Since it is the last Sunday of the month, we will not be having a Kaioen Discussion. Enjoy the wonderful weather and the long weekend. Our next Kaioen Discussion will be June 6 and our topic is “HUMAN LIFE”. You are able to RSVP for our discussion on Facebook if you would like.
I haven’t read the book yet, but I think it would be worth picking up. N.T. Wright is a great writer and has many other books you can look into as well. One of my favorites is “Simply Christian”. For more info on N.T. Wright
Welcome to the Kaioen Discussion Forum. Our intention is to keep each Sunday discussion active throughout the week. Also, interesting articles, videos, and links will be shared as well. This discussion forum is meant to be interactive, so don’t just read, but interact and respond. And make sure to attend each Kaioen Discussion at 12pm on Sundays.
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Glenn Beck Attacks Social Justice – James Martin | ||||
|
||||
[Genesis 1:20-25]
In our study of animals, we see God creating them on both the 5th and the 6th day. Day 5 has God creating sea and air creatures and day 6, land creatures. What is the significance of this? Why not create all the animals on the same day? Today is not the day to get into that part of the discussion. I hope each of us will take some time on our own to look into this, and we will hit on this idea at the end of our creation study.
The first thing that jumps out at me here in this passage is God speaking to the animals and blessing them. This is the first recorded blessing/admonition recorded in Scripture. God has spoken quite a bit during this creation process, but more in soliloquy form. Here now, it moves
[Genesis 1:14-19]
We now look to the universe – to the sun, moon, and stars. On this fourth day, God puts these elements (luminaries) in place. The author of Genesis gives a reasoning of their existence to be indicators of seasons, years, and days. This has given rise to argument that “time” as we know it started on the fourth day of creation. If this is the case, then the 7 “days” of creation would not fit into the time constraints that we know today. Without the sun and moon, how was a day deciphered? How did evening and morning exist during creation without these luminaries being created yet? I cannot answer these questions, but the questions are important for us to recognize so that we do not simplify the creation story into manageable explanations that we hold to as TRUTH.
[Genesis 1:9-13]
The focus of creation continues to become more narrow. We have shifted our focus from the grandness of the heavens and earth. We have talked about separating the waters above and below. Now, the focus of creations shifts to just the earth. It is interesting to note that on this third day of creation, it is the last time that God names anything. From here on out, man is charged with providing names for the rest of creation.
With this being said, let us turn our attention to the creation of land. The idea of land is used 2,504 times in the O.T.
Here is Genesis, God doesn’t just create land and name it, but the author emphasizes how God clothes the land with trees, plants, and vegetation. God sets up a plan to for the land to re-produce these things through their seeds. The author points out the difference between the trees that reproduce through external seeds and fruit that reproduces through internal seed…
One of the most important notes
[Genesis 1:6-8]
What is interesting about the creation account of Genesis is that the creation of water is never really a focus. On this second day, God doesn’t create water, but He creates an expanse (Heb. “raqia”) to separate the water into the waters of the earth and the waters of the heavens. This Hebrew word “raqia” has been translated into English as expanse, firmament, and/or vault. This noun is derived from the verb “raqa”, which describes the basic action of spreading out. The Hebrew imagery associated with this term is that of stretching out a tent, or hammering metal causing it to spread outward.
Psalm 136:5-6 offers praise to God, “To Him who made the heavens with skill, for his loving-kindness is everlasting. To Him who spread out the earth above the waters, for his loving-kindness is everlasting.”
Isaiah 42:5 – “Thus says God the Lord who created the heavens and stretched them out”
Isaiah 44:24 – “I, the Lord, am the maker of all things, stretching out the heavens by myself and spreading out the earth all alone”
Job 37:18 – “Can you, with God, spread out the skies, strong as a molten mirror?”
So the creation here is not of water, but of the expanse.
[Genesis 1:3-5]
The imagery of light is used all through Scripture, both Old and New Testament. Here at the beginning of Genesis, God speaks light into existence. At the end in Revelation 22:5 it reads, “And the night will be no more; they need no lamp, light, or sun, for the Lord God will be their light”. Throughout the Bible, the imagery of light is used over 200 times and is considered one of the most major and complex types of symbolism within the writings. One thing that jumps out at us right away…the world begins with light and ends with light. Light is important.
LIGHT AS PHYSICAL LIGHT
Here in Genesis is the first reference to light, which is a reference to light in the physical sense. Physical light is the very basis for life on earth. With physical light pointing us
