Did you know that our Milky Way galaxy, just one among millions in the universe, contains more than 100 billion stars? Or that our planet Earth is home to more than 8.7 million species of animals,¹ and 391,000 plant species?²

While it doesn’t give figures in such detail, this is what Genesis 1 attempts to convey: that the universe, with its glittering array of planets and stars, and the earth, with its millions of species of animals and plants, are all the work of the one God who “created the heavens and the earth” (v. 1).

Today’s passage (vv. 14–25) looks at how God used days 4 to 6 of creation to “fill” the spaces he had formed earlier on days 1 to 3. In these latter three days, He creates the “heavens” with the sun, moon, and stars (vv. 14–18), the sky with birds (v. 20), the sea with aquatic life (vv. 21–22), and the land with all kinds of animals (vv. 24–25).

The Bible tells us about God’s power in creating such an unfathomable universe. In addition, it addresses other concerns that played on the minds of so many of the first hearers of Genesis. They lived in a time when many believed that the celestial bodies, like the sun, moon, and stars, were actually gods that had great influence on the world—and so should be feared (see Psalm 121:5–6).

Isn’t it interesting, therefore, that Moses, the author of Genesis, refuses to even name the sun and the moon? Instead, he simply calls them the “greater light” and the “lesser light” (v. 16). The focus is kept on their intended purpose: to measure time and to give light on the earth (vv. 14–18). And how does he describe the stars? They too are mere “lights” that serve God’s purposes (vv. 14, 16).

In those times, people also feared uninhabitable environments like the sea, believing them to be chaotic spaces and home to hostile monsters and demons. One ancient Babylonian creation story even spoke of a dragon-like evil goddess who ruled the sea. But Genesis 1:20–22 declares that God is the maker of all aquatic life, including “the great creatures of the sea”, which He has called “good” and has blessed (vv. 21–22).

Finally, in verses 24–25, we learn that all land animals—domesticated or wild, large or small (including mice, reptiles, and insects!)—are God-made and God-approved. In a world that tends to value animals only in terms of their usefulness to humans, for food or as pets, the biblical account challenges us to accord to the entire animal kingdom the dignity and appreciation God’s creation deserves: “God saw that it was good” (v. 25).

¹ Richard Black, “Species count put at 8.7 million”, BBC News, August 23, 2011, https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-14616161.

² Rebecca Morelle, “Kew report makes new tally for number of world’s plants”, BBC News, May 10, 2016, https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-36230858.