The Creation Story

Genesis 1-2

The creation story has three parts: the creation of the heavens and the earth, the creation of the man, and the creation of the family.

 

The story begins with God, Who is eternal. God created everything there is. God created the beginning. Your first memory verse is “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

 God created by speaking everything into being, into existence. First God said it, then He did it. This is one of the ways of God because God is faithful to His own word. God said, “Let there be light, and there was light.” And God saw that the light was good. God could see Himself in His creation. God is good.

 Then God separated the light from the darkness and He called the light day and the darkness He called night and there was the first evening and morning of the first day. God created time when He created the first day. And time is a trinity; it has yesterday, it has today, and it has tomorrow; it has past, present, and future.

God spoke again and said, “Let there be a sky and let there be an earth.” And God separated the sky from the earth. He called the sky heaven and the earth He called earth. The waters in the sky were separated from the waters on the earth. This was the second day of creation.

On the third day, God said, “Let the waters be gathered together and let dry land appear.” It happened just like He said and God formed the oceans, rivers, and lakes. He called the waters that He gathered together, Seas, and the dry land He called earth, and it was good. God also said, “And let there be grass and plants and trees, and fruit trees, each one with seeds to multiply with. It was all just like He said and it was beautiful, just like God.

On the fourth day, God said, “Let sun and the moon and the planets give the earth its signs, days, and seasons, and times.” God created months and years that are still in place today.

God created the fish of the seas and the birds of the air on the fifth day. He also blessed them saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters, the sky, and the earth. This was the first blessing of creation and God saw that it was good, just like Him.

On the sixth day, God created animals, both wild and tame animals, and all of the insects that creep along the ground. God also created man on the sixth day, in His own image and likeness, to rule over all of creation. God blessed them, which was the second blessing of creation. There will be more about the creation of man in the next story.

On the seventh day, God created rest by finishing the work of creation. He blessed the seventh day and called it holy. This was the third blessing of creation and the first thing that God made holy, just like Him. It was a whole day set apart just for Him. This one day made all the others holy. This is one of the ways of God; through one, many are blessed.

Lessons from the Story of Creation

·         Everything that God created is like Him, it is good. When you see creation it should remind you of how good God is so you can honor Him as God, the Good Creator of all there is. When you see creation it should teach you to be grateful to God for all that He has made. Thanking God for what He has made and thanking Him for what He has given you to see, and to do, and to enjoy in creation is the purpose of creation. All of creation reveals the glorious goodness and generosity of God. Let’s honor Him and praise Him and thank Him for everything that He has made. You can thank God for your life.

·         God blesses with His commandments. In creation there were three things that God blessed and each one had a commandment from God. The fish and the birds were blessed with the commandment to be fruitful and multiply and to fill the waters, sky, and land. Man was blessed with the second blessing and told to be fruitful and multiply on the earth and to subdue the earth and have dominion over creation. The third blessing came on the seventh day with the command to rest from work. The commandments of God are blessings from God. When we obey God’s commandments we enjoy blessings from God.

·         God’s creation is ordered around a complete circle. After the seventh day, a new week begins. After thirty or thirty-one days, and new month begins. After twelve months, a new year begins. God’s creation reveals that God is perfect and complete, like a circle. Whatever God starts, He completes. This is one of the ways of God.

·         There are three ways of God seen in the creation story: First God says it, then He does it. God chooses one to give to many. And whatever God starts, He completes.

 

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

Genesis 1:1