Genesis 1:3
Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. - Genesis 1:3
I discussed this verse in detail in the word study on “Let”. The gist of it is that the word “be” in God’s pronouncement is as well suited for describing the removal of some hindrance to light, as it is for describing the sudden appearance of it. Also, because the darkness was “over the deep” in verse 2, we know the light in verse 3 was “over the deep” as well. Therefore, interpreting God’s statement as “Let any hindrance to seeing light over the deep be removed” is appropriate, as long as other geological and theological evidence exists to support, or even suggest, it.
For the geological evidence, look back at our discussion of Genesis 1:2a. The basic conclusion is that Genesis 1:2 is a record of the Holy Spirit, with Jesus in tow, hovering over an ancient ocean 3.9 Ga (billion years ago). As stated in scripture, the earth was literally formless, and void, there was darkness (i.e., a dark sky) over the deep, and the Holy Spirit was hovering over it.
In our discussion of the geological evidence for the earth’s state 3.9 Ga, the scientific theory was that the early hydrosphere experienced meteor strikes throughout its early history. Occasionally, a particularly large meteor would vaporize the ocean (the existance of which is proven by the discovery of zircon cystals dating 4.1 Ga to 4.4 Ga). Upon impact by the meteor, temperatures rose to levels over 800 degrees C, and possibly even thinned out the early atmosphere, before the temperature dropped again the ocean reformed just in time for another strike. This cycle preventing a bright sky from properly developing. Also back then, the sun was pretty dim anyway. In other words, if you were to look at the sky, you would lliterally see “darkness over the deep.”
These meteor strikes reached a height 3.9 Ga, and then suddenly stopped. We know from studying the moon. Not too long afterward, the scientific evidence of microbial life in Greenland (around 3.85 Ga) tells of a young atmosphere capable of dispersing whatever sunlight reached the earth in that age. The sun still wasn’t as bright as today, and the brilliant blue we see in today’s sky hadn’t yet formed, but that isn’t what matters, because the process for it had begun. God said “Let there be light,” Jesus let there be light, and there was light.
December 7th, 2006 at 11:49 pm
[…] We know from Genesis 1:3 that God had Jesus remove any hindrance to neutralizing the darkness over the deep. We also know that Jesus did it, and the light in the sky began to grow. The scripture gives no indication how long the process took, though scientifically we know it could have been over a billion years. What we do know is that the process, the “letting” of light, had begun, and at some point God saw the light, and He saw that it was good. […]