It’s common knowledge that many Bible readers hold the account of creation found in the first chapter of Genesis in the highest regard. They are awestruck by their imaginations of the dawn of illumination, the emergence of the seas, and the moon’s precise location in the planetary system. God continues to prepare the Earth for human settlement on the fifth day, which is as pivotal as the previous days.
“And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.” (Genesis 1:20-23)
For what reason does Genesis state that God created birds and marine creatures “according to their kind”? What does it mean for God to bless a facet of His creation for the first time? What is the significance of the fifth day of creation about the second? Continue reading to find out more.
A Recap of the Creation Story
God created everything over seven days. God made the Earth and the heavens on the first day, but the planet was barren and desolate. When God commanded, “Let there be light,” he simultaneously imbued the planet with light and darkness. He called a day the bright part of the day, while a night was what he called the dark part. On day one, God created the world.
God made the sky on Day 2 of creation. God made the lands, the waters, and plant life on the third day of creation. The Moon, the Stars, and the Sun all came into existence on the fourth day of God’s creation. Now, let us explore what God has created on the Fifth Day.
God Created The First Animals on Earth on the Fifth Day
The fifth day begins like any other day: God speaks, and whatever He commands springs into reality.
On the fifth day of creation, the first organisms with beating hearts and breathing air were brought into existence. This isn’t to imply that vegetation does not possess the capacity to sustain life; nevertheless, the animals, who are intelligent beings that, despite having a finite amount of mental capability, serve a purpose that is more important than anything else that has been created.
To start things off, let’s talk about the swarming animals that live in the ocean. God tenderly established a divide between the land and the sea on day three in preparation for what He is about to accomplish here. This is in anticipation of what God is about to do.
God created every conceivable aquatic life using only a few words and all the power at His disposal. Just give this some thought for a second. There are marine organisms that can’t make it in the icy conditions of Russia or Alaska, but they do well in the tropical environment of the Caribbean. Similarly, some would be extinguished if the water temperature slightly increased. At this point, on the fifth day of creation, God brings up each water-dwelling creature capable of living with the might of His speech alone.
Furthermore, in this place, God creates the fish of the seas and the birds of the air. On the second day of creation, God worked tenderly to build the atmosphere and the sky, for both preservations of His creation that was still to emerge but also as a place of refuge for the flying beings that would be created on day five. At this moment, in the same breath wherein He creates every type of aquatic life, He also produces every kind of winged animal, including birds incapable of flight.
God’s First Blessings To The World
On the fifth day, there is a shift in how God interacts with the world He created. Until this point, every facet of creation has been unthinking; what is produced is set and stays or propagates according to God’s Word, without any purposeful decision coming from the created themselves. Nevertheless, God instructs the fish and the birds about what they should do.
“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” (Genesis 1:22)
They are responsible for seeing to it that the continuance of their species happens of their own volition. This does not imply that God is disengaged from His creation in any way, as evidenced by the fact that He “blessed them” before instructing them to carry out their duties.
God is not devoid of command nor apathetic to their coming and leaving, multiplying, or thriving and passing. Rather, God is fully in charge of everything that happens to them. Since the very beginning, God has been providing attentive care for His creation, and this is something that will never stop.
Are you familiar with the age-old debate, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?”? The book of Genesis makes it quite plain that God created the birds and multiplied after their kind following their creation.
What Happens Next?
On the sixth day of creation, things began to pick up speed. As part of Creation, God deemed it good to make a wide variety of animal species and “everything that creeps on the ground.” After that, the three persons of the Trinity make their intentions regarding humanity clear.
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” (Genesis 1:26)
A Prayer of Gratitude For God’s Creation
We, the Body of Christ, declare that you, Holy Father, have created us only a bit lesser than You and crowned us with glory and honor. You have made us responsible for everything that you have created. We are in charge of everything, including cattle and flocks, wild creatures, birds, fish, and anything else that lives in the ocean. We will not trumpet our authority but rather about the reality that our identities are written in the book of life in paradise.
All will declare that we will not pollute the land that You’ve provided for us, and we promise to be careful not to waste our precious treasures. Lord, we promise to change our ways and make them more environmentally friendly, and we will pass these lessons on to the next age. In this way, we will be able to enrich the land for those who come after us.
When we go outside and have fun, we will follow the rules of the earth, and we won’t forget to bring you the glory you deserve for the incredible beauty of everything you have made. It is a pleasure and an honor to look after all of the living things on this planet, and we will appreciate and treasure everything that Your hand has created.
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