BSF Study Questions Genesis Lesson 2, Day 3: Genesis 1:3-19

Summary of passage:  God made light and separated it from the darkness.  He called the light “day” and the dark “night”. God made an expanse between the waters to separate them, creating “sky”.  He gathered the waters to create dry ground, which He named “land.”  The water was called “seas”.  Then God made vegetation on the land.  And God saw all this was good.

God made lights to separate the day and night and so they would serve as signs to mark the seasons, days, and years and to give light on earth.  These lights were the sun and the moon and the stars and God saw that it was good.

Questions:

5)  God himself is light so the light on the first day is God.  You could also say it’s God bringing his light or knowledge of himself to the world and into our hearts (2 Corinthians 4:3-6).  Light is Truth.

The lights on the fourth day are the sun (the greater light to govern the day) and the moon (the lesser light to govern the night) and the stars (which could include the constellations)–literal objects to provide light.  Both were made to separate the light from the darkness.

6a)  The main purpose of all is to separate out night and day, light from dark.  The sun’s main purpose is to govern the day and serve as signs to mark the seasons, days, and years.  The moon’s purpose is the same:  to give light at night just not as much.  The stars give light as well.  All govern the night and the day.

b)  Psalm 8:3-4:  The glory of God (got this from verse 1).  The love of a God who can create such marvels, yet He still cares for such lowly beings as man.

Psalm 19:1-6:  The glory of God; the work of His hands.  They pour forth knowledge of God, proclaiming His divinity so that all will know Him (much like Romans 1:18-20).

Jeremiah 8:7:  Literally, as signals for the birds of the world to migrate.  Broadly, as signs for all animals in their life cycle such as when to migrate, hibernate, breed, etc.

Matthew 2:2:  As a sign of Jesus Christ’s coming

Acts 2:19-20; Revelation 8:12:  As signs of the end times when the sun will be turned to dark and the moon to blood and other wonders in the heavens above.

7a)  Miraculously.  He designed everything perfectly.  Orderly.  He starts with light, separated it from the darkness.  Separated the seas to make the sky.  Made dry ground.  Produced vegetation on this dry ground.  Made the moon and the stars for light at night.

b)  Personal Question.  My answer:  To my new home, to my life without my first dog, to getting back in the routine of school after our move.

Conclusions:  This lesson was a bit tricky.  I had to go back and re-read the first day where God created light and analyze it (initially, I got it wrong). It’s hard for us humans because light to us means the sun.  Sun gives life.  Without it we can’t survive.  Plants won’t grow.  We need sunlight to be healthy.  It’s essential to life on earth for earth cannot exist without the sun.

What we miss and what we commonly don’t connect is that God made the sun to give life. He is the ultimate giver.  He gave us life and created a light source to sustain us while we are here on earth.

Yes, we cannot exist without the sun.  But the sun cannot exist without God.  Therefore we cannot exist without God.

It’s that math common math problem:  If a needs b and b needs c, then a must need c.  Or another way:

If a equals b and b equals c, then a must equal c.

Wish more non-believers would see it this way…