Lesson Study The Literal Day

Thursday: The Literal Day Posted: 16 Jan 2013 06:00 AM PST Read Genesis 1:5, 8, 31. What are the components of a creation day? Does anything in the verses imply that these are not literal 24-hour days as we experience them today? The nature of the days of Creation has been the subject of much discussion. Some have questioned whether the days were ordinary days or whether they might represent much longer periods of time. The text’s description of the Creation days provides the answer to that question. The days are composed of an evening (dark period) and a morning (light period) and are consecutively numbered. That is, the days are expressed in a way that very clearly shows that they are days just as we now experience them, an evening and a morning, a period of darkness and a period of light. It is difficult to see how the statement could be more clear or explicit in describing the days of a week. The repeated expression “and there was evening and there was morning” emphasizes the literal aspect of each day. Read Leviticus 23:3. What indication do we have that all seven days of Creation week were the same kind of days as those that we experience? The ancient Hebrews were in no doubt as to the nature of the Sabbath day. It was a day of ordinary length but carried a special blessing from God. Note the explicit comparison of God’s work week of six days with our work week of six days and the corresponding comparison of the day of rest for God and for us (see also Exod. 20:9, 11). Even many scholars who reject the idea of these being literal days often admit that the writers of the Bible understood that literal days were meant. So crucial to our relationship with God is our trust of God and of His Word. If we can’t trust the Word of God on something as foundational and as explicitly stated as the Genesis Creation in six literal days, what can we trust Him on?