Focus: What Is Man?

Text: Ps. 8:4

"What is man, that thou art mindful of him?"

That is the big question! What is man? Socrates said, "Man, know thyself!" In Act II, Scene 2 of Hamlet, Prince Hamlet says of man, "What a piece of work is a man, How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty, In form and moving how express and admirable, In action how like an Angel, In apprehension how like a god, The beauty of the world, The paragon of animals. And yet to me, what is this quintessence of dust?" Mark that phrase: 'the quintessence of dust.'

Let us listen to Job, who said, "I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister" (Jb.17:14). Job sees himself as the worm of the earth. He says again, "How much less man, that is a worm? and the son of man, which is a worm?" (Jb.25:6). The psalmist declares, "I am a worm, and no man…" (Ps.22:6). Isaiah speaks, "Fear not, thou worm Jacob…" (Isa.41:14). Job, the psalmist, and Isaiah see man as mere worm of earth.

Now let us see from God's vantage point. Genesis 2:7 says, "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground…" (Gen.2:7). Man is of the dust. The dust is the raw material out of which man is designed and shaped. As a matter of fact, the Hebrew word for 'formed' is used in Jeremiah for 'potter,' meaning that God as the potter sculpted man from the clay. He is the potter, and man is the pot. In Gen.3, after the fall of man, God says to him, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Gen.3:19). Three things to notice in this verse:

1. "For out of it wast thou taken" - the dust is man's root, history or raw material. God says in essence, 'Man, take a look at your place of origin.'

2. "For dust thou art" - the dust is man's identity. God says essentially, 'Man, you are just dust.'

3. "And unto dust shalt thou return" - the dust is man's destiny. God says in essence, 'Man, you are going back to where you came from.' In Psalm 22:15, David talks about "the dust of death." Man's place of origin becomes his point of exit.

Abraham responds to God, "Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes" (Gen.18:27). He sees himself as dust. The psalmist says, "For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth… For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that WE ARE DUST… Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and RETURN TO THEIR DUST" (Ps.44:25; 103:14; 104:29).

God said something to the serpent that is worth noting. He said, "And dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life" Gen.3:14). 

The serpent is man's enemy. Man is dust, and the serpent's food is dust.

That's food for thought! I pray that you do not allow Satan to eat you as food. Remember that God didn't allow the lions of Babylon to feast on Daniel's body.

Man is the best that could come out of the dust. He is the display of divine artistry - 'the quintessence of dust' according to Shakespeare. It is by the sheer grace that God destined him to be His image-bearer to the rest of creation.

The meat of this message is for man to know himself and to be humble. There is no space for pride. God knows you in the total context of life, where you are, where you come from, and where you are going, and He holds your destiny in His hands. You came from the dust, you are dust, and you are returning to the dust. That's the message. Humanity and humility come from the same root. Man, be humble! Whoever you are and whatever you become in life is by the grace of God.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter