Genesis 1:20-23 Day 5: God Creates Sea Life & Fowl
“& God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature (Heb. = living soul) that hath life, & fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. (21) & God created great whales, & every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, & every winged fowl after his kind: & God saw that it was good. (Why good? Rom. 1:19-20). (22) & God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, & multiply, & fill the waters in the seas, & let fowl multiply in the earth. (23) & the evening & the morning were the 5th day.” (Gen. 1:20-23)
ON DAY 5 GOD CREATES 2 KINDS OF LIVING CREATURES
1. Every Living creature in the waters (salt & fresh) (Ps. 104: 25-26). God Emphasizes Great whales (Hebrew = tanniym) [also dragons; Ps. 74:13; Isa. 27:1; & monsters Lam. 4:3; & serpent Ex. 7:9-10]
2. Every winged fowl
3 SPIRITUAL PURPOSES FOR ANIMALS
1. To teach us wisdom by revealing the infinite attributes, wisdom &
glory of God (Job 39, 40, 41; Ps. 33:6-9; Isa. 40:26, 31; Rom. 1:19-20)
2. Designed as metaphors to reveal spiritual truths so as to stir the
heart & convict the conscience (i.e. 2 Sam. 12:1-7; Job 12:7-9; Deut. 23:18; 2Pet. 2:22;John 10:11-14). Some people are swine (pigs); strong as an ox; sly as a fox (Lk. 13:22). People can act like “brute beasts” (2 Pet. 2:12; Jude 1:10); God “roars like a lion” (Joel 3:16; Jer. 25:30-31)
3. Designed as “Types”: A type is “a shadow, cast by Divine design, of good things to come” & not the very image of the things (Heb. 10:1; 8:5; 9:9, 11). The Holy Spirit reveals the glory of Christ designed into the O.T. Types to transform our lives (2 Cor. 3:18)
Some animals are designed to prefigure N.T. redemptive truth.
Jesus is our “Passover Lamb” (I Cor. 5:7; Exodus 12; Isa. 53:7). Oh! How understanding the “Types” like “the Lamb of God” transforms our life (John 1:29, 36; Heb. 10:14; Genesis 22:8)!
INTRODUCTION
To be wise we must learn God’s biblical use & definition for a word. Whales [tanniym]: is an important “Type” in Scripture.
“In that day the LORD with his sore & great & strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; & he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea” (Isa 27:1).
Dragon here is ‘tanniym’ & is one with the serpent & leviathan. They are All Types of satan in the Bible (Job 41:1, 34; Ezek. 32:2; Rev. 12:9)
We must resist the Devil (I Pet. 5:8-9)
WHEN SOLOMON WAS GIFTED DIVINE WISDOM…
“…he spake of beasts, & of fowl, & of creeping things, & of fish” (I King 4:33) whose creation by God is revealed in Genesis 1. “And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon” (I King 4:29-34)
Discovering Divine wisdom in God’s Works of creation is life changing. We will focus on Whales & Birds in this study.
I. DIVINE WISDOM FROM THE WONDERS OF WHALES
The Wonders of Whales are a Major Problem for the irrational theories ‘imagined’ by evolutionists. The complex uniqueness of Whales makes it impossible to have evolved little by little, slowly, over time from a small land mammal! Their respiratory & reproductive systems, eating habits, size, special skin, ability to deep dive, ability to produce music! Etc., etc., etc. all so complex & unique! The Blue whale is the largest animal that ever lived. So we’re confronted with a Scientific Law: “Law of cause & effect:” It is the most universal & most certain of all laws. “Every material effect must have an adequate cause that existed before the effect.” The effect is never greater than the cause. There are
only 2 possibilities for the “Cause” of Whales. 1. They Evolved from indohyus, pakicetus, ambulocetus, & rodhocetus by chance! Our last study revealed 3 of these have been exposed as false. A land animal, the size of a dog is not a great enough cause to lead to a Whale! It’s not science, its imagination! It robs God of His glory. 2. God Created whales on the 5th day designed for the ocean to reveal God’s Glory!
WONDERS OF WHALES
Whales can dive to 9800 feet & spend 1-2hr. Under water! Their muscles can store oxygen (the rete mirabile or miracle network). [When you read Jonah 2 its literal. His body died in the whale. His soul headed to hell under the deep (Ps. 69:14-5; Matt 12:40). Just as Jesus descended to hell before his resurrection (Eph 4:8-10)]. Baby blue whales weigh 8 tons at birth! The Only mammal born in ‘breech’ position. Some whales migrate 16,000 miles/yr.; Can maintain speed of 22mph. & maintain body temp. of 97.7F; Track their food with sonar; Ears are unique from all land mammals to hear under water; Each whale species identified by the spout of water when they breach (some as high as 50ft.).
II. DIVINE WISDOM FROM THE MIRACULOUS BEAUTY,
BEHAVIOR & BRILLIANCE OF BIRDS
The EAGLE: An amazing Teacher of Spiritual Truth (Isaiah 40:28-31; Eph. 2:4-7). We were Created to Triumph over the Trials of Life By Ascending the Heavens on the winds of God’s Holy Spirit.
One of the Great Realities of the Christian life is that God “hath raised us up together & made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:6). God has raised us up to a position of authority over our spiritual enemies. We might not have the power to defeat evil spirits but Jesus has given us the authority to defeat them! “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents & scorpions, & over all the power of the enemy: & nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Lk 10:19; Rom. 16:20)
“They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, & not be weary; & they shall walk, & not faint” (Isa 40:31; Col. 3:1-2). The Eagle is a Royal Bird! God made us Kings “in Christ” (Rev. 1:6; 5:10; 20:6; I Pet. 2:9).
The Eagle does not fear the Coming Storm. Their eyesight is truly incredible. An eagle can see a quarter at 200 yards (People only see 35 yds). His vision enables him to see storms coming long before any other creatures & uses storm winds to fly above it. So the Christian is to be “eagle eyed.” Able to see things others simply can’t see. “We endure as seeing him who is invisible” (Heb. 11:27; 2 Cor. 4:18). Eagle eyes are anointed with a special oil, a beautiful picture of us being anointed with the oil of the Holy Spirit. Eagles are solitary birds often soaring alone with God. So Eagle Christians must pursue a regular quiet time with God
God’s wisdom in the bended knee: a lesson in Prayer. How do Birds sleep on a perch & never fall off? God designed the claws to contract with a steel like grip when the leg bends at the knee. Wisdom: when we bend our knees in prayer it keeps us from falling to our hurt?
III. THE WISDOM OF THIS WORLD IS FOOLISHNESS WITH
GOD (I Cor. 3:19-20; 1:19-20; Rom. 1:21-22)
Evolutionist have failed to explain the evolution of Birds. We must avoid the “oppositions of science falsely so called” (1Tim. 6:20). “Man’s “theories frequently clash & reverse almost as fast as fashions” (Jerry Bergman, Fossil Forensics: Separating Fact from Fantasy in Paleontology, 2017, p. 267)
“Of all classes of vertebrates, the birds are least known from their fossil record.” (Colbert, Evolution of the vertebrates, 2001, p. 236)
Most famous icon is Archaeopteryx. This fossil has been proven to not be the first bird nor a transition from dinosaur to bird. (Jonathan Wells, Icons of Evolution, 2000, pp. 111-135). All “good” bird fossils are fully formed birds. There are no missing links! This caused great controversy the last 100 yrs. (John Ruben, “Paleobiology & the Origins of Avian Flight.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 107(7): 2733-2734. Feb. 16). Despite all the evidence against it, Archaeopteryx still appears in Text Books & Museums as a ‘missing link.’
The most widely propagated Theory is Birds evolved from Dinosaurs.
“A problem for Darwinism, thousands of fossilized bird tracks have been found alongside dinosaur foot tracks in many parts of the world, creating problems for their evolution from dinosaurs.” (Philip Snow, The Design & Origin of Birds, 2006, p. 155). There are no “missing links” for Birds!
(Jerry Bergman, Fossil Forensics: Separating Fact from Fantasy in Paleontology, 2017, pp. 255-286.). Archaeoraptor was a forged fossil somehow smuggled out of China that deceived National Geographic in 1999! We must take God’s warnings about being deceived seriously (Eph. 4:14; 5:6; Gal. 6:7; 2 Tim. 3:13; Titus 3:3; Rev. 20:10).
BRILLIANT UNIQUE DESIGN OF BIRDS
Their entire warm blooded anatomy is uniquely designed around their flight capabilities. Peregrine falcons can fly 180 miles/hr. & dive at 245 miles/hr.. Bird navigational skills are unsurpassed among animals. Artic Terns migrate 44,000 miles/yr. from pole to pole. Feathers are “lightweight miracles of engineering” (Philip Snow, The Design & Origin of Birds, 2006, p. 54-95). Birds have a unique unidirectional respiratory system. Birds are among the most intelligent species known performing complex activities (building nests & singing elaborate songs)
Empirical science says its impossible to evolve from cold blooded reptiles. You know why? Because God designed them to reveal His glory! Living Birds truly stand far apart from all other animals (Lawrence Witmer, The Search for the Origin of Birds. 1995, p. 10).
Reptile to bird transitions are not even remotely feasible (Philip Snow, The Design & Origin of Birds, 2006, p. 159)
HOPE GIVING WISDOM FROM THE GOLDEN PLOVER
They fly 2400 miles Alaska to Hawaii nonstop over the Ocean each year. Parents leave before the babies can fly. The babies fatten up for the trip. The babies have never made the journey before! Their wings beat 250,000 times without rest or eating for 88 hours! No 1 bird could store enough fat to make the journey alone. But flying together in formation, to conserve energy, they never fail to reach their destination!
What a Miracle: A baby Plover, born in a hostile environment, miraculously reaches their far away paradise (Hawaii). Even though they have never been there before! Is not Wisdom teaching us about our future? We are born into this hostile world. Our Parents leave before we do. We must prepare for a miraculous trip to our Heavenly paradise. We’ve never made the trip before: Will we make it? Of course we will! Why am I so certain? The same Creator God who enables the Golden Plover to make the miraculous journey successfully will enable us to reach our Heavenly home through faith in Jesus Christ! Hallelujah!