While it’s not a scientific account of the Earth’s beginnings, the creation described in the beginning of Genesis provides a sort of mythical explanation for the creation of the Earth, establishing the Earth and its contents as divine creations and emphasizing the care with which they were created. In this section, God is creating every aspect of the natural world: day and night, land and sea, creatures, humans, etc. The idea that God Himself created all of these things means that they are his direct creations, giving them a certain air of purpose and a divine connection. The repetition of the phrase “And God saw that this was good,” shows the care that was put into this creation. The passage shows that God spent time on each creation until he was satisfied, again emphasizing the importance of each creation.
This account of God’s creation of humans establishes our importance as well, and it shows our relationship to the Earth and its contents. By saying that God gave humans dominion over His own creations, this section suggests that we as humans were given divine permission to control these things and that this is our natural place in the order of the world. This section also says that God made us in His image, emphasizing our purpose, importance, and divine connection.
The seventh day is described as a day of rest, establishing it as a holy day. If God Himself took this day to rest, then we, as his creations, should too. It is also the last day of the creation, a day for God to observe and admire his work. This translates to us, as we take a day of the week (either Saturday or Sunday) to completely honor and appreciate his work and his blessings. The idea of “rest” implies that this day should be taken to do nothing but this.
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