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Forerunner Commentary
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Genesis 1:14-15

The events of the fourth day are somewhat controversial. Some claim that verses 14 and 15 simply repeat what God said in verses 3 and 4. However, note the difference:

• "Let there be light"; and there was light. (verse 3)
• "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth"; and it was so. (verses 14-15)

In verse 3, God describes the creation of conditions to permit light to penetrate the earth's atmosphere. In verse 14, God is being very specific about certain "lights" that became visible from the surface of the earth. These specific lights were created to serve "for signs and seasons, and for days and years."

On the fourth day, God made visual observation of the sun, moon, and stars possible. Before this, the earth's cloud-cover did not permit an observer on earth's surface to see these heavenly bodies. God diminished the cloud-cover so that clear days would be possible, and thus heavenly bodies could be used to keep track of time. Once time was regulated, men could determine when to observe God's holy days. Most likely, God also adjusted the speed of the earth's revolution around the sun as well as the moon's speed of orbit around the earth.

Earl L. Henn (1934-1997)
Genesis 1: Fact or Fiction?

Related Topics: Creation, Fourth Day | Days and Years | Days, Months, Seasons and Years | Light | Light, Creation | Lights as Signs | Seasons, God's Adjustment of | Signs | Signs and Seasons | Signs, Lights as | Sun, Moon , and Stars

Other commentary entries containing this verse:

Ecclesiastes 7:1-4
Acts 15:14-18

Library resources that contain this verse:

In the Beginning: The Creation
Articles
Death of a Lamb
God's Sovereignty and the Church's Condition (Part One)
Bible Questions & Answers
How Would Calendar Reform Affect the Church?
Bible Studies
God's Master Plan
Booklets
Where Are Enoch and Elijah?

 

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