In our last overview we had a little science lesson.
We talked about the fact that everything is made of three basic particles — protons, neutrons, and electrons. That’s the chemist in me coming out. But it struck me years ago, even when I was teaching chemistry, that if you picture it this way, God basically had three “sacks” of things. And everything we see is made out of those three put together in different ways.
That’s amazing to me.
We went there because of Hebrews 11:3:
“By faith we understand that the worlds were formed out of things that are invisible.”
With my chemistry background, I immediately think of atomic structure. The invisible things. And yet everything we see is built from them.
On page five of your notes we reviewed a few passages. Romans 4:17 tells us that God “calls into being things that do not exist.” That’s what He did at creation. He called light into being. He calls things into existence that were not there before.
Then 2 Corinthians 4:6 reminds us that the God who spoke light into being at creation is the same God who shines the light of the gospel into our hearts. The One who said, “Let there be light,” is the One who awakens us by His Spirit through His Word.
And then Isaiah 45 — especially verse 7 — where God says, “I am the Lord, and there is no other.” He speaks of creating light and darkness, peace and calamity. He even names Cyrus before Cyrus knows Him. The gods of the nations are inventions. The God we serve is the One who actually does these things.
That brings us back to Genesis 1.
Day One: Light and Separation
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Then we are told the earth was without form and void, darkness was over the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Something is about to happen. There is chaos and darkness, but God is present.
Verse 3:
“God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”
He speaks. It happens.
God saw that the light was good — tōv. There’s your little Hebrew lesson for the day. If you’re doing really well, you can say tōv me’od — very good.
Then God separated the light from the darkness. He named them — Day and Night. And the evening and the morning were day one.
We talked a bit about why it says “evening and morning.” The story begins with darkness. Darkness first, then light. The Jewish day begins in the evening. And that pattern runs all the way through Scripture.
Day Two: The Expanse
On day two God says:
“Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters.”
The Hebrews used a word — raqia — which carries the idea of something beaten out thin, like metal hammered into shape. They did not understand space the way we do. To them, it looked like a dome overhead, like a planetarium ceiling.
God says, “Expanse, be.” And it is.
This expanse separates the waters below from the waters above. Some creationists suggest there may have been a canopy of water above the atmosphere, creating a greenhouse effect. That would explain tropical growth found in places like northern Canada and Greenland. According to that view, the canopy collapsed during the flood. I don’t know if that’s correct, but it’s interesting.
God calls the expanse “heaven.”
Psalm 19:1 says,
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork.”
Daniel 12:3 uses the same word when it says the wise will shine like the brightness of the expanse.
Again, God speaks. It happens. And He names it.
Evening and morning, day two.
Day Three: Land and Vegetation
On day three, God gathers the waters below into one place so dry land appears. He calls the dry land Earth and the gathered waters Seas.
Then He commands:
“Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind.”
Notice that phrase — “after their kind.” He repeats it. Plants yielding seed after their kind. trees bearing fruit after their kind.
That matters, because when you plant corn, you do not expect carrots. There is continuity. There is variation within kinds — like dogs. You can have Chihuahuas and German Shepherds and all kinds in between, but they are still dogs. What I struggle with is the idea that a fish turns into a dog. That is a different claim altogether.
The more we learn about the complexity of cells — the machinery inside them — the harder it is for me to imagine it all arising by accident. I was raised in a Christian home and trusted Christ at five. But I am more convinced now than ever that what Scripture says is true.
God commanded the earth to bring forth vegetation, and it did. The earth obeyed Him.
And God saw that it was good.
Evening and morning, day three.
Day Four: Lights and Appointed Times
On day four, God says:
“Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens.”
These lights are for several purposes:
- To separate day and night
- For signs
- For seasons
- For days and years
- To give light on the earth
He makes the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night — and He made the stars also. He places them in the expanse to rule and to separate light from darkness.
And God saw that it was good.
Evening and morning, day four.
But here is something that fascinated me.
The word translated “seasons” is mō’ed. When I hear “seasons,” I think summer, winter, spring, fall. But mō’ed means appointed times, meetings, assemblies.
Genesis 17:21 — Isaac would be born at the appointed time.
Genesis 21:2 — Sarah conceived at the appointed time.
Exodus 13:10 — the Passover is kept at its appointed time year after year.
Exodus 27:21 — the tent of meeting. The tent of mo’ed.
The heavenly lights were placed there not only for weather cycles but for appointed gatherings. Festivals. Worship. Fellowship with God.
Israel’s calendar was governed by the sky — new moons, full moons, equinoxes. Even Easter today moves because it is tied to Passover, which is tied to the location and phases of the moon.
So when Genesis says the lights are for seasons, it may mean more than agriculture. It includes appointed times with God.
God loves fellowship with His people.
Doug mentioned Ecclesiastes 3:1:
“To everything there is a season.”
That word season again. An appointed time. A purpose.
And all of it — from atoms to stars — begins with this:
God said.
And it was so.
*Some articles on this publication or website are adapted from my recorded Bible teaching. I use transcription and editing tools (including AI-assisted editing) to convert spoken lectures into readable written form. The ideas, interpretations, and theological conclusions are my own and come directly from my teaching.