And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
Understanding And Applying the Text
In the second and third days, the watery deep is changed to a system of rain clouds, springs, and rivers. The Hebrew describes the sky as something flat and hard. This is because here, as in many places, the Bible describes things as they appear. If you want to learn astronomy or geology you need to go somewhere else. That is not taught here.
God created herbs and trees before the sun and moon. The sun quickens the earth to bring forth its fruits. The First Cause is self-sufficient. There is a difference between creation and production. Intermediate and secondary causes have only what they borrow from the First Cause. We picture God as subject to secondary causes. God said, ‘Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth’. He created the vegetation and the power of propagation at the same time. There is nothing apart from God’s creative work.
On the second day, God created a space around the earth so heaven and earth were not mixed. The word רקיע (rakia) comprehends not only the sky but whatever is above us. Thus it includes the heavens as well. Sometimes the word signifies both together.
A confused mixture had existed, but on the second day, God ordained the separation. To divide the waters from the waters is difficult to understand. It appears nonsensical, that there should be waters above the heaven. As a result some resort to allegory, or philosophize about angels. But that is not taught here,
Again, this is not a lesson in astronomy or geology. It is not a lesson in physics or chemistry. This explains things as they appear. God meets us where we are. He does not assume we are learned, for we are all unlearned. No matter how much science you know there is much more to know. We are all unlearned. We learn only when we admit our ignorance and are willing to be taught. We see the clouds suspended in the air. They appear threatening as if they may fall on our heads. Yet they stay suspended. Those who deny this is the result of the wonderful providence of God inflate their knowledge beyond its limits. The fact denser gasses fall and lighter gases rise is immaterial to this text. The text says it all happens according to God’s providence. God created the law that causes heavy gases to fall and light gases to rise all. God’s power is what restrains them.
Next, God restrains the waters beneath the heavens. This gives a place for livestock, animals, vegetation, and man.
Scripture often extols the goodness of God for this.
He divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters stand like a heap. ’
Psalms 33:7
‘He has collected the waters as into a bottle.’ (65)
Psalms 78:13
‘Do you not fear me? declares the LORD. Do you not tremble before me? I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea, a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass; though the waves toss, they cannot prevail; though they roar, they cannot pass over it.
Jeremiah 5:22
‘Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb, when I made clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors, and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?
Job 38:8-11
Up until this point, the earth was barren. God now fructifies it by his word. As David declared:
made by the word of the Lord, and was adorned and furnished by the breath of his mouth,
Psalms 33:6
It did not happen fortuitously, that herbs and trees were created before the sun and moon. The earth is quickened by the sun to cause it to bring forth its fruits. God was not ignorant of this law of nature. After all, He made/declared it. The First Cause is self-sufficient. The intermediate and secondary causes only have what they borrow from the First Cause.
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