Psalm 139 and DNA
God and DNA
An article adapted from EadsHome Ministries
Reference: Psalm 139
Psalm 139 details God’s blueprint for our design. On April 2, 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick presented the structure for DNA. DNA contains all the genetic information to create our entire bodies. DNA encodes our red blood cells, and the heart that pumps them. DNA encodes our hair follicles, and the color of the hair in them. DNA encodes our bones, and the muscles attached to them.
For thou hast possessed my reins: thou has covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
Unique, Distinguished Creations!
In verse 14 we read that we are fearfully made. The Hebrew word here is Ya’re, from the root to revere or to fear. The word wonderfully in Hebrew is Pah'lah, which comes from the root to distinguish, separate, or set apart. From this we read, With fearful things I am distinguished God is saying that we are each unique, distinguished, wonderful creations! And He created us with fearful, reverent, awesome things. Our bodies have certainly been constructed with amazing building blocks.
I remember Anatomy class in Medical School. Everyone dreaded with fear and nervousness the first day of Anatomy. Most of us anticipated itthe entire summer leading up to that our first year in Medical School. The day we unveiled the cadavers we would be dissecting in lab was a memorable day. Although everyone of us had seen a dead person at a funeral, none of us had seen the insides of a dead person. As the weeks passed into months, we dissected muscles, nerves, blood vessels, organs, bone, and fascia. We identified every one of these hundreds of structures and were tested on them. From a purely non-microscopic viewpoint I can tell you that we are made with awesome things! The intricacy of our bodies is beyond comprehension. When we think of our bodies from a microscopic standpoint, it becomes even more mind-boggling to consider the complexity of the fearful things. With these fearful things we are made into unique, distinguished creatures. Though we all possess the same anatomy (with rare exceptions), we are all unique.
Not Hidden from God
In verse 15 we read that our substance was not hid from God. This word substance in Hebrew is otsem, which can also refer to our bones or our body. Certainly nothing that happens in the womb is hidden from God. All the details of how we are made are not known to mankind. Even if we can map out the events with precision, we shall never know the full details of the how. Thus, our formation will remain secret to a degree. We were curiously wrought or woven by God. The next phrase depths of the earth is an interesting phrase. The Hebrew word for depth is tach'tiy which refers to lower parts, pit, or womb. Here we see that the womb of the woman is figuratively the womb of the earth. For we all come from dust (Genesis 3:19), so our mother’s womb is where dust becomes an image bearer of God.
God’s Book of DNA
In verse 16 we read that God saw our substance (literally our unformed bodies – embryo in today’s language), in the womb. An interesting difference is seen here between the NIV translation and the King James Bible. The NIV says:
All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
So the question is this: Does God’s book contain our days and the things we will do, or does God’s book contain the information that details the formation of our bodies? This is an important question because it determines the nature of God’s book. Without knowing what is in God’s book, we cannot know what His book is at all. The hinge to this passage is kowl; meaning all of them or every one. The passage reads like this: “Your eyes saw my embryo/substance and on your book all of them (kowl) were written. In the continuance of days (yowm) were they formed.” If kowl is referring to the days rather than our substance, then it would be appropriate to translate this passage with a reference to the book containing our days. But the prior context is our bodies, not our days. Verses 13, 14, 15, and 16 all have as their subject matter the formation of our bodies in the womb. Therefore the psalmist, when saying kowl (all of them) is most certainly referring to the subject of the last 4 verses; our bodies.
God’s record of our bodies is found in the spectacular DNA structure. He has recorded everything about us in the pages of these molecules. The number of hairs on our head. Our height. Our skin and hair color. Our physical, mental, and intellectual strengths.
Long before mankind discovered DNA, God was creating and using it to record us in His wonderful book of our members.
(Photo by mrhappy)
