7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
6 Dixit quoque Deus fiat firmamentum in medio aquarum et dividat aquas ab aquis
7 Et fecit Deus firmamentum divisitque aquas quae erant sub firmamento ab his quae erant super firmamentum et factum est ita
8 Vocavitque Deus firmamentum caelum et factum est vespere et mane dies secundus
Let's try and understand what is going on here. In the beginning God started by creating heaven and earth, then he created Light, all in one day. The Lord takes the second day to seperate the waters from below from the waters up above. As we continue to study we will understand what He is explaining.
As God creates, he always leaves His signature. For instance, he created Light, and as any creator we always leave a signature that lets other know who created it. The Bible is the Truth to everything that was created. I often times wonder if when we wake and the sun rises do we acknowledge God's work? The Light.
6. So starts the second day. God on the second day starts off by speaking. He says, let there be a firmament. Now we may ask ourselves, "What is a firmament?" This is where the beauties of Bible study comes in; researching, digging, and searching. Firmament comes from the latin word firmamentum which means "make firm." It's used to translate the original Hebrew word of the Holy Scriptures, pronounced raw-kee-ah, which meant a "great expanse." So now we have both roots of translation. It is now safe to say that firmament means "a great expanse," "make firm," or if you'd like to put both meanings together, "a great expanse which is made firm." Now we can move on the next portion of the verse. The verse describes dividing the waters from the waters. This verse in particuar seems to draw a lot of different interpretations, and let us remember that there is only one single Truth. May God provide it through me in this study. The significance of the waters is not really "making an expanse" between what we think are oceans and other oceans, which is what anyone would think at first reading this. It actually touches a greater purpose. A purpose and creative feature that we at the time the Chapter of Genesis was written would not have been able to comprehend unless the Lord told us, which He did. The Lord was speaking about dividing the "Heavens" described as "waters" in this verse. The Heavens are both the sky, and outer space. So the Lord was saying let the firmament divide the waters from waters (heavens from heavens), as you can see the sky with outer space.
7. After God spoke, he acted. It has seem that is the routine he takes. He speaks and then he acts. Why not be commited that way in our lives? Say "I'm going to take out the trash," and I do it. No ifs ands or buts. Just do it. "I'm going to see my family today," "I'm going to work hard," "I'm going to commit myself to this marriage," "I'm going to love my kids." And then do it. It is never a matter of feeling, it is a matter of commiting and acting. This line actually makes the division of the Heavens a little more clear. God divided the "waters" which were above the firmament and the "waters" which were below. What is also beautiful about this verse is that it ends, "and so it was so." So God speaks, he acts, and then as a form of evaluation it reaffirms what he did.
8. This is were the last two lines mix in and you can really understand what God's goal is in this creation. He calls the "firmament" Heaven. Heaven seperates the "Heavens." Bear with me, it might be a little difficult to understand. We see things in a human aspect, the only way we can see, but let's close our eys and see through our heart, soul, and mind, instead of our eyes. Picture the sky we have here on earth, and then picture outer space. Now, the "firmament" the divider of both is called Heaven. In between the sky and space is Heaven. This passage has a lot of substance we can all study. But nontheless, Heaven was created and just picture we will one day be there, if we accept Christ in our hearts, and picture that it is somewhere between space and the sky. It is there, let us not rely on our eyes, but our faith, mind, soul, and heart. And so ends the second day,
So these are the two days. The first day God created Light, an incomplete earth and heaven. The second day he formed and completed the heavens. As we can see, God takes his time, and we can also see his work is patient and very focused. Maybe we should all be dedicated, focused, patient, and hard working as He is? Determined and consistent. May God bless you all.
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