God's Companions

"Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.'"
(Genesis 1:26)

"Let US make man in Our image..."

Have you ever caught that before? I didn't until a year or so ago. Oh, I had read Genesis, chapter one a kazillion times, but the word US had not grabbed my attention. Of course, once my eyes read the word I realized its reference was to the Trinity - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

I thought the use of the word Us was interesting.
Well, now I've realized its much more that just interesting.
It's fascinating.

Genesis, chapter one tells the story of creation - God's spoken word establishing the heavens and the earth. Throughout the chapter, the Lord speaks creation into being:

"Let there be light..."
"Let there be a firmament..."
"Let the waters under the heavens be gathered..."
"Let the earth bring forth grass..."
"Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night..."
"Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures and let birds fly above the earth..."
"Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind..."

And then the words of command change (drumroll, please)"

"Let US make man in Our image."

Why does it change? This is speculation, of course, but consider this:
All of creation was spoken forth through singular commands of great authority. Now the command involves consultation. Elohim, the Creator, now involves the Son and the Holy Spirit. Why? Because we are made in their image. We are the "creature" that traverses heaven and earth, body and soul. We become the children of God.

Consider this also. Matthew Henry (Matthew Henry's Commentary) believes the statement, "Let Us make man in Our image" denotes affection. I can see that. It reflects ownership or connectedness. The Creator has everything in place for us, for our dominion, for our sake and now its like God said, "All the preliminaries are over. Now its time for My children. This is what I've been working towards...someone to love Me, someone to walk with Me and talk with Me. This is the reason I AM. Come, let Us make man in Our image."

"So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." (Genesis 1:27)

Father, thank You for, once again, showing us how special we are to You. We are Your special treasure. Open our eyes that we might see and know the magnitude of Your love. Thank You, Lord. Bless Your Holy Name!