Prayers for all Occasions, Needs, and Intentions

THE STORY OF THE BIBLE

Retold for Children of all ages

Book 1

Introduction to The Holy Bible  |  God - Who is God and What is He Like  |  The Beginning  |  The Angels  |  The First Seven Days of Creation  |  The Garden of Eden  

The First Day

WHEN GOD first made the world, the earth was empty and dark.  Then God said, "Let there be light," and so there was light.  God saw that the light was good.  Genesis 1, 2-3

God did not intend to tell us, in this part of the Bible, all the facts of our world, which we can learn by the study of nature.   As we learn more about the wonders of God's creation, through the finding of science, we stand in ever greater wonder and awe before God's power and wisdom.  We have only recently found out that everything around us is made up from the same stuff as light. The atoms which make up our own bodies, the grass, rocks and every living thing including the stars and the sun are all closely related.  No wonder something like light would be God's first choice as  "building blocks."

'He sends forth light and it goes,  He has called it and it obeys him with trembling.'   Baruch 3,33

GOD divided. the light from the darkness, He called the light Day, and the darkness Night. Evening and morning came, and the first day passed. Genesis 1, 4-5

MODERN studies help us see God's wonderful hand in all creation. Some scientists say that at first there may have been huge clouds of gas, spinning in circles. As the clouds grew smaller and thicker, they grew hot and began to glow with light.

GOD SPEAKS TO ONE OF HIS FRIENDS

Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?

   Tell me, if you know all:

Which is the way to the dwelling place of light?

   and where is the abode of darkness,

Which Way to the parting of the winds,

   whence the east wind spreads over the earth?

Can you bring forth the Mazzaroth in their season

   or guide the Bear with its train?

Can you send forth lightning's on their way,

   or will they say to you, "Here we are"?

So that the dust Of earth is fused into a mass

   and its clods made solid'     Job 38

The Second Day

ON THE second day, God said, "Let there be a sky between the waters," and the sky was made by God's word. This sky kept the water in the upper air apart from the waters that were underneath, Genesis 1, 6-7

WHEN THE Sacred Writer (Moses) set down the account of God's creation, he had no notion of the immensity of space and the marvels of our world, such as modern science teaches us. He thought, as people did in those days, that the sky was a crystal bowl turned upside down over the earth. The stars were fixed in it, and its edges rested on the mountain tops. The rain ran down through small holes in the top of the bowl. He had these ideas when he explained God's creation of the "firmament" or sky.

The sky was made by God's word. Our present-day knowledge of the earth shows God's work as even more wonderful. We now know that it is our atmosphere that surrounds the earth and makes the blue sky. Without this layer of air, the sun and stars would shine out fiercely in the blackness of space. Clouds of water vapor float in the sky, and are blown here and there by the winds. The air buoys up these clouds, keeping them separate from the waters on earth.

Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord, my God, you are great indeed! You are clothed with majesty and glory, Robed in light as with a cloak. You have spread out the heavens like a tent-cloth; You travel on the wings of the wind. Psalms 103: 1-3

The Third Day

ANOTHER day came, and God said, "Let the waters collect in one place, and let the dry land come out." God called the dry land earth, The waters, He called seas, God looked at all that He had made, and He saw that it was good. Genesis 1, 9-10

GOD BUILT. laws and forces into His world, so that His works behave in certain ways. Some scientists think that when the earth was young, it was surrounded by thick clouds of water vapor. Heavy rains fell for thousands of years. The water gathered in hollows, and formed into oceans, seas, and lakes. There were forces inside the earth which made some land rise high into mountains. In some places hot lava poured out of volcanoes, So the mountains were born.

And who shut within doors the sea, . . . When I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling bands? And said: Thus far shall you come but no further, and here shall your proud waves be stilled! Job 38, 8-9

ON THIS same day, God told the earth to grow grasses which would have seeds, and trees that would bear fruit. So it was done. A carpet of living green things began to spread over the earth. God saw His work, and He knew that it was good. Genesis 1, 11-12

THE WORLD of rocks, water, gases, and light was a wonderful thing, which God had made out of nothing, but it was dead. Now something more wonderful was about to take place. God put some of His own life into His creation, and living plants began to grow. These may have been very small, simple plants at first, starting at the edges of the shallow water. Then they crept out onto the land, as God made ever more and more beautiful and interesting forms of plant life.

Dew and rain, bless the Lord; Frost and cold, bless the Lord; Ice and snow, bless the Lord; Nights and days, bless the Lord; Light and darkness, bless the Lord; Lightning's and clouds, bless the Lord; Let the earth bless the Lord, Praise and exalt Him above all forever. Mountains and hills, bless the Lord; Everything growing on the earth, Bless the Lord! Daniel 3, 64-75

The Fourth Day

THE FOURTH DAY GOD MADE two great lights and many smaller ones. So the sun, the moon, and the stars were made. They give light to the earth, and they mark the days and the seasons for us. God saw what He had made, and it was good. Genesis 1, 14-19

The stars have given flight in their watches, and rejoiced. They were called, and they said: Here we are: And with cheerfulness they have shined forth To Him that made them.    Baruch 3,34.5

O my God, of old you established the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They shall perish, but you remain though all of them grow old like a garment. Like clothing you change them, and they are changed, but you are the same, and your years have no end.    Psalm 101, 25-28

WE KNOW today that our Sun is a Star. It it closer to us than the other stars, so its light warms the earth. The new, huge telescopes show us more and more of God's wonderful creation. We see that the stars are not scattered carelessly through space. They are arranged in splendid galaxies, each made up of hundreds of millions of shining suns. Everything that God made is beautiful and in order. Nothing happens by chance, and nothing is forgotten. Scientists today think they may have found out a little about the beginnings of the sun and the stars. Great masses of vapor or gas were whirling in space. The power of gravity which God built into them made them grow smaller and more solid. They began to glow with light and heat. At last they formed into huge balls of vapors which are hot and shining, perhaps with the same kind of power that makes the atom bomb explosion hot and bright. Smaller parts of these bodies, which somehow came loose, cooled off faster. So the earth and the moon and other solid bodies were formed. These are all ideas which may be changed as scientists learn more. After thousands of years of study, we know only a little about God's wonderful creation.

The glory of the stars is the beauty of heaven; The Lord enlightened the world on high. There are many things hidden from us that are greater than these: For we have seen but a few of His works.   Sirach 43, to and 36

The Fifth Day

The Sixth Day

GOD MADE all kinds of wild beasts and cattle, and creatures that crawl on the ground. Again, God saw that His works were good. Genesis 1, 24-5

SCIENTISTS, digging deep in the earth. find old bones and plant fossils. These show the growth of life on earth in much the same order as that told us in the first book of the Bible. First there were plants, then some sea creatures, fishes, reptiles, birds, and later, the modern kinds of animals. These were on the earth long before the coming of man. "Cattle" means the tame beasts that God gave to man for his special use. They would include not only cows, but also sheep, goats, horses, camels, pigs, donkeys, reindeer, and perhaps man's earliest animal friend, the dog. God was making the earth ready to be a home for man. It is easy to see that none of the animals is at all like man. Even the dog, which makes a friendly pet, can never learn to talk. He cannot do arithmetic problems, or learn to read and write. Certain monkeys have bodies somewhat like the body of man. They have throats that could form words. But they do not talk because they have nothing to say. Only man has reason, and a mind that can think and plan and choose.

GOD TOOK great pains in creating His animals, making them strong and beautiful, and well suited for living in different surroundings. He gave them a certain kind of wisdom called "instinct" which teaches them how to manage,

Here are some things God once said about a few of His animals: The wild ass is free; I have given him a house in the wilderness, and dwellings in a barren land. He scorns the crowds of the city, and does not hear the driver's shouts. He roams his mountain pastures, and searches for everything green.

The ostrich leaves her eggs on the earth; she forgets someone may walk upon them, or the beasts of the field may break them, She has no anxiety, for God has not given her wisdom. She flaps her wings in the air and laughs at the horse and his rider.

The horse can leap like the locust, with majesty and terrible snortings. He paws the earth with his hoof, prances boldly, and goes out to meet the enemy. He has no fear, and does not turn his back to the sword. Chasing, racing, he flies over the ground. When he hears the trumpets of war, he says, "Ha! Ha!" He smells the battle from far off, the commands of the captains, and the war cry. As told in Job 39

O Lord, my God, you an great indeed! You send forth springs . . . that wind among the mountains, And give drink to every beast of the field, . . . Beside them the birds of heaven dwell; from among the branches they send forth their song. . . . You raise grass for the cattle, and vegetables for men's use: You bring darkness, and it is night; then all the beasts of the forest roam about.  Psalm 103, 10-14, 201 21

THE END OF GOD'S WORKS

ON THE sixth day, after God made the animals, He said, "Let us make man in Our image and likeness, Let us make him ruler over the fishes of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, and the animals of the whole earth." So God made man in His own image and likeness. Genesis 1, 26-7

MAN IS the last work of God's creation. The world and all the things in it were made for man. When making the earth, the plants, and the animals, God said, "Let them be," and they were made. But before making man, God thought and consulted with Himself. "Let us make man." The angels had been made in God's image and likeness. They were spirits. They could think, and reason, and choose to do this or that. Now God made another creature in His own image. Man. too, could think and reason and choose. He had a spirit like the angels, and he also had a body like the animals. But none of the animals had reason and free will.

O Lord, our Lord, bow glorious is your name over all the earth! What is man that you should be mindful of him, Or the son of man that you should care for him You have made him little less than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him rule over the works of your hands .... Psalm 8

THE FIRST MAN ON EARTH

GOD MADE man out of the dust of the earth, and breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living being. The man's name was Adam. Genesis 2, 7

OUR BODIES are built up with the things we eat and drink. All our foods come from the earth. When we die, our bodies decay and turn once again into dust. We do not need to think that God formed man from earth as we make a figure from modeling clay. Some people say (although it has not yet been proven) that God drew man's body gradually from the earth during ages of vegetable and animal growth. If this were so, then when the body was perfect and noble enough, God created a human soul for it.

The Seventh Day

Book 1

Introduction to The Holy Bible  |  God - Who is God and What is He Like   |  The Beginning  |  The Angels  |  The First Seven Days of Creation  |  The Garden of Eden