Let the land produce . . . .

24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.  Genesis 1.24-25  NIV

Interesting, isn't it?  The text doesn't say, "And God said, 'Let there be living creatures.'"  It says, "And God said, 'Let the land produce living creatures.'"  Let the land produce them.  Then it says God made them.

Here is the thought of Bill Hankel, a biologos.org guest writer:  "In recent years, I have been able to read the Bible with a new set of eyes that see the language of God in perfect harmony with what we find in nature. Some passages actually seem to make more sense when filtered through the prism of evolving creation. For example, Genesis 1:24 tells us that God said, 'Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds …', and while this surely is not a scientific statement of evolution, it does show that God is comfortable 'creating' through secondary means. Imploring the land to produce more of the life he kindled seems to fit rather well with a creator who established the laws that govern our universe and let them play their part in the unfolding of our world. I believe God’s command to his creation to 'be fruitful' can reasonably be understood in an evolutionary context." 
See more at: http://biologos.org/blogs/archive/god-the-cosmic-gardener#sthash.GyJiD3A2.dpuf

Hmmm.