Genesis 1

Ge 1:1, 2.

THE

CREATION OF

HEAVEN AND

EARTH.

1. In the beginning--a period of remote and unknown antiquity,

hid in the depths of eternal ages; and so the phrase is used in

Pr 8:22, 23.

God--the name of the Supreme Being, signifying in Hebrew,

"Strong," "Mighty." It is expressive of omnipotent power; and by its

use here in the plural form, is obscurely taught at the opening

of the Bible, a doctrine clearly revealed in other parts of it, namely,

that though God is one, there is a plurality of persons in the

Godhead--Father, Son, and Spirit, who were engaged in the creative work

(Pr 8:27;

Joh 1:3, 10;

Eph 3:9;

Heb 1:2;

Job 26:13).

created--not formed from any pre-existing materials, but made

out of nothing.

the heaven and the earth--the universe. This first verse is a

general introduction to the inspired volume, declaring the great and

important truth that all things had a beginning; that nothing

throughout the wide extent of nature existed from eternity, originated

universe was produced by the creative power of God

(Ac 17:24;

Ro 11:36).

After this preface, the narrative is confined to the earth.

2. the earth was without form and void--or in "confusion and

emptiness," as the words are rendered in

Isa 34:11.

This globe, at some undescribed period, having been convulsed and

broken up, was a dark and watery waste for ages perhaps, till out of

this chaotic state, the present fabric of the world was made to arise.

the Spirit of God moved--literally, continued brooding over it,

as a fowl does, when hatching eggs. The immediate agency of the Spirit,

ripened them into a state adapted for being the scene of a new

creation. The account of this new creation properly begins at the end

of this second verse; and the details of the process are described in

the natural way an onlooker would have done, who beheld the changes

that successively took place.

Ge 1:3-5.

THE

FIRST

DAY.

3. God said--This phrase, which occurs so repeatedly in the

account means: willed, decreed, appointed; and the determining will of

God was followed in every instance by an immediate result. Whether the

sun was created at the same time with, or long before, the earth, the

dense accumulation of fogs and vapors which enveloped the chaos had

covered the globe with a settled gloom. But by the command of God,

light was rendered visible; the thick murky clouds were dispersed,

broken, or rarefied, and light diffused over the expanse of waters. The

effect is described in the name "day," which in Hebrew signifies

"warmth," "heat"; while the name "night" signifies a "rolling up," as

night wraps all things in a shady mantle.

4. divided the light from darkness--refers to the alternation or

succession of the one to the other, produced by the daily revolution of

the earth round its axis.

5. 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.

Ge 1:6-8.

SECOND

DAY.

6. firmament--an expanse--a beating out as a plate of metal: a

name given to the atmosphere from its appearing to an observer to be

the vault of heaven, supporting the weight of the watery

clouds. By the creation of an atmosphere, the lighter parts of the

waters which overspread the earth's surface were drawn up and suspended

in the visible heavens, while the larger and heavier mass remained

below. The air was thus "in the midst of the waters," that is,

separated them; and this being the apparent use of it, is the only one

mentioned, although the atmosphere serves other uses, as a medium of

life and light.

Ge 1:9-13.

THIRD

DAY.

9. let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one

place--The world was to be rendered a terraqueous globe, and this

was effected by a volcanic convulsion on its surface, the upheaving of

some parts, the sinking of others, and the formation of vast hollows,

into which the waters impetuously rushed, as is graphically described

(Ps 104:6-9)

[HITCHCOCK]. Thus a large part of the earth was

left "dry land," and thus were formed oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers

which, though each having its own bed, or channel, are all connected

with the sea

(Job 38:10;

Ec 1:7).

11. let the earth bring forth--The bare soil was clothed with

verdure, and it is noticeable that the trees, plants, and grasses--the

three great divisions of the vegetable kingdom here mentioned--were not

called into existence in the same way as the light and the air; they

were made to grow, and they grew as they do still out of the

ground--not, however, by the slow process of vegetation, but through

the divine power, without rain, dew, or any process of labor--sprouting

up and flourishing in a single day.

Ge 1:14-19.

FOURTH

DAY.

14. let there be lights in the firmament--The atmosphere being

completely purified, the sun, moon, and stars were for the first time

unveiled in all their glory in the cloudless sky; and they are

described as "in the firmament" which to the eye they appear to be,

though we know they are really at vast distances from it.

16. two great lights--In consequence of the day being reckoned

as commencing at sunset--the moon, which would be seen first in the

horizon, would appear "a great light," compared with the little

twinkling stars; while its pale benign radiance would be eclipsed by

the dazzling splendor of the sun; when his resplendent orb rose in the

morning and gradually attained its meridian blaze of glory, it would

appear "the greater light" that ruled the day. Both these lights may be

said to be "made" on the fourth day--not created, indeed, for it is a

different word that is here used, but constituted, appointed to the

important and necessary office of serving as luminaries to the world,

and regulating by their motions and their influence the progress and

divisions of time.

Ge 1:20-23.

FIFTH

DAY.

The signs of animal life appeared in the waters and in the air.

20. moving creature--all oviparous animals, both among the finny

and the feathery tribes--remarkable for their rapid and prodigious

increase.

fowl--means every flying thing: The word rendered "whales,"

includes also sharks, crocodiles, &c.; so that from the countless

shoals of small fish to the great sea monsters, from the tiny insect to

the king of birds, the waters and the air were suddenly made to swarm

with creatures formed to live and sport in their respective

elements.

Ge 1:24-31.

SIXTH

DAY.

A farther advance was made by the creation of terrestrial animals, all

the various species of which are included in three classes: (1) cattle,

the herbivorous kind capable of labor or domestication.

24. beasts of the earth--(2) wild animals, whose ravenous

natures were then kept in check, and (3) all the various forms of

creeping things--from the huge reptiles to the insignificant

caterpillars.

26. The last stage in the progress of creation being now

reached--God said, Let us make man--words which show the

peculiar importance of the work to be done, the formation of a

creature, who was to be God's representative, clothed with authority

and rule as visible head and monarch of the world.

In our image, after our likeness--This was a peculiar

distinction, the value attached to which appears in the words being

twice mentioned. And in what did this image of God consist? Not in the

erect form or features of man, not in his intellect, for the devil and

his angels are, in this respect, far superior; not in his immortality,

for he has not, like God, a past as well as a future eternity of being;

but in the moral dispositions of his soul, commonly called original

righteousness

(Ec 7:29).

As the new creation is only a restoration of this image, the history of

the one throws light on the other; and we are informed that it is

renewed after the image of God in knowledge, righteousness, and true

holiness

(Col 3:10;

Eph 4:24).

28. Be fruitful, &c.--The human race in every country and age

has been the offspring of the first pair. Amid all the varieties found

among men, some black, some copper-colored, others white, the

researches of modern science lead to a conclusion, fully accordant with

the sacred history, that they are all of one species and of one family

(Ac 17:26).

What power in the word of God! "He spake and it was done. He commanded

and all things stood fast"

[Ps 33:9].

"Great and manifold are thy works, Lord God Almighty! in wisdom hast

thou made them all"

[Ps 104:24].

We admire that wisdom, not only in the regular progress of creation,

but in its perfect adaptation to the end. God is represented as pausing

at every stage to look at His work. No wonder He contemplated it with

complacency. Every object was in its right place, every vegetable

process going on in season, every animal in its structure and instincts

suited to its mode of life and its use in the economy of the world. He

saw everything that He had made answering the plan which His eternal

wisdom had conceived; and, "Behold it was very good"

[Ge 1:31].