Intro: WHO TURNED ON THE LIGHTS!
1. The city of Rattenburg, Austria is in the dark from November to February each year. The city was built in the 1300’s behind a 3,000-foot mountain to protect it from ma-raud-ers [people in search of plunder]. Since the lack of winter sunshine was a small price to pay for safety then, no one worried about it.
Times have changed though, current residents list the lack of winter sun as one of the biggest drawbacks to living in the village.
Since sunshine is plentiful just a ten-minute walk from town, residents are warming up to an idea of bringing in some sun!
An Austrian company proposes using a series of rotating mirrors mounted on the hillside to reflect light from a neighboring village.
The technology requires pinpoint beaming. The company says to light up the entire village would require a mirror the size of a football field. Instead, they will use smaller mirrors to create "hotspots," areas about the size of a front yard where people can gather and soak up rays.
The director of the mirror company, Markus Peskoller, says at least 6 other towns in Austria and neighboring Switzerland have expressed interest in reflected sunlight.
2. Man was never meant to live in darkness, so God turns on the light.
3. First day - a day of Exposure.
Trans:We have looked at the Introduction which can best be summarized by the word Existence. Now we come to the first day, a day of Exposure.
Gen. 1:3-5
I. FIRST, THE SPEAKING WHICH BROUGHT THE EXPOSURE. 1:3a
Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light - we have looked at the idea of a Divine fiat before. What incredible power God has that He can just speak things into existence!
God’s Word created light. The phrase "let there be" is one word in the Hebrew (hayah). It is a strong, active imperative. God is commanding "light to become," to come into existence. Light is not eternal; it has not always been in existence. Light came into existence just like everything else in the universe. God created light. [Preacher’s Outline and Sermon Bible]
Evans notes, "In the beginning, the Bible says, God commanded, "Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3). No meeting was held after that, no committee vote. When God called for light, "there was light." Period. That’s it. Because when God speaks, something happens. The Bible says that when God speaks, He creates.
When God commands, He brings things into existence.
’15 He sends forth His command to the earth; His word runs very swiftly. 16 He gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes. 17 He casts forth His ice as fragments; Who can stand before His cold? 18 He sends forth His word and melts them; He causes His wind to blow and the waters to flow." Psalm 147:15-18
Thus God controls the weather by His word. I know meteorologists account for the rain by explaining how this front mixes with that front and by showing the movement of air and all of that. But they are only investigating the speech of God. God says that when it rains, it does so because He says so. The elements come under His control.
Likewise the nations are controlled by God’s Word!
"See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, To pluck up and to break down, To destroy and to overthrow, To build and to plant." Jeremiah 1:10
When God speaks, He can raise up and tear down nations. He splits Berlin Walls, dismantles Soviet Unions—and if we don’t watch out, He can take down America. God works His will among the nations simply by the word of His power.
God’s Word is also the only thing that can deal with the demonic realm. Many of the negative things we experience are the result of activity by the demonic world opposing and attacking us. This world is the realm of Satan’s influence, "2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Ephesians 2:2
But the Bible shows us again and again that the demons have to obey God when He merely utters the word. Mark 5:1-20 is a great example."
II. NEXT, THE STATING OF THAT WHICH EXPOSES EVERYTHING. 1:3b
..."Let there be light"; and there was light - What exactly is light? Darkness is usally defined as "the absence of light." Not overly helpful!
But defining light is even harder!
"light’ (lit) n. 1. Physics. Electronmagnetic radiation that has a wave-length in the range from about 4,000 (violet) to about 7,700 (red) angstorms and may be perceived by the normal unaided human eye."
[The American Heritage dictionary]
Phillips, "Nobody, even today, can tell us what light is. We know what light does, but not what light is. It is one of the most mysterious entities in the universe. In physics it has become the new absolute. As such, it is at the heart of the famous equation E = mc2 (energy equals mass multiplied by the speed of light squared) which, in turn, ushered in the atomic age." [John Phillips Commentary Series]
Dr. Morris notes, "...it is obvious that visible light is primarily meant, since it was set in contrast to darkness. At the same time, the presence of visible light waves necessarily involves the entire elec-tro-mag-net-ic spectrum. Beyond the visible light waves are, on the one hand, ultraviolet light and all the other shortwave-length radiations and, on the other hand, infrared light and the other longwave phenomena.
In turn, setting the elec-tro-mag-net-ic forces into operation in effect completed the energizing of the physical cosmos. All the types of force and energy which interact in the universe involve only electromagnetic, gravitational, and nuclear forces; and all of these had now been activated.
Though no doubt oversimplified, this tremendous creative act of the Godhead might be summarized by saying that the nuclear forces maintaining the integrity of matter were activated by the Father when He created the elements of the space-mass-time con-tinu-um, the gravitational forces were activated by the Spirit when He brought form and motion to the initially static and formless matter, and the electromagnetic forces were activated by the Word when He called light into existence out of the darkness.
Of course, God is One, and all three persons of the Godhead actually participated in all parts of the creation and continue to function in the maintenance of the universe so created.
All of this was accomplished on the first day of creation. The physical universe had been created and energized, and was ready for further shaping and furnishing in preparation for man, whose dominion it would be."
The Genesis Record.
"The concept of light in Scripture is important, dealing with personal and impersonal forces on both literal and metaphorical levels. Light is closely related to life and happiness, which may account for the frequent comparisons between God and light. Since the ancient world often worshiped the sun, God’s role as creator of light is stressed. Eventually, he will make the sun unnecessary (Isaiah 60:19-20).
Light is frequently used as an indicator of time, separating day from night (Genesis 1:5). The emphasis is on the shining of the sun in the early morning (Genesis 44:3; Judges 16:2), so that "light" can sometimes be translated "dawn" (Neh. 8:3). A distinction may be drawn between "daybreak" and the "daylight" that follows (Judges 19:26) the rising of the sun (Isaiah 60:1-3). Amos (Amos 8:9) mentions a judgment of darkness that will strike Israel "in broad daylight."
Light is of course associated with light-bearing bodies, but it is distinct from them, as seen in its creation apart from the luminaries (Genesis 1:3). The sun and the moon are the "greater light" and the "lesser light" (Genesis 1:16; Psalm 136:7), and the stars are closely associated as "stars of light" (Psalm 148:3). "Every passage that speaks of the shining (ʾôr in the Hiphil) or the light (ʾôr) of the sun (Genesis 1:14-16; Isaiah 30:20; Isaiah 60:19; Jeremiah 31:35; Ezekiel 32:8; Psalm 136:7-9) also refers to the light of the moon and sometimes also of the stars" (TDOT I p. 151). These heavenly luminaries are an integral part of the wonder of the cosmos as founded by the Creator and serve as a clock to regulate the seasons (Genesis 1:14; Psalm 104:19; Jeremiah 31:35f.). The OT avoids isolating the sun as "the light" lest the Hebrews succumb to the tendency to worship it (cf. Job 31:26-27). Another of God’s lights was the pillar of fire that illumined the night for the Israelites during the wilderness wanderings (Exodus 13:21; Psalm 105:39). This was probably more awesome than lightning which also displayed the glory of God (Psalm 77:18 [H 19]; Psalm 97:4; Job 36:32).
Man made lights included the sacred lampstand in the tabernacle (Numbers 4:9, 16; Numbers 8:2) which cast its light in the holy place. Lamps burning olive oil were highly valued for use in people’s homes (Proverbs 13:9).
ʾôr is used metaphorically..." [Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament]
Our passage is speaking of Natural light - we could of course speak of Artificial light; Supernatural light related to God’s manifested Presence; and the many Metaphorical uses of light.
This light did not come from the sun, since God did not make the sun until the fourth day. This should not surprise us, a God who can make light bearers would have no problem makng light.
III. FURTHERMORE, THE EXPOSURE WAS SATISFYING 1:4a
God saw that the light was good; - God saw is often repeated (1:4,10,12,18,21,25,31). It is interesting that the name given to Hagar was "El Roi" [El Roo-ee] the God who sees.
"Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, "Have I also here seen Him who sees me?" Genesis 16:13 (NKJV)
Sailhammer, "The ’good’ is that which is beneficial for humankind...in the description of the work of the second day the narrative does not say that "God saw that it was good." The reason is that on that day nothing was created or made that was, in fact "good" or beneficial for humanity. The heavens were made and the waters divided, but the land, where human beings were to dwell, still remained hidden under the "deep." The land was still "formless"; it was not yet a place where a human being could dwell. Only on the third day, when the sea parted and the dry land appeared, could the text say, "God saw that it was good." God [alone] knows what is "good" for humankind and is intent of providing the good for them."
good - tob, speaks of that which is "good, pleasant, useful, proper."
"The light is pleasant, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun." Ecclesiastes 11:7
Notice this is in great contrast to the evolutionary scheme that say everything is evolving toward something good. God says it is good! And it means it was good or beneficial to man.
The Bible promises that "all things work together for our good" and yet only God really knows what is for our ultimate eternal good.
He writes in characters too grand
For our short sight to understand;
We catch but broken strokes, and try
To fathom all the mystery
Of withered hopes, of death, of life,
The endless war, the useless strife—
But there, with larger, clearer sight,
We shall see this—His way was right.
Is God good even in the most painful times in life? In his book The Pleasures of God, John Piper shared the following account from the life of 19th-century British orphanage founder George Mueller to illustrate his point:
On February 6, 1870, George Mueller’s wife, Mary, died of rheumatic fever. They had been married 39 years and four months. He was 64 years old.
Shortly after the funeral he was strong enough to preach a "funeral sermon" as he called it. What text would he choose when God had taken his beloved? He chose Psalm 119:68, "You are good, and do good." His three points were:
The Lord was good, and did good, in giving her to me.
The Lord was good, and did good, in so long leaving her to me.
The Lord was good, and did good, in taking her from me. Under this third point, he recounts how he prayed for her during her illness:
"Yes, my Father, the times of my darling wife are in Thy hands. Thou wilt do the very best thing for her and for me, whether life or death. If it may be, raise up yet again my precious wife. Thou art able to do it, though she is so ill; but howsoever Thou dealest with me, only help me to continue to be perfectly satisfied with Thy holy will."
IV. FOURTHLY, THE SEPARATING FROM THAT WHICH IS NOT EXPOSED. 1:4b
...and God separated the light from the darkness - this gives us the cycle of a 24 hour day.
Morris notes, "Yom is defined here as the light period in the regular succession of light and darkness, which, as the earth rotates on its axis, has continued ever since...The objection is sometimes raised that the first three days were not days as they are today since the sun was not created until day four. One of course turn this objection against those who raise it.
The longer the first three days, the more catastrophic it would be for the sun not to be on hand during those days, if indeed the sun is the only possible source of light for the earth. The vegetation created on the third day might endure for a few hours without sunlight but hardly for a geolgic age!
Regardless of the precise length of the first three days, there must have been source of light available to separate light and darkness, evening and morning. It was apparently not the sun as it is now known, but of course God is not limited to the sun as a source of light.
Whatever it may have been, the earth was evidently rotating on its axis, since evenings and mornings were occurring regularly for those three days."
V. FIFTHLY, THE SIGNIFYING OF OWNERSHIP OF THE EXPOSURE. 1:5a
God called the light day, and the darkness He called night - naming things relate to possession or ownership. EX: I name my dogs, they belong to me.
While God will give man dominion over the earth, He remains soverign over man as demonstrated by forbidding man access to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A visible reminder that everything belonged to God.
"The earth is the LORD’S, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it." Psalm 24:1
VI. FINALLY, THE SETTLING OF HOW LONG IT TOOK TO MAKE THE EXPOSURE. 1:5b
And there was evening and there was morning, one day - this is speaking of a 24 hour solar day for the following reasons:
A. First, every place in the Pentateuch, where the word yom [day] is used with a numerical adjective, it clearly used of a regular solar day.
Even without a numerical adjective:
The Hebrew yom and yamim is used over 1,900 times, 65 of which refers to a period of time other than a normal 24-hour day. So even without the numerical adjective it is normally used for a normal 24-hour day.
B. Furthermore the phrase "evening and morning" speaks of a 24 hour day as in Dan. 8:14, which refers to 2,300 days.
C. Third, the usage in Ex. 20:11 indicate a 24 hour day.
"10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. 11 "For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy." Exodus 20:10-11 (NASB)
The whole point of the passage is that 6 work days of God are identical in duration with the six days of man’s work week.
E. God rested on the seventh day.
"It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed." Exodus 31:17 (NASB)
The Jehovah witnesses used the argument that since God is still "resting" from His work of creation, the seventh day is still continuing. And since that rest has gone on for thousands of years, the other six days can refer to thousands of years.
But the verse does not say God is resting - but rested!
D. Fourth, the other words could have been used if he meant an extended period of time.
One notes, "Whenever the writer really intended to convey the idea of a very long duration of time, he normally used some such word as olam [meaning ’age’ or ’long time’] or else attached to yom an adjective such as rab [meaning ’long’], so that the two words together, yom rab, then meant "a long time." But yom by itself can apparently never be proved, in one single case, to require the meaning of a long period of time, and certain no usage which would suggest a geologic age."
Note another verse that is often twisted is 2 Pet. 3:8, which is foolish used to teach that a day is to be equated with 1,000 years.
"8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. 9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:8-9
"Such an interpretation fails on two grounds. First, the text does not say that one day with the Lord is a thousand years. It says one day with the Lord is like a thousand years. We do not have a literal statement here but a comparison, an analogy.
Like and as are similies. Example: If I say I eat like a horse and someone thinks that I am a literal horse, that is not to our credit. Or if I say I am as big as a house, no one in their right mind would think I was a house!
Second, the proposed interpretation does not make sense in context. Peter would then have been saying that the day of judgment lasts one thousand years, which is a rather strange notion.
Finally, such an interpretation does not fit well with Peter’s response to the false teachers. What Peter did say cogently responds to the teachers. Even though the Lord has not returned yet, one should not conclude from this that he will never arrive. The Lord does not reckon time as humans do. What seems agonizingly long to us is a whisker of time to Him."
"In Psalm 90:4 Moses declared, "For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it passes by, or as a watch in the night." Peter’s paraphrase from that psalm encouraged his readers to not let this one fact escape their notice—that God’s perspective on time is much different from humanity’s (cf. Ps. 102:12, 24-27). The amount of earthly time that passes is of no consequence from God’s timeless perspective. A moment is no different from an eon, and eons pass like moments to the eternal God.
What may seem like a long time to believers, like a thousand years, is actually short, like one day, in God’s sight. In context, Peter is contending that, while Christ’s return may seem far off to human beings, it is imminent from God’s perspective. Finite people must not confine an infinite God to their time schedule. The Lord Jesus Christ will return at the exact moment determined by God in eternity past. Those who foolishly demand that God operate according to their time frame ignore that He is the "High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity" (Isa. 57:15, nkjv). Similarly, those who argue that Christ will not return because He has not yet returned demonstrate the height of folly."
[MacArthur New Testament Commentary, The - MacArthur New Testament Commentary – 2 Peter & Jude]
Con:
1. First day, a day of Exposure.
2. Man must have physical light to be contented, in fact there is a disorder called SAD.
It’s called "seasonal affective disorder." When daylight hours grow shorter in winter, so do the hours of joy and happiness. In fact, studies show that many people have seasonal affective disorder—or, SAD—and don’t realize it.
One of the treatments is for the subject to spend 20 to 30 minutes a day seated under or near a bright light. Keeping one’s house well lit is said to reduce the effects of SAD.
3. One of the reasons the world is in "sad" shape is because so many people don’t know the Light of the world, Jesus Christ. The remedy for a sad soul darkened by sin is to spend as much time as possible with Him who lights the path of life: "In Him is life, and He is the Light of Men." And the light Jesus offers is not seasonal, it’s eternal.
"5 For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." 2 Corinthians 4:5-6
Johnny Palmer Jr.
