Friday, 12 May 2017

Much more to Genesis

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter,
But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
Proverbs 25.2

As the Preacher of Proverbs claims, to search out a matter is the glory of the kings! So, let us have a search out of what God has concealed.

Have you ever felt that there is more in the Bible that it actually seems? Come on, let us have a look at what genesis holds!

People other than humans from genesis

Ever wished to see people other than humans?
I seems that they actually existed. Just take a look at this verse.
There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
Genesis 6.4

Reading the verse carefully, you will notice that not one but three non human people are mentioned here.
1. Giants
2. Sons of God ( we all find mention of them in Job1.6 and Job2.1)
3. Mighty men old and renown

Creation of plants and animals

I always feel that if scientists and theologians work together, their findings would take better strides. 

The best example is the evolution. Let us take a look at the verses.

Plants

The Lord God created plants on the third day

Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the third day.
(Genesis 1.11-13)

Bible also says that

This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.
Genesis 2.4-6

From the above two verses, we can conclude that the earth brought forth the flora, but it was not to be seen (let us be clear that, it was there but was not to be seen) until the mists rose. So, the flora grew up just like it does today and didn't make a dramatic appearance. 

Animals and birds

The Lord God created the fishes and birds on the fifth day 

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.” 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. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
(Genesis 1.20-23)

And He created the animals (along with the humans) on the sixth day.

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. 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.
(Genesis 1.24,25).


Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.
(Genesis 2.19)

So, from the two verses above, we can conclude that just like the humans, animals and birds were also created out of the ground (the main difference is that, He breathed the breath of life into humans and that was not the case of animals and birds)!


The position of the garden of Eden

 In my childhood days, I have often wondered where the garden of Eden might have been. Come on, let us take a look at the verses.

The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed
Genesis 2.8

From this verse, we can be very sure that, the garden of Eden was a part of the Eden, and not the entire Eden itself.

Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.
Genesis 2.10-14

Let us take a look at the places mentioned in the verse
1. Havilah (I am not sure where Havilah is)
2. Cush (The modern day Ethiopia)
3. Assyria (A small part of Turkey and Syria and a chunk of northern Iraq)


4. Euphrates river (It starts from mount Ararath runs through Turkey, Syria and Iraq and flows right into the Persian Gulf)

Pictures speak better than words. Take a look at this map


To be short, the Eden covered the entire region of the Arabian plateau and a part of Africa. 

What's more?

An alternative route of Gihon. 


The violet line suggests an alternative path of the river Gihon. Why?
It is a known fact that the red sea is the place where Arabian plate and African plate meet. These plates are constantly moving away from each other. As a result, the red sea continues to rift away.

Click here to read about the red sea rift.

The possibility is that, if the red sea goes on rifting, then there may have existed a time when these two plates were so near that only a fissure was present and it was the Gihon river.

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Thank you for your valuable time!
Do comment if you have found more such verses or if you have any alternative theories. 
Suggestions are most welcome!
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Have a wonderful day! 
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You may also be interested in Does God allow trials and temptations? (Click this topic to view)

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