Genesis 1:2-13: The First Three Days of Creation

The First Three Days of Creation 

"Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and He called the darkness "night." Evening came and then morning: the first day.  Then God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters, separating water from water." So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above the expanse. And it was so. God called the expanse "sky." Evening came and then morning: the second day.  Then God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. God called the dry land "earth," and He called the gathering of the water "seas." And God saw that it was good. Then God said, "Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds." And it was so. The earth produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. Evening came and then morning: the third day."  -Genesis 1: 2-13

          I am going to focus on the following three questions: 

• Who did what in this passage?
• The Spirit of God hovered over the faces of the deep. I have always enjoyed my husband's teaching of this verse... it's as if in verse 1 God created an embryo of the universe, and in the rest of this passage we are watching that embryo develop.
• God did a lot of saying/creating and a lot of naming. 
• God separated the light from the darkness... does this mean they were once mixed together?
• God separated the waters below from the waters above
• God saw that the light was good. 
• God saw that the earth and the seas were good. 
• God saw that the seed-bearing plants and the trees bearing fruit with seeds according to their kinds was good. 
• Who said what in this passage?
• God said: 
•  "Let there be light,"
• God called the light "day," and He called the darkness "night."
•  "Let there be an expanse between the waters, separating water from water."
•  God called the expanse "sky."
• "Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear."
• God called the dry land "earth," and He called the gathering of the water "seas."
•  "Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds."
• What do God’s actions (or lack thereof) show me about God’s value system and/or who God is?
• I had never realized before exactly what God saw was good: light, the earth, the seas, the seed-bearing plants, the tree bearing fruits. All these things are specifically referred to as good. 
• God's act of creation demonstrates his quality of creativity. 
• These are God's first recorded words. I find it interesting that God doesn't say, "Light, be!" but instead, "Let there be light." He is not a demanding Creator, but a gentle one. I totally wish I could say to my classroom, "Let there be quiet..." and it was. Maybe I will try this.
  
  
  If you would like to respond answering some of the questions below, or responding to my own thoughts, please do! 
• What choices were made in this passage?
• What other choices could have been made by God?
• What are some of the short term results of the choices that God made? 
• What are some of the long term effects of the choices that were made?