“And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.”

Genesis 1:31 (KJV)

The story

Genesis opens with a sentence that settles who owns everything: in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. The earth was without form, and void, darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Nothing was fixed by force or struggle. God said, Let there be light, and there was light. He saw that it was good, divided it from the darkness, and named them Day and Night. Genesis 1:1-5

The next two days shaped the world into places where life could live. God made a firmament to divide the waters from the waters, and called it Heaven. Then he gathered the waters under heaven into one place so the dry land appeared, and he called the dry land Earth and the gathered waters Seas. He commanded the earth to bring forth grass, herbs yielding seed, and fruit trees, and each one produced after his kind, carrying its own seed inside it. Genesis 1:6-13

On the fourth day God set lights in the firmament to divide day from night and to serve as signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years. He made two great lights, the greater to rule the day and the lesser to rule the night, and he made the stars also. On the fifth day the waters brought forth abundantly, including great whales, and winged fowl filled the air. God blessed them and told them to be fruitful and multiply. Genesis 1:14-23

On the sixth day God made the land animals after their kind, and then said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. So God created man in his own image, male and female, and gave them dominion over the fish, the fowl, and every living thing that moves on the earth. He gave them the seed-bearing plants and fruit for food. God saw every thing that he had made, and it was very good. On the seventh day he ended his work and rested, and he blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. Genesis 1:24-2:3

Quiz

1. What was the earth like before God spoke?

   • Crowded and noisy
   • Without form, and void
   • Covered in cities
   • Frozen solid

2. What moved upon the face of the waters?

   • A great wind only
   • The Spirit of God
   • A flock of birds
   • A ship

3. What did God call the firmament?

   • Heaven
   • Earth
   • Seas
   • Day

4. On which day did the dry land appear?

   • The first day
   • The second day
   • The third day
   • The fifth day

5. According to Genesis 1:14, what were the lights to be for?

   • Signs, seasons, days, and years
   • Warmth only
   • Decoration only
   • Guiding ships only

6. What else did God make besides the two great lights?

   • The clouds
   • The stars
   • The rainbow
   • The wind

7. What phrase describes how plants and animals reproduce?

   • After his kind
   • By the sea
   • In the night
   • Of the dust

8. On which day did God create the great whales?

   • The third day
   • The fourth day
   • The fifth day
   • The sixth day

9. What did God give to man and the animals for meat?

   • Fish from the sea
   • Every herb bearing seed and the fruit of trees
   • Bread from heaven
   • Nothing at first

10. What did God do to the seventh day?

    • He hid it
    • He shortened it
    • He blessed it and sanctified it
    • He divided it