Genesis 1:2-5 – Let There Be Light – Part 1
“The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.”
After the creation of time, matter and energy, the original material of the universe in verses 1-2, the most significant feature of day one is the creation of light. Science cannot even understand light much less try to explain how it came about. It’s simple: as this verse said, it was created by an order from God.
We have no idea what kind of form this light took, whether it was some ethereal glow or a light that emanated from a specific place as it is stated nowhere in Scripture. The actual lights, such as the sun, moon and stars were not created until the 4th day. “Do you mean there was light before there was any sun?” Yes!! “But I thought light only came from the sun(s).” It would only make sense that the God who IS light would create light in the very beginning of things. 1 John 1:5 says: “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.”
Gen. 1:3 shows that God created light and that this light was someway positioned in relation to the earth so that day and night followed each other as the earth rotated toward that light. ALL LIGHT is from God, and God may use the sun to dispense light, but our God is not bound to that limitation.
Revelation 21:23-24 tells us about the heavenly Jerusalem: “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it…”
Ah! The city lighted without any sun or moon!! We will remember also that Christ is “the light of the world.” (John 8:12).
John 1:4-5 says: “In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”
Shining now into this dark world, Jesus is called “the bright and morning star,” in Revelation 22:16.
But when He comes in glory to reign, then He will be “The Sun of Righteousness.” (Mal. 4:2).
And instantly it separated day from night. This was more than a separation between light and dark, but this creation of light also began the measurement of earth’s time periods of day and night.
In Verse 5 we are told: God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.” The whole point of Genesis 1-2 is that God’s creative power, like the universe itself, is unfathomable to the human mind. With His infinite power and wisdom, He has no need of eons to design and perfect His creation. He simply spoke the Word and brought forth out of nothing everything we see. And the Scriptures said He did it in 6 days!
Absolutely nothing in Genesis 1:1-2:3 speaks of evolution or long geological ages in the creation process. The text itself is in fact a pretty straight forward refutation of all evolutionary principles. Any clear reading of the text in Genesis speaks to us that the days and nights mentioned were literal days rather than long periods.
There are arguments for the other side also, and I will say this: with respect to the length of days in Gen. 1 the possibility must be left open that God has not chosen to give us enough information to come to a clear decision on this question, and the real test of faithfulness to Him may be to the degree to which we can act mercifully and graciously towards those who in good conscience and full belief in God’s Word, hold to a different position on this matter.
Last Update: Jul 22, 2018 7:03 am CDT
