神說:「天上要有光體,可以分晝夜,作記號,定節令、日子、年歲,並要發光在天空,普照在地上。」事就這樣成了。於是神造了兩個大光,大的管晝,小的管夜,又造眾星。就把這些光擺列在天空,普照在地上,管理晝夜,分別明暗。神看著是好的。有晚上、有早晨、是第四日。(創1:14-19)
And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, And let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. God made two great lights-the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning-the fourth day.
【第四日:晝夜分明】
第四日把「晝夜分開」(預備作息),好讓地上活物的生活起居有了「日出而作,日落而息」的分別。神在復原「地」之後,接著就在此時來復原「天」。於是造出太陽、月亮,星辰等發光體,來「管理晝夜,分別明暗」。這些發光體的「光源」都是來自神的「光」,若沒有神的「光」,它們只是「虛有其表」,全然沒有「生命」可言。希伯來原文此處的「造」(H6213) 不同於「創造」(H1254),「創造」是表明「無中生有」,「造」在此處是表明「除舊佈新」。
依人的「推理」可以得知,要有「日光」(sun)才可以定「日子」(day)。如此說來,那前三日是在「日光」尚未出現前,要如何定「日子」呢 ? 但依神的「啟示」可以得知,「日子」乃是神所定的,神說這是「頭一日」,就是「頭一日」。神說這是「第二日」,就是「第二日」。神說這是「第三日」,就是「第三日」,因為神說了算。由此可知,神不是用了六日來「光復」失地,神是利用六日的「次序」來表明祂行事的先後。誠如國人常說的那句話:「物有本末,事有終始,知所先後,則近道矣。」