It Was Good

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 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 1:1-5 (NKJV)

The Hebrew name for God in this passage is Elohim, which refers to the triune God. It is a plural word that points to the Godhead: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. The Father did not act independent of the other two members of the Godhead. All three of them were involved. In those days, before Jesus became flesh, He was known as the Word. The Father spoke. The Word went forth. The Holy Spirit moved in power. John Chapter 1 proves Jesus was active in creation. They created in unison, in perfect unity.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. John 1:1-3 (NKJV)

Genesis 1 tells us that creation was completed in six days. Then, God rested on the seventh day. People often question whether they were literal days. Yes, they were. Over and over we read in Genesis the phrase, “the evening and the morning were the _____ day.” God stated this six times, one for each day of creation. This shows that He was already measuring time by the day. The New King James Version of the Bible shares the literal interpretation of Genesis 1:5 in the footnotes: “And evening was, and morning was, a day, one.” The Hebrew word for day is yom, which is a literal 24 hour day. The Bible clearly means that creation was completed in six literal 24-hour days.

The creation account could be divided into three sections. Days one through four is the first section, where God establishes order and sets up an environment into which He can introduce living creatures. These days include the creation of light, the firmament, dry land, and lights in the heavens. The second section includes days five and six, when God gives life to, or activates, His creation. This includes the creation of fish, birds, animals, and mankind. The third section is a rest period. At this point creation is complete and God has judged it to be very good, therefore He rests. Seven speaks of completion and perfection, and this theme, or underlying numeric symbolism is carried throughout Scripture.

God had a plan for His creation, and it was a good plan. It still is a good plan. God is the Creator of all things, and He will ensure that His original plan for His good creation will come to pass. God is bringing us back to the beginning, and it will be good.