A bare skull may not look very attractive, but it shows better than we can tell you how wonderfully the Creator has made this part of your body. Notice how openings for ears, eyes, nose and mouth are designed so that these parts make a pleasing, balanced appearance to a person’s face without interfering with one another. Also notice how the upper jaw is immovable, but the lower jaw is hinged so we can chew and talk. If it were otherwise, how difficult it would be to do those things!
Important as these features are, the main purpose of the skull is to protect the brain that the Creator has given us—a brain so superior it puts man on a level of life far above all other living creatures on earth. The skull is remarkably strong, ¼-inch thick at the top and thicker at the base, making a lightweight, strong armor. Over its top and sides is a scalp of tough skin, and over that is a protective mat of hair. Both coverings are helpful in protecting what is under them.
Inside the skull is a thin but tough lining between it and the brain to help protect important nerves and blood vessels. This is called “dura mater.” But that’s just part of the story. As further protection against bumps, blows and falls, the skull holds a special fluid cushion in which the brain “floats.” The rigid casing of the skull surrounds the brain very closely, and all empty spaces are filled with this important fluid.
Nothing has been overlooked. Even the nerves that take care of smell, hearing and sight are sheltered in special notches of the skull to protect them as they attend to their duties.
Through an opening in the bottom of the skull, the spinal cord enters the brain with a marvelous system of nerves that carry messages between the brain and all parts of the body. This opening has been so carefully placed that the head of a man is perfectly balanced to enable him to hold it upright and for his whole body to stand in an erect position. The spine itself becomes the main support of the entire head—skull and all.
Incidentally, apes and monkeys usually do not stand erect unless holding on to a support. This is just one of many differences God made between apes and man. The first chapter of Genesis tells us He made them separate creations. To believe anything else takes our thoughts away from a loving God and Creator. David followed his God-given thoughts, in our opening Bible verse, by declaring: “How precious also are Thy thoughts unto me, O God!” (vs. 17). And God’s loving thoughts are the very same toward you today.
ML-03/29/2015