On the sixth day, God created the living creatures and man.
The Living Creature
24 Let the earth bring forth, compare v.11, contrast v.20.
After his kind. This expression is used five times in v.24-25. Once again there are no transitions. Canines beget canines, felines beget felines, bovines beget bovines, and so forth.
Cattle. These are the domestic animals like sheep, goats, cows, etc. Definition, domesticated quadrupeds held as property or raised for use. See Gen 29:7 where flocks of sheep are referred to as cattle, for example.
Creeping thing. There are flying creeping things as in Lev 11:21-23 and there are other creeping things as in Lev 11:29-30.
Beast of the earth. These are what we typically refer to as wild animals. You can see some of these in Lev 11:4-7, 27. Some of these are tamed and used in functions like transportation, i.e. camels, elephants, etc.
25 And God saw that it was good.
Man
26 Man is not brought forth by the earth or by the water. God said, “Let us make man…” See Gen 2:7. God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. God made us.
In our image. While God is a Spirit, Jn 4:24, and he is present everywhere, Ps 139:7-10, Jer 23:24, 1 Ki 8:27, God also has anthropomorphic characteristics. He has eyes, Prov 15:3; hands, Ex 15:17; fingers, Ps 8:3; ears, 2 Ki 19:16; arms, Is 52:10; feet, Zech 14:3-4; a heart, 1 Sam 2:35; a mind, 1 Sam 2:35; etc.
So, he made man in his image. We don’t make God in our image with statues and images; he made us in his image.
After our likeness. This is why God (singular) said, “Let us (plural) make man in our (plural) image, after our (plural) likeness…” See Gen 1:26. He is one God in three persons.
God is a triune being, 1 Jn 5:7. Likewise, we are triune beings. We have a soul, a spirit, and a body, 1 Thes 5:23. Our soul matches God the Father, they are both invisible. Our spirit matches the Holy Spirit. And our body matches Jesus Christ, who is God manifest in the flesh, Jn 1:14.
For example, H20 has three forms: liquid, vapor, and solid. These three are present simultaneously in thermodynamic equilibrium at the triple point of water. Water is melting, freezing, and boiling at the same time, at 0.01°C and 0.006 atm.
Likewise, God is one God, Deut 6:4, yet he manifests himself in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. This is the Trinity. The sun is also an example. The sun has actinic rays which can neither be seen nor felt, typifying God the Father; light rays which can be seen typifying Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh; and heat rays which can be felt but not seen, typifying the Holy Spirit.
And let them have dominion. Man has dominion over all things that were made on the fifth and sixth days, Ps 8:4-8, and over all the earth. Yet, he doesn’t have dominion over God or over the angels whom God made, Ps 104:4. So, he has limited authority.
27 Male and female created he them, Matt 19:4. Eve was “in” Adam when he was created, Gen 2:7, 21-23. “She was taken out of Man.”
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them,
- Be fruitful, Ps 127:3 (fruit of the womb), and
- Multiply, Gen 28:3 (into a multitude of people) and
- Replenish the earth. Replenish means to fill or build up again, or to fill with persons or animals. This is the same command that was given to Noah after the flood, Gen 9:1. And
- Subdue it (the earth) which is to bring land under cultivation. Notice Gen 2:5. 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. To have dominion is to have authority. This is a privilege and yet a responsibility. We have a stewardship since this is God’s creation.
Meat
The word “meat” in the Bible is food. It’s what you eat. The diet of man was “herb bearing seed” and “the fruit of a tree yielding seed.” The diet for beasts, fowl, and creeping things was “every green herb.” These are vegetarian diets.
At the end of the sixth day, God saw everything he had made, and it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
To study the previous lesson, click on The Third Through Fifth Day. To study next lesson, click on The Seventh Day.