Creation Days: The Third Day

“Let the earth put forth vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed..."

Genesis 1:11

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The third day of creation begins with God's third act of forming and dividing the creation; on the first day light is divided from darkness, on the second day water is divided from water by a firmament and on the third day the dry land is divided from water. As the third day of forming comes a close, the entirety of the earth is shaped, divided and named: day, night, sky, sea, and land. With this act, the glory environment is established; the stage on which God's goodness will be made known is complete.

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In addition to the creation of land, there is something else made on this day: plants. This addition may seem out of place as these plants are made even before the sun, but once again the particular language is meant to resonate prophetically to the life and work of Christ. While all plants are made this day, two specific kinds of vegetation are described: plants bearing seed and fruit tree bearing fruit. When Adam is made later in the creation week, these are given to him for food to eat; grain and fruit to sustain him and give him life. By these alone was man to live, the raw material of what would later comprise the Holy Eucharist. Psalm 104 reveals this, for as the psalmist walks through the creation week pattern, upon the third day he mentions the sacramental items by name: "Wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread to strengthen man's heart." These were made before the creation of the sun, basking only in Divine Light, holy and set above all creation this day.

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There is another prophecy in these words, for the plants themselves are not made in the form of the Holy Mystery, but raw and unformed. Whole grain must be ground to become bread and grapes must be pressed to become wine; they are crushed before they are glorified. Thus Christ suffered, the Bread of Life broken for our sake, His blood poured out for many, that on the third day He too may be glorified in resurection. And there was evening, and there was morning, the third day.

Part 5 of 12 of the Creation Days series