Genesis 1:1-31
Last week we looked at Day vs. Night. We learned that a full 24-hour day begins in the morning. Now, we’re going to continue with that teaching. We’re going to see the order of God’s creation. We’re going to look closely at the first day of creation.
God is a God of order. He does things in the perfect order. He says to let all things be done decently and in order. So, we’re going to learn from God and how He does things. And we want to do things as He does them.
We need our life in order. We need to know what’s most important. What’s priority number one for you? What do you put first in your life? We’re going to learn about God’s order of creation.
Genesis 1:1-2
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Does Darkness Show Up Before Light In The Bible?
God creates the heaven and the earth. In verse 2, we see darkness. Remember, we’re talking about day versus night and light versus darkness.
We are at the very beginning of the Bible. In verse 2, we see darkness. We don’t see light mentioned first. Or, at least we don’t see it mentioned directly. So, what do you think came first? Light or darkness?
You might say darkness was first because it appears to be first in the Bible.
But, the fourth word in the entire Bible is what? Look closely there in verse 1. The 4th word is “God.” Darkness is the 20th word. So, obviously, God is first. He is before the darkness. God means He has always existed. Darkness hasn’t always existed.
God has always been there. That’s the definition of God. God equals the first and the last, the beginning and the ending, eternal, everlasting.
So, what was first? Light or darkness? Let’s see.
God Is Light
1 John 1:5
This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
The Bible says that God is light. Hey, in God, there is no darkness at all. If there were, we wouldn’t be here right now. God is a good God. He is light. Thank God!
Psalm 27:1
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
The Lord God is my light.
Psalm 36:9
For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.
In thy light. In the light of God. He is not darkness. He is light.
Psalm 84:11
For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
God is a sun. He is full of light. The sun is simply a picture of God.
Isaiah 60:19
The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.
This is prophecy from the book of Isaiah. The Lord is an everlasting light.
John 1:4
In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
Jesus is the one that lights us up with the spirit or the life within us. He is the light.
John 1:9
That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
Jesus is the true Light!
John 8:12
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
We know that God is light. We see God first in all the Bible. We see God creating all things. We know light was first. We know God is the father of lights.
In the very end of the Bible, we see a new heaven and a new earth. We see that great city that you and I will see one day. We see that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.
Revelation 21:23
And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
No need of the sun, no need of the moon, and no need of any light source like that. Why? Because of the glory of God lightens it. He is going to be there with us. The Lamb, Jesus Christ, is the light. He will be our source of light.
Revelation 22:5
And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
God Is Light So Light is First
The Lord God is the light. So, let me ask you that question again? Which was first? Light or darkness? Obviously, the correct answer is the light was first because God is light. We go back to Genesis Chapter 1.
Genesis 1:1-2
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Watch what happens next.
Genesis 1:3-4
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
Now God creates light. God is light. Now He creates more light. Notice that the sun hasn’t been created yet. God divides the light from the darkness. He separates them. When He divides the light from the darkness, what does this mean? We look at the next verse.
Genesis 1:5
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
When God divides the light from the darkness, He creates the first day. Within a 24-hour day, as you know, there’s about 12 hours of light and about 12 hours of darkness.
When God creates this very first day, look at the order of God’s creation here and understand that God’s order is perfect and right. What does He say first when He creates this very first day?
“And God called the light Day.” The day time comes first. The light comes first. Just as God is light, and He is first. The day time is first. A full 24-hour day is called a DAY. Why? Because the day part of the full 24-hour day is first. We don’t call a full 24-hour day night because night doesn’t come first.
God is a God of Light so the Day is First
God is a God of light. Light is first. The day time is first. A full 24-hour day begins in the morning with the start of the day. God says so right there in verse 5 of the entire Bible.
When God creates a day, He says He called the light Day, and the darkness He called night. The 12 hours of light is first in the order of a day followed by the 12 hours of darkness to finish up a full 24-hour day.
When the light comes, a new day begins. When the darkness ends, that day is over. The light is first. A day starts in the morning and ends the next morning.
Morning begins with light. Evening begins with darkness.
You cannot argue this because Genesis 1:5 gives us the clear order of the very first day of creation. “And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.” Now watch this next part of the verse because this is where everyone gets confused.
Genesis 1:5
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
The last half of that verse says, “And the evening and the morning were the first day.”
For some reason, the deception is to ignore the first part of the verse that we just went over in detail about God calling the light day FIRST and SECOND God calls the darkness night. In the first part of the verse, it’s clear that DAY is first and NIGHT is second. That is the order for the first day. God says so right there in the first part of the verse.
But, people will then take the second part of the verse, ignoring the first part, and say that the night is first and the morning is second.
Evening and Morning are Points of Time in a Day
Let’s focus on that second part of the verse:
“And the evening and the morning were the first day.”
People will say this means the night or darkness is first in a day and the morning or light is second in a day. The Jews will teach you that a full 24-hour day begins at night, but no one, in their right mind recognizes, in reality, that a day begins at night.
We all know and we all live our life with a new day beginning in the morning. A new 24-hour day doesn’t begin at night.
Again, let’s break this phrase down the right way according to the Bible, God’s word, the Holy and perfect Scriptures.
Notice that the sentence “And the evening and the morning were the first day” doesn’t say that darkness is first and that light is second. That phrase gives us two points within a day. Those points in time are evening and morning. A day also consists of other points.
For example, within a day, we have morning, noon, afternoon, evening, night, twilight, and midnight. Noon is the middle of the day. Midnight is the middle of the night.
Within this graphic, you see different points within a day. We see these every day that we live. You see morning, noon, evening, midnight, and morning again. Noon is in the middle of the day time. Midnight is in the middle of the night.
With those points, as you see them there, let me read that sentence in verse 5 again, and you find those points on that graphic right there.
“And the evening and the morning were the first day.”
Evening is right there in the middle. We’re moving forward in time. Not backwards. From the evening to the morning. The morning is over on the far right. And the evening and the morning were the first day simply means the period of darkness. You see the 12 hours of darkness there.
“The Evening and the Morning” is Finishing the Day
The Bible is telling us that the evening and morning is the finishing up of the first full 24-hour day. Evening and morning are points. When the next morning arrives over on the far right, the first day is over.
So, let’s study that same phrase, “evening and the morning.” And keep in mind that this simply means the 12 hour period of darkness. The last 12 hours of a full day. It’s darkness. It’s night. It’s the time when we rest during a full day. We work in the day time. We rest in the night time. Or, at least, we should.
When we search the Scriptures for the phrase, “evening and the morning” we find just 7 matches within the entire Bible. Six of those matches are right here in Genesis Chapter 1.
“And the evening and the morning were the first day.” That’s the first match.
“And the evening and the morning were the second day.” That’s the second match.
And so on for each of the six days of creation.
Genesis 1:31
And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
So, we see 6 of the 7 matches for that phrase in Genesis Chapter 1. Let’s see where the other Scripture happens to be. We find this phrase in Daniel Chapter 8.
Daniel 8:26
And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.
There’s the phrase “evening and the morning” right there. Daniel has a vision. He says it is the vision of the “evening and the morning.” Now we know that this simply means that Daniel had this vision at night. He was probably sleeping when he had this vision in a dream AT NIGHT. This matches what we know from Genesis Chapter 1.
When Evening Arrives, Darkness Arrives
When the point of evening arrives during a day, we see darkness arriving. When the next morning comes during a day, we see darkness ending. The evening and the morning simply means that period of darkness during a day. That’s it.
Genesis 1:5
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
The light is Day. It’s first. The darkness comes second. It’s night. Morning is the beginning of a day. Evening is the beginning of the night. When the next morning arrives, darkness is ending, and the full 24-hour day is over.
So, during these 6 days of creation, God is telling us how it was done. He creates the first day. God works in the day. When evening comes, that work is over. And the evening and the morning, the approximately 12-hour period of darkness, finishes up the first day of creation. God works or creates in those first 12 hours of the day.
He’s setting up order for us within His creation.
We are to work during the 12 hours of the day. That’s approximately 6 am to 6 pm. And we are to rest during the 12 hours of the night. That’s approximately 6 pm to 6 am. And, if you don’t believe me, let’s go to the Scriptures.
John 11:9-10
Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. 10 But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.
There Are 12 Hours in the Day and 12 Hours in the Night
Jesus asks, “Are there not twelve hours in the day.” He’s speaking of the part of the day when there is light.
“If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not.” Why? Jesus says, “Because he seeth the light of the world.” The light is a picture of God. We are to walk in the light. Work in the day. When it’s night time, you need to be very careful. Evil comes out at night. Why? Because the evil can get by with things when people can’t see. Evil hides in the night.
“But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.”
In other words, you don’t need to be out there at night. Work during the day. Get your work done. When night comes, it’s time to be at home. If you walk in the night, be very careful. And don’t be surprised if bad things happen.
God’s order of creation with that first day and with all six days is showing us that we are to work in the day as He did. We work during that first 12-hours of the day when it is light.
John 9:4
I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
Jesus Himself says, “I must work the works while it is day.” He says, “The night cometh, when no man can work.”
We studied last week that the weekly Sabbath begins on Saturday morning. Why would it begin at night when no man works anyway? “The night cometh when no man can work.” The weekly Sabbath day begins on Saturday morning when the light comes and ends the next morning when the darkness end and the light comes.
John 12:35
Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
If your job is outdoors, you can’t work at night unless you have light. “For he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.” You can’t see to do anything in the dark. You must have light.
And notice, on the seventh day of creation, God rested.
Genesis 2:1-3
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
The Phrase “Evening and the Morning” Isn’t There on Day 7
Notice that on previous six days, we saw that phrase “the evening and the morning” were the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth day.
You don’t see and “the evening and the morning were the seventh day” because God didn’t work on the seventh day AT ALL. He rested the entire day. “Because that in the seventh day he had rested from all his work.”
The other six days have “the evening and the morning were THIS day” because that’s the period of time when the darkness came each of those days. And we don’t work at night because darkness is there and we can’t see.
So, God’s order for His creation is awesome. It’s perfect. A day begins in the morning and ends when the next morning comes. The 12 hours of light are the first part of each day followed by the 12 hours of darkness.
Evening to morning is that 12 hour period of darkness. And that’s it. That’s the truth. And I know it’s the truth because the Bible teaches this throughout.
We’re going to continue this study next week. We are going to continue looking at the order within God’s creation.
And again, all of this is very important as we will get to much more difficult studies within the Bible.
Knowing that a full 24-hour day begins in the morning is highly important to understanding much more difficult things within the Bible.
Let’s pray.
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