The History of the Ages – Lesson 8
The restoration of the earth continues in Genesis 1:3, “And God said, Let there be light, and there was light.”
- “God” (as in verse 1, as well) is Elohim; the plural suffix im indicates all three members of the Godhead were present and active in these restorative acts.
- However, “said” is amar, the qal imperfect, third masculine singular, indicating that only the Father spoke.
- “Let there be” is, again, hajah in the qal imperfect. Here, a simple command for light to again appear. This is not a creative act, as light had already existed in the original earth, but had been taken away. (Note: the word “let” is found 13 times in chapter 1 and is never used to describe a creative act, as the things referenced had already been created at the aforementioned “fixed point in time”.)
- The word translated “light” is owr, and means “brightness”. This is light in its most elemental form, a light that comes from God. Remember, the sun above the earth is not yet in place, as that comes in day 4, not described until we get to verse 14. This form of light is how the original earth was illuminated during Lucifer’s reign before his rebellion caused God to withdraw it. This may be how God intends to illuminate the earth in its eternal state. The present heavens and earth will be renovated (Isaiah 65:17, 66:22; II Peter 3:10, 13) and the new heavens and earth is partially described in Revelation 21:1, 23.
Then in verse 4 we see, “And God saw that the light was good, and He divided the light from the darkness”.
- “Saw” is ra’ah and should be translated “always does see”, a reference to God’s eternal faithfulness and unchanging character (Who He is) and nature (what He does).
- “Good” is tobh, and means pleasant or suitable. This verse could very well have a double meaning. The light suited His purpose, to illuminate the earth. But, because of the meaning of ra’ah, it could mean, He was pleased with His own faithfulness (in carrying out His eternal plan to judge those who rebel against Him and redeem those who don’t).
- “Divided” is badhal, to cause a separation. Here, God does not obliterate the darkness that had existed since He withdrew His light from the original earth. Instead, He allows the darkness to co-exist with the light – a perfect picture of the angelic conflict, or the war of good against evil. The free will of man (his God-given ability to choose right or wrong) is the battleground on which this war is fought and the continual emergence of light after darkness is meant to be a constant reminder that we are all involved in this war and we all have the ability (free will) to choose which side we want to be on – serving the Light or the darkness.
God’s faithfulness towards man during this conflict (in time, not in eternity) is illustrated in Genesis 8:22. This is a corrected translation: “And all through the time that the earth’s history unfolds (according to God’s plan for the ages); the harvest will always follow the planting, heat will always follow cold, rest will always follow toil, and day will always follow night (God’s faithfulness will always make provision that evil can be overcome).”
At a time yet future, according to His promise, the war will be over, the battles ended, the darkness eradicated forever and only light will exist (Isaiah 60:19-20).
Verse 5 completes the first day of restoration, “And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.”
- “Called” is qara, to proclaim or pronounce. Here, God begins to name things to create vocabulary in preparation for the creation of the man and the woman. In giving mankind free will, God had to also give him the ability to reason (a function of the soul) and words make it possible for man to think.
- “Were” is not found in the original text. Instead, it is, again, the qal imperfect of hajah (became). So, the last part of verse 5 should read, “evening became morning, day one.”
God is beginning to set things in motion. The Spirit of God melted the ice, producing water. God re-introduced light, producing heat; but He retained the darkness, and the cold that comes with it. The result of the intermittent periods of light (heat) and darkness (cold) caused the earth to begin to rotate on its axis. This rotation, along with fluid dynamics (the action of the water on the earth’s surface) began to shape the topography of the earth. This is the first day in the history of the restored earth that is to be inhabited by Adam and his descendants under the conditions described previously in Genesis 8:22 (conditions which, incidentally, take into account the fall of man and resultant curse as it is described in Genesis 3, the God Who knows everything from the beginning to the end, knew Adam would succumb to evil).
