The first verse of the Bible says, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). The Creation account reveals that God made all things in six days. On the seventh day, He rested. Let us examine each day.

1. The First Day

On the first day, God said, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3). Then God divided the light from the darkness. He called the light Day and the darkness Night (Genesis 1:3–5). At this point, the earth was still “without form, and void” (Genesis 1:2). There existed a mass of waters.

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2. The Second Day

On the second day God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it ivide the waters from the waters” (Genesis 1:6). God called the firmament heaven; today we call it the sky. This firmament divided the waters into those under it and those above it (Genesis 1:6–8).

3. The Third Day

On the third day God said, “Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear” (Genesis 1:9). He called the dry land Earth and the gathered waters Seas. On the same day God also 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” (Genesis 1:11). So the third day saw the appearance of dry land, the gathering of the waters into specific areas, and the creation of grass, herbs, and trees on the land (Genesis 1:9–13).

4. The Fourth Day

On the fourth day 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: and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth” (Genesis 1:14–15). On this day God made the sun, moon, and stars to divide the light from darkness and to mark days, seasons, and years with their signs

(Genesis 1:14–19).

5. The Fifth Day

On the fifth day 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” (Genesis 1:20). By His spoken word God created the great whales and every living creature that moves in the water, as well as every winged fowl. God also said, “Be fruitful, and multiply . . . in the earth” (Genesis 1:22). On the fifth day, then, God created the fish and the birds (Genesis 1:20–23).

6. The Sixth Day

The sixth day saw the creation of animals and humankind. God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind” (Genesis 1:24). Then 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” (Genesis 1:26). Thus, God created man in His own image, and He made both male and female.

God said to 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. 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.

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” (Genesis 1:28–30). Humankind, then, is the only creation of God commanded to have dominion over all creatures and to subdue the earth. Humankind is also the creation made in the image of God  (Genesis 1:24–31).

7. The Seventh Day

On the last day of creation week God rested (Genesis 2:1–3). Creation was complete, and God’s relationship with humankind was just beginning.