Genesis 1:3-13

God Creates Everything

Genesis 1:3-2:3 tells of the full week of creation. I told you yesterday that these devotions would not give scientific answers. However, I think the answers to those questions are easily found in the text itself. The passages that we will read for the rest of the week are beautifully poetic. Days 1-3 lay the groundwork for days 4-6. The passage is poetic. Day and night are separated on day 1, but the sun, moon, and stars that give light for the day are not created until day 4. The sea and land are created on days 2 and 3 to prepare for the sea and land animals on days 5 and 6. The order is important. It is religious in meaning, not necessarily scientific.

But what I love about Genesis 1 is the order of the day at the end of each paragraph. In verses 5, 8, and 13, we are told that there was evening and there was morning. Evening comes first. This sets the order for the Jewish day even today. Sabbath is from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown. The day doesn’t start in the morning. The day starts in the evening. There is an old Jewish teaching about this order. The teaching says that this order reminds us that when we wake up, God has already been at work for half the day, and we are joining him for the second half. This teaching has been formative for me throughout my adult life. God is at work when I am asleep, and I am joining him in that work when I wake up. May we all remember that we are not the ones creating. God is, and he is letting us join him in that work.