The Seven Days of Creation (Day 1-3)

04 - The Seven Days of Creation - Day 1-3 Pt. 1 Gen. 1:1-13

Saturday, December 31, 2016

9:35 AM

In the beginning - This is the beginning while I didn't look at every version out of all the main 7 versions they all begin the same way, "in the beginning God…." I'm glad God has always been here.

But then there is the word "created" "Bara" means to bring into existence. that means Before there was anything - it wasn't even darkness there was nothing - But when God began to create he went from nothing to everything. Now there is valid evidence and scientific data to help sustain such an argument, but I do not wish to take tonight to go over that. Perhaps another time.

We now begin to get into the first week - I think it is a fascinating journey of symmetry, power, wisdom and brilliance.

We will look at this more in-depth after we cover all six days of creation but I want us to notice the symmetry between the days - Look at the corresponding parallelism

Day 1 - Heaven, Earth & Light

Day 4 - Lights - (Sun, moon & stars)

Day 2 - Waters divided & air

Day 5 - Water & Air Creatures

Day 3 - Dry land

Day 6 - Land creatures & people

There was Light 3-5 - I love this passage - there was nothing then the hovering and moving, it has the sense of brooding over the face of the deep by the Holy Spirit - and God steps out and says "LET THERE BE LIGHT" and light sprang out. That means there wasn't light before - no light waves, no colors, nothing - and then light sprang out.God took that light and divided it from the darknessCalling the light day and the dark night - The term "calling" or naming something in the ancient world is a sign of ownership or sovereignty. There is a question here that I find interesting Dr. John Walton brings this out - when he says of verse 5 - "Do you ever wonder why it says 'and God called the light…' that he didn't call it light? Instead he calls it day - I think this probably has reference to a period or season of light or perhaps today we would call it daylight. [2]Notice the sun and the moon have not been created yet. G. von Rad suggests that this serves as a reminder of what the earth once was before the life-giving word of God; but each morning's new light, which again conquers our anxious nights, re-presents God's first creation. The incessant “mornings” are evidence of God's loving-kindness and faithfulness (e.g., Gen 8:22; Ps 30:5; Lam 3:23).[1]

There was Dividing of water and air 6-8 - An expanse or firmament created - Later God would put the sun moon and stars here so this is more than an atmosphere.To the ancient Israelite the blue in the sky was Water (Which I have no problem believing either - we will talk more of this when we get to Noah and the flood) Eugen Merrill says, "To the ancient observer, the sky appeared to be a bowl-like covering for the earth through which the heavenly bodies shone. The actual meaning is that of space, expanse, or even atmosphere. The idea is that God created an atmosphere that, among its other functions, was to "divide the waters from the waters." This strange language can only suggest that, in the earliest period of earth's history, there was a body of water above the earth as well as the seas on the earth. Exactly what form this super-terrestrial water took is a mystery, but the most reasonable assumption is that it consisted of a kind of canopy of vapor, translucent enough to let in the light of the sun, but opaque enough to prevent many agents in outer space from entering the lower atmosphere. "[6]Dr. Henry Morris wrote - "The Hebrew word, raqiya, means "expanse" or perhaps better, "stretched-out thinness." Since God specifically identified it with "Heaven," it also can be understood simply as "space." Thus, on the second day, God separated the primeval deep into two deeps, with a great space between. The waters below the space retained the elemental earth materials which would be utilized on the following day to form the land and its plant cover. The waters above the firmament had apparently been transformed into the vapor state in order to be separated from the heavier materials and elevated above the atmosphere, where it could serve as a thermal blanket for the earth's future inhabitants."[7]

It speaks of almost an a structure holding up the sky separating it from the water below.

There was land 9-13 - There are two distinct acts of God on the third day: (1) the preparation of the dry land and the seas and (2) the furnishing of the dry land with bushes and fruit trees. Unlike the work of the second day, both acts are called "good"

[8]

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[M] New American Commentary - New American Commentary – Volume 1a: Genesis 1-11:26.Origins Today: Genesis through Ancient Eyes with John Walton

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[M] Eugene H. Merrill (1965-11-29T06:00:00+00:00). An Historical Survey of the Old Testament (Kindle Locations 791-816). Baker Academic. Kindle Edition. [M] The Defender's Study Bible[M] Expositor's Bible Commentary, The - The Expositor's Bible Commentary – Volume 2: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers.