July 15 Daily Devotional

Monthly Theme:

By God’s Word and Spirit the world was made, and he uses the same tools to rebuild the creaking cosmos. God does not save some souls from the wreckage of the planet; instead, the whole groaning creation must be delivered from bondage by the love and power of God.

Bible Reading:

Genesis 9:1–7

Bible Text:

"Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. But..." (Gen. 9:3–4).

Devotional:

After the great flood, God gave the earth a new start. God made human society possible again, in spite of the destructive power of sin. Again he entrusted people with the care of the planet, though life would never again be as peaceful as it was in the garden.

God blessed humanity with the gift of fertility and the command to fill the earth—just as he did in the beginning. God also gave us the responsibility to govern the rest of creation (vv. 2--3). Yet unlike the situation in paradise, our relationship with creation is no longer harmonious. Now we are the masters and mistresses only because "fear and dread" fill the creatures under our care (v. 2). We are still on top of the heap, so to speak, but only because we carry a big stick.

We may also eat animals. Apparently in paradise people were vegetarians. "Just as I gave you the green plants [in paradise], now [after the flood] I give you everything," God said.

God also surrounds human life with rules for our protection. One rule protects us against bestiality: "You must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it" (v. 4). Another protects us from each other: "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed" (v. 6).

This is no paradise; it's a sin-filled world. Yet the safeguards God provides help us live a fairly well-ordered, well-protected life. Human society, if guarded, can be relatively good, thanks to God's covenant with creation.

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published in 1994. This edition is copyright by Faith Alive Christian Resources, from whom may be ordered Daylight, the predecessor of Twilight.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this edition of Twilight are from the New International Version

Be sure to read the "Preface" and the "Acknowledgments" by the author.