The Fourth Day of Remodeling:Lights In The Firmament

16. The Fourth Day of Remodeling:Lights In The Firmament
Genesis 1:14-19.

(Genesis 1:14) "And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days; and years."

(Genesis 1:15) "And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so."

(Genesis 1:16) "And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: He made the stars also."

(Genesis 1:17) "And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth."

(Genesis 1:18) "And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw the it was good."

(Genesis 1:19) "And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. May I note, at the outset, the philosophy of the young earth advocates concerning this Fourth Day. Their hypothesis is, that the greater light (sun), the lesser light (moon) and the stars never existed prior to the Fourth Day; but, rather, were created on the Fourth Day. Their philosophy and/or hypothesis is fraudulent and diametrically opposed to God's Word, as we shall see.

They seem reluctant to accept, acknowledge, or differentiate between, the two different Hebrew words translated into our English as "made" and "create." The Holy Spirit used the Hebrew word "bara" for "created," and a different Hebrew word, "asah," for "made," since both have a different meaning.

"Created" (Hebrew, "bara") basically means that God created something out of nothing which had no previous existence.

"Made," (Hebrew, "asah") basically means that the substance or object, already existing, is "released from restraint; to make; to allow; or to assemble."

Maybe the young earth advocates should have inspired the Old Testament writers, instead of the Holy Spirit; since they adhere not to the Holy Spirit's choice of words. Failure to recognize the difference between "created" and "made" is the cause of their philosophy and false hypothesis, which is founded upon the outright denial and rejection of God's Word.

There are several observations we need to consider concerning the fourth day: The Hebrew "bara," i.e., "created," nowhere appears in Genesis 1:14-19 describing the Fourth Day of remodeling the earth. If this word had been used, then the stars, moon, and sun would never have existed prior to the fourth day.

Notice in Genesis 1:16, that God used the Hebrew word "asah,"or, "made," concerning the moon, stars, and sun. Remember, "asah" in Hebrew means "to release from restraint, to assemble or allow, and etc. In other words, the sun, moon, and stars had previously been created and useful for the Original Creation. The earth contained plant life, grass, trees, vegetation, animals, Lucifer, and God's angels. There were all kinds of life on the Original Creation, which necessitated heat and light from the sun, light from the moon and the stars. When Lucifer first resided on the earth, there was heaven above the earth, there were clouds, stars, and etc. (Isaiah 14:13-14). Lucifer's sin brought God's judgment, and these elements were rendered inoperative and stayed that way until God decided to activate them again. They were then placed in their proper position for the sustaining of human life.

Isaiah speaks of God's omniscience and omnipotence concerning his renovation of an earth that was "without form and void." It truly is God,

"Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance." (Isaiah 40:12)

3. In Genesis 1:14, "God said, let there be lights in the firmament." May I call your attention to the word "lights" in this verse. The Hebrew for our English "lights" in this verse is "maor," which means "luminary, light container, or light holder." In other words, for the sake of clarity, should a paraphrase be rendered, it would read, "On this fourth day God spoke and said, "Let the light containers be released from restraint and be secured in the firmament of the heaven."

Remember, the Holy Spirit was very selective in his choice of Hebrew words, as He never used "created" (Hebrew, "bara") with any of the first four days in His remodeling of a ruined earth. But, rather, God used the word "MADE" (Hebrew "asah"), which means "to release from restraint." When God judged the Original Creation and rendered it "without form and void," the light holders, the sun, moon, and stars were of no more use and were restrained and rendered inoperative. Their original purpose for which they were created was now useless, as there was no life of any kind left on the earth to support. This previous life included grass, herbs, trees, all kinds of vegetation, animals of many kinds, which could have, and without doubt, included dinosaurs. From God's judgment of the Original Creation until He decided to remodel it for the habitation of Homo Sapiens, there could have been hundreds of thousands of years; or, even millions of years. Whatever length of time elapsed, it was much more than enough time for many of these animals to have fossilized, including the various dinosaurs.

It is a sad plight when some of these young earth advocates spend more time excavating in the ground than they do digging into the Word of God! Their hypothesis is disastrous, as they continually try to adjust the Bible to fit their findings.