Creating by Extraction | God’s Principle of Bringing Forth New from Existing
Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. – Genesis 1:11-12
We are still learning about how God creates. The third creation principle He used which we shall focus on today is extraction. God created some of His creations by extracting a new creature from an existing one. As we can see from the passage above, He extracted grass, herbs, trees and other plants from the earth. This was also the same principle He used in creating sea creatures, animals, ants and other creatures that creep.
See excerpts below:
Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded (Genesis 1:20-21).
Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind (Genesis 1:24-25).
It takes imagination to see the potential of a new from an old, or what can be from what currently is; and imagination is something God has plenty of. Not just that, He has endowed us humans with it when He made us just like Him.
It is refreshing to note that humans have also made several things through the process of extraction. Isn’t that the way we came by the various products that are extracted from crude oil? Further, sculptors, carvers, masons and other creatives have made many a beautiful creature by extracting them from what used to be.
More significantly, that is the process scientists are using for cloning, making a new from a part of another. Although that remains an issue of great contention in some circles. To put this in context, it is the same way God created Eve – by extracting a rib from the body of Adam.
And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman (Genesis 2:21-22).
So, you can say that Eve was made from an extract of Adam, a reproductive clone in the context of science. Putting it this way, It is quite interesting to see how much science agrees with the Bible as well as how much the Bible can help us to make a sense of science. We just need to open up our mind and be willing to process happenings beyond what we have been told to be true or false, right or wrong.
God of Blessing And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth…” Then God blessed them,…
God of Blessing
And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth…” Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” – Genesis 1:22,28
In continuation of our meditation on the nature of God, another of His attributes that we shall meditate on today is His predisposition to blessing. He is a blesser; the God who blesses His own works.
It is instructive that when God created all the other elements He made earlier, He only appraised their final outlook. However, after He created living creatures starting from birds to sea creatures, winged birds, cattle, beasts, and ultimately humans, He started blessing them as we can see in the reference passage above. God knew that humans were going to betray His confidence and stray in their ways, yet He blessed them. He also knew that some of the other creatures He made were going to turn rogue, yet this did not prevent Him from pronouncing blessings on them.
By proclaiming blessings on His living creatures, God defined how He wanted them to be engaged, through the prism of blessings. To the living creatures, He said, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” To the humans He said, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
This tells us that humans are created for blessings, to bless and be blessed by a God who blesses. Some of the blessings He pronounced on humankind include fruitfulness, multiplication, replenishment, and dominion. Now, if the very first engagement of God with His creatures is anchored on blessing, should you do otherwise?
Imagination The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters….
Imagination
The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good… – Genesis 1:2-4
In continuing our exploration of the personality of God, another attribute of His that we will spotlight today is imagination. He is an imaginative God.
Imagination can be described as the inner eye. The eye that sees beyond the physical or surface value. Imagination is the eye that sees potential and prospect where such are not obvious. It is the eye that sees what can be even when it is not accessible to the average eyes. Imagination is the eye with which God sees. That is why He is able to call things which are not as though they were (Romans 4:17) because He sees beyond the surface value to know the true state of everything and what they might turn out to be.
Imagination is the power that served God so well during the process of creation such that He was able to make several creatures from few things. According to our reference passage above, when God saw an entity that “was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep,” a prospect that could easily discourage any creative effort, what God saw in the midst of all those shambles were light, heaven, earth, sea creatures, plants, animals, and humans. That was why He could decree those creatures into existence because His eyes had already seen them even when they were not obvious to anyone else. And from that jumble of confusion that the universe was, God started to make things, light, day, night, firmament, seas, ground, birds, fish, animals and so on.
Imagination is the springboard to invention and innovation. It is impossible to create anything without first imagining it to be sure how it would look after creation. God is the father of imagination, and He has created we humans in His image and likeness. That means we must be conscious of the advantage we have and be deliberate in using it to create the world that we desire for ourselves.
Another lesson we can learn from God is His disposition to a balancing act. He is not a God of extremes. Even though some who profess to follow Him go to extremes in His name or make extreme claims on His behalf, extreme is not a label that one can pin on God. He balances the acts.
Understanding God: He is Not Moved by Sentiments
Another lesson we can learn from the personality of God is that sentiments do not move Him. Therefore, He cannot be deceived into making a wrong judgment or call, as humans tend to do.
Understanding God: He is A Creator
He is a Creator. This is not to be interpreted loosely, particularly in the light of our contemporary use of the word. God is the ultimate Creator, as He created all things, even the ends of the earth (Isaiah 40:28).
Understanding God: God of the Beginning
There is no better way to begin this journey of exploring the people and entities in the Bible than to start with God. He is not just the beginning but is the origin of all things.
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Men in the Bible: The First Man to Tithe
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Fathers in the Bible: A Destiny-Shaping Father
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