We have all heard of the week of creation. Many, if not all of us, have read the account in Genesis 1; however, I want to take a little different approach today to this subject. Many bibles give us cross references of verses, so I want to take the cross references and tell the story of creation. As we take this journey through creation, I want us to think about what it tells us about communicating with God. Afterall, prayer is communication with God. This post will be a little longer than most of what I have done because I am putting in the cross references. I have removed the book and verse information so that this can be read in story form, or as a conversation. I will at the end of the post list each Scripture used so that you will be able to go back and search it out for yourself. These Scriptures are from the King James Version, so it is written in poetic style (thee, thou, wast, etc.)
Let the Journey Begin….
Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding. I beheld the earth, and lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it.
By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun. It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in. Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above heavens.
Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains. At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away. They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them. Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over, that they turn not again to cover the earth.
The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses. Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou has so provided for it. Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makes it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing thereof. Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness. They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side. The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing. The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun.
Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth forever. The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth forever. Thus saith the LORD; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season…Thus saith the LORD; if my covenant be not with day and night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar, the LORD of hosts is his name.
So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts. There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou has made to play therein. These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good. 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 all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.
And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him.
And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth…And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.
He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth. The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. O LORD, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. …That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.
In this retelling of the creation (and beyond) one can see that God didn’t just “create the world,” but He clothed it. He cared for it. He watered it and fed it. Job 38:4 He asked us, “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare if thou has understanding.” Wisdom and Understand are attributes of God. They are attributes we can walk in. It is through study, through prayer, through our trials and tribulations that we are able to put on these attributes like garments of clothing. The clouds, he tells us, are garments of the heavens and the night is a swaddlingband for it. So, what is a swaddlingband? Swaddling is an age-old practice of wrapping infants in blankets or similar cloth so that movement of the limbs is tightly restricted. Swaddling clothes described in the Bible consisted of a cloth tied together by bandage-like strips. After an infant was born, the umbilical cord was cut and tied, and then the baby was washed, rubbed with salt and oil, and wrapped with strips of cloth. These strips kept the newborn child warm and also ensured that the child’s limbs would grow straight. Ezekiel 16:4 describes Israel as unswaddled, a metaphor for abandonment. [6]
Probably the most famous record of swaddling is found in the New Testament concerning the birth of Jesusin Luke 2:6-2:7:
| “ | And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. |
In my opinion, the purpose of saying “the night is a swaddlingband for it,” is a way to let us know that we have not been abandoned. I formed this opinion by researching swaddling bands and learned that in ancient days a baby who was not swaddled was considered to be abandoned.
“By the word of the LORD were the heavens made. God spoke and the heavens and earth were made. We are created in His image. Our words also hold the power of life and death and this is why we should be very careful of what comes out of our mouths. Are we speaking blessings or curses on ourselves and others or are we bringing LIFE to them with our words? He breathed life into creation. Each day that we awake is because God has breathed His breath of life into our body. For so long, I thought of this as a one time event, but not any more. I see this as a daily event. He is still creating and still breathing life!
The day and the night belong to God. He stretched out the heavens as a curtain and spread them out as a tent to dwell in. We dwell in the tent of the Lord. He has provided us shelter. The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof…Everything, including us, are God’s. He created us with free will, so we do have a choice in whether we decide to walk with him. He visits the earth and waters it. He will also visit us and care for us.
“Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness.” The year is time. Time and space are holy. So, he crowns the year with goodness (time) and his paths drop fatness (space). What does this mean for us? Though these days seem hard, God will walk with us through everything. He will guide our steps along the path and He will take care of us. We do not have to worry. We just need to cast our cares upon him.
As we daily live creation we can see God’s wisdom. Wisdom is another one of his attributes which we can walk in if we seek. We do not have to wait until we reach heaven for God’s riches because Scripture tells us that the earth is full of his riches. Seek his kingdom here and now. Cry out to God for peace which surpasses all understanding. Ask him to meet your needs. Trust him when you talk with him. Give ear, listen to what He has to say.
We see here through Psalms, Job, Jeremiah , and Genesis that David, Job, and Jeremiah all had conversations with God. We are his children. He swaddled us in His garments and assured us that we are not abandoned by Him! He is our loving Father and His mercy endureth forever!
It is my prayer that as we have taken this journey through Genesis chapter 1, using other Scriptures, that you are able to see this wasn’t just for the beginning of time, but it is for NOW. God still longs for a relationship with us.
“Come out of the tent of fruitlessness and frustration. Re-envision God’s promises made long ago,” (even in creation). – Defining Words
Many are seeking a change. They feel that life is beating them down and tossing them to and fro. Trust God in this storm. He desires for us to have a good life.
I encourage you to honestly evaluate your life in these four critical areas.
1. Feet (your journey). Where has God brought you from? What of His faithfulness have you learned on the trajectory of life? How do the geographies of your past prepare you for the future?
2. Hands (your accomplishments). Where have you succeeded? When in life have you felt the most fulfillment or achievement? What was it that you were doing?
3. Arms (your strengths). For what are you sought out? What skills, spiritual giftings, innate genius have you discovered?
4. Body (your health and wholeness). How whole are you emotionally and physically? Are there areas of your health that need addressed? How about your emotional stability? Denial keeps us from bowing humbly in honest assessment. Your destiny can only be as fully realized as you are whole emotionally and physically. Defining Words
Communicate now with God, your Father, you Creator, and your Provider.
Blessings,
Regina
Scriptures referenced above: PS 102:25; JOB 38:4; JER 4:23; JOB 39:9; PS 33:6,9;IS 45:7;PS 74:16; IS 40;22; PS 148:4; PS 104:6-9; PS 24:1-2; PS 33:7; PS 65:9-13; PS 74:16; JER 10:2; PS 136:8-9;JER 33:20,25; JER 31:35; PS 104:25-28; GEN 2:19; GEN 7:21-22; GEN 3:22; PS 8:6-8; GEN 5:1; GEN 9:1,7; PS 104:14; PS 145:15-16; PS 104:24,28
Prayer: Communication with God 