The Third Day—Land and Its Products
By W. A. Sweany
THE GOSPEL IN CREATION. NO. 5.
The Third Day—Land and Its Products.
AND God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind; and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day.” Gen. 1:11–13. Thus the word of God was the seed from which all vegetation originally sprang, and the Creator decreed that each plant thus germinated should contain in itself seed from which it grew, which, when planted, should grow and reproduce, and thus perpetuate its kind. When we consider the fact that all the skill, wisdom, ingenuity, and power of man can not make a seed that will produce a plant of any kind, and that all vegetation germinates, grows, develops, and matures by means of an unseen power, of which man is not the author, it is easy to believe the statement of Inspiration which tells us that all vegetation was originally, and still is, the direct product of the living seed—the Word of God. The Creator not only thus caused vegetation to spring forth from the bosom of the earth in the beginning, but “He causeth [present tense] the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man; that he may bring forth food out of the earth.” Ps. 104:14. The growing grass, the bursting buds, the beautiful blossoms, the fragrant flowers, and the towering trees of the present time are as verily the direct product of God’s living word as were those that first clothed the earth in robes of beauty. “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God” (Ps. 14:1), is but a statement of the simple truth concerning the individual who ignores this wonderful, universal, continual manifestation of the power of the Creator. Truly “that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” Rom. 1:19, 20. The story of creation was the first and most important of the things that God caused to be “written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” Rom. 15:4. Here the account of creation must contain Gospel lessons since patience, comfort, and hope are Gospel products. And with the fact kept in mind that our Creator is our Redeemer (Isa. 43:1), and that creation is redemption (Eph. 2:10), we shall see in the story of creation and in the things that were made precious lessons applicable to our daily experiences. As in creation the word of God was the seed, from which vegetation germinated, grew, developed, and matured, so in redemption, “the seed is the Word of God.” Luke 8:11. By it we are begotten anew (James 1:18; 1 Cor. 4:15), and born again (1 Peter 1:22–25; 1 John 3:9). By it we grow and develop into maturity (1 Peter 2:1, 2; Acts 20:32). “Trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified” are as verily the product of the word of God as are the stately monarchs of the forest that majestically wave to the glory of their Creator. Isa. 61:3. “For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all nations.” Isa. 61:11. Israel “shall grow as the lily” (Hosea 14:5), and so we are told to “consider the lilies of the field, how they grow” (Matt. 6:28). And all who learn the secret of the power which, without any toil or effort on their part, clothes the lovely lilies with garments of beauty unequaled by the royal robes of King Solomon in all his glory, will be enabled to say, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.” Isa. 61:10. Look at yonder stately tree, which, even in time of heat and drought does not wither, but retains its freshness and vigor, and continues to bring forth fruit in its season because its roots strike deep in the rich soil that is moistened by the waters of the river by which it stands, and then consider its counterpart in the man who delights and meditates in the law of the Lord and trusts and hopes in its Author. As is the one, so is the other, for it is the self-same power that works in them both. Ps. 1:1–3; Jer. 17:7, 8. The vine also, in its nature and characteristics, clearly illustrates the experiences of man in his varied relations with his Creator; “for they shall grow as the vine” (Hosea 14:7) and “the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah His pleasant plant” (Isa. 5:1–7). Just as the vine needs the support of the trellis or tree, being unable to stand alone, so we, unable to do anything of ourselves, must be upheld by the right hand of His righteousness. He fences His vineyard and gathers out the stones thereof, and plants it with the choicest vine, and builds a tower in the midst of it and makes a winepress therein. Moreover, He4waters it every moment and keeps it night and day. Surely there is no more He can do for His vineyard. And yet how often when He looks for good grapes only wild ones are found; when He seeks for righteousness, often finds oppression instead. Isa. 5:1–7; 27:1, 2. In another lesson the great Teacher declares Himself to be the Vine, His father the Husbandman, and His people the branches. The vine bears fruit through the branches—a beautiful illustration of the way in which the fruits of God’s righteousness are reproduced through His people. Phil. 1:9–11. Unfruitful branches and unfaithful men are cut off, gathered, and burned. Separated from the vine, even tho fruitful before, the branch ceases to bear fruit, withers, and dies. Just so barrenness and spiritual death speedily follows separation from Christ. While abiding in the vine, partaking of its life, cultivated, cared for, and pruned by the vine-dresser, the branch is enabled to bear fruit. And so when we abide in Christ and He in us, and the keen pruning-knife—the sharp two-edged sword of the Spirit—in the hands of the heavenly husbandman, cuts away every wrong habit and hindering cause, there will appear in us an abundant yield of the peaceable fruits of righteousness. John 15:1–8; Heb. 12:1–11. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Rom. 10:17. And “if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” Matt. 17:20. But there are yet other important, significant, and helpful lessons that may be learned from the vegetable world. Observation teaches us that the grass, flowers, and trees which we admire to-day for their freshness, beauty, and vigor, may to-morrow be cut down, faded, withered, consumed. Just so “all flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; . . . surely the people is grass.” Isa. 40:6–8; 1 Peter 1:24, 25. “As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.” Ps. 103:15, 16. “But the word of our God endureth forever;” and “the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him, and His righteousness unto children’s children.” There is no beauty nor attractiveness in the dry, dwarfed, withered heath and shrubs that struggle for existence in the parched sands of the deserts; but there is in them a significant lesson and a solemn warning against trusting in self or in others, tho they be princes or mighty men. “Thus saith the Lord: Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.” Jer. 17:5, 6. Truly our only hope is in God, for “all flesh is as grass”—whether prince or pauper, high or low, great or small, rich or poor, mighty or weak, all is vanity. Ps. 49:6, 7; 1 Tim. 6:17. One more solemn significant lesson in the experience of plants merits our attention. As we behold from time to time the withered grass, the faded flowers, the fallen leaves, the dead branches, the fruitless vines, and barren trees, cast into the devouring flames, let us remember that “the axe is laid unto the root of the trees; therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire” by Him “whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and gather the wheat into the garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matt. 3:10, 12. “Together they are growing,
The wheat beside the tares,
For work of angel reapers The harvest time appears.
They are ripening, ripening,
Ripening for the harvest:
The wheat for the garner,
The tares for the burning,
The reapers soon will come.” Reader, are you bearing fruit, or “nothing but leaves?” W. A. SWEANY.