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Word from Scotland
by Sandy Shaw
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good. From the beginning we learn that everything God created and made was good.
We are reading the opening words of the Bible with that question in mind – if the first verse of the Bible is a lie then how reliable is the rest of the Bible?
Day 1 includes that period when there was darkness - and that period when there was light. Light before the sun? The Bible provides four other examples involving non solar light - Exodus 14verses 19 to 20 when the Israelites were fleeing - darkness to one side and light to the other! Luke 2 verse 9 - the glory of the Lord shone. Matthew 17 verse 2 - Jesus face shone as the sun and His clothing was white as the light. Revelation 21 verse 3 - the city had no need of the sun - the glory of God illuminated it.
Day 1 - indicates that the earth was rotating and the light was coming from one direction in relation to the earth. Moses rejected the Egyptian pagan notion of worshipping the sun god RA - the culture in which he had been raised. Of course, the word DAY is defined here - as in subsequent verses.
Verse 6 - God said - our God speaks - these are commands - He is King.
Notice how these sections begin with AND - each statement is connected. There is a connection with the verse before and the verses which follow.
Let there be an expanse - the waters beneath or upon the earth - and the waters above - and this expanse or "spread out thinness" God called "the sky".
This is fascinating - the atmosphere is formed - but above the atmosphere there is a layer of water vapour - this has been described as a canopy of vapour - which produced a global greenhouse effect - preventing any harmful ultra-violet radiation to get through - and giving uniform temperature. There were no violent winds - no mass air movements - no rain as we today know rain - and this warmth and moisture produced the conditions for lush vegetation to grow.
Where is this water vapour canopy today? It has collapsed! Turn over to Genesis Chapter 7 verse 11 - at the time of the Flood this protective water vapour canopy collapsed and the earth was deluged with water - and the atmospheric conditions and weather conditions were transformed.
When our God created this world - there were never meant to be floods - droughts - earthquakes - and all the natural disasters with which man has to contend. These are the consequences of SIN.
What have you made of Genesis Chapter 5 over the years? I never questioned these figures - but I used to wonder if the years were shorter - but see what happened next - the Flood - and the level of radiation in our world increased - and the length of life of man decreased. This Book is reliable totally. You can trust this Book totally.
But - back to the record of Creation - Genesis 1 verses 9 to 13. The waters are gathered together and dry ground appears. The land produces vegetation - seed bearing plants and trees - and GOD SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD.
Verses 14 to 19 - we read of the making of the lights - and the two great lights - the sun and the moon - but note that they are there to serve! They are not there to be worshipped - but to serve - to be signs - to be markers.
Verse 20 to 23 - Let the waters teem with living creatures and let birds fly. I'm glad it was that way round. Imagine if the sky teemed with birds!
God created - something fundamentally new is created. Life is created and GOD BLESSES LIFE. The first introduction to life was not a fragile blob of protoplasm that happened to come together in response to electrical charges over a primeval ocean - as evolutionists believe and state and teach. Our GOD CREATED CREATURES and gave them LIFE. And GOD pronounces a blessing upon them - and HE does this again when they emerge from the ARK, following the Flood.
In verse 24,25, we read of animal life being produced - livestock - animals - sheep and cows - creeping things like moles - rats - weasels - lizards - animals - mammals - lions - elephants - dinosaurs. GOD saw that it was good.
Dinosaurs? Yes. The word was first coined in 1841 – meaning “terrible lizard” – but is described in the book of Job Chapter 40 – we have a Cedar of Lebanon tree not far from us and many years ago I checked its branches with the discovered remains of dinosaurs. Always check what is checkable and you will discover the Bible to be accurate and authentic.
“Gracious God, our loving heavenly Father, thank you that so much of what is in the Bible can be checked. Thank you for the authority and authenticity of Your Word. Where I find it difficult, help me to believe – Holy Spirit assist me – I pray in Jesus Name. Amen”
Alexander 'Sandy' Shaw is pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship in Nairn, Scotland. Nairn is 17 miles east of Inverness - on the Moray Firth Coast - not far from the Loch Ness Monster!
Gifted as a Biblical teacher, Sandy is firmly committed to making sure that his teachings are firmly grounded in the Word.
Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40am, New Orleans time, at wsho.com.
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