In Genesis 1:20 we move into the fifth day of creation where things get serious! We read, “And God said, ‘Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” Two things happened in this verse. Swarms of swarms and birds in the sky. The “emptiness” (Bohu) of Genesis 1:2 of both the waters and the sky is cancelled. I think the “swarms of swarms” deal with both the birds and the fish. Speaking of the words “swarm and swarming” Wenham says, “Usually this stem refers to movement, especially the swift chaotic hither-and-thither motion of small animals such as insects, mice, and fish, but it carries with it overtones of abundant fertility.”[1] Back in verse 11 when God created the plants he said “let the earth vegetate with vegetation.” The phrases are different in that plants can’t move. Birds and fish have the run of the skies and the seas!
Whenever I watch the nature specials on PBS I always marvel at the multi-colored schools of fish that swarm together as if someone choreographed their movement. Oh, wait, someone did! It is a marvel to watch. Sometimes the birds swarm in a way to create fascinating geometric designs in the air. It is truly amazing! How do they do that? Kent describes this verse very creatively. He writes, “The seas literally swarmed with living things—the monsters of the deep. There were whales, sharks, leviathan (crocodiles); swordfish reigned amidst schools of tuna and dolphin and thousands of lesser colorful finned creatures—many unknown until the twentieth century. And above, an ornithologist’s delight filled the skies—eagles, cormorants, ravens, gulls, geese, ducks, woodpeckers, finches, cardinals, indigo buntings. The skies and seas teemed with astonishing variety, all from the mind of God. The waving, undulating beauties seen first by the sea diver and the gliding, iridescent arrays of the heavens exist because of God’s thought and at his pleasure…”[2]
Evolutionists often suggest that fish came first and then grew legs and wings over billions of years and walked upon the ground and flew into the air. Some elaborate charts have been made to depict this process. Often the connection seems to be because of some shared characteristics of fish and birds. But, I think Guzik is right: “We see the great variety of birds and sea creatures were created at the same time, not evolving slowly over millions of years. Even though plant life was created before animal life, animal life was not created out of plant life. Among the diversity of animals, many share similar structures: birds, reptiles, mammals, and so forth. This argues at least as persuasively for a common Designer as it does for a common life source. All life did not come from the same primordial cell, but it did all come from the same Designer.”[3]
[1] Wenham, Gordon J. 1987. Genesis 1–15. Vol. 1. Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas: Word, Incorporated.
[2] Hughes, R. Kent. 2004. Genesis: Beginning and Blessing. Preaching the Word. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.
[3] Guzik, David. 2013. Genesis. David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible. Santa Barbara, CA: David Guzik.