The PLACE for US-II—Genesis 1:1-10
Attention/Need:
Mankind without God, is plagued by...
Loneliness(Relationships—personal, business)
Hopelessness(Purpose; Direction; Meaning; Joy; etc.
Insecurities-Losses(Job; Financial; Health—threat of cancer, disease, catastrophic illness; Weather; Stability; Family—relationships, abuse—physical, mental, substance; Marriage etc.)
Fears(Brought on by the above, OCD-Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Paranoias- ‘out to get me;’ Trepidations-fear of ‘what might happen’)
We desperately need 1)A place of belonging, 2)Relationships of various types—Marriage to work, Friends to befriend & be befriended, Fellowship to encourage & to receive encouragement, Boss to appreciate & work done well, Neighbors to be neighborly & vice versa....
The beginnings of the heavens & the earth were handed down in God’s word.
Man must be aware the scenario that surrounds the founding of his world.
How can we find our place in the world?
The foundational means of finding our place in the world.
(“world”—used in the most inclusive sense)
Previously we discovered...
The place for us is found in the...
1—INTENTION of God(:1)
2—CARE of God(:2)
3— The place for us is found in the...
LIGHT of God(:3-4)
Explanation:(:3-4)
:3—“Then God said, “Let there be light”; & there was light.
No light was present at creation until God spoke. Everything was enveloped in darkness(:2). God merely spoke the command, & light came into existence & remained light. There was previously no such thing as light.
“Light”—rwa ore—Light. Strong—Illumination or (concrete) Luminary (in every sense, including lightning, happiness, etc.):-- Bright, clear, + day, light (-ning), morning, sun.
:4—“And God saw the light, that it was good; & God divided the light from the darkness.”
“Saw”(See :10)—har raw-aw’—To see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
“Good”(See :4, 12, 18, 31)—bwj tobe—Adj.—Good, pleasant, agreeable.—N.m.—A good thing, benefit, welfare.—N. f.—Welfare, benefit, good things. Strong—Good (as an adjective) in the widest sense.
“And God saw the light, that it was good;...”
God’s second creation, “light”, was seen/observed by God & accepted by Him as “good.” It was thus perfect as His design for the earth & man(:26ff.) required. Man needs light...The earth needs light...But everything needs a period of darkness for daily rest.
“& God divided the light from the darkness.”
God “divided” the light from what was previously existent, that is, the darkness.
Both darkness & light could have existed together in the same spacial area evenly interspersed so that there would be perpetual twilight.
However, God wrought a division or separation between them, so that they were readily distinguished from one another. One maintaining one area & the other another area.
Darkness cannot remain in the presence of light. But God saw fit to maintain them both rather than eliminate the darkness altogether. It is essential to the workings of the earth in space & to the natural cycles built into the systems on earth.
Likewise, we are born in sin—darkness as it were. Our lives are lived out in its power, if we let it. But the light is there nevertheless. When we willfully place our faith in Jesus as the Christ & Son of God as our Lord, we experience the world We cannot avoid it except by our determination to choice.
This all probably pertains to light & darkness in relation to the earth alone as man observes it, as is seen thruout this chapter & beyond with the genealogies. This would then be a separation into night & day as explained in the next verse(:5).
It is interesting to ponder that the earth began full of light with no sun, & will end full of light with no sun...
Rev. 21:22-25 & 22:4-5—Of the New Jerusalem—“But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty & the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, & the kings of the earth bring their glory & honor into it. “Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there).””.....“They shall see His face, & His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever & ever.”
“Divided/Separated”(See :6—& so thruout)—ldb baw-dal’—To divide, separate. Strong—To divide (in variation senses literally or figuratively, separate, distinguish, differ, select, etc.):-- (make, put) difference, divide (asunder), (make) separate (self, -ation), sever (out), X utterly.
“From”—Nyb beyn—Between, among, in the midst of (with other preps), from between.
“Darkness”(See :2)—Kvx kho-shek’—Darkness, obscurity. Strong—The dark; hence (literally) Darkness; figuratively, Misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness:-- Dark(-ness), night, obscurity.
(CONT...)3— The place for us is found in the...
LIGHT of God(:3)
Argumentation:
Job 26:14—“Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, And how small a whisper we hear of Him! But the thunder of His power who can understand?””
Mat. 4:13-17—“And leaving Nazareth, He[Jesus] came & dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun & Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “The land of Zebulun & the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region & shadow of death Light has dawned.” From that time Jesus began to preach & to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.””
Mat. 6:22-23 ““The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”
Mat. 5:13-16—“You[believers] are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out & trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp & put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, & it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works & glorify your Father in heaven.”
Jn. 8:12—“Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.””
Jn. 1:4-13—“In Him was life, & the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, & the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, & the world was made through Him, & the world did not know Him. He came to His own, & His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
Jn. 3:18-21—““He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, & men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light & does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.””
1Thess. 5:2-6—“For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they[unbelievers] say, “Peace & safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light & sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch & be sober.”
Illustration:
Our eyes are meant for the light/They are basically useless apart from light/LIGHT of God
A rescue effort for someone lost/Call off or make minimal efforts at night—Yet all efforts at night are aided by light/Man is not made to operate without light/Sight is our keenest sense/LIGHT of God
Heat sensitive vision helps us see things in darkenss/Hidden things become light/LIGHT of God
Application:
? Have you discovered your place in the LIGHT of God?
?Has your place in God’s design been found?
4— The place for us is found in the...
TIME of God(:4-5)
Explanation:(:4-5)Allotment
:4—“And God saw the light, that it was good; & God divided the light from the darkness.”
God’s second creation, “light”, was seen/observed by God & accepted by Him as “good.” It was thus perfect as His design for the earth & man(:26ff.) required.
God “divided” the light from what was previously existent, that is, the darkness. I suppose that both darkness & light could have existed together in the same spacial area evenly interspersed so that there would be perpetual twilight. However, God wrought a division or separation between them, so that they were readily distinguished from one another. One maintaining one area & the other another area. Darkness cannot remain in the presence of light. But God saw fit to maintain them both rather than eliminate the darkness altogether. It is essential to the workings of the earth in space & to the natural cycles built into the systems on earth.
This all pertains to light & darkness in relation to the earth & man’s perception of it, as that is the focus of the chapter.
Job 38:24—God asks Job—“By what way is light diffused, Or the east wind scattered over the earth?”
“Saw”(See :10)—har raw-aw’—To see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
“Good”(See :4, 12, 18, 31)—bwj tobe—Adj.—Good, pleasant, agreeable.—N.m.—A good thing, benefit, welfare.—N. f.—Welfare, benefit, good things. Strong—Good (as an adjective) in the widest sense; used likewise as a noun, both in the masculine & the feminine, the singular & the plural (Good, a good or good thing, a good man or woman; the good, goods or good things, good men or women), also as an adverb (Well):-- Beautiful, best, better, bountiful, cheerful, at ease, X fair (word), (be in) favor, fine, glad, good (deed, -lier, -liest, -ly, -ness, -s), graciously, joyful, kindly, kindness, liketh (best), loving, merry, X most, pleasant, + pleaseth, pleasure, precious, prosperity, ready, sweet, wealth, welfare, (be) well ([-favored]).
“Divided”(See :6—& so thruout)—ldb baw-dal’—To divide, separate. Strong—To divide (in variation senses literally or figuratively, separate, distinguish, differ, select, etc.):-- (make, put) difference, divide (asunder), (make) separate (self, -ation), sever (out), X utterly.
“From/Between”—Nyb beyn—Between, among, in the midst of (with other preps), from between.
“Darkness”(See :2)—Kvx kho-shek’—Darkness, obscurity. Strong—The dark; hence (literally) Darkness; figuratively, Misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness:-- Dark(-ness), night, obscurity.
:5—“God called the light Day, & the darkness He called Night. So the evening & the morning were the first day.”
God’s division, of darkness from light, brought the designations of day & night. God named these 2 divisions. This produced a cycle, upon the earth, of what would be recognizable to men the first discernible “Day.” This first day was in fact composed of the first “evening & morning.” Evening here is considered first. This relates to our reckoning—or rather our reckoning stems from this— of a 24hr. day, where everything following midnight is morning, even though it is in darkness for roughly 5-6 hours. In contrast, our personal relation to this is to consider “morning” first as the beginning of the day(light)—since we sleep— & the end of the day being “evening”(darkness).
“Called”—arq kaw-raw’—To call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim—(Qal)1a6) To call, name, give name to, call by.
“Day”(Thruout but See :14)—Mwy yowm—Day, time, year. Strong—From an unused root meaning to be hot; A day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), [often used adverb]:-- Age, + always, + chronicals, continually(-ance), daily, ([birth-], each, to) day, (now a, two) days (agone), + elder, X end, + evening, + (for) ever(-lasting, --more), X full, life, as (so) long as (. . live), (even) now, + old, + outlived, + perpetually, presently, + remaineth, X required, season, X since, space, then, (process of) time, + as at other times, + in trouble, weather, (as) when, (a, the, within a) while (that), X whole (+ age), (full) year(-ly), + younger.
“Night”—hlyl lah’-yel-aw—Night—1b) Of gloom, protective shadow (fig.). Strong—properly, A twist (away of the light), i.e. Night; figuratively, adversity:-- ([mid-])night (season)
Argumentation:
Ex. 20:11—“For in six days the LORD made the heavens & the earth, the sea, & all that is in them, & rested the seventh day....”
Job 8:9 “For we were born yesterday, & know nothing, Because our days on earth are a shadow.”
Gen. 6:3—“And the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred & twenty years.””
Eccl. 5:18-20—“Here is what I have seen: It is good & fitting for one to eat & drink, & to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage. As for every man to whom God has given riches & wealth, & given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage & rejoice in his labor--this is the gift of God. For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.”
Eccl. 12:1—“Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near when you say, “I have no pleasure in them”:”
Mat. 24:36-39—““But of that day & hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating & drinking, marrying & giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, “& did not know until the flood came & took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”
Mat. 10:30—““But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”
Mat. 6:33-34—““But seek first the kingdom of God & His righteousness, & all these things[needs] shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Ps. 116:15—“Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His saints.”
Why? Our time is no longer limited & we rightly stand in His presence forever!
God gives us Time & Days within which to live the lives He has granted us. Time is short & limited thus we must redeem it!
*Eph 5:14-17—“Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.” See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
*Col. 4:5-6—“Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”
Illustration:
We plan our lives around an ability to accomplish something within certain timeframes/We operate by the day & divide that time we have into minutes & seconds/We have clocks telling us the time & keeping us on schedule/TIME of God
Application:
? Have you discovered your place in the TIME of God?
?Has your place in God’s design been found?
5— The place for us is found in the...
SPACIAL LIMITS of God(:6-8)
Explanation/Argumentation:(:6-8) Within unaided limits
A. HEIGHT(:6-8)—FIRMAMENT / EXPANSE
:6—“Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, & let it divide the waters from the waters.””
God then commanded that a second thing occur at His bidding. He commanded that a “firmament”/ “expanse” occur in the “midst” of the waters to separate them. It divided/separated the waters into two different groups/sections /types of waters though each of the waters was originally from the same common waters. Much like the light & darkness became divided from each other by God’s power(:4).These waters, once separated into differing entities &/or locations, were one above & the other below the firmament.
“Firmament/Expanse”—eyqr raw-kee’-ah—Extended surface (solid), expanse, firmament. Strong—properly, An expanse, i.e. the firmament or (apparently) visible arch of the sky:-- firmament.
“Midst”—Kwt taw’-vek—Strong—From an unused root meaning to sever; A bisection, i.e. (by implication) the centre:-- among(-st), X between, half, X (there-,where-), in(-to), middle, mid[-night], midst (among), X out (of), X through, X with(-in).
“Divide”(See :4—& so thruout)—ldb baw-dal’—To divide, separate. Strong—To divide (in variation senses literally or figuratively, separate, distinguish, differ, select, etc.):-- (make, put) difference, divide (asunder), (make) separate (self, -ation), sever (out), X utterly.
:7—“Thus God made the firmament, & divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; & it was so.”
Job 26:8-10—“He binds up the water in His thick clouds, Yet the clouds are not broken under it. He covers the face of His throne, And spreads His cloud over it. He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters, At the boundary of light & darkness.”
The above(:6) is a concise description of the way in which God brought about the firmament or atmosphere of the earth maintaining a horizontal division between the waters. The waters were segregated to their places both below & above the atmosphere.
God “said” & thus it occurred. The firmament was as He determined.
‘There are many who believe that there is in this creation there was created around the earth a canopy, a canopy of water. ...that the waters above the expanse, the waters above heaven were like a vapor that just engulfed the whole earth and created a kind of a hot house environment. And [some] suggest [it is the reason] animals [& people] lived so long and plants lived so long. You had...people living long enough to become like Methuselah, 900 plus years old because they were shielded from ultra-violet light because of this water canopy. And then at the flood, that canopy burst loose and drowned the earth, along with the tectonic cataclysm that occurred underneath the earth that broke up the basic elements of the earth and created the post-flood environment.’—MacArthur
‘And the suggestion has been made that water vapor has the ability to transmit incoming solar radiation and to retain and to disperse much of the radiation reflected from the earth’s surface, so it would serve as a global greenhouse, maintaining a uniformly pleasant warm temperatures around the world. They say that with nearly uniform temperatures, great air mass movements would be inhibited, wind storms would be unknown. With no global air circulation the hydrologic cycle of the present world could not be implemented, there could be no rain except directly over the bodies of water from which it might have evaporated. With no global air circulation because it’s all protected by this canopy, there would be no turbulence, no dust particles transported in the upper atmosphere. The water vapor in the canopy would have been stable and not precipitate itself.’—MacArthur
‘There are also creation scientists who have say this canopy concept can’t work!’—MacArthur
*But these in themselves are still mere speculations, though refreshingly made by scientists seriously examining a biblical view of creation. So we can’t really be dogmatic about those things which are educated guesses made on the basis of our current understanding, even if its a scientific understanding.
*However, we Can be dogmatic about the creation of the Spacial Limits God brought through the separation of the waters!
‘Such creative power that brings this about is ‘of proportions that are just absolutely beyond our capacity to understand.’—MacArthur
“Made”(See :16, 25, 26 &:11-”Yields”)—hse aw-saw’— Verb qal waw Consecutive third masculine singular apocopated.—1)To do, fashion, accomplish, make. Strong—To do or make, in the broadest sense & widest application (as follows):
‘...The word "made" is just another word to affirm the same thing. We could say it is a synonym.’—MacArthur
(CONT...)5— The place for us is found in the...
SPACIAL LIMITS of God(:6-8)
:8—“And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening & the morning were the second day.”
God named the firmament as He had the Day(:5). The atmosphere was “called” “Heaven.”
*The firmament itself God called “Heaven,” the name by which mankind would know it.
This “firmament”/“expanse” maintains a permanent separation yet allows the two to interact & cross boundaries.
The ‘earthly’ heaven consisting, today, of the blue sky & clouds & also includes all that is visible from the earth. This “firmament/expanse” is what we experience immediately as the ‘atmosphere,’ yet it can also encompass the entirety of outer space(the universe).
The establishment of the heaven which separated the upper & lower waters completed the creative acts of the second day. This too was accomplished within an evening & a morning just as were the cycle of Day & Night(:5).
“Heaven”(See :1. also 26- “Air”)—Mymv shaw-mah’-yim—Heaven, heavens, sky. Strong—From an unused root meaning to be lofty; The sky (as aloft; the dual perhaps alluding to the visible arch in which the clouds move, as well as to the higher ether where the celestial bodies revolve):-- Air, X astrologer, heaven(s).
B. WIDTH(:9-10)—WATERS & EARTH
:9—“Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, & let the dry land appear”; & it was so.””
God then spoke for the third time & “the waters,” which had been separated below the expanse of heaven, were “gathered together” to fill “one place.” This means that the firmament/expanse must be that of the earthly atmosphere as experienced by man on earth(See discussion :14-15*). Though it probably had some very different properties at this time than what we experience now—particularly as it had not rained(2:5-6).
As the waters were “gathered,” the dry land also simultaneously appeared. The waters did not simply recede from the land revealing it...It could be that God pressed cataclysmic forces into play bringing the land into existence above the seas & the seas to their places, producing a single or many continents & many water sources, both fresh & salt.
As with the firmament(:7), God “said” & thus it occurred. The Seas & Land were as He determined.
2Pet.3:3-6—“....scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.”
“Gathered”—hwq kaw-vaw’— Nifal imperfect third masculine plural jussive.—1) To wait, look for, hope, expect; 2) To collect, bind together—2a) (Niphal) To be collected.
“Place”—Mwqm maqowm —Standing place, place—1a) Standing place, station, post, office, 1b) Place, place of human abode, 1c) City, land, region, 1d) Place, locality, spot, 1e) Space, room, distance, 1f) Region, quarter, direction; 1g) Give place to, instead of.
“Dry land”—hvby yab-baw-shaw’—Dry land, dry ground.
“Appear”—har raw-aw’—Verb Nifal imperfect third feminine singular jussive. To see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider—1b) (Niphal)—1b1) To appear, present oneself, 1b2) To be seen, 1b3) To be visible.
:10—“And God called the dry land Earth, & the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.”
Ps 104:24-25—“O LORD, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all. The earth is full of Your possessions-- This great & wide sea, In which are innumerable teeming things, Living things both small & great.”
God again “called” the “dry land,” specifically “Earth.” He also named the gathered waters, which He “called” “Seas.” God is revealing these things to Moses in terms of his current human understanding.
God saw that the “Earth” & “Seas” of His creation were “good” just as He had noted with the Light(:4). Thus this new Earth & Seas were in every sense complete for their divinely originated intention.
“Earth”—Ura eh’-rets—Land, earth. Strong—From an unused root probably meaning to be firm; The earth (at large, or partitively a land):-- X common, country, earth, field, ground, land, X nations, way, + wilderness, world.
“Seas”—My yawm—Sea. Strong—From an unused root meaning to roar; A sea (as breaking in noisy surf) or large body of water; specifically (with the article), the Mediterranean Sea; Sometimes a large river, or an artifical basin; locally, the west, or (rarely) the south:-- sea (X --faring man, [-shore]), south, west (-ern, side, --ward).
Illustration:
God gives you space in which to live/A blessing in which we are to live rightly before Him/SPACIAL LIMITS of God
Explore your world!—Have children—Don’t have children—Raise cattle—Become a dirt farmer—Paint your house the way you want to—Don a wetsuit & SCUBA gear—Travel into outer space—Travel your state—Travel the US—Travel around this globe & discover the diversity of life & culture—Become a pianist—Become the president—Start your own business, etc...
—Do something ‘daring’ in God’s power but Go for it!
BUT:
*Don’t spend your days pining for a fantasyland which does not & will not & cannot exist. The ‘something more’ to life is found by faith in Christ Jesus & all within these SPACIAL LIMITS God has granted us!
Application:
? Have you discovered your place in the SPACIAL LIMITS of God?
?Has your place in God’s design been found?
CONCLUSION:
5 means of finding our place in the world.
Action:
The place for us is found in the...
3—LIGHT of God(:3)
4—TIME of God(:4-5)
5—SPACIAL LIMITS of God(:6-10)
A. HEIGHT(:6-8)—FIRMAMENT / EXPANSE
B. WIDTH(:9-10)—WATERS & EARTH
1—INTENTION of God(:1)
2—CARE of God(:2)
Presented 09/05/2010am to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
