Helping Our Children Understand the Days of Creation in Genesis 1 - My "Aha" Moment!

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The other day, while reading an article in Creation Illustrated magazine, I experienced one of those “light bulb” moments. To give a little background, I’ve always believed that the Bible should be our starting point and final authority in every area of life. Because of that conviction, I hold that the days of creation were literal 24-hour days. Based on the genealogies in Genesis, I also believe the earth is approximately 6,000 years old—what many refer to as a “young-earth creationist” view.

I’ve never been persuaded by ideas such as the gap theory or the concept of millions of years. I have a strong interest in apologetics, understanding not just what I believe, but why I believe it—so that I can clearly and graciously help others understand the truth as well, including my children.

While researching for my book, Training Godly Warriors, I spent some time exploring these theories, including the gap theory, the day-age theory, and others (see above chart). More recently, I read Unformed and Unfilled by Weston W. Fields, which provides a thorough explanation of these various theories and shows how they do not align with what Scripture teaches.

We must always remember—and faithfully teach our children—that Scripture interprets Scripture. If there is ever any question about whether the creation days in Genesis were ordinary 24-hour days, Exodus 20 provides the definitive answer. In the Fourth Commandment (Exodus 20:8–11), God grounds the weekly Sabbath rest in His own pattern:

"For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy." -Exodus 20:11 (NLT)

This directly parallels the human workweek to the creation week, confirming the days of creation as literal 24-hour days. A simple understanding of the Hebrew word for day - yôm - also confirms this. Everywhere in Scripture where yôm is qualified with a number or ordinal (1st, 2nd, 3rd...) or "evening and morning", it refers to a 24-hour day.

The English word "day"—much like the Hebrew yôm in Genesis—changes meaning based on context, just as we experience in everyday speech today. When someone says, "Back in the day, before smartphones existed," we all understand they're referring to a broad era or extended period, not a single 24-hour day. But if I say, "On the first day of soccer camp, Johnny scored the winning goal," it's obvious I'm speaking of one ordinary, literal 24-hour day. In the same way, Genesis 1 repeatedly describes each creation "day" with the structure "there was evening and there was morning, marking the first (second, third, etc,) day" signaling ordinary 24-hour periods. Notice how God used TWO qualifiers ("evening and morning" and an ordinal) to ensure we wouldn't miss it! This point is made even clearer in Exodus 20:8–11, where God explicitly ties the human seven-day workweek (six days of labor followed by one of rest) to His own creation pattern of six literal days of work and one day of rest.

A few days ago, when I read the article in Creation Illustrated magazine¹ it brought everything into sharp focus for me. The author pointed out a clear pattern in Genesis 1 showing how God first formed the earth and then filled it.

On the first day of creation, God formed light when He said, “Let there be light.” He separated the light from the darkness, establishing day and night and, with them, the foundation of time. Some argue that the “evening and morning” of Days 1–3 could not have been literal 24-hour days because the sun and moon had not yet been created. However, evening and morning simply require a directional light source—which God created on Day 1—and a rotating earth.²

Then, three days after forming light and establishing day and night, God filled them by creating the sun, moon, and stars to govern the day and the night and to mark seasons, days, and years. The pattern of forming and then filling becomes both clear and beautifully consistent.

On Day 2, God formed the sky and the seas. Then, three days later on Day 5, He filled those spaces with birds to inhabit the sky and fish and other sea creatures to fill the waters. In the same way, on Day 3 God formed the dry land, and three days later—on Day 6—He filled the land with animals and human beings.

Note: I used AI to create the images and it had a hard time understanding what I wanted so a few things are inaccurate like a bird flying in the water and Adam and Eve wearing clothes.

I appreciate this beautiful three-day pattern of forming and filling. It highlights the intentional order in God’s work of creation. It is also meaningful that the number three in Scripture often signifies completeness, which makes this pattern even more striking.

As I reflected on this pattern, I had an “aha” moment when the Holy Spirit reminded me of the opening verses of Genesis 1—verses where some attempt to insert millions of years or the gap theory:

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters." - Genesis 1:1-2 (NLT)

Seeing the forming-and-filling pattern made these verses stand out in a fresh way. The description of the earth as “formless and empty” perfectly sets the stage for what follows—God first forming what was unformed and then filling what was empty.

"The earth was formless and empty,.." -Genesis 1:2a (NLT)

Formless—unformed. Empty—unfilled.

Unformed means there was no sky, no land, no mountains, hills, valleys, lakes, or rivers. Unfilled means there were no inhabitants—no people, animals, birds, or fish. (This distinction was especially clarified for me in Unformed and Unfilled.)

From there, the rest of the chapter unfolds in a beautifully ordered way. God first gives a summary statement: He created the heavens and the earth, and at that initial stage they were formless and empty. Then He explains how He addressed both conditions—forming what was unformed and filling what was empty.

It’s as though Genesis 1 begins with the big-picture overview of creation and then follows with the detailed account. In a sense, it reflects the “bottom line up front” approach to communication: the main point is stated first, and then the supporting details are laid out step by step.

We serve an awesome and magnificent Creator—one who is intentional, orderly, and precise in all He does. As Scripture reminds us,

"For God is not a God of disorder but of peace." -1 Corinthians 14:33 (NLT)

He did not merely speak a breathtaking universe into existence; He created it with purpose, structure, and thoughtful design. Seeing the beauty and order woven throughout creation deepens our sense of wonder and strengthens our faith. It inspires us to worship God all the more.

Truly, there is no one like our God!

As magnificent and incomprehensibly powerful as our God is, He still desires a personal relationship with each one of us. That truth alone is overwhelming.

In all the vast beauty of His creation, we are the ones He loves most. Though we are small in comparison to His greatness, and completely unworthy, He delights in us and even rejoices over us with singing. What an astonishing, humbling reality. It is truly beyond comprehension.

"For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs." –Zephaniah 3:17 (NLT)

His love for us is so immense that, even after we marred His perfect creation through sin, He did not abandon us to a hopeless fate. Instead of leaving us condemned, He sent His Son, Jesus, to die in our place and bear the penalty for our sins.

I especially love how this truth is expressed in Colossians 1:13–17:

“For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” -Colossians 1:13-17 (NLT)

What a powerful reminder that the very One who created all things is also the One who redeems and sustains us.

If you don’t know Jesus—or if you’d like to learn how to have a personal relationship with your Creator—visit NeedGod.com today to learn more.

Read more about how to equip your children with answers to grow their faith in my book, "Training Godly Warriors".

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Onward Christian Soldiers!

References:

1. Creation Illustrated Magazine, Winter 2026, Vol. 32, No. 4 article by Daniel Jeon entitled, “Creation Day 7: The Creation of Rest and Worship”, p.30-31.

2. Don Batten, David Catchpoole, Jonathan Sarfati, & Carl Wieland, The Creation Answers Book, (Creation Book Publishers, 2023), p. 43. https://usstore.creation.com/product/184-the-creation-answers-book