Genesis 1:11-13

Genesis 1:11-13

11. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

12. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

13. And the evening and the morning were the third day.

comments:

I view this as another reasonable, logical step in setting up a planet capable of sustaining life: plant life, described with examples of both simple grasses, herbaceous plants and the like (and undoubtedly, simpler forms) and more complex, larger forms of plant life such as (for example) fruit trees.

All are described as having seeds that are each "after his kind" - a concept easily understood and relatable to people familiar with even the most basic of concepts used in farming and gardening. This concept being that the seed of a plant, when planted, grows the same kind of plant as that from whence it came - with limited possible variation, perhaps, but always the same type of plant, never something entirely different. The seed from a fig tree does not grow an olive tree, seeds from tares do not grow wheat no matter how much the plants may at first look similar to each other, and wild grasses do not seed groves of trees, but instead one must plant tree seeds in order to get trees to grow.

This is one of many concepts used as a basic principle in examples for teaching by prophets through the ages, along with the related concept of the fruit of a type of tree only being found on that type of tree - and not growing on something else. One naturally does not find figs and olives growing on the same tree together; each comes only from its own kind of tree, and yields its own kind of seed, which grows it own kind of tree only, and so on.

Another way I also look at these verses is that this passage is noting that not only was plant life placed on the Earth, but it was made as plant life with the full capability of perpetuating itself, each after its own kind.

It's not as though I don't think an all-powerful creator, creative force or other being able to accomplish everything that had come previously might not also be able to continuously create more new plants to keep replenishing the supply of various plants on the Earth as needed, but would it be a reasonable or efficient use of time and energy to do so? I don't believe in a God who would make a world that would have to be constantly micromanaged. It seems far more reasonable and logical to me, to utilize natural laws and order and create forms of life organized according to principles of being able to self-perpetuate, and to establish self-sustaining biodiversity and interrelated ecological systems that are able to adjust and adapt to each other, to changing conditions, climates, seasons, etc. The design of the Earth, from the tiniest and simplest microorganisms, through all forms of plant life (and everything else living) up to and including the largest systems of interconnected forests, all have the ability to reproduce each after its own kind. I believe all of it is part of God's plan.

And, of course, as with every previous stage of creation, God saw that it was good.