As you read the account of the six days of creation, you will see there is a line between the first three days and the last three days. On the first day there was light. On the second day the firmament came into being, and the waters were divided. On the third day the dry land appeared, and life appeared on that land. The herb that yields seed was created, and the fruit tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself. Through these first three days, we can see what happened in God’s world before the universe was formed, and we can see how the universe was formed.
Then, as we read the account of the fourth day, we find reference to the light that was there on the first day. On the second day, the firmament was formed and the waters were divided, while on the fifth day, the birds that fly and the sea creatures were made. On the third day God commanded that the dry land appear, the herb that yields seed was created, and the fruit tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself. And on the sixth day, life appeared once more. The animals that walk the earth were formed, and lastly, man.
If we consider these six days of creation in sequence, on the first day, God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light, and God saw the light, that it was good. Then God divided the light from the darkness, but He did not make any comment regarding the darkness, saying whether it was good or bad. The light on the first day can be thought of as physical rays of light that we can see with our eyes, but this light is explaining something to us on a higher level, something spiritual. That is not to say that what happened on the first day only holds a spiritual significance; scientific and historical facts inevitably follow the spiritual work that God carries out.
Through the Bible we can see that, on the day that God refers to as the first day, there was a certain power at work on the earth in the process of the formless and void state being brought to order. There was definitely something happened in the universe at that time.
Then on the fourth day it says that God made two great lights. It is not that the sun and moon were not there before and suddenly they just appeared out of the blue. On the third day, God commanded the herbs that yield seed and fruit trees yielding fruit with seed in itself to come forth and it was so. This would indicate that the sunlight that the plants needed to grow was already there. If this had not been the case, the Bible would not make sense scientifically.
So what were the two great lights on the fourth day? This passage was recorded by Moses through the inspiration of God. Moses wrote down in order the spectacle that appeared before his eyes. In Moses’ eyes, the earth was in a formless and void state; then the waters were divided from the waters; and then, after the dry land appeared, the relationship between the sun out in the universe, the earth, and the moon were clearly revealed. Moses saw each of these scenes of the creation of the world unfold much like scenes from a movie, and he wrote down exactly what he saw.
What is more, if you think about it, this passage also contains many points that provide lessons for born-again Christians. Let’s take another look at Genesis chapter 1 verse 16.
Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also.
It says here that the greater light was to rule the day. The sun is so large that we cannot even imagine it, and it continues to shine and we cannot escape from it. Yet, as the earth turns, if we are on the opposite side of the earth to the sun, we cannot see the sun. This is the same for the state of our hearts.
Then it says that the lesser light was to rule the night. What is meant here by the night? In the Bible, we find that when Judas Iscariot went out to betray Jesus after the last supper, it was night (see John 13:30). Also, in Ephesians there is reference to, “the rulers of the darkness” (6:12), and Jesus said, “I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness” (John 12:46). The sun is continually shining on the earth, just as God is continually speaking to us and providing us with life. Yet, there is always darkness in the places where the sun does not shine.
In Matthew chapter 5 it says, “Let your light so shine before men” (verse 16), and it says something similar in John 17 as well. This is telling us that born-again Christians have the responsibility to convey God’s word to the world. Through God’s word, we can clearly see that Christians have a role like that of the moon which reflects the inextinguishable light of the sun onto the dark world.
The lesser light was to rule the night. As we read this passage, I think we need to have a definite resolve in our hearts. It is not simply a matter of being born again, or saved. Just as the moon receives the sun’s light and reflects it onto the dark world, we need to assume a role like that of the moon and bring into our fellowship those who are wandering lost in the darkness so that they might be born anew. Born-again Christians have been given the authority to rule over the dark night. The Bible says, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9).
The relationship between the sun, the earth, and the moon on the fourth day, presents the relationship between God, Israel, and the Gentiles, and the relationship between God, the Church and the world. As the relationship is maintained between the sun and the moon, and the earth continues to orbit the sun, there is a definite purpose to all these interactions. The scene of the universe on the fourth day that was set out before Moses is a preview of the history of mankind that would unfold.
So it says here that God “divided the light from the darkness,” and “God saw that it was good.” God also divided the light from the darkness on the first day, but on that day there is no mention that God saw that it was good. On the first day it only says, “God saw the light, that it was good.” Why is that? The first day shows us a small shadow of the day when God would drive Satan out of this world. This is why God was not pleased with the darkness. On the fourth day, however, we are presented with an image of the “Church”—an assembly of those whom God acknowledges as belonging to Him—as it proclaims God’s word to the world in order to fight with the power of darkness, and this is why it says God was pleased with the division of the light from the darkness.
Let Us Make Man in Our Image, according to Our Likeness
On the fifth day of the creation, God first made the living creatures that inhabit the waters, and He commanded birds to fly across the firmament of the heavens. Then on the sixth day, God created all the living creatures on the earth, the cattle, and everything that creeps on the earth, and beast of the earth, each according to its kind, “God saw that it was good.”
When we read this, we may simply think, “God created the animals, and move on. Yet there is a tremendous secret hidden away within this order of creation on the fifth and sixth days when first all kinds of animals were created, and then man. Herein lies God’s entire purpose in creating the world and managing the course of its history.
Yet, if you read this passage carefully, you will see that the way in which God expresses the creation of the various animals differs from that in which He expresses the creation of man.
When He created the animals, as the Creator, He gave a unilateral command to His creat
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