Written by Stefan Johnsson
The Word
6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven.[c] And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
9 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
11 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:6:25 (ESV)
Then the magicians said the Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.”
Exodus 8:19a (ESV)
When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hand and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
John 11:43-44 (ESV)
Reflection
The first chapter of Genesis brings us the creation story and how God created order from disorder. He created all things and through Him all living creatures was given the breath of life. There is a theme here that can be missed. The “spirit” of God from verse 2 is reiterated in verse 30. Everything that is created has the “breath of life,” but the term in Hebrew from verse 2 and 30 is not written in a similar way, even though it comes from the same root word “ruach.” This is God’s spirit/breath and does not have the same meaning as the Holy Spirit.
Now, if we take verse 30 and insert it into the six days of creation, it brings the meaning that God “breathed” into all living creatures as they were given life. We see this term used again in Genesis 2:7 where God breathed life into the nostrils of man. Think of it like a person lying in the emergency room with the heart not beating and the defibrillators jumps the heart to remind it to beat and give life to the body once again. Without God’s ruach, life cannot exist.
Only God can create life because life requires God’s ruach to live. Given this truth, then what does this say about us? Our lives and that of all creatures on this earth is in a lease agreement with our Creator. We are given His ruach for the time we are on earth and then God takes it back. In Genesis 3:21 we see God take his ruach away from a living creature in order to cover the sins of Adam and Eve and give them a longer, albeit still temporary, time on earth. And in Exodus, the magicians could not create life and knew that the living God was with Moses. Jesus shows His ability to give God’s ruach by raising Lazarus from the dead.
We are all living on God’s borrowed breath, His ruach.
Application
Only God can create life because it requires His spirit to live. We think that our life is our own, but far from it, we have been given this life as a gift. So how will you use your life? Are you going to give yourself as an offering to God and serve Him for blessing you? Or will you turn from Him and live for yourself? One way leads to eternal life and the other an eternity separated from His goodness and presence.
Prayer
Father in heaven, help me to live life to glorify You. Let me be a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to You. Thank you for breathing life into me. I am forever blessed. Thank you Father. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.
City Life Starter 
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