Hand over the keys
The
firmament
Marcelo Augusto de Carvalho
GENESIS 1.5
The days of the week of creation were undoubtedly 24
hours long. There are many
reasons to believe so that we list two here:
1- Most plants die when subjected to a night of
abnormal duration.
2- Thus it is still today, even though
the world is sunk in the disorders that sin has brought to nature, let alone in
the regime of perfection it would not be!
GENESIS 1.6-8
- By His Word, God separated the heaviest materials
on earth, such as water,
soil, and rocks from lighter matter such as gases and vapors. God must have used the law of
gravity for this, for it is effective in keeping the
earth's mass together, preventing
it from disintegrating
because of the centrifugal force a body generates in its revolution around the
Sun.
- The continents were emerging, rivers
and lakes were formed in the lowest places on the surface preparing the place
for the emergence of life.
- Let's study a little what the Bible says about the "firmament beneath
the earth."
Note: the book of Genesis seems to us
that on the second day God only created or organized the atmosphere, that is,
the firmament above the earth. The firmament beneath the earth was the work of
the third day. But to become more didactic and come against the spiritual
applications we propose, we then put the creation of the firmament under the
ground on the second day).
- The earth's surface is composed of three layers;
the core, mantle and earth's
crust.
- The core,
- The mantle is a thick rocky layer, about
- The crust is 10 to
By
organizing these layers, God created the rocks
granite- employed in paving streets and building buildings.
feldspar- under the action of water, becomes clay.
basalt- black color used in paving sidewalks.
pumice- used to polish objects and clean or soften the
skin.
sandstone- with cement-like properties.
gravels
and pebbles- found in the
river beds.
gnaise- as an example the corcovado hill in Rio de
Janeiro.
slate-
used to cover and coat the
floor of the houses.
marble- used in floors, stairs, wall, sinks, tables etc.
God
also coated the soil with
peculiar properties
sand- easy water penetration
clay- known as clay, is used for numerous
purposes such as brick making.
limestone- used in the manufacture of cement, lime, gypsum,
chalk etc.
humo
- indispensable element for the soil to
be fertile.
- Being ready the place where living
beings would live, God tried to create the appropriate conditions for life to
exist and be preserved. It created the atmosphere.
- Life on Earth only exists thanks to
it. It's the space above us that we call heaven. It acts as a blanket on the planet, protecting it from
the sun and providing the necessary conditions for the life of animals and
plants. It is delicately distributed to promote the elements necessary for
the maintenance of all creatures as to protect us from any potentially harmful
rays emanating from the Sun. An example of this is the OZONA layer, which although in extremely small
amounts, protects us from not being burned by the sun's rays.
- Other planets also have atmosphere, but very different from ours. On Venus, the air is
thick; contains many more gas molecules than ours and the atmospheric pressure
is 100 times higher. The heat of the Sun is retained and temperatures reach 480
degrees Centigrade. Mars' atmosphere is thin; the heat of the Sun disperses and
temperatures reach minus 120 degrees. Water in liquid form does not exist -
only ice. Conditions on Earth are between Venus and Mars.
THE ATMOSPHERE
- Housing in itself all gases and other temperature
conditions, the atmosphere consists of five layers:
- An interesting fact is that crossing
this space vertically is not that time consuming. If you drove a car straight
in front at
- A question always comes when looking at the
firmament; Why is the
sky blue?
Answer: In fact it is not blue; what we
see is a visual effect
caused by the presence of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, water vapor and
some gases 100 miles from earth. When the sun's rays pass through this region,
several molecules disperse light; the shorter the length of a colored
wavelength, the more mirrored it is. Because the blue wavelengths are the
shortest, therefore, the most mirrored, they produce the effect that makes the
sky blue.
- But in all this beauty, what impresses
us most is to see how God created in such a perfect, orderly and
purpose-specific way the firmament that surrounds us.
- That same day He created all the laws that govern the
celestial bodies at least around the Earth in line with the rest of the
Universe, of course, for there would be chaos everywhere in a matter of a
second. It created the orbit of the
Earth in which it travels around the Sun without
touching it or any other star. And to our fantastic astonishment this orbit is so exact that we can
hardly imagine!
-
The Earth moves through space spinning like a top, having at least 33 different
movements. So spinning, it moves in an imaginary line that will take you around
the sun in a year. But she needs to dodge the sun on this route, because it
THIS FACT TEACHES US TWO LESSONS
1- God likes order in everything he does and He has planned order
also in our life.
Just as there is order throughout the universe there must be order in my room,
in my books, in my social life and also in my social and business commitments.
We represent God and if we wish to do so correctly we must show order, decency,
and cleanliness in every aspect of our lives.
2- Second, we learn that God perfectly planned all the things that
exist and created perfect mechanisms for them to continue to exist. Just
like you did to us. You and I don't ask you to be born; we came into the world
by the will of God and our fathers. So God took responsibility for creating for
us the environment necessary for us to live and develop with happiness. He
takes upon himself the responsibility of supplying our needs, and does so every
day with great affection. Think for a minute; He gave you a home, parents who
support you, educate and love you. So far he hasn't missed anything. Although a
lot of things that happen to you aren't what you'd like it to be, it's still
the best thing that could happen to you. God is in control of the Universe as
well as of our lives; there is no reason to complain or fear.
It tells the
story that a rabbi named Okiba
had to make a very long
trip and hastily for business reasons. Knowing how dangerous and exhausting the
journey would be, he prepared his paraphernalia and soon set out on his way. He
took with him a rooster to wake him up early, a donkey to ride, a lamp for
lighting at night and the Book of The Law to read during the trip.
After a few days of travel, being almost
night, he hurried to reach the nearby city, because he knew that if he did not
do so he would run the danger of sleeping outside the city. Arriving there, he
searched for a hotel, but there was no room available. He looked for a boarding
house, then appealed for someone to host him, but wherever he was going,
everyone closed his doors. He came out of town nervous, cursing at everyone and
complaining about his luck. He searched out of town for a very leafy tree, and
there he went to sleep. The night rose with a strange noise; went to see, a
beast had ate his ass. He got even more nervous. He slept a little longer, woke
up again with noise and going towards him realized that a fox had ate his. When
he turned to sleep, a very strong wind hit the lamp by erasing it as undoing
the condom that burns for the production of light. He said to himself,
"Well, what do I have left now to happen?" He went to sleep hoping
that the other day his luck would be changed. The next day very early, he got
up and went to the city, and what was not his astonishment when he saw that
terrible scene; the city had been invaded, squealed and completely destroyed by
a tribe of Indians; they stole everything they wanted, they killed all the
inhabitants and set fire to almost everything. At this moment he sat on the
floor and began to think about what had happened to him, and after a few
moments, with tears in his eyes, he knelt down and thanked God. If He had been
received in that city he would have died with all of them; if the rooster had
sung in the morning, the Indians would hear and have killed him, as would have
also occurred if the lamp had not been extinguished; in the same way it would
have occurred if the donkey had relinqueted. He thanked him for the misfortunes
that had occurred to him; through them God saved his life.
APPEAL: God sustains you every day,
directing your life as you do with all the stars of the Universe. I know a lot
that happens to you you hate, but know that even through them God still guides
you. Accept Your plans for you; there are no better, not even those you do, and
be happy. God bless you.
SOURCE
Adventures of Creation. Dr. Haroldo G, Coffin. Casa Publicadora
Brasileira, Tatuí-SP, Brazil. 1993 edition.
Youth Inspiration. Casa Publicadora
Brasileira, Tatuí-SP, Brazil. Editions from 1977 to 2005.
Pr. Marcelo Augusto De Carvalho -
April 1997 São Paulo SP Brazil