Across a crowded, rowdy room a person can hear his name called out by a friend or family member. Encouraging words from a single person of influence can outweigh dozens of naysayers. Spoken words have power.
In the beginning, the earth was formless, empty, and dark. Into that void, God spoke. Over six days’ time, His words brought everything from nothing. The thoughts in His mind came forth clothed in commands, and His words worked with power. All that He made He declared to be good.
His words brought order to the chaos, and His creative power brought rhythm to the world. From nothing, He made light, water and sky, and land and vegetation over the first three days. Then, he refined the first three days’ work over the next three—defining the lights, putting life in the waters and skies, and filling the land with creatures of all kinds.
When He finally put a creature made in His own image (1:27), He declared His work to be “very good.” His words are powerful, but His words are also personal. God wants a relationship with all He has created, and He wants His image-bearers to know, worship, and serve Him joyfully and faithfully. They are made for relationship with Him and one another.
He declared Himself to be powerful with the name Elohim in Genesis 1, but He showed Himself to be personal in Genesis 2 by using His covenant name Yahweh. Praise God for His powerful, personal words.
