Contradiction in the days of Creation! Really?!

Introduction

In the article “The Apparent Contradiction in the Days of Creation“, I will explore a point that often goes unnoticed by readers of the Bible: the supposed contradiction between the light created on the first day and the luminaries (sun, moon, and stars) created on the fourth day. Many question how light could exist without the sun or stars. Throughout this text, I will analyze the context and passages of Genesis, revealing how a careful reading of the chapter can clarify this challenge. Step by step, we will understand what really happened during creation and how these issues connect with the divine plan.

The Problem: The Light, the Sun, and the Stars

The first chapter of the Bible, in the book of Genesis, presents a problem regarding what God created on the 1st and 4th days of Creation. Many readers do not notice this issue as they read. Others do recognize it but focus only on the problem, limiting themselves to criticizing Divine Inspiration and claiming that the Bible is merely a book written by people without any inspiration from God. They argue that there is a contradiction in the days of Creation. Such individuals remain confined to skepticism and criticism of the Bible.

The problem we will analyze is related to the “light” that God created on the 1st day of the week and the “luminaries” (sun, moon, and stars) created on the 4th day of Creation, as we can read in the verses summarized below:

Genesis 1:3-5 – “And God said, Let there be light; and there was light. … And God called the light Day; and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day“

Genesis 1:14-19 – “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven … And God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; and he made the stars. … And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day“

The issue with these verses is that the sun, moon, and stars, which provide light to illuminate our planet (with the exception of the moon, which only reflects the light of the sun but serves as a night lamp), were all created only on the 4th day of the week. However, the biblical account states that “light” was created on the 1st day, separating “day” and “night“. Therefore, if the luminaries were created only on the 4th day, what light was created on the 1st day of the week?

The Bible Critics

Faced with this question, many people criticize the Bible for being “contradictory“ and discredit its word and inspiration. In today’s study, we will analyze this issue. But first, I would like you to reflect on the following:

The passages we have just read are in the same chapter, separated by only a few verses. The same author wrote all of this, and the texts are in the same context! What is the probability that there is an actual contradiction? Certainly very low-if not practically zero!.

It is more understandable to have doubts and criticisms about biblical texts written by different authors at different times, given that the Bible was composed by approximately 40 authors over a span of 1,600 years. However, that is not the case here! We are dealing with content from the same chapter, written by the same author.

Unfortunately, many critics of the Bible do not pause to analyze or reflect on these details. Instead, they quickly discredit the Scriptures rather than seeking divine guidance to understand them correctly.

To truly grasp this issue, we need to read the entire chapter carefully and examine what God did on each day of creation. Below, I have separated the verses from Genesis 1, categorized by the corresponding days of creation. To keep it concise, I am presenting only the main content in a summarized format.

The Creation Story

Please continue reading, paying attention to the details of what each verse is presenting:

Introductory Verses:.

Genesis 1:1-2 – “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters“

1st Day:.

Genesis 1:3-5 – “And God said, Let there be light; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day; and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day“

2nd Day:.

Genesis 1:6-8 – “And God said, Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. And God called the expanse Heaven: and there was evening and there was morning, a day according to the“

3rd Day:.

Genesis 1:9-13 – “And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. … And there was evening and there was morning, the third day“

4th Day:.

Genesis 1:14-19 – “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night: and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: and he made the stars. … And there was evening, and there was morning, the fourth day“

5th Day:.

Genesis 1:20-23 – “And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the creeping thing that hath life; and let fowl fly above the face of the firmament of the heaven. … And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day“

6th Day:.

Genesis 1:24-31 – “And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. … And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness … and there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day“

7th Day:.

Genesis 2:1-3 – “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made“

Summary of the Days of Creation

After reading the above verses, we can summarize them as follows:

1st Day: Creation of light and separation from darkness (day and night).

2nd Day: Creation of the expanse (sky) to separate the waters.

3rd Day: Formation of land and separation of the seas; creation of vegetation (plants and trees).

4th Day: Creation of the luminaries–sun, moon, and stars-to give light and mark time.

5th Day: Creation of marine creatures (fish and other sea life) and birds to inhabit the skies.

6th Day: Creation of land animals (livestock, wild animals, and creeping things); creation of humankind in God’s image.

7th Day: God rested, blessed, and sanctified the Seventh Day.

Notice the Pattern in Creation

There is an apparent contradiction in the days of creation, but this is only for those who have not noticed the pattern that occurs in them. God established a pattern for what He did on each day of creation. A superficial or inattentive reading does not always make it possible to identify this pattern. With the exception of the 7th day of creation, the first 6 days can be grouped in two different ways, according to the work God carried out on each of them.

1st Group: 1st, 2nd and 3rd days.

2nd Group: 4th, 5th and 6th days.

The Two Groups

Notice that in the 1st group, God created the “space” (environment). In the 2nd group, He “filled” it with creation. The order of the days is also related to each other, as we can see below:

1st day and 4th day: On the 1st day, God created light, separating day and night. However, the “light” created was “shapeless“. There was nothing to fill it at that moment. It was only on the 4th day, with the creation of the luminaries, that the “light” took shape in the form of the sun, the moon, and the stars.

2nd day and 5th day: On the 2nd day, God created the “expanse“, separating the heavens and the waters. But there was nothing “filling” the space created. It was only on the 5th day that the filling took place when God created the reptiles to live in the waters and the birds to fly in the skies that had been separated by the “expanse” created on the 2nd day.

3rd day and 6th day: On the 3rd day, God created the earth and separated the seas. But there was nothing “filling” the earth He had created. Only on the 6th day did God fill the earth created on the 3rd day, when He made animals (cattle, reptiles, wild beasts, and man) to live on it.

Space and Padding

God presented this relationship of “space” and “filling” at the beginning of the chapter, within the introductory verses.

Genesis 1:1-2 – “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters“

We can create the following table to help us visualize this relationship:

When God created the heavens and the earth, it was “shapeless” and “empty“. In the first three days of creation, God focused on creating the “space” and the “environment“, and only in the next three days did He begin to “fill it“, because the “space” created was still “empty“. Therefore, everything that was created during the days of creation is based on the idea presented in the first two verses of the chapter. God first created “forms” (space and environment) for what was without “form“, and then “filled” what was “empty“.

Understanding the Problem

Understanding this pattern in creation makes it easier to resolve the apparent contradiction between the Light created on the 1st day and the luminaries created on the 4th day. The luminaries are simply the Light created on the 1st day, which was still “shapeless“. Only on the 4th day did God give form to the created Light, shaping it into the luminaries and making them the filling of the existing space.

With this in mind, we can see that there is no contradiction in the first chapter of Genesis. The idea of a contradiction within the same chapter, written by the same author, is highly unlikely. The issue lies in the interpretation given by the reader, which often lacks a more careful and detailed reading.

I would like to conclude this study with the following observation, which is slightly outside the main theme but is still present in the days of creation:

Creation Sabbath

God created the world in 6 days, but on the 7th day, He did 3 things: “rested“, “blessed“, and “sanctified” this day. He did these three things right at the beginning, before sin even existed in our world. The 7th day is a day “blessed” and “sanctified” by God since creation, making it a “holy” day. We must set aside this day according to the divine purpose and follow the Creator’s example. The Lord worked during the first 6 days of the week but left the 7th day as a day of rest for creation.

There were no Jews at that time-only Adam and Eve, two human beings without any cultural issues. Therefore, the sanctification of this day has no relation to the culture of a specific people, nor to a “law” given specifically to them. Its sanctification was given to all human beings, whoever they may be! Take advantage of this day to rest and enjoy the Lord’s blessings. Set this day aside to fulfill divine purposes, for it was sanctified since Creation!

Conclusion: Contradiction in the days of Creation! Really?!

After analyzing the creation account in Genesis, it becomes clear that the apparent contradiction between the light created on the first day and the luminaries created on the fourth day is the result of a superficial reading. The light mentioned on the first day is not the light generated by the luminaries but a primordial light that, during the course of creation, prepared the environment for the emergence of the sun, moon, and stars. The order of creation, with the separation of “space” and its subsequent “filling“, reveals a divine harmony that often goes unnoticed. Therefore, when we understand the pattern of creation, we see that there is no contradiction but rather a logical and intentional sequence that reflects the grandeur of God’s plan.

May God bless us!