God Speaks
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
3 Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.”
And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day.
6 Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” 7 And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens. 8 God called the space “sky.”
And evening passed and morning came, marking the second day.
9 Then God said, “Let the waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear.” And that is what happened. 10 God called the dry ground “land” and the waters “seas.” And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened. 12 The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.
13 And evening passed and morning came, marking the third day.
14 Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. 15 Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth.” And that is what happened. 16 God made two great lights—the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set these lights in the sky to light the earth, 18 to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
19 And evening passed and morning came, marking the fourth day.
20 Then God said, “Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind.” 21 So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that scurries and swarms in the water, and every sort of bird—each producing offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 Then God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”
23 And evening passed and morning came, marking the fifth day.
24 Then God said, “Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind—livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and wild animals.” And that is what happened. 25 God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”
27 So God created human beings in his own image.
In the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”
29 Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. 30 And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.” And that is what happened.
31 Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!
And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day.
Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: The word genesis means “the origin or coming into being of something.”* God’s book, the Bible, particularly the first book, Genesis, tells the beginning of all kinds of things. Whether it’s a literal 24 hours or another period of time, God (who is beyond time) created light and separated it from darkness calling it the first day. Then God commanded a space to be formed to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth. He called the space sky. This was the second day. On the third day He separated land and water and commanded vegetation of all kinds to form on the land. The fourth day He hung the sun, moon, and stars in place by speaking them into existence. The fifth day God created everything that moves in the water and the sky. The sixth day He created everything that moves on the land, including all kinds of animals. He ended His work by fashioning human beings. (The details of this will be discussed in chapter two.) Then God rested from His work on the seventh day.
*Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary Tenth Edition
Prayer: It all begins with You, great Creator God. You create everything out of nothing, not just remake from existing material, by the power of Your word. You bring order out of chaos. You are still creating. We (all humans and creation today) need You to hover over the chaos and bring order, stability, and peace. We need the light of Your presence. We need You to separate the light from the darkness and show us what is good. We need You to organize our lives. You created the beginning of all the things we can see, touch, and hear as well as the things we can’t sense but that are still real. You created living plants and non-living land. You gave plants the ability to grow and replicate themselves (seeds); rocks and land cannot. Again, You called it good. You are self-existent light, but You created objects to give off light or to reflect it for the benefit of others–the sun, moon, and stars. You declared it good. May we be like them. You created animals and birds that had life and could replicate like the plants, but they could also breathe and communicate with each other and move about in the water, in the sky, and on the land. All that was good, but as the pinnacle of creation, You created human beings to be like You. You gave them the ability to benefit others and life and replication and communication and movement, and (most important of all) You breathed Your Spirit into them and gave them the authority to use and care for all the rest of Your creation. Finally, You declared it all very good. What an awesome and wise God You are. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will remember to talk with God every time I start a new project or activity to see how it goes, thanking Him in the process and keeping notes of the results.
- I will ask for God’s direction and help as I try to organize at least one area of my life, such as money management.
- I will take an hour each day this week to get out into the natural environment God created to enjoy it and thank Him for it.
- I will (with God’s help) set up and carry out a plan to take better care of the body and soul He has given me.
**For another perspective on this important chapter, see hopebrokers.org Creation to Christ Series Genesis1:1-25 “God Creates the World”
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.