Genesis 1:26-27

Then God said….

These 3 words teach us that there’s an order and a timing to everything God does.

Why do you think it’s important to know and wait for God’s timing and order; and how have you seen that in operation in your own life – either negative or positive?

How do we know if it’s God’s timing for something in our lives?

Elohim said, let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.

וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים, נַעֲשֶׂה אָדָם בְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ

I used to think that Elohim was a synonym for God. This is what we’re taught today, but this was not the mind of the ancient Israelites who wrote the Scriptures.

I used to think that Elohim proved the complexity of God, even though scripture also teaches that He is One! (Deut. 6:4)

The challenge to this thought comes because of the word Elohim…

ים  (the letters yud and mem – pronounced eem) on the end of any Hebrew word makes it a plurality.

נוּ (the letters nun and vav – pronounced new) on the end of a word denotes “belonging to us.”

I used to base my supposition about Elohim being God on the fact that throughout the Scriptures God reveals different aspects of Himself to different people to teach us different things about His character.  Ultimately, He wants us to remember that He is one being though; with an infinite number of character traits. Even though God is a plurality, Scripture teaches that He is also One God.

I used to think that Elohim referred to God as a plurality, but lately the Lord has been exposing me to some other streams of thought about this.

Dr. Michael Heiser, a biblical scholar and Hebrew language expert says Elohim couldn’t be referring to God based on Psalm 82. He believes that Elohim refers to a divine council. This is a mind bending and paradigm shifting concept. Welcome down the rabbit hole with me. Let’s be open to the Holy Spirit’s leading, guidance and teaching about all of this. Thankfully, He leads us into all truth.

Psalm 82 calls the council ( עֲדַת־אֵל , adath-el) and describes gods under the authority of Israel’s God.

“God (אֱלֹהִים , elohim) stands in the council of El/the divine council (עֲדַת־אֵל , adath-el); among the gods (אֱלֹהִים , elohim) he passes judgment.”

The second occurrence of אֱלֹהִים (elohim) must be semantically plural due to the preposition “in the midst of.”

Dr. Heiser goes on to state that Elohim does not refer to the Trinity—because Psalm 82 describes how Israel’s God accuses the other אֱלֹֹהִים (elohim) of corruption and sentences them to die “like humankind.” God the Father would never accuse, sentence and condemn God the Son, or the Holy Spirit.

Here’s what we do know about the elohim from the Hebrew Bible. They share a certain characteristic: they all inhabit the non-human realm. By nature, elohim are not part of the world of humankind, the world of ordinary embodiment. Dr. Heiser believes that Elohim—as a term—indicates residence, not a set of attributes; it identifies the proper domain of the entity it describes.

Scripture teaches that the inhabitants of the spirit world include Yahweh, the lesser gods of His council, angels, demons, and the disembodied dead. They may cross over into the human world—as the Bible informs us—and certain humans may be transported to the non-human realm (e.g., prophets; Enoch). But the proper domains of each are two separate and distinct places.

Within the spiritual world, as in the human world, entities are differentiated by rank and power. Yahweh is an elohim, but no other elohim is Yahweh. This is what an orthodox Israelite believed about Yahweh. He was not one among equals; He was unique. The belief that Yahweh is utterly and eternally unique—that there is none like Him—is not contradicted by plural elohim in the OT.

Yes God is the word used when Elohim is translated in the Old Testament.  But as already stated Elohim is a plural therefore Elohim is not a synonym for God. We reserve the English “g-o-d” for the God of Israel and His attributes.

Despite their usage of elohim, the biblical writers do not qualitatively equate Yahweh with demons, angels, the human disembodied dead, the gods of the nations, or Yahweh’s own council members. Yahweh is unique and above these entities—yet the same term can be used to refer to all of them.

Is your mind being stretched yet?  Mine certainly has been as the Lord has exposed me to this teaching.

OK, Back to Genesis 1:26-27

וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים, נַעֲשֶׂה אָדָם בְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ

In these six words we could get an insightful look into God’s divine council. Adam was not only a personal name, but it also refers to humankind. If God really does have a divine council there must be different beings with different strengths, perspectives and purposes. This one sentence could be prophetically seeing the variety of people that would come from Adam and Eve to populate the planet and demonstrate the various gifts and callings of each.

Dr. Heiser believes that there is solid evidence in the Hebrew Bible for a three-tiered council. In the divine council of Israelite religion, Yahweh was the supreme authority over a divine bureaucracy that included a second tier of lesser אֱלֹהִים (elohim), also called the “sons of God” (בְנֵיֹאֵלִים , beney elim, בְנֵיֹהָאֱלֹהִים , beney ha’elohim, or בְנֵיֹאֱלֹהִים , beney elohim) or “sons of the Most High” (בְנֵיֹעֶלְיוֹן , beney elyon). It may be significant that these “sons of God” are never clearly referred to as angels (מַלְאָכִים , mal’akhim) in the Hebrew Bible, as that word denoted the lowest tier of the Canaanite council, and thus a third tier in the Israelite version.

We cannot limit God, nor should we try to make God into our image, thinking we understand everything there is to know about Him or the way He created and runs the world.

While our understanding of Him and His ways is very much a mystery there are some things we do know.  We do know that we are created in His image.  We are varied and complex; with great responsibility and power given to us, as we’ll see in the next part of verse 26:

And Elohim said: ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion…

They will rule….

In Genesis 1:26 God, or God’s divine council (I’m not going to claim that I completely understand this) declared that mankind would rule the fish, the birds, the livestock and all the creatures that crawl on the earth.

One thing I do understand though is that in God’s wisdom and love for us He created us to be masters of His creation.

In verse 27 Scripture reiterates that man is created in Elohim’s image; and that He created us in the image of Elohim; male and female. In God’s divine council are there males and females?  That’s really what Scripture teaches here.

I think that God put this in the Word to make sure that we all knew that each of us carries an aspect of divinity that is no less important than the other, irregardless of our sex.  In too many cultures in this world the men are seen as the rulers, while women are seen from more of a servant perspective.

Scripture is clear here that we are equals.  Unique with different roles and functions, but both as representations in this earthly realm of some type of spiritual being that exists in heavenly realms.  We are rulers who have been tasked with taking dominion. We’re only able to walk in our divinely destined roles as we submit our lives to Yeshua and learn what it means to truly be an Ambassador of God’s Kingdom. We learn this by studying God’s Word and we put it into practice as we apply the things we learn to our lives.

What areas in your own life have you submitted to God’s rulership?

What areas in your life have you not submitted to God’s rulership?

What does being created in Elohim’s image, as a ruler, teach you about what God expects from you in the time He’s allotted you on this earth?

Genesis 1:24-25

6^th Day

God said…

We’ve talked about God creating through His Words and how this is an example to us in our own lives.  This has to do with things in the natural and in the spirit realm too.  Our prayers need to be spoken out to have real power and effectiveness.  When we’re battling for health, deliverance, provision, etc… we need to speak out the Scriptures over our lives, declaring them as truth in faith; and we will see the manifestation of the truth of God’s Word in our lives.  God said….

In what areas in your life do you need to be speaking out your prayers and scripture right now?

Let the earth produce living creatures – it was so – God made – again, wow! Think about the diversity of animals.  If we ever watch those wildlife documentaries we get just a glimpse at the amazing variety of creatures God made.  Next time we see animals, whether on tv or in real life – let’s focus our minds on God and His miraculous creativity and power.

God saw it was good. The Hebrew word for good is tov.

The Hebrew Word for good is tov. תוב  Let’s get into some fun suppositions with Hebrew here.

ת (tav)

The word תו (tav) means mark, and its verb תוה (tava), scribble, limit, is probably derived from the noun.

It’s suggested that the more ancient form of this letter looked like an X, a shape which lends itself easily as a general mark, or a cross.

The word תאוה (ta’ava) means boundary (that which is marked).

ו (vav)
The word וו (vav) means hook or peg, and is strictly reserved for the hooks/ pegs that kept the curtains of the tabernacle in place. It is said that the shape of the letter vav reminds of a hook or peg.

ב (beyt)

The word בית (beyt or bayit) means house in the sense of a building, but also household; wife and children. This word also serves to mean House Of The Lord, or Temple. As preposition the letter also means ‘in’. As such it is the first letter of the Bible. The first word of the Bible in the book of Genesis is בראשית  (Bereshit) and is derived from the name of the 20th letter:ר  (resh).  The word Rosh means head or beginning – hence the English translation “in the beginning.”

So the Hebrew word tov תוב in the instances we’re reading about in the story of creation could infer something like this:

God’s goodness is the mark that keeps, or secures the house of creation in place.

That’s a really important truth to let settle into our souls.  God is good! And it’s His goodness that keeps everything around us, and everything in our lives in place.

In what situation in your life right now do you need to press in and remember and declare that God is good?

Remember the power of our words!  Don’t forget to speak it out into the situation.

It’s interesting that many times what we see is a reflection of who we are.  God saw that it was good. God saw that it was good because He is good!

Conversely, I heard a pastor who was a psychologist say that if you see something in someone that rubs you the wrong way and that you don’t like, you’re probably seeing a reflection of something about yourself.  I think it’s an indication of something God wants you to pay attention to because it’s something He wants to change in you. Remember, we’re being transformed by the renewing of our minds!  Sanctification is the process we go through in our lives after we’re “born-again” and it’s a life-long process.

Next time you’re perturbed by something about someone else, remember these verses in Matthew 7:3-5  ³ Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye but don’t notice the log in your own eye? ⁴ Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and look, there’s a log in your eye?⁵ Hypocrite! First take the log out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

Train yourself to see them through the lens of God’s goodness.  They may not be acting in a way deserving of that, but at least you’ll be walking in love and partnering with God in working out the spots and wrinkles in your own life.

Dr. Frank Seekins
Hebrew Word Pictures

Genesis 1:20-23

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5^th Day

God said – water creatures & birds

I believe that God gave us an imagination to help us learn about Him.  As Messiah’s disciples, we must train our minds to use our imaginations in positive vs. negative ways.  That’s part of the transformation and the renewing of our minds that must happen in our lives. (Romans 12:1-2)

How have you seen your imagination create negative and positive results in your own life?

Imagination is tied to what we think in our hearts; and that is tied to what our life experience becomes.

Proverbs 4:23 teaches us that our life flows out of what’s in our hearts.

God wants us to use our imaginations to think about Him and His Word.  Proverbs 3:1-2

I wonder if God imagined all the variety of water creatures and birds before He spoke them into existence? Because He’s all-knowing, He probably was able to do that in an instant. Then what He “saw” in His mind’s eye, He spoke out and it became reality.

We’re created in God’s image and that’s probably why what we imagine becomes reality in our own lives.

What do we really understand about the power of our thoughts?

How does our entertainment driven society effect our imaginations?

How can we train ourselves to only use our imagination for good things?

Back to Genesis 1.

Take a moment to imagine all the variety of creatures that God spoke into existence. It’s amazing to think of the power of God’s Words being able to create every unique detail of every unique sea creature and bird!  What an amazing thought! Truly God is awesome and awe inspiring.

God saw – it was good – He imagined it – created it – and it was good.

God’s redemptive plan on this earth is to re-create us to be imitators of Him.  Eph. 5:1. He wants what we imagine to create good things.

2 Cor. 5:17 teaches us that when we’re “born-again” we become new creatures.  What does this mean to you?

How should that effect our imaginations?

I can imagine God looking at the sea turtles, the squid, sea horses, parrot fish, and other brightly colored fish, the sea anemones, and all the other fascinating creatures in the ocean; then His attention turned to the colorful and not so colorful and interesting birds; with their unique habits, abilities, looks and instincts. God’s creativity delighted even Him.  That’s an amusing thought. Creation brought Him joy. I guess thinking about the vast variety – how could it not?!

God blessed them – be fruitful and multiply

It was through a blessing bestowed upon creation that gave them the ability to reproduce and fill the realm that God had put them in.  We too, need to look for God’s blessing upon our lives to multiply.  We must be careful what we’re reproducing though.  Each of us has the ability to reproduce good, or evil; faith or fear; blessings or cursings, etc…

By looking for God to build our house (Psalm 127) and providing us the blessing to reproduce we’ll be assured of His provision of the gift of children who are blessings in our lives.

What does that mean to you in your life (even if you’re single and have no physical children)?

God of Wonders Video

How To Prepare Your Heart: The Role of Imagination

Dr. Caroline Leaf – Renewing Your Mind 1 of 4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIQYfL2JVDk

Dr. Caroline Leaf – Renewing Your Mind 2 of 4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C5dZ8Nk2ck

Dr. Caroline Leaf – Renewing Your Mind 3 of 4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBxpo2Nngq8

Genesis 1:6-19

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2^nd Day

God said & made – expanse between the waters

God called expanse sky

Mysterious – does water have to do with energy conduit between the natural and spiritual dimensions? Are there any physicists among us?

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3^rd Day

God said – let water gather and let dry land appear

God called it earth and seas

God saw that it was good

God said – let earth produce vegetation – seed bearing plants

God saw that it was good

Amazing to think that God made every kind of plant; tree; fruit; grass; flower; shrub on day three. I can’t even wrap my head around the variety that He created, not to mention that the science behind botany is astounding. And to think that wasn’t the only thing he did on day three. Does anyone have expertise in the area of botany?  We’d love to hear what you have to share.

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4^th Day

God said – lights in sky to separate day from night; serve as signs for festivals, days and years; to provide light on earth;

God made – two great lights – sun and moon

God saw that it was good

Astronomy has always been a favorite subject of mine.  When I see the photos from the Hubble telescope I experience a true reverence and fear of God.  How does thinking about the universe make you feel and what thoughts about God does it inspire in you?

As I’ve entered the land of Israel to live I’ve found the Lord encouraging me to remove any sort of religious traditions from the foundations of my spiritual life. He wants to re-ground me His Word. It seems like my life revolves around the weekly Shabbat/Sabbath (7th day of the week-Saturday) and New Moon, which exist so we know what month it is, so that ultimately we can follow God’s prophetic calendar.

God wants to re-establish Yeshua/Jesus and the Word of God as my only foundation.  I believe He wants that for everyone.  We humans complicate things.  God’s ways are simple.

How do you see your spiritual devotion complicated?

How can you simplify it?

Our Bible study times are discussions on the following passage, thoughts and questions.  You can print this page and you may want to jot down things from our discussion that you find fascinating, or want to remember for reflection and prayer after the study time is complete. 

Genesis 1:1-5

God created – it’s difficult to wrap our minds around God who was, when nothing else existed. It’s really important to spend some time thinking about God from this vantage point.  He was before anything else was.  He will be after everything has disappeared.  He knows things we do not.  His wisdom, power, goodness, holiness, and love eclipse everything and anything in the known universe.

Why is it important for us to understand more about God from this angle?

The earth had a watery (spiritual) existence before the physical existence.  This alludes to the idea that there is an unseen world that was created first.  This is the place where angels and demons exist, and where God is enthroned.  Scripture teaches us there are three heavens. The first is our sky and universe. The second is where angelic beings exist and the third is God’s Kingdom of Heaven.

God said:  He declared – Light (before sources of light) – is this light energy?

God saw: He observed – Light was good – is this light goodness?

God separated: He acted – Light from Darkness

God called: He identified – Day and Night – Day 1

We are made in God’s image and we too create, declare, observe, act and identify.

In what ways have you created, declared, observed, acted and identified in your life; and how has it impacted your life?

What do we learn about God from this passage?

What do we learn about God’s ways from this passage?

What application does this have on our lives?