It is so easy, as
@URAVIP2ME has mentioned, to read over words without consciously acknowledging what they say.
In creating the heavens and the Earth, God created everything in one almighty act of power......but we Earthlings have no way to know how it took place, or how long that creative act took in our counting of time. To an infinite God, time is not relevant.
Seeing as how other verses in the Bible complete the picture, it is apparent that the earth was at first an empty world completely covered by water and in total darkness. If God had already created all our sources of light, what was preventing the light from reaching the surface of the earth's surface? The answer is in Job, I believe...
Job 38:4-10....God asked Job....
"Where were you when I founded the earth?
Tell me, if you think you understand.
5 Who set its measurements, in case you know,
Or who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 Into what were its pedestals sunk,
Or who laid its cornerstone,
7 When the morning stars joyfully cried out together,
And all the sons of God began shouting in applause?
8 And who barricaded the sea behind doors
When it burst out from the womb,
9 When I clothed it with clouds
And wrapped it in thick gloom,
10 When I established my limit for it
And put its bars and doors in place."
Can we see why the light didn't penetrate the darkness until God somehow removed "the clouds and thick gloom" that prevented the light from striking the earth? Now that light was visible, it made night and day distinguishable through the rotation of the planet. But there was apparently still some impediment to land dwellers being able to see the stars and the sun and moon clearly. There was enough light for photosynthesis but more was to be revealed in its due time....not until day 4. So when God created the flying creatures of the heavens and the marine creatures that swarmed in the oceans, cycles that govern life on earth would have been well established.
God created Earth's atmosphere which would contain both oxygen and water so that it never escaped...and he provided the means to permanently recycle both......precipitation by evaporation of water into the clouds from the oceans, and dropping it as fresh water onto the dry land......and oxygen renewal by the trees taking in carbon dioxide and giving out oxygen....brilliant! No life can survive without either.
On the Earth God brought land masses together so that dry land came up out of the water. This in turn formed seas and oceans. Once the dry land was established, it was time to provide the means to feed a vast variety of creatures who would enjoy life here on this earth with humankind to follow.
How incredible is it? Everything that was needed to sustain life was in evidence before sentient life was created. Bacteria and vegetation were early forms of life, but not as the first humans were aware....we would learn about those things as we continued our journey of discovery on this unique planet. We are naturally curious about these things.....but look how long it took us to find out!
The whole of creation was here a "day" before humans arrived on the scene.....but the creative "days" could not have been 24 hour periods..... both science and the Bible make allowance for this. Science can prove that the earth is ancient, and that its creatures are not recent arrivals. And the Bible uses the word "day" (
yôm) in Genesis as meaning not only a period of 24 hours, but also as a word for a period of undetermined length.
Those creative periods could well have been millions of years long....long enough for dinosaurs to have lived and died to fulfill the purpose for which they were created.
Who could imagine this was all just the product of blind chance?
Just the earth itself.....its size, its shape, the speed of its rotation, and its distance from the sun....the mixture of gases that form our atmosphere.....all of these are very necessary things in their own right but they all come together with the placement of this planet in one particular galaxy, in one particular solar system, and on one particular planet among billions.
What a fascinating journey we have been granted. Life was not meant to be boring, but full of amazing things to explore and to to be thankful for....how sad for those who walk around with their eyes closed....
