GENESIS–THE DAYS OF CREATION
THE PURPOSE OF MAN
GOD GAVE RESPONSIBILITIES TO MAN. The idea that man never was to labor until he sinned is simply not Biblical. From the beginning, man had work to do. His assignment at first was not very difficult. It was only after he sinned that he was required to work in order to eat.
Genesis 2:15 “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.”
Has God’s Design for Mankind Changed ? No ! EVERYONE has been given a work to do that is a direct mandate from God. Mark 13:34 “For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.”
Work is a Biblical imperative. God authorizes and blesses it. Even if a person is not employed for money, he should be working. It is part of life, the way God planned it.. 2 Thessalonians 3:10 “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.”
ADAM WAS MADE TO MANAGE GOD’S CREATION.
HE WAS GIVEN DOMINION AND AUTHORITY OVER IT ALL. Genesis 1:28 “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”
ADAM HAD TO ORGANIZE IT WITH NAMES. Genesis 2:19 “And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.”
**Zoologists have recorded 20,000 species of fish, 6,000 species of reptiles, 9,000 birds, 1,000 amphibians, and 15,000 species of mammals. And, although there are a million named species of insects, scientists estimate that there could be another million waiting to be discovered and named! This would reveal both language capabilities and a brilliant mind, capable of coming up with so many different names. This would prove to be an almost impossible task today for the smartest of men. Yet, Adam not only named the species, he was able to recall what he had named them. Clearly, Adam had genius-level intelligence when created.
GOD HONORS WORK WITH REWARDS. 1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”
GOD ESTABLISHED A TIME IN WHICH TO WORK. Exodus 20:9 “Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:”
HIS WORK WAS NOT DONE TILL EVENING. Psalm 104:22-24 “The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens. Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening. O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.” THIS IS JUST BEFORE THE EVENING TURNS INTO NIGHT.
WHEN DOES THE DAY ACTUALLY BEGIN ? When the old one has finished. (Sundown).
Genesis 1:31 “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”
CONSIDER THE JEWISH SABBATH. IT BEGINS ON FRIDAY, IN THE EVENING. IT ENDS AFTER THE MORNING HAS GONE, AND EVENING IS READY TO BEGIN AGAIN.
THE EFFECTS OF ORIGINAL SIN
DID GOD CREATE MAN WITH INBORN SIN ?
NO ! Ecclesiastes 7:29 “Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions. “
MAN IS BORN INTO SIN, AND BY CHOICE, SINS. Psalms 58:3 “The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.”
SIN AND DEATH CAME TO ALL THROUGH ADAM. Romans 5:11-12 “And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”