Genesis 1:6-8 • Day 2 • Air

Gen 1:6-8 → 6Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. 8God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

• This section is the 2nd "day" of creation. It's hard for me sometimes to think that all that happens in these creative days can actually take place in 24 hour time periods. But then I remember God "speaks" all of this into existence. You'll see it over and over again throughout the entire 6 day time period - "Then God said,...".

• People often discuss the concept known as "the Big Bang Theory" (not the TV show). A single massive explosion event that triggered the beginning of the universe about 13 billion years ago. I too believe in the Big Bang Theory, but my version is a little different. GOD spoke, and BANG it existed!!!!

• I've often wondered how sometimes people of faith also struggle with the timing issue. But I don't. I just keep reminding myself that if God is big enough to speak the entire universe into existence, then He's probably big enough to do it in 6 days. Think about it.

• In this section of scripture it talks about God creating "an expanse in the midst of the waters" and calling that expanse "heaven". Basically, what this is describing is that God took some of the water that was covering the earth in Gen 1:2 and created a canopy, if you will, in the upper atmosphere. I'm not a scientist, but I'd assume that this would have to be somewhere high enough to not be impacted by gravity, yet low enough to not float away into space. Not a cloud cover, but rather a clear protective shield over the earth, like window tinting on your car. This could help explain how, up until the time of the flood in chapter 6 that people lived for hundreds of years. The canopy filtered out the UV rays from the sun. I know this sounds really weird. It took me a long time to begin to accept this, but it makes sense for several reasons.

1st ► it would account for the longevity of those living before the flood.

2nd ► it would create a "greenhouse" effect over the entire planet (no polar ice caps) which would explain why Adam & Eve could walk around naked all day and night and not be cold.

3rd ► there is no rain yet (Gen 2:5), but this humid environment would provide the necessary water for plants to survive.

4th ► rain is not mentioned again until the time of the flood (Gen 7:4), making the assumption that there hadn't been any until that time.

• The word "heaven" in the original Hebrew, as used here, can have many uses, everything from the dwelling place of God to the atmosphere/sky above us.

• So what's going on here? When looking at the full 6 day creative event, you can see that the first 4 days are mostly God preparing the "environment" for living creatures. So on this particular day, day 2, God has created the atmosphere, the very air that we will need to breathe, and not just for us, but for the fish, birds, land animals of all descriptions, and for all plant life as well. And He has enclosed it in a controlled environment, like a global HVAC unit, that keeps it all within the optimum of conditions.