The Order In The Universe And Creation According To The Torah

This article covers the relationship between the order in the universe and creation according to the Torah.

The Creation of the Heavens and the Earth

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep… (Genesis, 1:1-2)

And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. God called the expanse “sky”… (Genesis, 1:6-8)

… When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens… (Genesis, 2:4-5)

You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them… the multitudes of heaven worship You. (Nehemiah, 9:6)

And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters He called “seas”… (Genesis, 1:9-10)

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. (Genesis, 2:1)

Praise the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, You are very great; are clothed with splendor and majesty… He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved. (Psalms, 104:1, 5)

Further readings: The Torah, Judaism, and Creation myth

Traditional Oriental Torah cases

Traditional Oriental Torah cases

The Creation of Light

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light… He separated the light from the darkness. (Genesis, 1:3-4)

The Creation of Night and Day

God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning… (Genesis, 1:5)

As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease. (Genesis, 8:22)

The Creation of Celestial Bodies

And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth. (Genesis, 1:14-17)

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory above the heavens… When I consider Your heavens… the Moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is man…? (Psalms, 8:1-4)

The Creation of the Heavens Within an Order

This is what the Lord says, He Who appoints the Sun shine by day, Who decrees the Moon and stars to shine by night, stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the Lord Almighty is His name… (Jeremiah, 31:35-36)

Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He Who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. (Isaiah, 40:26)

Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the bear with its cubs? Do you know the laws of the heavens?… (Job, 38:32-33)

The Earth’s Position in Space

He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; He suspends the earth over nothing. (Job, 26:7)

The Course of the Sun

The Sun rises and the Sun sets, hurries back to where it rises. (Ecclesiastes, 1:5)

The Movement of the Winds Within an Order

The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. (Ecclesiastes, 1:6)

The Order and Cycle in the Waters

How great is God… He draws up the drops of water, which distill as rain to the streams; the clouds pour down their moisture and abundant showers fall on mankind. (Job, 36:26-28)

When He established the force of the wind and measured out the waters, when He made a decree for the rain and a path for the thunderstorm… (Job, 28:25-26)

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth, and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater… (Isaiah, 55:10)

When He established the clouds… when He gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep His command, and when He marked out the foundations of the earth. (Proverbs, 8:29)

They flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place You assigned for them. You set a boundary they cannot cross; never again will they cover the earth. (Psalms, 104:8-9)

All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again. (Ecclesiastes, 1:7)

The Protective Nature of the Atmosphere

… He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, spreads them out like a tent… (Isaiah, 40:22)

The Creation of Animals

And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind… God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” (Genesis, 1:20-22)

And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds… (Genesis, 1:24-25)

You made him [man] ruler over Your works; You put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas, O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! (Psalms, 8:6-9)

The Creation of Plants

Then 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. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds… (Genesis, 1:11-12)

Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. (Genesis, 1:29-30)

Creation in Christianity

Creation in Christianity

The Creation of Man

The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into… [him] the breath of life (He breathed His spirit), and the man became a living being. (Genesis, 2:7)

Then God said, “Let… them [men] rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So… male and female He created them. (Genesis, 1:26-27)

He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, He called them “man”. (Genesis, 5:2)

I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord. (Ezekiel, 37:6)

[Did You not] clothe me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews? You gave me life and showed me kindness… (Job, 10:11-12)

… you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return. (Genesis, 3:19)

As you do not know… how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. (Eccelesiastes, 11:5)

This is what the Lord says—He Who made you, Who formed you in the womb, and Who will help you… (Isaiah, 44:2)

The Heretical Darwinist Idea of “Mother Nature”

They say to wood, ‘You are my father,’ and to stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ They have turned their backs to Me not their faces… (Jeremiah, 2:27)

The Positive Effect on Health of Moral Virtue

… fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. (Proverbs, 3:7-8)

A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. (Proverbs, 14:30)

The fear of the Lord adds length to life… (Proverbs, 10:27)

He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor. (Proverbs, 21:21)

Humility and the fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor and life. (Proverbs, 22:4)

Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. (Proverbs, 16:24)

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. (Proverbs, 17:22)

A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones. (Proverbs, 15:30)

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