Three-Day Cycle of Creation

Genesis 1 describes the first six days of creation:

Day 1: Let there be light.
Day 2: Separation of waters (sky & sea).
Day 3: Emergence of land and life
Day 4: Sun, moon, and stars
Day 5: Birds and sea creatures
Day 6: Mankind and animals

Each of the first three days of creation lays the foundation for those things which are brought into existence three days later.

On Day 1, God's creation of light gave purpose to the things which were created three days later -- the sun, moon, and stars (sources of light). The separation of sky and sea on the second day provided a sanctuary for birds and sea creatures, which were created three days later (on the fifth day). Finally, the third day's creation of land offered a footing for mankind and animals, which were created on the sixth day.

The first events of creation were essential for the survival of those things created three days later. The sun, moon, and stars are without purpose apart from light. Birds cannot survive without the sky; fish cannot survive without the waters. Mankind and animals cannot survive apart from the land.

So why would God choose to pattern His creation on a three-day cycle? Why would He choose to bring forth organic life on the third day? Only God knows for sure, but one cannot help but think that this is a shadow of a greater creation that is to come through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. His sinless life established the possibility of His resurrection on the third day. And without this "new creation" established by the third-day resurrection, we are all utterly hopeless, much like a fish apart from the sea. We depend upon Christ's resurrection.

The Apostle Paul wrote, "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures ... If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men."

In other words, we are all hopeless unless Jesus has truly accomplished the first and most essential part of our new creation -- his death & resurrection. Only if Jesus is truly raised from the dead may we follow Him into eternal life. If our hope is grounded in truth, then we may share in the promise of the prophet Hosea, who declared, "After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence."

The resurrection is the Christian's only sure footing for life in the new creation. Commenting on Hosea 6:2, John Calvin wrote, "His resurrection is a mirror of our life; for we see in that how God is wont to deal with his own people: the Father did not restore life to Christ as soon as he was taken down from the cross; he was deposited in the sepulchre, and he lay there till the third day. When God, then, intends that we should languish for a time, let us know that we are thus represented in Christ our Head..."

Matthew Henry rightly explains, "As the Redeemer was raised from the grave, so will He revive the hearts and hopes of all that trust in him."