Genesis: Day 2

The idea of a firmament is presented here, a firmament being a clear firm supporting canopy or arch above the ground that supports the waters that are above the firmament, the clouds. This may seem to be a strange way to view the earth’s atmosphere, but in reality the firmament does actually give support to the clouds. However in Day four God set great lights in the firmament of heaven, the sun and moon and also the stars. So the firmament not only supports the clouds but also provides a support for the planets and the stars we see in the night sky, so it’s not just the atmosphere around the earth, but outer space as well.

He called the firmament Heaven, which refers to natural heaven, the sky. Through this firmament a system was being set in place for the watering of the planet, as well as the supplying of an air bubble in which all of earth’s life could be sustained with oxygen. Watering of the earth is accomplished by the working together of the waters below and the waters above the firmament. Water rises from the earth, creates clouds, which in turn release their water as the atmospheric conditions become right.

It’s interesting to note that the universe, according to the Genesis account, was created around the earth, though many would disagree with this notion. However this writing is not meant to be taken as a scientific explanation of the earth’s beginning, but rather an analyzing and more particularly a meditation into the scriptural account of creation. According to the scriptures there is a God and that God said, Let there be, and then He performed what He wanted to accomplish. God spoke His Word, and the Spirit of God accomplished the task by way of the miraculous power of God. To believe this we must believe that God actually exists and that He has miraculous power. And you just can't fit a concept like that into a scientific explanation, because science cannot prove that God exists.

The belief that God exists is purely an act of faith. The Bible that we as Christians profess to believe in says that unless we receive the kingdom of God as a little child we will in no wise enter therein. There are numerous scientific theories and explanations that attempt to explain the origin of our universe and the life within it, and if that’s what we’re looking for then it’s not at all difficult to find. However much of the scientific writings available tend to discredit the Biblical account of creation and frame it as a story told by ignorant men who just simply didn’t understand reality. The problem with that view, however, is that if we perceive the Bible to be a book written by ignorant men then it is in fact just another book, or collection of books, written by men and not at all divinely inspired or authored. And if it’s not divinely inspired, if it was not written by God Himself, then why put faith in it?

In the words of Jesus:

Call me old-fashioned, but I say let’s believe the Bible, embrace its truth and become a part of the kingdom of God.