Genesis 1:6-8 Water First, Day 2
Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.
Science is at odds with the Bible, imagine that? Science says that the Earth was molten rock billions of years ago. Eventually all of this molten rock cooled. Science has the order of rock first then water later.
God has things a bit different. There was water first. Then sky (day 2) and land (day 3) were separated from the water. This concept of water first is noted throughout the Bible. This is not a Genesis phenomenon. Look at Psalm 148. This Psalm has the reminder that God spoke this into existence. It was created out of nothing by the power of His word.
Psalm 148:4-5 Praise Him, highest heavens, and the waters that are above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the LORD, for He commanded and they were created.
Jeremiah and Isaiah speak specifically of the heavens. They both note that it was God who “stretches” and “spreads” the heavens. The Isaiah passage also has another hidden gem. Note where God is sitting, it is above the circle of the earth. Isaiah tells us the earth is round! Isaiah was written approximately 2700 years ago. This was way before Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492. Fifteenth Century man was convinced the earth was flat. Yet, a Jewish prophet 700 years before Christ tells us the earth is round. Fast forward to the 21st century, scientific man is telling us that the earth came before water. God says water was first. Has man been wrong before? What should you believe?
Jeremiah 10:12 It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom; and by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens.
Isaiah 40:22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
The Hebrew word for “expanse” is aqiya`. Defined (Strong’s Concordance) it can mean the follow:
expanse, platform, sky extended surface (solid)
expanse (flat as base, support)
firmament (of vault of heaven supporting waters above)
considered by Hebrews as solid and supporting ‘waters’ above
This “expanse” separated and divided the waters. There was water below and above the expanse after God finished His work. God named this expanse. The Hebrew name of the expanse is shamayim. The word is typically translated “sky” or “heaven” in English Bibles. It can mean the following as noted by Strong’s Concordance.
heaven, heavens, sky
visible heavens, as abode of the stars
as the visible universe, the sky, atmosphere, etc
Heaven (as the abode of God)
The evening came first with darkness. Then light, not sunlight because it is still a couple of days away on day four, came in the morning. And that was the second day.
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