Lesson 1: God Made the World

Before you do this lesson, read these verses from the Taurat: Genesis 1:1-31.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep. God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.

3 God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. There was evening and there was morning, one day.

6 God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters." 7 God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse, and it was so. 8 God called the expanse sky. There was evening and there was morning, a second day.

9 God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear," and it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters he called Seas. God saw that it was good. 11 God said, "Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with its seed in it, on the earth," and it was so. 12 The earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with its seed in it, after their kind: and God saw that it was good. 13 There was evening and there was morning, a third day.

14 God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of sky to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the expanse of sky to give light on the earth," and it was so. 16 God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the expanse of sky to give light to the earth, 18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good. 19 There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

20 God said, "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of sky." 21 God created the large sea creatures, and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." 23 There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

24 God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind, cattle, creeping things, and animals of the earth after their kind," and it was so. 25 God made the animals of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind. God saw that it was good.

26 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 birds of the sky, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." 27 God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them. God said to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." 29 God said, "Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food. 30 To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food." And it was so.

31 God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Now read the lesson and do the test at the end. The lesson explains what you have read in the Taurat.

"In the beginning God created* the heavens and the earth" are the first words of the Taurat.

The world is a very wonderful place, isn't it? God's word through the Prophet Moses shows us why the world is so wonderful. The Taurat of Moses says that God himself created the world.

Some people do not believe in God. God says that people who do not believe in him are foolish. They cannot explain how the world can be such a wonderful place.

When God Made the World

The first verse of the Taurat says that God created the heavens and the earth in the beginning (Genesis 1:1).

Remember: Genesis 1:1 means, chapter one and verse one of Genesis. Genesis is the first section of the Taurat.

Do you know when the beginning was? Most scientists say that the earth is millions* of years old. But some people say it is only thousands of years old. Who is right? The Taurat does not tell us. No one knows for sure when the beginning was.

What the World was Like

What do you think the world was like at the beginning? The first section of the Taurat says that it was without form and empty (Genesis 1:2). This means that it did not have a shape. Scientists think that in the beginning the earth was full of boiling rock and burning gases. The sun is very much like that today.

But God changed the earth. He made it into a good place. He made the air and the water. He made the dry land and the cool winds. God made the rain, the trees, and the grass. He also made the fish, the lions, and the camels. God created everything in the world.

How God Made the World

In Genesis chapter one we learn that God created our world in seven steps. These steps are called days.

On the first day God made day and night (Genesis 1:3-5). We know that the world turns round and round. And we know that this causes day and night. The day and night are just right for working and sleeping. This is very good for us. Truly God planned to make the world into a good place.

On the second day God made the air and the clouds above the earth (Genesis 1:6-8). The air is like a covering. It protects us. It prevents the sun from making the earth become too hot in the day time. Also, rain is formed in the air, and so are the clouds.

On the third day God made the dry land rise out of the seas (Genesis 1:9-13). Even on the highest mountains we can find stones which were formed under the sea! This shows us that at one time the sea covered all the land in the world. The Taurat says that in the beginning water covered everything (Genesis 1:6-10). But then the land rose above the water. Trees and plants began to grow.

On the fourth day God made the sun and the moon and the stars to give their light (Genesis 1:14-19) . The sun, moon and the stars are very helpful to us. The stars give us light at night. They also help us know directions when we travel. The sun and the moon give light for day and night. They help us know the time of the day or night, and the time of the month or the year.

On the fifth day God made the fish and the birds (Genesis 1:20-23). What do you think they ate? They ate the plants which God had made on the third day! God made food for the animals before he made them! How wonderfully God planned the world!

On the sixth day God made the large animals like camels and cows. These animals live on land (Genesis 1:24-25). Many of these animals serve us. They work for us. They are very helpful to us. God also made mankind at this time.

On the seventh day God finished his work of creating the world (Genesis 2:2). God was very pleased after he created the world. "God looked at everything he had made, and he was very pleased" (Genesis 1:31).

When God made the world, he only said words. Listen to the Taurat: "God commanded, 'Let there be light,' and light appeared" (Genesis 1:3). When you read the first chapter of Genesis, you will see the words "God commanded" or "God said" at least nine times. When God spoke, things were made. God's word made the world.

Why God Made the World

After God created the world, he gave it to the people to care for. The Taurat says that God gives us everything to enjoy (Genesis 1:28-31). The world is God's gift to us.

Here is a list of difficult words in this lesson.

create - to make out of nothing
universe - heavens and earth
million - a thousand thousand

Learn this verse. It gives an important idea in the lesson.

Genesis 1:31: "God looked at everything he had made, and he was very pleased."

Test 1: The Beginning of People

Here is the test for Lesson 1. Write the letter of the correct answer on the line on the right side of the page.
The answer to the first question is found in the introduction. The first question has been answered for you as an example.
1.            The Quran says that the Taurat was
            a)            written by Aaron.
            b)            came from God.
            c)            consists of three books.                                                _b_
2.            Genesis is
            a)            the second book of the Taurat.
            b)            the first book of the Taurat.
            c)            the fifth book of the Taurat.                                                ___
3.            The Taurat says that the world was created
            a)            in the beginning.
            b)            millions of years ago.
            c)            thousands of years ago.                                                ___
4.            Before God made the world into a good place
            a)            it was in the shape of a ball.
            b)            it was covered with trees.
            c)            it was without form and empty.                                    ___
5.            God made the world into a good place
            a)            in seven days.
            b)            in four days.
            c)            in three days.                                                                        ___
Write "True" or " False" after each of the following sentences.
6.            God made the air on the second day.                                    ______
7.            God made the birds on the fifth day.                                    ______
8.            God made mankind on the sixth day.                                    ______
9.            God made the grass on the seventh day.                                    ______
10.            The world is God's gift to us.                                                ______

> Next Lesson