And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. — Genesis 1:5
God now names what He has made. He called the light Day, and the darkness Night. Naming is an act of authority. The Creator has the right to define what He has made. He does not ask creation what it would like to be called. He names it. He orders it. He governs it.
This matters in a generation that wants to redefine everything God has established. The One who created all things has the right to define all things. He names day and night. He names earth and seas. He defines reality because He is the author of reality.
Then Moses writes, “And the evening and the morning were the first day.” This is plain language. God defines the first day in normal terms. The repeated expression throughout the chapter strongly supports the understanding of literal days. God is not speaking vaguely. He is deliberately setting a pattern. He is the Creator of time, and He knows how to define a day.
God did not need six days because He lacked power. He could have spoken everything into existence in a moment. But He chose to create in this pattern as a model for mankind and later as the basis for the rhythm of labor and rest.
This verse also reminds us of the reliability of God’s created order. The cycle of day and night continues because God established it. The consistency of creation is not an argument against God. It is evidence of His sustaining faithfulness.
First day-a natural day, as the mention of its two parts clearly determines; and Moses reckons, according to Oriental usage, from sunset to sunset, saying not day and night as we do, but evening and morning.
“God called the light ‘day.’ ” Darkness first and light afterwards. It is so with us spiritually-first darkness, then light. I suppose that until we get to heaven, there will be both darkness and light in us. And as to God’s providential dealings, we must expect darkness as well as light. They will make up our first day and our last day, till we get where there are no days but the Ancient of Days.
God now names what He has made. He called the light Day, and the darkness Night. Naming is an act of authority. The Creator has the right to define what He has made. He does not ask creation what it would like to be called. He names it. He orders it. He governs it.
This matters in a generation that wants to redefine everything God has established. The One who created all things has the right to define all things. He names day and night. He names earth and seas. He defines reality because He is the author of reality.
Then Moses writes, “And the evening and the morning were the first day.” This is plain language. God defines the first day in normal terms. The repeated expression throughout the chapter strongly supports the understanding of literal days. God is not speaking vaguely. He is deliberately setting a pattern. He is the Creator of time, and He knows how to define a day.
God did not need six days because He lacked power. He could have spoken everything into existence in a moment. But He chose to create in this pattern as a model for mankind and later as the basis for the rhythm of labor and rest.
This verse also reminds us of the reliability of God’s created order. The cycle of day and night continues because God established it. The consistency of creation is not an argument against God. It is evidence of His sustaining faithfulness.
First day-a natural day, as the mention of its two parts clearly determines; and Moses reckons, according to Oriental usage, from sunset to sunset, saying not day and night as we do, but evening and morning.
“God called the light ‘day.’ ” Darkness first and light afterwards. It is so with us spiritually-first darkness, then light. I suppose that until we get to heaven, there will be both darkness and light in us. And as to God’s providential dealings, we must expect darkness as well as light. They will make up our first day and our last day, till we get where there are no days but the Ancient of Days.