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Wednesday, October 7
Explosive creative power! Light. Water. Firmament of heaven. Earth and planets. Nourishment. Wildlife.
And then…
God “formed the man out of the dust of the ground.” (Gen. 2:7 Masoretic Text) The Hebrew word used here for ‘formed’ is ‘yatsar,’ a potter’s term that means to squeeze into shape, mold into a form as a potter sculpting, individuals at conception, frame, and so on.
The word for ‘ground’ is ‘adamah,’ which also means soil as for building, husbandman, husbandry, and so on. It comes from the word ‘'adam,’ meaning to show blood in the face, turn rosy or flush, ruddy, reddened, and so on.
From this word comes another word ‘'adam,’ which is the word for man, mankind, human being, common sort, or of low degree.
From this last definition comes ‘'Adam,’ as a proper name. Adam’s name reflected his standing, a man of low degree from the redness of earth’s clay. Out of the womb of the ‘adamah,’ the soil of building, God shaped the ‘'adam.’
God fashioned man, as if drawing near to form him with His own hands out of the earth, as a potter in total absorption with his clay, taking time to sculpt him. This evokes the image of Jehovah having a personal relationship with man as His special creation, as a hands-on project.
I imagine the Potter taking His time with His most prized possession, and through His Word, molded here, patted there, adding more in this spot, a little less in that spot. Can’t you just imagine that, when God finished, Adam looked like one of Michelangelo’s statues or like the image of Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel?
Created with no life yet, man received another touch from the Creator. The Spirit of God hovered over him and “blew into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (Gen. 2:7 Masoretic Text)
‘Breath’ in Hebrew means a puff, wind, angry or vital breath, divine inspiration, soul, spirit, and so on. That breath of God, that divine inspiration infused man, supplying him with the vital breath of His likeness.
I can imagine God whispering in Adam’s ear, “I am your Life, the very breath of your soul,” and Adam sitting up, saying, as Job did, “The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” (Job 33:4 NKJV)
What God commanded Ezekiel in his vision to prophesy over the dry bones in the valley sounds as if God could have pronounced it over Adam, “Behold, I will cause breath and spirit to enter you, and you shall live; and I will lay sinews upon you and bring up flesh upon you and cover you with skin, and I will put breath and spirit in you, and you [dry bones] shall live; and you shall know, understand, and realize that I am the Lord.” (Ezek. 37:5-6 Amp)
Just as God gave mankind His breath of physical life, so He endows us with the breath of the Spirit, placing His Eternal Life within us through His Son. As “He Himself gives life and breath to everything,” (Acts 17:25a TLB) “the soul of every living thing is in the hand of God, and the breath of all mankind,” (Job 12:10 TLB) and it is “the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding.” (Job 32:8 NIV)
God created us and His purpose was to have an eternal relationship with His creations. Paul said, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor. 5:17 NIV) Therefore, the only way for us to have that everlasting relationship with the Father is to allow the Holy Spirit to infuse us with that vital breath of His likeness, His divine inspiration, His Eternal breath of Life.
Have you allowed the Almighty to breathe Life into your spirit? Can you say as Job, “The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life”?
May you know that precious breath of Eternal Life as He infuses it into your body, soul, and spirit.
Lord, fill me to bursting with Your breath of life, that I may breathe it out in shouts of joy and songs of praise for You!
Thanks for the reminder, Lynn! You are a blessing!
-Tony
Thank you Lynn!! A fresh reminder of our need for the Spirit of God to enter us and fill every single area of our lives.
Lynn, I love how you wrote "May you know that precious breath of Eternal Life as He infuses it into your body, soul, and spirit."
What a wonderful word picture for me. I desire all of Him to live my life. My flesh gets in the way much too often. It helps to think of Him infusing His life into me.
Thank you friend.
Blessings,
Debbie
AMEN Lynn, precious post, well written and SO in tune with my latest book BREATH OF LIFE (a journey into origin and purpose of spirit, soul, and body)! I should have this post as a foreword...
Once again you have pentrated my heart with the Word of our God. As the song says, "Holy Spirit, Breathe on me..."
I also thought it was an interesting point about the meaning of adam and how Adam's name reflected his coming from the "redness of earth's clay". I guess mankind orginated in Oklahoma, our red dirt proves it. I always knew I lived in God's country.
Molding. Patting. Squeezing. Pressing. A little here. A little there. Fearfully and wonderfully made by a Potter who loves us to pieces and remakes us every day. Breathes on us every day.
Oh, to be putty in His hands.
Beautiful!
Love,
Sandy
I loved this piece. And I especially loved the reminder of where Adam's name comes from, and what it means to all of us.
Wow, Lynn, this is beautiful. Your words bring glory to God and fills my heart with praise. This one is a keeper!!
Tony, thank you so much for reading and commenting. I so appreciate your kind words. Bless you!
Thank you, Skipper! I praise the Lord this piece touched you. I appreciate you taking time to read and comment. Blessings to you!
Thank you, dear Debbie! Makes me happy to see your sweet, smiling face. So glad you're a faithful follower. Makes my heart very happy! May the Lord bless you!
Hey, sweet Marja! Thank you for sticking with me. Your friendship means a lot to me. Blessings to you!
LOL! Terry, you always evoke some reaction in me...laughter, tears, sighing! Thanks so much for your kind words. I love pulling apart scriptures and see what's hidden within. Be blessed!
Oh, yes, Sandy, to be putty in His hands. Thank you so much for reading and commenting. Blessings to you!
Thanks so much, Sheila! I love searching out the definitions especially of OT words. Some are so cool! You bless me! Blessings in return to you!
Oh, Jean, you make my heart jump up and down! Ha! If that is possible! I praise the Lord that He spoke to you through these words. Thank you! Bless you!
Lynn, I just love that you are a student of the Word and the unfolding of it's truths... and moreover, a wordsmith and that you enjoy unlocking the meanings of words. THis is a great post!
Lynn...this is wonderful.....i am going to post it and link to you on the lylah blog! a sweet, true and necessary reminder in these days!
you are a love! lylah
Fade to Black...Thank you so much! It thrills me to dig deep and come up with nuggets of gold and gems of foundation. The Word contains so much more than just the words on a page. Bless you!
Dearest Lylah! Look at your new photo. Love it! You have brought me to tears. Thank you so much for considering this worthy to share with your readers. I am truly honored. Bless you!