Continuing our survey of the Creation Week, we come to day three. On day three of the Creation Week the Bible says God continued to bring structure into His world, for we read in Genesis 1:9 that God brought forth the dry land. Now dry land requires an underlying structure or foundations to be stable. The Bible has much to say about the foundations of the earth (see Note 4). Though Genesis chapter 1 does not mention this concept, the foundations of the earth are exactly what we study in geology.

The earth as described by geology has a certain structure. We live on the crust of the earth. Underneath the crust of the earth is the mantle. Underneath the mantle is the outer core of the earth, and then at the earth's center is the inner core. Although the Bible does not mention these aspects of the earth's structure in Genesis chapter 1, we know from geology that this is precisely what gives the dry land its stability. Here we see a good example of items we study in science, which while not expressly mentioned in Genesis 1, are embedded by implication in the Genesis account of creation. But why did God not mention all these aspects of the earth that we study in science today? To answer this question we must focus on the purposes of the Word of God.

We know that the Bible was written to communicate truth, especially spiritual truth. God the Great Communicator could not afford to clutter up His message of vital truth to us by using scientific jargon that would be in use today and possibly out of date tomorrow. God wrote the Bible in timeless language. It is language that never goes out of date, and although we have certain names and labels for parts of the earth's structure today, these very names and labels may be completely obsolete in future centuries. We see that, embedded within the timeless descriptions of the Bible, are the very facts and ideas we study in science today.

Also on day three of the Creation Week, God not only formed the dry land but also covered the dry land with plants. Genesis 1:12 says that the Creator spoke and various kinds of grasses, herbs, and fruit trees came forth (see note 5).

If we inspect any plant carefully, we see a significant fact, that no matter how deeply we look into it we see order and structure. The leaf of a plant, for example, seems to be featureless until we view it under the microscope. If we view a leaf under the microscope, we see an object that is covered with intricate structures, each one filling a particular purpose. We see from the intricate order within God's creation that God Himself, the Creator, is a God of order. We see purpose in all of this structure in the creation. We see that God is a God of purpose (see Note 6).

The Bible itself teaches that God reveals Himself through His creation. Romans 1:20 states that from the creation we clearly see things about the invisible Creator God: "For the invisible things of him from the creation . . . are clearly seen." What clearer way to see this order and purpose, these attributes of the Creator, than to see them in His own creation.

The insect realm also provides many examples of this intricate order. For example, aphids, which are very small sap-sucking insects, have on their antennae microscopic sensing organs. Though these organs are very small, each one serves a specific purpose in sensing stimuli for the creature. Again we see order and purpose in God's creation. Probing to the basic levels of life we discover the DNA molecule, the molecule that controls and passes along all genetic characteristics.

The DNA molecule has an exact structure and is precisely ordered. In fact, the DNA molecule itself is made of atoms, and atoms as we have seen have a structure all their own. So the Creator is revealed to be a God of order and purpose. The creation teaches us in a tangible way these attributes of God, but without the creation to touch, handle and study, it might be very difficult -- even impossible -- for us to grasp the nature of the Creator.