How foolish I was -- The Days of Genesis 1

It’s so hard to clear our minds of preconceptions!

I admit I’ve been pretty critical of friends who, although they love the Lord, have accepted ideas about early earth history that seem to me to be incompatible with a serious, straight reading of the Biblical text. It’s seemed apparent to me that they think too much of the supposed “facts” of science, assuming the current thinking of the majority of scientists to be “proven fact”. And if an idea is regarded as proven fact, it’s obvious that when it conflicts with our understanding of Scripture, it must be our understanding of Scripture or the Scripture itself that is wrong. That’s been very easy to see—in others.

Recently I found, though, that the same kind of presuppositions had invaded my own thinking, too. I didn’t throw out the plain teaching of Scripture in favor of some other view, but I did have an area I could not understand. It always seemed problematic to me. That point was, since God measured the days of creation as morning and evening from Day 1, and since He did not create the sun, moon and stars until Day 4, how could days be measured as day and evening from Day 1? I didn’t think it in a way to reject or deny Scripture; I was just trying to figure it out. I hoped no one would ever ask me that question because I felt I didn’t have a very good answer.
I know, God made light and darkness on Day 1. I had read someplace that now scientists know that light can exist apart from the sun. But I have to admit, it was pretty hard for me to envision light without the sun, because the light I know is that which is related to the sun in one way or another.

I thought of measuring time on earth in terms of the movement of our solar system. Without the sun, it was hard for me to envision any measurement of time.

Then recently I read an article by a scientist who opened up my mind on this issue in one single statement. He pointed out that what measures days, light and dark, morning and evening, is not the revolution of the earth around the sun, but rather the rotation of the earth on its axis. Like duh! I knew that. Yes, of course, I knew that, yet my thinking about time was so connected to the solar system that I couldn’t see what that meant. Every time I envisioned measurement of time, I pulled up in my imagination my preconceived idea—the earth as a part of the solar system. I knew the difference between the earth’s revolution around the sun (one earth year) and its rotation on its axis (one earth day). But the two were so connected in my mind, that the idea of day and night without the sun still seemed problematic, or at least, difficult to imagine. Days in my mind were connected to months and years and those were connected to the solar system.

The scientist went on to discuss the idea of sidereal time. I wondered at first if he made up some esoteric word, but no, it’s described on Wikipedia in the same way he described it. Sidereal time is the kind of time commonly used in astronomy, used to adjust the clocks that move telescopes to keep certain objects in sight. Unlike solar time, sidereal time ignores the position of the sun. In order to keep heavenly bodies in view in their telescopes, astronomers have to put the sun out of the picture. Amazing! A mind-blowing concept!

I could only laugh at myself. How foolish I had been! While criticizing others, I had made the very same mistake. I had found it hard to understand the Scriptures simply because my own preconceptions had blocked my view.

Well, I don’t pretend to have it all right, even yet. I can only say, “Lord, open my mind. Let me not be blinded by my own preconceived ideas. Open me increasingly to the truth of Your Word.”
This is very important to me, because by my teaching and training I am not only influencing my own family, although that certainly is important enough! God has called me to teach and train leaders for the youth of the vast African continent. I have to get the Scriptures right. It scares me to realize how easily I was influenced by my preconceptions on this point. Lord, help me! Guide me by Your Spirit so that I can overlook my own preconceptions just as astronomers overlook the position of the sun when they set the timing of their telescopes.