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Chapter 5

Genesis Chapter 1 - A Concise account of Creation

It  is  really  evident  from  a  reading  of  the  chapter  that  it  is  not  a  detailed  account  of God's  creatorial  work.  This  is  because,  although  God's  work  is  said  to  have  taken  six  days, the  whole  chapter  can  be  read  in  no  more  than  that  number  of  minutes.  However, there are other  reasons  for  saying  that  the  account  is  a  concise  one  rather  than  a  detailed  one  and these are as follows:-

Day One

God caused the light to shine out of darkness.  Light travels we are told as waves. What  about  the  other  waves:  Xrays,  Gamma  rays,  radio  waves  and  so  on  ? Did they always exist or did they come into evidence at the same time as light waves ?

Day Two

On  this  day  God  made  the  expanse,   dividing  the  waters  below  from  the  waters

above. What  about  all the  layers  in the  expanse;  the  ozone  and  heaviside  layers  for  instance. Although  not   specifically  mentioned  in  the  passage  one  would  conclude  that   they  were made during the forming of the expanse.

Day Three

On this day the dry land appeared.  However, land is not just land.  Below the surface are  layers  which are  necessary for  the  maintenance  of the  variety of flora  that  exist  above  the surface.  Further,  the  land  itself  consists  of  mountains,  hills,  valleys  and  plains.  Fountains, rivers and streams had to be brought into existence.  These are, incidentally, more attractive than the canals and artificial mounds made by man (see Psalm 104:8 & 10).

On  the  same  day God  made  all  the  flora  (plant  life)  that  exists  on the  earth.  Nothing is said about the creation of fungi.  Were  they created  on  the  same  day or  not  until  after  sin came  in  and  death  followed  ?  Fungi are part of nature's recycling mechanism and often feed on  decaying  substances  as  can  be  seen  from a  walk  in  the  woods.  Maybe  God  created  them and  also  the  thorns  and  thistles  mentioned  in  chapter  3:18  and  held  them  in  reserve  until they  were  needed  as  it  says  in  Job  38:22/23  regarding  the  snow  and  the  hail.  God always has  his  reserves  such  as  the  great  fish  that  swallowed  up  Jonah  (Jonah  1:17).  Then there is the  question  of  the  bringing  into  existence  of germs  and  viruses,  whether  these  be  beneficial or adverse.

Day Four

When  the  Sun,  Moon  and  Stars  were  made,  presumably  other  heavenly  bodies  such as  planets  and  comets  came  into  existence,  unless  they  were  created  at  an  earlier  or  later date.  Star differeth from star in glory (1 Corinthians 15:41).  Stars are therefore not just stars.  They  exist  in  galaxies  -  all  part  of  God's  creatorial  work.  Elsewhere we are told that the  heavens  are  the  work  of  God's  fingers,  indicating  the  detail  that  was  involved  in  their creation (Psalm 8:3).

 


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