“And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.””
The first five days seem a setup when the sixth day arrives. Just as life was established in previous days (plants, birds, and fish), so now life is added to (livestock, creeping things, beasts). Where there was no “summer buzz” of bugs in the trees, there is now. Where the sight and smell and sound of cows and sheep and goats were nonexistent a moment before, that moment passed into a new reality. The lack of pandas and penguins and lions and lemurs is now but a dream of day five because day six is upon the world! And yet again, in the blink of an eye, this astounding work is set aside for that which is yet more astounding.
Humanity—the likeness of God.
God’s intention is clearly seen with the birth of man and his command. Represent me. This is done in image and in dominion. And the intent goes deeper. In image, humanity acknowledges, praises, and glorifies God through capability to understand (though not fully) God and his work. In dominion, humanity constantly drenches itself in God’s creation. Dominion is not destruction but rule. And God’s revealed rule to humanity is creation and preservation, love and salvation.
Even more, and yet again, God sets up a salvation marker. He freely gives days one through six to his people just as he would freely give his Son, Jesus, so many years later. The setup shows God’s graciousness now (let them have…), that humanity might remember and believe in their giving God in their greatest time of need—when sin enters the world. Days one through six (all of creation!) are but a candle to the Light of the world: God himself, Jesus Christ.