Lesson 92 - Junior

Memory Verse

"Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is"  (Acts 4:24).

Notes

In the Beginning

The Word of God is the only book, which starts with these words: "In the beginning." It is the only one which has the authority to do so, for God was there, and gave the information to Moses, the writer. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God" (II Timothy 3:16). Other men who write concerning the creation, or the beginning, receive their information from other writers or the imaginations of their hearts. Some writers would begin time at the third day of creation at which time the dry land appeared and grass, herbs, and trees began to grow ([GEN:1:9-13]). Such men teach that a cell was washed up on the shore and all life began from it. They do not tell from where the cell nor the life in it came. They do not mention how the land and water came into existence, but the Bible states that God created them.

There are still other writers who start at the fourth day of creation, after the sun was made (Genesis 1: 16 19). These so called scientists teach that the sun was a mass of melted rock revolving so fast that a piece flew off. Going around at a high rate of speed would tend to make the piece round. As it cooled off and slowed down it became the earth. Neither do these men tell of the origin of the sun; but the Bible tells us that God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven" (Genesis 1: 14), and "God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day" (Genesis 1: 16).

There are others who have the idea that life just came into being in the slime and became a simple form of life, much like the amoeba, a jellylike creature, which can be seen only through a microscope. Through experiments, other scientists have proved that life does not spring into being of its own accord but must come from some other life. In Genesis 1:21 we read: "God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good."

Thus, concerning the beginning of the earth and of life, scientists do not agree with one another. Their ideas give way to other theories and they in turn are cast aside and forgotten, but the Word of God standeth sure. "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away" (Luke 21:33).

God Created

"God created" are the words that the evolutionists do not like. They give credit to the animals. They claim that the higher forms of life came by development. That belief is not only contrary to the Word of God and opposed to creation but it is not in accord with the experiments of other scientists. A man by the name of Mendel has proved that children cannot inherit from their parents the characteristics that they have acquired or developed. "Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee" (Nehemiah 9:6).

The word "create" means to bring into being. "God created the heaven and the earth." He spoke them into being. There was nothing until the power of God caused them to exist. To create means more than to make or build. Your mother may say that she will make some cookies, so she puts into the bowl the ingredients, mixes, and shapes the cookies. She cannot make the ingredients, like sugar, shortening, eggs, flour, and spice; they are already prepared. But God created all the material of which heaven and earth are made. When a father builds a wagon for the children, he buys the lumber and nails. Those things he cannot make, but God made the earth and all the things in it out of nothing. "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear" (Hebrews 11:3). When we make something, we make it out of something else; but how different is God! He spoke the word and the work was done!

God's Plan

God did not experiment with His creation but He followed a plan. If He had created man the first day, there would have been nothing for him to eat and no place for him to live, but God knew what was best. As we study God's handiwork (Nature, some people call it), we see the design, or pattern, that God planned. Even such small things as snowflakes are found to have beautiful designs. We are told that each one has a different pattern or shape. They do not form those shapes of their own accord, but it shows God's plan. Did you ever stop to wonder who causes the birds to sing or to build nests? God is responsible for those things, too. Evolutionists say that these things came about by chance, but the Bible says, "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made" (John 1:3).

He made the light and divided it from the darkness into Day and Night. Some people say that they do not believe in God, but they call the light and darkness by the names that God gave them Day and Night. No wonder God said that it was good when He saw the light. Light not only makes everything visible but also makes life possible. Perhaps you have turned over a box and found underneath that the grass was pale, almost white and dead because it had no light. Try to imagine how it would be without light.

Evening and Morning

We have no reason to believe that the days of creation were anything but 24 hour days. "One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose" (Ecclesiastes 1:4, 5). In II Peter 3:4 we read: "All things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation"; and that means the 24 hour day, too.

Some people have the idea that each day of creation was a period of thousands of years The day was divided into Day and Night ([GEN:1:4-5]); and according to their idea that would mean many years of light and then many years of darkness. How could such a teaching be correct? The plants would not have lived in a long period of darkness. Yet, on the other hand, if the plants had lived many years without the animals and man to eat them and keep them in control, the earth would have been covered with a tangle of plants. If each day had been an age, think how old Adam would have been when he lived in the Garden of Eden.

Division of the Water

God divided the waters. He put some above the arch of the sky, and He put some below. The fog and clouds He put in the sky. The rivers, lakes, and oceans He put on the earth. Each has its use, and without them nothing could live. In a wonderful way God takes the water from the oceans by the sun. It becomes clouds which move over the land and God sends down showers of rain to water the dry earth. How would the land be watered if it were not for the rain? How would the water get back to the ocean if it were not for the rivers? God made the mountains to store water in the form of snow, as well as making them high so the rivers would flow to the sea. "For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof: which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly" (Job 36:27, 28).

The waters were gathered into the seas and dry land appeared when God spoke the words. Men, including scoffers, still call the water Seas, and the dry land Earth, which God called them. When we consider the importance of the land and the water, we find that God provided for His creation. Not only the beauty but also the value God put into the earth the rocks, the minerals, the oil, the coal, and the many other things we use each day. From the sea we get some salt which is necessary, and valuable for preserving and cleaning. The waters make a difference in the climate. It cools the land in some places and warms it in others, making it comfortable for us.

We are told by those who have made a study of such things, that there could be no other division of the land and water than that which God made. If there were more oceans, the land would be soaked with the rains. If there were more land, it would be desert, because there would not be enough water to make it moist for growing crops. "The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land" (Psalm 95:5).

Plants came forth yielding seed and fruit. God named these plants into three classes: grass, herbs, and trees. When one studies about plants, one finds that they are divided into these three groups, as God said. What would you eat if there were no plants?

In the Sky

"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork" (Psalm 19: 1). God made the sun, moon, and stars useful as well as beautiful. The sun gives warmth as well as light. There would be no seasons of spring, summer, fall, and winter without them. Not only day and night but also the year is measured by them. "He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down" (Psalm 104:19).

Animals

God then had the earth and sea ready for the animals. There was food, water, and shelter for them. In Genesis 1:21, we read that God created "every living creature that moveth" on the earth, in the air, and in the water. God blessed the animals and told them to multiply, or have young ([GEN:1:22-25]), each after his own kind (like the father and mother).

The plants did not grow from the water, and the animals did not grow out of the plants, nor one animal out of another kind of animal. God made the wild animals after their kind He made the lions, lions. God made the cattle after their kind the cows were made cows they did not grow from some other animal ([GEN:1:25]). Some people try to tell us that by living in different climates the animals become different. We know that a dog's coat is heavier in the cold winter, and before the hot summer much of the hair comes out so the dog's coat is not so heavy. But whether a dog lives all the time where it is very cold or all the time where it is very hot, a dog is still a dog. It does not become another animal.

Creation of Man

Man was created in the image and likeness of God. He was made different from the animals. God formed man out of dirt ([GEN:2:7]). We are told that the human body is composed of about 16 elements, all of which are found in the common dirt of the earth. After God had formed man in His own likeness, He breathed the breath of life into man's nose and "man became a living soul." "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14).

Man was made in a manner different from the animals and is therefore different. Evolutionists try to point out ways in which man and animal are similar, but there is such a difference that bones can be identified as to whether they belong to a man or to an animal. It can also be told by the stain whether the blood is from a man or from an animal.

Man is different from the animals, for man is a living soul. In eternity he will live forever, either in everlasting bliss or in everlasting punishment ([JHN:5:29]; [DAN:12:2]).

Warning

We are warned that there will be scoffers who believe their own ideas ([2PE:3:3]). Evolution is one of those ideas, which come from man and are contrary to God's Word. Evolution is taught to be a process that has taken place naturally without a Divine Creator. Unbelievers do not want the information given by the Bible "they willingly are ignorant" (II Peter 3:5). Let us take notice of what the Bible says and be not overcome by any of the modern teachings of evolution. No matter how logical the argument may seem, may each person believe God and the Bible. "Let God be true, but every man a liar" (Romans 3:4). May we hold fast the faithful Word as we have been taught, for our own good as well as for the good of others ([TIT:1:9]).

Let us remember, too, that much of what is called science is falsely named ([1TM:6:20]). One cannot believe a part of the Bible and a part of evolution, nor is there a mixing of them. "If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book" (Revelation 22:18, 19).

Questions

1. How did God make the heaven and earth?

2. How long did it take God to make them and everything in them?

3. Who was the first man?

4. From where did he come?

5. In whose likeness was he made?

6. How is man different from the animals?

7. Define evolution.

8. Why is it contrary to the Bible?