Crystal Writes A Blog

Creation Days 4 and 5

Today I’ve read Genesis 1:14-23. I’m stopping at the Ashkenazi portions (the “A” in the “A” and “S” I mentioned yesterday), so some are very short, but later some may get very long.

The more I read and study, the more I see how many ways there are to do it. For a Torah reading calendar, I like the site “Hebcal” which also includes a holiday calendar, Shabbat (Sabbath) candle-lighting times per zip code, and more. Importantly, it also includes a Torah reading schedule that is divided by reader (or day if you choose to do like I am doing), and it has links to commentaries on the topics. When you go to the schedule, simply click on the portion next to the date where you are looking, and you’ll find the divided portion and links to actually read the Scriptures and commentaries. For example, you’ll see for September 28, 2013, that the portion is “Bereshit” (Beginnings) and is Genesis 1:1 through 6:8. You will notice, however, that the divided portions are based on the Sephardic (S) divisions, so if you follow that, it will be slightly different from the commentary I make here. Of course, if you just read the entire portion, those differences won’t affect your reading plan. I could do that and only comment once per week, but I’m trying to make myself write more often, so I’ll push on.

So, the first thing I noticed when I visited Hebcal for today (that is, the day which began at sunset on Saturday and ended at Sunset on Sunday so I visited during the daylight period), was that it listed the portion for the next Shabbat which begins Friday at sundown. I thought to myself, “Wait, am I supposed to be reading the text through the week and ending on Shabbat because it is the 7th day or end of the week?” If so, that would mean I am a week behind. But, if I continue the direction I’m going, I begin my portion on Shabbat (September 28th for Genesis 1:1) and extend it through the week into the seven daily readings, and I’ll finish before the next portion begins. Hmm? What to do.

Well, since I periodically visit a Messianic fellowship called Adat Hatikvah (or Congregation of The Hope) on Saturdays, I don’t think I want to read the portions ahead of the services, so it looks like extending the reading through the week following the given Shabbat portions will work best for me. Yesterday morning, they read Genesis 1 in the service and talked about beginnings. Yep, this feels right for me. But for the rest of you, whatever it takes to get into the Word of God and apply it to your life, please do it. I welcome you to travel on my journey with me, and I’ll keep giving you links to–hopefully–make it easier, but I don’t proclaim to know specific and perfect answers for anyone–including myself. 🙂

And that brings me to this day’s topic; creation of the sun, moon, and stars (day four), and birds and fish (day five). The first thing I noticed in this reading was that the greater and lesser lights were given first for signs, seasons, and years, and then for light. Maybe this is because God had already spoken light, or maybe it’s because we should be paying much more attention to signs, seasons, and years than we do.

I could do a word study to determine if there’s a difference between the light from day one that God called “Day” and the light on day four that He used to light up both the days and nights. Maybe that will be next year’s commentary if The Lord delays His return. But, if I were to guess, I would imagine that the light He spoke into existence on the first day was more about telling the earth who He is and that He is in control. It was sort of like He was saying, “Earth, receive Me–Creator, Wisdom, Life-Giver.” He was giving Earth her first “lightbulb moment” (that one just “dawned” on me–pun intended) of understanding, so she would yield to His words of creation. And maybe that is why He called the light “good” but did not say the same thing about the darkness. Of course, that’s more of a commentary on yesterday’s reading, so I’ll go on.

So we have lights in the dome of the sky that divide the day from the night. The greater light governs the day and is the power generator. The lesser lights govern the night, and the main one (the moon) does not generate its own power. That says to me that if we reflect the power of God, we can light up any darkness. It is not our power or our own light. It is His. And like a full moon, we can bring so much more of His light when we are filled with Him instead of with ourselves. I like that. When I decrease, He will increase.

And on day five, all that light, and the oxygen created from the seed-bearing plants and trees from day three, needed to be occupied. So God created fish and fowl in the same way He created plants and trees–with the ability to reproduce. He commanded fruitfulness and multiplication because He knows that what He creates is good (every good gift and every perfect gift is from above), and He wants to see more of it. May whatever He creates in me also be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth that His kingdom may increase and fill the earth as well. Amen.

September 29, 2013 - Posted by Crystal A Murray (aka CrystalWriter) | Bible Study, Nonfiction, Torah Commentary | Beginning, Bible, Bible study, birds, Complete Jewish Bible, Creation, crystalwriter, Earth, fish, fowl, Genesis, Genesis 1, greater light, Hebcal, lesser lights, light, moon, Scripture, seas, seasons, signs, stars, sun, times, Torah, Torah commentary, Torah Portions, Torah Reading, Word, Word of God, Word of the Lord, Yahveh, Yahweh, years