Genesis 1:1-3, The Sun to Govern the Day, part I of II

And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.  God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 

//Readers of the first chapter in our Bible have long noted that the six days of creation seem to repeat:

Day one, when the earth and sky are first created, God makes light and separates it from darkness. 

Day two, God divides the waters below (the seas) from the waters above (water above the sky, waiting to fall as rain).

Day three, God creates land.

So the fundamentals are complete. Now God fills in the details with life (imagine the lights in the sky as alive, for so they were understood by many):

Day four, God makes life in the sky: the sun, moon, and stars.

Day five, God makes life in the water.

Day six, God makes life on land.

What's most confusing is this business of dividing light from darkness. On the very first day, the "Spirit of God" is hovering over the waters, and he decides to create light. This, before there are sun and moon and stars! God separates the light from the dark and names them:

God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day.

So God makes day and night, before the sun ever exists. How can this be? More tomorrow...