This day commemorates the second day of Creation. As in our previous installment, there is no way to know for certain if this is accurate or not, but assuming it is, let’s look at what happened on the second day of creation:
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 which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day. (Genesis 1:6-8)
The Hebrew root word that is translated “divided” is בדל badal, which also conveys the idea of “distinguishing.” So on this day, as in the previous day, the Creator distinguished certain components of His creation from others that were to be mutually exclusive. On day one, He divided light from darkness; the light was assigned to the day and the darkness was assigned to the night. On this second day of creation, He divided the waters above the firmament from the waters below the firmament.
Because these waters were separated, obviously, the firmament was to prevent them from being mixed with one another in the future. If they continued to be separated, as He intended, the waters above and below would serve their specific purpose. This principle of dividing for the sake of purpose recurs throughout the Scripture. Later on, God would distinguish those things that are considered holy and clean, from those things that are considered profane and unclean. To mix these polar opposites together would be indicative of disobedience which would eventually lead to corruption.
According to Genesis 7, when the windows of heaven were opened and the Flood engulfed the earth, the Bible seems to be hinting that the waters that had been separated by the firmament were, once again, mingled together. In other words, if the waters above and below had been separated in order that there might be life, to mingle these two together again would bring about the destruction of life, and that was due to mankind’s gross disobedience. Man’s disobedience in that day can be summarized as a willingness to mix that which was considered clean with things that were regarded as unclean.
This is important for us to consider, today, because Messiah said that the days of His coming would be like the days of Noah, when “men were eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage.” Reading between the lines, what He is suggesting is that, in the days prior to His return, mankind will be mixing and mingling righteousness and holiness with profanity and every unclean thing.
That God separated the waters above from the waters below is to remind us, once again, that there are things He intended to be set apart from others. Namely, He determined, from the beginning, that His people are to be a set apart and holy people. We are to be divided out — set apart — from the nations in order that we might be a light to the nations. With every passing day, it becomes ever clearer how important it is that we continue as a set apart people, serving the Almighty exclusively. We must be steadfast in our commitment to walk in His ways and follow His instructions. We must never fall into the trap of thinking it is appropriate to do what is right in our own eyes. We must be as Joshua who said, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
And so, as we remember that God established a firmament to separate the waters above from the waters below, we must continue to stand firm and live a life that is “set apart” from what comes natural in this world. Though modern culture cries for and demands coexistence — which is just another word for mixing the holy with the profane — we must continue to do what is holy and acceptable to the LORD in order that we may fulfill our purpose. May we, today and every day, sanctify His great name through our willingness to walk in obedience to Him.
Shalom.
Recent Comments