Why Do We Have Day and Night?

Have you ever wondered why it isn’t daytime all the time? Why do we have day and night? God designed our world to give us times of activity and rest. Our 24-hour cycle of day and night is part of that.

In Genesis 1:5, we read that God “called the light Day and the darkness he called Night.” Day and night were established by God on the first day of creation and have been in place ever since. On day four of creation week, God gave us the stars of the sky, including the sun, to “rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness” (Genesis 1:18). Part of the purpose of day and night is God’s good design to help us keep track of the passing of time.

God created the earth to rotate so that part of the earth is always facing the sun and part of it is always facing away from the sun. It is daytime on the part of the earth that is facing the sun while it is night in the part of the earth that is facing away from the sun. The earth is at a slight tilt, so our days are a bit longer in the summer when we’re angled toward the sun and shorter in the winter when we’re angled away.

When night comes, we rest. Just as work and play are gifts from God, so is sleep. Our bodies need sleep to be healthy. In his good all-knowing design, God gave us the night as a time to rest. As the sun sets this evening and you get ready to sleep after a long day of playing or learning, thank God for his gift of day and night.

Do you have a question about God’s Word or his world that you want us to answer? Is there a topic you want to learn more about? Ask your parents to help you submit your question today. Watch for our answer here on the blog or in Kids Answers magazine. We’d love to hear from you!