In the Beginning

God was already there. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (1:1). Before there was a single star or a single grain of sand, God was there. Nobody made God. “Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God” (Psalm 90:2). Out of nothing. People make things out of wood, clay or paint. God made the world out of nothing at all. “The things which are seen were not made of things which are visible” (Hebrews 11:3). Dark and empty. At first “the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep” (1:2). It had no shape and nothing living in it yet. The Spirit was there. “The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (1:2). Hovering means staying close above, the way a mother bird stays over her nest. The Holy Spirit was there, caring for what God was making. God spoke. “Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light” (1:3). God did not have to work hard or wait. He spoke, and it happened. Jesus was there. “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:3). The Son of God was there at creation. Light from God. God made light on the first day, before He made the sun. All light comes from Him. What this means for you. The One who made everything also made you. He is strong enough to help with anything you face, and He is always good.

In the beginning (1:1). In Hebrew this is one word, bereshit (say: beh-ray-SHEET). Time, space and matter all had a starting point. God did not. He was there before all of it. Created (1:1). The verb is bara (say: bah-RAH), to create. When bara means create, only God does it. People shape and build with what already exists; God brings into being what was not there (Hebrews 11:3). God (1:1). The word is Elohim (say: el-oh-HEEM), the mighty God. It is plural in form but takes a singular verb. Many Christians see in this, and in “Let Us make man” (1:26), a first glimpse of the one God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Formless and empty (1:2). Tohu vabohu (say: TOH-hoo vah-VOH-hoo) means shapeless and empty. In the six days God answers both: He gives the world shape, and then He fills it. The Spirit (1:2). Ruach (say: ROO-akh) can mean Spirit, wind or breath. Here it is the Spirit of God. The same verb for hovering is used in Deuteronomy 32:11 for an eagle stirring over its young. The Holy Spirit was present and caring at creation. The Word (John 1:1-3). John begins his Gospel with the same words: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The Greek Logos (say: LOH-gos) means Word. Jesus is the Word through whom all things were made. Light before the sun (1:3-5). Light comes on day one and the sun on day four. God Himself is the source of light. Paul says the God who “commanded light to shine out of darkness” now shines in our hearts (2 Corinthians 4:6). Day and night (1:5). God named the light Day and the darkness Night. In the Bible, naming something shows authority over it. Even the darkness belongs to God. Why it matters. If God made everything, nothing is too big for Him and nothing is outside His care.

Before the world began, God was already there. Nobody made God. He has always been alive, and He always will be. God made the sky and the earth out of nothing at all. At first the earth was dark and empty. But God was not finished. His Spirit was moving over the water. Then God spoke, and light came shining out. God’s words are very powerful. The Bible says Jesus was there too. Everything was made through Him. God made everything, so everything belongs to Him. That includes you! He made the light, and He is with you in the dark.

Before anything else, there was God. God made everything. He just spoke, and light came. God is the Maker of all.

Step by step. God could have made everything in an instant. Instead He worked over six days, one step at a time. Our God is a God of order, not confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33). Shaping. On days one to three God made spaces: day and night (1:3-5), sky and sea (1:6-8), and dry land with plants (1:9-13). Filling. On days four to six He filled those spaces: lights for the day and night (1:14-19), fish and birds for the sea and sky (1:20-23), and animals and people for the land (1:24-31). A home made ready. God made the world ready before He made people. He grew the food before there was anyone to eat it (1:29). He thinks ahead for His children. Each after its kind. Plants and animals were made “according to its kind” (1:12, 25). Apple seeds grow apple trees. Kittens grow into cats. God built order into life itself. The sun and moon. Many people in the ancient world worshiped the sun and the moon. Genesis says they are lights God made and set in the sky. They serve God's world. They are not gods. Good, good, good. Again and again “God saw that it was good” (1:10, 12, 18, 21, 25). God enjoys what He makes. What this means for you. The God who set the stars in place can bring order to your life too. When things feel messy, you can pray and trust Him.

Separating (1:4, 7, 18). The Hebrew word badal (say: bah-DAHL) means to divide or separate. God separates light from darkness and waters from waters. Later He uses the same word when He separates Israel to be His own people (Leviticus 20:26). God makes good distinctions. The firmament (1:6-8). Raqia (say: rah-KEE-ah) means a spread-out expanse, like metal hammered thin. God called it Heaven, the open sky between the waters below and the waters above. Forming and filling. Days one to three answer “without form” by giving the world shape. Days four to six answer “void” by filling each space. Day one matches day four (light, then lights). Day two matches day five (sky and sea, then birds and fish). Day three matches day six (land, then land animals and people). Lamps, not gods (1:16-18). God's Word calls the sun and moon simply “the greater light” and “the lesser light.” Israel's neighbors named them and worshiped them. God made them as lamps and gave them work “to rule” the day and night as His servants. “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1). Great sea creatures (1:21). Tannin (say: tahn-NEEN) means great sea creatures. Even the biggest, most frightening animals in the ocean were made by God and called good. Kinds (1:11-25). God built the ability to reproduce “according to its kind” into plants and animals. Life follows the order God set. Blessing (1:22). God's first blessing is on sea creatures and birds: “Be fruitful and multiply.” God loves life and wants His world full of it. Why it matters. Romans 1:20 says creation shows God's “eternal power and Godhead.” When you look at the sky or the sea, you are looking at His handiwork.

God did not make the world in a messy rush. He worked step by step, like a careful builder. First He made spaces. He made day and night, then sky and sea. Then He made dry land with plants. Next God filled those spaces. He put the sun, moon and stars in the sky. He filled the sea with fish and the air with birds. Last came the animals on the land. God made a home before He made people to live in it. That shows how much He cares. Over and over, God saw that it was good. Everything God makes is good. Our God is a God of order and kindness.

God made the world like a good home. He made the sky, the sea and the land. Then He filled them with life. Everything God made was good.

“Let Us.” Before making people, God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness” (1:26). Many Christians see “Us” and “Our” as a first hint of the one God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Image. An image is like a reflection. A mirror shows your face. People are made to show what God is like. Not like the animals. Animals were made “according to its kind.” People were made in the image of God. We are part of creation, but we are made to know our Creator. Both of them. “Male and female He created them” (1:27). Men and women are equally made in God's image. Rule the world well. God told them to “have dominion” over the fish, birds and animals (1:28). Dominion means ruling. People are to take care of God's world for Him, the way a good king cares for his land. Blessed. “Then God blessed them” (1:28). The first words God spoke to people were words of blessing. Fed by God. God gave them every plant and fruit tree “for food” (1:29). He provided before they asked. What this means for you. You are not an accident. God made you on purpose, in His image. Every person you meet is made in His image too, so treat them that way.

“Let Us make man” (1:26). For the animals God said, “Let the earth bring forth.” For people He said, “Let Us make man in Our image.” Many Christians see “Us” as a first glimpse of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit working together. Adam (1:26). The Hebrew word for man is adam (say: ah-DAHM), which sounds like adamah (say: ah-dah-MAH), ground. Here it means humankind, male and female together. Male and female (1:27). Both the man and the woman bear God's image fully. Jesus pointed back to this verse when He taught about marriage: “He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female’” (Matthew 19:4). Rule and subdue (1:28). Radah (say: rah-DAH) means to rule, and kabash (say: kah-VAHSH) means to bring under control. People rule as God's managers, not as owners. “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness” (Psalm 24:1). Crowned with honor. David marveled at this in Psalm 8: “What is man that You are mindful of him… You have crowned him with glory and honor” (Psalm 8:4-5). God gave a small creature a great honor. Food (1:29-30). God gave plants for food to people and to animals. In this very good world, the Creator provided everything before it was needed. Blessed to fill the earth (1:28). “Be fruitful and multiply” is a blessing, not a burden. Every new life is a gift from God. Why it matters. Your worth does not come from how smart, strong or popular you are. It comes from the God who made you in His image.

Then God made people, and He did it in a special way. God said, “Let us make human beings in our image.” That means people are made to be like God in some ways. We can think, love and make choices. We can talk with God and know Him. No animal can do that. God made a man and a woman. Both are made in God’s image. God gave them a job. They were to take care of His world. Every person is made by God. So every person is special to Him. We should treat others with kindness.

God made people in His image. That means we are like Him in special ways. Every person matters to God.

Very good. “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good” (1:31). After people were made, God's world was complete, and God was pleased with it. No sin yet. In that very good world there was no sin, no sickness and no death. That is how God made the world to be. Finished. “Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished” (2:1). Host means the huge crowd of everything God made, from stars to sparrows. God rested. “He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done” (2:2). God was not tired. Rested means He stopped, because the work was complete. A holy day. “Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it” (2:3). Sanctified means set apart as holy, special for God. A gift for us. Later God gave Israel the Sabbath, a day to rest and remember Him, because He made everything in six days and rested on the seventh (Exodus 20:11). Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). Rest is a gift, not a burden. Rest in Jesus. Jesus invites us, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). What this means for you. God made a very good world, and He made you to rest in Him. Take time this week to stop, rest and thank God for what He has made.

Very good (1:31). The Hebrew is tov meod (say: TOHV meh-ODE), exceedingly good. Only after people were made does God call the whole creation very good. The host (2:1). “All the host of them” means everything that fills the heavens and the earth. The six days are complete, and nothing is missing. Ended His work (2:2). God “ended His work which He had done.” He did not stop caring for the world. Jesus said His Father is still working (John 5:17), and in Christ all things hold together (Colossians 1:17). Rested (2:2-3). The verb is shavat (say: shah-VAHT), to stop or cease. It is the root of the word Sabbath. God rested as a finished Creator, not a tired one. Isaiah says the Creator never grows weary (Isaiah 40:28). Sanctified (2:3). Qadash (say: kah-DAHSH) means to set apart as holy. The first thing God calls holy in the Bible is a day, a time set apart to enjoy Him. Sabbath for Israel. In the Ten Commandments, God gives creation week as the reason for the Sabbath: in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and He rested on the seventh day (Exodus 20:11). A rest that remains. “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His” (Hebrews 4:9-10). The seventh-day rest points to the rest we find by trusting Christ instead of our own works. Why it matters. Rest is an act of trust. When you stop, you are saying that God, not you, holds the world together.

God looked at everything He had made. It was not just good. It was very good! There was no sin, no sadness and no death. Then came the seventh day. God stopped His work and rested. God was not tired, because God never gets tired. He rested because His work was finished. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. Holy means set apart for God. Resting is a gift from God. It reminds us that God takes care of us. Later, sin would spoil God’s very good world. But God already had a plan to rescue it.

God looked at all He made. It was very good! Then God rested. He made the seventh day holy.

🎉 All Matched!