Introduction
This is the second of a series of articles that attempt to correlate the first two chapters of Genesis. The first article highlighted how the creation of man relates between the two, at minimum in relation to the first clause of Genesis 1:27 pointing to Genesis 2:7 (highlighted below in bold-italic):
27 And God prepareth the man in His image; in the image of God He prepared him, a male and a female He prepared them.
Genesis 1:27 YLT98
Genesis 1:27 YLT98
7 And Jehovah God formeth the man--dust from the ground, and breatheth into his nostrils breath of life, and the man becometh a living creature.
Genesis 2:7 YLT98
Genesis 2:7 YLT98
This article will attempt to highlight how the first 2 days of creation of Genesis 1 are similarly present in chapter 2 and that they directly correlate to each other.
Chapter 1, First Two Days of Creation
The first day of creation is described in Genesis 1:2-5. In it, God creates light.
The second day of creation sees the creation of heaven in Genesis 1:6-8.
Chapter 2, First Verses
In chapter two, there's no explicit mention of either light or heaven having been created. The chapter opens with verses about Shabbat/Sabbath, day of rest, described in Genesis 2:1-3:
1 And the heavens and the earth are completed, and all their host;
2 and God completeth by the seventh day His work which He hath made, and ceaseth by the seventh day from all His work which He hath made.
3 And God blesseth the seventh day, and sanctifieth it, for in it He hath ceased from all His work which God had prepared for making.
Correlating Days 1 & 2
It is this author's convention that the first six days of creation describe God's work week, a template for how things are created, and ultimately viewed as very good. Further, the second week highlights how chapter 2 maps directly to chapter 1, providing clear guidance from God to man about how man is to be: created in the image of God and likeness, tending to God's creation.
Chapter one opens with the first two days seeing the creation of light and heaven. Chapter two opens with the Sabbath, then immediately jumps to the beginning of a day in which Earth and Seas are present, a clear correlation to Day 3 of chapter one.
For the creation sequence to map one-to-one, Genesis 2 has to therefore open with light and heaven.
Genesis 2: Creating Light and Heaven
The opening of the Sabbath; the lighting of candles, is the weekly act that maps Genesis 2 to the creation of light of Genesis 1. The first day of creation thus maps to the start of Sabbath.
The Sabbath continues as a reflection of heaven on earth, filled with the light of life. While the opening of the Sabbath creates light, the entire day is, like heaven, blessed and sanctified by God when man (male and female) lives in the image and likeness of God. The Sabbath is a day of family, feast, community, and study of God's word without worry of work, because all the work has been done.
For man, there is no other way to create heaven on earth outside of following God's word. By lighting candles and honoring the Sabbath, man weekly creates light and heaven on earth. In this way, the Sabbath of Genesis chapter 2 maps directly to the first two days of creation in Genesis chapter 1.
