The Sixth Day
Genesis 1:24-31
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. (Genesis 1:24)
And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:25)
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 creepeth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:26)
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (Genesis 1:27)
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. (Genesis 1:28)
And 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 shall be for meat. (Genesis 1:29)
And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. (Genesis 1:30)
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. (Genesis 1:31)
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  If you have not already read the article titled ‘Return to the Glory’ I suggest you click this link. This article deals with the verses 1:26 and 1:27 of Genesis. 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 creepeth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:26)
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (Genesis 1:27)
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  In this article we will be looking at Genesis 1:24 thru 31 from the view of what it reveals to us of our Creator. God introduces Himself to humanity in the first Chapter of the book of Genesis. He presents Himself to humanity because humanity without God’s book would not know anything about who He is, and what He is, and why mankind is in need of Him. It is very obvious to the honest person that the Word of God did not originate in thought, design or structure from the mind of mankind. Why? Simply because mankind does not want a God like the God that is described in Genesis. They want a God that they can completely and thoroughly understand and dissect, and in other words, a God that they can interpret who will accept their sin and all their religious obsessions. This is not the God of the Bible.
  God reveals Himself as a Communicator. He reveals Himself as being active and not a passive observer of the actions of humanity. Man does not really want a Communicator because man desires to be the one who communicates and dictates to God. I suggest that at this point you should begin with Genesis Chapter 1 verse 1, if you have not already been following along with this study.
  In our current Scripture section we will be dealing with the 6th day in God’s creation of this time space realm where He made, created and structured to place the center piece of His redemption plan: man. I am looking at this from the scope of God’s creation on earth. God’s center piece in His total plan and purpose is Christ; this is looking at the scope of God’s view from His throne over all His creation, all from heaven and all over earth. During the previous time periods in the structure of days, God carefully set the stage, dressed the stage, sets the lighting, adjusts the audio, and prepares for the entrance of the main characters while revealing Himself through each stage: God Exists, God Communicates, God creates, He is Light, Power, Goodness, Spirit, Divider, Eternal, He exists outside of time and space, He Cares, He Provides, and He Possesses Being or Personality, He is a Revealer, and much more.
  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. (Genesis 1:28) God assigned a mission to mankind: to be fruitful, multiply, replenish and subdue the earth, and to have dominion over all that moved upon the earth. In a sinless environment I have difficulty in understanding what this was because all that I understand is from the view of a sinful world. Nevertheless, a sinless world would have all the qualities that would reflect the goodness and kindness of our Creator. Through these qualities nature would be a beautiful thing indeed. To be fruitful, multiply, replenish, subdue and have dominion totally within all God’s goodness and kindness would truly be a utopian environment. The earth [is] the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. (Psalm 24:1) Even in a sinless state nature needed to be cared for. In Genesis 2:15 after God created man, we understand that the mission to care for nature was an honor and a responsibility given to man. And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. (Genesis 2:15) Man had been given the authority to manage, oversee, cultivate, harvest and to reap the bounty that grew from the goodness of God. Effort and work have rewards, however, Adam (at this point) did not have to work by the sweat of his brow. His commission was not a burden, but a joy and the honor of being responsible to His God and Creator.
  In this new realm of creation that mankind would inhabit, God provided him with food. Herbs, and fruits would be the complete substance for not only mankind, but also for the animal kingdom as well. There would be no hunting, stalking and killing of animals by animals or man to survive. As it was in the garden before sin we are allowed to see the future condition to come in the millennial state. The following references reveal the state that mankind and animals will coexist in peace together in this age called the ‘millennial age,’ or ‘the millennial kingdom.’
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD. (Isaiah 65:25)
The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. (Isaiah 11:6)
And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. (Isaiah 11:7)
And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. (Isaiah 11:8)
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:9)
For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. (Job 5:23)
  And 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 shall be for meat. (Genesis 1:29) And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. (Genesis 1:30)  For those today who use these Scriptures to justify their decision to become vegetarians, I suggest, that you look for another reason than what you read in Genesis 1:29 and 30. I personally am not concerned about whether you are a vegetarian or not, my concern is that you are using these Scriptures in error. For you see, later in time, after man sinned, and God had judged the world that God set up another economy, and directed man to broaden his food base to include meat (dead and bloodless) and food from the sea (dead and bloodless).
And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. (Genesis 9:1)
And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. (Genesis 9:2)
Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. (Genesis 9:3)
But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. (Genesis 9:4)
And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man. (Genesis 9:5)
Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man. (Genesis 9:6)
And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein. (Genesis 9:7) Mankind has become almost immune to the consequences of sin.
  I do not want to tarry here for there is much to see in Genesis Chapter 9, but to simply end now at this Chapter 9, man needed to understand that his very existence, his life, depended on something dying. Some animal or creature had to die so that man could live. Pain had to be experienced because sin involves pain.Â
  Mankind has become almost immune to the consequences of sin. Death had to be implanted on man to understand the terrible consequence of sin. Man has been running from the face of death from the very instant that his father, Adam, sinned and brought death into the world. Mankind cannot run far enough, or fast enough to escape the penalty of sin. Instead of God providing a place to run to He has provided a Person to run to.
For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. (1 Corinthians 15:21)
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:22)
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: (Romans 5:12)
For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:17)
Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. (Romans 5:18)
The Sixth Day
  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. (Genesis 1:31)
  The sixth day is the number of man. Man was not the only creation of the sixth day, but the serpent was also created on the sixth day. (Please note that I am not referring to the creation of Lucifer before the fall, but I am referencing the exact moment when God cursed the deceiver to crawl in the dust in the form that we are familiar with.) The number six is imprinted on mankind. Most people connect the number 6 – 6 – 6 with the embodiment of the fullness of sin in this number, but many cannot connect the dots of the six’s in Scripture from the first mention to the last mention. Yes, our father, Adam, was created on the sixth day, His DNA is implanted within all of mankind, even his DNA of sin. As you come across this number in the Bible look at the sin element within man referenced in the verse. Why isn’t this ‘man of sin’ known as 4 – 4 – 4? Or why not 2 – 3 – 4? Simply, or not so simply, he is the trinity of evil, he is the final result of mankind swallowed up by sin, he is evil manifested in one man. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; (2 Thessalonians 2:3) Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. (2 Thessalonians 2:4)
  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. (Genesis 1:31) God was pleased with all that He had made. It was not merely ‘very good’ it was perfection, it was beautiful, it was bountiful. This new realm, this realm or stage, was created for us — a utopia — full of resources — breathtakingly beautiful — and energized with life — and best of all, our Creator walked within His creation as an artist walking within His painting. In the first Chapter of Genesis the Holy Spirit of God informs us six (6) times that ‘it was good,’ and the seventh (7) time it is recorded that it was very good. The number seven (7) indicates God’s divine perfect accomplishment, and God declared it was very good. God’s perfection in the sixth day overrides how we associate the sixth day with mankind and man’s ruin.
  This perfect sixth day is memorialized as being very good because our Creator is very good. Later in time, we read about our origin as human beings. We read about our father, Adam, failing in his mission to obey His Creator. In spite of being placed in a perfect and indescribably beautiful setting, our father (Adam) in a moment gave it all away. He gave our inheritance away. He gave our position and standing as a creature with the personal knowledge of God away. He gave what we once had away. He gave wisdom away. He gave joy, and peace with God away. He gave all that God had placed within man away. Adam threw goodness away. God is not to blame here, it is our father, Adam, who is to blame. God gave Adam everything, and willingly and without hesitation Adam turned away from God, and threw it all away. And today, we (Adam) accuse God of being the perpetrator of evil, we accuse God of being unkind, we accuse God of hatred and intolerance. We (Adam) accuse God of what we ourselves have become, and what we have always been — haters of God.
  Think of this perfect sixth day, you can’t, can you? I find it very difficult to imagine this perfect sixth day because I am surrounded by sin and death, but on this perfect sixth day in Genesis Chapter 1 there was no sin or death because God made all very good.
  God was satisfied in this perfect sixth day. He was pleased with the creation that He had accomplished. Genesis Chapter 1 introduces us to the existence of God in power, and the reality of another realm besides the time-space-physical realm of our habitation and limitations: the realm of eternity. At the conclusion of Chapter 1 He shares with us that He is a personal God. He cares, He is good because all that He has made He has made for us, and it is very good. One Chapter, with only 31 verses, takes us from the unseen to the seen, from the eternal realm to the limited realm, from the source of all power to the heart that is within the One who is all power. Yes, Genesis is about God. What more do you want to know about this God? God is good. God is very good. O taste and see that the LORD [is] good: blessed [is] the man [that] trusteth in him. (Psalm 34:8)
© Copyright 2018, Mary Haigh
Article may be used, but not for gain. Freely ye have received, freely give.
All Scripture references are from the Authorized King James Bible. (KJV)