Below are some preliminary questions to assist in the study of this passage. For a comprehensive study of the passage, download the Study Guide (PDF download).
Note: For more information relevant to this present passage of Genesis one, see the accompanying Appendix (PDF download) that deals with the following topics: The Literary Structure of Genesis One and Its Significance for Understanding the Work of God Described on the Fourth Day of Creation; The Length of the Creation Days; and The Evidence Against Evolution.
1. What did God do on the first day of the creation week? What effect did this act have upon the earth? See Genesis 1:3-5 (printed below)
And God said, Let there be light; and there was light. (4) And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided 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, the first day. (Genesis 1:3-5)
The appearance of light takes center stage on the first creation day. The text is not saying that God created light on the first day of the creation week; God created physical light, that is, electro-magnetic radiation, “in the beginning,” when He brought the cosmos into existence. The matter and energy of the cosmos included light. What Genesis 1:3-5 is describing is the appearance of light shining down upon the earth for the first time. Remembering Earth’s initial conditions and that the frame of reference for this passage is Earth’s surface, we can comprehend what happened on Day One: light penetrated Earth’s dark shroud for the first time. Earth’s atmosphere changed from opaque to translucent (i.e.; an atmosphere that allowed some amount of light to pass through). (The Genesis Question, Hugh Ross, pp.28-30)
2. According to Genesis 1:6-8 (printed below), what did God do on the second day of the creation week? What do you think is being described in these verses?
And God said, Let there be an expanse between the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. (7) So God made the expanse, and divided the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that 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. (Genesis 1:6-8)
One requirement for land life is a stable water cycle, an atmospheric system in which liquid water, snow, and ice freely evaporate from the Earth’s surface while the water vapor just as freely condenses to fall back on the surface. On Day Two “God made the expanse, and divided the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse.” God’s “separation” of the water describes the formation of the troposphere, the atmospheric layer just above the ocean where clouds form and humidity resides (Genesis One: A Scientific Perspective, Hugh Ross, p.7). Thus, by means of the separation of the waters as described in Genesis 1:3-5, God established the stable water cycle that would be necessary to sustain life on the earth.
3. What did God accomplish on the third day of the creation week? See Genesis 1:9-13 (printed below)
And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear; and it was so. (10) And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathered waters he called Seas; and God saw that it was good. (11) And God said, Let the earth produce vegetation, seed-bearing plants, and trees on the earth that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds; and it was so. (12) So the earth produced vegetation, plants bearing seed according to their kinds, and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds; and God saw that it was good. (13) And there was evening and there was morning, a third day. (Genesis 1:9-13)
With light coming through the still permanently overcast sky, with day distinguishable from night, and with a gentle water cycle established, the stage is set for the introduction of land life. All Earth needs is a place to put it, and that is what God arranged on Day Three. “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear.” (Genesis 1:9) The Bible here indicates that somehow the crust of the Earth was distorted to create a great indentation, or basin, in which liquid water collected while the opposing “bulge” in the crust became dry land. (Genesis One: A Scientific Perspective, Hugh Ross, pp.7-8) Note: Earth’s ratio of continents to oceans and the placement of the continents allow for the greatest possible biomass of advanced species of life. (The Genesis Question, Hugh Ross, pp.36-37) Once the dry land had emerged from the water, the earth was ready to produce vegetation. The creation of vegetation was other thing God accomplished on the third day of the creation week, “And God said, Let the earth produce vegetation, seed-bearing plants, and trees on the earth that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds; and it was so.” (verse 11)
4. What did God accomplish on the fourth day of the creation week? See Genesis 1:14-19 (printed below)
And God said, Let there appear lights in the expanse of heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them serve as signs, to mark seasons, and days and years; (15) and let them be for lights in the expanse of heaven to give light upon the earth; and it was so. (16) (And God made the two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; he made the stars also.) (17) And God appointed them in the expanse of heaven to give light upon the earth, (18) and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. (19) And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day. (Genesis 1:14-19)
On Creation Day Four the sun, the moon, and the stars became distinctly visible from Earth’s surface for the first time. The emphasis on the fourth day was not the original creation of the heavenly bodies as such, but rather, their becoming available for the purpose of regulating time and the cycles of the rotation and revolution of earth and moon. (A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, Archer, pp.177-178) It becomes evident that verse 16 is a parenthetical statement, pointing back to an earlier act of creation, when it is compared with verses 7, 9, and 11. The concluding phrase found in each of those verses, “and it was so,” is omitted from verse 16. This omission indicates that verse 16 is not reporting a new creative act of God, but is rather informing us of a previous act of creation. Note: most translations render the opening words of verse 14 as follows: “And God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky” (or, “Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven”). However, the Hebrew verb usually translated “let there be,” has a wide variety of meanings, including the sense, “let there appear.” The most pertinent instance of this use of the verb is found in Genesis 9:16. The focus of Day Four is clearly on the function of the heavenly bodies in their relationship to the earth, rather than on their initial creation.
5. What new thing does God bring into being on the fifth and sixth days of the creation week? See Genesis 1:20-23 and 1:24-25 (printed below)
And God said, Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of heaven. (21) And God created the great sea creatures, and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, 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 of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth. (23) And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day. (24) And God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind, cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their kind; and it was so. (25) And God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:20-25)
An entirely new type of being has now come into existence, creatures that breathe and are animated and have power of their own volition to go from place to place (creatures that are characterized by conscious life). To give existence to such creatures is the special prerogative of God and is a monumental, epoch-making achievement that deserves to be described by the verb “and he created” (the term reserved for new and divinely-conceived creation). (Leupold, pp.80-81) The Genesis account specifies that on the fifth day of creation God brought into being the sea creatures and the birds of the air. The sixth day begins with God’s making of three specific kinds of land mammals: cattle (livestock), creatures that move (or crawl) along the ground, and beasts of the earth (wild animals). (The Genesis Question, Hugh Ross p.53)
