On the third day, God performed His first major act upon Earth by gathering all the waters together into seas and creating dry land.
God laid the groundwork for life’s arrival on days five and six by creating dry land from water and setting in motion the process of growing vegetation.
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Waters
On the third day, God laid the groundwork for what he would create on days five and six by separating waters to form dry land, gathering surface water into seas and gathering all surface waters into seas – thus setting up the planet to receive vegetation on day four.
This process could also have provided sufficient heat to make water liquid again, meaning that on days two and three, Earth no longer needed the sun as its primary source of illumination.
God first established an expanse, or firmament, on day one and divided all of the waters beneath and above it into separate regions he named “seas.” God made clear where each component belonged – drink from one and food from the other.
On day two, God created an atmosphere, or layer of gases that surrounds Earth, by gathering up all the waters to form dry land. On this same day He also called all these waters “seas.”
Land and seas are essential components of life; they provide sustenance such as drink and food to sustain us while giving us shelter to live in. Yet it is vitally important to remember that God owns both, creating them both and being their sole provider and controller.
On this third day, God also created fish and birds that fly through the air. He blessed sea animals to multiply, as well as every kind of bird in flight he could imagine – all which were good in His sight! Evening and morning came again on this third day: now there were all sorts of living things covering Earth; it was beautiful and amazing.
Land
As God had already separated light and day from darkness and night on the first two days, He did the same with water and land on the third. He ordered all the waters to condense into one location and created dry ground that became known as land or in Christian Standard Bible “earth”. Once He created and separated this new creation from its former surroundings, He allowed various kinds of vegetation to thrive upon it.
God made grass, flowers, trees and shrubs on the third day. He then instructed them to produce seeds and reproduce, leading to more vegetation being born into existence and producing more seeds – showing his perfect plan in creating this marvelous world that He called “good.” Everything from cacti to roses to oak trees to ferns bear witness to their Creator and reflect his glory!
Remind yourself that God owns everything on this Earth and everything within it, including its seas – which He utilized on a grander scale to deliver His people from Egypt and to provide protection during the Flood. Land allows life to exist while seas provide both drinking water and sustenance for eating.
On the fifth and sixth days, He also created winged birds and fish as food primarily for mankind and as life sources for other animals and plants. On the sixth day He created all land-dwelling animals which could later serve as pets or farm animals for humans.
Vegetation
God was busy on the third day, creating plant life – without which, the Earth would still have been an empty, lifeless mass void of any structure or life at this point. Yet this was just step one in creating animal and human life which would emerge on days five through six.
On the previous day, God created light (Genesis 1:3-5), breaking up the darkness and separating day from night. However, this light did not last throughout its lifespan: as soon as night fell it began fading until dawn rose again. On day 3, however, He used this temporary illumination to establish physical laws for permanent, sustainable life on our planet.
For this task, He commanded the waters to gather into seas. Furthermore, He created dry land – this was much more significant than His previous act of creating an expanse that only separated one large body of water into several smaller bodies with distinct coastlines; with this new arrangement plants could begin growing on land!
God then beautified the dry land with vegetation, including grasses, herbs, flowers, vegetables and trees that would provide food for both humans and the animals created on days five and six (Genesis 1:26). Furthermore, they would help prevent soil erosion due to weather conditions like rain and wind by covering it up against potential erosion threats such as rain.
After creating all these things, He took a good hard look at His creation from the previous day and declared it good; He was pleased with its outcome and so prepared to move onto the next phase of His plan for creation.
Just like on Days 1-3, He continued the process of dividing water from land, creating dry land for agriculture. Next He spoke into existence life-giving plants such as evergreen trees and fields of field plants that continue to give life on this Earth while reminding us all of His great power and beauty.
Light
God gave life back into the Earth on Day Three of Creation Week by creating vegetation on land he had separated from seas on Day Two, along with creating the sun, moon, and stars – creating the light to divide day from night as part of setting a framework for future days ahead. But light alone wasn’t its end goal – God Himself is light (1 John 1:5) while His Word (Psalm 119:105) also serves as illumination.
On the third day, God brought forth grass for animals to graze on and flowers, trees, shrubs and all types of vegetation to cover the land. The abundance of vegetation on this day symbolized God’s love for His creation as well as its sustenance needs; additionally it provided oxygen, reduced climate change impacts, held onto nutrients for absorption by plants and more!
Some have speculated that the light that emerged on day three may have been likened to a pillar of fire, burning from one central point; however, Scripture doesn’t support this view. Other scholars such as Ephrem the Syrian (306-373 AD), an apologist and hymnographer from Syria, believed this initial light resembled either a bright mist or massive column of flame; Ephrem believed this light would later be transformed into sun, moon and stars on day 4.
Some have wondered why the sun wasn’t installed earlier, given that creation of the firmament and division of waters and land created the conditions necessary for its placement on day four of Creation Week. One reason is that creating the sun, moon, and stars required starting time on planet earth; no work could be measured without clock time! Therefore these celestial bodies were placed into place on Day Four as part of Creation Week.
