The Land Produces Vegetation

Vegetation is Created

On the first day of creation, God made the space to put created things in, the matter (atoms) things are made of and light (energy).  On the second day, he separated the waters, created the expanse of the heavens above the earth and gave the earth form.  On the third day, God separated water from land and made the dry ground appear on earth.  All these things God created were absolutely essential for life to exist on the earth.

God still had not created a source of food for the animals he would create. Without a consistent food supply, people and animals would not be able to live on earth. Therefore, on the same day that he separated the land from the water God created vegetation (plants). 

Genesis 1:11-13 says, ¹¹Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. ¹²The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. ¹³And there was evening, and there was morning–the third day. 

Vegetation is living

Even though plants are made of the same basic elements or matter as the rest of God’s creation, there is one big difference as plants are living organisms.  If something is living that means it takes in air, needs food, grows, reproduces living offspring and dies.  When God created vegetation, he brought life into his creation. Before the creation of plants there was only non-living matter. Non-living material only exists; it cannot grow and reproduce.

There is an important law of science called the Law of Biogenesis. (Bio means life and genesis means beginning.)  This law states that living things only come from other living things.  Life doesn’t spring into being on its own.  This law should cause a person to ask the question, “How did life come into being?”  Evolutionists would say that the first life form came from non-living matter which contradicts the Law of Biogenesis. Life coming into existence had to be a supernatural event requiring the work of a supernatural being.

Supernatural refers to something that exists or happens outside of the natural, physical world, the world we can see and touch. For life to come into being there needed to be something that existed outside of nature (the material world) that had the power to create life. God is supernatural, the primary mover and cause of all things. He is of a different essence than the material realm.

From Genesis 1:1 we understand that God is the creator. He is the author and giver of life.  In Genesis, it says that God spoke and commanded plants to come into being and so they did.  According to the Bible, vegetation and all other living things have their origin in the mind and will of God.  He designed them and caused them to exist, having already made the matter (atoms) which makes up both non-living and living things. God was able to do this because he is an eternal, all knowing, all powerful, supernatural being.

In Genesis it says that God created the vegetation according to its kind.  That means when God created apple trees he designed them to produce apples that would produce seeds from which would grow more apple trees.  Each type of plant produces the same type of plant, according to its kind. 

When bean seeds are planted, bean plants grow. Wrapped up or contained in a bean seed is all the material and genetic information needed to give life to a bean plant. Even the way it grows is evidence of design. This is true of all seeds; each produces its own kind and grows according to a plan.

1. A seed first sends a root downward to anchor itself into the ground and take up water.
2. As the stem pushes its way up through the soil, the plants live off the food stored in the cotyledons (two split halves of the seed).
3. Once a plant has developed roots and leaves, it can make its own food; the cotyledons are no longer needed so they wither and fall off.

For a seed to live and grow, it needs everything God had already created in days one, two and three.  For it to sprout, it needs water, air and warmth. For it to continue to grow, it needs a source of light so it can produce food and it also needs soil to root in. 

1. A seed won’t grow without absorbing water. Water makes up a huge percentage of every living plant and is essential for transporting food through the plant and waste out of it.  Without water, a plant will soon wither and die. The water cycle that God put in place insures a continuous supply of water on the earth.
2. A plant also needs air, which exists in the atmosphere surrounding the earth.  Plants take in carbon dioxide gas from the air, use it to produce food and then put out oxygen gas as a waste product of respiration.  This is exactly the opposite from animals and prople, which need oxygen from the air to live and grow and put out carbon dioxide as a waste product of respiration. 
3. All plants also need light.  Light from the sun produces the warmth needed for a plant to sprout.  The light is also used by plants to produce food from the green chlorophyll in their leaves. 
4. Most plants need ground or soil to grow in.  A seed sends down a root to anchor the plant into the soil so it can take up the water and minerals it needs for life. 

Similar to the way plants need to be rooted in the soil to take up water so they can live and grow, God wants us to be rooted in him. If we are rooted in the Lord, it means we have been planted, have sprouted and have found life in him. We send out roots that go deep into his Word, taking in his truth and making it part of us. A relationship with Christ brings us living water and nutrients for our souls.  Being rooted in God means that we continue to grow and thrive in him, even when society or the people around us may be dry and lifeless. 

Jeremiah 17:7-8 describes what it means to be rooted in the Lord.  ⁷“But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. ⁸He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

Those who are rooted in the Lord are connected to the source of life and receive what they need for an abundant life from God himself. They produce good fruit, which reflects the relationship they have with God

Psalm 92:12-13 says, ¹²The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; ¹³planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God.

The righteous are the ones who have been made right by God. They are rooted in Christ and receive what they need for life from him. They can dwell in God’s presence, which will cause them to flourish. They will be sturdy and strong like a cedar of Lebanon. The cedars of Lebanon are trees that grows to 130 feet tall with a trunk that is more than 8 feet across. That is a tree that will stand firm in all circumstances.

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• Overview Questions:  What had God created on the first, second and third days before he brought forth plants?  What is the difference between the plants God created and what he had created before them?  What do plants need to live and grow?  How did God create the plants?  What did God see about the plants? 
• Thought Questions: Why did God see that the plants he created were good?  What is God’s design for plants?  Why wouldn’t there be life on earth if there weren’t any plants?  What can we learn about God from the creation of plants?
• Prayer: Thank God for the good design of his creation that all the things he made are designed to support life on earth.  Thank God that he has given you and all things life. Pray that you would be well rooted in him and flourish in his presence. Thank God that in him you can grow strong and produce fruit that honors him.
• Week’s Memory Verse:  Psalm 92:12-13

What does being rooted in the Lord do for a person?

Being rooted in the Lord causes the righteous to flourish.

¹²The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; ¹³planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God.