God Says "Do"

Genesis 6:11 Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. 13 And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. 

Once again, we see that God sees and says. He reveals both Himself and His plan.  Sometimes He tells us very clearly what is on His mind, as He did here with Noah.  But He doesn't stop there: He tells us what He wants us to do in reference to His plan.  Without this information, Noah would have been helpless and hopeless when the flood came.  But since God gave him information and instructions, Noah and His family could and would be saved from the coming destruction.  God said "Make", which is a word that in many languages also means "Do." God tells us what to do for our own good, in response to what He will do.  May we follow His instructions.

God Stops Saying and Starts Sending

Genesis 3:22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. 

Perhaps the most dramatic part of this chapter is at then end of verse 22, where God does not complete His statement, represented by the "-". The Godhead (and we) don't want to even think of what it would be like for sinful rebellion to last forever...  Action was required.  Thus, we have seen throughout His-tory that when God speaks He does end up acting, often sending someone and/or something to realign man's action or condition with His will and purpose. He sends judgments and deliverers, problems and promises, all the while having a long-term view of what life is intended to be. May we listen and learn from what He says and what He sends.

Individual Attention

 

Genesis 3:14 The Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
16 To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.”
17 And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; or you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

At the beginning of this chapter, there are three characters involved in the Fall.  Each was responsible for his/her part in this drastic event. Each made excuses. Therefore, God said something to each one. His reply fit the part that person had in the event and the results of their failure on their future.  What we must also realize here is that God had spoken to them before. They had not paid attention to His instructions. May we listen more intently, and obediently, when God gives us instruction and correction.

God's Convicting Call

 

Genesis 3:8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 

The man knew the voice of God. He had heard Him speak before.  But he also had heard Him walking before He spoke. Man hid. He really did not want to hear what God had to say, but when man heard Him speak, he knew there was nowhere to escape.  God cuts to the chase with a very pointed question: "Did you disobey?" God came wanting to walk and talk with the man, but first He had to give this convicting call.  It was not to be a big bully, but to address the elephant in the room: "man has sinned and something needs to be done. God still lovingly speaks the same way today. How will respond to His call?

God Talks Out Loud

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 19 Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.

When we look at verse 18, we really need to stop and ask: "Who was God talking to?" Was He talking to all the planets, plants, and animals He had made? He was talking to Himself - in other words the Three Persons of the Trinity were talking to one another.  We see the same thing in 1:26, when He said: Let Us make man in our image, after our likeness. God "talks out loud" for our benefit, to let us know how He is thinking, why He is acting, and what He is like. He reveals to us what His character is, what His plan is, and what part we have with Him in doing it. He talks out loud to include us.

God's Owner's Manual

 

26 Then God 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 birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 So God created man in his own image,
    in the image of God he created him;
    male and female he created them.
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 

We have begun looking at what happens when God said: He made His creation and put things into motion. When it came to mankind, God was more meticulous and deliberate in His assembly and directions as to how man is to operate.  The instructions are not only for man, but how he is to interact with the rest of creation.  God speaks and He writes things down. He knows how forgetful we can be. 

God Said and It Moved

 Genesis 1:9 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together 

                    into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 

                11 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, 

                    and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to 

                    its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. 
                20 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.”
                24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according 

                    to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth 

                    according to their kinds.” And it was so.

In between God creating the different parts of our physical world, He also moved things around and made growing vegetation, moving waters, and all the creatures on the land, above it, and in the waters. God is not a two-dimensional artist; He designs and creates movement which begins with His voice.  In the same way, God sees what needs to be done, hears the call of our voice, speaks to us in many ways, including His creation, and expects movement. Is there any way He is speaking to you, and you are refusing to budge?