God’s Good Design in Creation

In this message from Genesis 1–2, David Platt addresses worldview questions, highlighting God’s good design in creation.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
You are listening to David Platt Messages a weekly
podcast with sermons andmessages from pastor, author and
teacher David Platt.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
All right.
So we're picking up today whereMike left off last week.
Today's going to be part two oftwo on God's good design in
creation.
So then in the weeks to come,lord willing, we're going to
look at God's good design inhumanity and sexuality and rest
and work and marriage.
But today is creation.
And if you were here last weekat one point Mike said so many

(00:31):
questions come to mind when youread Genesis 1.
Like is this creation accountcompatible with evolution?
Are these literal 24-hour days?
How did light show up beforethe sun was created?
Can you be a Christian if youdon't agree with how some other
Christians answered thosequestions?
And then he just kind of saidwe'll answer those next week.
And I'm literally sitting backthere thinking well, that's easy

(00:54):
for you to say, bro, becauseI'm going to be preaching next
week.
So here I am ready to answerall of your questions about
scripture and science and thecreation of the universe in the
next couple of minutes.
Unfortunately that's not goingto happen, but I do want to give
it a try.
I want to give you a frameworkfor these questions and, along

(01:15):
the way, to point you to someresources that might be helpful
for you if you want to dive indeeper, and in the end, I want
to bring this back around.
Like I said, it's a really goodnews that we all need to hear
today for our lives, right whereyou're sitting right now.
And so we got a lot of groundto cover.
Strap your seatbelt on.
We're about to fly.
So we're just going to start,though, by just reading this

(01:37):
first two verses of the Bibleout loud together.
So Genesis 1, 1 and 2, can yousay this out loud with me?
In the beginning, god createdthe heavens and the earth.
The earth was without form andvoid, and darkness was over the
face of the deep and the Spiritof God was hovering over the

(02:02):
face of the waters.
Thus begins the whole Bible.
So how does the Bible, startingwith this account of the
creation of the world, relate toscience and what we know about
the world?
And if you're taking notes, I'mgonna give you three groups of
four today.
The first group is fouraffirmations about Scripture and
science.
So you might write these down.

(02:22):
Number one Scripture rightlyunderstood and science rightly.
You might write these down.
Number one Scripture rightlyunderstood and science rightly
observed support one another,and I'm not even putting
Scripture and science on thesame plane, as if they're
exactly the same, but I do wantto show you that they're not in
conflict.
As some of you might believe andas a lot of scientists would
like you to believe, god is theauthor of all truth, which means

(02:47):
that everything that's true inthe world, including what's true
in his word, and everythingthat science observes is true
Everything that science observesas true originates ultimately
in God.
So back in the 1600s, sirFrancis Bacon, the man who
invented the scientific method,described what's known, what
became known as the two bookmetaphor, saying God has written

(03:08):
two books, not just one.
Of course, we were all familiarwith the first book he wrote,
namely scripture, but he'swritten a second book called
creation, and both books aretrue.
Yet we have been so influencedby certain scientists who have
gone on the assault offensiveagainst religion and
specifically the Bible.
Steven Weinberg, a Nobel Prizewinner in physics, said the

(03:31):
world needs to wake up from thelong nightmare of religion.
Anything we scientists can doto weaken the hold of religion
should be done and may in factbe our greatest contribution to
civilization.
That is an agenda.
Richard Dawkins, in his bookthe God Delusion, argues that
belief in God is dangerous andharmful to people's lives.

(03:55):
Stephen Hawking famouslydeclared we must choose between
science or God.
And, to be fair, on the otherside, some Christians have said
I just believe the Bible, Idon't care a thing about what
science says.
But we don't have to choose.
Hear this Students, teenagers,kids in classes in college or

(04:17):
anybody in any field, includingeducation or math or physics or
science or medicine.
You don't have to choose.
Many of the greatest scientistsin the world, from Galileo to
Kepler to Pascal to Newton, wereall confident believers in God,
and they actually believed intheir science because they
believed in God.
Cs Lewis, talking about theeffect of Christianity on the

(04:39):
entire development of science,said men became scientific
because they expected law innature.
And they expected law in naturebecause they believed in a
legislator and a law creator.
That's why, when Newtondiscovered his law of gravity,
he didn't say well, now thatwe've got a law of gravity, we
don't need God.
Instead, he wrote a book calledPrincipia Mathematica, which

(05:03):
may be the most famous book inthe history of science, and in
it he expressed his hope thatwhat he'd written would persuade
any thinking person to believein a deity, and it's not just
scientists of the past and we'veprogressed from there.
You think of all the majorscientific developments of the
last century.
If Dawkins and Hawking and CarlSagan were right about the

(05:26):
discord between scripture andscience, you would expect there
to be no Christian Nobel Prizewinners in areas like physics or
chemistry, or physiology ormedicine or economics science,
economics.
But in fact in the last centuryover 60% of Nobel laureates
were self-confessed believers inGod.

(05:49):
One of my favorite quotes onscience and the scriptural
account of creation here is fromRobert Zastrow.
He founded NASA's GoddardInstitute for Space Studies and
he said the details differ, butthe essential elements in the
astronomical and biblicalaccounts of Genesis are the same
.
This is an exceedingly strangedevelopment, unexpected by all

(06:09):
but the theologians.
They have always believed theword of the Bible, but we
scientists did not expect tofind evidence for an abrupt
beginning, because we have had,until recently, such
extraordinary success in tracingthe chain of cause and effect
backward in time.
At this moment, it seems asthough science will never be
able to raise the currentcurtain on the mystery of
creation.
For the scientist who has livedby his faith and the power of

(06:31):
reason, the story ends like abad dream.
He has scaled the mountains ofignorance.
He's about to conquer thehighest peak.
As he pulls himself over thefinal rock, he is greeted by a
band of theologians who havebeen sitting there for centuries
.
He is greeted by a band oftheologians who have been
sitting there for centuries.
The point is they go togetherand, as a result, christians
should not be afraid of science.
Psalm 111, verse 2, great arethe works of the Lord, studied

(06:55):
by all who delight in them.
Science is the study of God'sgreat works.
Just think astronomy.
Look at how the earth sits atjust the right distance from the
sun, such as if we were tinybit closer, we'd burn up.
A tiny fraction farther, we'dfreeze.
Look at how the moon'sinfluence maintains earth's tilt

(07:19):
at 23 degrees, keeping us fromwobbling.
See how Saturn and Jupiterpatrol our solar system.
Just right.
And if they didn't, jupiterwould sling Saturn out of the
system, launch into ellipticalorbit and crash right into us.
Instead, jupiter acts like acosmic vacuum sweeper.
For our good in the universe,marvel at how the Milky Way is

(07:42):
85,000 light years across and weare 25,000 light years from the
center, which just so happensto make our planet ideal for
oxygen, nitrogen, carbon andiron the elements we need to
live.
How delightful is science.
And, by the way, so if you'restill with Dawkins thinking
belief in God is deluded anddangerous for the world, look at

(08:05):
the research.
A survey in the AmericanJournal of Public Health, which
is definitely not a religiouspublication, points out how
religious involvement correlatesstrongly in people's lives with
overall well-being, happiness,life satisfaction, hope,
optimism, purpose meaningdealing with grief, social
support.
I could go on and on, but Iguess the point is, if you want

(08:29):
to see the value of faith in God, just look at the science.
And if you want to dive deeperinto this on a short, readable
level or maybe a resource youcould give to others, I would
highly recommend John Lennox'sCan Science Explain Everything?
Lennox is a mathematician,bioethicist, who's written many

(08:50):
books on God and science andcreation, all of which you could
dive into, but this one is justa short summary.
Lennox has debated RichardDawkins, christopher Hitchens,
many other atheists with winsomehumility.
John lennox, can scienceexplain everything?
All right, I gotta really speedthings up here.
Second affirmation conflictsbetween scripture and science

(09:11):
only occur when scripture ismisinterpreted or science is
mistaken.
So yes, history and the presentare filled with conversations
that look like conflict betweenscripture and science.
And the explanation for thatconflict is either Scripture
being misinterpreted orscientific observations being

(09:31):
mistaken.
So a classic example ofScripture misinterpretation is
when Copernicus rightlycorrected misinterpretations of
certain Bible passages thatChristians said supported the
earth being the center of theuniverse.
Similarly, scripture revealsthe emptiness of scientific
theories that natural phenomenarandomly come from purely

(09:53):
materialistic causes, with noultimate explanation for their
beginning.
But those discrepancies don'tultimately pitch scripture
against science.
Instead, they expose eithermisinterpretations or mistakes,
misunderstandings in one or bothof them, which leads to the
third affirmation the purpose ofScripture is not to address and

(10:16):
or answer every question wemight have.
There are so many questionsthat the Bible doesn't address
or answer.
On practical levels, it doesn'ttell me how to potty, train my
child or raise teenagers, and Iwish it told me both.
Medically, it doesn't tell mehow to heal every ache in my
body.
Scientifically, it doesn't tellme how to understand quantum

(10:36):
physics, because its purpose isnot to answer every question we
might have.
The Bible's purpose is toreveal who God is and how we can
experience life forever withhim, starting right now.
But don't expect the Bible toanswer every question you have.
And related to that fourthaffirmation, the purpose of
science is not to identify andor verify everything.

(10:59):
We should believe StephenHawking, who was clearly
brilliant in many ways.
Believe Stephen Hawking, whowas clearly brilliant in many
ways, once said scientists havebecome the bearers of the torch
of discovery in our quest forknowledge.
But science is not the onlypath to knowledge.
That's not true.

(11:19):
Lennox, in his book I mentionedearlier, uses an illustration.
He says imagine Aunt Matildabakes a cake and so we submit it
to the world's top scientists.
He says the biochemists willinform us about the structure of
the proteins, fats and so oninvolved in its composition, the
chemists about the elementsinvolved, the physicists will be
able to analyze the cake interms of fundamental particles

(11:40):
and the mathematicians will nodoubt offer us a set of elegant
equations to describe thebehavior of those particles.
But then he writes now we knowwhat the cake is made of.
But suppose we now ask thescientists why the cake was made
?
And the grin on Aunt Matilda'sface shows that she knows the

(12:00):
answer that they can't knowunless she tells them.
Because science can answer whatsomething is at a certain level
, but science cannot answer whyit is or who made it or where
it's go.
And again, this is wherescience and scripture work
together, not against oneanother.

(12:22):
Which then leads us back toGenesis 1 and four questions
about creation.
So I'm going to go ahead andrecommend a book here at the top
because I know I don't havetime today even to answer these
questions, because there arevolumes of books written to
answer these questions.
But one I would recommend toyou is entitled 40 Questions
About Creation and Evolution, byKen Keithley and Mark Rooker.

(12:43):
Dr Keithley actually used to beone of my professors in school,
and this 40 questions book isso helpful in giving just
concise answers to some of themany questions we might have
about creation and evolutionafter reading Genesis 1 and 2.
And then, if you want to godeeper, this book contains a
great list of other books ondifferent topics that you could

(13:04):
dive more into.
So here are four main questions, though amidst many others,
about creation from Genesis 1and 2.
Number one how do we rightlyinterpret various words and
concepts like day, earth, heaven, formless void in Genesis 1 and
2.
?
And that's just the firstcouple of verses.

(13:24):
So remember, rightinterpretation of Scripture is
vital.
So how do we rightly interpret,understand these key words and
concepts in this biblicalaccount of creation.
Just take the word day, forexample.
I'll put this back up on thescreen in a minute if you're
still writing it down.
But here's Genesis, chapter one,verse five.

(13:46):
God called the light day andthe darkness he called night and
there was evening and there wasmorning, the first day.
You see it twice.
That's two of over 2,000 timesthat the Old Testament contains
this word in the Bible and overthe course of those 2,000 times
it's used in about fivedifferent ways.

(14:07):
Sometimes day refers to aperiod of 24 hours.
Other times day refers to thedaylight portion of a day, in
contrast to darkness at night.
Sometimes day vaguely refers totime in general in his day.
Sometimes day refers to a year,particularly when it's in the

(14:28):
plural, and other times dayrefers to a long but a finite
period of time.
So that's a lot of options tochoose from in any one verse
where we have to dive in andlook at the context and that's
just in the Hebrew.
That doesn't even account forwhat might first come into our
minds in our culture when weread this word day or consider

(14:49):
this concept of a day increation, for example.
One Old Testament scholar namedTremper Longman points out how
many readers stumble, in Genesis1, over the six days of
creation.
They ask how could it happen soquickly?
It's interesting to note,though, that before the 19th
century and the work of CharlesDarwin, the question was just

(15:10):
the opposite.
For instance, in the 16thcentury, john Calvin encountered
skepticism concerning thebiblical account because it took
God so long to create.
The biblical account seemedridiculous to many readers in
the 16th century because theyknew that God could create
instantaneously if he so willed.
So we might have differentquestions about certain words or

(15:30):
concepts from the start, whichjust shows how we need to
actually study the Bible inorder to rightly interpret what
it's saying.
More on that in a minute.
But it leads to a secondquestion Is the earth young?
So many Bible-believingChristians, who also embrace
science, believe that the Bibleis talking here about six

(15:53):
special literal 24-hour daysthat took place somewhere
between about 6,000 and 12,000years ago.
If you've ever heard of Answersin Genesis, that's a website,
or the Institute for CreationResearch or the Creation in the
Ark Museums in Kentucky.
They would be strong advocatesfor a young earth view of
creation in Genesis 1 and 2.

(16:14):
Or is the earth old?
So other Bible-believingChristians would say that these
days in Genesis 1 and 2 are not24-hour periods but longer
periods of time, maybe up tomillions of years, over the
course of which God created theworld, and this view would be
promoted on websites likereasonstobelieveorg and by

(16:37):
Bible-believing Christians.
In the history of the church,from Charles Spurgeon to
Dietrich Bonhoeffer to CS Lewisto Billy Graham.
And then, as part of thesequestions about how young or old
the earth is, some ask is itpossible to believe in the Bible
and parts of evolutionarytheory, and if so, which parts?
And I want to emphasize herewe're talking about people who

(16:58):
believe in God and the Bible,the authority of Scripture, the
truthfulness of Scripture, sothey're not embracing secular
Darwinism that's God-less butthey do embrace certain facets
of evolutionary theory tocertain degrees.
And this is where I simply wantto encourage all of us, when we
explore these questions, tostudy the Bible and read what

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different brothers and sistersin Christ say about different
positions and realize that justbecause you don't agree with
every other Christian on thisone doesn't mean that they're
not a Christian.
And I say that because,particularly over recent years,
the rhetoric around the age ofthe earth has become really
divisive in the church, to wherehow you answer these questions

(17:45):
seems like a litmus test forwhether you believe the Bible or
the gospel or you'recompromising, and that's not
true.
There are genuineBible-believing,
gospel-embracing, truth-seekingChristians who have different
views on many of these questionsand, as a pastor in our church
family, I want you to know thatwe do not divide as a church

(18:08):
over how you answer thesequestions.
But that doesn't mean we don'thave convictions about how we
may answer them and even discussand debate those.
It doesn't mean we don't holdtightly to any beliefs about
creation.
We just realize that there aresome things we don't totally
know in this world.
But that actually leads to fourcertainties about creation that

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we know, based on what'scrystal clear in God's Word.
So I'll go through the firstthree pretty quick and then I
really want you to see and soakin number four.
So number one certainty aboutcreation is is it possible or
sorry rightly interpreted andunderstood?
The Genesis account of creationis true.
So Genesis one and two isabsolutely true when it's

(18:56):
rightly interpreted andunderstood, and that's why it's
good to work hard to rightlyinterpret and understand it,
even if that work leads us tosome disagreements, we know that
what we're reading is true.
We may just have to wait forheaven to figure out who of us
had it exactly right.
Number two the one true Godcreated everything that exists.

(19:19):
That's crystal clear in thesechapters and we bank our lives
on this.
In the beginning, god createdthe heavens and the earth.
Those 10 words lay thefoundation for everything else
to come.
In the Bible, there is one trueGod and he created everything,
period.
So Isaiah 45, verse 18, thussays the Lord who created the

(19:39):
heavens?
He is God, he who formed theearth and made it.
He established it.
He didn't create it empty.
He formed it to be inhabited.
I am the Lord and there is noother.
The one true God createdeverything that exists.
Number three Adam and Eve werehistorical people, and we're
going to talk more about thisnext week, lord willing about

(20:00):
the first man and woman createdby God.
They are not mythical creatures, they're not metaphors for
humankind.
They are real people whorepresent humanity, a real man
and woman made in the image ofGod, which then leads to truth.
Number four God designedcreation, including the creation

(20:21):
of man and everything else, fora glorious purpose, and this is
where I want us to see so God'sgood design for creation.
I want us to see God's gloriouspurpose in all of creation,
including God's glorious purposein your life, right where
you're sitting.
So please forgive me.

(20:42):
Up until this point the sermon'sbeen a little unique.
We've not done a lot ofin-depth study in God's Word,
but I'm about to make up for it,and there's going to be a lot
of.
You won't be able to turn toall these places.
I'll have them up here on thescreen, but you do not want to
miss what we're about to see.
So if we're going to rightlyunderstand Genesis 1 and 2, then
we have to start by puttingourselves in the shoes of the

(21:05):
person who was writing thisunder the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit, and the people whofirst read it or heard it.
And when we do that, we realizeMoses, who wrote this, was
writing to people, the people ofGod, specifically, 3,000 or so
years ago.
And when they read this, theywere not immediately thinking

(21:28):
how these chapters square with21st century science like we do.
They didn't read these words,hear them spoken and then start
forming debate clubs about theage of the earth, which is not
to say that's unimportant.
We've just spent all this timeshowing science is important,
but it's not what was goingthrough Moses's mind when he was
writing this, and it's not whatwas going through the

(21:48):
Israelites' minds as they werehearing it.
So instead, let's put ourselves.
Spent 400 years as slaves inEgypt, surrounded by Egyptian

(22:14):
gods, and God miraculously freedthem from slavery and was now
leading them through awilderness to a land that God
had promised them centuriesbefore to give them, where they

(22:37):
could walk with him and worshiphim and enjoy God's blessing as
God's people in the promisedland.
And as that journey was nearingan end, like they're getting
close to the promised land,moses writes the first five
books of the Old TestamentGenesis, exodus, leviticus,
numbers, deuteronomy.
They're a unit together and hewrites these books to remind

(23:00):
them who the one true God is Notall these Egyptian gods, who
they are as his people asthey're traveling through the
wilderness, and he's remindingthem of the promise that God has
given to them about this landand his blessing that he wants
to bestow on them as they arewith him.

(23:21):
So, with that context, moseswriting these books, including
this book, genesis, to God'speople wandering in the
wilderness on their way to thepromised land.
He starts this creation accountby saying what we read earlier
In the beginning, god createdthe heavens and the earth.
The earth was without form andvoid and darkness was over the
face of the deep.
This is so good.
You've got to circle two wordshere.

(23:42):
First, circle earth.
You see it twice and that's oneway to translate this Hebrew
word.
But the problem is what comesinto your mind when you hear
that word earth.
You probably picture the bigblue and green ball that we live
on, right?
But that's not what would havecome into the minds of the first

(24:07):
people who heard this, becausewhat they heard is the Hebrew
word eretz.
So you're really getting yourmoney worth this morning, like
you're going to learn someHebrew.
So write that down.
So so good, so important.
Because eretz is one of themajor words and themes in the
first five books of the OldTestament where it's often
translated land.
So the land was without form.

(24:31):
So you might circle that phrase.
That means empty oruninhabitable, and here's why
that's important.
So I'll just put this on thescreen.
I don't think you'll have timeto turn there.
But Deuteronomy, chapter 32,verse 10.
So near the end of these firstfive books in the Old Testament,
kind of like a bookend, mosesrecords a song about God's

(24:54):
people as they're wanderingthrough this wilderness and he
sings about how God.
Listen to this.
God found him.
So he, this is God, and him ishis people.
God found him, his people, in adesert land and in the howling
waste of the wilderness.
He encircled him, he cared forhim, he kept him as the apple of

(25:17):
his eye.
Circle that word land.
You'll never guess what Hebrewword.
It is Eretz.
Boom, you are Hebrew scholars,just like that.
So there's Eretz and thencircle waste here, because
that's the exact same word.
That's translated without formback in Genesis, chapter 1,

(25:39):
verse 2, or empty.
So Moses is saying to God'speople in the first verses of
Genesis the same God who in thevery beginning, this God who
took what was like a dark, emptywilderness and he said I'm
bringing it light, that same Godis now encircling you, he's

(26:03):
caring for you, he's keeping youas the apple of his eye as you
walk through the waste, thisformless, empty wilderness.
He's with you, for you, leadingyou somewhere.
So now we're starting to see.
Wait a minute.
There's some parallels herebetween the land God is creating
and preparing in Genesis 1, andnow the land God is promising

(26:27):
to bring his people to in theend of Deuteronomy, which then
leads us now.
So now turn to Genesis, chaptertwo, and look with me starting
in verse 10, as we start to seethe garden of Eden described
with more description thanchapter one gives us.
So this land that God is making, he says a river, flowed out of

(26:49):
Eden, and you might just make anote Eden, that word means
delight or pleasure.
Like this is a land full ofdelight and pleasures.
So this garden of delight, arivers flowing out of it to
water the garden, and there itdivides and becomes four rivers,
so branches out into fourrivers that are like the

(27:11):
boundary around Eden, the.
The name of the first river isthe Pishon.
It is the one that flowedaround the whole land of Havilah
, where there is gold, and thegold of that land is good
Bedellium and onyx stone arethere.
The name of the second river isthe Gihon.
It's the one that flowed aroundthe whole land of Cush.
Make a note here, cush islinked with Egypt and other

(27:31):
places in the Old Testament.
Then the name of the thirdriver is the Tigris, which flows
east of Assyria.
And the fourth river is theEuphrates.
So when you're just readingthrough the Bible you're like,
okay, sounds good.
Keep moving on, but check thisout.
In Genesis, chapter 15, when Godis talking to Abraham about the
promised land that he's goingto bring his people to listen to

(27:53):
how he describes it Genesis 15,18.
On that day, the Lord made acovenant with Abraham, saying to
your offspring, I give thisland from the river of Egypt to
the great river, the riverEuphrates.
Does that look familiar?
The river Euphrates?
Does that look familiar?
This land from the river ofEgypt and Euphrates?

(28:18):
Wait a minute.
That's Egypt, euphrates.
That's the way God describedEden in Genesis 2.
When God is describing thepromised land in Genesis 15,
god's using the same boundarieswe have for the Garden of Eden
in Genesis 2.
In other words, god's tellinghis people here, in this account

(28:40):
of creation I'm bringing youback to the place of delight in
me.
Obviously not to Eden in thesense of a perfect, sinless
state, but God's saying I'mbringing you back to me, to the
delight I've made you for, tothe land where you're dwelling
with me that I've created by mygood design for you.
And there are so many otherparallels that highlight this,

(29:02):
from Genesis to Deuteronomy.
I wish we had more time.
Let me show you just one moreso when Adam and Eve sin,
they're banished from the Gardenof Eden in Genesis, chapter 3.
And what happens?
Genesis 3, 24,.
God drove out the man and at theeast of the Garden of Eden he
placed a cherubim and a flamingsword that turned every way to
guard the way to the tree oflife.
So, as a result of theirdisobedience, they're driven out

(29:23):
to the east and an angel that'swhat cherubim is referencing
there guards them from the treeof life.
They can't live forever withGod, the way God had designed
them to.
So later in Genesis, jacob isin this promised land and he
heads out to the east in searchof a wife.

(29:44):
And who does he meet as he goeseastward out of the promised
land?
He meets an angel Genesis,chapter 28.
He dreamed and behold, therewas a ladder set up on the earth
, and the top of it reached toheaven.
And behold, the angels of Godwere ascending and descending on
it.
And behold, the Lord stoodabove it and said I am the Lord,
the God of your father, the Godof Isaac.

(30:05):
The land on which you lie, Iwill give to you and your
offspring.
Catch it here.
He is on the eastern boundaryof the promised land.
Jacob sees God at the top ofthis ladder, ascending to heaven
.
And God says, jacob, I'm goingto give this land that you're
lying on right now.
I'm going to give it to you andto all your family.

(30:25):
So Jacob goes, he builds afamily and he comes back in
Genesis 32, verse 28, to thiseastern boundary with all his
children.
And who does he meet?
Again?
You guessed it An angel ormanifestation of God himself,
who wrestles with him and saysto him your name shall no longer
be called Jacob, but what?
Israel?

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It's a reference to the peopleof God in the Old Testament.
So here's the picture.
Here's what Genesis 1 and 2 isshowing us.
God created, he prepared Edenfor his people, for Adam and Eve
.
They disobeyed him, were drivenout.
But as God is inspiring Mosesto write this account of

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creation in Genesis 1 and 2, godis telling his people who are
wandering in the wilderness I ambringing you back to me, israel
.
I'm bringing you back to Eden.
I'm bringing you back to me,israel.
I'm bringing you back to Eden.
I'm bringing you back todelight in me, to the land I
promised, where I will dwellwith you and you will enjoy all
my blessing.
But then what happens?
Do God's people walk with himand worship him in this land?
No, they get to the promisedland and they turn away from God

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toward empty idols and futilegods that they make with their
own hands in this world.
And what happens?
Well, god brings judgment againthrough a nation from the east
called Babylon, and they comeand they destroy the promised

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land and God's people are yetagain driven out to the east.
And listen to what Jeremiah,chapter four, verse 23, says
when that happens, listen tothis language.
I looked on the earth andbehold, it was without form and
void, and to the heavens, andthey had no light.
That sounds like the creationaccount Earth without form, void

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, heavens, no light.
But this is not talking aboutcreation of the world.
This is talking about this land.
When God's people had beendriven out of it, they were not
inhabiting it anymore, it wasempty and they were back in the
wilderness.
And this is the whole story ofthe Old Testament God wanting

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his creation, desiring hiscreation to experience his
delight, his pleasure, on theearth, in the land, in Eden, in
the promised land, but, over andover again, god's creation
continually turning from him andexperiencing the wilderness
separated from God over and overand over again.

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You say well, why are youshowing us this?
I thought you said God designedcreation for a glorious purpose
.
This story does not soundglorious.
Well, here's what's gloriousthe Old Testament of the Bible
is not the end of this story,because one day God listen to
this the creator himself, comesto the creation and one of the

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first people to recognize Jesus,after Jesus sees him sitting
under a tree.
It just so happens we're gonnabe in this in our Bible reading
as a church tomorrow.
Nathaniel, whom Jesus calls ashining example of an Israelite.
He says in John 1, 49, rabbi,you're the son of God, you're
the king of Israel.
Jesus answered him because Isaid to you I saw you under the
fig tree.

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Do you believe You're going tosee greater things than these?
And then he said to him truly,truly, I say to you, you will
see heaven opened and the angelsof God ascending and descending
on the son of man.
What does that sound like?
Sounds like Jacob's ladder.
It's exactly what would havecome to Nathaniel's mind when he
heard that Jesus is saying tothis descendant of Jacob, of

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Israel I am the ladder to God, Iam the one who has come to make
it possible for creation to bewith God in heaven.
This is the gospel.
Jesus has come from heaven toearth to die on the cross for
sinners, to pay the price forour rebellion, our wandering

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away from God into thewilderness of this world.
And through his death on thecross, jesus has made the way
for us to come back to Eden, forus to come back to delight in
God.
The curtain of the temple, thepresence of God torn into the
way, is open for sinnerseverywhere to come into the
presence of God through Jesus.
And after he dies on a cross,he is buried in a tomb.

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In a what?
In a garden.
At the end of the book of John,mary goes to that garden.
Tomb is totally empty.
She's weeping outside, thinkingsomebody's stolen Jesus' body.
Until she meets guess what?
Two angels.
And they say to her she'sweeping.
She sees two angels in whitesitting where the body of Jesus
had lain, one at the head, oneat the feet.

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They said woman, why are youweeping?
She said to them they've takenaway my Lord.
I don't know where they've laidhim.
Having said this, she turnedaround and she saw Jesus
standing, but she didn't know itwas Jesus.
Jesus said to her woman why areyou weeping?
Whom are you seeking?
Supposing him to be thegardener?
She said to him sir, if you'vecarried him away, tell me where
you've laid him and I will takehim away.
Jesus, said to her Mary.

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And as soon as she he said hername, she realized who he was.
And in that moment she realizedhe's not just any old gardener.
He's the one who made thegarden in Genesis, chapter one
and two, and he's came to makethe garden possible for any who
trust in him.

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So you put it all together, putall of this together in light of
the headlines around us today.
We live in a wilderness in thisworld where we have all
wandered away from God, and wefeel it in the sin and evil and
sorrow and pain and confusionand anxiety and fear and
futility and frustration thatsurrounds us.

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But good news, god has not leftus alone in the wilderness.
We have the God of otherworldly peace.
We have the God of alltranscendent joy.
We have the God of unshakablehope.
We have Emmanuel, jesus, god,with us and for anybody who

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trusts in Jesus, god forgivesyou for all your sin, all your
rebellion against him, and, andif that's not enough.
He fills you with his spirit,he comes to dwell inside you so
you have everything you need forwhatever the wilderness of this
world throws at you.
And do you know where he'sleading you and me and all who

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trust in him?
I'm glad you asked.
Fast forward to the last chapterof the Bible, revelation 22,
and check out this language.
Then the angel showed me.
Angel showed me the river ofthe water of life, just like
Eden river, flowing bright ascrystal, flowing from the throne

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of God, direct from God and theland that's a reference to
Jesus through the middle of thestreet of the city.
Also, on either side of thecity of the river, the tree of
life boom, it's back.
It's the first time we've seenit since Genesis chapter two.
It's back, but now it has 12kinds of fruit yielding its
fruit each month, and the leavesof the tree were for the

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healing of all the nations.
This is a new and better Edenthat brings healing for all the
nations.
No longer will there beanything accursed.
The curse of sin will be gone.
No serpent here.
He has been defeated and throwndown.
But the throne of God and ofthe Lamb of Jesus will be in it

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and his servants will worshiphim, which leads to the five
most beautiful words in all theBible.
They will see his face.
They'll see his face, see theface of our creator.
His name will be on ourforeheads and watch.
This Night will be no more.

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They will need no light of lampor sun, for the Lord, god, will
be their light and they willreign forever and ever with him.
Mark it down this world withall of its darkness is not the
end of the story.
The God who said in Genesis 1let there be light in the

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beginning of creation.
It's coming to bring the lightforever and a new creation for
all who trust in him.
Yes, yes, yes.
God designed creation from thevery beginning for a glorious
purpose, and he's making itclear to us in his word that he
designed creation from the startto bring sinners, any sinner

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from anywhere, no matter who youare, no matter what you've done
, anyone who trusts in his lovefor them, back to himself, to an
eternal Eden where sin and eviland sorrow and wars and
shootings and death will be nomore, where the light of the

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creator's face will shine on menand women from every nation,
satisfying them with pleasuresforevermore.
And so.
He is worthy of all your trustin the wilderness of this world.
If you have never placed yourfaith in Jesus, let today be the

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day where you come back to God.
He is inviting you to come backto Him right now.
Why wait any longer?
Why spurn the invitation ofyour Creator to experience life
in relationship with Him, as youwere designed to do from the
beginning, and for all of us,live this week to worship your

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creator above everyone andeverything.
This is what you're made for.
You're not just made to coastthrough life.
You're made to enjoy and exaltyour creator and find life in
him on a day-by-day basis.
So turn away from the emptyidols of this world that don't
satisfy.
Money can't do it, positioncan't do it, this person can't

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do it.
This thing, this achievement,they can't do it.
Only God can fill the heart,the void that is in your heart.
You are made for relationshipwith him.
So stop running after theemptiness of this world.
Run to him and whatever you'rewandering through in the
wilderness of this world,whatever the wilderness of this

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world is throwing at you rightnow, just keep your eyes fixed
on him.
He is with you, he is for you.
Just walk with him.
Worship him and he will bringyou through.
Don't spend all your timescrolling, filling your mind
with the stuff of this world.
Spend your time filling yourmind with his word, fixing your

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eyes on his goodness and hisgrace and his love for you.
That's life.
So live this week to worshipyour creator above everyone and
everything, and spend your lifespreading his word to everyone
everywhere.
God is bringing creation backto himself, people all over the
world back to himself, and hewants to use your life to lead

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them to him, in the words of ourBible reading today go and
share the good news with thewhole creation.
We are we are you and I arepart of God's plan to bring all
the nations to delight in him.
That's a good design for ourlives.
Let's not settle for anythingless than that.

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So will you bow your heads withme?
In light of all we've just seen?
I just wanna give you a quietmoment to fix your eyes on your
creator and to worship him rightwhere you're sitting, just to
worship him and gaze upon himand to ask him for help for

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whatever you need in this fallenworld right now, knowing he's
with you and he promises to giveyou what you need in this
fallen world, right now, knowinghe's with you and he promises
to give you what you need.
And if you have never placedyour faith in Jesus, I invite
you to pray.
Just say God, I have wanderedfrom you, I've run from you,
I've sinned against you, but Ibelieve today that Jesus died on

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the cross for me, for my sin.
I believe Jesus has risen fromthe dead so that I can come back
to you, experience life in youas my Lord.
So I am trusting you today.
Today is the day I'm trustingyou to make all things new in me
.
Today is the day I'm staking myhope, my life, on you.

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Thank you for your love for me.

Speaker 1 (43:37):
We hope you've enjoyed this week's episode of
David Platt Messages.
For more resources from DavidPlatt, we invite you to visit
Radicalnet.