You can view an in-depth discussion of “God Created” in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris. You may download an MP4 video file, and audio file or a PDF lesson outline from the HopeSS site.

With thanks to Hope Channel – Television that will change your life.

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According to the Bible’s record, the Garden of Eden and the newly created earth were places of abundance, created for life to flourish and particularly for human beings to enjoy.

But God also gave the first man and woman—and the rest of us who would come after them—a role to play in His creation. It quickly becomes obvious—and not just from His method of creation—that Adam and Eve were to have a special status in this new world.

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Adam was first given the job of naming the animals and birds (see Gen. 2:19). Then he was given another role, presented as a blessing from God Himself: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground’” (Gen. 1:28, NIV).

Read and compare Genesis 1:28 and Genesis 2:15. How would you characterize the human job description in a sentence or two?

Too often in Christian history, Genesis 1:28 has been used by some as a license to exploit, even to the point of destroying the natural world. Yes, the world obviously was created for human life, benefit, and enjoyment. But the human responsibility is to “work it and take care of it” – in the words of Genesis 2:15 (NIV).

When we talk about stewardship, our first thought is often about money, but the first command for stewardship in the Bible is to care for the earth that God has created and entrusted to us. The command to Adam and Eve also foresaw that the earth would be shared with their children and with future generations. In the original plan for the world, the created world would continue to be a source of life, goodness, and beauty for all human beings, and Adam and Eve would have a big role in taking care of it.

The earth is still the Lord’s (see Ps. 24:1), and we are still called to be stewards of all that God has given us. Perhaps we could conclude, as well, that in a fallen world our responsibility as stewards is even greater.

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Welcome to our third quarter’s Lesson studies.

The topic of God Created . . .  blesses us with a myriad of hymns:

Hymn 2, “All Creatures of Our God and King,
Hymn 93, “All Things Bright and Beautiful”,
Hymn 98, “Can You Count the Stars”,
Hymn 565, “For the Beauty of the Earth”,
Hymn 96, “The Spacious Firmament”,
Hymn 640, “For Beauty of Meadows”,
Hymn 92, “This Is My Father’s World”,
Hymn 111, “It Took a Miracle”, and ending with 
Hymn 381, “Holy Sabbath, Day of Rest”.

May the Lord bless you and keep you,
May the Lord make His face to shine upon you,
And give you peace.

</blockquote>2 Timothy 2:15 KJV – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”<blockquote>

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Key Thought: God appointed human being to tend and care for His Creation. We still have a role as stewards in honoring God by fulfilling this role as caretakers of Creation.

July 6, 2019

1. Have a volunteer read Genesis 1:25-31.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What does it mean about nature that God saw that it was very good?
3. Personal Application: What do you especially appreciate about Creation? How could you know the Lord better through nature? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states: “The earth is broken down. Nature is dangerous and wild. How can we see the goodness in tornadoes, tsunamis, floods, fires, and destruction? Mankind has misused and abused nature and each other.” How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read Genesis 2:15.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. What does it mean to dress the earth and keep it?
3. Personal Application: How should your being a steward of the earth affect how you live day to day? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “Did God make weeds along with the plants and flowers? Why are there many poisonous plants and prickers, briers, and thorny bushes?” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read Genesis 3:16-19..

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. What do these verses tell us about changed relationships between humans and the natural world?
3. Personal Application: By avoiding the natural birth process by C-Sections, are women avoiding or circumventing the curse given by God of pain in child birth? Share your thoughts
4. Case Study: One of your neighbors states, “I thought work was a blessing to mankind. But this says the ground was cursed for Adam’s sin. So what is the curse to Adam if it isn’t work?” How would you reply to your neighbor?

4. Have a volunteer read Proverbs 22:2.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. What does it mean that the rich and poor meet together? Does this imply a brotherhood and kinship?
3. Personal Application: Where do you draw the line on helping someone? Are there cases where you wouldn’t help someone for a specific reason? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.

<blockquote>(Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared.” Ministry of Healing, p. 148).</blockquote>

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It is easy to feel homesick for Eden. There is something in the brief descriptions of the Garden that God created as the home for Adam and Eve that sparks a note of longing in our hearts. We may not understand how such a world would work, but we feel we would like to experience it.

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It seems the sense of satisfaction and completeness was also something that God felt: “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good” (Gen. 1:31, NIV). God made something that was both beautiful and functional. It was exquisite in its design, in both form and practicality. It was vibrant with life and color, but also filled with everything necessary for life to flourish. No wonder God kept pausing to muse that this world that He was making was good.

Read Genesis 1:1-31. What do you think is meant by the repeated statements that “God saw that it was good”? See Gen. 1:4, Gen. 1:10, Gen. 1:12, Gen. 1:18, Gen. 1:25, and Gen. 1:31.

Even though written entirely after the Fall, the Bible is filled with celebrations of the natural world, such as in Job 38 to 41 and Psalm 148. And we must remember that these are not written as a glimpse looking back to how the world was when first created and before sin; they are written in the present tense, celebrating the goodness that is still evident in our world.

Jesus, too, drew examples of God’s goodness and care from the natural world (see, for example, Matt. 6:26, Matt. 6:28-30), commending both our reliance on God and an appreciation of the simple gifts that surround us with wonder. If we open our eyes and look at the marvels of creation, we can see that we are truly the recipients of marvelous gifts from our Creator. Our response, even amid trials, should be one of gratitude, thankfulness, and humble surrender to the Gift-giver.

As Seventh-day Adventists—those who both celebrate Creation and anticipate God’s coming kingdom—we should realize that the beauties, joys, and goodness we see and experience in the world are glimpses of what our world once was and what will, again, be.

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