of nothing, there came into existence countless billions of planetary systems and myriad forms of life—plant and animal _ and why law and order are so unmistakably displayed in these creations. Happy are they who, by faith, based on reason, are able to accept the plain testimony found in the first verse of the Bible, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”—Ge 1:1

Yes, there is a God! All nature testifies to this. This testimony is everywhere displayed throughout the earth, in the air, the seas, the skies. The Creator himself calls attention to this in a revealing dialogue with the Prophet Job, as recorded in chapters 38 through 41 of the Book of Job. Job was a faithful servant of God, the God who, in the beginning, created the heavens {Ge 2:1} and the earth; but the Creator permitted calamities to come upon him. He lost almost everything in life which contributes to happiness, including his health. Job’s friends insisted that he was being punished for gross sins which he had secretly committed. Job denied this yet was unable to understand why his God was allowing him to suffer. However, in faith he exclaimed, “He knows the way that I take.”—Job 23:10

The controversy between Job and his friends continues throughout many chapters of the book. Then, as the record states: “The Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now your loins like a man; for I will demand of you, and answer you me.”{Job 38:1-3} The long series of questions which God asks Job brings out the many points which, because human wisdom does not know the answers, should help even the most skeptical to realize the truthfulness of David’s words, “The fool has said in his heart, There is no God.”{Ps 14:1} The wise know that belief in the existence of God leads to the only reasonable answer to many of our questions.

Where were you,”God asked Job, “when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if you have understanding. Who has laid the measures thereof, if you know? or who has stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened, or who laid the cornerstone thereof; when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”(vss. 4-7) Job was a wise man; he knew that everything made by man required planning and skill. This was true of buildings In our day it is true of intricate machinery, of television, jet planes, and other modern marvels These things do not just happen.

The earth, the home of all mankind, had been created without Job or other men having anything to do with it. Job was not present when the “foundations were laid. He had no part in the architectural design and measurements. Nevertheless, he knew that it existed This marvelous display of wisdom and design should help us, as doubtless it did Job, to realize that there must have been a divine Architect and Builder with intelligence and power far superior to that possessed by man

Then the Lord reminded Job of some of the details connected with the creation of the earth. He asked, “Who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it, ... and set bars and doors, and said Hitherto will you come, but no further: and here will your proud waves be stayed?”—vss. 8-11

Marvels of the Sea

How seldom we think of the miracle-working power of God in connection with the ebb and flow of the ocean’s tides. Oh yes, we know how to “explain”it. The tides, we say, are controlled largely by the gravitational “pull”of the moon. But what does that mean? What is gravitation? Sir Isaac Newton discovered the law of gravitation, but who framed that law and implemented it? There are times when locally the winds increase the height of the tides a number of feet, and those living near the shore must temporarily seek higher ground; but seldom do men and women realize that ordinarily they can dwell safely by the sea only because God has decreed, “Hitherto will you come, but no further: and here will your proud waves be stayed.”—vs. 11

Next Job was asked: “Have you commanded the morning since your days; and caused the dayspring to know his place?”(vs. 12) Seemingly Job was a prominent man in his community and one who exercised considerable authority, but he had no control over the rising of the sun. “Have you commanded the morning since your days?”No, of course not! Job knew that from the earliest days of his recollection the sun had risen and set without his having anything to do with it. He realized also that this was true of the generations before him. He knew that at no time had man ever had any control over the movements of the sun, the moon, the stars, or the earth. This was far beyond the ability of man. This was the work of God.

The Gates of Death

“Have the gates of death been opened unto you?”Job was asked, “or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?”(vs. 17) Men and women of all ages have endeavored to peer beyond death, to know what lies beyond the grave. Apart from the revelation given to us in the Word of God, which assures us of a resurrection of the dead, no one has obtained any satisfactory information. Just as the mystery of creation is explainable only in the light of the fact that there is a supreme intelligent Creator, so the desire for life after death becomes a genuine hope only because the One who created life has promised to restore the dead to life. The various incidents recorded in the Bible of the awakening of certain ones from the sleep of death are therefore proofs of the existence of God, the God who created “the heavens and the earth.”—Ge 2:1

Further Questions

Here is another intriguing question: “Where is the way where light dwells? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof, that you should take it to the bound thereof, and that you should know the paths to the house thereof? Know you it, because you were then born? or because the number of your days is great?”(vss. 19-21) What is light, what is darkness? The light of day replaces the darkness of night, but where does the one go when the other takes its place? God asked Job if he knew the dwelling place of light, just where it stayed while its place was occupied by darkness. A foolish question? By no means! With all our modern scientific knowledge, no one has yet been able to give an adequate definition of light, or of darkness. Like electricity, which we know exists but cannot clearly define, so are light and darkness inexplicable. But God knows, for he created both the darkness and the light. It was God who said, “Let there be light: and there was light.”—Ge 1:3

The Lord continued to question Job, asking him about a number of things described by unbelievers as the works of nature things which, to those who believe in God, are frequently overlooked as proofs of his existence. We quote “Who has divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder; to cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness wherein there is no man; to satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth? Has the rain a father? or who has begotten the drops of dew? Out of whose womb came the ice? and the frost of heaven, who has given birth to it?”—vss. 25-29

The obvious answer to all these questions is that there must be a supreme, intelligent Creator who designed and created water and who also planned the means by which it would reach the ground and give life to vegetation. Most of us have witnessed with pleasure the revival of plants, or of grass, when water is provided; but do we realize that the process which accomplishes this is miraculous, made possible because all the elements involved were designed and made by God, who in the beginning created the heavens and the earth?

And how marvelous is the arrangement by which the water created by God reaches the “dry places.”{Ps 105:41} As we know, it is by the evaporation of the water of oceans and lakes, the moisture ascending to form clouds, which are distributed over the land and which, by changes of temperature in the air currents, are caused to release their refreshing waters in the form of rain and snow. Reaching the earth, the water finds its way back into the oceans and lakes to continue the marvelous cycle. Scientific instruments of today tell us how all this happens, but the real power, or forces, which contribute to make it possible are still unexplainable.

The Heavenly Bodies

Shifting the focus of his questions from purely mundane things to heavenly bodies, God asked Job: “Can you bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? Can you bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or can you guide Arcturus with his sons? Know you the ordinances of heaven? can you set the dominion thereof in the earth?”—vss. 31-33

The lesson implied in these questions is more striking today than it was to Job. Job was a wise man for his time, but the knowledge of astronomy had not advanced in his day to the present degree. Calculations now made possible by powerful telescopes have revealed the minute accuracy of time and distance involved in the movement of the heavenly bodies, giving evidence that they are held in their orbits, and at constant speeds, by the power and design of a supreme Intelligence inexplicable by man.

Without going into detail as to the particular references to Pleiades, Orion, Mazzaroth, and Arcturus, the main point of the lesson is that neither Job nor we can possibly change the course of a single planet, sun, or star. Nor do we understand the governing forces which control “the ordinances of heaven “ or the manner in which their influences are felt in the earth. But God knows, for he created both “the heavens and the earth “ and designed their relationship to each other.

In God’s Image

One of the most difficult questions which God asked Job was, “Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? or who has given understanding to the heart?”(vs. 36) The lower animal creations are governed largely by what we call instinct. From the time of their birth they seem naturally to follow a certain pattern, and while many of them can be trained to obey to a certain degree the directives of their human masters, there is no evidence that they really understand why. Certainly, as implied in the question asked Job, the lower animals do not possess a “heart”knowledge, or mental appreciation, of their existence or of their course of action.

But with man it is different. He is able to reason, at least to a limited degree, from the known to the unknown. He knows that some things are right and other things are wrong. He has a conscience which is pricked when he does wrong and affords peace and contentment of mind when he does right. Many have advanced theories concerning the alleged ascent of man from protoplasm to his present state. They have attempted to explain what has brought about the various changes in the anatomy of animals in the evolutionary process which has led to man; but no one has even attempted to answer the question put to Job, “Who has put wisdom in the inward parts”of man, “or who has given understanding to the heart?”

There is only one answer to this question. It is God’s answer, recorded in his own inspired Word for our instruction and encouragement. It is found in the very first chapter of the Bible, verses 27 and 28. Here we are informed that man, as constituted, is far superior to even the highest forms of lower animals, capable of reasoning, of planning, of inventing, of knowing right from wrong, because he was created “in the image of God.”Evolutionists cannot find a reasonable, valid, provable explanation of how this difference between man and his alleged nearest of kin among the brute creation came about.

Instincts Display Creative Wisdom

Throughout chapter 39 of the Book of Job a number of other questions are recorded, the answers to which must also be negative as far as human wisdom is concerned. These questions pertain to the marvelous instincts displayed by various animals and birds. The chapter begins with these questions: “Know you the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? or can you mark when the hinds do calve? Can you number the months that they fulfill? or know you the time when they bring forth? They bow themselves, they bring forth their young ones, they cast out their sorrows. Their young ones are in good liking, they grow up with corn; they go forth, and return not unto them.”—vss. 1

Then the Lord called attention to the different characteristics of other animals: “Who has sent out the wild ass free? or who has loosed the bands of the wild ass? whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwellings. He scorns the multitude of the city, neither regards he the crying of the driver. The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searches after every green thing.”—vss. 5-8

Again: “Will the unicorn [wild ox] be willing to serve you, or abide by the crib? Can you bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after you? Will you trust him, because his strength is great? or wilt you leave your labor to him? Will you believe him, that he will bring home your seed, and gather it into your barn?”(vss. 9-12) There are what we speak of as domestic animals which, with little effort, can be trained to serve man. But here God called Job’s attention to other varieties of animals which are wild and refuse to submit to human training. Who is responsible for these differences?

Neither Job nor we are wise enough to understand the creative processes which brought about the almost endless varieties of creation. There is a poem by Joyce Kilmer entitled, “Trees,”which states that “only God can make a tree”; and this fact is even more striking when we consider the thousands of varieties of trees, plants, and flowers, as well as the great variety found in the animal kingdom. Only a supreme, intelligent Creator could produce this endless array of created things, with each in its own wonderful way displaying the wisdom and power of its Creator.

Additional Questions

Indicating that Job did not yet realize how little he understood of the wisdom and power of the Creator, further questions were asked him. “Gave you the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich?”the Lord inquired. (vs. 13) All birds have feathers and wings, but how vastly different they are. The peacock is noted for the beauty of its plumage; hence it is used as a contrasting example with the ostrich, which is rather plain in appearance. What made the difference between the two? The fortuitousness of evolution? No, the wisdom and power of the Creator!

In most cases the birds and lower animals instinctively exercise great care over the young. The birds even watch over and nest on the eggs from which their offspring are hatched. If this maternal instinct of the lower creations was the product of evolution, reason tells us that there would be no exceptions, for the same influences would have governed the evolutionary processes of all. But there are exceptions, and in questioning Job the Creator called attention to one. Referring to what the translators call an ostrich, the Lord said “Which leaves her eggs in the earth, and warms them in dust instead of sitting on them], and forgets that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them. She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers: her labor is in vain without fear; because God has deprived her of wisdom, neither has he imparted to her understanding. What time she lifted up herself on high, she scorns the horse and his rider.”—vss. 14-18

Evolutionists would be at a loss to explain why this mother bird takes no interest in her young. God’s explanation alone reveals the reason for this paradox of nature, that explanation being that he “has deprived her of wisdom, neither has he imparted to her understanding.”But he did give the ostrich swiftness and strength so that “she scorns the horse and his rider.”If we remove God from creation, we would here have another unanswered question.

Instinct or Endowment

In the closing verses of chapter 39 another convincing thought is brought to our attention. Job is asked: “Does the hawk fly by your wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south? Does the eagle mount up at your command, and make her nest on high? She dwells and abides on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place. From thence she seeks the prey, and her eyes behold afar off. Her young ones also suck up blood: and where the slain are, there is she.”—vss. 26-30

In calling our attention to the habits of the hawk and the eagle, the Lord reminds us again of the numberless peculiarities which exist in the life habits of the bird and animal kingdoms. There are the migratory birds which move from north to south and from south to north with the changing seasons. There are the swimming birds, and the singing birds, the screech owls and talking parrots, the gorgeously handsome birds, and the drab, colorless ones.

But why stop with birds? The same variety exists among land animals, trees, flowers, and insects. There is only one thing common to them all, which is that they have life—either animate or inanimate. Unbelieving human reasoning, in its folly, contends that all these myriad forms of plant and animal life just happened to develop as they did; but no one has ever been able to explain how they live. The origin of life is unknown, apart from the explanation given to us in the Scriptures that “in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

Accepting this fact, as the many otherwise unanswerable questions asked Job impel us to do.??? then we know the answer to them all. And the answer is simple, which is that the infinite wisdom and almighty power of a personal God and Creator is responsible for the awe-inspiring works of creation which are so marvelously displayed in the heavens, on the earth, and in the sea.

Job also reached the conclusion that the only answer to all the mysteries of creation is that they are the work of an intelligent Creator. For Job, this was also the answer to the problem of human suffering. How could he question the wisdom of the great Creator in permitting him to suffer for a while? Surely the infinite wisdom displayed in all the creative works of God knew what was best for him. Should we not all reach that conclusion, and especially so if we would know the meaning of our existence and be inspired with hope as we contemplate the eternal destiny which the Creator has designed for his human creation?

Job said to God, “I know that you can do everything.”(chap. 42:2) If we know this, then we have a foundation of faith upon which we can build a true knowledge of God and of his all-wise and loving design in man’s creation. If we believe that he can do everything, no explanation of his plans and purposes which he has given in his Word will be disbelieved; no instructions will go unheeded or disobeyed; and no promise he has made, regardless of how far-reaching, or seemingly impossible of accomplishment, will be doubted.

The wisdom and power of God are wonderfully displayed in his created works with which we are surrounded. However, had we no further revelation of God than these, we would have many reasons to wonder about his justice and love. God reveals these attributes to us through his written Word, and in this revelation we also find many reassurances of his wisdom and power. Indeed, it is the revelation of his grand design for his human creation which we find in the Bible that stamps this marvelous Book as The Word of God, his revelation to his servants here on earth.

Chapter 3 THE DAYS OF CREATION

“And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.”—Ge 1:31

THROUGHOUT the centuries the wise and learned have endeavored to pry into the secrets of creation and discover how the great universe came into existence. They have not been able to understand how out of nothing there came countless billions of worlds; myriad forms of life—plant and animal—and why law and order is displayed in it all. And try as they may, human wisdom has not been able to offer an explanation so simple, yet so profound and full of meaning, as that contained in the first verse of the Bible: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”—Ge 1:1

The truthfulness of these words has been acknowledged in our day by prominent scientists. While many scientists imagine the universe as having come into existence by sheer chance, others do not. Even the great Prof. Einstein, once an agnostic, in the later years of his life confessed that his increasing scientific knowledge had led him to the conviction that there is an Intelligence displayed throughout the universe which he was glad to acknowledge and honor. Einstein was unable to accept the crude conceptions of God handed down to a credulous world from the Dark Ages; however, he came to see unmistakable evidence of supreme Intelligence in what he formerly considered to be but the works of nature. And this is true of others of our great scientists today.

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”This is a simple statement of fact. Few will deny that the heavens and the earth did have a beginning, and in these few words we are informed that the Creator was responsible for it. God does not attempt to tell us how the universe was created, for he knew that it would be quite beyond our ability to comprehend how the creative forces he put into motion had brought into being the countless millions of suns and sent them spinning forth through space under orderly control.

Nor have our most brilliant scientists discovered any worthwhile information other than is contained in the simple statement that “God created the heaven and the earth.”There are many theories of creation, but they are only theories. Until recently, one theory quite generally accepted by the scientists was that of a continuously expanding universe. More recently many scientists have turned to the “pulsating”theory. which holds that the universe began with a great explosion billions of years ago and that it has been expanding since and is now about ready to go into reverse and contract. After a few more billions of years, according to this theory, all the material will again become compressed into a great center Then there will be another “big bang,”and another pulsation will begin. Sooner or later this theory will probably be discarded in favor of still another. The point is that man just does not know how God created the heaven and the earth.

It is true that modern man has acquired a great deal of knowledge. He even knows how to split an atom. But since man does not know how to make an atom, or how atoms were made, he has little whereof to boast. Atoms, we are told, are the building blocks of nature, but to know this still does not take us beyond the simple statement that “in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”However, in conjunction with the information furnished in the rest of this opening chapter of the Bible, the statement is very meaningful, for it reveals that the work outlined in the remainder of the chapter was not the bringing of the universe into existence but the preparation of the earth for the habitation of man.

Yes, the earth already existed, having been created by God “in the beginning.”But, as verse 2 of the chapter explains, it “was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.”This indicates that the fixed contour of the earth, as designed by God, had not yet been reached. There were neither mountains nor valleys, trees nor shrubs, rivers nor oceans. The earth was “void,”or empty of all forms of life.

Not Twenty-four Hour Days

The creative work outlined in this chapter was accomplished in six “days.”We are not to suppose, however, that these days of creation were twenty-four hours in length. The Hebrew word here translated “day”is yowm—pronounced yome. While in many instances in the Old Testament it is applied to a literal day of twelve or twenty-four hours, the sacred writers did not thus limit its use. In Ex 13:10, Le 25:29, Nu 9:22, and in other places, the same Hebrew word is translated “year.”In Ge 4:3 and 26:8, and many other places, yowm is translated “time.”A careful study of these references reveals clearly that the meaning of this Hebrew word is not limited to a twenty-four hour day.

Besides, the Bible often uses the word “day”in a broader sense. The period of forty years that the Israelites spent in the wilderness is referred to as “the day of temptation in the wilderness.”{Ps 95:8-10} Isaiah refers to the era of Christ’s kingdom on the earth as a “day.”{Isa 11:10} While six “days”are mentioned in connection with the preparation of the earth for man, in Ge 2:4 the entire period of creation is referred to as “the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.”k seems clear, then, that yowm cannot be limited in its application to any specific length of time, such as a twenty-four hour day, but simply denotes a time, season, or era, during which certain events take place or a particular work is accomplished.

The First Day

It was at the beginning of the first day of creation that God’s Spirit, his almighty power, “moved upon the face of the waters.”{Ge 1:2} The Hebrew word here translated “moved”means to brood, as a bird brooding over its nest. In a general way this is a fitting illustration of how the Spirit, or power, of God, brooded over the waters of earth, that a home might eventually be made ready for all the myriad creatures he had in mind for the earth, and especially for man. That “brooding”began at the outset of the first “day,”and was to continue until man, male and female, was brought forth in the divine image at the close of the sixth “day.”

When God’s Spirit began to “brood”over the waters, “darkness was upon the face of the deep.”Since this was prior to the time when the land and the water were divided, the earth’s surface was one vast ocean. God asked Job: “Who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it?”—Job 38:8, 9

God’s question might well suggest the manner in which the sea carne into being. Scientists agree that as the earthmass cooled, a more or less solid crust formed on the outside. For a time this crust kept the hot gases confined, or, as God’s question suggests, “shut up ...with doors.”But the confined gas would build up a tremendous pressure and “brake forth”through innumerable small craters, spread over the earth’s entire surface and in cooling, condense and fall upon the hot surface of the earth. Thus the sea was “born,”God likening it to an issuing out of the womb.

And at its birth clothing was provided. The Lord said, “I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband.”A tremendous quantity of vapor arose from the hot sea, which resulted in complete darkness surrounding the whole earth as a swaddlingband. How beautifully and realistically the Lord describes this phase of the creative work!

Much was accomplished during that first “day,”or era. The Creator said, “Let there be light,”and as a result of this decree “there was light.”It seems clearly established by scientists that the sun was created long before the earth and probably was the light referred to in the Creator’s decree, although it did not penetrate the clouds of vapor and gas that encircled the earth with the same degree of brightness that it did later. The Bible states that “God divided between the light and between the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.”{Ge 1:4,5, margin} It was the earth itself that made the division between the darkness and the light. Even as now, the side of the earth that faced the sun would be light—light, that is, in comparison with the darkness on the other side of the globe. As the light of the sun began dimly to penetrate the dense canopy of moisture that surrounded the earth, the first era of God’s brooding came to an end.

We read that “the evening and the morning were the first day.”{Ge 1:5} The marginal translation states, “The evening was, and the morning was.”The Hebrew word here translated “evening”literally means “dusk,”or darkness. What the Creator evidently wants us to understand is that each of the creative periods had an obscure, dark beginning and that the completion of the work of each age was a morning of brightness. It was literally true of the first “day”that it began in darkness and ended with the divine decree, “Let there be light.”

The Second ‘Day’

It was during the second creative period that the earth’s atmosphere was formed. The word “expansion”is used in the marginal translation of Ge 1:6—”And God said, Let there be an expansion in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”In this division of the waters by the “expansion,”the main body of water probably remained on the earth, while a tremendous quantity of water vapor was held suspended in the upper atmosphere.

Scientists tell us that the remaining gases which came from the hot earth, much of which condensed to form the ocean of boiling water which at one time covered the earth, were now used to make the atmosphere. Probably so, but can the scientists explain just how these gases happened to so adjust themselves as to provide exactly the right amount of oxygen that would be necessary for the many breathing creatures of earth which later were to be created? Besides, provision had to be made to maintain the proper mixture of nitrogen and oxygen throughout the future ages in order for both the vegetation and the breathing creatures of earth to continue to exist.

The Creator alone was capable of accomplishing this. Concerning this great One the Prophet Isaiah wrote: “It is he that sits upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretches out the heavens as a curtain, and spreads them out as a tent to dwell in.”{Isa 40:22} What a beautiful way of describing the expanse of atmosphere that surrounds the earth! It is as a “tent”in which to dwell! And truly, every living creature on earth does live in this “oxygen tent.”

The earth’s atmosphere is also vital to life because it is so integral a part of the circulatory system by which the earth is supplied with the water needed for its vegetation and for drinking purposes. The sun continues to turn the waters of the oceans into vapor, and it is lifted up into the atmosphere. In due time it returns to earth in the form of rain or snow.

We are told that the atmosphere holds billions of tons of water in suspension, ready to be “sprinkled”upon the earth. What a marvelous watering system! How it reveals the wisdom of the Divine Architect! And how strengthening to faith it should be to realize that the Bible described this arrangement so long ago, long before the wisdom of this world understood anything about it.

How simply it is described—”God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament “Heaven.”{Ge 1:7,8} The Hebrew word here translated “heaven”is the same one which is also translated “air”in this chapter. It would therefore be just as correct to say that God called the firmament “air.”With the forming of earth’s atmosphere completed, that era came to an end—”And the evening and the morning were the second day.”—Ge 1:8

The Third ‘Day’

It was during the third “day.’ or epoch, that the land surfaces of the earth appeared. “God said, Let the waters under the heaven [or air] be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth: and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.”—Ge 1:9, 10

In Pr 8:29 we read of the time when the Lord “gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth.”We are told that if all the continental land masses of the earth would be leveled off, the entire land surface of the earth would be from one to two miles under the ocean. Apparently this was the situation prior to the third creative day.

Obviously by divine design and under the control of divine power, there began a buckling of the earth’s surface, which was as yet a somewhat soft crust, deepening the ocean beds and heaving up our continents. Speaking of the wisdom, power, and majesty of the Lord, the psalmist wrote: “Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed forever. You covered it with the deep as with a garment [a reference to the time when the newborn ocean covered the entire planet]: the waters stood above the mountains. At your rebuke they fled; at the voice of your thunder they hurried away. They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which you have founded for them [by the buckling of the earth’s crust]. You have set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth [as the oceans originally did].”—Ps 104:5-9

Species Fixed

Also in the third creative period God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.”{Ge 1 1 1} Thus are described the earlier forms of vegetation. But let us pause here to note the profound and scientific significance of the expression “after his kind.”This is the Lord’s way of saying that all species of life are fixed that there is no evolving from one to the other, even though there may be many varieties of each species. Darwin himself, in his “Origin of Species,”made this frank admission: “In spite of all the efforts of trained observers, not one change of species into another is on record.”

The third creative era embraced what scientists describe as the Carboniferous and early Permian Periods. It was at this time that the rank vegetation growing up into veritable forests furnished the material for the coal deposits of the earth. The climatic conditions were such as to produce a rapid and continual growth of forests. It is claimed that during this period eighteen layers of forest-like vegetation were deposited. With the amazing display of divine wisdom in creating the earlier forms of plant life, the third creative “day”came to an end: “The evening and the morning were the third day.”—Ge 1:13

The Fourth ‘Day’

The work of the Creator during the fourth “day”pertained to the sun and the moon. The casual reader might easily suppose that it was during this period that the sun and the moon were created, but this is not the case. Both the sun and moon were created “in the beginning,”when “God created the heaven and the earth.”They are a part of the “heaven.”

“God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.”(vs. 14) Verse 16 reads, “God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.”In the statement that God “made”“two great lights”the thought is that he appointed the sun and the moon to rule the day and the night. In verses 17 and 18 we are informed that the Creator “set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night.”

The Hebrew word translated “made”in the statement that God made two great lights, is translated “appointed”in Ps 104:19. Here the psalmist informs us that God “appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knows his going down.”Thus we have the Bible’s own interpretation of God’s work in the fourth “day”:that it was not the creating of the sun and the moon but the appointing of them “to rule over the day and over the night,”and also that they might be for “signs and for seasons, and for days and for years.”

As we have noted earlier, it was evidently the light of the sun which dimly penetrated the “swaddlingband”of darkness that surrounded the earth at the time in the first creative epoch when God said, “Let there be light.”While the light of the sun got through to the earth sufficiently at that time to make a difference between day and night, it did not “rule.”It is doubtful if the moon was visible then at all.

It is evident, we think, that some sunlight reached the earth prior to the fourth creative “day,”for it would be needed by the vegetation that was created in the third epoch. But that the sun and the moon did not then “rule”in the sense of producing seasons and marking off the literal days so definitely that years and seasons could be reckoned, is evident by the fact that the huge trees that were deposited to form coal beds do not show any “rings”to denote the years of their growth. It was after the sun began to “rule”that yearly rings were produced in growing trees.

The Fifth ‘Day’

The fifth epoch in the preparation of the earth as a suitable habitation for man was devoted to the bringing forth of marine life and the “fowl that may fly above the earth.”(vs. 20) In the King lames Version we read that “God created great whales, and every living creature that moves, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind.”The Revised Version gives us the words “sea monsters”instead of “whales,”and Prof. Strong informs us that the Hebrew word here translated “whales”could also be properly translated “land monsters.”It is reasonable to conclude that the reference in verse 21 is to those huge monsters to which scientists have given such names as Dinosaur, Diplodocus, and Tyrannosaurus, meaning huge lizards. The word Dinosaur means “terrible lizard.”

Scientists suggest that while these huge monsters could live on land, their tremendous weight made it easier for them to move about in the water, for the water would help to bear up their weight. However, all the other myriad forms of marine life were also brought forth during the fifth “day.”

It was during this epoch also that birds were created. The expression “every winged fowl “ need not be limited in its application to the feathered birds. (vs. 21) Prof. Strong indicates that the word here translated “fowl”means primarily a bird covered with wings, the emphasis being on wings rather than feathers. The reason we call attention to this is that geologists tell us that during this period there were huge winged creatures that were not feathered, their wings being constructed somewhat like those of a bat.

Whether it be the huge lizards of this period, the creatures which lived exclusively in the sea, or the feathered or unfeathered birds of the air, each species was created “after its kind.”This is confirmed by geologists, who freely acknowledge that from the testimony found in “The Book of the Rocks”each of these species appeared suddenly and with no evidence of having climbed an evolutionary ladder.

The Sixth ‘Day’

It was at the close of the sixth “day”that “God created man in his own image.”Appropriately, it was also during this era that the land animals which were to contribute to human needs were also created. We read: “And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind:...and cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps upon the earth after his kind.... and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”—vss. 24-26

Man was created to be king of earth; and when the grand design of the Creator concerning him is completed the earth will be filled with perfect humans, exercising their original God-given dominion. Man is now a fallen creature, and Paul wrote that “we see not yet all things put under him.”But as we continue, we will discover the Scriptures abundantly testifying that ultimately man’s dominion over the earth will be restored, to the glory of God, and to the eternal joy of his human creation.—Heb 2:8

Chapter 4 MAN IN THE PLAN OF GOD

“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained; what is man, that You are mindful of him? and the son of man, that You visit him?”—Palm 8:3, 4

MAN was created toward the close of the sixth creative day, or epoch. There are two accounts of his creation. One is presented in Ge 1:26-28, and the other in Ge 2:7. The first of these is a general statement of the fact that man was created, together with an explanation of the place he was to occupy in God’s arrangement for the earth. The second is a more detailed account of just how he was created. Some say that the account of Ge 1:26-28 pertains to a pre-adamic race, but there is no scriptural foundation for this theory.

This first account of man’s creation reveals certain important facts concerning him: he was created in the image of God, and he was to fill the earth with his progeny He was also to have dominion over the earth and over the lower forms of God’s earthly creation. The fact that man was created in the image of God is a strong refutation of the theory of human evolution. Darwinists are adept at calling attention to the various ways in which the evolutionary ladder may have been climbed throughout the millions of years they claim there has been life on the earth, beginning with protoplasm. But no one has hazarded a guess at what rung in this ladder an ape, or a “missing link,”became conscious of right and wrong and was able to reason the difference between the two. Nor has any one of them been able to suggest a set of circumstances that would prod an ape into thinking on the human level.

In high circles of professorship in and out of the church, and among our government leaders from the President down, nearly all profess to believe that man was created in the image of God. In the free world it is this viewpoint that constitutes the basis for “the dignity of man”doctrine. and for the zealous fight to maintain the individual rights of man. This is good, but let us remind ourselves that this biblical viewpoint cannot be harmonized with the Darwin theory of human evolution.

If man is a product of evolution, and not the direct creation of God, then there is no basis for the claim that he is in the image of God. If God did not create man and give him his law, then he has no divine law to guide him in his behavior. From the standpoint of evolution it might be argued, indeed, that what we suppose to be a law against sin is only a mistakenly conceived repressive measure which in reality is keeping man back from the next great step in evolution.

But thank God for the realization that the plain statements of his Word express that sacred truth which all right-thinking men and women instinctively espouse and declare—many of them despite their acceptance of unproved theories of natural selection and evolution. The full beauty of the Bible’s teaching on this subject stands out even more brilliantly when we note the detailed manner in which man is so completely set apart from the beasts; and it is further enhanced when we become acquainted with the Creator’s design for this human creature created in his image.

Not a Physical Image

This is not a physical image, but a moral and intellectual image. Man has the ability to know right from wrong, and he is able to think, to reason. He cannot think on the same high plane as his Creator. His thinking is confined to a realm in which he was created to live, that is, the earthly. Speaking to man, God said, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”{Isa 55:9} But man is able to reason with God on matters pertaining to his relationship with his Creator. God invites man to do this, saying, “Come now, and let us reason together, ... though your sins be as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they will be as wool.”—Isa 1:18

Man’s ability to think and reason out the ways and problems of life, rather than to be guided merely by instinct, manifests itself in many ways. We see this from the very beginning of human experience. When our first parents disobeyed, they immediately felt a sense of guilt and were afraid. Then, to cover their shame, they donned leaves. In other words, they clothed themselves. Adam and Eve were probably not too adept at garment-making, but which of the lower animals in Eden would even have thought of putting on clothing to cover its nakedness? In fact, God provided a protective covering for the lower animals, but man was left to provide his own.

Man soon began to make and use tools, which is something else the lower animals have never shown any inclination or ability to do. Archeological discoveries reveal that the earliest known man manufactured and used tools. Today this difference between man and the lower animals is more striking than ever. Think of the intricacy of tools and instruments of all sorts which are now in use, including electronic computers. And there are even greater marvels in the making. In modes of travel, communication, and manufacture we are daily witnessing miracles—but the pig merely keeps on grunting. When we consider man’s ability to think, to plan, to invent, we recognize striking evidence of the fact that he was created in the image of God.

Someone has written that “monkeys have no music in their souls,”and thus we are reminded of another wide gap between man and the very highest species of the lower animals. Music is harmony of sound, and on earth apparently only the human ear can distinguish the difference between harmony and discord. Man, created in the image of God, finds one of his greatest delights in the field of music. Many times in the Bible reference is made to the joy experienced by man in singing praises to God his Maker.

Man’s Dominion

Ge 1:26 uses the word “likeness”as well as “image”in describing man’s similarity to his Creator. We read, “God said, Let us make man...after our likeness: and let them have dominion.”This would seem to imply that man’s likeness to God included the fact that he was given a dominion. God is the supreme Ruler of all his great universe; and on earth he delegated authority to man, whom he had created in his image. No such grant was given to any of the lower animals, nor would they be capable of exercising dominion.

Man was also commanded to multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. His dominion was not merely to be over that one little garden spot in Eden but was to be extended over the entire earth; and every necessary provision was made by the Creator to enable this divine arrangement for the earth to function as planned. God said “Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it will be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creeps upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.”—vss. 29-31

Man’s Home

It is clear from the record that man was created to live on the earth and that the earth was created to be his home—not temporarily, but forever. Throughout the Scriptures this fact continues to be emphasized. Isa 45:18 reads “Thus says the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he has established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited.”In Ps 78:69 we are told that the Lord has established the earth forever. Ps 115:16 declares, “The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s: but the earth has he given to the children of men.”Man forfeited his right to live and enjoy the blessing which God provided for him, but as we will later see, his lost inheritance has been redeemed by Christ and will in due time be restored.

A Living Soul

If we are to understand and appreciate the Creator’s grand design for his human creation, it is essential to take into consideration what man really is. We have already noted that man was created in the image of God and given dominion over the earth; and now, in the 2nd chapter of Genesis, verse 7, we are given further information. This text reads, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

This is God’s way of explaining that man’s organism, his body, was made up of various chemical elements found in the earth. Medical science today knows this to be true. But Adam’s perfect body was not yet a living being. It had eyes, but they saw nothing; a nose, but it did not sense the fragrant odors of the edenic garden in which this marvelous piece of workmanship was lying. It had a tongue, but it tasted not; and ears to which all sound was but as silence. It had hands which enjoyed no sense of touch. The perfect heart, with its co-ordinating valves and its connections with the arteries and veins of that perfect body, was motionless. Its lungs were immobile. It was a perfect organism, with all its intricate parts correctly assembled, as only a master workman, the Creator, could do. But it was a dead, lifeless body.

If man was to live, something more than just a perfect body was needed, and this God supplied. He “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,”and instantly that lifeless organism became alive. The “breath of life”carried oxygen to the lungs, and they began to function. This induced the heart to start pumping blood through the arteries, returning t through the veins. This brought life pulsations to the nerves, causing the ears to hear, the eyes to see, the nose to smell, the tongue to taste, and the hands to feel. The first man was now alive—he had become “a living soul.”

What was this magic power which God breathed into the nostrils of Adam? Some have mistakenly supposed that it was an indestructible living entity, which had life apart from the organism into which it was breathed. This alleged entity is often spoken of as an “immortal soul.”But the expression “immortal soul”does not appear anywhere in the Bible. The word “soul”simply means a living being, and Adam became a “living soul”because he was animated by the breath of life.

Adam “became”a living soul, the record states; he was not given a soul. That soul consisted of a body animated by the breath of life. According to Ge 7:21,22, where we are told of the destruction of life wrought by the Deluge, it is revealed that the lower animals as well as man possess “the breath of life.”We doubt that many will contend that God gave immortal souls to the lower animals.

What, then, is the breath Of life? Simply stated, it is the air that we breathe and that all living earthly creatures breathe. Just how it animates bodies to make “living souls”is the secret of life known only to the Creator For us it is sufficient to know that it was through the breath that God gave life to Adam and that it was not immortal life, as many have supposed. While provision was made through the life-giving fruit of Eden to sustain human life everlastingly on conditions of obedience to divine law, man was subject to death should he disobey.

All One Breath

That the breath of life given to Adam was not an immortal soul is clearly shown by Solomon. In Ec 3:19-21 there is a wonderful exposition of truth on this subject. The passage reads: ‘That which befalls the sons of men befalls beasts; even one thing befalls them: as the one dies, so dies the other; yea, they c all one breath; so that a man has no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knows [or who can prove] the spirit [Hebrew, breath] of man that goes upward, and the spirit of the beast that goes downward to the earth?”

The marginal translation of the closing question in this passage is a better one. Using this, the text might be paraphrased, “Who knows that the spirit of man is ascending, and the spirit of the beast is descending?”The vise man had already answered this question. He had explained that man has no preeminence above a beast so far as the breath of life is concerned, that they have all one breath, and all go to the same place at death. Man’s preeminence over the beast lies in the fact that he was given a more refined organ