Prayer
I praise you, glorious Lord, for the wonders you have done, for your goodness to me. Almighty God, as I read your word now, please hear me once again and save me. Unite my heart to fear your name. Without you I can do nothing. Were it not for you, I would surely be without hope or light in the world, wandering still in darkness. Even now darkness yet remains in my heart and would threaten to engulf me – but for your grace. I am wholly and solely dependent upon you for any and all hope. Deliver me, I pray. I look to you, the hope of my salvation. For the sake of your Son, the Lord Jesus, I pray, hear me know and speak O Lord, renew my mind and refresh my soul. Have mercy upon me, O God. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Reading
Psalm 128 & 1 Cor 7.
Gen 1:20-23.
“And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 21. So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23. And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.”
Meditation
At the end of our last meditation, we drew out the lesson of considering what God teaches us in scripture as he uses animals to feature on its pages. As we continue to study day five, we have the chance to apply the lesson straight away, because day five is a day that is all about the animals of sea and sky. So, what do we learn from the animals on day five? As we read the passage, and think about what God would have us learn here, we see that the emphasis is very much focused on the idea of “blessing.” In verse 22 we read: “And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” The scripture is drawing our attention to the fact that God made these creatures for the purpose of multiplying, and that that multiplication itself is a blessing. As we take time to consider this now, I’m going to draw out two observations on the nature of this blessing.
First, God’s blessing comes through filling. This word “blessing” in verse 22 is very significant. We see it repeated on day six as well in verse 28: “And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply...””. This is no vague blessing, it’s not just some nice spiritual platitude. The blessing is specifically tied to the idea of multiplying. God blesses his creatures with the gift of multiplying – that is what the text is saying, that is the specific manner in which he blesses them. The question, then, is: In what sense is multiplying a blessing? If you multiply garbage in your wheelie bin to the point that it spills all over your back yard, that is not a blessing! Why then, and in what way, is it a blessing for the creatures to multiply? Here, I believe, is the answer to that question, and this is our second observation of note: God’s glory in creation expands as his creation is filled.
There’s a clear logic to the seven days of creation. On day one, God’s overall purpose for creation is revealed: to shine his glory and presence into the creation. On day four we learned that God uses means to accomplish that purpose as he shines light into the creation through the sun, moon, and stars. There was a second important lesson on day four as well, being that as God shines his glory into his creation, it would be something that was accomplished over time. This is why he made sun, moon, and stars to govern time so that his plans for creation would be fulfilled over time. Day five then builds on this and begins to show us the manner in which God’s glory will expand, namely, through the filling of his creation as his creatures multiply. God shines into his creation through his creation (day four), and that shining will grow as the creation is filled (day five).
Be ye doers of the word…
We will consider this further as our studies move forward in the Genesis prologue, but as we observe the creatures of sea and sky on day four the lesson of application is clear: go forth and multiply. God wants to fill the creation with living creatures – that’s how his glory will be expanded in the earth. Multiplying is a gift from God, and we need to emphasise that gift in the time in which we live. In western civilisation, we now live in societies that devalue multiplying. We abort babies by the tens of thousands, and people often treat children as an inconvenience. Depopulating the earth is seen as the virtue. But multiplying is a chief means whereby God is glorified in his creation, and so when we are opposed to multiplying, or even when we treat it as a matter of indifference, we are setting ourselves against God’s plan to expand his glory in his creation.
When we say we don’t want kids, or we don’t want many kids, what that reveals is a heart attitude of opposition to God’s intention to fill the creation with his glory. And so we must learn the lesson God is teaching us through these creatures: go forth and multiply. We are called to do that in our families as we raise up children in God’s ways, but also in evangelism as we share the gospel to see the church multiply. What are your plans as far as children are concerned? Do you have a depopulation mindset? Or a fill and glorify mindset? How about spiritual regeneration? What are you doing in your local church setting to promote and do evangelism? Do you seek and save the lost? Do you invite them to come and worship God and join the communion of the saints in Christ Jesus? May the Lord so help us to be a people that is multiplying. SDG.
Prayer of Confession & Consecration
God Almighty, I confess that there is much in my heart that stands in opposition to your gift of multiplying. I find in my heart an apathy of intention to fulfill this task, and at points even an opposition to fulfilling this task. I have not enthusiastically embraced your blessings as I ought to. When it comes to spiritual multiplication, I confess also that I have not been faithfully abounding in the Great Commission call of my Lord to go and disciple the nations. My eyes are dry, my faith is old. My heart is hard, my prayers are cold. And I know how I ought to be, alive to you and dead to me.
But what can be done, for an old heart like mine? Please soften it up with oil and wine. The oil is You, your Spirit of love. Please wash me anew, with the wine of your blood. Please help me Lord, my plight is desperate, and my sins would engulf and destroy me. Save me, I am yours. Please write your law upon my heart. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Day 24: God blesses creation (Gen 1:20-23).