Plurals of Creation (Gen 1:24-31)

Fourth Day, plant life was created.

Fifth Day, birds and sea animals were created.

(Gen 1:14-23)

Sixth and Final day of Creation: Animals and Mankind.

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.
²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make man^[h] in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

²⁷ So God created man in his own image,
    in the image of God he created him;
    male and female he created them.

²⁸ And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” ²⁹ And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. ³⁰ And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. ³¹ And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

God had thought through and discussed this new creation he was about to form. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all three knew what this new creation was, and the risk of such a creation, a child made in the image of God and placed in a network of relationship called Family, a reflection of his maker, with the freedom to embrace a loving father or reject him.

God wanted a child to love, to share all the Goodness that he ruled and reigned over.

Then God said, “Let us make man^[h] in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

Plurals.

God is many things, performing many roles, and yet concerning the earth and mankind..
God is an "us" consisting of Father (daddy), Son (child and heir), and Spirit (mom).

Man is a "them" consisting of Male (daddy) and Female (mom), with the ability to procreate (children).

I love that the Holy Spirit is the divine "paraclete" which literally means
"one called along side to help."

And the woman was created and ordained to be the male's "helper".

So much attention has been given to men as the one given spiritual authority like the Father over the family.. and yet so often women are belittled and taken for granted as a gopher or slave. So much confusion as to the role of both. It was designed to flow and operate based on giving -- more so than sheer obedience.. a cheerful giver allows obedience to be effective without offense, for the wholeness of all.

That's a huge thing.. "A CHEERFUL GIVER (HELPER, WIFE, IMAGE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT) ALLOWS OBEDIENCE (SERVICE, SUBMISSION) TO BE EFFECTIVE WITHOUT OFFENSE, FOR THE WHOLENESS OF ALL"

When men lord their God-given gift over women as though they are above them.. it corrupts the beauty and health of the relationship. It imprisons the woman as a slave to his selfish ambition rather than freeing her to nurture the relationship and the wholeness of the man, their marriage, and their family. When a man abuses the authority given to him as a gift of God by abusing the woman given to him (also as a gift of God), he brings destruction and bondage to himself, his success, and his relationship with God and Man.

Just as when a woman is selfishly motivated by ambition so that she demands to lead.. to have authority over her husband's sincere attempts to lead his family as God has directed him. She brings destruction to her own home and to herself and all that she holds dear. Sometimes, men refuse to lead.. sometimes he just doesn't want to for whatever reason.. then the woman must pick up the ball to lead those she loves to victory (as with Deborah and Abigail).

It was very interesting to me that Man was given dominion over the animals, the fish and the birds. But the plant life was given as a gift to man and all the animal life on the earth. Plant life was given as food to both, just as air was given to breathe.  I find that little detail interesting though I don't fully understand the significance of it.. I will keep it in the back of my mind knowing that at some time as I read through Scripture it will open more fully and some greater significance will emerge. 

So here on the sixth day.. God completed this new creation of mankind and all that was made for him to have dominion over and that was necessary to sustain him as a whole and healthy creation, a child, as an image and living being representing the children of God, loved and cherished, cared for and given purpose. God called all that was made those six days.. GOOD.

Day Seven: God rested.