3 英翻中                                Genesis 4                                    創世記4                               8/3/2025

 God forms (1:3–13)                                                                                                                                       上帝創造 (1:3-13)                                                                                                                                        There’s a pattern to God’s activities during the creation week: first He formed and then He filled. He made three spheres of activity: the heavens, the landmasses, and the waters; and then He filled them with appropri ate forms of life.                                                                                                                      祂在創造週期間的活動有一個模式：首先祂創造，然後祂充滿。他創造了三個活動領域：天空、陸地和水域；然後他用適當的生命形式充滿了他們。                                                                                    Day one (vv. 3–5). God commanded the light to shine and then separated the light from the darkness. But how could there be light when the light-bearers aren’t mentioned until the fourth day (vv. 14–19)? Since we aren’t told that this light came from any of the luminaries God created, it probably came from God Himself who is light (John 1:5) and wears light as a garment (Ps. 104:2; Hab. 3:3–4). The eternal city will enjoy endless light without the help of the sun or moon (Rev. 22:5), so why couldn’t there be light at the begin ning of time before the luminaries were made? 7                                             第一天（3-5節）。  神命令光發光，然後將光與暗分開。但是，如果直到第四天才提到提光者（14-19節），怎麼會有光呢？由於我們沒有被告知這光來自上帝創造的任何發光體，因此它可能來自上帝本身，上帝本身就是光（約翰福音1:5），並且穿著光如衣服（詩篇104:2；哈巴谷書3:3-4）。永恆之城無需太陽或月亮的幫助就能享受無盡的光明（啟示錄 22:5），那麼為什麼在發光體被造之前的時間之初就不能有光呢？                                                                                              Life as we know it could not exist without the light of the sun. Paul saw in this creative act the work of God in the new creation, the salvation of the lost. “For it is the God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6 nkjv). “In him [Jesus] was life; and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4).                                                                                                                                                      保羅在這創造性行為中看到了上帝在新創造中的工作，即對失喪者的拯救。 「因為那吩咐光從黑暗裡照出來的神，已經照在我們心裡，叫我們認識神在耶穌基督面上的榮耀」（哥林多後書 4:6 新欽定版）。 「生命在祂〔耶穌〕裡；生命就是人的光」（約翰福音1:4）。                              In Scripture, light is associated with Christ (8:12), the Word of God (Ps. 119:105, 130), God’s people (Matt. 5:14–16; Eph. 5:8), and God’s blessing (Prov. 4:18), while darkness is associated with Satan (Luke 23:53; Eph. 6:12), sin (Matt. 6:22–23; John 3:19–21), death (Job 3:4–6, 9), spiritual ignorance (John 1:5), and divine judgment (Matt. 8:12). This explains why God separated the light from the dark ness, for the two have nothing in common. God’s people are to “walk in the light” (1 John 1:5–10), for “what communion has light with darkness?” (2 Cor. 6:14–16; Eph. 5:1–14).                                          在聖經中，光與基督（8:12）、神的話語（詩篇 119:105, 130）、神的子民（太 5:14-16；以弗所書 5:8）和神的祝福（箴 4:18）相關，而黑暗則與撒但（福音 23:53；以弗所書 4:18）相關，而黑暗則與撒但（福音 23:53；133 章）。 -21）、死亡（約伯記 3:4-6, 9）、屬靈的無知（約 1:5）和神聖的審判（太 8:12）。這解釋了為什麼上帝將光明與黑暗分開，因為兩者沒有任何共同點。上帝的子民要“行在光明中”（約翰一書 1：5-10），因為“光明與黑暗有何相通？” （哥林多後書 6：14-16；弗 5：1-14）。                                                                                                          From the very first day of creation, God established the principle of separation. Not only did He separate the light from the darkness (Gen. 1:4) and the day from the night (v. 14), but later He also separated the waters above from the waters beneath (vv. 6–8), and the land from the waters (vv. 9–10). Through Moses, God commanded the people of Israel to remain sepa rated from the nations around them (Ex. 34:10–17; Deut. 7:1–11), and when they violated this com mandment, they suffered. God’s people today need to be careful in their walk (Ps. 1:1) and not be defiled by the world (Rom. 12:1–2; James 1:7; 4:4; 1 John 2:15–17).                                                                                                                             從創造的第一天起，神就確立了分離的原則。他不僅將光與暗分開（創1:4）、晝與夜（14節），後來他也將水上與下面的水分開（6-8節），將陸地與水中分開（9-10節）。上帝透過摩西命令以色列人與周圍的國家保持隔離（出埃及記 34:10-17；申命記 7:1-11），當他們違反這條誡命時，他們就會受苦。今天神的子民需要謹慎行事（詩篇 1:1），不要被世界所玷污（羅馬書 12:1-2；雅各書 1:7；4:4；約翰一書 2:15-17）。                                                                                            Since God is the Creator, He has the right to call things whatever He pleases, and thus we have “day” and “night.” The word “day” can refer to the portion of time when the sun is visible as well as to the whole period of twenty-four hours composed of “evening and morning” (Gen. 1:5). 8   Sometimes biblical writers used “day” to describe a longer period of time in which God accomplishes some special purpose, such as “the day of the Lord” (Isa. 2:12) or “the day of judgment” (Matt. 10:15).                                 既然上帝是創造者，祂有權隨心所欲地稱呼事物，因此我們有「白天」和「夜晚」。 「日」這個字可以指太陽可見的那段時間，也可以指由「晚上和早晨」組成的整個二十四小時（創世記 1:5）。8  有時聖經的作者用 "日" 表示長一些的時間, 當上帝用在完成一件特別的事件, 如 "主的日子 " ( 賽  2:12) 或 “審判待日子” (太  10:15).                                                                                    When we speak about spiritual things, it’s impor tant that we use God’s dictionary as well as His vocabulary. Words carry meanings and giving the wrong meaning to a word could lead to serious trouble. It would be fatal to a patient if a physician confused “arsenic” with “aspirin,” so medical people are very careful to use accurate terminology. The “Christian vocabulary” is even more important because eternal death could be the consequence of confusion. The Bible explains and illustrates words like sin, grace, for giveness, justification, and faith, and to change their meanings is to replace God’s truth with lies. “Woe to them who call evil, good, and good, evil; who put dark ness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter” (Isa. 5:20).                                                                    當我們談論屬靈的事時，使用上帝的字典和詞彙非常重要。單字帶有含義，賦予單字錯誤的含義可能會導致嚴重的麻煩。如果醫生將“砷”與“阿斯匹靈”混淆，對患者來說將是致命的，因此醫務人員非常小心地使用準確的術語。 「基督教詞彙」甚至更為重要，因為永恆的死亡可能是混亂的結果。聖經對罪、恩典、給予、稱義和信心等字眼進行了解釋和說明，改變它們的意義就是用謊言取代神的真理。 「那些稱惡為善，稱善為惡的人有禍了！他們以黑暗為光明，以光明為黑暗；他們以苦為甜，以甜為苦」（賽 5:20）。                                                                                       Day two (vv. 6–8). God put an expanse between the upper waters and the lower waters and made “heaven,” what we know as “the sky.” It seems that these waters were a vaporous “blanket” that covered the original creative mass. When separated from the land mass, the lower waters eventually became the ocean and the seas, and the upper waters played a part in the flood during Noah’s day (Gen. 7:11–12; 9:11–15).                                                                                                                                                                 第二天（6-8節）。上帝在上層水域和下層水域之間放置了一片廣闊的空間，創造了“天堂”，也就是我們所說的“天空”。這些水似乎是一層氣態的“毯子”，覆蓋了最初的創造性物質。當與陸地分離時，較低的水域最終變成了海洋，而較高的水域則在諾亞時代的洪水中發揮了作用（創世記  7：11-12；9：11-15）。                                                                                                                     The word translated “firmament” (expanse) means “to beat out.” In Scripture, the sky is sometimes referred to as a dome or a covering; however, Scripture nowhere supports the pagan mythological notion that the sky is some kind of solid covering. The luminaries were set in this expanse (1:14–17) and that’s where the fowl flew (v. 20).                                                                                                                                      翻譯為“蒼穹”（廣闊）的字的意思是“擊敗”。在聖經中，天空有時被稱為穹頂或覆蓋物；然而，聖經中沒有任何地方支持異教神話觀念，即天空是某種堅固的覆蓋物。發光體就安置在這片空地上（1:14-17），那是飛鳥飛翔的地方（20節）。                                                                                 Day three (vv. 9–13). God gathered the waters and caused the dry land to appear, thus making “earth” and “seas.” Israel’s pagan neighbors believed all kinds of myths about the heavens, the earth, and the seas; but Moses made it clear that Elohim, the one true God, was Lord of them all. For the first time, God said that what He had done was “good” (v. 10). God’s creation is still good, even though it travails because of sin (Rom. 8:20–22) and has been ravaged and exploited by sinful people.                             第三天（9-13節）。上帝聚集了水，使旱地出現，因而創造了「地」和「海」。以色列的異教鄰居相信各種有關天、地、海的神話。但摩西明確表示，埃洛希姆，獨一真神，是萬物之主。神第一次說祂所做的都是「善」（10節）。神的創造仍然是美好的，儘管它因罪而勞苦（羅馬書8:20-22），並被罪人蹂躪和剝削。                                                                                                             God also caused plant life to appear on the earth: the grasses, the seed-producing herbs, and the fruit bearing trees. God decreed that each would reproduce “after its kind,” which helps to make possible order in nature. God has set reproductive limits for both plants and animals (Gen. 1:21) because He is the Lord of Creation. There’s no suggestion here of any kind of “evolution.” God was preparing the earth for a habita tion for humans and for animals, and the plants would help to provide their food. A second time, God said that His work was good (v. 12).                                                                                           上帝也使植物生命出現在地球上：青草、結種子的草本植物和結果子的樹木。上帝規定每個物種都「各從其類」繁殖，這有助於使自然界變得可能有秩序。上帝為植物和動物設定了繁殖限制（創 1:21），因為祂是創造之主。這裡沒有任何形式的「進化」的建議。上帝正在為人類和動物準備地球的棲息地，而植物將幫助他們提供食物。神第二次說他的工作很好（12節）。                                                                                                                                                                            God fills (1:14–27; 2:7)                                                                                                                              上帝充滿（1:14-27；2:7）                                                                                                                     God has now created three special “spaces”: the land, the seas, and the expanse of the sky. During the next three creative days, He will fill these spaces.                                                                                        神現在創造了三個特別的「空間」：陸地、海洋和天空。在接下來的三天創意日裡，他將填補這些空間。                                                                                                                                                                Day four (vv. 14–19). Into the expanse of the sky God placed the heavenly bodies and assigned them their work: to divide the day and night and to provide “signs” to mark off days, years, and seasons. Light had already appeared on the first day, but now it was con centrated in these heavenly bodies.                   第四天（14-19節）。上帝將天體安置在浩瀚的天空中，並分配給它們各自的工作：劃分白天和黑夜，並提供「記號」來標記日子、年份和季節。光在第一天就已經出現了，但現在卻集中在這些天體上。                                                                                                                                                   Because of their religious observances, the Jews needed to know the times and the seasons, when the Sabbath arrived and ended, when it was a new month, and when it was time to celebrate their annual feasts (Lev. 26). Before the invention of the clock and the compass, the activities of human life were closely linked to nature’s cycles, and navigators depended on the stars to direct them. Israel would need the help of the heavenly bodies to direct their activities, and God would occasionally use signs in the heavens to speak to His people on earth.9 Israel was commanded not to imitate their pagan neighbors by worshipping the heavenly bodies (Ex. 20:1–6; Deut. 4:15–19; 17:2–7). They were to wor ship the true God who created the “heavenly host,” the army of heaven that did His bidding. However, the Jews didn’t obey God’s commandment (Jer. 8:2; 19:13; Ezek. 8:16; Zeph. 1:4–6) and suffered greatly for their sins.                                                                                                                                                                        由於他們的宗教儀式，猶太人需要知道時間和季節，安息日什麼時候到來和結束，什麼時候是新的一個月，什麼時候慶祝他們一年一度的節日（利26）。在時鐘和指南針發明之前，人類的生命活動與大自然的循環密切相關，航海家依靠星星來指引方向。以色列需要天體的幫助來引導他們的活動，上帝有時會使用天上的徵兆來對地上的子民說話。他們要敬拜創造「天軍」的真神，這支天軍執行祂的命令。然而，猶太人並沒有遵守神的誡命（耶利米書 8:2；19:13；以西結書 8:16；西弗書 1:4-6），並因他們的罪而遭受極大的痛苦。                                                                      The ancient peoples were fascinated by the moon and stars and the movements of the sun and planets, and it was but a short step from admiration to worship. “If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years,” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson, “how would men believe and adore, and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown …”10                                          古代人們對月亮和星星以及太陽和行星的運動著迷，從崇拜到崇拜只有一步之遙。拉爾夫·沃爾多·愛默生寫道：「如果星星在一千年中的一個晚上出現，人們將如何相信和崇拜，並為世世代代保留對上帝之城的記憶…」10                                                                                                                Day five (vv. 20–23). God had created the sky and the waters, and now He filled them abundantly with living creatures. He made birds to fly in the sky and aquatic creatures to frolic in the seas. “O Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all. The earth is full of Your possessions—This great and wide sea, in which are innumerable teeming things, living things both small and great” (Ps. 104:24–25 nkjv).                                                                                                                                              第五天（20-23節）。神創造了天空和水，現在他充滿了豐富的生物。他讓鳥兒在天上飛翔，讓水生生物在海裡嬉戲。 「主啊，祢的作為何其多！你用智慧創造了這一切。大地充滿了你的財產－這片廣闊無垠的大海，其中有無數的生物，無論大小，都有生物」（詩篇 104:24-25 新欽定版）。                                                                                                                                                         A new element is added to God’s work on this day: He not only called His work “good,” but He blessed the creatures He had made. This is the first time the word “bless” is used in the Bible. God’s blessing enabled the creatures and the fowl to reproduce abun dantly and enjoy all that He had made for them. God would also bless the first man and woman (Gen. 1:28; 5:2), the Sabbath day (2:3), and Noah and his family (9:2). After creation, perhaps the most important occa sion for God’s blessing was when He gave His gracious covenant to Abraham and his descendants (12:1–3). That blessing has reached down to God’s people today (Gal. 3:1–9).                                                                                                               上帝在這一天的工作中添加了一個新的元素：他不僅稱他的工作為“善”，而且祝福了他所創造的生物。這是聖經中第一次使用「祝福」這個字。上帝的祝福使生物和飛禽能夠繁衍生息，並享受上帝為它們創造的一切。神也會祝福第一個男人和女人（創 1:28；5:2）、安息日（2:3）以及挪亞和他的家人（9:2）。創造之後，上帝賜福的最重要時刻也許就是他向亞伯拉罕和他的後裔立下恩典之約的時候（12:1-3）。這祝福已經臨到今天神的子民（加拉太書 3:1-9）。                      Day six (vv. 24–31; 2:7). God had formed the sky and filled it with heavenly luminaries and flying birds. He had formed the seas and filled the waters with var ious aquatic creatures. Creation reaches its climax when on the sixth day He filled the land with animal life and then created the first man who, with his wife, would have dominion over the earth and its creatures.                                                   第六天（24-31節；2:7）。上帝創造了天空，並充滿了天上的光體和飛翔的鳥兒。他創造了海洋，並讓水中充滿了各種水生生物。第六天，創造達到了頂峰，他讓動物充滿了大地，然後創造了第一個男人，他和他的妻子將統治地球及其生物。                                                                                  Like the first man, the animals were formed out of the dust of the ground (2:7), which explains why the bodies of both humans and animals go back to the dust after death (Eccl. 3:19–20). However, humans and ani mals are different. No matter how intelligent some animals may appear to be, or how much they are taught, animals are not endowed with the “image of God” as are humans.11                                 像第一個人一樣，動物也是由地上的塵土形​​成的（2:7），這解釋了為什麼人類和動物的身體在死後都會回歸塵土（傳道書 3:19-20）。然而，人和動物是不同的。無論某些動物看起來多麼聰明，或者它們受過多少教育，動物都不像人類那樣被賦予「上帝的形象」。 11                                 The creation of the first man is seen as a very spe cial occasion, for there’s a “consultation” prior to the event. “Let us make man in our image” sounds like the conclusion of a divine deliberation among the persons of the Godhead. 12 God couldn’t have been talking with the angels about His plans because angels weren’t made in God’s image (“Our image”), and angels had nothing to do with the creation of Adam.                                                                                                                                                                       第一個人的創造被視為一個非常特殊的場合，因為在該事件之前有一個「協商」。 「讓我們按照我們的形象造人」聽起來像是神格中神聖深思熟慮的結論。 「耶和華用地上的塵土造人，將生命的氣息吹進他的鼻孔；人就成了有靈的活人」（創 2:7）。動詞「形成」暗示陶工用他熟練的雙手製作藝術品。人體確實是一件藝術品，是個極其複雜的有機體，只有上帝的智慧才能設計，只有上帝的力量才能創造。 亞當身體的物質來自於地，因為“亞當”這個名字的意思是“從地裡取出來的”，但亞當所擁有的生命卻來自於神。                                                                              “And the Lord formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Gen. 2:7). The verb “formed” suggests the potter making a work of art in his skilled hands. The human body is indeed a work of art, an amazingly complex organism that only the wisdom of God could design and the power of God create.                                                                     當然，上帝是靈，沒有呼吸的肺。這種說法就是神學家所說的“擬人論”，即利用人類特徵來解釋神聖的作品或屬性。首先，我們是神創造的。我們不是某種銀河事故的產物，也不是進化階梯最頂層的佔據者。神創造了我們，這意味著我們是受造物並完全依賴祂。 「因為我們生活、動作、存留都在乎祂」（使徒行傳 17:28）。路加福音 3:38 稱亞當為「神的兒子」。                    The physical matter for Adam’s body came from the ground, for the name “Adam” means “taken out of the ground,” but the life Adam possessed came from God. Of course, God is spirit and doesn’t have lungs for breathing. This statement is what theolo gians call an “anthropomorphism,” the using of a human characteristic to explain a divine work or attribute.13                                                                   Several important facts must be noted about the origin of humans. First, we were created by God. We are not the products of some galactic accident nor are we the occupants of the top rung of an evolutionary lad der. God made us, which means we are creatures and wholly dependent on Him. “For in him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Luke 3:38 calls Adam “the son of God.”                       Second, we were created in God’s image (Gen. 2:26–27). Unlike the angels and the animals, humans can have a very special relationship with God. He not only gave us personality—minds to think with, emo tions to feel with, and wills for making decisions—but He also gave us an inner spiritual nature that enables us to know Him and worship Him. The image of God in men and women has been marred by sin (Eph. 4:18–19), but through faith in Christ and submission to the work of the Holy Spirit, believers can have the divine nature renewed within them (2 Peter 1:4; Eph. 4:20–24; Col. 3:9–10; Rom. 12:2; 2 Cor. 3:18). One day when we see Jesus, all of God’s children will share in the glorious image of Christ (1 John 3:1–3; Rom. 8:29; 1 Cor. 15:49).                                                                                                          Third, we were created to have dominion over the earth (Gen. 2:26, 28).14 Adam and Eve were the first regents over God’s creation (Ps. 8:6–8). “The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s; but the earth He has given to the children of men” (Ps. 115:16 nkjv). But when Adam believed Satan’s lie and ate of the forbid den fruit, he lost his kingship, and now sin and death reign over the earth (Rom. 5:12–21).                                                                                                                                                                              When Jesus Christ, the last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45), came to earth, He exercised the dominion that the first Adam had lost. He demonstrated that He had author ity over the fish (Luke 5:1–7; John 21:1–6; Matt. 17:24–27), the fowl (26:69–75), and the animals (Mark 1:13; 11:3–7). When He died on the cross, He conquered sin and death, so that now grace can reign (Rom. 5:21) and God’s people can “reign in life” through Jesus Christ (v. 17). One day, when He returns, Jesus will restore to His own the dominion that was lost because of Adam (Heb. 2:5ff.).                                                                                                              Both Adam and the animal creation were vegetari ans until after the flood (Gen. 1:29–30; 9:1–4). Isaiah 11:7 indicates that the carnivorous beasts will return to this diet when Jesus Christ returns and establishes His kingdom on earth.                                                                                                                              Fourth, this wonderful Creator deserves our worship, praise, and obedience. When God surveyed His cre ation, He saw that it was “very good” (Gen. 1:31). Contrary to what some religions and philosophies teach, creation is not evil and it isn’t a sin to enjoy the good gifts God shares with us (1 Tim. 6:17). David surveyed God’s creation and asked, “What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?” (Ps. 8:4 nkjv). The earth is but a tiny planet orbiting in a vast galaxy, and yet “the earth is the Lord’s” (24:1). It’s the one planet He has chosen to visit and to redeem!                          The heavenly creatures before God’s throne praise Him for His creation, and so should we. “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Rev. 4:11). When we bow at meals to thank Him for the food He provides, when we see the sunshine and the rain provided at no expense to us, and when we watch the progress of the seasons, we should lift our hearts to praise the Creator for His faithfulness and generosity.                                                                                                                                                                   Finally, we must be good stewards of creation. This means we should respect our fellow human beings who are also made in the image of God (Gen. 9:6). It means appreciating the gifts we have in creation and not wast ing or exploiting them. We’ll look into these matters in greater detail in further studies, but it’s worth noting that we can’t honor the God of creation if we dishonor His creation. We must accept creation as a gift, guard it as a precious treasure, and invest it for the glory of God. Isaac Watts said it beautifully: 

               I sing the goodness of the Lord, that filled the earth with food; He formed the creatures with His word, and then pronounced them good. Lord, how Thy wonders are displayed, where e’er I turn my eye; If I survey the ground I tread, or gaze upon the sky.                                                                                           “The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works” (Ps. 145:9).  

Notes  

1 See In the Arena by Richard M. Nixon (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1990), 206. 

2 John describes seven days in the life of Jesus (John 1:19–28, 29–34, 35–42, 43–51; 2:1), obviously a parallel to Genesis 1. Moses wrote of the old creation but John of the new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). 

3 The Hebrew word bara means “to initiate something new, to bring into existence.” It’s used in the Creation account to describe the creation of sea creatures and fowl (Gen. 1:21), the creation of man and woman (v. 27), and the whole work of creation (1; 2:3–4).  

4 The “gap theory,” stated in G.H. Pember’s book, Earth’s Earliest Ages, and popularized by the Scofield Reference Bible, affirms that the original creation of Genesis 1:1 was judged when Satan fell, and that verses 3ff. describe a remaking of the ruined creation. Verse 2 should read, “And the earth became without form and void.” Hence, there was a “gap” of unknown duration between the first two verses of Genesis. But why would God ruin the whole creation just because of Satan’s rebellion? And if He created it instantly, why would He take six days to restore it? There are capable defenders of both views, and they all claim that the Hebrew text is on their side. To me, it appears that verses 3ff. are describing God’s original acts of creation and that we don’t have to put a “gap” between verse 1 and verse 2 in order to solve any problems.  

5 The image in verse 2 is that of the eagle hovering over its young (Deut. 32:11). In both the Hebrew (ruah) and the Greek (pneuma), the word for “Spirit” also means “wind” (see John 3:8), so the verse could be translated “and God’s wind swept across the waters.” However, “Spirit” seems to be the logical translation.  

6 “Without form and void” is the Hebrew phrase tohu wabohu, which describes utter waste, vanity, and ruin. Jeremiah bor rowed the image to describe God’s judgment of the land of Judah (Jer. 4:23), and Isaiah used it to describe the ruin of Edom (Isa. 34:11).  

7 Some commentators believe that God’s work on the fourth day was not to create the luminaries but to assign them their tasks. However, the description in Genesis 1:14–19 parallels that of the other five days and gives every evidence of explaining the creative act of God.  

8 When speaking of a twenty-four hour day, the Jewish people said “evening and morning” rather than “morning and evening,” because their days started with sunset, not sunrise. Thus, sunset on Thursday evening ushered in Friday, and sun set on Friday ushered in the Sabbath day.

9 People who depend on their astrological charts for guidance are following ancient pagan customs that are useless. There’s no evidence that the position of the heavenly bodies has any influence on human life on earth. The Bible condemns all human attempts to foresee or control the future (Deut. 18:10–13; Isa. 47:13; Jer. 10:2). The statement that the sun and moon “rule over” the day and night respectively doesn’t mean that they exert special influence on the affairs of people but that day and night are their spheres of operation. According to the rotation of the earth, its orbit around the sun, and the moon’s orbit around the earth, the sun and moon gov ern how much light there will be on earth. 

10 Ralph Waldo Emerson. Nature (Boston: Beacon Press, 1985), 9–10. 

11 Even though many animals are stronger than we are and live longer than we do, God has given humans dominion over the animals. However, this doesn’t mean we can abuse animal life and do whatever we please with God’s creatures (Jer. 27:5). While animals have been given to serve us, we must treat them as creatures made by God. “A righteous man regards the life of his animal” (Prov. 12:10 nkjv). “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain” (Deut. 25:4 niv). God takes care of the animals (Ps. 36:6; 104:10–18; Matt. 6:26) and knows when they suffer (Joel 1:18–20; 2:22; Jonah 4:11). Even the way we treat helpless birds is a concern to God (Deut. 22:6–7). Those who abuse and exploit God’s creation will one day be judged (Rev. 11:18). 

12 You have a similar “dialogue” recorded in Genesis 3:22; 11:7, and see Isaiah 6:8. 13 As we have seen, the Hebrew word ruah means “breath” and “spirit” (or Spirit). The breath of God brought life to Adam just as the Spirit of God brings eternal life to the sinner who believes on Christ (John 3:7–8; 20:22). 14Dominion over the earth and its creatures may have been the privilege Lucifer wanted when he rebelled against God and led some of the angels in revolt against the Lord. Isaiah 14:12–17 speaks primarily about the fall of the king of Babylon, but behind this mysterious passage lurks the image of “the son of the morning,” the angel who wanted to be as God and prom ised to make Eve like God (Gen. 3:5)