God of Foresight So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. – Genesis 1:27 Foresight is…
God of Foresight
So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. – Genesis 1:27
Foresight is another attribute of God that we will reflect on today. Upon deciding to create humans in His image and likeness, He also knew that He must factor in the ability to reproduce after their kinds in them; hence, His creating them male and female.
There has been much debate about the origin of humans, where from and how we originated as well as how humans were able to procreate if it was only the family of Adam and Eve that were the first set of humans. This piece is not about to join that debate or attempt to throw any light on it. Our focus today is only on the depth of thinking of God which accounted for how He factored gender into the equation when He was creating humans and other mammals.
With foresight, God knew that even though He was making creatures that would need to reproduce themselves, that would have been impossible if He did not embed a reproductive system in them which would help them to procreate and fulfill His design for them to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth.
With foresight, God also knew that without this reproductive system in humans and other mammals, He would need to be creating them over and over again in order for them to increase; whereas, with a reproductive system, it would be easy for them to produce on their own with little or no assistance.
Foresight distinguishes the output of those that think before they start something from those who do not. It also plays a large role in determining the quality and sustainability of an entity. You just need to check out the universe and the living creatures that God had made from the beginning to see the important role foresight plays in quality and sustainability. Even with adverse climate, there have been more survivors among the creatures of God than those that went extinct.
If you also consider the physical outlook of the creatures, they keep looking finer and better as against worse with the turn of the ages. That is what working with the future in mind does for you. It helps to prepare for contingencies before they arise and to have plans in place to address them without adversely affecting the operations. Our God is a God of foresight.
Understanding God: The God of New Identity Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you…
Understanding God: The God of New Identity
Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. – Genesis 17:3-6
The attribute of God for our meditation today is His tendency to change the name of or ascribe a new identity to those with whom He has dealings in line with His plan for them. This is a practice that occurred a number of times in the Bible, but it began with Abram, whom God renamed Abraham.
After years of relationship between the two of them, God finally decided that He was ready to take Abram to the next level. For many years, Abram had been without a child, and when he eventually had his first child at the age of 86, it was an arrangement between him and his wife, as God was not involved in their design to have a child through the maidservant.
Therefore, when God was ready to fulfill His promise to Abram, the first thing He communicated to him was the new identity He was conferring on him. He changed his name from Abram, which means ‘a father,’ to Abraham, ‘a father of nations.’ The reason for this is that God, who knows the significance of names, wanted the new identity to sink into Abraham’s consciousness. By hearing himself being called and addressed as a father of nations, Abraham would naturally believe it, behave it, carry and comport himself in manners befitting his new identity.
There are a number of other individuals in the Bible whose identities God also changed based on His encounter with them, as well as His plan and purpose for their lives. He is a God who elevates the profiles of the people He chooses, and one of the ways He does that is by either giving them a new name or a new brand identity different from the ones they were hitherto known by or associated with.
He has not stopped doing this. He still changes people’s names and offers them a new brand identity to this day.
Delegation Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the…
Delegation
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. – Genesis 1:26-27
We are back to exploring the personality and attributes of God, and His trait which we will be considering today is delegation. God delegates and does not take everything on Himself. From our reference passage today, we can see the reason God decided to create humans. He created us, not just for the vanity of making a creature like Himself, but for a specific purpose: to rule over His other earthly creatures.
This throws a light on another unique nature of God. He is not just methodical in His ways; He is also very structured. Having made the heavens and the earth plus everything in them, He needed an authority figure to entrust His works and who would perform oversight functions over them.
Why is this so? Because God does not live on earth, therefore He needed an earthling to oversee the affairs of the earth. That was the reason He created humans for that very purpose. After creating humans, He delegated His authority to them saying:
“…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 1:28)
Apart from underlying the fact that God delegates, this passage also offers us an insight into His structured mindset. He is hierarchical and is a stickler for protocol. That was what made Him create man to oversee His earthly estate and why He delegated authority to him so that man could fulfill his role effectively.
Creating by Separation | God’s Principle of Dividing to Create
And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. – Genesis 1:4-5
In continuation of our meditation on some of the principles that God applies in His creation, today we will dwell on the principle of separation. God creates things by separating one thing from another to form a brand-new creature.
From our reference scripture above, after God created the light, He also saw potential for another creature from the light He just made. He immediately set to work by dividing the light from darkness which was the pervasive entity around when He started His work. With these entities thus separated, God called the light day and the darkness He named night.
This was not a one-off principle that God used in the creative process, He also deployed the same method in creating other elements such as heaven, earth surface, and the body of ocean. Find excerpts below:
Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven... Genesis 1:7-8
Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas… (Genesis 1:9-10)
With this, God demonstrated to us that by separating certain entities, a new, unique, standalone creation can emerge. It is important to clarify that this principle will not work for every form of creation as God Himself also proved by not creating everything that way. He only did so with the elements that were amenable to that form. But who says you cannot try it yourself and see which works and which will not?
Understanding God: He Cares Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. – Genesis 3:21 Today, we will be meditating on the…
Understanding God: He Cares
Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. – Genesis 3:21
Today, we will be meditating on the caring nature of God. He cares for His creatures, more so humans.
While He must still be very displeased with Adam and Eve after their disobedience and having served them punishment for their misconduct. He did not entirely banish them from His sight or etch their names in a black book. That is if He keeps one.
According to our reference passage today, God went out of His way to make tunics of skin to clothe Adam and Eve. It is pertinent to note that when the couple discovered their own nakedness, the best they could do for themselves was to sew “fig leaves together and made themselves clothing.” (Genesis 3:7).
However, when God saw what they had on, He knew they needed something more than that. Even though He was not happy with them, He still made better and more suitable clothing for them to cover their nudity. He could have chosen to ignore them and allow them to wallow in their misery. That would have served them right for their disobedience, wouldn’t it?
He could have also had a good laugh at their folly for using fig leaves as covering. He could have smirked in mischievous amusement to see how long the leaves would serve them. These are some of the things someone less intelligent or without the nature of God would have done. Not God.
He is too caring and affectionate to endure the suffering of His children. Therefore, even when He must still be smarting from the disregard of Adam and Eve, He still provided better clothing for them to cover their shame. He did not allow them to make do with leaves that would dry up with time. He gave them something better because He cares.
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.
Women in the Bible: A Paragon of Beauty
What made Sarah’s beauty so compelling that kings and nations took notice? Explore the deeper layers of grace, favour, and mystery surrounding one of Scripture’s most unforgettable women — and discover why her story still provokes wonder today.
Men in the Bible: A Man of Ambition and Adventure
Terah may not have reached Canaan, but his courage to start a life-changing journey laid the foundation for Abraham’s destiny. Discover how ambition and bold steps mark a life of significance.
Men in the Bible: An Impetuous and Impudent Man
A revealing glimpse into a man whose choices exposed deeper issues of character, showing how hastiness and entitlement can quietly shape a destiny, and why his story still speaks to us today.
Men in the Bible: A Man with Little Foresight
Sometimes what looks like a smart choice can hide the seed of a mistake. This reflection from Scripture invites us to think again about how foresight — or the lack of it — shapes a man’s story.
Men in the Bible: The First Man to Tithe
Before laws, temples, or traditions, one man honoured God with his substance. Abraham’s tithe was not commanded, demanded, or enforced. It flowed from reverence.
Fathers in the Bible: A Destiny-Shaping Father
What makes a man a truly aware father? Discover how one man’s prophetic foresight shaped his son’s destiny and changed generations forever.
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