In preceding posts, we have been exploring the third creation day in light of the theme of sanctuary and sight. We have observed that the biblical text describes God’s “seeing” a thing when He evaluates that thing according to the paradigm that preexists in His Word. That evaluation is a judicial act- it is the examination that precedes an action of blessing or curse. And the place of God’s judgment is the sanctuary, because the sanctuary is the palace of the Divine King, the place where God makes His presence “felt” upon Earth. This end- the divine indwelling of creation- is the goal to which Genesis 1 and the whole Bible is ordered. The waters are gathered in from their dispersion in order that the ground “be seen” (usually translated as “appear” for the sake of good English, but the word is the same) as they rise above the lower waters. The land is the place where man will dwell, and the rising of the land above the waters visually recalls and signifies the union of heaven and earth which is the implicit goal of the whole creation week. The third creation day is, after a fashion, the “first consummation” of history. Numbers 19 gives the rite for the purification from death- with the two key days being the third and seventh day after exposure. On the first day, the heavenly light appears and God “sees” it. On the second day, the heavenly light is concealed behind the upper waters- there is no “sight” mentioned. On the third day, the ground rises above the gathered waters so that it might be “seen.”
In light of this, look at the words of Isaiah:
(Isaiah 60:1-5) Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Lift up your eyes all around, and see; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried on the hip. Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult, because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
We see here a myriad of potential references back to Genesis 1. Israel is told to “arise” because of the ascent of the glory of God upon them. This looks back to Isaiah 2:1-5, where the prophet speaks of a day when the nations will flow to Mount Zion which has been lifted up to become the highest of the mountains. In 2:5, the house of Jacob is told to walk in the light of the LORD. Isaiah 59 describes how the LORD beheld the iniquity of Jacob, “saw that there was no man to intercede”, and vested Himself in priestly garments in order to accomplish the work of redemption Himself. The language used for God’s accomplishment is saturated with allusions to Isaiah 53, suggesting that the LORD takes the role of the Servant who suffers unjustly to redeem the nation and “sprinkle many nations.” The “rising” of divine light on the redeemed city of God is referred to in Orthodox liturgics from the Paschal season, alluding to this and other passages. Isaiah 60:7 tells us that the nations described in 60:1-5 will go to the house of the LORD and “come up with acceptance” to God’s altar. This is the third day of creation in its fulfillment: the waters of the sea are gathered together in Genesis 1:9, so that the land-altar arises up to heaven and can be “seen.” This is the place where creatures present themselves to God for inspection and are thus sent out again with a word and commission. It is the place of relation between God and creatures. As we have discussed before, the sea signifies, among other things, the gentile nations- the land signifies Israel which is the priestly nation, mediating the divine presence to the world. And in Isaiah 60, we see the fruit this symbolism bears far down the biblical road. As the sea was gathered together to allow the altar-land to rise, so here the nations are gathered to the elevation of the place of God’s dwelling.
Further down the road, St. Matthew will describe the arrival of the magi with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. This is in the context of Matthew’s identification of Jesus as “God with us.” Jesus is the place of God’s dwelling, and the magi are the first in a long line of nations who stream to beautify the place of God’s dwelling with gifts. Every beautiful work of church architecture bears witness to the fulfillment of Isaiah’s words and perpetuates the work that began on the third day of the existence of the world.