Genesis 2:7, 21-22 says, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul… Genesis 2:21-25 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; (22) And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.” A mere three verses and 77 words is all we are given to tell us about the formation of man and woman. Perhaps the Lord kept it simple so that we would have the joy and fascination of discovering the intricacies and amazing facts about our bodies.
An article from interestingfacts.com gives six fascinating tidbits about our bodies that most of us never knew. For instance, the smallest bone and the smallest muscle make it possible for us to enjoy the sounds of a bird singing, a baby’s giggle, the whisper of a loved one, and thousands of other sounds. Three tiny bones in the inner ear are collectively called the ossicles. The smallest of those is the stapes and it is supported by the stapedius muscle. This bone and muscle is the last in a chain that helps convert sounds into electrical signals which the brain interprets. Without these, we wouldn’t be able to hear.
Going from the smallest to the longest, consider some record setting organs. The small intestine could be stretched 22 miles. Nerves laid end to end could reach 37 miles. And all the vessels of the circulatory system (veins, arteries, capillaries, etc.) could be stretched 60,000 miles! Who would have guessed that our Creator would have went to such great lengths!
The body’s smallest organ is hidden in the brain. The pineal gland is responsible for
regulating our circadian rhythms.
The hand contains the most bones. Adults have about 27 bones, along with 34 muscles and 123 ligaments in their hand. They beat the feet by just one bone!
Speaking of feet, you know my great aversion to feet, right? Well, there is medical evidence to justify it. Those nasty, calloused, cracked heels are home to 80 different fungi. The toenails have 60 different fungi and that space between the toes contains another 40 breeds of fungi. Doing the math, our feet grow 180 kinds of fungi. That’s more than any other part of the body. We have some other less respectable areas and they don’t have as much fungi as the feet.
Finally, the frontal lobe of the brain is the largest of the lobes and it is responsible for giving us those distinctive human characteristics: language, creativity, abstract thought, personality, and so much more.1
Can you imagine how many more wonderful mysteries there are to discover in the human body?
The Psalmist frequently extols the majesty of God in creation, whether that be plant, animal, land, sea or the wonders of our human body. Thinking about these things brings the Psalmist to a conclusion that can be ours on this Lord’s Day.
“O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. (7) For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.” Psalms 95:6-7
1https://interestingfacts.com/human-body-superlatives/?lctg=1faede22-f93a-468d-8d24-3d95c829d9b6
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