Once God made arrangements for recovering our spiritual condition, He ensured that the world He made would be inhabitable. This devotional reading looks at the Day 2 creation of our atmosphere.
Nuggets
- God created the heavens to sustain life and protect us.
- The dome had been created, but things were still chaotic everywhere else.
The Holy Spirit had been hanging around over the surface of the waters (Gen. 1: 2). It was time to do something with those waters.
On the second day, God created the atmosphere that humankind would need to have a sustainable life.
Let's Put It into Context
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Devotions in the Celebrating Creation’s Story series
Creating a Canopy
“Then God said, ‘Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.’ And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens” (Gen. 1: 6-7 NLT)
God created the heavens to sustain life and protect us.
When God created the heavens and earth, they didn’t appear finished by a long shot. God still had some work to do to make it inhabitable and to make it more inviting.
What was created on the second day is translated in several different ways. Some call it a firmament. That is another way to say heavens. These mean the sky.
Some just call it an expanse. That is descriptive considering its size.
Some say that God created a dome, canopy, or vault. Isn’t that comforting? A dome and canopy would keep the bad stuff out (sun’s radiation) and keep the good stuff in (heat at night).
We tend to think of a vault as a storage space for precious items. As the atmosphere contains so much needed for life, that is appropriate.
In order to make it inhabitable, God made the atmosphere. He gathered up the vapors to make the sky and surround the earth.
- “The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters” (Gen. 1: 2 NLT).
- “Then God said, ‘Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth’” (Gen. 1: 6 NLT).
Boardman said that the vapors were separated into heavier fluids and ethereal vapors. This is what we would call the heavens. We also call it the sky.
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But we can look at it another way. There is water here on earth, and there is water in Heaven.
- Water on earth makes up the oceans, rivers, streams, creeks, lakes, and ponds.
- Water in Heaven makes up the Crystal Sea. “In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal” (Rev. 4: 6 NLT).
When we went through the Day of the Lord theme last year, we said that the Crystal Sea might be tied to the bowl in Solomon’s temple where the priests did their ritual washing (I Kgs. 7: 23-26).
What if this sea was made on the second day of creation by the ethereal vapors?
I said I thought the glass sea is on top of the chasm that Jesus talked about in His parable — or it is the chasm itself (Lk. 16: 26). Maybe this is where we get cleansed to be able to enter Heaven.
Before the heavens and earth were created, this chasm wouldn’t have been needed. Now that earth would be inhabited — and by sinful creatures — the entrance to Heaven had to be secured. The ethereal vapors provided that.
We need to figure out what Moses would have been talking about. To him, the sky was this vast expanse in which the stars are hung.
- “I was there when he established the heavens, when he drew the horizon on the oceans” (Prov. 8: 27 NLT).
- “The heavens above will melt away and disappear like a rolled-up scroll. The stars will fall from the sky like withered leaves from a grapevine, or shriveled figs from a fig tree” (Isa. 34: 4 NLT).
- “God sits above the circle of the earth. The people below seem like grasshoppers to him! He spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them” (Isa. 40: 22 NLT).
- “For thick clouds swirl about him, and he cannot see us. He is way up there, walking on the vault of heaven” (Job 22: 14 NLT).
- “he makes the skies reflect the heat like a bronze mirror. Can you do that?” (Job 37: 18 NLT).
- “Praise him, skies above! Praise him, vapors high above the clouds!” (Ps. 148: 4 NLT).
The atmosphere is the reason we have some very important things in our lives. Noyes made a great connection. He tied the fact that the air provides three quarters of our nourishment gives new meaning to “For in him we live and move and exist …” (Ac. 17: 28 NLT).
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We know that it provides the air that we breath, but it provides much more.
- Air provides aeronutrients and aeromicrobes.
- We wouldn’t have sound without it.
- It provides the plants which filter the air.
- Birds wouldn’t be able to fly without it.
- Artificial lights — even candlelight — wouldn’t be possible.
- Colors find their life in the atmosphere.
- The suns rays would negatively impact the portions of the world on which it fell directly.
- Heat not only wouldn’t be modulated, but it would also escape into the atmosphere each night.
- Wind wouldn’t exist because the air wouldn’t exist without the atmosphere.
Instead, we have a dome of perfect composition of oxygen and nitrogen to allow life to live peacefully on the planet.
Oh, Brewer thought we could still occupy the planet without the atmosphere. It would just be painful and even more difficult.
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But then, Peter warned of a day when we are going to find out what that will be like. “But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment” (II Pet. 3: 10 NLT).
But back to creation.
We can learn from the world around us to strengthen our spiritual lives. Boardman told us how the heavens can help us. He wrote, “The heavens suggest the soul’s true direction — it is upward. To express moral excellence by terms of altitude is an instinct.”
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Our focus should always be above us — looking up to God. We are to seek Him so that we can learn of Him and His ways.
The Work of the Second Day
“God called the space ‘sky.’ And evening passed and morning came, marking the second day.” (Gen. 1: 8 NLT)
The dome had been created, but things were still chaotic everywhere else.
Much work needed to be done. Still, this was an important building block for work on future days. No life — be it human, plant, or animal — would be able to be sustained if this was not in place.
Before the work of this day, all life would have drowned.
The progression is significant. Day 1 saw Light inhabit the world. Now, life is possible.
Let’s recap the physical creation so far.
- Light has come to make the darkness known and counteract it.
- Conditions were put in place so that life could be sustained.
Let’s recap the spiritual creation so far
- The Plan of Salvation was introduced to the world in the form of the Light.
- Salvation and sin coexisted.
In case you missed the last devotion, we talked about how the New Living Translation makes it sound like we are just talking about a 12-hour time period — evening passed and morning came.
What about the rest of the day?
This is not how it was originally written. “… And the erev (evening) and the boker (morning) were Yom Echad (Day One, the First Day, Mk 16:2” (Gen. 1: 5 OJB).
We can’t let the version we use lead us away from God.
Making the Connections
We may think not much was made when we look at it as only the heavens were made — one thing. It is when we look at what all that encompasses that we see that it was no mean feat.
Not only the vast quantities made it an outstanding accomplishment, but also the nuances made creating the atmosphere extraordinary.
- Think of all the oxygen needed daily for not only humans, but also animals.
- Think of all the gases created by created — and consisting of the correct combination and correct weight.
- Think there would be no rain, rivers, or seas without it.
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God created an intricate, harmonious world in which we live. It has been and always will be under His control.
How Do We Apply This?
- Be thankful for the air we breathe.
- Be thankful for all the activists.
- Walk purely with the Lord
- Value our common mercies.
- Even if we enjoy these mercies without thought, don’t enjoy them without gratitude.
- Overcome our difficulties.
- Praise God’s continuous gift of the atmosphere.
- Live sinless lives to be examples to others.
- Don’t let our spiritual life become barren as the land does without the rain.
- Return to a time of showers through meditation.
Resources
Prayer
What do you think?
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