Day five (vv. 20-23). God had created the sky and the waters, and now He filled them abundantly with living creatures. He made birds to fly in the sky and aquatic creatures to frolic in the seas. “O Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all. The earth is full of Your possessions–This great and wide sea, in which are innumerable teeming things, living things both small and great” (Ps. 104:24-25 nkjv).

A new element is added to God’s work on this day: He not only called His work “good,” but He blessed the creatures He had made. This is the first time the word “bless” is used in the Bible. God’s blessing enabled the creatures and the fowl to reproduce abundantly and enjoy all that He had made for them. God would also bless the first man and woman (Gen. 1:28; 5:2), the Sabbath day (2:3), and Noah and his family (9:1). After creation, perhaps the most important occasion for God’s blessing was when He gave His gracious covenant to Abraham and his descendants (12:1-3). That blessing has reached down to God’s people today (Gal. 3:1-9).