TEXT: Genesis 1:24-25

SUBJECT: Henry on Genesis 1 #9

For the last couple of months we’ve been working our way through Matthew Henry on Genesis 1. Henry was an English Puritan who lived from 1662 to 1714. Although his sermons and tracts are worth reading, his claim to fame lies in the great commentary he wrote on the whole Bible. That’s the book we’re using to guide us.

In expounding Genesis 1, Matthew Henry has the advantage of having died long before the theory of evolution caught on. Not even the infidels of his day (and there were many) had the nerve to say that the universe had created itself. This means Henry could take a devotional approach to Genesis 1 and not spend his time on controversy.

What is Genesis 1 about? Many would say "creation", but Henry knew better: the chapter is about God, who He is and what claim He has on every created thing. In short, the Creator is not a Higher Power, but "The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ". And, because He created all things out of nothing, the claim He has on all things is absolute. He demands everything--from a blade of grass to an archangel—to submit to His Lordship with joy. Including you.

Is He worthy of that submission? He is. If Genesis 1 were the only chapter in the Bible, we’d have every reason to admire, fear, love, and serve our Creator. For it tells us that He is almighty, all wise, and all good.

We’ve seen that power, wisdom, and goodness on display through the first five days of the creation week. Now, we move on to Day Six. On that first Friday morning, God created the lower mammals—"Cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth".

Later that Day, He created another mammal—the one in His own likeness and image. Henry doesn’t say anything about this, but I think it’s worth considering. Being in the Image of God is exulting in its effect—intoxicating if you think about it. You and I are the closest things to God, more like Him than angels, cherubim, or seraphim! But we’re also not far removed from cows and squirrels and monkeys! This ought to humble us—and to keep us in our place.

The making of Man deserves it’s own study, so tonight, we’ll look at the first part of Day Six and the creation of the other mammals. Henry is very brief here (only three inches of print) so we won’t be long on it. But here goes.

The first thing Henry sees in the creation of the animals is the sovereignty of God’s Word.

As the sun rose on Day Six, there were no fur bearing animals in the world. The seas were full of fish and the skies had their birds aplenty, but no animals lived on the earth itself.

But then God spoke and some of the soil sprang to life in the shape of lions and tigers and bears; looking like cats and dogs and horses and cows and sheep and pigs; and more.

Henry is careful to note that, although the animals sprang from the earth, it was not the earth that created them. They did not evolve from other things—they simply appeared at the command of the Living God.

The Word of God, therefore, is sovereign. It turned dirt into monkeys and giraffes and elephants. If the Word was Almighty then, it still is. The New Testament tells us that the same Word that created all things in the beginning is now "upholding all things" and will one day put an end to all things.

What the Word did and does on the cosmic scene, it can also do on a small scale. Thus we should use the Word to grow in grace, to build up the church, and to save the lost. What others things cannot do, the Word can do. That’s what Psalm 19 is all about—what the Word of God can do,

Do you believe this? We all say we do, but are we telling the truth? Do we believe in the Word of God? Not in a formal way of affirming its inspiration, inerrancy, and so on, but in the details of daily life?

Do you read the Word every day? Do you read it carefully? Do you read it with a mind to believe what it teaches and do what it commands? When you need wisdom, where do you go first: to the Word or somewhere else? When a verse rubs you the wrong way, what do you do: explain it away or repent? When you don’t seem to be growing in grace, where do you turn: back to the Word or to something new?

Saying the Word is Almighty is easy to do. Living as though it is, is harder. But that’s what we have to do and we can do it without fear because the Word is Almighty—whether others believe it or not, whether we feel like it or not. Luther called it,

He was right. The Word of God is above all the powers of earth and hell. The Word turns human wisdom to folly and reduces the devil’s cunning to nonsense. Trust that Word because it’s trustworthy. Use that Word because it gets the job done!

That’s the first thing Henry says about Day Six.

Next he returns to the theme of God’s wisdom and goodness as seen in the creation of the mammals.

All fur-bearing animals have some things in common: they have fur, for example, their young are born live and not laid in eggs, they nurse their babies, they’re warm-blooded, and so on.

But within the circle, there is amazing variety—in size, texture, shape, color, speed, and habits. An African elephant can weigh up to seven tons, while a mouse weighs only a few ounces. A rabbit is soft and a porcupine is prickly. A cheetah runs sixty miles an hour, a sloth creeps along like a snail. Deer defend themselves with speed, lions with strength and skunks with smell. A sheep is white and a panther is black. A tiger is striped and a leopard is spotted. A monkey swings and a kangaroo hops. And then there’s the platypus!

The variety shows the great wisdom of God and also His goodness. He thought up all the colors and sizes and shapes and so on. Also, each one fits the animal’s nature and habitat. What if He had made lions to eat meat than then given them the teeth of a horse! Or what if He had put polar bears in the Arctic Circle and colored them jet black? What if He had given hands to elephants and then made no tree strong enough to hold them up? The Lord is wise enough to cast every animal for the part it is meant to play in the world.

The goodness of God also shines forth in the variety of animal life. What if every animal looked the same? Wouldn’t we be worse off for it? Even if we set aside their use, wouldn’t it be boring for a cat to look like a dog to look like a horse to look like a wildebeast? Variety is the spice of life.

Henry also gets into the human use of animals. He says that some animals are not tamable. That’s certainly true today, but it may not have been before the Fall. It’s possible that Adam kept a lion for a housecat or a pack of wolves in the kennel. We can’t say; it’s all speculation.

But we can say that certain animals seem ideally suited to help man. The dog to protect us, the cat to catch our mice, the horse to ride on and pull the plow, the cow to provide milk and meat, and so on. I know man has domesticated these animals (and others), but God made them capable of being tamed.

He did this, once again, out of His wisdom and goodness. Man needs the animals and we also enjoy them. The LORD gave them to us.

We ought to be thankful for them. I know this sounds funny, but when did you last thank the Lord for the mammals He made? Without them, we probably would not be alive—and if we were, our lives would be far more difficult and less happy than they are.

Setting aside the food they give us, remember that our clothes and shoes are chiefly made out of animal hides. And how could a boy and his dad play catch unless they had mitts—which are made of leather?

The love of God is seen in the details of life. And every one of them—big splashy ones and things you never think of—are charged with His grace.

One last thing: Henry doesn’t bring it up here, but it’s worth saying: Although God is the Lord of all animals, we are His stewards on the earth. This means we have to think about them and take care of them.

For example, unlimited sprawl and industry wipe out animal habitats. So does unnecessary pollution. Not to mention the wicked vandalism we often see in parks and other places.

It’s lawful to eat meat and to hunt, of course, but the wanton slaughter of animals cannot be right. Because God made them to glorify Himself and to please us—not to serve our lust for death.

So, if you have pets, take care of them. Think and act and vote also as if the mammals God gave us were His gift. Because they are.