And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day. (Genesis 1: 14-19)
The earth is now complete, and adorned with vegetation from head to foot, pole to pole. God now turns his attention to building a home for the earth.
He begins with the sun and the moon, created to govern the earth. The language here is accurate. Just as a government controls its people, setting boundaries and creating laws, so the sun and the moon govern the earth.
The sun provides the perfect light. It is not too intense, nor too dim, allowing life to thrive. It also controls the temperature of our planet, fluctuating very little over the millennia.
The gravity of the moon affects the earth’s oceans, pulling water towards it and causing our ocean tides. This pull also has a stabilizing effect on our planet, keeping it from wobbling too much, and tilted at a precise, 23.4-degree angle from the sun. (https://www.iop.org/explore-physics/moon/how-does-moon-affect-earth)
God also created the sun and the moon to serve as signs to mark the sacred times, days, and years. Before the sun was created, a year did not exist. There was no such thing as a century or a decade. These durations of time are marked by the sun as the Earth travels around it. In the same way, there was no 24-hour day, nor hours, minutes, or seconds. These are measured by the length of time it takes the earth to complete one rotation, which is controlled by the gravitational pull of the sun and the moon.
I find it comforting that the sun and the moon also mark the sacred times. Even before God created man, He set aside sacred times for man and God to fellowship together.
This is also the day God created the universe. Man’s knowledge of the universe has increased dramatically over the last hundred years, and we now have a pretty good idea of how it came into existence. The dominant theory is the Big Bang theory, and though there are problems with the theory, it provides a basic framework for how the universe originated.
However, there are two major difficulties with this theory: the singularity, and population-three stars. I believe that one of the reasons the Creation Story was written was to help science overcome these difficulties.
The singularity is the idea that all the matter in the universe was at one time compressed into a tiny dot. This dot is what exploded and eventually became the universe. Of course, this is impossible. The problem is that there is no other explanation for the origin of matter.
The other difficulty is the theoretical population-three stars. There is a lot of water (oxygen and hydrogen) in the universe, and also an early influx of oxygen. These hypothetical stars are needed to produce this oxygen. Although none of these population-three stars have ever been found, and there is no evidence they ever existed, they are the only solution to this difficult problem that science can muster.
However, if the deep was the source of all matter, this eliminates these two difficulties. The explosion of the Big Bang would have occurred in the deep, breaking down the water of the deep (instead of the singularity) into protons, neutrons, and subatomic particles, and providing an unlimited supply of matter for the universe.
Science tells us that this period lasted for 380,000 years. During this time, more and more matter would have been added to the universe as it expanded through the deep.
After this 380,000 years, science tells us that the universe cooled enough for elements to form. The protons and neutrons naturally formed into hydrogen and helium. It was around this time that there was a huge influx of oxygen, which would be expected as the heat from the Big Bang was no longer intense enough to break down the water of the deep into protons, neutrons, and subatomic particles, but oxygen and hydrogen.
I do not believe incorporating the deep into the Big Bang would substantially alter any aspect of it. It would simply do away with the parts of the theory that are scientifically impossible or for which there is no evidence.
The last thing God does on this day is to assemble his Creation. He sets the moon around the earth and the earth around the sun, and the sun in the universe. When everything is in just the right place, He turns it on, and the dance begins.
The earth is now ready to be filled.