finding repetition

God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:10

When you are writing something for others to read, how do you emphasize that it is important? Do you use italics? Do you underline it? What if the language you were writing in did have those options (or, at least, could not be translated in that way)? What could you use to emphasize a thought?

A good option would be repetition. Repetition is a valuable means of creating emphasis on a specific thought or statement. The Bible is an excellent example of the use of repetition for emphasis.

How do you see repetition being used in this verse? In what other passages have you seen the Bible use repetition for emphasis?

If you notices, I have used both repetition and emphasis several times already. That is because it is an important concept that I want you to be mindful of when reading the Bible.

So, what qualities of God are being emphasized through the repetition in this verse? And why are they so important?

First, let us look at what is being repeated, along with where it is being repeated from.

If you will recall from Genesis 1:5, God gave a name to a part of His creation, using the phrase "God called." We see this phrase also used in Genesis 1:8. Multiple times in the story of creation, God intentionally chooses to provide a name to His creation.

But why does God pause each time to provide a name, rather than waiting until everything has been created? Why does He not just pause and the end and list all of the different names?
What is the reason for each being listed separately? For the repetition?

Again, I ask you to look back on what we learned from Genesis 1:5. God finds importance in a distinct relationship with each part of His creation. By separating the long list and repeating the process for each distinct part, God is making known His desire for relationship with every individual portion of His creation.
And He desires a very special relationship with mankind. One reason for the repetition through these passages is to remind us that, while we are all a part of mankind, God intentionally names each of us as we are created, because He wants to have an intimate relationship with every single one of us. God does not generalize His relationship with mankind; He makes certain that it is personal.

There is another piece of this verse involving repetition can also be found Genesis, specifically in Genesis 1:4. This involves God declaring what He has created to be "good." This term good can also be rewritten and pleasing to God or excellent of its kind. This term cannot be compared to our typical use of "good." It is nowhere near a definition akin to okay or fine. This definition is a much deeper use of the word, in understand that anything that is pleasing to God is the opposite of anything God would find dis-pleasureable (such as sin or ignoring Him in our lives). There is no gray area in what God enjoys. This good is something perfect and unblemished.

Again, why does God declare each individual piece good, rather than just the whole thing at the end of the process of creation? Why does He make certain to create repetition?
What does God bring to your mind when pondering these questions? Please share.
Perhaps it is to emphasize that each individual part was good. As it was created, each part could remain good on its own. Declaring solely the entirety of creation to be good could mis-imply that each part of creation absolutely needs the other parts in order to be good. While this is true for one aspect in particular (the creation of woman to bring good to the life of man), it is evident that this is not true for the whole of creation.

What is God showing you through this? How does this affect your knowledge of His interaction in your life? Who does this help you understand God to be?

Please share in the comments.

understanding obedience

The snow, the vapour, and the stormy wind fulfil His word. Are our acts and thoughts lighter and wilder than these -- that we should forget it? ~John Ruskin

And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. Genesis 1:9

Have you ever felt like God was calling you to do something? or telling you to act?
Did you listen?

When reading a verse such as this (a well-known, oft-read verse that sounds very similar to verses before and after it), it is very easy to fall into a trap. The trap I am talking about is that of simply reading and continuing on to the next verse, just as you would any other book.

The biggest problem, however, is that the Bible is not like any other book.

But how do you read it differently?

To start, you can recognize the importance that each sentence can have in your life. As the Word of God, it is as powerful and influential as He is powerful and influential. It is so important that it cannot be simply read -- it needs to be understood. Let's dive in!

So, what is actually going on in this verse? What is being described for us?

A simple description is: God told nature to do something, and nature responded by obeying.

It sounds simple and easy, right? God speaks, obedience follows.

It is, however, a bit more complicated. Let me explain what I mean.

If you were to walk to the edge of a river and tell it to reverse its flow, would anything happen? Surely you understand that the answer is 'no' (especially if you decided to try). There are a few reasons for this. First, man does not possess the authority over the entirety of nature (animals, yes) that would give any sort of importance to such a command. God, however, as the Creator of the entirety of nature, possesses the high authority and importance which calls forth obedience for His commands.

Another reason would be that water itself does not have the power to change its flow. It is governed by a set of laws (which we define as gravity and a bunch of other equations) over which it has no authority or control. Even if water tried to change its flow, nothing would happen unless someone with authority provided the power to do so. For nature (and all of creation), God is the one with that power.

Applying these thoughts to the verse we just read, what can we learn about God?

1. God holds the highest authority over everything,
   because He is the Creator of everything.
   
   
2. God's commands hold the highest level of importance
   and therefore should be followed
   
   
3. God has power that is above all "laws"
   God created all of the governing "laws" for creation. Just as He lives outside of His creation, He works and acts outside of the "laws" surrounding His creation.

Those are some amazing qualities of God to learn about. An important question, however, is of how this should affect our lives. Knowing these things we have learned about God and creation, how are we called to respond to God? How can this knowledge influence how we live?

Please share your thoughts in the comments.

If you notice, God did not need to repeat His command before it was followed. To make certain God's commands for our lives are followed just as resolutely, we need to be listening for His commands. To be certain we are not missing what God is saying to us, we must be actively listening for Him to speak. One great way to do this is to set aside prayer time where you cease your run-on monologue and wait for God to respond. God loves when you share your thoughts with Him, but a conversation requires both speaking and listening.
Another great way is to set aside a few hours (at least once a week, preferably) to ignore the busy-ness of life and spend alone time with God.

This verse can also help us remember that, when we are called to endure difficult or complicated situations, God is the one who needs to act for anything to happen. It is only through the power of God that we can succeed in fulfilling His commands.

Our weaknesses and struggles cannot hinder the plans of God.