SKY, SEA AND LAND
Job 37:18 Can you spread out the gigantic mirror of the skies as he does?
THE SKY
Do you look up at the sky? What do you see? Do you ever think the sky is like a mirror? Job, a man of faith in God, said, ‘Can you spread out the gigantic mirror of the skies as he does?’ When Job looked up at the sky he saw a gigantic mirror that God had created. I wonder why he called the sky a mirror? Was it because the sky looks different every day as if it is like a mirror reflecting the clouds and the colours of the rainbow?
THE DOME
Only God could make a sky. Only God could make a sky that is like a gigantic mirror. When God made the sky he wanted to make a space between heaven and earth, a space to put the sun, the moon and the stars. But since everything was just a watery mass, this is what God said, ‘Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters. So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.’
If you live in a town or city you may not notice that the sky is like a dome. That is because you don’t see all of it because of buildings and skyscrapers. But if you went out to sea in a boat far away from land, towns and cities, you would see the dome clearly because the sky ends like the rim of a dome or a bowl on the horizon. Whether you look north, south, east or west you will only be able to see as far as the horizon and that is where the rim of the dome ends.
THE EARTHS ATMOSPHERE
The earth’s atmosphere extends from the ground to the sky for about fifty miles. When God separated the watery mass to form the sky he made the air which we breath. Did you know that water contains oxygen which we breath in order to live? The oxygen is released from water by light and radiation and also from trees and plants. So before any life could begin on earth there had to be oxygen in the atmosphere and a gas called nitrogen. The atmosphere contains about 21% of oxygen and 78% of nitrogen which is also needed by living things.
THE PREPARATION FOR LIFE
Even at this early stage, the second stage of creating the earth, God was creating those conditions necessary for life. He formed the atmosphere around the earth and prevented it from escaping with a force called gravity. You will be hearing a lot about gravity when you go to school and even now you know a lot about gravity although you may not know what the word gravity means. You may have noticed that what goes up must come down. If you throw a ball up it will come down. Gravity is what makes the ball fall down.
LAND AND SEA
At this stage God made dry land appear. The earth had a sky and an atmosphere. Now God said, ‘Let the waters under the sky be gathered into one place and let the dry land appear and it was so’ (Genesis 1:9) So God gathered the waters together to make room for land. And God set the boundaries of the seas so that the land would not be flooded by the waters. Now, after doing this God called the waters, ‘sea’ and the dry land, ‘earth’ and God saw that it was good.
God made everything good, perfect and everlasting.
The earth now had dry land. It was ready to grow grass seeds, and all kinds of seeds that become plants and trees. This was the third stage of God’s creation. But now a big change occurred. It was a momentous change that placed the earth in the centre and purpose of everything else. We will see why in the next lesson on God’s creation.
THE SKY
Do you look up at the sky? What do you see? Do you ever think the sky is like a mirror? Job, a man of faith in God, said, ‘Can you spread out the gigantic mirror of the skies as he does?’ When Job looked up at the sky he saw a gigantic mirror that God had created. I wonder why he called the sky a mirror? Was it because the sky looks different every day as if it is like a mirror reflecting the clouds and the colours of the rainbow?
THE DOME
Only God could make a sky. Only God could make a sky that is like a gigantic mirror. When God made the sky he wanted to make a space between heaven and earth, a space to put the sun, the moon and the stars. But since everything was just a watery mass, this is what God said, ‘Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters. So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.’
If you live in a town or city you may not notice that the sky is like a dome. That is because you don’t see all of it because of buildings and skyscrapers. But if you went out to sea in a boat far away from land, towns and cities, you would see the dome clearly because the sky ends like the rim of a dome or a bowl on the horizon. Whether you look north, south, east or west you will only be able to see as far as the horizon and that is where the rim of the dome ends.
THE EARTHS ATMOSPHERE
The earth’s atmosphere extends from the ground to the sky for about fifty miles. When God separated the watery mass to form the sky he made the air which we breath. Did you know that water contains oxygen which we breath in order to live? The oxygen is released from water by light and radiation and also from trees and plants. So before any life could begin on earth there had to be oxygen in the atmosphere and a gas called nitrogen. The atmosphere contains about 21% of oxygen and 78% of nitrogen which is also needed by living things.
THE PREPARATION FOR LIFE
Even at this early stage, the second stage of creating the earth, God was creating those conditions necessary for life. He formed the atmosphere around the earth and prevented it from escaping with a force called gravity. You will be hearing a lot about gravity when you go to school and even now you know a lot about gravity although you may not know what the word gravity means. You may have noticed that what goes up must come down. If you throw a ball up it will come down. Gravity is what makes the ball fall down.
LAND AND SEA
At this stage God made dry land appear. The earth had a sky and an atmosphere. Now God said, ‘Let the waters under the sky be gathered into one place and let the dry land appear and it was so’ (Genesis 1:9) So God gathered the waters together to make room for land. And God set the boundaries of the seas so that the land would not be flooded by the waters. Now, after doing this God called the waters, ‘sea’ and the dry land, ‘earth’ and God saw that it was good.
God made everything good, perfect and everlasting.
The earth now had dry land. It was ready to grow grass seeds, and all kinds of seeds that become plants and trees. This was the third stage of God’s creation. But now a big change occurred. It was a momentous change that placed the earth in the centre and purpose of everything else. We will see why in the next lesson on God’s creation.