Where else to start but at the beginning? I have found that my favorite way to study the bible stems from my love of school. I love creating outlines and learning in a step-by-step way. So that's what we're going to do. I have used the Life Application Study Bible in the NLT version for several years now, so if you have that it will be very easy to follow along. However, I also find that cross-referencing other versions is a great way to gain incite and context. I'd love to hear from you on ways you like to study the bible! For now, let's get started with Genesis! I prefer to learn things in the order they happened, so I will be sharing the bible in chronological order. Stick with me, it is a lot of fun!
I. The Story of Creation (Gen. 1:1-2:4)
A. The Account of Creation (Gen. 1:1-2:4)
Day 1- (1:1) "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." A simple statement that starts the entirety of the bible. There is so much to take from this one statement. The beginning. This dictates that there was a point in time when the world was made. Time started then. God created the concept of time with the beginning of the world. God had no beginning. He always was. This is one of the hardest concepts for humans to grasp and this is why. We were made on a time frame. We have a beginning, middle, and end. Well, on earth we have an end anyway, but that's something we will talk about later. So, now we are at the beginning of all time. God decides to create the heavens and the earth. Did he create heaven then? No. This isn't the heaven where God dwells. This is speaking of the firmament. The space above the earth. What surrounds us and protects us. And He created the earth. This big round ball we love on. (Yes, I know flat-earthers will come for me, but can we just not go there and try not to think that everything is a conspiracy? Thanks...let's continue.) So now we have this earth and these heavens above the earth. What did they look like? 2. "The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the face of the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters." So the earth had no real form or shape. It just was. It had nothing in or on it yet, well, other than water. The earth was covered in complete darkness. God's Spirit was hovering over the face of, or above, the waters. So God's very presence was just there, watching over His creation. He has never stopped doing that. God is with us always, watching over and caring for us...like a Father. 3. "Then God said, "Let there be light." and there was light." God spoke, and things happened! The very first thing he spoke into existence was light. God is light. His light shines to this very day, because He created it. Everytime you open your eyes you see God's light. We can't escape it. And what is light? Light is what eliminates darkness. God created the light. He did not create the darkness. The darkness was what was there before the light was made. Darkness is the absence of light. When I came to this realization, my jaw hit the floor! We are called to be the light. The more we seek the light, the more the darkness fades. 4. "And God saw that the light was good. Then He separated the light from the darkness." God was pleased with His work. He saw that light was good because it made the darkness go away. Darkness is not necessarily a bad thing, but the concept of dark and light is woven all throughout the Bible. God separated them because they cannot co-exist. If we want to be God's light and be in God's light, we cannot be in the dark as well. 5. "God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And the evening passed and the morning came, marking the first day." God names the day and night based on light and darkness. He is establishing days and more measurements of time. Evening passed and gave way to the morning. The night will always give way to the day. The darkness will always succumb to the light. (If you try to close your eyes in a lit room some light will always shine through. You can never "cover" light with darkness, but if you shine light into the dark the dark ceases to exist!) This marks the end of the first full day ever.
Day 2- 6. "Then God said, "Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth." Now God separates two types of water. He makes a space between water in the heavens, and the water on the earth. 7. "And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens." It happened. God spoke it, and it happened. God is so powerful. His voice can separate water. His voice can create an entire world. And He chose to make this world for us to live in . He chose to make us. 8. "God called the space sky. And evening passed and morning came, marking the second day." Now we have sky. The heavens above us (the firmament) have water to protect the earth, and we have the waters on the earth so that we can live as well. Another day passes and we have the end of the second day.
Day 3- 9. "Then God said, "Let the waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear." And that is what happened." Now God starts to really form this earth He made. He tells the water to go together into certain places so that dry ground appears beneath it. 10. "God called the dry ground land and the waters seas. And God saw that it was good." Now we have land and seas. This earth is really taking shape! He said it was good. He is liking the way things are looking. 11. "Then God said, "Let the land sprout with vegetation-every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came." And that is what happened." Wow, now God is making some beautiful things! He creates every kind of plant and tree that has ever been on earth with a single phrase. Not only does He create them, but He makes them to be able to reproduce more trees and plants of the same kind! This is amazing! We now know that plants and trees create oxygen so that we can breathe. Everything that we have learned about the science of how and why things work was created by the same God that made it all. Such attention to detail. It's all perfectly done. 12. "The land produced vegetation-all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good." 13. "And evening passed and morning came, marking the third day."
Day 4- 14. "Then God said, "Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. 15. Let these lights in the sky shine down on earth." And that is what happened. 16. God made two great lights-the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17. God set these lights in the sky to light the earth, 18. to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19. And the evening passed and the morning came, marking the fourth day." God created the sun, moon and stars. He created them so they can show people when it is day and night. They also change throughout time to know between seasons and years. The sun keeps us warm. It provides things our bodies need. God and science. God is science.
Day 5- 20. "Then God said, " Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind." 21. So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that scurries and swarms in the water, and every sort of bird-each producing offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. 22. Then God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth." 23. And the evening passed and morning came, marking the fifth day." God created every kind of fish and sea creature ever to exist. He also created all the birds. He blessed them. This is the first time he blessed any of His creation. He tells them to be fruitful and multiply and fill the seas and earth. His blessing was on them to do so, so I believe they filled the earth rather quickly.
Day 6- 24. "Then God said Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind-livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and wild animals," And that is what happened. 25. God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good." So now we're really filling up the earth here. God creates all the other types of animals that are on earth. He makes livestock (cows, goats, lambs, etc.), small animals (squirrels, skunks, rabbits, etc), as well as wild animals (lions and tigers and bears OH MY!). They were also created to produce babies and fill the earth. 26. "Then God said, "Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground." Hold up, hold up, hold up! Who is this "US" God is talking about here? God says let US make humans. So who is God talking to? Who is He with? Well, He doesn't explain it really at all here, but later in His word we find out that God is triune. That means that God is one but also three. The person of God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in one being. But they are also separate. Hey, I never said God wasn't complicated! Stick with me, and we'll learn. So anyway, God wants to make humans. He wants them to be like Him. We can assume that because of this statement, we are at least in some way, like God's image. We will never BE God. But we can be like God. God wants humans to reign over all the earth. This doesn't mean to reign as in a kingly way. This reign means to protect, take care of, and nurture. God created all the world and everything in it, and He wants humans to take care of it for Him. 27. "So God created humans in His own image. In the image of God He created them; male and female He created them." God now creates humans. The next chapter of the bible goes deeper into the actual creation of them, but for now, they are made. God created them in His image. He wanted someone to share this earth with that was like Him, and could relate to Him. God is relational. He wants to have a relationship with us. Not just smack us when we sin and reward us when we are good. That's not God. God is loving, caring, and personal. This verse also says He created male and female humans. We cannot just skim over that part. It is there and is just as important than all the other parts. God created male and female. He created them as they were and all of God's creation is perfect. It is not our place to change what God made or to think that it is wrong. God made you the way He did because He wanted you for you! 28. "Then God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish of the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground." God creates humans to reproduce. He wants them to fill the earth with more people. This is the purpose of sex. God created it for a reason. It is between a man and a woman that are married (although that hadn't been established yet, it is very clearly stated later in the Bible) to reproduce and have children. Was it meant to be pleasurable? God created all things and the way they work so I'm sure he did want a husband and wife to enjoy their intimacy. It was never meant to be shared outside of marriage though. 29. "Then God said, "Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. 30. And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and all the small animals that scurry along the ground-everything that has life." And that is what happened." God tells humans that all the fruit and plants with seeds are for them to eat. All the green plants are for the animals to eat. There was food made for everything that has life. Interesting that there was no mention of eating animals yet. Perhaps if the fall of man had not occurred, we would still be eating plants and fruit alone? We can't know the answer to that, but we do know that God says that now it is not wrong to eat animals. More on that in the future. 31. "Then God looked over all He had made, and saw that it was very good! And the evening passed and the morning came, marking the sixth day." God stood back and saw all He had made and was very happy with it all. I can picture Father God standing there like a proud Poppa just beaming with joy for all that He saw. This picture also makes me sad. For what is to come takes that picture and taints it for eternity. Humans destroyed their bond with this loving Father to pursue their own selfish ways. I can't say I would've done it any different. I am a mere human, as are you. We are, in fact, not God. But God is God. And God is love. The rest of the Bible proves that.
Day 7- 2:1. "So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. 2. On the seventh day God had finished His work of creation, so he rested from all His work. 3. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when He rested from all His work of creation. 4. This is the account of the creation of the heavens and the earth." God was finished. He had made all He set out to make and was pleased. So He rested. He stopped. He reflected, perhaps. This seventh day He declared holy, and that is why we rest and reflect on Him at church on the seventh day. (Some places do this differently and it is not wrong to do so. It is just as holy having our church any day as long as we are resting and reflecting on God.)
Thank you for sharing this first Bible study with me! If you have any questions at all please feel free to share them below. I pray that everyone who comes to this page will feel God's presence and find Him for themselves. Til next time!
-Heather
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