In our walk with Yahuah and His Son, Yahusha Ha’Mashiach, it is crucial to be open to hearing Yahuah’s voice. The most effective way to do this is by studying His Word and relying on His Ruach Ha’Qodesh (Set Apart Spirit of Yahuah). We have established that Yahusha Ha’Mashiach is The Word of Yahuah. This leads us to the logical conclusion that studying the scriptures is our primary means of communication with Yahuah. Therefore, I urge you to heed the advice of Shaul (Paul) in 2nd Timotheus (Timothy) 2:15, where he instructs: “Study to shew thyself approved unto Elohiym, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing The Word of Truth.”
Introduction to the Self Study
In our study today we examined the second character in the Scriptural narrative, The Creation. We explored scriptural references that reveal the heaven and the earth (The Creation) as conscious characters, not merely passive but actively involved in Yahuah’s ultimate plan of salvation.
Since we have proven this to be true according to the scriptures, it’s time to dig deeper, study more intently, to find out exactly what it is personally that we can learn from The Creation. The underlined items in blue are scriptural cross references and external links to help your self study,
Understanding The Creation
The first verse in the Bible introduces us to the two central characters in the Bible, Elohiym (God) and The Creation, which encompasses the heaven and the earth and everything made in the first six days. We learned that heaven and earth are the creation and that the creation is heaven and earth. This verse presents them as a unified entity, though they are composed of countless beings, both animate and inanimate. To fully grasp their role, we need to delve deeper into what The Creation can teach us about our relationship with Yahuah and Yahusha Ha’Mashiach.
Defining The Creation
To begin, it’s essential to understand what it means to create. Webster’s Dictionary defines “create” as “to cause to come into existence; bring into being.” In the Scriptures, creation is attributed solely to Yahuah and Yahusha. No created being has the power to create. This is affirmed in Yochanon (John) 1:3: “All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made.”
Similarly, Romaiym (Romans) 1:25 warns against worshiping the creature instead of the Creator: “Who changed The Truth of Elohiym into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amein.” This underscores that creation is solely the work of Elohiym.
Exploring the First Chapter of Bere’shiyth (Genesis)
To understand The Creation’s significance, we start with Bere’shiyth (Genesis) chapter 1, which outlines what was created and by whom. Since Elohiym is the sole creator, everything we observe, know and don’t know as creation, reflects His divine will and purpose. By studying these elements, we gain insights into our relationship with Yahuah and Yahusha and the salvation that has been freely extended to every man and woman.
The first chapter, first verse, introduces us to all of the groups of things that were created followed by the day that each group of things were created. We will study each day, what was created on that day and how each of these created things play an intricate role in our path to Yahuah’s Salvation.
The First Day
Bere’shiyth (Genesis) – YS
1:In the beginning Elohiym created את the heaven and את the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Ruach Elohiym moved upon the face of the waters. 3. And Elohiym said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4. And Elohiym saw the light, that it was good: and Elohiym divided the light from the darkness. 5. And Elohiym called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
On the first day (what is referred to as sun day on the calendar) of creation, Elohiym commanded, “Let there be light,” and light came into existence immediately. This divine command highlights the authority of Elohiym and the responsiveness of creation. It is the first mention of something being seen as “good” by Elohiym and it reverberates throughout the scriptures.
We can see this in Tehelliym (Psalms) 27:”Yahuah is my light and my yeshu’ah (salvation); whom shall I fear? Yahuah is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Here Yahuah is proclaimed by the psalmist to be his light and his salvation (yeshu’ah).
This truth is seen in the incarnate Yahusha Ha’Masiach when He identifies Himself as The Light in Yochanon (John) 8:12 “Then spake Yahusha again unto them, saying: I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
Here Yahusha is plainly telling His listeners that He is The Light of the world and this aligns with the creation narrative where light was first declared good. This connection underscores the fulfillment of light’s role in dispelling darkness through Yahusha. The light was the first thing created to be given the title that Elohiym saw “it was good”, and it was separated from darkness. In Chazon (Revelation) 22:5 “And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for Yahuah Elohiym (the LORD God) giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.” telling us that in the end of time when eternity begins, there will be no more darkness because of the Light of Yahuah fulfilling Yahuah’s ultimate plan of salvation and fellowship with His Creation.
The Second & Fourth Day – The firmament and the heavenly bodies.
Bere’shiyth (Genesis) – 2nd Day
1:6 And Elohiym said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7 And Elohiym made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8. And Elohiym called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
On the second day of creation, Elohiym created the firmament by the words of His mouth when He spoke “Let there be a firmament in the midst..” The entire second day is about the firmament, raising an intriguing and very important question: Why is it the only thing created on the second day and furthermore, what is the significance of this fact in terms of our relationship with Yahuah?
Let’s start by getting an understanding of the word firmament. Most modern theologians will define it as the sky, the expanse, or the atmosphere. Modern science doesn’t even use the term unless it is with ridicule. Remember though, we are studying as Bereans and therefore we must look at the original definition as it was intended when it was used. In ancient times, the firmament reflected the understanding of the sky as a solid dome that holds back the waters above and separates them from the earth below. We have all seen the pictures with the earth portrayed as it is in the creation account, a “snow globe” with a flat map of the earth and a dome over it. That’s ridiculous! Right?? Well, I will leave that up to you, and your further research, but this is the way it is depicted throughout scripture. I worked a couple of decades as a civil engineer project manager and there are no spherical trigonometry equations involved in calculating the area of any land mass, big or small, all calculations are performed using planar geometry.
Okay, now that definition has been presented in a Biblical, Ivriy (Hebrew) context, let’s look at what this character, named the firmament, can teach us about our relationship with Yahusha Ha’Mashiach. The next reference to the firmament is entailed in the things created on the fourth day which are the things which occupy heaven.
Bere’shiyth (Genesis) – 4th Day
14. And Elohiym said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for appointed feast, and for days, and years: 15. And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 16. And Elohiym made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17. And Elohiym set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18. And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and Elohiym saw that it was good. 19. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
These verses help us to further identify the creation as being delegated to divide itself between light and darkness, heaven and earth, and the waters above and below by the firmament, and that it is set for a guide to the rest of the creation for signs, appointed feast, days and for years. Wow, how important is that, our understanding of time is governed by the firmament and not only time but it also serves us for direction here on the earth. All of the position systems (gps) we use today are only possible with Yahuah’s creation of the firmament. The lights in the firmament were created to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and Elohiym saw that it was good.
2nd & 4th Day Conclusion
The second and fourth days are two very powerful days that are hyper-entwined in an incomprehensible way that still has men and women baffled. The firmament was a part of creation that took an entire day to create and then another day to assign an order to it. A great example of the firmament and heaven as active characters in the Biblical narrative is the verse out of Tehelliym (Psalms) 19:1“The heavens declare the glory of Elohiym; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.”
The Third& Fifth Day – The water and the earth; the living creatures in the water and air
Bere’shiyth (Genesis) – 3rd Day
9. And Elohiym said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 10. And Elohiym called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called He Seas: and Elohiym saw that it was good. 11. And Elohiym 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. 12. 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 Elohiym saw that it was good. 13. And the evening and the morning were the third day.
At the start of the third day, Elohiym said “Let the waters” implying that the waters themselves gathered together and then He commanded the dry land to appear and He called it Earth and then in the next verse He says “Let the earth” and the earth did what it was told. Isn’t that a beautiful thing! And what is just as beautiful:
Bere’shiyth (Genesis) – 5th Day
20. And Elohiym said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. 21. And Elohiym created great dragons, and אֵת every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every אֵת winged fowl after his kind: and Elohiym saw that it was good. 22. And Elohiym blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. 23. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
At the start of the fifth day, Elohiym said “Let the waters” and once again we see that He is giving the water something to do and they did what Elohiym told them. We see in the creation that occurred on the third day, Elohiym commanded the water to come together and let the dry land appear and on the fifth day, He commanded the waters to bring forth the moving creature and the fowl to populate the earth, and it was done.
3rd & 5th Day – Conclusion
The third and fifth days are marked for their details of the actions of the character of the waters. Water throughout the scriptures is a very important thing. Not only is it important in the creation and the creation account but it is a vital necessity for everything that is alive under the sun. A very interesting fact is that the water is not shown as being created in the creation account in Bere’shiyth. It was present in the darkness when the Ruach (Spirit) of Elohiym moved upon the face of the waters. There are several refences to the importance of water and how water plays an active role in our relationship with Yahusha Ha’Mashiach. In fact, the verses that show us water is a living and active member in the creation can be found in the references saying that Yahusha is the living water found in Yochanon (John) chapter four verses ten through 14 – “Yahusha answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of Elohiym, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.”
The Sixth Day
Bere’shiyth (Genesis) – 6th Day – Part 1: The creation of the living creatures on the earth.
24. And Elohiym said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 25. And Elohiym made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and אֵת everything that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and Elohiym saw that it was good.
Again, we see that Elohiym says “Let the earth” implying that He is once again commanding the earth to do something, to bring forth the living creature. You may say, okay, we understand that He is calling on the water and earth to do things and we understand that but why keep repeating it. The reason is simple and we will find it in the second part of creation on the sixth day.
There are plenty of verses that the show creatures are living entities and play an important in role in our salvation with Yahuah. Some examples of this are found in the sacrificial lamb in Shemoth (Exodus) 12:3-5. the ram provided for Avraham for sacrifice instead of his son Yitschaq in Bere’shiyth, the story of Yonah and the great fish Yonah (Jonah) 1:17 and also the story of Bil’am in Bemidbar (Numbers) 22:21-33. In these instances, Yahuah uses the creatures as a conduit to extend His salvation to mankind.
Now we can see how the second part of the creation on day six differs from all the others:
Bere’shiyth (Genesis) – 6th Day – Part 2: The creation of man.
26. And Elohiym said, Let Us make man in Our image , after Our likeness: and let them 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. 27. So Elohiym created man in His Own image , in the image of Elohiym created He him ; male and female created He them. 28. And Elohiym blessed them, and Elohiym said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Bere’shiyth (Genesis) – 6th Day – Part 3: The command to man.
29And Elohiym said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed ; to you it shall be for meat. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air , and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life , I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. 31 And Elohiym saw every thing that he had made, and, behold , it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
The last part of creation on the sixth day is different from all of the other created entities in that Elohiym created man in His Own image. Nothing else in creation was given this distinction or title of The Creator, Yahusha Ha’Mashiach, creating something in His image. This is a critical fact to understand in the plan of Yahuah’s ultimate salvation for us. He loves us so much because we are created in His image and as His children, He wants to have a deep and meaningful relationship with His greatest creation, the one that He created in His image and the only character that He loves so much that He left His throne in glory to take on the form of it, live the perfect life that we can’t and received the punishment of sin that we all deserve, in order to redeem us back to the Father, Yahuah. Yahusha Ha’Mashiach is the greatest gift ever given, Yahuah’s Salvation.
Conclusion
In the study of the second character in the Bible, we have seen that the creation is an active character that helps guide us on our journey to the great gift of Yahuah’s salvation. We see that the creation took six days, literal days, and that when it was finished, Elohiym saw that everything that He had mad was good!!
How has this study helped you in your walk and relationship with Yahusha?
Do you have further questions on anything particular in this study or maybe even just some questions? If so, you can email me at pmorrow@yahuahs-salvation.org
I pray that this has been a useful tool for you to deepen your relationship with Yahuah and also with your sojourn while you are here.
One final reference that would provide a deeper understanding is found in Iyov (Job) Chapters 38 & 39.
Thank you for reading and I pray that Yahuah continues to bless you and your studies of His Word!