The 7 days of creation start with a 7-word Hebrew sentence: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
The first creative act, however, didn’t come about without problems. At first, the earth was
- formless
- empty
- and dark
In the next seven days, God answered these three problems. He formed, filled, and illuminated the earth.
In the end, everything was very good. God dwelled with man in the Garden of Eden and delegated His dominion over the creation to Adam and Eve.
What God did in the first seven days of creation showed Adam and Eve how they should continue God’s work.
Let’s see what this pattern looks like.
7 days of creation list
In the beginning: The heavens and the earth
Genesis 1:1-2
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep and God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.
God creates the heavens and the earth on the same day as a pair to be brought into union. What happens on the earth should mimic what happens in the heavens. “Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
The heavens is not the sky or space but the place where God is enthroned. God separates the heavens from the earth with an expanse which He creates on day 2.
Note how The Holy Spirit is hovering over the surface of the waters.
God creates the heavens “ready,” but the earth is empty, formless, and dark. In other words, the heavens and its structure are ready and full of life, but the earth needs forming, filling, and illumination.
Without God’s light, there are only the deep waters and darkness, symbolizing chaos and death.
God brings order, life, and light to the earth in the seven days of creation.
Day 1: Light
Genesis 1:3-5
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
On day 1, after creating the heavens and the earth, God illuminates the dark earth with His uncreated light. The light on day 1 is God’s uncreated light, His glory, because the Bible ends similarly as it begins, and in Revelation 21:23, God’s glory illuminates the world.
This is the first of ten “God said” statements during the seven days of creation.
God created and formed the creation with His speech.
The Trinity is involved in the creation. The Father creates through His Word, the Son. The creative act is carried to the world in the breath, in the Holy Spirit, who is hovering over the waters.
“God saw the light” means God looked at, evaluated, and judged that the light was good, not only morally but also for its purpose. The light in the world matches perfectly with the idea of the light in God’s mind. Therefore, God calls it good.
God divides the light from the darkness, forming a second separated pair that must unite.
The light is called day, and darkness night. In the end (Revelation 22:5), the pair are united into light.
God expresses rule and dominion over the creation by naming things in it. The same is expected of man as Adam names the animals he has dominion over (Genesis 1:26, 2:19).
God created the heavens and the earth and illuminated the world in one ordinary, 24-hour day. The first day goes from evening to morning, communicating the Christian theological pattern of first death and then resurrection.
Day 2: Separation of waters, firmament
Genesis 1:6-8
6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
On day 2, God spoke into being a firmament (expanse) between the waters in the heavens and the waters on the earth.
This is the second of ten “God said” statements during the seven days of creation.
The waters below the firmament are the deep waters mentioned in verse 2. The waters above the firmament are the heavenly waters in the heavens of heaven (Psalm 148:4) where God is enthroned (Psalm 113:4-6, Psalm 11:4).
The second “God said” statement completes a symbolic 3-tier Biblical cosmology: waters above, firmament, and waters below.
The waters above and below are a third pair to be brought into union. For the first time, something is mentioned being between the separated pair. The firmament, which God called “Heaven”, mediates between the two waters.
God called the firmament “heaven” because it is a symbol of the heavens of heaven.
God didn’t call the expanse good. Therefore, it is something that He doesn’t want to have between the waters. It is a bridal veil removed when the creation is mature enough. The Temple veil acted similarly and was removed in Jesus’ death and resurrection, anticipating the firmament’s removal in the New Heavens and The New Earth (Revelation 21:1).
The second day consists of evening and morning and goes from the evening to the morning.
Day 3: Separation of land and sea, grains and fruit trees
Genesis 1:9-13
9 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
On day 3, God ordered the waters under the expanse to gather in one place so that dry land could appear.
This is the third of ten “God said” statements during the seven days of creation.
God called the dry land earth and the waters’ gathering together seas. Earth and seas form another separated pair that must unite.
The third creative act completes another symbolic 3-tier Biblical cosmos: heaven, earth, and seas.
The earth mediates between the seas and the heaven. In the Bible, Israel is often depicted as the land and the Gentile nations as the seas.
On day 3, in the fourth “God said” statement, God creates grains and fruit trees on the earth.
The mediating space between the seas and heaven brings forth grains and fruit trees. Thus, we see the vegetation for sacramental elements, bread, wine, and oil, created on day 3 (also in Psalm 104:15).
Furthermore, the Bible depicts trees as humans, adding another connection between day 3 and day 6.
God saw that the earth, seas, grains, and fruit trees were all good.
The third day consists of evening and morning and goes from the evening to the morning.
Day 4: Sun, moon and stars
Genesis 1:14-18
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
On day 4, God created lights in the expanse that He made on day 2.
This is the fifth of ten “God said” statements during the seven days of creation.
God created the lights to separate the day from the night. The same words are used here as on day 1.
The lights are for signs or symbols. They symbolize
- Rulers on earth (Genesis 22:17-18, 37:9).
- Believing Christians (Matthew 5:14, Philippians 2:15).
- Angels (Job 38:7).
- God (Psalm 84:11) and Jesus Christ (Malachi 4:2, Revelation 1:16) as the sun.
The lights mark harvest and festival times, and time in general: “for seasons, and for days and years.”
The lights give light to the earth.
The lights rule over the day and night and act as a symbol for the world’s political (“rule over”) and priestly (“separate the light from the darkness,” Philippians 2:15) rulers.
The greater light is the sun that rules the day. The lesser light is the moon that rules the night. Israel’s festival system was governed by moon cycles. Therefore, the Old Covenant can be seen happening at night. Jesus, as the Messiah, brought the sun and daytime (Malachi 4:2, Revelation 1:16).
God saw that all this was good.
The fourth day consists of evening and morning and goes from the evening to the morning. The concepts of morning and evening are not defined by the lights created on day 4. They give physical and visual representations of things that already existed.
Day 5: Fish and birds
Genesis 1:20-23
20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
On day 5, God created fish in the waters and birds to fly above the earth across the expanse that He made on day 2.
This is the sixth of ten “God said” statements during the seven days of creation.
The fish in the waters and the birds in the sky continue to communicate the separation of the above and below, the light and darkness we have seen in previous days. We see this continuing in the fish further divided into sea monsters (monsters in many translations, which is more accurate than creatures) and other living creatures.
God saw that all this was good.
God created something with blood for the first time during the seven days of creation. Thus, the fish and birds are alive since life is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11).
For the first time during the seven days of creation, God blesses the fish and the birds, commanding them with the exact words as man: “to be fruitful and multiply.” Birds fly in the sky but multiply on the earth.
The fifth day consists of evening and morning and goes from the evening to the morning.
Day 6: Man and land animals
Genesis 1:24-31
24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
On day 6, God created living creatures on the earth and man in His image.
There are four “God said” statements on day 6, totaling the statements to ten during the seven days of creation.
The living creatures are divided into
- livestock, animals that man can use.
- Creeping things, animals that don’t need to be subdued (“unusable”).
- And beasts, animals that man can use over time.
We see in Genesis 2:19-20 that God brought Adam the livestock and the beasts for naming but not creeping things. Naming is a form of dominion.
Land animals and creeping things continue to communicate the theme of separation between the above and below. The land animals are further divided into animals that can be used immediately and animals that man must subdue.
God created man in His image. “In our image” means Trinitarian God. God is one unity with three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Genesis chapter 2 is about the 6th day of creation because it tells about the creation of man and woman. The man was created out of dust, and God breathed life in him.
God did not create man in the Garden of Eden. He first created man, then planted the Garden, and after this, put man in the Garden. “To work it and keep it” means to continue God’s work and to guard the Garden (Genesis 2:15).
In Genesis 2:7-8 and 2:15, God gives Adam the pattern to form, fill, and illuminate the world as they become fruitful and multiply. The pattern follows what God did from day 1 onwards when He formed, filled, and illuminated the earth.
God created man as male and female, distinct counterparts, that are to be one flesh, a unity (Genesis 2:23). Male and female is another separated pair to be united in marriage.
God blessed the man, commanding them “to be fruitful and multiply,” and gave the creation to Adam and Eve to rule over.
In Genesis 1:29, God spoke to Adam and Eve, giving them all the fruit trees for food. This included the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Thus, we know that the ban on eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was temporary. God would have let Adam and Eve have the fruit when they were mature enough.
Humans and animals were eating plant-based diets before Noah’s flood.
God saw that everything He had made was very good.
The sixth day consists of evening and morning and goes from the evening to the morning.
Day 7: The Sabbath
Genesis 2:1-3
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
On day 7, God had finished the creation and rested from His work.
Rest in the Bible is associated with enthronement. God is enthroned as the sovereign over the creation. God delegates his dominion to Adam and Eve to continue to complete the creation.
The seventh day is the only day God blessed and made holy.
The Bible doesn’t mention that there were evening and morning on the seventh day. According to Exodus 20:8-11, the seventh day was a normal 24-hour day, with evening and morning as the previous six days before it.
Summary of the 7 days of creation
God finished the creation in six ordinary 24-hour days and rested on the seventh day. The Creation Week pattern is one of the core themes of the Bible.
God could have created everything ready on day 1, but He chose to do it in seven days. So, we know that each day and God’s acts during the days have a meaning. We have to study what the meanings are.
The Bible often repeats the creation story as a literary device. When you study how the seven days of creation are used elsewhere in the Bible, you can go beyond mere historical facts about the creation. You start to see the connection between the creation and the Tabernacle and how all this connects to Jesus.
Couple your creation week studies with Exodus Bible study, and you will start to see the Scriptures as a whole and not just on a proof text level.