In the beginning, everything was dark and empty. There was nothing yet, no land, no plants, no animals and no people. But God was there, and He had a wonderful plan. He wanted to create a world that was beautiful and full of life.
On the first day, God said, “Let there be light!” And suddenly there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated it from the darkness. The light He called day and the darkness He called night. So the time began with the first day and the first night.
On the second day, God created the heavens. He made the great wide space above the earth, separating the waters under the heavens from the waters above. The sky was beautiful.
On the third day, God gathered the water in one place, so that dry earth appeared. The dry earth He called land, and the great expanses of water He called sea. Then God caused the land to produce plants: trees, flowers, and many different plants with fruits and seeds. The earth was now full of green and life.
On the fourth day, God made two great lights: the sun to light up the day and the moon to light up the night. He also made the stars to shine in the night sky. Everything glittered and sparkled, and it was very beautiful.
On the fifth day, God created all the animals in the water and in the air. Big and small fish swam in the sea, and colorful birds flew through the air. Everything was full of life and movements.
On the sixth day, God created the animals on the land: lions, elephants, hares, and many, many more. Each animal was unique and wonderfully made. And finally, God created human beings. He made them so that they were like Him. God created a man named Adam and a woman named Eve. He loved her very much and was happy about her. He gave them the Garden of Eden as a home and asked them to take care of the earth and the animals.
On the seventh day, God rested from all His work. He had done everything very well. So God blessed and sanctified the seventh day as a day of rest.
Everything that God had created was beautiful and good. He loves everything He has made, and especially the people who are supposed to be His friends.
Message of history
God is the mighty creator of everything we see. He created the world out of love, and He loves us humans especially.
Bible passage
The story of the creation of the world is found in 1. Moses, chapters 1 to 2, verse 3:
Genesis 1:1-31 (Schlachter 2000):
*”In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 And the earth was desolate and empty, and it was dark on the deep; and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light. And there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good; then God separated the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light day, and the darkness night. And there was evening, and there was morning: the first day.
6 And God said, Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, separating water from water. 7 And God made the expansive, and separated the waters under the expanse from the waters over the expanse; and it happened like that. 8 And God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening, and there was morning: the second day.
9 And God said, Let the waters of the heavens be gathered together in one place, that the dry land may be seen. And so it happened. 10 And God called the dry earth; and the gathering of the waters he called the sea. And God saw that it was good. 11 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, herbs that give seed, fruit trees that bear fruit after their kind, in which their seed is on the earth.” And so it happened. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herbs that give seed after their kind, and trees that bear fruit, in which their seed is after their kind. 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 expanse of heaven, to separate the day from the night; and let them be signs, [zur Bestimmung von] Times, days and years; 15 And let them be lights in the expanse of heaven, that they may illuminate the earth. And so it happened. 16 And God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, and the stars. 17 And God set them in the expanse of heaven, that they might illuminate the earth, 18 and rule the day and the night, and separate the light from the 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 waters swarm with living creatures, and let birds fly over the earth in the firmament. 21 And God created the great sea creatures, and all living creatures that move, with which the waters swarm, after their kind, and all feathered birds after their kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters of the sea, and the birds shall multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning, the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after its kind, cattle, and creeping beasts, and wild beasts of the earth after their kind.” And so it happened. 25 And God made the wild beasts of the earth after their kind, the cattle after their kind, and every creeping beast on the ground after their kind. And God saw that it was good.
26 And God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness.” They shall have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth. 27 And God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over all the animals that creep on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you all the seed-bearing herb that grows on the surface of the whole earth, and all the trees on which there is seed-bearing fruit; it shall be for your food, 30 but to all the beasts of the earth, and to all the birds of the air, and to every creeping thing on the earth, in which there is a living soul, I have given all the green herb for food. And so it happened. 31 And God saw all that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day.” *
Genesis 2:1-3 (Schlachter 2000):
“So the heavens and the earth were completed with all their host. 2 And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had made, and on the seventh day he rested from all his work that he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because he had rested on it from all his works, which God had created and made.”
