October 17 | Bible in a Year: Isaiah 50–52; 1 Thessalonians 5

God Spoke

God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. Genesis 1:3

Genesis 1:3

READ Genesis 1:1–4

In 1876, inventor Alexander Graham Bell spoke the very first words on a telephone. He called his assistant, Thomas Watson, saying, “Watson, come here. I want to see you.” Crackly and indistinct, but intelligible, Watson heard what Bell had said. The first words spoken by Bell over a phone line proved that a new day for human communication had dawned.

Establishing the dawn of the first day into the “formless and empty” earth (Genesis 1:2), God spoke His first words recorded in Scripture: “Let there be light” (v. 3). These words were filled with creative power. He spoke, and what He declared came into existence (Psalm 33:6, 9). God said, “let there be light” and so it was. His words produced immediate victory as darkness and chaos gave way to the brilliance of light and order. Light was God’s answer to the dominance of darkness. And when He had created the light, He saw that it “was good” ( Genesis 1:4).

God’s first words continue to be powerful in the lives of believers in Jesus. With the dawning of each new day, it’s as if God is restating His spoken words in our lives. When darkness—literally and metaphorically—gives way to the brilliance of His light, may we praise Him and acknowledge that He’s called out to us and truly sees us.

By Marvin Williams

When dawn breaks through the darkness, how will you celebrate God’s love and faithfulness? How has God’s light opened your eyes to see Him?

Creator of Light, I praise You for dispelling the darkness of this world—opening my eyes to You and Your presence in my life.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

Genesis means “origin.” Jewish scholars used this Greek title in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament. The Hebrew title Bereshith is taken from the first word in the Hebrew text: “In the beginning (bereshith)” (Genesis 1:1). Bereshith simply means “beginnings” or “what is first.” Genesis, the book of many “firsts,” tells of the primeval history of the world in general (chs. 1–11) and the patriarchal history of the people of Israel in particular (chs. 12–50). While not in any agreement concerning the specific dates for the primeval history, scholars suggest that Abraham (ch. 12) moved to Canaan some two thousand years before Christ. Genesis is God’s account of the beginnings of the universe, the human race, and sin. It provides the background for His plan to save humanity through one family (3:15), the descendants of Abraham (12:1–2).