Genesis 1

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

There was a beginning, and God was there, God created heaven, the word heaven could mean the celestial realms, or the sky, or both. God created the earth, the blue ball we are on, the ground. So God was there, and God knows, he saw the beginning, and he is around now, he knows all things. Evidently God did not want to be alone, because he created, and with no blueprints, and no one else to inspire him, he is obviously the root of all creativity.

2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Without form meant, to lay waste, to be worthless, or like a wilderness, barren, void meant empty, the deep was probably a deep sea, and it was dark, like night. The spirit of God, or the breath, and life of God moved over this surface of water.

3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

God said it, it happened. God is not bound by science, God does not require an object he created to be able to understand or comprehend, or even to exist in order to obey him. He commanded light, and light happened. No mention of the darkness over the water now. 

4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

Here we can catch an idea of a God who loves light, he takes a moment to look at the light, and to admire it, he sees it is good, and is happy with it. God loves light. It is impossible for my human mind to grasp the idea of light and darkness being swirled together, or mixed. A light is on, and darkness only creeps in around us as we travel further from the light. However, having just deemed light good, as he created it. He separated light from darkness, and it has been separated ever since, thank God. 

5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

God has the light and the dark separated into 2 different times, named day and night. He now sets the whole planet rotation in motion, that natural ongoing cycle we take for granted, a day to see and move in, and a night to rest and sleep in for most people. For some, the other way around, but regardless, 2 distinct phases of a day to plan around for general health. 

6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

God made an expanse of something, a firmament and divided the water into 2 sections. 

7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

So God made the firmament and had water above the firmament and water below it, and that’s how it is, God willed it, so it is. 

8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

Here we see that the firmament is heaven, and we learned that he divided the water, so that earth and heaven would both be supplied, all this was accomplished on the second day. 

9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

Here God asked the water below heaven to consolidate, to put itself in one place, and this happened just like he wished. When he did, dry land appeared, like he knew it would, just like he said it would. 

10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

Here God named this dry land earth, and we learn where our ball of living space came from. The water he called seas, apparently he allowed it to consolidate in more than one spot. God takes time to look over this, and he likes what he sees, it is good.

11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

Here we see God looking over his earth, a land of promise, and at a spoken word, it sprouts and produces grass, herbs, fruit trees, all with the ability to reproduce. We see God uses things to their potential, and we see God is a farmer, the ultimate farmer.

12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

The ultimate farmer looks over this vast array of reproducing production that he set into motion and he is pleased, it is good.

13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.

The third day was dedicated to “farming”.  In one day, with spoken word, our God planted the entire world. 

14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

Here God is now putting the lights in, our stars, moon, sun, other planets, for us to look at, read directions, and times from. Things we take for granted, but wouldn’t want to do without.

15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

God took extra care to position the lights to be most useful for us, far enough away to not be too hot but close enough to be useful, he really cares about us. 

16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

God had two lights especially designed for our light sources, a big one for our daylight to see where to work, and a smaller one as a night light. We as humans, tend to like our houses well lit, but then when we want to sleep, we turn them all off except for the really small ones, sometimes a dim night light to see when walking. God designed the earth this way, with some variety, different moon phases for different levels of night light, and day light that varies from summer to winter in it’s warmth, from cloudy to sunny in it’s radiance. There is a light for everyone, no one is left out. 

17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

We see where God set them in place, and today 6000 years later, neither one has deviated far enough from it’s factory settings to cause us any trouble. We as humans admire build quality and reliability, well what about God’s build quality, and reliability? It’s amazing.

18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

These lights rule our days and nights for us, and I’m not sure what we would do without them. God again looks over it all, and is pleased. 

19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

The entire world lighting system was done on day 4.

20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

God asks for the waters to team with living creatures. Bring forth abundantly could translate as, let the water fill or team with living creatures. Fowl would translate as flying creatures, so that would be birds, bats, and flying dinosaurs, so God asks for creatures that can occupy, and fly through the open air above the earth, and creatures that can occupy, live in the water. 

21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

God added whales to the water, along with all the other sea creatures, he set the reproduction cycle in motion for all water creatures, and flying creatures. Other interpretations for the word that was interpreted as whales is, sea monsters, dragons, or serpents. God looks at it all and sees that it is good.

22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

God blessed them, told them to be fruitful, to multiply, to reproduce in seas and in the earth.

23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

This all happened on day 5. 

24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.                               God asked for living creatures on the earth, cattle, or another way to translate, beasts, and creeping things, all after their kind, and so it was.

25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. God made them all after their kind, and he saw that it was good. He looked at it and was pleased.

 26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. God said, let’s make man in our image, the word man here probably translates better to mankind or humans. God also uses the plural, “let us, in our”. This reflects the triune nature of God. A 3 part God in harmony with Himself. “In our image” means that humanity is made to look like God. Like a miniature likeness of God, or a reflection of God. If “man” does indeed include all humanity, then women are also made in the image of God. I believe they are. Also, with all the other creatures God had made. He said that man is to be over them all, to have dominion over, ie dominate over, and looking at the world today, this is definitely the case, no other creature has employed science, water, and fire, the way humans have. This gives us a huge advantage over animals in every area. 

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. God did it, and He made them male and female, both in his image. This would imply it takes at least 2 to reflect the image of God. 

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. God put a blessing on us, this blessing may be the reason that we are able to make things work for us. Our ability to make cars, boats, trains, and planes for example. Whereas animals are only able to run, fly, and swim fast. God asked us to fill the earth and to make it work for us. It is a lease in effect that he has given us. This then brings the question around, how are we doing? Are we harvesting the earth’s bounty and using its potential while at the same time caring for it and repairing it? The American right talks well on the fruitful harvest, and the American left talks well on the replenishing and repairing, but what are we actually doing? Both matter, let's do what actually works for us and the globe God has so kindly leased to us. 

29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. God has explained here that herbs and fruits provide food and seed both. Food for the now, and seed for the future. 

30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. God explained that he gave the green herbs for the other living things. We get all, they get the greens. 

31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Everything was good.