Those animals needed something to eat, though, and therefore they were created after the plants. As said, God is a God of order and logic.
This section is consistent with chapter 2, because it doesn’t say that God created man and woman at the same time. It only says that He created them. Chapter 2 of Genesis goes into more specifics than chapter 1. Here, we see the incredibly diverse nature of Creation, as we realize the awesome Creator that God is. He molded so many fascinating creatures, creatures that sing His praise by their design.
There are numerous cases, which other writers explain much more thoroughly, where they could not have come about by chance. Take the caterpillar, for instance. The first ones had to get the transformation to butterflies right immediately. They couldn’t make a mistake, get close, but not be able to do it. It had to be built in. Same with the birds which fly many thousands of miles in a season. They couldn’t just go halfway and then fail; It had to be right the first time.
Proof of this is found in what scientists have learned about so-called “prehistoric” creatures. For a deeper analysis, I again recommend Gary Parker’s “Creation: The Facts of Life.” However, here is a short sampling of what scientists have found:
Dinosaurs ate the same plants w4e see today;
Fossils of some things have been found to be the same as those which are living now – this includes animals as well as plants;
Blood cells from dinosaurs have been found, cells which would not have lasted millions of years;
The carbon-14 found in fossils must be only a few thousand years old; and,
Adam and Eve could have had every type of genetic variation within them, and it would have been enough to produce every type of variation we see in the world today.
Before the Fall, everything was perfect. The incredible diversity among the animals after their kinds would produce many wonderful creatures. The wolf, coyote, and the many breeds of dog we see could come from one couple, because of the change that would occur over time as each species mated. The many species of cat would develop. The insect world would grow. And, before the Fall, there were no mutations. Mutations have never been shown to produce beneficial things, only harmful ones. That didn’t matter. The incredible number of creatures that could result naturally lent itself to singing the praises of God and His great love and majesty.
When sin came into the world, of course, these creatures started eating each other. God had established a manner in which different creatures would become predators and different ones prey. However, it is still an orderly system that allows a lot of fabulous creatures within that system. And, it is a system established by God from the foundation of the world. Schools of fish and birds in their nests have something in common with the most advanced of creatures – mankind. That something is a desire for community. Some people with autism spectrum conditions seem much more satisfied by nature. The reason is probably because the certain aspects of nature’s communities are much more consistent and out in the open than the hidden body language and social cues of human ones.
Part of that, of course, is because mankind’s communities are so burdened by sin at times. However, it wasn’t always this way, as we shall see.
