Made and Pattern

This page is another pair of Vertiwords. Pairing conveys the idea of matching two elements, so they complement, balance, and complete one another. In this pairing, the abstract idea finds fulfillment. A simple, foundational four-letter vocabulary word of a first grader — ‘made‘ — packs a punch in the creation narrative and differs from a similar word Bara translated ‘create’. While ‘create’ emphasizes bringing something new into existence out of nothing which only God is subject to that verb, ‘made’ emphasizes the physical process and execution of pre-existing materials in an orderly plan where we can participate in that verb. This plan, also known as a blueprint, a system — a pattern — was a repetitive design He brought forth and was consistent throughout His Word. Pairing strengthens the connection between the action (made) and the plan (pattern). Together, they form a strong structure, grounded in a repeated format that mankind can reflect and follow.

Strong’s Concordance #6213 (OT)

Genesis 1:7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above the expanse. And it was so. (CSB)

The many descriptive words connected to made provide a meaningful pattern for living and following the Lord’s lead. The first word in this Vertiwords study is “commit,” a verb that reflects one of God’s reliable attributes from the beginning. In creation, God established a pattern He has never abandoned. Before sin entered the world, before nations existed, and before the Law—the Ten Commandments—was given, God revealed His ways through the order, purpose, and design of creation itself. Creation was not merely the start of history; it was the blueprint of God’s heart. What God made in creation unfolds through His measured garden, the activity of the flood, the establishment of Israel, the completion found in Christ, the distinct purpose of the Holy Spirit, and the final accomplishment of the promised new creation. His goal has always remained in view. He is consistent and committed; He never changes, and that truth is something to behold, believe, and depend on.

Because I, the Lord, have not changed, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.
Malichi 3:6 (CSB)

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Hebrews 13:8

“I am the Alpha the Omega, says the Lord God, the one who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Revelation 1:8

The words “make” and “made” and even ‘do’ all share the same Hebrew word, asah, which appears more than 2,600 times in the Old Testament. “Making” is something mankind has engaged in since the fall in the garden, as illustrated in Genesis 3:7: “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.” Despite the “wisdom the woman obtained,” as suggested by the serpent if she ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, their choice to now cover their nakedness led them to cut from its source of life—the fig tree—and utilize what it produced—the leaves—did not yield significant benefit. It would only take a short time for the leaves to dry up and wither, thereby losing the coverage and purpose for which they were made. This situation underscores the consequential nature of the warning given to the man in Genesis 2:17: “…for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.” The first decision they made would lead them down the very path that God warned against.

The Lord God called out to the man in the garden while he and his wife were hiding from Him. His first question, though not His last, addressed their position and condition: “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9 CSB). I believe God today still asks that question of those who hide from Him. Jesus expressed the same heart in Luke 19:10: “For the Son of Man has come to seek and save the lost.” Like Father—like Son.

The Lord God also established a pattern for proper covering in Genesis 3:21: “The Lord God made clothing from skins for the man and his wife, and He clothed them.” This pattern of blood being shed for true covering appears from the animal sacrifice connected to Abraham, continues through Christ’s death on the cross, and reaches ultimately to the heavenly throne.

Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” Then the two of them walked together.
Genesis 22:8 (CSB)

The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and said, “Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
John 1:29 (CSB)

They said with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessings!”
Revelation 5:12 (CSB)

Genesis 4 shows the consequence of failing to follow the “right” pattern—the way God regards as righteousness. Both of Adam’s sons brought offerings to the Lord, but only one was accepted because he followed the pattern God had established, offering the firstborn of his flock. The other brought what came from the ground, echoing the choice his parents had made in relying on the earth’s produce. One son followed God’s way; the other followed his earthly father’s first path. From the beginning of Genesis, we learn that there is a right way to act according to God’s plan, and there is also a wrong or futile way. Yet, as a loving Father, the Lord gave Cain another opportunity to bring the proper offering, along with a warning similar to the one He gave Adam concerning the trees. Genesis 4:7 states, “If you do what is right, won’t you be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” Some people want to approach God on their own terms and expect Him to accept their effort, but God has an ordained plan established before He breathed life into the man He formed from the earth in His image. God remains bound to His Word and standard; He must remain faithful to His blueprint because the Lord God is immutable—the God who does not change.

Long ago you established the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands. They will perish, but you alone will endure; all of them will wear out like clothing. You will change them like a garment, and they will pass away. But you are the same, and your years will never end.
Psalm 102:25-27 (CSB)

God is not a man that he might lie, or a son of man, that he might change his mind. Does he speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill? I have indeed received a command to bless; since he has blessed, I cannot change it.
Numbers 23:19-20 (CSB)

Strong’s Concordance #8403 (OT)

We see patterns amplified and multiply on the third day of creation, God established patterns of reproduction: “Then God said; “Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kind.” (Genesis 1:11)

The repeated phrase “according to their kind” reveals a lasting principle woven into God’s blueprint for creation. Every seed contains a pattern that determines what it will produce. As Matthew 7:16 says, “You will recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?” An apple seed will not become an olive tree because its pattern was set from the beginning, on the third day. This also points to why the Resurrection occurred on the third day: God faithfully works according to His patterns and plans.

Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For what a person sows he will also reap, because the one who sows to his flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.
Galatians 6:7-9 (CSB)

In this Vertiwords study, the leading word plan sets the direction. To be made as an image after something else, or someone else, helps us understand why God the Father sent His Son as the model and form we are called to replicate as we bear His likeness—hence the title “Christian,” meaning one who is Christlike. In Genesis 1:26, God planted the seed for a harvest that would come millennia later through the resurrection, fulfilling the successful plan Jesus declared on the cross in John 19:30: “It is finished.”

Then God said, ” Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness….”
Genesis 1:26 (CSB)

Jesus spoke these things, looked up to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you gave him authority over all flesh, so that he may give eternal life to everyone you have given him. This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent — Jesus Christ. I have glorified you on the earth by completing the work you gave me to do. Now, Father, glorify me in your presence with that glory I had with you before the world existed.
John 17:1-5

This is only one of many patterns found throughout Scripture, yet it is among the most important because it points to reconciliation with God. What may appear to be restrictive commands, rules, ordinances, and requirements given through Abraham, Moses, the Law, and the Prophets were actually part of God’s pattern to guide and prepare the generation that would witness Jesus’ ministry, death, and resurrection. If they understood the pattern, they would recognize Jesus as the promised One sent by God. Exodus 24:1-18 shows the covenant ceremony after the Israelites left Egypt and journeyed toward the Promised Land. Moses read the covenant scroll aloud to the people, and they responded, “We will do and obey all that the Lord has commanded.” This desire to follow, enter covenant, and obey God’s Word forms a continuous thread—a pattern of agreement to do what God says is right—from the Old Testament through the New Testament continuing even today.

From the Tabernacle pattern God gave Moses in Exodus 25:40 — “Be careful to make them according to the pattern you have been shown on the mountain”—to the Temple in Jerusalem, whose detailed architectural plan David passed on to Solomon in 1 Chronicles 28:19, and even back to the Ark God instructed Noah to build, Scripture consistently shows that God works according to specific patterns. Therefore, it is fitting that Jesus declared Himself to be “the way, the truth, and the life” in John 14:6. He is the pattern we are called to follow.

“They are to make a sanctuary for me so that I may dwell among them. You must make is according to all that I show you — the pattern of the tabernacle as well as the pattern of all its furnishings…”
Exodus 25:8-9 (CSB)

“Search the Scriptures”
Take a few moments to explore how this word is used throughout cross referencing Scripture. Let these passages guide your own study and reflection.
P: 1 Chronicles 28:11-19
A: 2 Kings 16:2-4, 10-11
T: Deuteronomy 4:9-10
T: Deuteronomy 4:12-20
E: Psalm 106:19-21 (followed the wrong image)
R: Ezekiel 10:8-14, Revelation 4:6,8
N: Roman 8:29, Ephesians 4:22-24, 1 Corinthians 11:1 (Notice the ‘pattern of ones’)