7-Day Commentary Challenge - Genesis 1-3Sample

The First Day, 1:3–5

God spoke light into existence. What was that creative word? It involved the action of His will’s determining what was to happen and the operation of omniscient intelligence’s shaping objects in the most magnificent possible way, down to the last atom. On each of the six days God’s creative word generated (1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26). The writer to the Hebrews referred to that creative utterance when he said: “The worlds were framed by the word of God” (11:3). And the psalmist in alluding to the creation said, “He spoke and it was done” (Ps. 33:9).

The nature of that light is debated. Some call it a sort of cosmic light because the sun, moon, and stars are said to have been created on the fourth day. But others observe that the sun could have been in existence at that time but did not specifically begin to serve its visible functions in relation to the earth until the fourth day. Whatever the light, apparently the earth at that time first received light in order to be a fit place for the inhabitants for which it was intended.

The Second Day, 1:6–8

As God continued to give form to the world, He next brought into being a “firmament,” something that according to the Hebrew was spread out, put firmly in place, that is, the “vault of heaven.” That firmament He called heaven, not the abode of God, but the sky, as verses 9 and 20 indicate. Reference is to the gaseous atmosphere.

The formation of the atmosphere was achieved by dividing the waters under the atmosphere from those above it. Originally the earth may have been surrounded by a “cloud-fog” condition or a “watery fluid,” which would have made life as we know it virtually impossible. Now the waters under the atmosphere were separated more distinctly from those above it, and the ocean thus was formed.

What were the waters above the atmosphere? Apparently they were ordinary rain clouds. Some have been attracted to the theory that they refer to a water vapor canopy that enveloped the earth; that was brought into being during the creative process and dissipated at the time of the Noahic flood. Davis A. Young shows that Scripture itself militates against such a view. For instance, in Psalm 148 when the psalmist calls on creation to praise the Creator God, it commands the “waters that be above” the heavens to praise God (v. 4). Those waters are still above the heavens, and verse 6 indicates they are to stay there “for ever and ever” in response to God’s unalterable decree.

The Third Day, 1:9–13

The process of differentiation continued, with the water’s being separated from earth so that instead of there being a vast globe- encircling ocean, water was localized in oceans and lakes and rivers, and dry land appeared (probably by means of considerable seismic and volcanic activity). That dry land eventually would then be suitable for plant life, animal life, and human life.

As the dry land appeared, God brought into being a profusion of flora that could reproduce and crossbreed and develop new species—but within limits: “after his kind” (see subsequent discussion on evolution). It should be noted that whenever biological references appear subsequently, those limits are imposed. Any development or mutation that God permits cannot go beyond certain bounds. As the earth began to take on a more distinctive character and was filled with life and beauty, God was pleased with what was produced.

The fact that animal fossils frequently appear older than plant fossils or are contemporary with them does not particularly worry geologist Davis A. Young. As he points out, plant fossils are harder to preserve and harder to find than animal fossils, land plant fossils cannot be expected to appear in marine rocks (and a great many of the fossil-bearing rocks we possess are of marine character), and the evidence at present is very incomplete.5 Material that has come to light does not prove the Genesis account to be wrong in placing the origin of most plants on the third creative day and most animal life on the fifth day.

The Fourth Day, 1:14–19

The Hebrew text of these verses may not indicate that the sun, moon, and stars came into existence at this time; the word for “create” (bärä’ ) used earlier in the chapter does not occur in verse 16. Possibly God created all the heavenly bodies in the earlier stages of creation (v. 1), and they developed toward their present form as the earth did. Now those light bearers are assigned their relationship to the earth as twin regulators to establish days, seasons, and years. Evidently the present arrangement of the universe operating according to natural law came into being. Alternatively, it is argued that the word used for “made” (‘äsä) in verse 16 frequently is a synonym of bärä’ and that God did indeed create those heavenly bodies at that point.