God’s Beautiful Creation

The Bible is the most wonderful book in the whole world. Do you have Bibles in your home, and do you have your very own Bible? Our Bibles are special, and we should take special care of them.

Did you know that there are really 66 books in the Bible? They have different names, like John, Daniel, or Revelation. Each book has chapters and verses in it.

So, when we talk about the Bible, we are talking about 66 different books. Which book tells us about how our world was created? Genesis is the very first book in the Bible, and it tells us about how our world was created, or made.

Read the first verse of the first chapter of the first book in the Bible. Read it carefully. See if you can find answers to these three questions. First, when did something wonderful happen? Second, who did it? Third, what happened? Genesis 1:1.

When you want to draw a picture, what do you need first? Do you need paper? A pencil? Crayons?

But when God made our world, He didn’t need anything; all He needed to do was speak. And it would take Him only seven days to make our world.

On that first day, when God made our world, it was dark and covered with nothing but water. Genesis 1:2.

Then God just spoke. What did He say? Read Genesis 1:3-5. Suddenly, there was light. Now, it wasn’t dark all the time. God had made the very first day. What do we call the first day of the week? Sunday.

It may seem that our days start in the morning; but actually, the Bible tells us that each day finishes in the evening, and the next day starts then, not in the morning. At the end of the first day, our world was still covered with a thick blanket of water.

What do we call the second day? Monday. What did God do on Monday? Genesis 1:6-8. Again, God just spoke. That’s all He had to do. Then, suddenly, there was something else. What was it? Sky. God made blue sky and fresh air; and under it was clean, blue water.

God had carefully planned everything before He started. He didn’t forget even one little thing. He knew that the living things would need fresh air and clean water. He knew that we would enjoy swimming in water. Also, He knew that we would need water to drink.

Now it was time to create things on the third day. What is the name of the third day of the week? Tuesday.

God was ready to speak again. What did He say this time? Genesis 1:9, 10.

Don’t you wish that you could have been there to watch the land come r‑i‑s-i‑n‑g up out of the water all over the world? Soon there was dry land; and now the water was gathered into large and small lakes, rivers, and streams. Maybe there were beautiful sandy beaches, too. But there wasn’t any grass or trees or flowers—only brown land. So God spoke again. What did He say this time? Genesis 1:11, 12.

How exciting! Now the brown land was covered with fields of beautiful grasses and grains that waved and rippled in the gentle breeze. God made flowers—all kinds of colors and shapes. They were red, yellow, blue, and all the other beautiful colors. How very sweet they smelled!

He made trees, too—all shapes and sizes and different shades of green. Some were loaded with different kinds of fruit, all ready to pick and eat. God made many kinds of fruit that day. Do you like nuts? There were many different kinds of nut trees, too.

God also made many kinds of berries and beautiful vines loaded with luscious grapes—red, green, and purple.

And there was not even one brown, dead leaf, nor bare, ugly branch on anything. There were no weeds or thorns, or harmful bugs. Can you imagine that?

Now it was time for the fourth day. What do we call that day? Wednesday.

Already, there was a beautiful world. But at night, the sky was dark; and during the day, it was light. When God spoke this time, what happened to the dark night? Genesis 1:14-19.

So now at night, there was a big, silvery moon slowly sailing across the sky; and there were millions of stars twinkling like diamonds.

In the morning, the big, warm sun came peeking over the hills in the east. Slowly, it moved higher and higher; then it moved gradually down the west side and set behind the hills. As it came up and went down, it made gorgeous colors in the sky. What a beautiful way to begin and end each day!

God could have made a huge dark shade, pulled it down every night and said, “Go to bed.” He could have pushed it up again every morning and said, “Get up now.” But instead, He made colorful sunsets and sunrises for us to enjoy.

Did you know that the moon doesn’t have any light by itself? It gets its light from the sun. The Bible says that Jesus is the light of the world. John 8:12. And we are lights, too. Matthew 5:14,16. We can’t be lights by ourselves. But when we choose to let Jesus live in our hearts, we can shine for Him. Do you want to be a light for Jesus? Tell Him, and He will help you to shine brightly.

By the end of the fourth day, God had the world all ready for the things that He was going to make on the fifth day. Our world was full of beauty. But, except for the sound of water, the soft whisper of leaves, and the sound of grass moving in the breeze, it was very quiet. Then God spoke again. What did He say? Genesis 1:20-23.

Suddenly, there were wonderful sounds. All kinds of happy birds were praising God as they sang their beautiful songs. And what brilliant colors they had—red, blue, yellow, purple, and orange!

Some birds were tall. Some were tiny. Some flew high in the sky. Some ran around on the ground. Some began building nests in the trees and bushes. All of them were tame; none of them was afraid.

What else does the Bible say that God made that day? Water creatures. Suddenly, the lakes and streams and rivers were alive with all shapes and sizes and colors of water creatures. Some were very large; some were very small. Some looked like beautiful flowers. Some fish could dive deep into the water, and some could jump out of the water and then dive back in.

All the things that God was making were so wonderful and interesting, one could never be tired of learning about them. What do we call the fifth day? Thursday.

What do you think happened next? The answer is in Genesis 1:24, 25. Animals—all kinds of animals. God made two of every kind that you can imagine.

If we had been there, we would have seen the first big elephants happily swinging their trunks back and forth as they wandered around, eating leaves, sugar cane, and all the other things they enjoy. Perhaps they went over to a pond to take a drink, and then maybe they sprayed water on each other. They would have been glad to pick you up and take you for a ride.

There were zebras with their black and white striped coats. Two funny monkeys swung in the trees and chattered to each other. Two long-necked giraffes reached up to nibble leaves. A beautiful lion and his mate wanted to be petted. Dogs and cats played tag with each other.

Two beautiful horses raced across the fields with their tails and manes flying in the breeze. Tigers rolled on the soft grass. Deer and sheep grazed close by, and were not afraid. Maybe one snuggled by a lion. We can’t begin to name all the animals that God made that day. Animals can’t think and reason and choose like people can, but God made them so they can love us and help us. He never wanted them to be afraid of us.

By now, everything was ready for the special people that God was going to make next.

God had even made a special home for them; it was called the Garden of Eden. That home was not made of wood or of bricks or cement blocks or anything like that. It was a beautiful garden with soft grass for a carpet and beautiful vines for walls. Genesis 2:15.

Because it would never rain, they didn’t need a roof. The temperature was never too hot nor too cold. It was always just right. Read Genesis 2:8, 9, and tell the names of two special trees that God had put in the garden. They are very important to remember. What were their names?

Each day, after God spoke, the living things that He made came right up out of the ground. God had planned so that the ground, water, sun, and air would all help to keep us healthy.

By the end of the fourth day, God had made everything that living creatures needed. Now everything was all ready for our first parents. What would they be like? Genesis 1:26, 27. “In the image of God”! What does that mean?

God, who created us, is our loving heavenly Father. We can’t begin to understand everything about Him. But we can be His precious, happy children. And Jesus can help us to be kind, loving, and obedient, just as He was when He lived on this earth.

God planned for people to be very different from the animals. People would be the most wonderful of everything that God created. And the people in our world would be different from any others that God had ever created. They would be very special.

God had made all living things from the ground, hadn’t He? Would He make people from the ground, too? Genesis 2:7. God did more than just speak this time, didn’t He? He bent down, and, with dust, He carefully shaped each part of the very first human being.

Each part was perfect. The brain was ready to think, the eyes to see, the ears to hear, the mouth to taste, the lungs to breathe, the heart to beat, and all the many other parts were ready to start working. Then God lovingly held Adam very close to Himself, and He breathed His own powerful breath into him. Instantly, his heart started beating, and everything started working perfectly.

When Adam opened his eyes, whose was the first face he looked into? It was the loving face of God bending over him.

How God must have enjoyed showing Adam his beautiful home! Everything was ready for him to be the king of this world. And Adam looked like a king! He was tall and handsome, and he was very wise.

Now, animals and people in our world start as babies. But God made the first animals and people already grown up. If they had started as babies, who would have taken care of them? God thinks of everything, doesn’t He?

What was one of the first things that God asked Adam to do? Genesis 2:19, 20. How exciting! As Adam looked at the animals, he immediately knew what to call each one. But, as Adam named the animals, he noticed that each one had a mate like itself to be with. Was there a mate for him, too?

Finally, he had named the last animal. Still there was no one like himself. The animals were wonderful, but somehow Adam felt a little lonely. He wished that there was someone like himself to be with all the time.

Of course God knew just what Adam was thinking, and He was pleased. Now He knew that it was time for the lovely surprise that He had saved for the very end of creation. He would put Adam to sleep while He made the surprise. What happened while Adam was sleeping? Genesis 2:21, 22.

When he woke up, perhaps Adam thought again how nice it would be to have someone like himself that he could talk to and share with. Then, suddenly, he saw God coming toward him with a very beautiful person. She was tall, and she looked like a queen.

What did Adam say? Genesis 2:23. That was the very first wedding. What did God say as they became husband and wife? Genesis 2:24.

Husbands and wives belong to each other, and God wants them to love and care for each other as long as they live.

What name did Adam give his wife? Genesis 3:20. Adam and Eve would be the king and queen of our world. Theirs would be the very first family to live in it.

By the end of day six, God had made everything that He had planned for our beautiful world. There wasn’t one more thing that He needed to do.

But how many days are there in a week? Seven. Did God make anything on the seventh day? What did He do? Genesis 2:1-3.