GENESIS CHAPTER ONE - A CONCISE ACCOUNT OF CREATION
It is really evident from a reading of the chapter that it is not a detailed account of God's creatorial work. This is because, although God's work is said to have taken six days, the whole chapter can be read in no more than that number of minutes. However, there are other reasons for saying that the account is a concise one rather than a detailed one and these are as follows:-
Day One
God caused the light to shine out of darkness. Light travels we are told as waves. What about the other waves: Xrays, Gamma rays, radio waves and so on ? Did they always exist or did they come into evidence at the same time as light waves ?
Day Two
On this day God made the expanse, dividing the waters below from the waters above. What about all the layers in the expanse; the ozone and heaviside layers for instance. Although not specifically mentioned in the passage one would conclude that they were made during the forming of the expanse.
Day Three
On this day the dry land appeared. However, land is not just land. Below the surface are layers which are necessary for the maintenance of the varity of flora that exist above the surface. Further, the land itself consists of mountains, hills, valleys and plains. Fountains, rivers and streams had to be brought into existence. These are, incidentally, more attractive than the canals and artificial mounds made by man (see Psalm 104:8 & 10 ).
On the same day God made all the flora (plant life) that exists on the earth. Nothing is said about the creation of fungi. Were they created on the same day or not until after sin came in and death followed ? Fungi are part of nature's recycling mechanism and often feed on decaying substances as can be seen from a walk in the woods. Maybe God created them and also the thorns and thistles mentioned in chapter 3:18 and held them in reserve until they were needed as it says in Job 38:22/23 regarding the snow and the hail. God always has his reserves such as the great fish that swallowed up Jonah (Jonah 1:17). Then there is the question of the bringing into existence of germs and viruses, whether these be beneficial or adverse.
Day Four
When the Sun, Moon and Stars were made, presumably other heavenly bodies such as planets and comets came into existence, unless they were created at an earlier or later date. Star differeth from star in glory (1 Corinthians 15:41). Stars are therefore not just stars. They exist in galaxies - all part of God's creatorial work. Elsewhere we are told that the heavens are the work of God's fingers, indicating the detail that was involved in their creation (Psalm 8:3).
Day Five
Creating what lives in the sea involves not only the making of fish, but invertebrates, reptiles and mammals. Scripture just refers to living souls and sea monsters. Penguins, which are birds, also swim in the sea. Plant life also exists in the sea. There is plankton and suchlike organisms - all created by God.
On this day God also created the bird life. However we must remember that there are flying creatures other than birds (described as fowls). There are some flying (gliding) reptiles (perhaps more in the past) and also flying mammals (bats). Many insects fly and there are also flying (gliding) fish. These latter creatures are not specifically mentioned in Genesis chapter one, but they are all part of God's creation.
Day Six
On this day the land dwelling creatures were made including mankind. Nothing is said as to the creation of insect life though many would suppose that such creatures are included under creeping things. However, many insects and small organisms are flying creatures. There are also the creatures that dwell in the soil. The term creeping things (low down things) may perhaps be stretched to cover these.
Having briefly covered the six days of creation and pointed out that there must have been a lot more to creation than appears in the narrative, it may also be mentioned that the earth contains many minerals and complex substances. In the earth we find metals - iron, copper, gold, silver etc as well as precious stones. All these were put where they are as part of God's creatorial ordering. They cannot have evolved by mutation and natural selection which, even if it actually happened, could only apply to living things which reproduce themselves.
Then there is the question of the properties of things. These all had to be assigned to materials by God. Rules exist for the regulation of the universe (Job 38:33; Psalm 148:6) and these all had to be laid down by God for the material creation to function.
Then we should note that chapter two verses 1 to 3 speak of God resting on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. Elsewhere we are told that God "rested, and was refreshed" (Exodus 31:17). This would impress us with the amount of input that was involved in all that God did in the six days of creation week.
The question may be asked why did not God go into detail as to his creatorial work. A number of reasons may be given for this as follows:-
(1) The Bible was not written to teach us science but to tell us about God and what is pleasing to Him. He wants to be known by Man and the earth is the platform on which he has placed and sustains Man. God wants to tell us what will be profitable to us and not things which merely satisfy curiosity. Because of this God has only told us in Genesis chapter one what it is essential for us to know.
(2) If God had gone into detail about his creatorial works the Bible would have been of enormous size and Man would not have been able to take in even a small part of it. A similar thing is said of the things that Christ did when here upon earth (John 21:25). It has been suggested that when Christ comes to reign over the earth nature will be explained to Man. This is based on the fact that Solomon, who typifies Christ reigning in glory, spoke of the natural world in his day (1 Kings 4:33).
(3) If God had spoken of radio waves and suchlike things in Genesis the book would not have been understandable to those who lived before the physical world had been subjected to investigation by Man.
23 October,2000