Genesis 1, Take 2

“Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day and the darkness night. And there was an evening and there was a morning, one day.”

Night and Day

On day one God created the formless and void earth which then existed in the dark. God then added light which created a separation of light and darkness. When light is added, darkness is overtaken. God named the time-period of light ‘day,’ and the time-period of dark ‘night.’ The lesser lights of the sun and moon are created on day four.

Keep it Simple

The concept of God creating ‘out of nothing’ was discussed last time. Today, let’s consider that creation took place in six consecutive days. This is very simple and straightforward, and any first-time reader would assume the described creation took place in six days.  Each description of each day ends with the phrase, and there was an evening and there was a morning, one day.”  Consider the original intended readers. They are reading their book of origins and about their God who is unique among the other gods of the surrounding nations. God created the universe out of nothing and he did it in six consecutive days. That is the simple understanding. There is nothing to indicate this isn’t real and that it didn’t happen as it is written. There isn’t any reason to believe this is a fable or a mythical legend. We interpret the Bible in a straightforward manner as we believe God wrote His Word to be understood; to be understood simply.

Millions and Millions

This approach to Genesis has been the historical approach for centuries: simple and literal. The problem for us today is that the early chapters of Genesis have detailed genealogies and it implies the earth is no more than 10,000 years old. The scientific society tells us (and pretty much everyone tells us) the world is millions and millions of years old. We have an apparent dilemma. What are we to believe??? We’ll discuss further tomorrow. I’ll keep this one short because tomorrow is a little longer than usual.

Lord, you created my new life out of nothing. You also gave me light to overcome the darkness of my sin-stained life. Your story of creation in Genesis 1 is also Your story of saving and redeeming me. Thank You for Your creative work in me to give me a new life. You also shine Your light on my life (through Your Spirit and Your Word) and make my life full and abundant. You are my light and my salvation. Amen.