I’ve been sitting in the nursery class with my three month old because I believe it is very important to get children used to going to Bible class as early as possible. Associating God and the Bible with fun and love is the first step in establishing a child’s love for his/her Creator. Occasionally, sitting in an adult class, I may hear something I disagree with. Nothing doctrinal or essential to salvation, but something which would fall under Romans 14:1—“doubtful things.” Many people argue, for some reason, that there is nothing on which brethren may disagree and still be brethren; however, if this were true, there would be no need for Romans 14. In any case, I was surprised to find something in the nursery class which was contrary to what I believed!
The nursery teacher sang about the chicken being made on the fifth day. I thought about it, and realized that, by our distinction, a chicken is a bird (though it does not fly). The Bible says that birds and fish were made on the fifth day. Then, animals and man were made on the sixth day. To my understanding, the Bible defines God’s view of creatures in Genesis 1 three times:
• Genesis1:21—“So God created 1) great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, 2) and every winged bird according to its kind…” verse 25: “And God made 3) 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…”
• Genesis 1:26—“…let [man] have dominion over the 1) fish of the sea, 2) over the birds of the air, and 3) over the cattle, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.
• Genesis 1:28—“…have dominion over 1) the fish of the sea, 2) over the birds of the air, and 3) over every living thing that moves on the earth.
By this distinction, God defined everything that lives under water as “fish,” everything that flies in the air as “birds” and everything else as “beasts” and “creeping things” which “move on the earth.”
Now, I am not writing this to debate whether or not God made chickens on the fifth or sixth day, nor do I think people should stop teaching one way or the other because, in the end, it doesn’t ultimately matter whether chickens were made on the fifth or sixth day (“doubtful things”). I am writing this because I think it serves as a good reminder that we human beings, who think we’re so smart with all of our advanced sciences, don’t know everything!
I’ve heard people argue that Jonah could not possibly have been swallowed by a whale because the Bible says it was a big fish and a whale is not a fish, it’s a mammal. The Bible doesn’t use the word mammal! Does this mean it is a type of creature that God did not create? How silly. In this is the assumption that God defines things how we define things. He made fish, birds, beasts and creeping things.
I am thinking of I Corinthians 3:18-21a here: “Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He catches the wise in their own craftiness (cf. Job 5:13) and again, The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile (cf. Psalm 94:11). Therefore let no one boast in men.”
I consider myself a pretty smart person, but every now and then, I need a dose of remembering that I don’t know everything! All the knowledge given to us in the Bible “…is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (II Timothy 3:16-17). We should all remember that the Bible is not meant to be an all-inclusive book of knowledge about everything on Earth. It has a purpose. Its purpose is for our learning (Romans 15:4), for our belief (John 20:31), and for our salvation (John 3:16). As long as we remember to keep the Bible within these self-indicated confines, we will remember that complete knowledge is beyond us; but, it is not beyond the God whom we serve. God knows when he made the chicken, and He knows what swallowed Jonah; it really isn’t important for Little Miss Me to know.
-Tricia Reno