“Then God said, ‘Let there be Light’; and there was light.” Genesis 1:3.

If you have read the last post, “Without Form and Void”, posted on 8-13-21, you will be aware of the gap theory which says that there is a gap of time between Genesis 1:1 and 2.

This gap might be stated in this manner.

In the timeless past God created all things, the heavens and the earth, including angels, and at some time after creation something happened on the earth which caused God to judge it covering it in a chaotic darkness.

Now starting at verse 3 shown above we see God begin a process of recreating the earth. If possible let us try to visualize the earth as God brings things into a normal state again.

This narrative cannot be proven with Scripture, but is based on various Bible passages and is meant to show us just how big God is. It is not doctrine nor should it be a point of contention among brethren.

Judging from the description given we can guess that the earth was completely covered with water. Whether that water was turbulent or stormy as our oceans are today, or dead calm is unknown, it would certainly depend on the wind and rotation of the earth, if any.

We do know that the waters were a black darkness and undoubtedly very cold without sunlight to warm them.

God also describes another curiosity; He speaks of dividing the waters from the waters, Genesis 1:6-8.

Now either He lifted a section of the waters and suspended them above the rest or something else was happening.

It is my guess; the cold dark sea that covered the earth may have been enveloped in a dense fog, one in which you could not see your hand in front of your face, even if there were light. You have heard the term “pea soup”, well; this had to have been even denser than a pea soup fog, perhaps even suffocating.

Try to envision one of those old scary black and white movies you may have seen where it was night and the fog is so thick that the only thing there was, was black darkness.

Perhaps you have even been in one of these fogs at night; then you know what I mean. Now let us put you into a little rowboat on this endless sea, in the dark, in the fog. Do not panic, you are perfectly safe; just drink your coffee and watch.

We now hear the first recorded words of God, “Let there be light”. Do you know what happened next, “and there was light”; we do a lot of hand wringing, you and I, but we serve an unimaginable God.

“For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6.

So there we are seated in our little boat when suddenly light flares up all around us. It is still hard to see our hand in front of our face, but light is comforting is it not?

“This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:5-7.

God is light, that is where this light is coming from, He released His glorious light to flood the fog enshrouded water covering earth to show forth all of the things He was about to do. Wherever God goes, whatever He does, it is always in His glorious light.

When speaking of Jesus, God the Son, it is written that.

“All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” John 1:3.

Right after this another passage refers to the light which came into a dark sin ridden world.

“In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend [overcome] it.” John 1:4-5.

“Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’” John 8:12.

For many folks it is just like us bobbing around in our little boat, whether the waters are rough or calm, there is constant movement. For the sinner in this darkness there is a sort of dread:

“But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. ‘There is no peace,’ says my God, ‘for the wicked.’” Isaiah 57:20-21.

“Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” Isaiah 55:6-7.

Then the light comes in but things are still unclear; yet the sinner senses the possibility of peace as the light warms their soul.

“Then Jesus cried out and said, ‘He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him [God the Father] who sent Me. And he who sees Me [in their heart] sees Him who sent Me. I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.’” John 12:44-46.

It is not as though everyone who came to Christ as their Savior was struck by a lightning bolt; often the process is slow and sometimes painful. The light grows, and the fog clears, as the new creation takes place.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17.

When God released this powerful light, it seems as though it must have curved around the surface of the earth to enlighten the entire globe at once.

“And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.” Genesis 1:4-5.

In dividing the light from the darkness, it is evident that God had caused the light to end at a certain point and caused the hemisphere farthest from the source to be darkened again.

“He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing. He binds up the water in His thick clouds, yet the clouds are not broken under it. He covers the face of His throne, and spreads His cloud over it. He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters, at the boundary of light and darkness.” Job 26:7-10.

The rotation of the earth would have caused conditions to be as we see them today, twelve hours of daylight and twelve hours of night. There are other theories on the idea of this being a 24 hour day, but we will get to that eventually.

For now, the Hebrew word for day, yom, is like our own word, day, which can be used to have a number of different meanings.

For instance; “In my day kids didn’t do things like that” or as a threat, “Your day is coming buddy!” or, “I remember back in the day of President Eisenhower.”

The word yom can be used in the same manner, giving some interpreters the opportunity to get sloppy and translate the word out of context.

However, when the word yom is meant to mean a literal 24 hour day the word is used with a number; “So the evening and the morning were the first day.” verse 5 the last sentence. This sentence is written six times just as above. Day number seven is quoted below.

“And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.” Genesis 2:2.

As you can see, not only is each yom preceded by a number, it also has the words, “…the evening and the morning” before it, which would be totally useless if anything was meant other than a 24 hour day.

The term the evening and the morning is quite confusing until we realize that it is not confusing to those who lived in the Middle East when this was written.

They used the term in the same manner that we say day and night, the difference is that they measure their days from sunset to sunset, which is still a 24 hour period.

Charles Ryrie, in his notes on this verse, says because daytime closes in the evening (as it does with us) and night ends in the morning that would indicate a 24 hour cycle.

The Hebrew word for day also signifies warmth, heat; whereas, night indicates a rolling up.

“God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night.” Genesis 1:5a.

By naming day and night God asserted His ownership.

God did the same sort of thing when He gave Adam dominion over all the earth on the sixth day, Genesis 1:28 and then later had him name all of the beasts of the field, all cattle, and all the birds of the air, establishing Adam’s ownership.

There will be more interesting things to see about the word yom as we go through the days of creation.

“By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.” Psalm 33:6.

“Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” Psalm 33:8-9.

“The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. From the place of His habitation He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth; He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works.” Psalm 33:13-15.

“Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, just as we hope in You.” Psalm 33:18-22.

“Do not forget in the dark what God has told you in the light.”

Let There Be Light, Genesis 1:3-5 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 4-10-14, updated on 8-16-21.

Pray for Afghanistan, pray for all souls trapped by evil men, whatever the Lord brings to your mind.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.