"We are the clay, and you are the potter.." Isaiah 64:8-9 (NLT)

I find it interesting that Isaiah used the analogy that “We are the clay, and you are the potter”, after all, according to the Genesis account in chapter 2 vs. 7 it says that:

 “Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.” Genesis 2:7 (NLT)

The word “formed” in Hebrew is ‘yä·tsar’ which is a verb which has at its core meaning to pre-ordain for a situation, God had a plan in mind for man long before he was ever created to fashion man into a reflection or image of Himself.  

God spread or strewn out the parts necessary to make man frame what He desired, similarly to how man is created today through conception.  There is seeming randomness to conception, but when a man is conceived it always produces man and nothing else, so there is a pre-ordained order to God’s creation to reproduce after their own kind.

“God formed the man from the dust of the ground” the word dust is accurate, as dust is blown away by the wind from one place to another it is never gone or destroyed only moved from one place to another. 

We were formed from dust or the elements of the dry earth, God used dust as an object lesson by comparing us to dust which is driven from place to place.  similarly, the ancient people were nomadic and lived in tents and they were driven from place to place by the wind or the spirit of God looking for a land or a place to settle.

The word “Ground” is the Hebrew word ‘ad·ä·mä' which is a feminine noun, which is where “Adam” got his name for he was taken from the ground.  The ground literally produced or gave birth to this creation called a man with God breathing into this pile of dust to make it a living soul.  

What brought it alive was the breath of God not just the assembling of materials and elements of the ground to make the man.

There is this breathing out, this exhaling or letting out of the spirit which is evident in this passage in Genesis, God-breathed or exhaled into the nostril or the face of man for him to become alive.  This breathing out is where we get the concept for “fresh flowing water” like Jesus spoke of in John 7.

“Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” John 7:38 (NLT)

And also the concept of reviving or renewal as well as sustenance and maintenance which is necessary for survival is evident here.

“Won’t you revive us again, so your people can rejoice in you?  Show us your unfailing love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.” Psalm 85:6-7 (NLT)

Man became a living soul, the soul is the seat of the appetites, emotions and passions, and all the activity of the mind.  The soul also became the center of the activity of the will and of the character.

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2 (NASB)

The Genesis account is more than just the story of the creation of man, it is the revelation of God’s interaction with man, God wanted to create a people that He could express Himself through, not just to have man live out his life on his own, but rather there be an interaction between Father God in a way that was symbiotic and vital for reflecting Him on the earth.

As we know Adam & Eve chose a different path that led to their removal from God’s garden and from the breathing out of His spirit into Adam’s nostrils and face, to a place of having to strive to survive and working the land to produce a harvest for sustenance.  God never would leave Adam, but would provide a way back to redeem him back and remove the curse of sin through the life of the second Adam Jesus Christ.

Isaiah saw that God knew us from the beginning and formed us all with His hands.  Isaiah saw God as being angry with us, he got it wrong.  Jesus never once mentions God’s anger with us only God’s pity over our sinful state and His willingness to forgive us and restore us back to where we were originally destined to be which is at His side.

This journey as a Christ-follower is one of discovery and revelation as we ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us the purpose of our creation and what our part is in this divine mystery.

“Look at us, we pray, and see that we are all your people.”

Be Blessed;

Stephen Barnett