Here's the deal.
Genesis.
God's creating things, and as He did He named them...Day and Night, Heaven, Earth and Seas, Great Lights and Stars...Man.
And yet:
Genesis 2:19 "Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name."
Why? Why did God leave the specific naming of the animals to Adam?
Was it God giving man the "first step" of the dominion and stewardship that He commanded in Genesis 1:28?
"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.""
Was it God emphasizing man's authority over animals?
Was it simply a joy and a gift from God to man?
Remember, God had already called them "birds" and "beasts". So there had to be different kinds, not one common ancestral beast and one common ancestral bird. If it were just one, it was already named and so bringing it to Adam would have been pointless!
Adam named them their specific names. He didn't point his finger at the feathered things and say "bird, bird, bird, bird, aaaaaaaand...bird". He probably thought about it greatly and took joy in it, thinking of new and creative names to call these newly created things.
So, my question for you to ponder is, Why?
I don't know why. But, I think it would have been awesome!!
ReplyDeleteJust like how it's so fun for us to name a pet. I'm sure it was kind of like that for Adam. Only lots and lots of names. :D
That's why I know that Adam was a whole lot smarter than I am. I have trouble naming one pet. Twelve kids nearly broke my brain. So, hundreds or thousands of animals? Ka-Blooey! Or as my Word Verification says so dramatically: ALOSPULA! (Great word, that.)
ReplyDelete...sounds Italian...
ReplyDeleteIt was establishing "dominion" over them - which included the duties of caring for. Note too, that God did not name Eve, Adam did.
ReplyDeleteI did note that, actually - which is why I want to study it out a bit more if I can, because I hardly think Eve was on a level with the animals, or that Adam related to Eve in the same way he related to animals.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's a mystery that I won't be able to find any substantial conclusion to. Maybe God will eventually tell us why He brought the animals to Adam to name. ;)
Funny note: as I was writing the previous sentence, I actually at first wrote "why He brought the animals to Adam to eat" - That would take quite a bit of work.
"Your turn elephant...om nom nom."
But anyway.
Genesis is the start of everything. Life. Death. Marriage. Sin. And WORK.I think this was God's way of establishing work. God himself worked. He created something out of nothing in 6 days. Man was created in His image. Man needs to work, to have a purpose. Adams Job description was to multiply and fill the earth, and to have dominion over the animals, including naming them.
ReplyDeleteThe sad thing is that Adams work brought pleasure, it was creative and fun. Then Sin happened, the ground was cursed and work was not fun.
Interesting Narnia note: the animals in Narnia knew that nothing was right until a human was on the throne.
Good Narnia note! Applause, applause.
ReplyDeleteGolf clap even. :D
ReplyDelete