Genesis 1:9-10 – The second day’s work is connected to the work on the third day as God continues the process of separating the waters so that dry land might appear. This arrangement was not the same as today due to the flood. The work of the second day is now complete as God creates the dry land, naming it eretz, earth.
Genesis 1:11-13 – The second half of the work of the third day is recorded here. Three groups or orders of plant life are described here; grasses herbs and trees all of which had seed so that it might produce after its own kind. This of course made it possible for reproduction as well as establishing the genetic makeup of distinct classes of plant life. This would allow variations of kinds but not new creations (1 Corinthians 15:38-39)In light of the work completed God said it was good and so the third day is now completed.
Genesis 1:14-19 The Heb. word refers to the sources of light and is best translated “luminaries”. Some ancient nations saw the stars as being signs for good or bad, in fact so too do new-agers today. God’s response is articulated by the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 10:2). The sun the moon and the stars were given for signs, to help man locate his position while moving over the surface of the earth.
They will be used in reference to future events(Luke 21:25).They were also given for seasons to regulate the calendar, and to give seasons, as well as seed-time and harvest. From this day forward the sun, moon and stars would be the way that earth would receive its physical light. With this the fourth day ended.
Genesis 1:20-23 – The creation of the birds and fish. The word translated “living” comes from the Hebrew Nephesh chayah which means “a living breath”. Unlike the plants animals have breath. God created not only the smaller species but the largest ones as well. Whales, and other large fish are spoken of here. God then blesses these creatures with the ability to reproduce after their kind. No such blessing was bestowed on the plants. This might give credence to the idea that animals have the characteristics of will and hence in some ways can choose to obey God or not.
Genesis 1:24-31 The sixth day – The sea and the air are now filled with living creatures, and the word of God goes forth to the earth to produce living beings after their kind. From the Hebrew we find these are divided into three classes. Cattle, (behaymah) which generally refer to larger domesticated four legged animals.
The creeping animals (raymesh), which include the smaller land animals which move with scarcely perceptible feet. Some examples of these are reptiles, insects, and worms. The beasts of the earth (Chaiyat eretz) refer to the freely roving wild animals.
Now comes the crown of God’s creation, man. The reference to the “Us” is one of many evidences of the Tri-unity or Trinity. In Genesis 1:1 the Hebrew for God is the plural form of El, “Elohim”. Deuteronomy 6:4 is perhaps the strongest evidence as well as an apologetic. “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! The Hebrew word for one here is echad, which is clearly an allusion to plurality. The other word for one in the Hebrew is yachid, which is always understood to be an only one.
Examples are in Genesis 2:24, where Adam and Eve became one flesh, and in Genesis 22:2 where God tells Abraham to take his only son (yachid), and offer him on a mountain that God will show him. The typical Jewish response is that the “us” here is a reference to the royal “we” that is commonly used. The idea of communication between the Persons that consist of the essence of God is found in many places (Psalm 2:7,45:7,110:1;Isaiah 48:16).
In the New Testament we have many examples of Yeshua’s (God the Son) communication with His Father in Heaven (Matthew 11:27; Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10; John 17:24). “In our image”, refers to man being patterned in the likeness of His Creator. This distinctive is not found in any other of God’s creation. We, unlike animals have a moral conscience, the ability to think abstractly, an understanding of beauty and emotion, and above all the ability to worship and follow our Creator.
So then, our soul, or nephesh is completely different from that of animals. God is not physical (John 4:24). But we have been designed to function physically in ways that God functions without a body. God sees, hears, smells, touches, and speaks. When He choose in both Old and New Testament times to appear on earth, he came in the form of a man Genesis 18, Genesis 32:22-32, Philippians 2:7, Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 1:15.
Still another aspect that is in the likeness of God is man’s eternal aspect. The soul of man shall live forever. He will either spend eternity with God or, eternally separated from God. The title “man”, in the Hebrew comes from the root “adamah”, which is the substance that the ground is made of. Man then was taken from the ground or formed from the materials of the ground. Scripture makes clear that “man’ is a generic term, which includes both male and female. Both men and women were created in the image of God.
