Please read these verses from the Bible of your choice or on line (Bible Gateway: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+1%3A14+-+2%3A3&version=NIV ) The observations and comments are from my studies.
v 14-15: God created an orderly world, with an orderly progression of time: signs to mark seasons, days, years. Later we find that God marks the seasons for the Jewish people with festivals.
v 16-18: We are told/shown that the sun and moon were created/visible three days after “Light.” That first light’s source was God alone.
Why celestial lights now? Because plants wouldn’t care about a sun and moon, but the animals and humans (next on the program) would.
And now there is a light and lights even in the dark.
The fourth day is our Wednesday.
v 20: The sea and sky were established on Day 2. Now God fills them with life, too. (Did the plants the day before serve as food for these new creations? Again, orderly progression.)
v 21: Even the fearsome creatures (KJV – “behemoths”) are from God’s hand.
v 22: Everything up to now was pronounced “good.” Now God adds the first blessing and an assignment: “Be fruitful and multiply.”
V 23: The fifth day is our Thursday. (It is interesting that the “creation” day ran from sundown to sundown. We look at each new day as beginning in the morning. But God set it up so that the night’s rest is the first thing we do every day.)
v 24-25: Animals! All animals. All manner of variety, “after their kind.” With the spark of reproductive life in them. Creating with continuance in mind.
v 26-27: “Let us …” The Trinity in consultation.
Humans, male and female, created in the image and likeness of God so they can rule over creation as God’s representatives. We are intended, together, as God’s partners over creation.
v28-30: God’s second blessing and assignment (exactly like the first).
God specifically gives man rule over the fish, birds and animals.
God also gives all the plants and trees to all the animals, birds and humans. Apparently we all began as vegetarians; the animals, birds, etc. were companions, not food.
v 31: God’s final assessment of His creation: “very good.” It was all exactly the way He wanted it.
The sixth day, our Friday, is finished.
All creation reflects God’s character: it is good.
All people, created in God’s image, are special. We are created to love God, love each other and care for the earth.
One way of remembering the creation story is this:
Form: Day 1 – Light & Dark Filling: Day 4 – Lights of Day & Night
Day 2 – Sea & Sky Day 5 – Creatures of water & air
Day 3 – Fertile earth Day 6 – Creatures of the land
Genesis 2:1: Creation is finished and ready for use.
v2: There is nothing left to do, so God “rests.” This is an example for us, not because He needed it but because we do.
v3: The third thing God blesses is a day. Apparently a day of rest is vitally important for the creation He has just finished. We were created for it; it was the second gift, as ancient as the world (the first gift was food: Genesis 1:29-30).
This is our Saturday, also called “Sabbath” (from Hebrew šabbāṯ, from šāḇaṯ ‘to rest’).
We are on a 7-day cycle because God is on a 7-day cycle.
We have lost this rhythm of work and rest over the years. What do we lose when we don’t observe a rest? What might we regain if we incorporate it back into our lives? Years ago, I read an article by an elite athlete who said she performs significantly better if she takes a day off to rest. God knows what our bodies need.