When God created people it was a beautiful thing. This Friday I am focusing on the perfection of Adam and Eve and hence the whole of the human race. Whether a person is a fundamentalist, liberal or conservative all have to agree that Adam and Eve were perfect. What I mean here is that whether the story is taken allegorically scientifically or literally the basic idea of the human being is perfection. I know that there was a Fall (Adam and Eve’s sin) after this perfection but this is another topic for next Week.
Day 6
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; 30 and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to everything that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. 31 God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Genesis 1:26-31 NASB
Verse 26 to 27 puts mankind on a different level. God in His Triune glory said;” Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness”. Saint Augustine says about this:
“For God said, “Let us make man in our image and likeness”: a little later, however, it is said “And God made man in the image of God.” It would certainly not be correct to say “our,” because the number is plural, if man were made in the image of one person, whether Father, Son or Holy Spirit. But because he is made in the image of the Trinity, consequently it was said “in our image.” Again, lest we choose to believe in three gods in the Trinity, since the same Trinity is one God, he said, “And God made man in his image,” as if he were to say in his [own triune] image.” (Taken from catenabible.com/com/5838d595205c248f42e51850 ).
A Jewish interpretation of this would be that God was talking to the angels in heaven. Both views however are arguments from silence. However, the Christian view might disqualify the Jewish view by saying that God would not share his glory with creatures however wonderful. Augustine hit the anil on the head when he mentions the plurality of the God head in relation to his image and then God’s own image in the singular:
אֶת־הָֽאָדָם֙ בְּצַלְמֹ֔ו בְּצֶ֥לֶם אֱלֹהִ֖ים Genesis 1:27
Prep-b | N-msc | 3ms
bə-ṣal-mōw,
Anyhow in the Hebrew image (tselem) is repeated twice in the preposition position. Both words belong to God (Elohim) the subject.
Then after that Moses says male and female he created them. The woman is not an after thought of God’s creation and we need to realize that the first creation story for me is God telling us the story in big brush strokes. It is not until the second creation story that we see God’s work under the magnifying glass. Humanity has a special place in God’s Heart and this should encourage us even more to worship a holy God who loves and cares for his creation.
Because of this special relationship God has with humanity Man is elevated to a position of Gardener. He was to tend Eden, not destroy it. For the natural Man before the Fall, he was in full communion with God and God used to come and have fellowship with him. Adam and Eve at this point were innocent and had no sin, they were perfect and would never have tasted death.
Verses 26- 31 Other Considerations
In the light of what has been said Man in the image of God has been commanded to rule over this creation. I liked what study.org said here:
“Exegetical Considerations
The first two occurrences of this word are in Genesis 1:26 and 28, where newly created mankind is said to have:
…have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. ( Genesis 1:26)
The use of this word makes it clear that mankind’s role in the created order is to “rule” over creation. Our role is not to trample it under our feet but to rule as vice-regents of God.” (From; studylight.org/language-studies/hebrew-thoughts.html?article=912)
The context is that we were to take care of God’s creation and mange it, not destroy it. Before the Fall my own view is that Mankind would have been vegetarians because we shared the same life as animals.
For example in Genesis 1.20 living creature; נֶ֣פֶשׁ חַיָּ֑ה
Genesis 2.7 living being; לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ חַיָּֽה
The term makes it clear that we share the same type of being for our existence. Perhaps because of this in the sacrificial system of the Old Testament an animal was allowed to be sacrificed in the stead of the human being. I once heard that Rabbi Sacks say somewhere (I cannot remember where) that God allowed this so that we would not end up sacrificing each other. It was the better of the two evils. The only big difference between the animals and Man is that the animals came to being from the spoken word. Man on the other hand when he was created, God was getting seriously involved forming man from the dust and breathing into him. In the creation of the plants and animals God was speaking, in the creation of Man God was speaking and doing (emphasis is on doing actions).
Reflection
Animal souls and human souls are referred to as living beings. The translators however have differentiated, using the word ‘being’ or ‘creature’. The Hebrew does not make any differentiation. Humans and animals are creatures, but the big difference is that our human reflection comes from God directly.
In terms of ruling this creation, God’s aim for us was to keep His garden in pristine condition. I have this conclusion because after each day God said that it was good (perfect and no flaws). In the sinless state death would never have entered the world. Animals would not have died, and they certainly would not have been eaten. Trees and plants would always have been in good shape without thorns and thistles.
This ideal picture is the measure by which we came from. Everything at the beginning of creation was perfect and it runs against the grain of accidental evolution. In evolution Man is seen as having started from a bad position and as time moves on, he is perfected. The Book of Genesis goes in the opposite direction. Man, and creation was absolutely perfect…
There was no death in the Garden of Eden this includes animals. There is much I want to say here about the new birth for creation too but if Adam and Even never sinned Christ would not have needed to have died. These questions we will look at after the Fall when Man falls from God’s glory into a sinful state.
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