Day 1: Then God said, “Let there be light”;

....  and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.  God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night (Genesis 1:3-5).  From verse 2 the earth  as we now know it, was without form and empty,  and darkness was on the face of the deep. The command for light to penetrate the darkness is not a creation command. Light was created at the beginning (verse 1). It had just not penetrated to earth. It seems from verses 14 to 18 that the sun and the moon were not yet visible from the surface of the earth. In other words at the command the atmosphere changed from opaque (not able to be seen through) to translucent (allowing light, but not detailed shapes, to be seen).  There was  now enough light however,  to distinguish between what we and God call day and night (verse 4)!

 I am told that understanding the present atmosphere of the earth is something of a challenge.  In comparison with other solar systems, it seems that the earth should have a thicker atmosphere than Venus.  Scientist think there was a collision  with the earth of something as large,  or larger,  than mars.  This,   they think,  impacted the earth ripping away its original atmosphere and producing  a thinner one, one that allowed light to penetrate to the surface for the first time (verse 3). From a study of the moon rocks we know the moon is  younger than the earth. The  moon was eventually formed from the debris flung into space,  gravity eventually pulling it into the ball we now see.  This and much more is collected together in Hugh Ross' “The Genesis question.” Ross is a Canadian Astrophysicist, Christian apologist, and old Earth creationist.

It seems to me that every created thing has a spiritual analogy. The analogy of good and evil and light and darkness is brought out in  Isaiah who warns “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness (Isaiah 5:20).  The child born,  the Son given came to those who walked in great spiritual darkness (Isaiah 9:2, 6).  The Lord promises that if we extend our soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul, then our light shall dawn in the darkness, and our darkness shall be as the noonday (Isaiah  58:10).  He also promises that  when I sit in darkness, He will be a light to me (Mica 7:8). He leads me and guides me by the light of His Word, it is a lamp unto my feet  (Psalm 119:105).  Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12), and in His light I find light (Psalm 46:9).  I like what C.S. Lewis wrote “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen; not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”

Lord, I once was blind,  but You brought me into Your glorious light,  and now I see. I knew You as a child Lord, but because I neither glorified You as God nor was thankful, my foolish heart was darkened. I suppressed the truth in unrighteousness exchanging it for a lie (Romans 1:18-21). You used the pain of my darkness Lord to cause  me to be become  open to Your light. For that I  praise and thank You. Give me grace Lord  to continue to walk in the light as You are in the light in Jesus Name Amen