Genesis 1:1-26 - The Meaning of the Days
Thomas S. Myers
Genesis 1 & 2
An atheist complained to a friend because Christians had their special holidays, such as Christmas, Easter and the like; the Jews celebrated their national holidays such as Passover, Yom Kippur. He said, "But we atheists have no recognized national holiday. It's unfair discrimination." To which his friend replied, "Why don't you celebrate April Fool's Day?" [Psalm 14:1 "The fool has said in his heart, there is no God."
In the town hall in Copenhagen stands the world's most complicated clock. It took forty years to build at a cost of more than a million dollars. That clock has ten faces, fifteen thousand parts, and is accurate to two-fifths of a second every three hundred years. The clock computes the time of day, the days of the week, the months and years, and the movements of the planets for twenty-five hundred years. Some parts of that clock will not move until twenty-five centuries have passed. What is intriguing about that clock is that it is not accurate. It loses two-fifths of a second every three hundred years. Like all clocks, that timepiece in Copenhagen must be regulated by a more precise clock, the universe itself. That mighty astronomical clock with its billions of moving parts, from atoms to stars, rolls on century
after century with movements so reliable that all time on earth can be measured against it.
FIRST -- THE MEANING OF THE DAYS.
Notice in verse 5 the phrase "THE EVENING AND THE MORNING WERE THE FIRST DAY."
You will find that exact phrase t times. Take a look at it.
"THE EVENING AND THE MORNING WERE THE FIRST DAY."
How long is this day? The reason I ask that question, is that you will find the Hebrew word "DAY" occurring 2265 times and it is translated at least 14 different ways.
So what did God mean by "DAY?" Did He mean a literal 24 hour day? Some people say it is much longer than a 24 hour day. They say the world was created in billion and billion of years. So they try to say the word "DAY" are not literal days but the day are great ages of time.
Actually the word "DAY" is translated in several ways.
Gen. 1:5 day
Gen. 6:5 continually
Gen. 26:7 time
Exodus 9:18 founded
It may not be just a simple thing when you talk about the word "DAY." So are the "DAYS" periods of time or do we take the days to refer to 24 hour days?
I believe that God made this world in 24 hour days. I believe that God made it all 6 days in 24 hour days. Let me tell you why I believe that?
First of all I believe that God could have made all 6 days in 6 seconds.
Second -- The normal usage of the word "DAY" "THE EVENING AND THE MORNING" Just by letting language say what it says you get a 24 hour day.
Third -- If you make these days geological ages, you get into all kinds of difficulty.
For example, you have on the 3rd day plant life created, but you do not have sun light till the 4th day. You have some real difficulty if you make the word "DAYS" as genealogical ages, you would have millions of years with plant life without sunlight.
Fourth -- Every time in the Old Testament when you see the word "DAY" and there is a number with it, it always speaks of a 24 hour day.
Turn to Exodus 20:9-11
I believe that God just spoke and it was created.
Somebody said, If God didn't mean what He said, why didn't he say what he meant?
SECOND -- THE MIRACLE OF THE DAYS.
I believe that God created the heavens and the earth miraculously. Does that bring me into conflict with science? No. True science does not conflict with the Bible. God wrote the Bible and God made the laws of nature.
Now often then is a conflict between the Bible and what is called science. But I'm glad the Bible doesn't always agree with what some call science. Because what some call science has changed is no longer called science. And what we believed yesterday about science is no necessary believed today. And had the Bible agreed with what was called science of yesterday, ten the Bible would have been prove false.
We do not check out our Bible by science. We check out science by the Bible.
Someone says, "What about the theory of evolution? Well, that's just it. Evolution is just that, it is a theory. You need to understand that the theory of evolution does not work. It is a theory. And I reject it. And as a matter of fact, universities reject Dawin's theory of evolution.
I believe that it takes more faith to believe the monkey story than it does the Word of God.
3 Reason Why I Do Not Believe in Evolution
1st -- I do not believe in evolution because the evolutionist has no explanation for the origin of life.
To suggest that life happened by an accident has as much sense that a Websters dictionary would result from turning a bunch of monkeys lose in a room with typewriters.
The evolutionist has no answer for the origin of life.
2nd -- Fixed species.
GENESIS 1:11
"...AFTER THEIR KIND..."
Do you know what that phrase means? It means that God made plants and animals to reproduce after their own kind. Dog reproduce dogs, cats reproduce cats. Flowers reproduce after their kind. You can change the color of a flower, but it is still a flower.
Not one species have crossed over.
3rd, I reject evolution for theological reasons.
The evolutionary theory says that man got better and better and evolved.
The Bible says that man was made perfect and fell into sin.
Evolution says that man started from some pound and mankind is moving upwards and getting better and better.
4th -- I reject evolution morally.
When you believe that man sprang up form animals it is much easier to treat man like an animal.
THIRD -- THE CREATION OF THE WORLD.
Look at verse 2
Genesis 1:2
2 And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. NASV
Notice the word "WAS." Some people believe the word "WAS", should be translated "became."
Verse 2 will then read "And the earth became formless and void...."
Those who hold to this view say try to harmonize creation with the millions and billions of evolution data. They will say the earth prior to verse 2 was already teaming with life. But at the fall of Satan, the earth became formless and void.
The problem with the Gap Theory:
First is that the Hebrew syntax links verse one and two and does not allow for a gap.
Second -- The Gap Theory assumes that death prevailed before Sin entered into the world by Adam and Eve.
Third -- The Gap Theory contradicts Exodus 20:11
Exodus 20:11
11 “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. NASV
THE FIRST DAY
Genesis 1:3-5
3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. NASV
What happened on the first day of creation?
3 things happened
1st -- Light was created.
3 Then God said, “Let there be light”...
2nd -- God divided the light from the darkness.
3rd -- God called the light day and the darkness he called night.
There are several things we know about light.
Light reveals the way to God. Psalm 11:105
Light removes darkness. 11 Cor 4:6-7
SECOND DAY --
Genesis 1:6-8
6 Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. 8 And God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day. NASV
Two things happen here on the 2nd day.
1st -- God created clouds or a vapor canopy full of water.
Now you have to remember that there is no seasons until after the flood. That is a partial explanation why plant life and animal life is found in the artic.
2nd -- The vapor canopy is preparation for the world wide flood.
The vapor canopy does explain the incredible ages of people who live prior to the flood. I don't know if you noticed, but those who live after the flood did not live as long as those who were born before the flood.
Say more.
THIRD DAY --
Genesis 1:9-12
9 Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with seed in them, on the earth”; and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.. nasv
On the third day, God has dry land appear, vegetation that reproduces itself by seeds.
There is a phrase that is repeated 3 times. What is the significance of that? It is an illustration what ever is in you will come out of you.
1 John 3:7-9
7 Little children, let no one deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; 8 the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. NASV
FOURTH DAY --
Genesis 1:14-18
14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. 16 And God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to
govern the night; He made the stars also. 17 And God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. nasv
The sun, moon and stars are revealing to man 4 things.
1st - To give light -- ...separate the day from the night...
2nd- They were for days and Years
3rd - They were for seasons.
4th - They were for signs.
A sign for judgment Luke 21:25
A sign for God's power Ps 19:1
Ps 8:3-4
A sign that man needs God's help. Job 25:5-6
FIFTH DAY --
Genesis 1:20-23
20 Then God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.” 21 And God created the great sea monsters, and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day. NASV
They illustrate God care.
Matthew 6:26 - birds
Matthew 4:19 - fish
Prov 30 Prov 26
They illustrate God work.
Job 12:7-10
6TH DAY --
illustration:
It cost more to redeem us than to create us. In creation it was but speaking a word. In redemption there was shedding of blood (I Peter 1:19). Creation was the work of God's fingers (Psalm 8:3); redemption was the work of his arm (Luke 1:5). In creation, God gave us ourselves; in the redemption he gave us himself. By creation, we have life in Adam; by redemption, we have life in Christ (Col. 3:3).
God creates out of nothing. Wonderful, you say. Yes, to be sure, but he does what is still more wonderful: He makes saints out of sinners.