Read Genesis 1
The Beginning
¹ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so.10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so.12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures,and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creaturesaccording to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,a]”>[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule overthe fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
Go Deeper
It all starts with God. In the beginning, He was the one to make the first move. He put the stars in their place. He planted the first seeds in the soil. He outlined each and every river and ocean. Our God is a Creator God. But He isn’t just a creator, He is creative. Scientists are currently aware of 391,000 species of plants and 1,600,000 species of animals. Surely God didn’t have to create that many! Wouldn’t a few hundred species of each have been sufficient? Not for God. Our God is the God who does abundantly more than we could even ask or imagine. He creates more than we can even wrap our minds around just to show us how vast and extravagant He is. As the Psalmist said, “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” (Psalm 8:3-4)
And yet He does care for us! While He knows the number of species on Earth, He also knows the number of hairs on our heads. When we realize that this is our God, what do we have to worry about? If He created elephants and otters and orangutans with the strength of His words, do we really think He doesn’t have the strength to help us today? There is no doubt that you could have much to be anxious about this week. You have a job to do and people to care for. When you begin to wonder how you’ll ever make it through, remember that we serve a God who wants to creatively come through for you. He didn’t create you just to leave you.
Questions
- What most stands out to you from Genesis 1?
- How do you see God’s character through nature?
- After God made things each day, He called them “good.” What are some good things in your life that God has created that you have taken for granted?
Did You Know?
The vast galaxy we live in is spinning at the incredible speed of 490,000 miles an hour. Furthermore, Earth is also spinning at 1,000 miles an hour. Does that make you dizzy? Well, actually, miraculously, it doesn’t. You have a creative God!
2 thoughts on “Genesis 1”
Greeting from The Woodlands, TX. My daughter who graduated from Baylor in May 2020 introduced us to Harris Creek. We are thankful to have access to JP’s Weekly sermons and to the Bible reading plan. We have just returned home after 2 weeks of moving our 3 children to colleges and new adventures. I logged in today to continue my study of Genesis and have discovered that the website has changed. Is there any way to access the study from Genesis 34? I have been reading the Bible daily with this plan since the pandemic occurred. This bible study plan has been a godsend to me! I can’t thank Harris Creek enough for the Bible reading app, the questions and going deeper.
Please advise if there is a way to access the Bible reading plan from Genesis 24.
Thank you.
Hi, Lisa! We are so glad you have been enjoying the Bible Reading Plan! We are working hard to get all of our past studies moved to the new format, and you should be able to access the Genesis 34 session within the next few days. Thank you for your patience!