Genesis 1:21

God created great whales. For the second time the word “created,” barn’, is used in this chapter to indicate the introduction of something entirely new, the creation of living creatures. In carrying out His word, God created the great sea animals, tanninim. The translation “whales” is too limited in scope. The word has different meanings, like “serpent” (Ex. 7:9, 10, 12) and “dragon” (Isa. 51:9; Eze. 29:3), but must mean “sea monster” in this passage and in Ps. 148:7.

Moveth. The verb “to move,” ramas, is especially descriptive of creeping animals (Gen. 9:2), either on land (Gen. 7:14) or in the water (Ps. 69:34), though here it clearly signifies aquatic creatures.

After their kind. As in the case of the plants created on the third day, the statement is made that the fish as well as the birds were created “after their kind,” explicitly indicating that the distinct kinds of animals we see were established at creation and not through a process of development as evolutionists maintain (see on v. 12).

Why birds and fish were created on the same day is not to be explained by any supposed similarity between the air and the water as Luther, Calvin, and others thought. Again, it is not stated that only a single pair was created of each kind; on the contrary, the words, “Let the waters swarm with living creatures,” seem to indicate that the animals were created, not only in a rich variety of kinds, but in large numbers of individuals. The fact that but one human being was created at first, by no means warrants the conclusion that the animals were created singly also.

God saw that it was good. The earth must have appeared most pleasing to the Creator when He beheld it at the end of this fifth day. Not only verdant hills, sparkling streams, and blue lakes, but living creatures, moving, swimming, and flying, gave to this world for the first time the quality of life it had not possessed before. Here were creatures that could even sing the praises of their Creator, who revealed some measure of understanding, by finding the right kind of food (Matt. 6:26), by building nests as shelters (Matt. 8:20), and by knowing their times of migration (Jer. 8:7).

The mighty works of God performed on the previous days were truly wonderful, but nature received an ornament on the fifth day. Without the vegetation created on the third day the world would present an extremely uninviting appearance. Much more would it be devoid of attraction and cheerfulness if the myriads of living beings with which it is populated were absent. Every one of these small or large creatures should teach us a lesson concerning the marvelous handiwork of the great God, to whom, as the author and preserver of all life, we owe adoration. These creatures should give us a wholesome respect for life, which we cannot impart but should carefully protect and not destroy.