There are few subjects more important for younger Christian men and women to seek to master than the debate between creation vs. evolution. Our faith will certainly come under attack. We must stand humbly but confidently on the foundation of God's Word as we seek to understand the issues and work through some of the very difficult questions that arise. This first post deals with the evidence for a literal six-day creation.

In Gen. 1:5 we have the first use of the word day. The Hebrew word is yom. The word yom appears 2,304 times in the Old Testament and is the 5th most common noun. The majority of times that it is used is in reference to a normal day-night cycle. It can though at times be used to represent an extended period of time, but that is not its most common usage. How can we tell when it is not referring to a literal day? The context of the passage would indicate otherwise. When day is used to refer to something other than a 24-hour day it is always used with special linguistic and contextual connections. When these are absent as in Genesis 1, the normal meaning is always assumed. And we know this just from our own communication. When we ask other people, “How are you doing today?”, we are generally not asking them for their entire life story. The meaning is determined by the context, which in the case of Genesis 1 is quite obvious and clear.

Berkhof writes: ”In its primary meaning the word yom denotes a natural day; and it is a good rule in exegesis, not to depart from the primary meaning unless this is required by the context.”[1]

Secondly, the word “day” is given additional qualification by the attachment of the phrase evening and morning. In Genesis 1, it is interesting to note the order evening and morning and not morning and evening as we would normally express it. The expression implies that the God’s work transpired in the daylight part of the day ending in the evening. The combination of evening and morning occurs 37 times in the Old Testament and are always used in conjunction with a normal 24 hour day.

Exodus 18:13 – And so it was on the next day , that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening.

Exodus 27:21 – In the tabernacle of the congregation without the veil, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD.

Third, each day in Genesis 1 is given a number. When a number is used, it is always a reference to a literal day. There are passages in scripture referring to creation that do not use a time scale but just refer to the fact that God created. For example, in Isaiah 42:5 we read “Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he the spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it.” However, in Gen. 1, God chose to number the days giving them the clear context of a 24 hour day. Gentry quotes Hasel: “When the word yom is employed together with a numeral, in refers in the Old Testament invariably to a literal day of 24 hours.”

Fourth evidence. Please note Gen. 1:14-19. Now some have questioned how can you have a 24 hour day when the sun is not even created until day four. However, the same terminology is used before and after the sun is created to regulate the normal day and night pattern. We know that days 4-6 must be regulated by the sun, but the day-night pattern was established before the sun was even created. The sun simply fulfills the intention that God had already created. Even before the sun was created, God had already established the day-night cycle. Note verses 3-5 again.

The fifth evidence comes from the fact that man’s work week is specifically patterned after God’s work week. God worked six days and then rested, as man is accordingly to also do. Our work week is not just an analogy. The fourth commandment is quite clear. It ends by saying “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore, the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.”

Please turn to Gen. 2:1-3. The text does not use the normal evening and morning expression here to describe it. Some have tried to then claim that this indicates it is not a 24 hour day and so the other days of creation are then not 24 hour days. This is the argument that Hugh Ross, a popular progressive creationist, uses. This argument is quite ludicrous. First, nowhere in the text does it say that God continues to rest. Secondly, it also says that God blessed that day. If the rest somehow continues, then the associated blessing also the continues. However, we know that sin has now entered the world and along with that a curse has come. Third, the seventh day follows six normal days, and there is no indication why it should be any different, especially since our week is patterned after God’s week. In John 5 we read that Jesus healed a man on the sabbath. Jesus responded by saying, “My father worketh hitherto, and I work.”

The sixth evidence is derived from the fact that every time the plural expression for day is used, “yammim”, it is always used in the context on normal 24 hour days. This is the word used in Exodus 20:11 – For in six days the Lord made the heaven and earth.

Seventh, Moses could have chosen to use another word if God implied an extended period for creation. The word “olam” could have been used to represent an extended period of time or an era. Normally the world is used to mean forever, but there are cases when the implied meaning is just an extended period of time. The Israelites were told in Ex. 12:24, that they were to keep the Passover forever. However, Christ instituted the new sacrament of the Lord’s Supper indicating that the Passover was not an eternal ceremony.

I would like to comment on one other objection raised by those who deny the literal six-day creation. Please note Gen. 2:18-23. Here we have the account of some of the details which occurred on the sixth day. Some have said that the events transpiring on this day would imply that it was not simply a 24-hour day. One progressive creationist argues that it would have taken weeks’, months’ or even years’ worth of activities for Adam to fulfill the task that God required of Him.[2] However, as we have noted the sixth day account in Genesis 1 is bounded by the same parameters as the other days. It also bears mention that Adam was not told to name all the animals but a specific category of animals. The text specifically states the beasts of the field (not beasts of the earth), cattle, and fowl of the air. How many animals to this leave for Adam? Well, we have no real way of knowing. Henry Morris makes an estimate of 3,000 animals which Adam could have name in several hours.[3] While we of course don’t know all the details, there is no reason to believe that the sixth day is unlike the other days.