1 Jan. The story of God's creation
"In the beginning God created the sky and the earth. The earth was empty and had no form. Darkness covered the ocean, and God's Spirit was moving over the water."
"Then God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light. God saw that the light was good, so he divided the light from the darkness. God named the light 'day' and the darkness 'night'. Evening passed, and morning came. This was the first day."
"Then God said, 'Let there be something to divide the water in two.' So God made the air and placed some of the water above the air and some below it. God named the air 'sky'. Evening passed and morning came. This was the second day."
"Then God said, 'Let the water under the sky be gathered together so the dry land will appear.' And it happened..."
"Then God said, 'Let the earth produce plants...' And it happened...This was the third day."
"Then God said, 'Let there be lights in the sky to separate day from night'... And it happened... This was the fourth day."
"Then God said, 'Let the water be filled with living things, and let birds fly in the air above the earth'... This was the fifth day."
"Then God said, 'Let the earth be filled with animals, each producing more of its own kind'... And it happened..."
"Then God said, 'Let us make human beings in our image and likeness...' So God created human beings in his image... He created them male and female... This was the sixth day..."
"By the seventh day God finished the work he had been doing, so he rested from all his work. God blessed the seventh day and made it a holy day, because on that day he rested from all the work he had done in creating the world."
(Genesis 1:1 - 2:3)
The Book of Genesis records that the world was created by God. It includes teaching on mankind’s relationship with God, God’s response to disobedience and wrongdoing, and God’s guidance in the lives of Noah and Abraham.
‘Genesis’ means ‘origin’. The Biblical account of creation in Genesis proclaims God to be the source and maker of all things. Written in Palestine, a land where water was very scarce, the creation story places a great emphasis on life-giving water.
On the first ‘day’, “Darkness covered the ocean, and God's Spirit was moving over the water” (Genesis 1:2).
On the second ‘day’, “God said, 'Let there be something to divide the water in two'. So God made the air and placed some of the water above the air and some below it. God named the air ‘sky’” (Genesis 1:6-8) (see the diagram above).
On the third ‘day’, the land was separated from the sea.
God then created the sun and moon, sea creatures, birds, animals and mankind. He set apart the seventh day - the Sabbath - as a day of rest.
Some people believe that a ‘day’ in this Biblical creation account literally means twenty-four hours. Others believe that a ‘day’ signifies a long period of time, and point out that the author of Psalm 90 (attributed to Moses) says, “To you, a thousand years is like the passing of a day” (see Psalm 90:4).
The diagram (see above) shows an early view of the earth.
You can read more of the Biblical account of Creation @ https://www.thebiblejourney.org/biblejourney2/23-the-journeys-of-adam-enoch-noah-abraham/the-biblical-account-of-creation/