God created everything. And it was good.
If you have looked at what the Bible says about creation and the origins of the universe, then you surely read and studied Genesis 1-2. That certainly is the place to start, but is that all there is to know? Is that all we need to know? Can we learn anything else from God’s Word about His creation – or about His work of creating it?
The Bible doesn't merely tell us what God did, but His creative work also tells us about who God is. This study will help us to see how God’s actions in creation display His character, strengthen our faith, and help us experience His love.
Two lessons from Psalm 104 and Leviticus 25 will take us beyond a review of the seven days of creation to help us see God’s greatness, love, power, and wisdom as He created. We will discover the exciting truth that those attributes affect our daily lives. We will also discover God’s desire for us to enjoy His creation. We can use all God has given us to bless others.
Our first lesson is on:
GOD’S WORK OF CREATION
Have you ever looked at a sunset in awe, mesmerized by the
beauty of God’s creation? Have you been lucky enough to visit a place
like Niagara Falls or the Grand Canyon? Sometimes just looking at a
brilliant blue sky makes me pause in wonder.
Reading Psalm 104 reminds me how beautiful and perfect creation is. Every animal has a purpose and a place to lay its head. The trees, grass and plants are watered by the rain. You can see creation on a grand scale of seasons and days and nights, or zero in on how the organs in the human body work together. Every aspect of our world is jaw-droppingly perfect. And our God is responsible for it all!
The same holy God who created the Earth in all of its grandeur created you, too. Psalm 139:14 tells us God fearfully and wonderfully made each of us. God doesn’t make mistakes or messes. And just like the animals and the plants and the rain have a purpose, you were made on purpose for a purpose.
In the noisiness of this world, God makes known His love and care for us through creation (Psalm 19:1-4). The beauty of a sunset, the height of a mountain or the glimpse of a shooting star all were created by God's words. In that same way, we’re reminded everyday God spoke life into us, showing His affection for us through creation (Psalm 19:7,12-13). We had no say or part in it, but out of God's goodness He reminds us that we are His sons and daughters.
Reflect for a moment:
The Bible gives us a clear picture of the One behind creation. In the pages of Scripture, we discover the all-powerful, all-wise, loving Creator God.
Reading Psalm 104 reminds me how beautiful and perfect creation is. Every animal has a purpose and a place to lay its head. The trees, grass and plants are watered by the rain. You can see creation on a grand scale of seasons and days and nights, or zero in on how the organs in the human body work together. Every aspect of our world is jaw-droppingly perfect. And our God is responsible for it all!
The same holy God who created the Earth in all of its grandeur created you, too. Psalm 139:14 tells us God fearfully and wonderfully made each of us. God doesn’t make mistakes or messes. And just like the animals and the plants and the rain have a purpose, you were made on purpose for a purpose.
In the noisiness of this world, God makes known His love and care for us through creation (Psalm 19:1-4). The beauty of a sunset, the height of a mountain or the glimpse of a shooting star all were created by God's words. In that same way, we’re reminded everyday God spoke life into us, showing His affection for us through creation (Psalm 19:7,12-13). We had no say or part in it, but out of God's goodness He reminds us that we are His sons and daughters.
Reflect for a moment:
- Giving God complete control of your life is trusting the only person who holds all things together. What area in your life does God not have control of? What step can you take to give it to Him?
- How do you see creation giving God glory everyday? Take time today to thank God for giving you new life.
The Bible gives us a clear picture of the One behind creation. In the pages of Scripture, we discover the all-powerful, all-wise, loving Creator God.
What have you always wanted to make but never tried?
So, what's the point of this week's lesson?
Everything in creation is the work of the God who loves us.
One of the latest trends on the internet and social media is Pinterest, a virtual pinboard where people can collect, organize, and share what they discover on the Web. The company says their mission is to “connect everyone in the world through the things they find interesting.” You might even call it a visual search engine.
Creativity is all around us – and I’m not just talking about online. We encounter God’s creation each and every day. If we pay attention, we’ll catch displays of His spectacular creativity, His breathtaking attention to detail, and His astonishing power. Even better, paying attention to creation reveals our wondrous Creator. Such reminders are important when we feel like God is distant or detached from our lives, or when we question His involvement in the world.
Psalm 104 helps is discover that God created all things through His wisdom and power – and that He is intimately involved even in the smallest details of our lives.
Psalm 104:1-5, 24-30
1 My soul, praise Yahweh! Lord my God, You are very great; You are clothed with majesty and splendor. 2 He wraps Himself in light as if it were a robe, spreading out the sky like a canopy, 3 laying the beams of His palace on the waters above, making the clouds His chariot, walking on the wings of the wind, 4 and making the winds His messengers, flames of fire His servants. 5 He established the earth on its foundations; it will never be shaken.
24How countless are Your works, Lord! In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures. 25 Here is the sea, vast and wide, teeming with creatures beyond number—living things both large and small. 26 There the ships move about, and Leviathan, which You formed to play there.
27 All of them wait for You to give them their food at the right time. 28 When You give it to them, they gather it; when You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good things. 29 When You hide Your face, they are terrified; when You take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. 30 When You send Your breath, they are created, and You renew the face of the earth.
Key Word This Week: Leviathan – The Hebrew possibly describes a serpent, crocodile, whale, dinosaur, or other sea monster.
I. GOD’S CREATIVE POWER – PSALM 104:1-5
God the Creator
1 My soul, praise Yahweh! Lord my God, You are very great; You are clothed with majesty and splendor. 2 He wraps Himself in light as if it were a robe, spreading out the sky like a canopy, 3 laying the beams of His palace on the waters above, making the clouds His chariot, walking on the wings of the wind, 4 and making the winds His messengers, flames of fire His servants. 5 He established the earth on its foundations; it will never be shaken.
The psalm begins with a description of God that sets up His relationship with creation. Verse 1 provides the image of God that serves as the foundation for the rest of the passage.
1. God is great. Very great.
The writer of Psalm 104 proclaimed that God’s actions are magnificent. What God has done is so incredible it should leave us with a sense of awe. What He has done is the powerful action of speaking into existence everything we see each day – and so much more that we can’t see.
2. God is clothed with majesty and splendor.
“Majesty” means supreme greatness, authority, and sovereignty. “Splendor” means brilliance or an appearance so gorgeous that it’s overwhelming and imposing. Imagine for the next several verses that you have a front row seat to creation. Notice the ease of God’s actions – things that are so incredible for us are simple for Him to accomplish. And God’s work is no illusion; it’s reality.
- The sky, which seems to go on forever and is filled with stars and clouds in ever-changing patterns, is stretched out simply as a tent or canopy.
- The clouds are a way of simple transportation for God.
- The wind is God’s messenger.
- Fire, which can be so uncontrollable and dangerous for us, attends God like a servant.
God established the earth on its foundation, and it will never be shaken. Don’t miss that! Not only did God create out of His great power, but He also holds everything together. If He can hold together the foundation of the world – hold together all of creation – then we can have confidence He can take care of us. He can establish our foundation in Him, and we won’t be upended.
Amazingly, in all God’s magnificence, majesty, and splendor, He has chosen to love you.
What has recently inspired you to see some aspect of creation with new found wonder?
Complete the activity below:
What else can creation teach us about our Creator?
Final Thoughts:
1. God is due all praise as Creator.
2. The greatness and power of God is evident in creation.
3. God created out of His own power.
4. All creation is subservient to God and His divine purposes.
Commentary:
The psalmist began by imploring his soul to praise Yahweh, whom he declared to be the Lord my God. The psalmist declared God very great and worthy of praise due to His majesty and splendor revealed to us in the creation.
The psalmist majestically portrayed God as girding Himself in light (as in lightning or the sun). Light was the first aspect of God’s creation (Gen. 1:3), and then He proceeded to arrange its boundaries before creating heaven or earth. Scripture teaches that God dwells in light, that God is light, and that He is the Father of lights. God spread out the vast canopy (tent) of the heavens as easily as an experienced camper might pitch a pup tent. The waters above are said to bear up the beams of His palace. Living spaces created above the first story of a house provided for a retreat and solitude.
The Creator in His majesty is seen riding the clouds and the wind and directing flames of fire (lightning), not merely inhabiting His creation but utilizing the forces of nature for His purposes. God, in His might and sovereignty, keeps all the whims and idiosyncrasies of the atmosphere in subjection to Him. Whether they blow in judgment or blessing is by His grace and wisdom. God has established the earth on its foundations. He founded and “hangs the earth on nothing” (Job 26:7) and it is immovable. It will never be shaken could also be translated, “it will never waver, tip, topple, or totter.”
God is the Creator of the universe and He has revealed Himself in it. Just as He suspended the earth over nothing, He brought all matter into being from nothing by the force of His will expressed in words. The mighty God flung the stars from His fingertips and calls them each by name! Who has not gazed at the limitless expanse of stars overhead and wondered at the God who inhabits the expanse beyond? In His essential being He is invisible, but he makes Himself and His power known in the visible order which He has made and by the control He exercises over it. Join with the psalmist and raise your praise to the mighty creator God!
Added commentary:
God wants to be intimately involved in your life. Don’t believe me? Take a minute and read Genesis 1-2. God is passionate about you and every detail about you.
Detailed Creation
Close your eyes. Wait…read this paragraph first and then close your eyes. You may even want to turn off the lights around you just to make sure it is completely dark. Now just take a moment and imagine Earth without light, without land, without seas, oceans, lakes or rivers, without sky, without birds, without trees sprouting with vegetation and fruit, without the sun, moon or stars, and without human life. Really, picture water everywhere, darkness and no existence. If you somehow can, envision the Spirit of God just peacefully hovering over the endless span of lightless H2O.
Not to interrupt your imaginative moment, but I’m going to tell you right now that there was a “big bang”. I guarantee you God’s voice is so big it made at least a bang when it began to command creation. Day one starts out with light, because who can design in the dark? God separates the light from the dark and not only gives us day and night, but dawn and dusk, sunrises and sunsets. During the second day, God makes sky. Now day three gets real crazy. I picture numerous peaks of ground rumbling to the surface of an endless ocean. There have got to be some crazy waves happening as the land forces the water to divide. Crazy thing is, God didn’t stop there. Trees are popping up on the shore everywhere with juicy coconuts and bananas. Various plants are sprouting all over the place as I’m sure the fresh scent of ripe fruit fills the extremely fresh air.
Day four is one of my favorites. God knew a day on His newborn beaches would not be the same without a sun to tan us! He also predicted our passion for teenage vampires and made a moon so there’d be some light shed for midnight bites. Imagine a romantic date without stars to gaze at! Day four has that covered. Not only did God create all the lights in the sky, but He designed them so we would have seasons. Fall, Summer, Winter and Spring. At sunrise the next morning, birds begin to take flight. Cardinals jetting across the blue sky. Goldfinches perching on green leaves. Down below the winged madness, Free Willy is getting his jump on as God fills the waters with animals. The waters need life, but on day six God also creates land animals of every kind to be named by His next creation, man.
Let’s jump to verses 24-26 and consider the way God’s purposes are demonstrated through His creation.
II. GOD’S CREATIVE WISDOM – PSALM 104:24-26
24How countless are Your works, Lord! In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures. 25 Here is the sea, vast and wide, teeming with creatures beyond number—living things both large and small. 26 There the ships move about, and Leviathan, which You formed to play there.
How have you seen God’s wisdom reflected in the natural world?
Ever been curious about your purpose? Ever wondered if you were created by accident? It’s as though the psalmist anticipated these common questions, and in verses 24-26, he lifted up the truth that God did not randomly create. Instead, He created according to His wise plan, with a specific purpose for everything in creation.
Pause after verse 24 and consider how many living things have been created. Make a mental list of all the living things you can think of. Needless to say, there are many and you won’t be able to name even a small percentage of them! With your list in mind, consider the psalmist’s words: “In wisdom you have made them all.” With great skill, or wisdom, God has created each living thing. Consider the complexity and wisdom that was needed to create just a single-celled organism, not to mention the intricate knowledge and wisdom it took to create the elephant, the seagull – and you. God created them all with great skill and wisdom.
Verses 25-26 give further examples. Everything has its place in creation, and there is joy when everything lives according to its purpose. Even the Leviathan, which was a large marine animal, is described as being formed to play in the sea. In His power, God created everything. In His wisdom, He created everything with a purpose – including you.
As you live according to that purpose, you will experience joy in this life. Yes, life will be difficult at times, but remember that God did not merely create and walk away. He is intimately involved in all the details of your life. He desires intimacy with you. In His wisdom, He desires to walk with you. He has designed you, created you, and placed you in this life for a purpose that will bring you joy as you walk in relationship with Him.
What hinders us from recognizing God’s continued activity in sustaining creation?
“Every creature conducts us to the knowledge of God by giving us notice of His power, wisdom, and goodness.”
- Stephen Charnock
Final Thoughts:
1. An honest inventory of the vastness, uniqueness, orderliness, and purpose of creation will lead to an eruption of praise to the Lord.
2. Creation is an expression of the wisdom of the Lord who made all things good.
We’ve seen that God is intimately involved in His creation. Verses 27-30 remind us that all of creation depends on Him.
III. GOD’S SUSTAINING LOVE – PSALM 104:27-30
27 All of them wait for You to give them their food at the right time. 28 When You give it to them, they gather it; when You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good things. 29 When You hide Your face, they are terrified; when You take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. 30 When You send Your breath, they are created, and You renew the face of the earth.
Food is essential to survive, and in this passage we see an incredible picture of how God Himself provided that necessity to creation. “All of them wait for You to give them their food at the right time.” We need to look at two important ideas in this verse.
- God’s creatures wait for Him. They understand that He is the One who provides food for them. He is providing what they need for life; therefore they wait for Him.
- God faithfully provides. Notice the frequency of God’s provision. The psalmist explained that God provides His creation with food “at the right time.” Because of His great love for us, He desires to provide for us on a regular basis. We can understand this to mean, simply, that He provides all the time. He desires to sustain us, as He does the whole of creation.
God desires that we depend on Him, just as the rest of creation depends on Him. All creatures depend on Him for their survival and, if He were to ignore them, panic would ensue. Colossians 1:17 tells us that Christ holds all of creation together. He didn’t create and then walk away. That’s something we can be thankful for.
God sustains us out of His love for us. As we learn to live in conscious awareness of His work on our behalf, we’ll gain a greater understanding of our dependence upon Him. he will sustain us through this life.
How do we intentionally savor God as our Creator and appreciate His work?
Final Thoughts:
1. We live because the Lord gives and sustains life.
2. The Lord tenderly and graciously provides for our life needs.
3. In the Lord’s presence, we find security and peace of mind.
4. Each day we awaken is a renewal of life from the Lord.
Live it Out
How can you respond to the work of God as your Creator?
1. Enjoy God’s creation. Make it a point to get outside and enjoy different elements of God’s creation. Allow the natural world to serve as a launching point for your communication with God, your Creator.
2. Give thanks. Make a list this week of everything you’re thankful for in your life. Be sure not to skimp – make it a long list. Then spend time expressing your thanks to God.
3. Love others. Because God loves you, seek out an opportunity to reflect God’s love to someone who needs in the days to come.
The same power, wisdom, and love that fueled God’s creative work in the past are still at work today. Therefore, you and I can rest in His love, sustaining power, and grace.
Prayer of Commitment
O Lord, I praise You for the light of this day, for it is a testimony to Your power, wisdom, and love. Amen
These next two weeks of lessons will be a good lead in the "The Story" which begins September 7, 2014.
See you on Sunday!
In His Love,
David & Susan
