Creation: Order and Blessing
Creation: Order and Blessing“…according to its kind. And God saw it was good. And God blessed them saying, “Be fruitful and multiply …) (Genesis 1:21,22)
God is a God of order. All things that exist are in groups that are interrelated. The farther science advances, the more it is realized that all things are interconnected. Not only are the various orders of living things made according to their various minds, but even in inanimate nature there is amazing orderliness with infinite variety. Every snowflake that ever fell upon the earth has a similar mathematical design, but no two are ever alike. All the elements in the chemical table are interrelated in weight and atomic structure, the great universe swings in predictable fashion. The astronomers know that a solar eclipse will be visible at a certain time in a certain place: they will travel to that spot, and the eclipse occurs exactly on time.
The lower orders of creation were blessed by God… in the beginning there was nothing to mar. The creation moved on its perfect way; the curse had not yet come. All was blessed by God. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals came as a by-product of Christianity. Even in lands where religion will not permit the killing of a flea, the monstrous cruelty to beasts of burden is proverbial. God puts kindness into the heart when Christ comes in. “A righteous man regards the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel” (Proverbs 12:10 ). And the day will come, at the return of the Lord, when animals will not devour each other, and poison will be removed from insects and reptiles. They shall neither hurt nor destroy any more, “for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9).
Dr. Barnhouse reminds us of the order and blessing of the first creation so that we, who are the new creation in Christ, can rest secure that this same order and blessing are ours by grace. Also the final rule of order and blessing is reserved for us when the Lord of creation returns for the final act of redemption.
Further reading: Romans 8:18-25
