Genesis 1:11
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 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.
God the Father and the Son together spoke grass, seed-bearing plants and fruit trees with seed in themselves into existence on a literal day of the first six-day week about six thousand years ago, clothing a holy and beautiful earth made as a noble palace for man. That week set the pattern for all time, giving six days for work and a seventh for rest in memory of God's work and rest, so to stretch the days into long ages for geology or evolution undermines His Word and strikes at the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. The same divine word that created the seed gave it power to grow and multiply, and that wonder-working creative energy still lives in every command and promise to beget life, transform the nature, recreate the soul in God's image and sustain it. The verse fixes the unchanging law that the harvest reproduces the seed sown, so what is planted in soil, in character, in words and in influence determines what is reaped for blessing or ruin. Though sin brought thorns, sorrow and death, the cursed earth still yields its treasures to faithful intelligent cultivation and still witnesses to the Creator's goodness, forbearance and love.
Literal Creation Week
The command for the earth to bring forth grass, seed-bearing herbs, and fruit trees was the joint work of the Father and the Son in clothing the earth with vegetation. When the earth came from the Creator's hand it was exceedingly holy and beautiful, like a noble palace. Its surface was diversified, not one extensive plain but regular and beautiful hills, mountains, and plains interspersed with regularly dispersed rivers and other bodies of water, the air was pure and healthful, and the hills, mountains, and very beautiful plains were adorned with grass, plants, flowers, and tall majestic trees of every description that were many times larger and much more beautiful than trees now are, which angels beheld with rejoicing at the wonderful and beautiful works.
That vegetation was brought forth on a literal day within six literal days of work in the first week, about six thousand years ago. Those were seven literal days, not six vast indefinite periods covering thousands or even millions of years plus another indefinite period of rest, and not millions of years required for evolution of the earth from chaos. Each day counts as a generation because each day God generated or produced some new portion of His work, here grass, herbs, and fruit trees. Though He could have spoken the world with its grass, herbs, and fruit trees into existence in one day, He chose six days.
That first week measured off the sample cycle for every successive week to the close of time. Its six days of divine work give man his six days for labor in commemoration of God's six days of work, and its seventh day of divine rest gives man his day to refrain from labor in commemoration of the Creator's rest. When that work of making heaven and earth and all their host in six days was finished, God saw everything He had made and declared it very good, on the seventh day ended His work, rested from all His work which He created and made, blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because in it He had rested, thus proclaiming His will to all the earth as the reason to keep the Sabbath as a holy sign and perpetual covenant.
Stretching the days of creation into long ages to accommodate geology and evolution rests on inferences erroneously drawn from facts observed in nature. To spiritualize and explain away the plain facts of creation, to set them aside by human reasoning or by suppositions of geologists that contradict the Mosaic record, or to leave the Word and account for His creative works upon natural principles, is to undermine and destroy the force of God's Word and enter a boundless ocean of uncertainty. It strikes directly at the foundation of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, which requires observance of a literal seven-day week in commemoration of creation, charges God with commanding men to observe a week of seven literal days in commemoration of seven indefinite periods, which is unlike His dealings with mortals and impeaches His wisdom, and it is the worst kind of infidelity, infidelity in disguise, even when held by those who profess to believe the record of creation. Just how God wrought the work He never revealed to mortals, for His creative works are as incomprehensible as His existence and cannot be explained from natural causes or searched out by human science, for His ways are not as human ways and His thoughts are not as human thoughts, yet sufficient evidence has been given upon which to base faith without penetrating what He has kept secret.
Much larger men, animals, and trees before the Flood, with great changes taking place in the earth at the Flood, explain the wonderful things found in the earth. Bones, instruments of warfare, petrified wood, and other wonderful things found in mountains and valleys give evidence of a state of things differing in many respects from the present, including much larger trees, but they do not prove a great age for the world. Their time can be learned only from inspired Bible history, without which geology can prove nothing, though it may be innocent to conjecture beyond Scripture if suppositions do not contradict its facts.
The record belongs to the authentic account of creation found alone in God's Word, the most comprehensive and most instructive history men possess, which came fresh from the fountain of eternal truth and whose purity a divine hand and divine Mind have preserved through all the ages. Its bright rays shine into the far distant past where human research seeks vainly to penetrate, here is beheld the power that laid the foundation of the earth and stretched out the heavens, and here only is found a history of the race unsullied by human prejudice or human pride. It is to be the chief study in schools, carrying minds higher, training heart and mind to preserve purity by daily supplies from the fountain of eternal truth, training the mind to comprehend important truths concerning eternal life, and giving converse with patriarchs and prophets. In it is learned what redemption cost the One who was equal with the Father from the beginning and sacrificed His life that a people might stand before Him redeemed from every common, earthly thing and renewed in the image of God, impressing on every student that education is a failure unless the understanding grasps the truths of divine revelation and the heart accepts the teachings of the gospel of Christ.
The great facts of creation are pillars of the Christian faith to be accepted with implicit confidence, obeyed literally, and made the guide of life. Their widespread rejection wholly or in part by a large share of the professedly Christian world is infidelity and denial of foundational doctrine, prevailing to an alarming extent not only in the world but in the church, where thousands who pride themselves on wisdom and independence count full trust in the Bible as weakness and superior talent as caviling at Scripture, and where many ministers, professors, and teachers teach that the law of God has been changed or abrogated and hold those who regard its requirements as still valid up to ridicule and contempt. It is inconsistent to declare what God has revealed in prophecy, especially Daniel and Revelation, too obscure to understand while eagerly receiving mere suppositions about what He has not revealed. Sin marred that perfect holy work, and thorns and thistles, sorrow and pain and death are all the result of disobedience to God, yet the earth though marred and cursed with the curse of sin still reveals God's goodness and bears witness to the Creator, testifying to His forbearance and love. The reason for the institution of the Sabbath given in God's great work of creation is to be taught to children amid the beautiful things of nature on the Sabbath, where when the earth came from His hand every flower, every shrub, and every tree answered the purpose of its Creator, everything upon which the eye rested was lovely and filled the mind with thoughts of the love of God, and every sound was music in harmony with the voice of God.
Life in God's Word
God created the seed by His divine word just as He created the earth by His word, speaking grass, seed-bearing herbs and plants, and fruit trees into existence. In doing so He created the fruit of the earth for the service and benefit of man. By that same word He gave the seed power to grow and multiply, and that same word still causes every seed to grow today. Every green blade sent up to the sunlight declares the wonder-working power of that word, and what He had made He saw as good.
The creative energy that called the world into existence is in the Word of God. That Word imparts power and begets life. Every command is a promise which, accepted by the will and received into the soul, brings with it the life of the Infinite One. It transforms the nature and recreates the soul in the image of God. The life thus imparted is sustained by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.
As God gave literal seed to the earth He furnishes the seeds of righteousness and truth in His Word to be sown in the human heart through His co-laborers. He is the source of the first seed, for at His command the earth brought forth grass and seed-bearing plants. By His Spirit He plows, moistens and subdues the soil of the heart to receive that seed, and as He gives sunshine and rain to the earth so He causes the Sun of Righteousness to shine into hearts and waters the sown seed with the dew of His grace unto a harvest of eternal life. His spoken words created His works in the natural world, and creation is a reservoir of means made ready for Him to employ instantly to do His pleasure. Nothing He made is useless, for tares were not part of that creation but came because the curse led the enemy to sow them, and rational beings should not alone cause confusion in the world but should live to God and honor Him as all-wise and all-sufficient, whose perfection is to be revealed in people.
Harvest After Its Kind
The verse establishes the law that the harvest reproduces the seed sown, with every seed producing fruit after its own kind and what is sown determining what is reaped. This law governs character and influence, so that cherished selfishness, self-love, self-esteem, self-indulgence, doubt, faultfinding, discouragement and gloom reproduce themselves unto wretchedness, ruin and an unpleasant harvest. By contrast love, sympathy, kindness, light, faith and hope yield blessing as an imperishable harvest.
What a person is and says is seed sown after its kind, for influence is power exerted by thoughts and actions that creates an atmosphere swaying others for good or evil so no one lives neutrally. What is done blends with others' thoughts and actions and becomes an ever-living influence that speaks after death because works follow. As a seed multiplies through repeated sowings, one life or even one act can have far-reaching effect. The time to decide influence is while living under the Spirit's guidance with experimental knowledge of Christ that makes one a physician of soul as well as body.
The earth holds richer stores than gold or silver for the faithful worker, and with proper intelligent cultivation will yield its treasures, so the charge of niggardliness against her is false. Farming calls for full use of reasoning, brain power, tact and skill, and faith in God's word to give the increase as the human agent plants while God sends sun and water to raise the blade. The soil is to be worked cheerfully, hopefully and gratefully without discouragement over failures or delay. Useful employment in cultivating the land was God's beginning plan for equal taxation of mental and physical powers by combining farm work with study.
Earthly growth teaches that the resurrection of the body and the renewing of the heart work the same way, for seeds of truth sown in the heart are not all lost but spring up gradually, first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear. God's deliberate six days when He could have spoken all in one day teaches against rush, hurry and exhausting overwork that breaks health. It gives the pattern for regular hours of sleep and work, stopping when nature says stop and preserving strength instead of turning night into day. God's hand made the lofty trees, springing grass and beautiful flowers to teach lessons of Him and express His love. So where sanitariums are surrounded by flowers, trees, orchards and vineyards physicians and nurses can point patients to Him and encourage the sick to see in every opening bud and blossom an expression of His love.