WEBVTT 00:00:01.040 --> 00:00:04.160 Welcome to the program Study in the Chapel. 00:00:04.559 --> 00:00:07.599 God's Word is supreme in chapel ministries. 00:00:07.839 --> 00:00:12.400 We consider it absolutely essential to a proper relationship with God. 00:00:12.800 --> 00:00:17.760 We study it, we love it, we rely on it every minute of every day. 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:33.679 The following program is an edited recording of the regular Bible studies we hold, and we decided to share these with you in the hope that you too will be able to find inspiration, encouragement, and ultimately salvation through discovering Christ in Scripture. 00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:37.600 Our intention is to travel all the way through the Bible. 00:00:37.840 --> 00:00:42.719 It will be a challenging journey, but one that will undoubtedly bring you to a decision. 00:00:43.039 --> 00:00:48.240 Through this study, you will be faced with either believing or rejecting what God has said to us. 00:00:48.479 --> 00:00:54.320 It is our intention to provide you with enough knowledge to make an informed decision about God and his word. 00:00:54.960 --> 00:01:04.879 We strongly encourage you to listen intently and diligently, because though at the moment you may not realize it, these things are truly a matter of life and death. 00:01:05.120 --> 00:01:09.359 In fact, these are matters of eternal life and eternal death. 00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:11.599 Never treat what God has said lightly. 00:01:11.760 --> 00:01:14.400 There's truly nothing more important to you. 00:01:14.640 --> 00:01:19.200 Now join us as we seek God's will through his inspired word. 00:01:20.319 --> 00:01:23.680 Well, we are back in the book of Genesis. 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:28.879 It is one of the most fascinating books I've ever read. 00:01:29.120 --> 00:01:41.840 You know, something about the Old Testament when we get a chance to see what God has been doing all along, when we start to see it as it really is, which is a message to us about the things He wants us to know. 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:43.760 He's not telling us about everything. 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:46.640 He just wants to tell us certain specific things. 00:01:46.879 --> 00:02:00.640 And you are going to continue to hear me say those things over and over because part of the problem that we run into as people who love this book is that people are going to say, yeah, but there's no, there's no talk of dinosaurs. 00:02:00.719 --> 00:02:02.560 And how did Iceland come around? 00:02:02.640 --> 00:02:04.480 And hey, what about all the planets? 00:02:04.560 --> 00:02:06.719 And nobody talks about the rings of Saturn. 00:02:06.959 --> 00:02:09.919 Look, God has all of that under control. 00:02:10.159 --> 00:02:13.120 He doesn't mean need me to know about it. 00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:16.479 He does need me to know about his son. 00:02:16.719 --> 00:02:19.120 He does need me to know about redemption. 00:02:19.199 --> 00:02:22.639 And that is the story that he's been telling from the beginning. 00:02:22.719 --> 00:02:26.400 And that is the only thing we really need to be worried about. 00:02:26.639 --> 00:02:31.919 As I say through this program, yes, we're plucking things out, but there's a purpose behind that. 00:02:32.080 --> 00:02:41.360 I am trying to make sure that you can see that this book is true and it will continue to be true, and that there is nothing that can stand between it and us. 00:02:41.599 --> 00:02:45.439 So back into the first chapter of Genesis. 00:02:45.520 --> 00:02:51.280 Let's pick it up at verse six as I go to our split screen. 00:02:51.439 --> 00:02:55.039 Thank you, honey, for your indication to go to split screen. 00:02:55.280 --> 00:02:57.360 Verse six, Genesis 1. 00:02:57.680 --> 00:03:02.000 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water. 00:03:02.240 --> 00:03:04.000 We went through some of this last week. 00:03:04.080 --> 00:03:05.360 We're doing it again. 00:03:05.599 --> 00:03:12.400 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters and let it divide the waters from the waters. 00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:21.759 And God made the firmament and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament, and it was so. 00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:28.000 And God called the firmament heaven, and the evening and the morning were the second day. 00:03:28.159 --> 00:03:37.360 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear, and it was so. 00:03:37.520 --> 00:03:38.479 Verse 10. 00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:46.159 And God called the dry land earth, and the gathering together of the waters called he sees. 00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:48.719 And God saw that it was good. 00:03:48.879 --> 00:03:52.319 Once again, lots and lots going on here. 00:03:52.879 --> 00:03:59.439 But we can start to see that God is actually settling into a routine. 00:03:59.919 --> 00:04:07.840 I think we can't help noticing that his actions are taking on definite intent. 00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:16.079 He's doing things in a manner that looks, well, more preparatory than simply just creating. 00:04:25.279 --> 00:04:30.079 It just looks like he's got something in mind, wouldn't you say? 00:04:30.560 --> 00:04:37.040 Now, this in no way could be characterized as random acts of creation. 00:04:37.279 --> 00:04:45.920 Those evolutionists, those scientists, those material scientists, they want you to believe that there's no intention behind any of this. 00:04:46.160 --> 00:04:53.920 Well, we can see through God's word and we can see through our own eyes that there has to be intention behind this. 00:04:54.240 --> 00:04:59.279 This is the perfect place for a human being to live. 00:05:00.639 --> 00:05:02.160 Isn't that interesting? 00:05:02.480 --> 00:05:07.519 God made a perfect place for a man and a woman to thrive. 00:05:08.720 --> 00:05:17.439 And here again, as we saw him do just a verse or two before, God is taking the time to name things. 00:05:17.600 --> 00:05:20.240 And he's telling us he named things. 00:05:20.399 --> 00:05:24.160 And not only that, he's telling us what those names are. 00:05:24.959 --> 00:05:28.959 Doesn't that in itself seem significant? 00:05:29.600 --> 00:05:39.279 And look, I want us through the rest of this process to get in the habit of thinking about these things in this way. 00:05:39.680 --> 00:05:42.319 Why is he doing what he's doing? 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:46.639 And why is he sharing with us what he's doing? 00:05:46.959 --> 00:05:50.639 What is God trying to tell us through his word? 00:05:51.199 --> 00:05:55.040 Are these just facts or are these statements? 00:05:55.439 --> 00:05:58.720 And listen, the answer to that is simple. 00:05:59.199 --> 00:06:08.000 There just aren't enough facts for this to be some sort of manual or history of how to create a planet. 00:06:08.160 --> 00:06:17.199 If God really wanted you to tell you, if God really wanted to tell you how he made a planet, he's not doing a very good job. 00:06:17.439 --> 00:06:19.920 He's just telling you that he did it. 00:06:20.959 --> 00:06:25.839 There's far more between the lines than on the lines. 00:06:26.319 --> 00:06:42.079 I mean, with respect to the naming thing, if he created all of this randomly or he created all of this for himself, he wouldn't need to let us know what name he gave it, would he? 00:06:42.480 --> 00:06:53.600 In fact, he wouldn't even need to name anything if his only intention was for creating it so he could enjoy it by himself. 00:06:53.839 --> 00:07:00.160 Why would God let us know about that stuff if he didn't mean for us to know it? 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:08.319 Now let's remember, God actually doesn't need to create anything for himself at all. 00:07:08.639 --> 00:07:16.079 He is self-sufficient and self-satisfied, and he's been that way all through eternity. 00:07:17.040 --> 00:07:21.600 God to be God, as someone once said, has no need. 00:07:22.639 --> 00:07:24.160 What's your point, John? 00:07:25.600 --> 00:07:37.040 This creative process has to be for the sake of someone else, because the one creating it doesn't need it. 00:07:37.439 --> 00:07:42.560 And the fact that he's naming things is further proof of all this. 00:07:42.720 --> 00:07:45.360 Maybe proof is not the right word. 00:07:46.079 --> 00:07:49.680 Strong indicator is a better way to put it. 00:07:49.920 --> 00:07:58.160 The fact that he's naming things is a strong indicator that he's doing this for someone else. 00:07:58.959 --> 00:08:05.680 There is but one conclusion that we can come to once we know our Bibles. 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:09.680 God's creation had only one purpose. 00:08:09.839 --> 00:08:10.720 Listen to me. 00:08:10.879 --> 00:08:20.319 The one purpose of this creation, the one he's telling us about, is to provide mankind a place to live in and use. 00:08:20.959 --> 00:08:27.199 And as we go through these verses, that is becoming more and more obvious. 00:08:27.439 --> 00:08:37.200 When we first, when we see these first couple of chapters of Genesis through that lens, it all starts to make more sense. 00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:46.559 When we start to see that God is making this, he's telling us about this creation, he's doing things for someone else. 00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:51.039 When we see it that way, it starts to make more sense. 00:08:51.440 --> 00:09:05.200 It's becoming increasingly clear that this phase in the eons of eternity, this effort on God's part, is so that he can have a place to put his people. 00:09:05.440 --> 00:09:07.759 And by the way, that's you and me. 00:09:09.679 --> 00:09:20.320 And God called the firmament heaven, and the evening and the morning were the second day, or as the new American standard has it, we quoted this last week. 00:09:20.639 --> 00:09:25.600 And there was evening and there was morning a second day. 00:09:26.320 --> 00:09:30.399 So God created whatever the firmament is. 00:09:30.559 --> 00:09:35.279 I can't accept that it's simply the sky, but we're going to leave it there. 00:09:35.679 --> 00:09:40.559 The second day, God creates the firmament and he gives it a name. 00:09:40.879 --> 00:09:42.720 He calls it heaven. 00:09:42.960 --> 00:09:49.039 Now, we shouldn't get too hung up on this word heaven after our broadcast last time. 00:09:49.200 --> 00:09:50.799 Somebody asked me about this. 00:09:51.039 --> 00:09:54.240 The word heaven is different than what we would expect. 00:09:54.399 --> 00:10:05.039 This is not meant to give us the impression that this is where we'll find God's throne and the singing angels and the celestial harps and all of that. 00:10:05.840 --> 00:10:11.440 Here, the word heaven is being used just like it was in verse one. 00:10:11.600 --> 00:10:12.240 Remember this? 00:10:12.320 --> 00:10:13.519 And of course, you remember this. 00:10:13.600 --> 00:10:15.039 I said it 500 times. 00:10:15.279 --> 00:10:19.120 In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. 00:10:19.360 --> 00:10:26.799 Now, certainly we don't think that God was homeless before the beginning of the book of Genesis, right? 00:10:26.960 --> 00:10:30.879 He lived somewhere that we could describe as heaven. 00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:47.759 But here in verse 1, Genesis 1.1 and Genesis 1.8, the English term heaven is rather generically referring to a lofty space above somewhere, space above the earth. 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:58.639 Now, some say that the original Hebrew word initially only referred to anything that God made other than the earth. 00:10:58.799 --> 00:11:02.879 There was the stuff down there, and then there's the stuff up there. 00:11:03.279 --> 00:11:09.840 Whatever isn't down there is heaven, or so that theory of the Hebrew word goes. 00:11:10.159 --> 00:11:19.120 In this part of Genesis 1, I believe the word heaven is simply what you and I would call the sky. 00:11:19.440 --> 00:11:30.000 However, I do want to point out that just as difficult as it is for you and I to precisely define what the sky is, where does it begin? 00:11:30.159 --> 00:11:30.879 Where does it end? 00:11:31.039 --> 00:11:32.879 It's difficult, it's confusing. 00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:48.080 Just as difficult as it is for us to understand what the sky is, it's just as difficult to give an accurate description of the Hebrew word used that gets translated into our word heaven. 00:11:48.399 --> 00:11:56.080 God is purposely keeping this creation story simple and light on the details. 00:11:56.320 --> 00:12:04.960 He doesn't want us expending too much effort here looking at things that aren't important to the story. 00:12:05.279 --> 00:12:07.360 We don't seem to be getting that. 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:12.080 We don't seem to be saying, well, God's not giving us a lot of details about how he did this. 00:12:12.240 --> 00:12:15.279 How about we just set that aside and stick with the story? 00:12:15.440 --> 00:12:19.759 For some reason, we keep trying to pull stuff out that isn't there. 00:12:20.960 --> 00:12:32.159 If I were to sit down and show you how to fix a flat, and you kept asking me how a tire gets made, we'll never get you back on the road. 00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:39.440 Some things are worth looking into, and others just slow us down. 00:12:40.559 --> 00:12:49.519 So with the firmament in place and named, the second day of this recreative process is complete. 00:12:49.679 --> 00:12:54.480 And by the way, not everyone agrees that it is recreative. 00:12:54.799 --> 00:13:02.799 But I'm going to keep calling it that because I believe the evidence as already presented supports that notion. 00:13:03.039 --> 00:13:12.240 By the way, is it terribly important to think of this as a recreative process rather than a creative process? 00:13:12.879 --> 00:13:14.240 I don't think so. 00:13:14.559 --> 00:13:17.440 In the end, this book is about Jesus. 00:13:17.679 --> 00:13:24.639 And in the light of that, creation is really only a very minor part of the story. 00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:33.759 How all of this was made may be of outsize importance to the world, but it doesn't appear to be so with God. 00:13:33.919 --> 00:13:44.399 At least he's not sharing with us those details, and so it doesn't appear to be all that important to him because he hasn't shared those details. 00:13:44.720 --> 00:13:57.120 If those things were important to your understanding of how Jesus is going to save you, then believe me, God would have told you, but he hasn't, so it isn't. 00:13:57.360 --> 00:14:03.120 Yes, we may add a few details here and there, and we've done so thus far. 00:14:03.360 --> 00:14:10.720 But again, if it's not here, then even the details we bring up are not important in the least. 00:14:10.879 --> 00:14:12.960 Why do you keep telling us this? 00:14:13.279 --> 00:14:17.440 Because I don't want us to get too far off the track. 00:14:17.679 --> 00:14:22.000 I don't want you to lose the forest for the trees. 00:14:22.559 --> 00:14:24.639 Nonetheless, let's keep moving. 00:14:24.799 --> 00:14:26.159 Day two is done. 00:14:26.320 --> 00:14:27.919 What's next in the story? 00:14:28.159 --> 00:14:29.120 Verse 9. 00:14:29.360 --> 00:14:38.879 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place and let the dry land appear, and it was so. 00:14:40.159 --> 00:14:44.320 No indication whatsoever of how God did this. 00:14:44.799 --> 00:14:55.360 We think we have by now figured out at least some of the mechanics of this, since dry land continues to appear around us all of the time. 00:14:55.519 --> 00:15:10.720 Actually, Catherine, who loves this sort of geology stuff, she told me the other day that there is some island out in the middle of the ocean that just appeared somewhere due to some volcanic activity. 00:15:11.600 --> 00:15:16.879 This land building is ongoing and we still see it quite often. 00:15:17.120 --> 00:15:24.960 And our observation of it has helped us to determine what natural processes are involved. 00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:30.080 But in his word, God didn't tell us how he did so. 00:15:30.480 --> 00:15:45.039 We can assume, based on what we've been able to observe in our time, that lava flows and tectonic plates and all of those sorts of things occurred, but there's no mention of it in scripture. 00:15:45.200 --> 00:15:46.559 There's nothing about it. 00:15:46.720 --> 00:15:52.480 There's nothing about volcanic interruptions or eruption, not interruptions, volcanic eruptions. 00:15:52.720 --> 00:15:55.840 We don't know which continents slid where. 00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:32.640 Yes, we have evidence of the process, but that's not important to this story. 00:19:33.279 --> 00:19:34.480 Let's keep moving. 00:19:34.960 --> 00:19:42.480 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place and let the dry land appear. 00:19:42.559 --> 00:19:43.759 And it was so. 00:19:44.160 --> 00:19:52.000 Now I've said a couple of times that God is doing something that seems to be leading to something else. 00:19:52.319 --> 00:19:54.160 He's made an atmosphere. 00:19:54.480 --> 00:19:56.480 God doesn't need an atmosphere. 00:19:56.720 --> 00:20:01.119 He doesn't have lungs to breathe with because he doesn't need to breathe. 00:20:01.359 --> 00:20:10.319 He doesn't have skin that needs the sort of protection an atmosphere provides against harsh solar radiation. 00:20:10.559 --> 00:20:15.839 In fact, he doesn't need anything he spent effort creating so far. 00:20:16.400 --> 00:20:20.480 And yet he's done those things for some reason. 00:20:21.519 --> 00:20:31.039 Now, at this point in Genesis, we're told that God is causing the seas to move around in such a way as to reveal land. 00:20:31.200 --> 00:20:33.279 Now, why would he do that? 00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:36.960 He doesn't need dry land for any purpose. 00:20:37.119 --> 00:20:45.200 And as a matter of fact, not one other planet that we know of has this arrangement. 00:20:45.359 --> 00:20:46.160 Not one. 00:20:47.440 --> 00:20:51.920 We may find water on Mars, but it's not arranged like this. 00:20:52.079 --> 00:20:53.200 Was it at one time? 00:20:53.359 --> 00:20:55.279 I'll leave that to the scientists. 00:20:55.440 --> 00:20:56.880 But there are no people there. 00:20:57.200 --> 00:21:02.960 There are people here, and it's arranged in a way to make it possible for us to live. 00:21:04.240 --> 00:21:06.640 Ah, but humans must know. 00:21:06.880 --> 00:21:09.279 Humans must know this is for them. 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:24.480 As each step in this creation process is completed, we can see more and more clearly that he isn't just creating to create and he's letting us know that. 00:21:25.119 --> 00:21:27.119 He wants us to know that. 00:21:36.880 --> 00:21:38.720 That's the message we're getting. 00:21:40.079 --> 00:21:45.839 God is not just sitting around bored and deciding anyone want to make stuff? 00:21:47.119 --> 00:21:57.759 Like everything else he's ever done, here he's acting with purpose and it's becoming more and more and more obvious. 00:21:57.920 --> 00:22:09.519 I know I'm repeating myself, but I want you to see that there's more going on here than us reading the logbook of the Lord's activities way back then. 00:22:10.480 --> 00:22:12.799 This isn't just a list of facts. 00:22:12.960 --> 00:22:14.880 This isn't God's diary. 00:22:16.640 --> 00:22:19.519 This is someone telling a story. 00:22:19.920 --> 00:22:25.119 And my job is to get you to see what that story actually is. 00:22:25.440 --> 00:22:26.400 Verse 10. 00:22:27.200 --> 00:22:33.920 And God called the dry land earth and the gathering together of the waters called He sees. 00:22:34.400 --> 00:22:37.279 And God saw that it was good. 00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:46.640 He's continuing to name things, and he's continuing to put his stamp of approval on that which he's done. 00:22:47.519 --> 00:22:52.799 Now it's my it's my opinion that there's a good reason for this. 00:22:53.519 --> 00:23:08.079 Each time God declares these creations as good, it appears to me that he is intentionally reclaiming the earth out of the chaos the previous inhabitants left it in. 00:23:08.240 --> 00:23:09.279 What do you mean, John? 00:23:09.440 --> 00:23:12.160 Go back and see our earlier conversations. 00:23:13.519 --> 00:23:15.599 This is a recreation. 00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:20.720 Something happened between Genesis 1.1 and John and 1-2. 00:23:22.400 --> 00:23:24.960 Whatever happened created chaos. 00:23:25.279 --> 00:23:35.279 And every time God says it is good, it seems to be a declaration that order is being restored bit by bit. 00:23:35.440 --> 00:23:36.160 It's good now. 00:23:36.240 --> 00:23:37.599 It was chaos before. 00:23:37.759 --> 00:23:38.720 I made it good. 00:23:38.880 --> 00:23:39.599 It's good. 00:23:40.559 --> 00:23:50.559 God is reestablishing the loveliness that is baked into everything that he produces from his own mind and hands. 00:23:50.799 --> 00:23:56.799 And that is exactly what his redemptive process has done. 00:23:58.400 --> 00:24:03.119 God is declaring you good when you accept Christ. 00:24:03.440 --> 00:24:12.559 When you accept Christ, the chaos of sin is wiped away like the chaos of the previous creation, and you are then good. 00:24:12.799 --> 00:24:23.680 When Christ died for us, we were restored to the magnificence inherited in our pure first created nature. 00:24:24.960 --> 00:24:28.000 But as usual, I'm getting ahead of myself. 00:24:28.400 --> 00:24:48.640 I just want you to see how wonderful it is when God sees something that was at one time without form and void, something that had become ugly and lifeless, and by his man may and by his hand is remade into something that he would call good. 00:24:48.880 --> 00:24:53.519 And believe me, if he calls it good, it's good. 00:24:53.680 --> 00:24:55.279 That's called assurance. 00:24:55.519 --> 00:25:07.839 Verse 11, and God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself upon the earth. 00:25:07.920 --> 00:25:08.720 And it was so. 00:25:08.880 --> 00:25:16.559 By the way, this is one of those statements that immediately disqualifies the theory of evolution. 00:25:16.799 --> 00:25:23.440 No time to explain, but look at it closer later and pray God will help you to see it clearly. 00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:28.880 Listen, you can't believe in evolution and Genesis 111. 00:25:29.039 --> 00:25:30.880 One of the two must go. 00:25:31.200 --> 00:25:34.640 There is no mixing light and darkness. 00:25:35.200 --> 00:25:36.480 Verse 12. 00:25:36.720 --> 00:25:49.119 And the earth brought forth grass and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the fruit and a tree yielding fruit whose seed was in itself after his kind. 00:25:49.440 --> 00:25:54.160 I'm emphasizing so you can see the connection to the silliness that is evolution. 00:25:54.400 --> 00:25:56.799 And God saw that it was good. 00:25:57.920 --> 00:26:04.160 Here on this third day, God is still busy getting the place ready. 00:26:04.960 --> 00:26:13.119 Not only has he made the land so that there will be a place for someone else, someone other than himself to live. 00:26:13.440 --> 00:26:19.759 Now he's creating food sources, energy sources for this soon to come. 00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:21.680 Well, we don't know yet, do we? 00:26:21.759 --> 00:26:25.680 I mean, we know, but God hasn't put that in the story yet. 00:26:25.839 --> 00:26:30.240 Someone is going to be needing these food sources, I guarantee you. 00:26:31.440 --> 00:26:37.920 But it sure looks like it's going to be a really nice place to be fruitful and multiply. 00:26:38.319 --> 00:26:39.440 No spoilers. 00:26:40.240 --> 00:26:53.920 Verse 11, and God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself upon the earth and it was so. 00:26:54.079 --> 00:27:06.000 And the earth brought forth grass, an herb yielding seed after his kind, and a tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself after his kind, and God saw that it was good. 00:27:07.519 --> 00:27:18.400 Now, perhaps the first time this was read by someone other than the author was when that confounding question of the ages was contemplated. 00:27:18.640 --> 00:27:21.839 What came first, the chicken or the egg? 00:27:22.400 --> 00:27:26.559 Now, it's important to note, listen to me closely. 00:27:27.599 --> 00:27:38.640 We are not told of the creation of the grasses or the herb yielding seed after his kind and tree yielding fruit. 00:27:39.279 --> 00:27:47.599 Up to this point, when God wanted something to come into existence, he called it into existence and it was so. 00:27:48.240 --> 00:27:57.039 But here, he does not say, the Bible does not say that God is calling all this vegetation into existence. 00:27:57.279 --> 00:28:01.200 Listen to me, it says he's calling it forth. 00:28:01.759 --> 00:28:16.240 Now, such language has led people to believe that this, whatever, the grasses, the herbs, they were something or the calling forth was happening after it was already made. 00:28:16.480 --> 00:28:20.720 If it wasn't already made, what is the point of calling it forth? 00:28:21.440 --> 00:28:28.160 Now, because of that anomaly in the story where God doesn't say, let it be, he says, let it come forth. 00:28:28.480 --> 00:28:49.920 Some have, many have argued that the grass and the herbs and the fruit trees must have been left over somehow from the previous creation, that the seeds of these plants were buried in the ground or protected from whatever caused the without form and voidness mentioned in verse 2. 00:28:50.079 --> 00:29:04.640 And that all God was doing here was exposing these previously created but now buried seeds to this new light source that was now shining on the freshly exposed dry land. 00:29:05.359 --> 00:29:13.359 Now, I will say I think that's a rather intriguing thing to think about, but I'm not 100% sure it holds up. 00:29:13.599 --> 00:29:18.880 I don't think we have enough to go on here in Genesis for this particular argument. 00:29:19.119 --> 00:29:28.480 As well as I'm not sure whatever caused the earth to become without form and void would have spared delicate seeds in the earth. 00:29:28.640 --> 00:29:30.000 Frankly, I just don't know. 00:29:30.160 --> 00:29:32.480 I lean both ways back and forth. 00:29:32.640 --> 00:29:33.839 I'm not sure. 00:29:34.160 --> 00:29:40.480 And again, I don't really think coming to such a conclusion helps us in any way. 00:29:40.640 --> 00:29:47.599 And besides, the other indicators of the recreative process are far stronger than this one is. 00:29:47.839 --> 00:29:55.519 In fact, strong enough that such speculative, unsteady arguments aren't really necessary. 00:29:56.160 --> 00:29:57.440 Verse 11 again. 00:29:57.599 --> 00:30:00.240 And God said, Let the earth bring forth. 00:30:00.400 --> 00:30:14.240 Actually, the original word means sprout, let the earth sprout grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself upon the earth, and it was so. 00:30:14.400 --> 00:30:26.559 And the earth brought forth grass and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself after his kind, and God saw that it was good. 00:30:27.759 --> 00:30:31.279 And the evening and the morning were the third day. 00:30:32.400 --> 00:30:35.680 So we've gotten through three days. 00:30:35.920 --> 00:30:42.640 And yes, as I said, I believe these are the same length days that we currently have. 00:30:43.119 --> 00:30:52.240 Admittedly, such an opinion makes a lot of the other things harder to believe, but the Bible really doesn't give us much. 00:30:52.559 --> 00:30:54.160 I'm sorry, I'm dealing with a throat thing. 00:30:54.319 --> 00:30:57.920 The Bible doesn't give us much wiggle room on that one. 00:30:59.039 --> 00:31:04.480 So 72 hours in, we have day and night arranged for and named. 00:31:04.720 --> 00:31:11.119 We have a firmament called heaven, which divides the water above from the water below. 00:31:11.440 --> 00:31:17.039 We have dry land appearing and the seas finding their place on the planet. 00:31:17.200 --> 00:31:18.880 And then we get some food. 00:31:19.039 --> 00:31:22.079 We get grass and herbs and fruit trees. 00:31:22.880 --> 00:31:30.960 All of this is coming together quite nicely to make a pretty good place to live and prosper. 00:31:31.119 --> 00:31:38.640 If you're like you and me, that's a lot of work and not much more than a long weekend. 00:31:39.759 --> 00:31:41.519 Next up, day four. 00:31:41.599 --> 00:31:43.759 That's where we'll pick it up next time. 00:31:46.799 --> 00:31:49.039 We hope this study has blessed you. 00:31:49.279 --> 00:31:59.200 God's word is a great treasure, and it's our belief that a thorough, purposeful study of it will bring all of God's children to an understanding of his eternal plan of redemption. 00:31:59.759 --> 00:32:02.960 It is our prayer that this will be so for all of our listeners. 00:32:03.200 --> 00:32:05.119 Please join us again soon. 00:32:05.359 --> 00:32:09.759 New content is being added all the time, so make sure you check back often. 00:32:10.240 --> 00:32:21.119 For more information on Chapel Ministries, including our YouTube channel and podcasts, please visit www.chapelontheweb.com. 00:32:21.519 --> 00:32:28.720 And if God has laid it upon your heart to share materially with us, we encourage you to follow the links to our secure giving page. 00:32:28.960 --> 00:32:37.599 Please note, Chapel Ministries is not an IRS registered nonprofit organization, and your donations to this program are not tax deductible. 00:32:37.759 --> 00:32:43.759 It's our hope that you do not rely on taxing authorities to decide for you who 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