The Days of Genesis
2004007
Topic # 0213
Introduction:
A. Heb. 11:1-6
1. It is by faith that we believe God created the heavens & the earth.
a) Writer of Hebrews tells us in no uncertain terms that God created something out of nothing.
B. Col. 1:13-18 – Jesus was the specific agent of the Godhead who created all things.
C. Psa. 33:6-8 – these things done by the word of the Lord.
D. Romans 4:17 – God called into existence the things that do not exist.
E. The Bible is simple & straightforward.
1. No question when one honestly & objectively reads it.
2. God created the heavens & the earth.
3. It is a basic to our faith – when looking back at the Hebrew account.
F. Remember this: creation involves God’s miraculous power & activity.
1. There are things about creation that many not be discoverable by merely natural studies.
2. Can we explain absolutely everything about creation?
G. Only God can do that!
1. He chose to leave some things unexplained.
2. Can we be satisfied with that?
3. Must we have all the answers?
4. There are just some things we cannot fully know or explain & we must trust God.
H. He is the one who was at creation!
1. He told us He created everything in 6 days – and the text gives all indication that these were normal days.
2. Let’s take a few moments and look at the primary creation account – Genesis 1-2.
I. The Bible speaks on creation:
A. 1:1 – a statement of fact. A simple affirmation.
1. Bible view of is in conflict with ANY worldview that starts with no creator.
B. 1:1-5 – the first day.
1. Light created.
2. Separates light from darkness.
C. 1:6-8 – the second day
1. Sky created
2. Expanse between the seas & skies.
D. 1:9-13 – the third day
1. Dry land appeared; seas created.
2. Vegetation & all plants created.
a) Note: created in their maturity; fully grown & developed.
b) Plants yielding seed; fruit trees bearing fruit.
E. 1:14-19 - the fourth day
1. Sun; moon; stars created.
2. These bring about seasons & mark the days & years.
F. 1:20-23 – the fifth day
1. Fish & birds created.
2. These filled the water & sky.
G. 1:24-31 – the sixth day
1. animals (to fill the earth)
2. Man & woman created.
H. 2:1-4 – the seventh day. God rested; was pleased with His work.
II. So what about the days in Genesis 1?
A. Is each day a 24 hour period of time?
1. Or…is each day a period representing a million or more years?
2. Are these “days” figurative in nature?
3. Obvious not all views are correct.
B. In Gen. 1 God goes out of His way through Moses’ pen to tell us the days were literal earth-rotation days.
1. To do this – he used the Hebrew word “yom.”
2. meaning:
a) In a general sense: “a time period.”
b) But in the case of Genesis – “yom” is combined with #’s of each day & with the words “evening & morning.”
c) We conclude that in this context “yom” is referring to one day/night cycle.
d) Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew dictionary says: a day ( as opposed to night); a day, as defined by evening & morning in Genesis 1.)
C. Different meanings? (if “yom” not referring to a single 24 hr time period)
1. Why did God not use “yamin” (plural of “yom”) which would mean an unspecified number of days?
2. God could have added “qedem” with “yom” and it would have meant “it was from days of old.”
3. God could have added “olam” with “yom” and it would have meant “it was from days of old.”
D. If God intended to communicate an ancient creation to us – there were at least three different ways He could have told us.
E. Had God wanted to communicate that creation is a continuing event from long ago – He could have specified in the Hebrew that it was “generations of nights; days.”
1. Josh 24:7 – “long time” used in NASV.
2. In Hebrew this is “yom rab.” Literally means “a long day.”
3. Why didn’t God choose to use this kind of working in Gen. 1 if the days were meant to be understood as long periods of time?
F. The motion of the earth accounts for 2 natural time divisions.
1. One rotation of the earth defines a 24 hour day.
2. One revolution around the sun defines a year.
G. Is there a natural 7 day rhythm to the earth’s motions?
1. Nothing said in scripture about the week.
2. Where does the week come from?
3. compare Gen. 2:2-3 with Ex. 20:11
H. Isn’t the natural reading of this clear enough?
1. Our 7 day week reflects the 7 days of creation.
2. He deliberately took 6 days & rested for 1 as the pattern for man.
3. If one believes the days of creation are long periods of time – then the week becomes meaningless.
III. The simplest & strongest argument:
A. The natural wording of the text itself.
1. Is this an oversimplification? Don’t think so. Esp when considering:
B. Genesis is a historical narrative & should be read in a historically straight forward way.
1. Mt. 19:4-5 – Jesus treated Genesis as history.
2. 1 Tim. 2:13-14 – Paul did the same.
3. Should we question their approach? How dare we change our approach to make Genesis fit a set of human theories that change with the times!
C. It was plainly NOT the author’s intention to convey allegorical poetry; fantasy; or myth. And so, what God, through Moses, said about creation in Genesis should NOT be interpreted in those terms.
1. OT narratives are not stories filled with hidden meanings.
2. Yes…there may be aspects that are difficult to understand.
3. God does work in ways that are difficult for us to understand.
4. And even when we are told what He did, we are not always to know how or why He did it.
D. In other words, narratives do not answer all our questions about a given issue. They are limited in their focus, and give us only one part of the overall picture of what God is doing in history. We have to learn to be satisfied with that limited understanding and restrain our curiosity at many points, or else we will end up trying to read between the lines so much that we end up reading into stories things that are not there, making allegories of what are in fact historical accounts. As is the case with parables, narratives can be abused in this manner. (From “How to Read the Bible for all it is Worth” as quoted by Doy Moyer in his article “The Days of Genesis”)
Conclusion:
A. Brethren: there is nothing in Heb text of Gen 1 to indicate that it should be read in any other fashion than as a historical narrative.
1. This chapter is the basis for the rest of the book.
2. If we throw this out – why not the 10 plagues?
3. the virgin birth; the miracles of Jesus
4. The crucifixion; the resurrection?
B. It stands or falls together!
C. Doy Moyer: If all the answers to our questions are not found in the text; they must not be important to the narrative itself. We shouldn’t get so lost in trying to answer these questions that we lose focus of what the text is telling us. And that is enough.
D. Heb. 11:3, 6 – it all starts here.
E. Do you need to respond in faith & obey the gospel?
F. I N V I T A T I O N
