On Day 3 of creation, Yahweh commands the waters below heaven to be gathered in one place so that dry land can appear (Genesis 1:10). The sequence is repeated in the new creation after the flood:After the flood covers the earth, the seas again gather to a single place and dry land appears.
More: The sea is Gentile, the earth Israel. Day 3 is a type of the coming gathering of the Gentile sea into one place, an act necessary for the dry land of Israel to appear. That happens in the chapters after the flood: Nations congeal at one place, at Babel, and a dry land known as Abram emerges to view.
On Day 3, Yahweh commanded the emerging ground to bear fruit. So too with Abram. As soon as He is called from Haran, Yahweh promises that he will be a great nation (Genesis 12:1-3) and when He gives Abram the covenant of circumcision He promises to make the dry and dusty ground of Abram produce seed (Genesis 17:6).
In short: Creation is an allegory of Israel’s history.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
Lift My Chin, Lord
Lift my chin, Lord,Say to me,“You are not whoYou feared to be,Not Hecate, quite,With howling sound,Torch held…
Letters
Two delightful essays in the March issue, by Nikolas Prassas (“Large Language Poetry,” March 2025) and Gary…
Spring Twilight After Penance
Let’s say you’ve just comeFrom confession. Late sunPours through the budding treesThat mark the brown creek washing Itself…
