|
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
(Genesis 1:1)
This week, we will probe into one of the critical and foundational doctrines of the Christian faith: the doctrine of creation. I have long been a student of this wonderful doctrine. I think it is essential and one in which every follower of Jesus should be well studied and prepared to give a defense for those who oppose creation and embrace macroevolution.
Ken Ham is the leader of the creation ministry, Answers in Genesis. He and his team have written and spoken extensively on this key doctrine of our faith. Ham is also the primary person responsible for the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, Kentucky. As of April 2022, over 10 million people have visited the museum and ark replica. Ken Ham is a staunch defender of the doctrine of creation and believes the earth is less than 10,000 years old and not millions or billions of years old like adherents to evolution teach.
Years ago, I wanted to have Ken Ham come and preach at our church. I knew he was and is in high demand. I had read Mark Batterson’s book, The Circle Maker, in which he challenges the reader to pray in faith and draw a circle around the request and ask God for it. So, that is what I did when asking, if it was the Lord’s will, for Him to allow Ken Ham to come and speak at our church. Not long after that prayer, I was attending the annual Southern Baptist Convention that was held in Houston, TX that particular year, and guess who got on the same elevator that I was on? Yes, it was Ken Ham. I introduced myself to him and asked if he would come speak at our church. He replied that he could and that he would! And he did. He did a great job teaching and then answering questions.
The first verse in the Bible addresses this all-important doctrine of creation. It does not say In the beginning macroevolution, mass mutation, and natural selection created everything; rather, the Bible simply states what we can see is most obvious, that this is a created universe. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," simply yet powerfully written by Moses.
The word translated God is Elohim, and it occurs 2,750 times in the Old Testament, 31 times alone in Genesis 1. In Genesis 1:1, the Bible says Elohim created the heavens and the earth, and we may deduce from this that He is most powerful and mighty. This word is a compound word consisting of El and Eloah. El is the singular form of Elohim and is used 250 times in the Old Testament to refer to God. El speaks of God being mighty and strong. Read Deuteronomy 10:17; in the part that says "the great God", the Hebrew word is El. "For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe."
Eloah means to declare or swear; thus, we have the idea of making covenants or covenant relationships. In Genesis 17:7, God is the covenant keeping God of Abraham.
We acknowledge God as the rightful Creator and Owner of the universe. I look forward to sharing these devotions this week on creation.
|
Apple
Spotify
Deezer
YouTube
