Genesis 1 - Breaking It Down



In the Beginning
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters."
Genesis 1:1-2

Days of Creation
Day 1 - light
Day 2 - firmament and water
Day 3 - land
Day 4 - sun, moon, stars - greater and lesser light
Day 5 - fish and seas
Day 6 - animals and humans
Day 7 - Sabbath

Light
Light is a visible form of energy, which by its action on plants transforms inorganic elements and compounds into food for both man and beast and controls many other natural processes necessary to life.
Without light there could be no life; and as the Creator began the work of bringing order from chaos and of introducing various forms of plant and animal life upon the earth, it was essential that there be light.

Firmament
Without our God-given atmosphere, life on this planet would not be possible. Plants need air as well as all living creatures. Without the atmosphere, our earth would be lifeless like the moon, tremendously hot in that part which is exposed to the sun and extremely cold in other sections. Not creature could exist for any length of time.

Sea Monster?
Here is something for those of you who are dinosaur lovers! For the second time the word "created", 'bara', is used in this chapter to indicate the introduction of something entirely new, the creation of living creatures. God created the great sea animals, 'tanninim'. The translation "whales" is too limited in scope. The word has different meanings, like "serpent" (Ex 7:9, 10, 12), and "dragon" (Isa 51:9; Eze 29:3), but must mean "sea monster" in this passage and in Psalms 148:7.

Night to Day
Literally, the Bible says "evening was, morning ws, day one." Thus, the first momentous day of God's creation week closes. It indicates clearly the duration of each of the seven parts of the creation week, and it is repeated five more times in this chapter (verses 8, 13, 19, 23, 31). But there have been some disagreements about what this means. Some have thought the creative act lasted one night, from the evening to the morning; and others, that every day began with the morning , although the Bible states plainly that the evening preceded the morning. Those who follow the Bible as given, begin the day with sunset and ended it with the following sunset (Lev 23:32, Deut 16:6).

God Must Have Spent a Little More Time On You ...
He really did think of everything. There was no detail that God forgot when He created us. He blessed Adam and Eve (marriage) and told them to be fruitful and multiply (sex) and gave them dominion over creation. To ensure their health, He provided vegetables, no meat (verse 30). And why didn't He create everything with just the snap of wrist? He worked through a process, similar to our salvation. Christians are born again instantly, but it is a lifetime process. Like every relationship, it takes time to learn about Him and fall in love with Him.

If you have decided to follow Jesus, don't be discouraged when you fall. It is a lifelong process and He is watching lovingly, waiting for you to take His hand so He can help you up.