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STUDIES IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

—INTERNATIONAL S.S. LESSONS—

SUGGESTIVE THOUGHTS DESIGNED TO ASSIST THOSE OF OUR READERS WHO ATTEND BIBLE CLASSES WHERE THESE LESSONS ARE USED; THAT THEY MAY BE ENABLED TO LEAD OTHERS INTO THE FULNESS OF THE GOSPEL

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THE FIRST ADAM

LESSON I., JAN. 7, GEN. 1:26-31; 2:1-3

Golden Text— “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.”—Gen. 1:31

VERSES 26-30. “And God said, We will make man in our image, after our likeness,” etc. The plural form of the pronoun used here calls to mind the statement of John with reference to “the only begotten Son of God,” “the beginning of the creation of God,” “the first born of every creature,” that “he was in the beginning [of creation] with God;” that “all things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made”—1 John 4:9; Rev. 3:14; Col. 1:15,16; John 1:2,3.

Man was created in the image and likeness of God, having mental and moral faculties corresponding, so that he could appreciate and enjoy communion with his maker, for whose pleasure he was created. “Male and female created he them,” not only for the propagation of the race, but also that the twain might find their happiness complete in their mutual adaptability to each other and to God. Their dominion was to be the whole earth, with all its products and resources and all its lower forms of life—a wide and rich domain affording ample scope for all their noble powers.

VERSES 31; 2:1,2. “And God saw all that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” The physical earth was very good. It was a good storehouse of valuables for his intelligent creature, man; a good field

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for the exercise of his powers; a good place for his discipline and development; and finally a good and delightful home for his everlasting dominion and enjoyment. And so with the whole material universe, all of which was answering the ends of its creation; and so with all the laws which God had set in operation, all of which were wise and good and for the ordering, perpetuity and development of the purposes of their great designer. And so also with man, God’s intelligent creature, created in his own image and likeness. Truly he was very good—morally, intellectually and physically—a likeness which God was not ashamed to own and to call his son.—Luke 3:38.

VERSE 3. “And God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it; because on it he rested from all his work which God in making created.” Here God established the order of sevens—an order of time to be observed throughout his plan subsequently. Six periods of equal length were to constitute the working days, and the seventh was the appointed period of rest. To this principle he subjected his own course in the work of creation. No special reference is here made to the seventh day of the week; but rather to the seventh period in any future division of time which his plan might indicate. In conformity with this principle the seventh day was appointed to the Jews under the law as a day of rest, a sabbath. So also their seventh week, seventh year and their culmination in the Jubilee or Sabbath year were on the same principle. (See MILLENNIAL DAWN, VOL. II., Chap. 6.) And likewise the seventh millennium or seventh thousand-year day is to be a Sabbath, a blessed and hallowed day of rest; for so God appointed in his ordering of time.

We have heretofore shown, and will in some future volume of M. DAWN again present the evidences, that the seventh day of God’s rest, which began just after man’s creation, has continued ever since, and is to continue one thousand years into the future—to the full end of Christ’s Millennial reign—in all a seven-thousand-year day. During this long day Jehovah God rests—avoids interference with the operation of the laws under which originally he placed all his earthly creation. (See Heb. 4:3,10; John 5:17.) He rests from or ceases his direct work, in order to let Christ’s work of redemption and restitution take its place and

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do its work as a part of his divine plan.

If thus the seventh day be a period of seven thousand years, it is but reasonable to say that the six days of creation preceding were also periods of seven thousand years each. Thus the entire seven days will be a period of forty-nine thousand years; and the grandly symbolic number fifty, following, speaks of everlasting bliss and perfection in full harmony with the divine plan.

It will be well to notice in connection with this lesson the general disposition of teachers and Lesson Papers toward the theory of evolution;—denying that God made man in his own image; claiming that he was practically only a step above the orang-outang. Mark such teachings. They are misleading and contrary to the ransom. For if Adam were not created in God’s image, then the account of his trial and fall (See next lesson) is nonsense; and if man did not fall a ransom would be absurd, and a restitution (Acts 3:19-21) would be a most undesirable thing.

If the Evolution theory be true, the Bible is false; if the Bible is true, the Evolution theory is false: there can be no middle ground. We affirm that the Bible is true.

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— January 1, 1894 —