The Old Testament records Moses’ interaction with the Almighty in which God wrote on tablets of stone. If this is a historical encounter, then why would we expect to find a mythological interlude embedded into this bedrock pillar in western culture?  Right in the midst of giving the fourth commandment, God refers to the reason behind why Israel should only work for six days. Exodus 20:8-11 speaks clearly to the days of the week that the Israelites are to work correspond directly to the days that the Creator worked. The Israelites are told to work for 6 days and rest on the seventh because “In six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them, but on the seventh day he rested.” To say that these days are other than what is spoken of as history in Genesis is to inject one’s own theory into the actual text. If that weren’t enough, God repeats his reasoning in Exodus 31:17.

So, God didn’t create the universe in 6 ages/eras since he told his chosen people to work and rest in his original pattern. He was obviously not telling his people to work for 6 ages/eras and then resting for a single age/era. Both the creation and command to work six days and rest on the seventh are referring to literal days.

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