The third day’s work is remarkable. It embraces the 9th to the 13th verses inclusive. “And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place and let dry land appear.” Was God ignorant of the existence of more oceans than one? of the numerous seas and lakes? or was this creation a local affair near the Gulf of Persia?
There is a singular phraseology used: the first day’s work is not qualified; the second day, “It was so;” on the third day, “It was so, it was good.” Thus, it seems, God did not discover the quality of his work until the third day, when he has it twice—“It was so,” as if in surprise, and then that “it was good,” as if he lacked self-reliance, or was uncertain how the work would turn out.
Verse 11: “And let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind,” etc.
It is a pertinent question, or questions:
(1) On what part of the globe were these planted?
(2) In what season of the year were they planted?
(3) Did these thrive and flourish in the absence of sunlight? and
(4) In what kind of soil and in what locality? Were these trees, grass, herbs, planted at the North Pole, equator, in a subtropical or in a mild climate? Was it winter, spring, summer, or autumn? Was it sandy soil, as in the deserts of Arabia, or hill, valley, or mountain? Or was it really somewhere in Chaldea where the story originated?
Remember, we have no sun yet.
Verse 13: “And the evening and the morning were the third day.” God takes his rest during the night, like any other toiler on the surface of this terrestrial globe. He did not believe in working after proper hours. No doubt he started with sunrise and stopped at sunset, as shepherds and agriculturists usually do. And God simply suspended the natural operations and went to bed. I don’t blame him. He was tired.