What is a Firmament?

Allow me to read one of the most confusing passages, not just in Genesis, but in the entire Bible…Genesis 1:6-8

Genesis 1:6–8 KJV 1900

6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

We have all heard it said, “God said it, I believe it, that settles it.” While that is a wonderful statement of faith concerning the Word of God, let me ask, is it enough? No its not.

When we encounter difficult passages, like this one, simply saying to a skeptic “This is what God said, that’s enough” is not sufficient. In fact, it raises more questions than it answers. “God made a firmament” - “What is a firmament?” “God divided the waters from the waters” - “What waters did He divide?” “God called the firmament heaven” “Which heaven? The Bible mentions three.”

Simply saying, “God said it and that is all that matters” is not a declaration of faith, but of laziness. Church we owe it to God to have a strong faith is His Word, but we owe it just as much to Him to not be lazy in interpreting His Word. Today we are going to approach this passage with three goals in mind: Define, Explain, and Understand.

First we...

Define

The word “firmament” comes from a Hebrew word that simply means - expanse. Strong’s suggests, and every commentator I read after agrees that it refers to the sky, or atmosphere.

Let me be clear, this word has been misinterpreted by many so-called scholars, all of which, interestingly enough, deny the literal account of a six day creation and a young earth! These suggest that the word means a “solid dome across the sky,” which is actually what the ancient Egyptians believed about the sky. They suggest that the idea of space or atmosphere would have been foreign to the ancient Israelites and that Moses would have borrowed from Egyptian beliefs regarding the use of this word.

Church, we have seen time and again that God knew what He was doing, and knew what He was talking about in the opening chapters of Genesis. Believe me when I say there is no logical basis in interpreting a Hebrew word that means sky as a solid dome. There is no need for God to use a pagan religion to explain the truth of His creation! Now that we have completed our first goal, to define, let us move on to goal two...

Explain

Look at Genesis 1:1-2

Genesis 1:1–2 KJV 1900

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 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.

There was, first of all, never chaos in the beginning. God is a God of order. He created the universe with intention. His intention on day one was to create all that was necessary for the subsequent days. The raw materials so to speak. Time, space, matter, light, dark, day and night. Verse two mentions the “earth was without form (inomplete) and void (shapeless)” and that the Spirit of God moved (hovered) upon the face of the waters.

There is its. Waters. Look back at Genesis 1:6-7

Genesis 1:6–7 KJV 1900

6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

There was at the end of day one a shapeless mass or gathering of water. God then on day two caused a great separation of these waters, a firmament. What we call the atmosphere. He gathered or caused some, not all, but some of the waters to be lifted above the atmosphere and some to remain below the atmosphere.

Why or to what purpose would God cause this? We set out to define the firmament, which we did, next we sought to explain the meaning of the act, and that leaves us with one final goal...

Understand

The question “why did God cause this separation of the waters in the expanse” is to seek understanding of God’s purpose. I do not have all the answers, but I do know this: God knows what He is doing.

In these verses we see the creation of the following:

The atmosphere/sky - also known as the “first heaven”

Remember I mentioned the word heaven in verse 3 that there are three mentioned in the Bible

Atmospheric - first heaven

Stellar - second heaven

Heaven of heavens - third heaven

The subsequent days of creation tell us which was created on day two:

Day four sees the creation of the sun, moon, stars, and planets separate from day two

Day five sees the creation of birds - where would they fly without the creation of the atmosphere first? Also where would they sleep/rest without the trees created on day three?

These verses explain the creation of what is known as earth’s hydraulic system

The earth has the ability to water itself. We call it rain, and boy do we need some!

Dr. McGee recalls a time in his commentary when he was in Honolulu and five inches of rain fell in just a few minutes. He said that Honolulu receives over 200 inches of rain in a year!

Did evolution cause that? NO! God created the world and all of its complex systems to do just that!

Dr. Henry Morris, founder of ICR, suggests that the “waters above the firmament” suggests there was a canopy of water vapor that existed above the atmosphere, covering the entire planet. This would explain several things:

Uniform temperatures around the globe, as it would act a greenhouse.

No need for rain - it never rained before the flood. Water would instead evaporate and hover over the surface providing the right amount of moisture.

Act as a filter for the sun’s harmful radiation, preventing skin cancer and slow the aging process, hence the long lifespans before the flood and the radical drop following it.

There would be a final purpose in God’s creation of the hydrosphere - judgment.

The water above the firmament, falling in a dramatic rains storm would certainly aid in the flood recorded in Genesis 8.

Couple this with the opening of the “Fountains of the deep” it would explain how so much water could flood the earth in a short time.

God doesn’t have a “Plan B.” In His omniscience He prepared for the flood.

“Pastor, I though God was gracious, kind, and loving? How could He judge the earth with such violence and still be all those things?” For starters, He didn’t have to spare anyone, He could have destroyed everything and everyone, but He didn’t.

Conclusion: God is holy and He created a world that would reflect His holiness. Perfect, self-sustaining, to a degree it still is. However, God is omniscient, knowing that we would sin, He prepared for our judgment from the very beginning.

Why? Because God needed us to know there is a difference between Him and man. That we cannot approach Him anyway we please, we must come to Him His way or no way at all.

How are you trying to approach God? Your way, or His way?