Verses 6-8: Then God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters." Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters that were under the firmament from the waters that were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

God used light to form stars and galaxies, in greater numbers than we can imagine! A great cloud of gases and stardust from ancient stars that had exploded eons and eons ago formed our star, the sun, all the materials for the earth and moon, and all the planets in our solar system. Great wisdom was at work as the earth was being formed perfectly for life. Recall that the word waters in these early days relates to the building blocks of the universe.

The moon’s gravity would keep the earth from tilting too much, and would help control ocean tides, mixing the waters of the earth. The tilt in the earth’s axis makes the seasons: summer when we tilt toward the sun, and winter when we tilt away from the sun. This helps spread the sun’s heat over both the northern and southern hemispheres. The other outer planets such as massive Jupiter and Saturn would shield the earth by “catching” destructive comets and asteroids. The earth itself was just the right distance from the sun; not close enough to be too hot, but not so far to be too cold. Just the right distance so that water could be liquid and not solid ice or gaseous steam. God knew that to have life, we need liquid water. Truly, the world is filled with wisdom.

The earth and the solar system have a long list of items that allow life to form. Among them are:

• being just the right distance from our star, the sun, for having liquid water
• being in a part of our galaxy, the milky way, where there is a high abundance of the elements needed for life, such as carbon and oxygen
• having the earth’s gravity just strong enough to hold an atmosphere of oxygen and nitrogen so we and all animals and even plants can breathe
• having a rotation of 24 hours so that the sun shines over all the earth’s surface frequently, so that the temperature is well distributed (unlike planet Venus where the same surface almost always faces the sun and its back is always in the shade)
• having enough water to form oceans but not so much that the entire surface of the earth would be flooded (having dry land lets technology develop. Notice that even smart aquatic animals such as dolphins or whales have never developed a technology)
• having enough oxygen in the atmosphere to allow for controlled fire (a crucial factor for the use of fuel for energy) but not so much oxygen that there are continual uncontrolled fires.

The list goes on and on. Just think of the other needs that the wonderful planet earth provides. What does the earth’s magnetic field do to help us live? And what causes that magnetic field to form?

Clarifying translation: God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters [the matter of the universe], and let it separate between water and water.” So God made the firmament, and separated between the waters which were beneath the expanse and the waters which were above the firmament. And it was so. God called the firmament: “Heaven [The carpet of stars we see at night in the sky].” And there was evening [Erev: chaos] and there was morning [Boker: order, clarity], a second day.

Notice that the day is numbered a second day and not day two. This is a change in form of the numbering from cardinal or absolute, day one, to ordinal or comparative, a second day. When we get to discuss the age of our universe this change in number form will be very, very important.

Introduction
By Gerald Schroeder and Kelly Walker

This book is a fresh look at how God created the magnificent universe within which we dwell as guests. It is the story of the Creation as told in the first chapter of the first book of the Bible, Genesis. It is also the history of the universe as verified by science. This depiction moves beyond the debate between science and religion, toward a rational harmony of Genesis and the scientific record.

Day 1

Verse 1-5: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters. 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. And there was evening and there was morning, day one.

Day 3

Verses 9-13: Then God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning a third day.

Day 4

Verses 14-19: Then God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth"; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

Day 5

Verses 20-23: Then God said, "Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let winged creatures fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens." And God created great reptiles (in the original Hebrew, the big ta’ni’neem) and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged animal according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let winged animals multiply on the earth." And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

Day 6

Verses 24-25 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind"; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

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