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Visit: http://lastdaystruth.blogspot.com http://amazingfacts.org http://bibletruthspot.blogspot.com
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| By Leroy Ramaphoko
“IT WAS VERY
GOOD” (THE
CREATION STORY)
“It was very good” (The Creation Story)
www.bibletruthspot.blogspot.com Page 2
Contents
Introduction ...................... 3
1 First day .......................... 4
2 Second day ...................... 6
3 Third day ......................... 9
4 Fourth day ..................... 10
5 Fifth day ........................ 13
6 Sixth day ....................... 14
7 Seventh day .................. 21
“It was very good” (The Creation Story)
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Introduction One of the biblical themes that plays from Genesis
to Revelation is the theme of Creation. Right from
the beginning of Scripture our attention is drawn
to God as the Creator: “In the beginning God
created the heaven and the earth.” – Genesis 1:1.
“For by Him were all things created, that are in
heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones, or dominions, or
principalities, or powers: all things were created
by Him, and for Him.” – Colossians 1:16. He spoke
things into existence: “By the word of the LORD
were the heavens made; and all the host of them
by the breath of His mouth...For He spake, and it
was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” –
Psalm 33:6,9. Read Hebrews 11:3. Each day of
creation had its purpose. We will now turn our
attention into seeing what God established on
each day and also see what lessons we can draw
from each day.
“It was very good” (The Creation Story)
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1 First day “And God said, Let there be light: there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God
divided the light from the darkness. And God
called the light Day, and the darkness He called
the Night. And the evening and the morning were
the first day.” – Genesis 1:3-5.
a) “Let there be light” As we keep reading in this chapter, we find that
the sun, moon, and stars were created on the
fourth day, so the question that arises is that,
Where did this light come from? The Bible says,
“God is light” – 1 John 1:5, and this means He is
the source of light. In the city God has prepared
for His people called the New Jerusalem [See
Hebrews 11:16; Revelation 21], “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.” – Revelation 21:23.
When God spoke the light into existence, the
“It was very good” (The Creation Story)
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spoken word manifested into the glory of God
which illuminated the world.
b) Darkness not made by God “And the earth was without form, and void; and
darkness was upon the surface of the deep...” –
Genesis 1:2. Since “God is light, and in Him is no
darkness at all.” – 1 John 1:5, we deduce the fact
that He didn’t make darkness. In essence,
darkness suggests the absence of God, because
God is light.
c) Light and darkness can’t
dwell together The reason why God separated the light from
darkness was because “God saw the light, that it
was good,” and decided to divide “the light from
the darkness.”
Ever since sin entered the world, God has been
engaged in the business of separating light from
darkness: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that
ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath
“It was very good” (The Creation Story)
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called you out of darkness into His marvellous
light.” – 1 Peter 2:9. Read Ephesians 5:8. God
doesn’t see it fit for light and darkness to dwell
together. Read 2 Corinthians 6:14. His children
are also associated with light [1 Thessalonians
5:5; John 12:36]. Light and darkness cannot
harmonize [John 3:16-20].
d) Evening and morning “...And the evening and the morning were a first
day.” – Genesis 1:5. We see from Scripture that
the day begins from evening; that it is, a full day is
from sunset to sunset. This is worth noting
because most of us grew up in a society where we
were taught otherwise. The children of Israel
were also to observe the Day of Atonement “from
evening to evening.” – Leviticus 23:32, NKJV.
2 Second day “And God said, Let there be a firmament in the
midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters
from the waters. And God made the firmament,
and divided the waters which were under the
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firmament from the waters which were above the
firmament: and it was so. And God called the
firmament Heaven. And the evening and the
morning were the second day.” – Genesis 1:6-8.
a) More than one heaven? When we read Genesis 2:1, it suggests that there
is more than one heaven since it speaks of “the
heavens.” HOW MANY HEAVENS ARE THERE?
The atmosphere which the Lord established He
called it “Heaven.” This is not the heaven, spoken
of in Isaiah 66:1 where God’s throne is found. This
heaven is the atmosphere where the birds fly.
Read Genesis 1:20. This is the FIRST HEAVEN that
we see here.
As we keep reading in Genesis 1, we come across
the SECOND HEAVEN in Genesis 1:14-17. This is
where the sun, moon, and stars are found. We
know that the birds don’t fly at the same latitude
as the sun, moon and stars are placed. Sun, moon,
and stars are set “in the firmament of heaven.” –
Genesis 1:14.
“It was very good” (The Creation Story)
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Jesus Christ has ascended into heaven. “And
when He [Jesus] had spoken these things, while
they [the disciples] beheld, He was taken up; and
a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while
they behold stedfastly toward heaven as He went
up, behold, two men stood by them in white
apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why
stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus,
which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so
come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into
heaven.” – Acts 1:9-11. Paul tells us, “I knew a
man in Christ above fourteen years,...such an one
caught up to the THIRD HEAVEN...I knew such a
man,...how that He was caught up into
paradise...” – 2 Corinthians 12:2-4. Here we see
that heaven which Jesus was caught up to is called
“Third heaven” and is also called “Paradise.” In
Paradise, there is the tree of life [Revelation 2:7],
and this tree received its water from “river of
water of life” which proceeds “out of the throne
of God and of the Lamb.” – Revelation 22:1. “In
the midst of the street of it, on either side of the
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river, was there the tree of life...” – Revelation
22:2. In short, Jesus was taken to the third heaven
which is called Paradise, and this Paradise is
where the tree of life and the throne of God are
found. This is the heaven spoken of in Isaiah 66:1.
You probably heard of “the seventh heaven”; but
that’s not found anywhere in Scripture. Scripture
only speaks of three heavens. At least the fact
that paradise is called “third heaven,” suggests
that there is the first and second heaven; while it
does not necessarily suggest that there is the
fourth heaven onwards.
3 Third day “And God said, Let the waters under the heaven
be gathered together unto one place, and let the
dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the
dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the
waters called He Seas: and God saw it was good.
And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the
herb yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in
itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth
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brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after
his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed
was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that is
was good. And evening and morning were the
third day.” – Genesis 1:9-13.
a) Land and Sea
By God allowing the waters on the surface to be
gathered in one place, the dry land appeared, and
this is the same land where we build our houses,
drive our vehicles, etc. The gathered waters
formed the seas.
b) Vegetation
The vegetation God made was to be the food for
all the animals, birds, and fish [Genesis 1:30] and
for the humans “herb bearing seed, which is upon
the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which
is the fruit of a tree yielding seed” was given to be
“meat” (food) for them [Genesis 1:29].
4 Fourth day “And God said, Let there be lights in the
firmament of the heaven, to divide the day from
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the night; and let them be for signs, and for
seasons, and for days, and years: and let them be
for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give
light upon the earth: and it was so. 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. And God set them in the firmament of
the heaven to give light upon the earth, and to
rule over the day and over the night, and to divide
the light from the darkness: and God saw that is
was good. And the evening and the morning were
the fourth day.” – Genesis 1:14-19.
a) The purpose of sun, moon, and
stars
The sun, moon, and stars provide the light to the
world; but moreover, they help keep track of
time. As the earth rotates once it helps us
calculate the day, when it completes it rotation
around the sun, that becomes a year. These lights
are very much essential and necessary; we are to
remember that they are sustained by the One
who made them. Read Colossians 1:17. This is the
“It was very good” (The Creation Story)
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same God that sustains all of His creatures
including humans. Read Psalm 145:15,16;
Matthew 6:25-33.
b) You are the light of the world
The moon does not have its own light but it
simply reflects the light it receives from sun.
Jesus said, “Ye are the light of the world...” –
Matthew 5:14. And He said again, “I am the light
of the world...” – John 8:12. Does this mean we
are on the same level as Jesus? NO! Not at all!
Jesus is light “that lighten every man that cometh
into the world.” – John 1:9. Just as the “greater
light” [the sun] enlightens the “lesser light” [the
moon], so are we to allow Jesus who is “the Sun
of righteousness” – Malachi 4:2 to illuminate us.
Our role is simply the role of the lesser light; that
is, we are to reflect the light we receive from our
Lord. The truth, messages, etc. which we receive
from God’s word, etc. we are to share with others
without diluting them because once we dilute,
then the light of Christ now gets mixed with the
darkness, which is not good. Teach “all things
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whatsoever I have commanded you...”, said Jesus
in Matthew 28:20. We are admonished to teach
“all things,” not “some of the things” or “most of
the things”; “all things,” He said.
5 Fifth day “And God said, Let the waters bring forth
abundantly the moving creature that hath life,
and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open
firmament of heaven. And God created great
whales, and every living creature that moveth,
which the waters brought forth abundantly, after
his kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and
God saw that it was good. And God blessed them,
saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters
in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And
the evening and the morning were the fifth day.”
– Genesis 1:20-23.
a) Freedom to reproduce
After God made these living creatures, He gave
them ability and freedom to procreate. They were
allowed to grow in number as they multiplied.
“It was very good” (The Creation Story)
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6 Sixth day “And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living
creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing,
and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was
so. And God made the beast of the earth after his
kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing
that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and
God saw that it was good. And God said, Let us
make man in our own image, after our likeness:
and let them have dominion over the fish of the
sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the
cattle, and over every creeping thing that
creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in
His own image, in the image of God created He
him; male and female created He them. And God
blessed them, and God said unto them, Be
fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and
subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the
sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every
living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God
said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing
seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and
“It was very good” (The Creation Story)
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every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding
seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every
beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air,
and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
wherein there is life, I have given every green
herd for meat: and it was so. 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.” – Genesis 1:24-31.
a) Created by God, not spoken into
existence
The creation of a mankind is a unique one.
Everything except the human being was created
through the spoken word of God. “And the LORD
God formed man of the dust of the ground, and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and
man became a living soul.” – Genesis 2:7. God in
this case was so intimate; He probably got His
hands dirty as He touched the “dust of the
ground.” Thus we see that God places a high value
on a human being than any other thing He
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created. Read Genesis 9:5,6; Matthew 6:26;
Matthew 12:12.
b) Mankind, created in the image
of God
One person once asked, “If a man was created in
the image of tea cup, what would he be? He will
simply be a tea cup. If the human being was
created in the image of the Creator, what would
he be? He would be the Creator.” But is this the
correct interpretation? Because man was created
in the image of God, does that make him equal
with God, of even worthy to be called God?
An image is simply a reflection. When you look
into a mirror, you see a reflection of yourself. That
thing in the mirror is not a human being, but
simply a reflection. There are attributes it shares
with you: it looks like you, when you move it
moves, etc. But then there are attributes you have
which it does not have: it does not have feelings;
that’s why if a person hits you, you would feel the
pain, but when the reflection or mirror gets
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destroyed, it does not feel anything. The point is
simply the fact that the image is simply the
reflection. There are attributes which God has
which humans don’t have: God is omnipresent,
omniscience, etc. while humans are not. So we
see that a human being is not equal to God,
neither is he God. But there are attributes a
human being shares with God. Man was created
to reflect the image of God; in other words, he
was created to reflect the character of God.
Because man was created in the image of God, he
was given “dominion over the fish of the sea, and
over the fowl of the air, and over the sea, and
over the fowl of the air, and over every living
thing that moveth upon the earth.” God “hast
crowned him with glory and honour.” – Psalm 8:5.
Read Psalm 8:6-8.
c) “Be fruitful and multiply”
Mankind was also given the right to have children.
To be “fruitful and multiply” has to do with people
being reproductive and increasing in number.
Read Exodus 1:7.
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There are those who say the forbidden fruit in the
Garden of Eden, meant that Adam and Eve were
not allowed to get together and have children,
but this can’t be the case because they were given
right to be fruitful and multiply, and yet,
forbidden to partake of the tree of knowledge of
good and evil. This means, the forbidden fruit and
them sleeping together couldn’t have been the
same thing. Remember that Adam and Eve were a
married couple; throughout Genesis 2 and 3 they
are called husband and wife.
d) Very good
It is recorded six times that “it was good”
[Genesis 1:4,10,12,18,21,25]; the seventh time
we are told “IT WAS VERY GOOD.” – Genesis
1:31. This means, when God created the world it
was in a perfect state. The animals didn’t kill,
trees didn’t have thorns. All was just bliss. “God
made man perfectly holy and happy; the fair
earth, as it came from the Creator’s hand, bore no
blight of decay or shadow of the curse.” – Steps to
Christ, page 9, paragraph 1.
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e) The God of order
As we observe closely the story of Creation, we
realize that there is a pattern that is revealed. On
the first day, God created the light, and He
separated light from darkness; on the fourth day
the sun and moon are established to rule over of
them [light and darkness]. We have Day 1 and
Day 4; now let’s add 1 DAY to each of these two
days:
Day 1 + 1 DAY = Day 2.
Day 4 + 1 DAY = Day 5.
Here we find again some other days which
correspond: Day 2 and Day 5. On Day 2 God
created the Sky [firmament which He called
Heaven], and on Day 5, He filled the Sky. Now
let’s add 1 DAY to these two days:
Day 2 + 1 DAY = Day 3.
Day 5 + 1 DAY = Day 6.
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On Day 3, the land was created, and on Day 6 it
was filled. Here is a summary of the pattern which
we have discovered:
Related days and their relations
Day 1 – Light and Darkness separated. Day 4 – Sun and Moon to govern Light and Darkness. Day 2 – Sky created. Day 5 – God fills the Sky. Day 3 – Land created. Day 6 – God fills the Land.
This pattern and some of the things we have
discovered help us see that THERE IS A DESIGN IN
NATURE; thus NOTHING WAS MADE BY CHANCE,
AND NOTHING WAS AN AFTERTHOUGHT. Notice
that God created the habitants before creating
the inhabitants. When animals and humans were
made, their homes were already prepared for
them, and their food as well. We see that God is
the “God of order.” Read Proverbs 3:19.
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The seventh day is not paired with any other day
because it is a unique one. We will elaborate on
its uniqueness shortly.
7 Seventh day “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished,
and all the host of them. 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. 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.” –
Genesis 2:1-3.
a) Was He tired?
“Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard? That
the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the
ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary?”
– Isaiah 40:28. We see from evidence given from
the book of God that the Creator does not
become “weary” [tired]. So why then did He rest?
“...and on the Seventh Day He rested, and was
refreshed.” – Exodus 31:17. The verb “rested”
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used here in Hebrew is “shabath,” it simply
means to “cease” from labor or activity. God
didn’t rest because He was tired, but He simply
ceased from His work.
b) Sanctified day
Before sin was introduced into the world, before
any Jew was born, God sanctified the seventh
day. This shows that the establishment of the
seventh day as a sanctified day didn’t originate
with Moses, or on Mount Sinai. The word
“sanctify” means “to set aside for holy use.” On
this day, God didn’t do what He did on the other
days [work]. Thus, God treated this day
differently. God could have ended days on Day 6,
but He went on to make the seventh day on which
He rested “from all His work which He had made”
– Genesis 2:2. This day might have meant
something to Him to an extend that He didn’t just
rest on it, but also set is apart for holy use. It
appears from Scripture that this day might have
meant a lot to the Creator.
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c) Reason for blessing and
sanctifying it
“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.” – Genesis
2:3. This day was blessed and set aside because
God “had rested” in it. Which means it was
blessed after God had rested in it; not at the
beginning, or in the midday, but rather, at the
closing of this day.
The fact that God blessed this day doesn’t
necessarily mean the other days are cursed, but it
simply means that the blessing which God
bestowed on the seventh day, He didn’t bestow it
on any other day.
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