Day 1: Genesis 1-2

With the support of my friend Mike, today I'm starting a reading plan to go through the entire bible in one year. Along the way, I'll doubtless encounter countless questions to which I'll hopefully find answers one day. So for my own sake, I'll keep track of them here in this blog. And so, here we go with Genesis 1-2 on Day 1.

Heaven separates water?


The first thing that struck me in the passage is that Heaven was originally created to separate two bodies of water.

And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. (Genesis 1:6-8 ESV)

What this passage leaves me wondering in amazement is what happened to the other body of water. Was it made into another Earth? I guess it's not relevant to anything in particular, but maybe one day, maybe after this life this curiosity may be satisfied.

What does "bless" imply?


When God blesses the birds in the sky and the swarms in the waters on the fourth day, what does the blessing imply? I wonder why it was important to explicitly record in the Bible that God blessed these creatures, rather than assuming that the creatures were under God's care and protection by virtue of being God's creation?

Beasts vs. livestock


I wonder what the distinction is between beasts and livestock, with regards to the earth-bound creatures God created on the sixth day. Perhaps livestock was made for man to eat, whereas beasts were not?

Who is "us"?


When God said, "Let us make man," who exactly was "us"?

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26 ESV)

I think the simple answer is that "us" refers to God and his angels.

Summary of the first week in this universe


So, the gist of the first week:
  • Day 1: God created light.
  • Day 2: God created Heaven. 
  • Day 3: God created Earth, which was land added to water gathered together. God also created vegetation to grow in the earth.
  • Day 4: God created the sun, the moon and the stars.
  • Day 5: God created birds and sea creatures.
  • Day 6: God created beasts and livestock on the earth. God created man.
  • Day 7: God rested and made the seventh day holy by blessing it.

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