Days of Creation vs Days of the Earth
The story of creation provided to us in Genesis chapter 1 reveals many wonderful things to us concerning God and His sovereign power. But many things in this historical account have been either overlooked or misunderstood, and some even greatly confused, with things that, when studied, are found to be in error.
In this study of Genesis 1, I ask that you give consideration to the order in which things are created as well as any descriptions and purposes for which they were created.
In this study of Genesis 1, I will demonstrate why the days of creation should not be confused with what we know as earth days. I will not in any way define the length of a creation day. The length of a creation day cannot be determined because that information is not provided any where in the Word of God. Any attempt to define a creation day would be pure speculation and would be to add to that which is spoken of God.
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
This first passage may be the most misunderstood passage in the book of Genesis. Its true meaning should be easily determined as one reads the rest of this chapter. This is merely a summary of the events that are about to be revealed in this story of creation.
Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness [was] upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
In the passage above, the earth is described as being without form and void. Without form means that the earth at this time had not been shaped. It was neither circular, square, triangular, jagged nor any other shape. Void means that it had no content, contained no matter, or simply an empty space. When these two descriptions are combined together as they are used in this passage, it should become evident that this is describing the earth as having not yet been created. This is further confirmed by passages 9 & 10 below since they describe how the earth was created on the third day of creation.
Genesis 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
After having established that the earth, nor anything else except water, had yet been created, we are told how light was created. This passage intentionally does not mention the existence of darkness. There was no darkness left.
Genesis 1:4 And God saw the light, that [it was] good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
And so God created a division so that the light and darkness could coexist with each other.
Genesis 1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
Now we come to where God names the light Day and the darkness Night. God defines the first recorded day as the completion of an evening and morning as determined by this light and darkness which was divided. It is by this Day that the duration of creation is measured. At this point the earth, sun, and moon have yet to be created. But those things will be created in just two days from now.
Genesis 1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry [land] appear: and it was so.
God now gathers the waters which were present into water bubbles. This is the same thing that occurs when an astronaut pours water out in nongravity space. The water collects together to form a ball. The is how the earth will be shaped in the next passage.
Genesis 1:10 And God called the dry [land] Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that [it was] good.
Out of the water bubble, God commands dry land to appear. The earth has now become a solid mass having taken its shape from the previous ball of water. No longer is the earth without form or void.
Genesis 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
God is preparing to create a second set of lights. This is to be what we know as human beings as the Sun and Moon. It should already be a proven fact that by the Sun and the Moon we have days, years, seasons, and signs.
Genesis 1:15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
In this passage, God determines the location and purpose for which this second set of lights will be used. This passage clearly defines these lights as being for the purpose of giving light upon the earth.
Genesis 1:16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: [he made] the stars also.
And so He did as He determined above. He made the second set of lights and further defined their purpose.
Genesis 1:17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
And so He did as He determined above. He set them in the heavens in such a way that they would give light upon the earth.
Genesis 1:18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that [it was] good.
These two lights, created in this fourth creation day, were in like fashion divided from each other so that both could coexist upon the earth.
Genesis 1:19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
Therefore, as set forth in these passages from Genesis 1, God created three lights. The first light, whose purpose is not clearly defined, was used to measure the length of the days of creation. A second light, defined as the greater light to rule over the day of the earth, and a third lesser light to rule over the night of the earth. The second and third lights being created in the fourth day of creation, the fourth evening and morning of the first created light.
Thank you for taking the time to read this study. I hope you found this study to be a blessing, and that it has in some way increased your knowledge of our Lord and Savior. If you have questions, or would like to leave a comment, please do not hesitate to do so.
You may also email questions to barry@baptistcommentary.com
Grace to you,
Barry Laminack
Topical References: Creation, Genesis, Old Testament, Scripture Comment |
