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It is written:
Genesis 1:1-2-In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
In the very first two verses of the great Book of Genesis, we learn some very important lessons about the Holy Spirit.
Let’s study.
First, the text tells us that the Spirit was “hovering” over the face of the waters. This Hebrew word is only used two other times in the Old Testament.
Deuteronomy 32:11-As an eagle stirs up its nest, Hovers over its young, Spreading out its wings, taking them up, Carrying them on its wings,
Jeremiah 23:9-My heart within me is broken Because of the prophets; All my bones shake. I am like a drunken man, And like a man whom wine has overcome, Because of the LORD, And because of His holy words.
The word had specific reference to life-giving activities.
“This activity of the Holy Spirit is called that of “moving” in the presence of the waters. The word “moved” (Hebrew rachaph) occurs only three times in the Old Testament, the other two being translated “shake” (Jeremiah 23:9) and “fluttereth” (Deuteronomy 32:11), respectively. Some commentators relate the word particularly to the hovering of a mother hen over her chicks. In any case, the idea seems to be mainly that of a rapid back and forth motion. In modern scientific terminology, the best translation would probably be “vibrated.” If the universe is to be energized, there must be an Energizer. If it is to be set in motion, there must be a Prime Mover.” (Henry Morris, The Genesis Record: A Scientific And Devotional Commentary On The Book Of Beginnings, 35-36 (Kindle Edition); Grand Rapids, Michigan; Baker Books)
This immediately reminds us of the fact that the Holy Spirit is involved in bringing life. In fact, throughout the Bible, we are reminded that the Holy Spirit brings forth physical life. For example, He gives physical life to animals.
Genesis 1:20-25-Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” 21 So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 So the evening and the morning were the fifth day. 24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
In fact, from the Book of Genesis we learn that animals clearly have a soul (the Hebrew word nephesh).
Genesis 1:20-Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures (nephesh), and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.”
Genesis 1:30-Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life (nephesh), I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so.
Genesis 2:7-And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being (nephesh).
Genesis 6:17-17 And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life (nephesh); everything that is on the earth shall die.
Genesis 7:15-And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life (nephesh)
Genesis 7:21-23-21 And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. 22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life (nephesh), all that was on the dry land, died. 23 So He destroyed all living things (nephesh), which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive.
When we investigate the Bible in depth, as well as the historical understanding of people through the ages, we learn that it has only been relatively recently that some people have denied that animals have souls.
“It is sometimes a surprise to people to learn that the Bible teaches that animals, no less than humans, have souls. In the Old Testament, nephesh (soul) and ruach (spirit) are used of animals in Genesis 1: 30 and Ecclesiastes 3: 21, respectively. In the New Testament, psuche (soul) is used of animals in Revelation 8: 9. Moreover, it is a matter of common sense that animals are not merely unconscious machines. Rather, they are conscious living beings with sensations, emotions (like fear), desires, and, at least for some animals, thoughts and beliefs. The history of Christian teaching is widely united in affirming the existence of the “souls of men and beasts” as it has sometimes been put. But what is the animal soul like? Let us consider this question. How do we decide what an animal’s soul is like? Obviously, we cannot inspect it directly. We cannot get inside an animal’s conscious life and just look at its internal states. The best approach seems to be this: Based on our direct awareness of our own inner lives, we should attribute to animals by analogy those states that are necessary to account for the animal’s behavior, nothing more and nothing less. 16 For example, if a dog steps on a thorn and then howls and holds up its paw, we are justified in attributing to the dog the same sort of state that happens in us just after we experience such a stick. The dog feels pain. Now the dog may also be having thoughts about his unfortunate luck in stepping on the thorn, but there is no adequate evidence for this if we stick to what we observe about the dog’s behavior. Such an attribution would be unjustified. An interesting implication of this approach is that as we move down the animal chain to creatures that are increasingly unlike humans—from primates to earthworms—we are increasingly unjustified in ascribing a mental life to those animals. Now an organism either does or does not have a conscious life; for example, a worm either does or does not feel pain. But we have more grounds for ascribing painful sensations to primates than to worms according to the methodology above. All living animals have souls if they have organic life, regardless of the degree to which they are conscious, but we are justified in attributing less and less to the animal soul as the animal in question bears a weaker analogy to us. In light of this methodology, what can we say about animal souls? Obviously, our answer will vary depending on the animal in question. But it seems reasonable to say that virtually all animals have certain sorts of sensations, for example, experiences of taste and pain. Many if not most animals seem to have desires as well, such as a desire for food. Many animals appear to engage in thinking and have certain sorts of beliefs. For example, a dog seems to be able to engage in means-to-ends reasoning. If he wants to go through a specific door to get food, and if the door is closed, he can select an alternative means to achieve the desired end. Many animals also engage in willings: that is, they will to do certain things, though there is no adequate evidence to suggest that they have libertarian freedom. It is more likely that an animal’s will is determined by its beliefs, desires, sensations, and bodily states. There are several capacities that animals do not seem to have. We have already mentioned libertarian freedom of the will. Animals also do not seem to have moral awareness. Animals do not seem to grasp key notions central to morality such as the notion of a virtue, of a duty, of another thing having intrinsic value and rights, of universalizing a moral judgment, and so on. They cannot distinguish between what they desire most and what is most desirable intrinsically. Alleged altruistic behavior can be explained on the basis of animal desire without attributing a sense of awareness of intrinsic duty to the animal. Animals, therefore, do not seem to be capable of having a conflict between desire and duty, though they can experience a conflict between desires (e.g., to scratch the chair and to avoid being spanked). Animals do not seem to be able to entertain various sorts of abstract thoughts, for example, thoughts about matter in general or about love in general or even about food in general. Moreover, animals do not seem to be able to distinguish between true universal judgments (all alligators are dangerous) and mere statistical generalizations (most alligators are dangerous) nor do they have a concept of truth itself. While this is controversial and I may be wrong in this judgment, animals do not seem to possess language. 17 One problem that keeps people from getting clear about this is the presence of certain ambiguities about what language is. More specifically, the question of animal language cannot be adequately discussed without drawing a distinction between a sign and a symbol. A sign is a sense-perceptible object, usually a shaped thing like the characters “BANANA” or a sound (the utterance of “BANANA”). Now if an animal (or a human infant for that matter) comes to experience repeatedly the simultaneous presence of a sign (the visual presentation of BANANA) and the presence of a real banana, a habitual association will be set up such that the animal will anticipate the sense perception of a real banana shortly after seeing this shape: BANANA. In the case of the animal, BANANA does not represent or mean a banana, so it is not a symbol. Rather, BANANA is merely a certain geometrically perceived shape that comes to be associated with a banana in such a way that the latter is anticipated when the former is observed. By contrast, real language requires symbols and not mere signs. When language users use the word banana, it is used to represent, mean, and refer to actual bananas. Now the evidence suggests that animals have certain abilities to manipulate and behaviorally respond to signs, but it is far from clear that they have a concept of symbols. One reason for this claim is the lack in animals of grammatical creativity and logical thought about language itself that is present in real language users. Finally, St. Augustine once noted that animals have desires, but they do not have desires to have desires. They may have beliefs, volitions, thoughts, and sensations, but they do not seem to have beliefs about their beliefs, they do not choose to work on their choices, they don’t think about their thinking, and they are not aware of their awarenesses. Nor do they seem to be aware of themselves as selves. In short, they do not seem to be able to transcend their own states and engage in reflection about their own selves and the states within them. Animals are precious creatures of God and ought to be respected as such. But the animal soul is not as richly structured as the human soul, it does not bear the image of God, and it is far more dependent on the animal’s body and its sense organs than is the human soul.” (J.P. Moreland, The Soul: How We Know It’s Real And Why It Matters, 140-144 (Kindle Edition); Chicago; Moody Publishers)
Notice what Yahweh declared about His creation later in the Pentateuch:
Exodus 20:9-11-Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
These passages teach us that the Spirit is involved in giving physical life to the Earth and to animals.
However, there is something else that we should consider while we are on the subject. The Psalmist discusses the ways that God gives life and provides for the animals. (Pay special attention to verses 29-31).
Psalm 104:10-31-He sends the springs into the valleys; They flow among the hills. 11 They give drink to every beast of the field; The wild donkeys quench their thirst. 12 By them the birds of the heavens have their home; They sing among the branches. 13 He waters the hills from His upper chambers; The earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works. 14 He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And vegetation for the service of man, That he may bring forth food from the earth, 15 And wine that makes glad the heart of man, Oil to make his face shine, And bread which strengthens man’s heart. 16 The trees of the LORD are full of sap, The cedars of Lebanon which He planted, 17 Where the birds make their nests; The stork has her home in the fir trees. 18 The high hills are for the wild goats; The cliffs are a refuge for the rock badgers. 19 He appointed the moon for seasons; The sun knows its going down. 20 You make darkness, and it is night, In which all the beasts of the forest creep about. 21 The young lions roar after their prey, And seek their food from God. 22 When the sun rises, they gather together And lie down in their dens. 23 Man goes out to his work And to his labor until the evening. 24 O LORD, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all. The earth is full of Your possessions—. 25 This great and wide sea, In which are innumerable teeming things, Living things both small and great. 26 There the ships sail about; There is that Leviathan Which You have made to play there. 27 These all wait for You, That You may give them their food in due season. 28 What You give them they gather in; You open Your hand, they are filled with good. 29 You hide Your face, they are troubled; You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. 30 You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; And You renew the face of the earth. 31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever; May the LORD rejoice in His works.
Please consider that this passage describes the life of animals, their deaths, and then a Day when they are resurrected!
The famed Bible commentator, Adam Clarke, noted about these verses:
“Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created-יבראון yibbareun, “They are created again.” And thou renewest the face of the earth-Do not these words plainly imply a resurrection of the bodies which have died, been dissolved, or turned to dust? And is not the brute creation principally intended here? Is it not on this account it is said, Psalm 104: 31, “the glory of the Lord shall endure for ever, (לעולם leolam ),” to be manifest in those times which are secret, when Jehovah himself shall rejoice in his works; when the brute creation shall be delivered from the bondage of its corruption? See the notes on Romans 8: 19-23; (note).” (Adam Clarke, Clarke On The Whole Bible: Adam Clarke’s Bible Commentary, 4159 (Kindle Edition))
Another student of the Word points out about this text:
“That’s a pretty powerful passage, isn’t it? But guess what? There’s an even better Bible section that gives me hope for Jax. If it wasn’t for the discovery of this super-unique and downright amazing Bible passage, this book might not have been written. As we examine these verses, you be the judge. They’re definitely about animals, their deaths, and their return to the dust. But it seems to me that they also talk about how God will bring them back to life again! These amazing verses are found in Psalm 104. It’s a Psalm of God’s works, of His creation, and of His wonderful care for both man and animals. Written by king David, Psalm 104 mentions every beast of the field and the wild donkeys (v. 11), the birds (v. 12), the cattle (v. 14), the wild goats (v. 18), rock badgers (v. 18), living things both small and great (v. 25), the young lions (v. 21) and finally, man (v. 23). Ecstatic about God’s creativity and His tender care for all His creatures, David burst forth with joy, “O Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all. The earth is full of Your possessions” (v. 24). Read the following words very carefully: These all wait for You, That You may give them their food in due season. What You give them they gather in; You open your hand, they are filled with good. You hide your face, they are troubled; You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. You send forth your Spirit, they are created; And You renew the face of the earth. May the glory of the Lord endure forever; May the Lord rejoice in His works (vs. 27–31). With a sense of awe I read that section again and again. “Wow!” was my exact thought. In the spirit of honest inquiry and with a true desire to accurately discover what the Bible really says, I will list the following points which seem clear to me: 1) Psalm 104 definitely concerns both man and animals. 2) The death of animals is described: “You take away their breath, they die, and return to their dust” (v. 29). 3) Then David seems to describe God bringing back to life at least some of the very ones that have died: “You send forth your Spirit, they are created” (v. 30). Again, “they die … they are created.” 4) This passage seems to point forward to the time of the new earth, for David continues, “… they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.” This renewal also seems to parallel a New Testament prediction about how, after the second coming of Jesus Christ, there will come “the times of restitution of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3: 20, 21). 5) Finally, Psalm 104: 31 looks into eternity with the triumphant shout, “May the glory of the Lord endure forever; May the Lord rejoice in His works.” After reading verse 31, I thought to myself, “Wasn’t Jax one of God’s works?” Didn’t the Lord create him and keep his little doggie heart beating for three happy years? And what about all those endearing and funny qualities that touched our hearts—wasn’t God Himself the author of every positive personality trait? Of course, when God finally does create a new earth during “the times of restitution of all things,” He surely has the option of making another dog comparable to Jax, or no dogs at all for that matter. But then again, why not restore to life that same little five-pound ball of fur to me. It makes sense to me that He might do this. Psalm 104 does say, “they die… they are created, and you renew the face of the earth” (v. 31). The bottom line is, whether God ultimately decides, Psalm 104 gives me another reason to hope in the possibility that Jax will be restored to me.” (Steve Wohlberg, Will My Pet Go To Heaven?, 820-867 (Kindle Edition): Roseville, CA: Amazing Facts, Inc.)
Please consider the splendid thoughts of Dan Chambers on this topic.
“Will there be animals on the new earth? I can’t think of a single reason why there won’t be. But I can think of several reasons why there will be. You’ve heard me repeatedly express the idea of continuity when I’ve compared the coming new earth to the original, pre-fall earth. That’s because I believe strongly in the principle of continuity. The principle of continuity suggests that, unless there’s revelation announcing that something will be different in the end than it was in the beginning, things will likely be very much the same. 1 Why am I such a strong advocate for this principle? Because the Bible uses words like restoration (Acts 3: 21) and regeneration (Matt 19: 28) to describe God’s work at the end of history. Those words, as you know, express the idea of returning something to a previous state. Also, don’t forget how the book of Revelation uses images of Eden when it talks about our forever home (Rev 22: 1-5). By using those images, God is linking the end of history with the beginning of history. It’s a divine revelation that our forever home will be a restoration of everything that was lost in the fall. That being said, the principle of continuity suggests that the new earth will be teeming with animals. After all, God’s original plan for the earth was to cover it with all kinds of creatures. He filled every corner of it—the water, the sky, and the land—with animal life. Then He declared that it was all “very good” (Gen 1: 31). And keep in mind that the creation of animal life was a major, central, fundamental part of creation. It wasn’t a minor, secondary, incidental work. That’s why the creation of animals not only shows up in the first chapter of Genesis, but why it also takes up such a big chunk of that chapter: 20And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 21So God created the great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22And God blessed them saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the sea, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. 24And 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. 25And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good” (Gen 1: 20-25). It’s not just in Genesis 1 that animals are cast in a leading role in the drama of life on earth. We also see it in Genesis 6 when the flood story begins. When God decided to wipe the earth clean and start all over, He not only chose to rescue eight human beings to occupy the renewed, post-flood earth, but He also chose to rescue representatives of every animal species to occupy it as well: 13And God said to Noah, “. . . 18But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female” (Gen 6: 13-19). Then, when the flood was finally over, God made a covenant with Noah and the animal kingdom. Check it out: 8Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9“ Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, 10and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you . . . it is for every beast of the earth. . . . 11. . . never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you . . . 14When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh . . .” (Gen 9: 8-15a). Since animals are obviously such a huge part of God’s master plan for His visible creation, why would anyone think He’s planning to delete them when He redeems the visible creation? Why would anyone think He’s planning to keep, say, plant life on the new earth, but not animal life? If animals were a central part of God’s original plan for the earth, and if they were a central part of His plan for the renewed, post-flood earth, shouldn’t we expect them to be a central part of His plan for the new, post-judgment earth? I also think it’s significant that God has expressed a special interest and concern for the animal kingdom. For instance, when Jonah was pouting about the loss of a plant that had provided him with shade, God confronted him and asked, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow . . . And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons . . . and also much cattle?” (Jon 4: 10-11). I’ve always found God’s concern for the animals of Nineveh fascinating. God even legislated His concern for animals in the Law of Moses by commanding that they be allowed to rest from their work: 9Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates (Ex 20: 9-10). And, of course, there’s what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount when He talked about worry and anxiety: 25Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. . . . 26Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them (Matt 6: 25-26). Maybe you’re wondering what the purpose would be of having animals on the new earth if we won’t be slaughtering them for food. 2 The answer, I believe, is found once more in the principle of continuity. On the original, pre-fall earth, it seems that animals weren’t on Adam and Eve’s menu. When God handed them their first menu, it sounds like it was—man, I hate to admit this—a vegan menu: “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’” (Gen 1: 29). It’s not until after the flood that eating animals is even mentioned in Scripture. That seems to be when God revised the menu for mankind: “And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, ‘. . . Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything’” (Gen 9: 1-3). Thank you Lord! The point is, if animals had a purpose on the original earth before they were a food source, then surely they can have purpose on the new earth without being a food source. And what exactly was their purpose before we started eating them? Two things: God’s glory and our pleasure. God created this world to glorify Himself and to serve man. God longs to bless His image-bearers with good things, and His creation is a means through which He does that. He pours out His goodness on us through His creation. And a huge part of His goodness is the companionship and enjoyment provided by animals. When it comes to bringing us pleasure and enjoyment, animals sure can bring it. I’ve seen hundreds of people mesmerized and giddy—me included—at the sight a single Bison walking down the middle of a road in Yellowstone National Park. I’ve been in national park traffic jams caused by people—me included—desperate to catch a glimpse of a bear that someone said they spotted two hundred yards away. I’ve stopped the car on a lonely stretch of road in Scotland to watch a sheepdog at work. I’ve seen my son-in-law wake up my two-year-old grandbaby so she could watch a few deer just “deering around” in their yard. And speaking of my son-in-law, he and my daughter spend a weekend every year at an educational program about eagles and other birds of prey. And speaking of my daughter, I’ve taken her dog to McDonald’s to get her an ice cream cone just because I knew she’d like it. Yes, the dog. And, of course, is there anyone who doesn’t love a zoo? We’ve got season passes to the Nashville Zoo. Not only are animals at the top of the list of pleasure providers, but they’re also at the top of the list of glory generators. When I’m watching an interesting creature, I find myself constantly shaking my head in amazement and giving glory to God. And when I’m watching shows about the animal kingdom—which I love to watch—I’m so consciously filled with awe and wonder for God. I probably say, “God’s a genius!” more frequently on those occasions than any other. There’s one more thing to think about in all this. When God first announced His plan to “create new heavens and a new earth” (Isa 65: 17-25), part of its description was, “The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox. . . They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain” (Isa 65: 25). This obviously speaks to the harmony that will exist among the inhabitants of the new earth. If animals aren’t part of God’s plan for the new earth, I don’t know why He would use them as a symbol of the perfect harmony that will exist there. So, animals on the new earth? I absolutely believe it. I believe the earth will swarm with them as it did in the beginning. And as they creep and fly and swim, God will be glorified through them. And not only will He be glorified, but we’ll enjoy them in ways we can only imagine right now. The harmony between mankind and the animal kingdom that was lost in the Fall will be fully restored. My daughter loves big cats—like lions and tigers—so she enjoys making regular trips to a college campus in her hometown to visit their lion mascot, Leo. She loves that lion so much that her husband proposed to her in front of Leo’s habitat. But as fond as she is of Leo, she has never touched him. And she never will. There has always been plenty of steel between her and Leo, and, frankly, I’m thrilled about that. But let me tell you what thrills me even more. I’m more thrilled about God’s promise to ultimately remove the curse on creation. Because whenever that happens, steel will no longer be necessary to separate us from the animal kingdom. My daughter will no longer have to settle for admiring powerful, majestic creatures like Leo from a safe distance in a secure setting. Since the entire earth will be a safe setting, she’ll forever be able to enjoy God’s gift of animals up close and very personal.” (Dan Chambers, BRING ON HEAVEN!: A Biblical Deep Dive Into The Nature Of Our Forever Home, 296-302 (Kindle Edition): Franklin, TN: FaithWorks Press)
Thus, we have here strong indicators that animals will indeed be present in “Heaven” or “the New Heavens and the New Earth.”
We are also taught that the Holy Spirit is personally involved in giving physical life to mankind, and forming him in the womb.
Job 33:4-The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Again:
Psalm 139:13-16-For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.
From this passage, please observe that the LORD that the psalmist praises clearly involve the Holy Spirit (Psalm 139:7). The Holy Spirit forms man within the womb. This is one reason that every human being, as early as the moment of conception, is precious and loved, and why abortion is such a terrible thing.
Second, we learn from this text in Genesis that the Spirit is involved in bringing order to the chaos. I have often found it fascinating that the creation is seen in such a picture of disorderliness and destruction. However, the Spirit is at work in bringing balance and beauty to that unrest.
Is this not what the Lord does in the lives of His people?
Does He not find the chaos in our lives that sin has wrought, and then begins to work to introduce His peace to that turmoil? Indeed, Paul teaches us that the Holy Spirit is at work to bring forth “peace” in the lives of God’s people:
Romans 15:13-Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-23-But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
When we bring our problems to the Lord, His Spirit is working to help us. Isn’t it a blessing to know that the Spirit “moves” or “hovers” over us?
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.
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