With so many people contemplating the end of the universe, I thought it a good time to look into its beginning, and so I opened my Bible—the Old Testament that is. I was looking through Genesis, because I am curious about how we all got here. I have to say I am especially inspired by God’s work ethic.
Day 1: LIGHT: “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….Then God said, ‘Let there be light’ and divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and darkness He called Night.”
COMMENT: In just the first day, God did far more than I have ever done, not even close. We can all be thankful that the light was called Day, and darkness was called Night. Were it the other way round, imagine how confused we would all be getting up at Night with the sun rising.
Day 2: FIRMAMENT: “Then God said, ‘Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.’ Thus God made the firmament…And God called the firmament Heaven.”
COMMENT: I was thoroughly relieved to hear that God created Heaven and there was no reference to hell. There is hope for me yet.
Day 3: EARTH, SEA AND VEGETATION: “Then God said, ‘Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering of the waters He called Seas. Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb…and the fruit trees.’”
COMMENT: The work accomplished in Day 3 is simply mind boggling. You would think that the creation of Earth and Seas would be more than enough, but God threw in grass, herbs and fruit trees. Again, we are fortunate that the labeling of things turned out the way it did. Had God called dry land “seas” and the waters “earth,” it is conceivable that one could have sailed on the seas for eternity and not moved one inch.
Day 4: SUN, MOON AND STARS: “Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also.
COMMENT: I love the concept that the stars were almost an afterthought, a throw-in as it were. It is amazing how accurate God was in having Earth just the right distance from the sun. Had Earth been a bit closer, we would really understand global warming, and were Earth a bit farther, we would be praying for more global warming.
Day 5: BIRDS AND SEA ANIMALS: “Then God said, ‘Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth…’ So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind.”
COMMENT: I just wish God had gone a little light when it comes to creating great white sharks. I am sure they play an important role in the ecological scheme of things, but personally, fewer great white sharks wouldn’t be so terrible. I haven’t been in the ocean since the movie “Jaws.”
Day 6: LAND ANIMALS AND HUMANS: “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth….Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…” So God created man in His own image….male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply.’
COMMENT: It is humbling to read that God created man and cattle and creeping things on the same day. I don’t understand how God expected male and female to multiply when Adam and Eve had two sons, but what do I know?
Day 7: THE SABBATH: “And on the seventh day God ended His work…and He rested on the seventh day from all His work….
COMMENT: Nothing impresses me more than the fact that God only needed one day to rest after everything He created. I literally did nothing this past week, and I needed the entire weekend to recuperate.