God's Tender Touch
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…
This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens — and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground — the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Any description of the Living God is doomed to disappointment. This is due in no small measure to the impoverishment of human language. We are compelled to speak of God in less than precise terms which are mostly disappointing. We might list His attributes (all of which He has revealed to us) and thus to a degree gain insight into His character. When we adopt such an approach to understanding the Lord God, we consistently encounter one term which seems best suited to speaking of God: God is Love. At the beginning of the Creation account God is the focus and in that account He reveals His great love both for man and for the whole of His creation. While the word love is not employed the demonstration of divine love is evident from the text.
God’s Care — So very often we mortals have permitted ourselves to be deluded into thinking that the Living God does not care for His creation. We live as though God somehow initiated the universe, setting history in motion, and since that time He has been unconcerned for what occurs. Nothing could be further from the truth. From the beginning God has demonstrated His care and concern for His creation always revealing His love toward man, the apex of His creation.
The text of the message speaks of God’s care for creation as He demonstrates His rich provision for the earth. Listen to the words of the text. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens—and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground.
Over twenty-five years ago, in the December 1973 issue of Reader’s Digest, there appeared an article by the historian Arnold J. Toynbee. The title of Professor Toynbee’s article is The Genesis of Pollution. It was his belief, as set forth in that article, that the blame for pollution in our present world, if not in whole then in the main, may be justly laid at the feet of monotheistic religions. In particular he has Christianity squarely in his sights. Professor Toynbee sates:
The thesis of this essay … is that some of the major maladies of the present-day world—in particular the recklessly extravagant consumption of nature’s irreplaceable treasures, and the pollution of these not already devoured—can be traced back to a religious cause.
Briefly, the foundations presented for this assertion may be summarised as follows:
1. Pre-monotheistic man worshipped “Mother Earth”.
2. Upon the implementation of monotheism, greed became unrestrained, resulting in the exploitation of nature by man.
3. Western Christians are responsible for the overthrow of the traditional balance between man and nature.
Professor Toynbee merely verbalises what many of our contemporaries hold to be truth in the back of their minds. Humanism has polluted our thinking so very much that we are powerless to think otherwise without the intervention of the Spirit of God. Allow me to touch each of these points in order.
First, note that There was no Pre-monotheistic Man. The earliest accounts of man clearly portray a race which worshipped one God—the Lord God, Creator of Heaven and earth!
Think rationally! We have no earlier accounts than those which God has Himself provided, and those which He has given begin in the beginning. So many thoughtless individuals assume because they wish to believe there is no God, or because they wish to exclude God from their lives, that earliest man was polytheistic and only later did man learn to worship one God. In the passage before us, we are introduced to !yhil¿a> hw:hyÒ—the Lord God. Were we to literally translate His Name we would learn that He is the Self-existent God. There is no God other than the Living God.
Those are powerful words which Isaiah has written.
To whom, then, will you compare God?
What image will you compare him to?
…To whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
Lift your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one,
and calls them each by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.
Why do you say, O Jacob,
and complain, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD;
my cause is disregarded by my God”?
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom…
This is what the LORD says to his anointed,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of
to subdue nations before him
and to strip kings of their armour,
to open doors before him
so that gates will not be shut:
I will go before you
and will level the mountains;
I will break down gates of bronze
and cut through bars of iron.
I will give you the treasures of darkness,
riches stored in secret places,
so that you may know that I am the LORD,
the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
For the sake of Jacob my servant,
of Israel my chosen,
I summon you by name
and bestow on you a title of honour,
though you do not acknowledge me.
I am the LORD, and there is no other;
apart from me there is no God.
I will strengthen you,
though you have not acknowledged me,
so that from the rising of the sun
to the place of its setting
men may know there is none besides me.
I am the LORD, and there is no other.
I form the light and create darkness,
I bring prosperity and create disaster;
I, the LORD, do all these things…
For this is what the LORD says—
he who created the heavens,
he is God;
he who fashioned and made the earth,
he founded it;
he did not create it to be empty,
but formed it to be inhabited—
he says:
“I am the LORD,
and there is no other.
I have not spoken in secret,
from somewhere in a land of darkness;
I have not said to Jacob’s descendants,
‘Seek me in vain.’
I, the LORD, speak the truth;
I declare what is right.
Gather together and come;
assemble, you fugitives from the nations.
Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood,
who pray to gods that cannot save.
Declare what is to be, present it—
let them take counsel together.
Who foretold this long ago,
who declared it from the distant past?
Was it not I, the LORD?
And there is no God apart from me,
a righteous God and a Saviour;
there is none but me.
[Isaiah 40:18, 25-28; 45:1-7, 18-21]
Second, take careful note of the fact that Greed is the Result of our Fallen Nature. When we are in a right relationship with the Living God, greed is far removed from us. Walking with God and seeking to honour Him, we will abhor greed. A Christian who is filled with the Spirit cannot be motivated by greed, because we have all we need in God. The Bible is quite precise in condemning greed among those who profess to know the Lord God. One example is found in the Ephesian encyclical.
Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God [Ephesians 5:1-5].
Again, the Apostle to the Gentiles, in Colossians 3:5-7 plainly speaks to this issue when he commands: Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.
Lastly, note that Western “Christians” Cannot be Held Responsible for Imbalance in Nature. In the mind of the unthinking, western is equated with Christian. Though terrorists may think they are correct to equate western with Christian, it is no more correct to do so than it is to equate eastern with Muslim. An individual becomes a Christian through faith in the Risen Son of God, Jesus Christ. Becoming a Christian is the result of the New Birth and not of natural birth, just as Jesus stated when speaking with Nicodemus. I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again [John 3:3].
It is a mark of rankest ignorance (and therefore highly improper) to blame the teachings of the Word of God for whatever problems may be associated with the environment. From the beginning God has demonstrated concern for His creation and He communicated that concern to man. Man was responsible to show respect for God’s creation as we have witnessed repeatedly throughout our earlier studies in this book of Genesis. It is when man ignores God that nature becomes unbalanced. Before He had completed His creation God demonstrated concern for all that He was creating. He was careful to provide water for the plants He was creating.
The plants were placed on earth for man according to Genesis 1:29, 30. God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
Man was given responsibility from the beginning to care for the plants which the Creator had caused to grow in the Garden. This responsibility for the environment was first demonstrated through God’s concern! Man was given an example. Some of the plants obviously required special care and they became the responsibility of the man who was placed in the Garden.
Under the Mosaic Law man was taught to respect livestock in a manner which was frequently neglected prior to the giving of that document. This was in part the foundation for the success of the Patriarchs as herdsmen. The Law seems on this point to have been but an iteration of previously accepted principles of respect for the environment.
Under the Law, the land was to have a rest every seventh year. In general, a rotation of crops was employed which avoided depletion of required minerals from the soil. Man was taught profound respect for the trees. They were not to wantonly destroy trees, even during war or in besieging a city. God taught by precept and example that man was to respect the environment. God was, and is, concerned for His Creation. It is evident from this passage that God cares for the earth and that which the earth produces.
God’s Compassion — I have often been impressed by the compassion of God, and reading this passage again impresses me with His compassion. Certainly God cares for the environment. Certainly God is concerned for His creation. Above all, God cares for the apex of His creation. God cares for man is a special way. Man is eternally the object of God’s love. All the creation was for one purpose … to provide man with all his needs that he might enjoy fellowship with God. The ancient divines were correct in stating that the chief end of man is to worship God and to enjoy Him forever. All that was created was as provision for man’s welfare since he is the object of God’s love. Nowhere is this compassion, this love, more clearly seen than in this passage of the Creation account.
The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. The Word employs two separate verbs to speak of the creative activity of God at this point. We are informed that God formed and that God breathed. The two verbs balance one another. The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground. The verb speaks of the relationship of a craftsman to material, with implications of both skill and a sovereignty which man forgets at his own peril.
The Psalmist, speaking for God, asks the questions:
Does he who implanted the ear not hear?
Does he who formed the eye not see?
[Psalm 94:9]
David is author of the readily recognised and justly celebrated 139th Psalm. Perhaps you will recall that the Psalm is a paean of praise to God for His wisdom and for His knowledge of man. That divine knowledge is presented as the work of creation, especially as creation relates to man. As the Psalmist reflects on what God has done he exults in praise as he thinks of the intricacy of His own body. Likewise, you and I, whenever we study the delicate nature of the body, are moved to praise the Creator.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
[Psalm 139:14-16]
Because of the relationship of God as Creator and man as creature, we may be assured that what God demands of us He is well able to equip us to accomplish. Did God call you to a particular task? He is able to equip you to fulfil that task. Does God require a particular duty of you? He is well able to provide whatever you need to accomplish that particular duty. Whatever task God commands, He supplies the resource to accomplish that task. You may be assured that you are invincible in God’s will.
In this context, you may recall the account of Moses when God first appointed Him to deliver the Hebrew people from Egyptian bondage. At first Moses demurred. I do not ask you to note Moses’ reluctance, but instead I urge you to note the Lord’s response to his refusal. Moses said to the LORD, “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”
The LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say” [Exodus 4:10-12].
The verb, formed, in verse seven of the text, points to the sovereignty of God. We each do well to remember that He is God—the Creator. We must never forget that God formed us; we did not form God. Whenever man creates his own gods it always results in his destruction.
Voltaire wrote: If God made us in His image, we have certainly returned the compliment. Ironically, Voltaire was right in a distorted fashion. When men abandon the true concept of God and the Creator-creature relationship they tend to establish gods for themselves according to the aberrations of their own personalities. When the first step of apostasy is taken, other steps quickly follow and God is then compelled to deal with us as He did with His ancient people Israel.
Though the truth that God is Creator and man is the creature formed by the hand of the Creator is clearly taught, we are equally confident that the verb breathed is warmly personal. When the text says that the Lord God … breathed into man’s nostrils, with the face-to-face intimacy of a kiss, I am struck with the significance that this was an act of giving as well as making—and self-giving at that.
Elihu is the young hero whom we meet in the account of Job’s trials. In Job 32:8 that young man speaks a great truth when he says:
it is the spirit in a man,
the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding.
From the beginning the pattern has been set. God so loved … that He gave [cf. John 3:16]. Note the giving of God set forth so plainly in 1 John 4:9, 10. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Of no other creature is it said that God formed that creature or that God breathed into it the breath of life. Man is special to God as demonstrated by the redemption of the fallen race. Of no other creatures is it said that God sent His own Son to die for them. That death is reserved for man alone. Man was created to fellowship with God and God reserved His redemption for man. Man is eternally the object of God’s love.
God’s Companion — Because man is unique in all creation and because all creation is for the support of man, we need to discover man’s purpose. The purpose of the creation of man is discovered in the name with which God presents Himself: !yhil¿a> hw:hyÒ. Man was created to worship God. Man was created that he might walk in a unique relationship with the Living God, sharing life with Him and worshipping Him.
In Eden man worshiped God perfectly. In his fallen condition man can never worship God without intervention on the part of God. It is impossible to worship God as man conceives of worship. Do you recall the words of Jesus as He spoke with the Samaritan woman? The account is found in John 4:21-24. Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.
The natural man, the man who is yet separated from the grace of God, cannot worship because he knows nothing of God’s fellowship. Listen to these portions of the Word which speak to this truth and which call us to faith in Christ the Lord. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin [1 John 1:1-7].
Writing the Romans Christians, Paul spoke of this need to be transformed in order to worship. I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will [Romans 12:1, 2].
Likewise, the author of the Hebrews letter has spoken of this same association. Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire” [Hebrews 12:28, 29].
When we become believers, we enter into a spiritual state akin to that which Adam knew at the creation at the point of salvation we entered into the privileges of a child of God. We are permitted and expected from that point to experience fellowship with God. Do you have that fellowship? Do you know intimately the Living God? The message is incomplete without calling each individual to return to that intimacy with God through being born into the Family of God. That spiritual rebirth is the work of God, just as man’s creation is the work of God. That spiritual rebirth is as much a demonstration of God’s tender care, of His gracious compassion for His creation.
If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” [Romans 10:9-13].
Our plea, as servants of this gracious and good God, is that you will receive this message and believe this Word of life today. To be a Christian one must be saved, reborn into life which He alone can give. We urge you to believe that Jesus died because of your sin, to believe that He conquered death and raised from the dead, to believe that He has ascended into the Glory and that He will receive you. We urge you to call on Him. Amen.