Creation in the Bible

Peter addresses scoffers who mock the promise of Christ's return. God is not slow about His promise—with the Lord a day is like a thousand years. He is patient, not wanting anyone to perish. The day of the Lord will come like a thief. Peter urges believers to live holy lives and grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ.

Paul preaches in Thessalonica and Berea, where the Bereans examine the Scriptures daily to verify his teaching. In Athens, Paul addresses the Areopagus, declaring the unknown God they worship is the Creator in whom we live and move and have our being, calling all people to repentance.

Paul gives thanks for the Colossians' faith and prays that they be filled with spiritual wisdom. He presents the cosmic Christ hymn: Christ is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, in whom all things hold together. He is the head of the church, and through Him God reconciled all things.

The Teacher declares everything is meaningless—a chasing after the wind. Generations come and go but the earth endures. There is nothing new under the sun. Increasing wisdom brings increasing sorrow.

The famous "time for everything" poem: a time to be born and die, weep and laugh, love and hate. God has made everything beautiful in its time and set eternity in the human heart. No one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

The Teacher's conclusion. Remember your Creator in the days of your youth before the difficult days come. A beautiful, melancholy poem describes aging and death. The final verdict: fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. God will bring every deed into judgment.

God creates the heavens and the earth in six days, forming light, sky, land, vegetation, celestial bodies, sea creatures, land animals, and finally mankind in His own image. God declares all creation good and rests on the seventh day.

God forms Adam from dust and breathes life into him, placing him in the Garden of Eden to tend it. God creates Eve from Adam's rib as a suitable helper, establishing the first marriage and the one-flesh union.

The serpent deceives Eve into eating the forbidden fruit, and Adam follows. Their disobedience brings sin, shame, and death into the world. God pronounces curses but also promises that the seed of the woman will crush the serpent's head.

The genealogy from Adam to Noah is recorded, tracing ten generations. Each entry notes the patriarch's age at fatherhood, total lifespan, and death. Enoch stands out as the man who walked with God and was taken without dying.

The Table of Nations lists the descendants of Noah's three sons — Shem, Ham, and Japheth — and how they spread across the earth after the flood. The chapter maps the origins of various ancient peoples, nations, and territories. Nimrod is highlighted as a mighty hunter and founder of great cities.

God, who spoke through the prophets in many ways, has now spoken definitively through His Son, who is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being. The Son is superior to angels, having inherited a more excellent name. He sustains all things by His powerful word.

The great turning point: Comfort, comfort my people. God's glory will be revealed as He comes with power yet tenderly carries His flock. Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength, mount up with wings like eagles — one of the Bible's most beloved promises.

God calls Cyrus by name as His anointed (messiah) to conquer Babylon and free Israel — remarkable because Cyrus doesn't even know God. The chapter declares God's absolute sovereignty: He forms light and creates darkness, makes peace and creates calamity.

God responds to the prayer: He has always been available to those who didn't seek Him, yet Israel provoked Him. He promises new heavens and a new earth where weeping is no more, life is long, and the wolf and lamb feed together — ultimate restoration.

The grand finale: heaven is God's throne and earth His footstool — what house could contain Him? He values the humble and contrite. Zion gives birth to a nation in a day. God gathers all nations to see His glory. A vision of eternal worship and the new creation.

A powerful contrast between worthless idols — scarecrows in a cucumber field — and the living God who made the heavens and earth. Idols are crafted by human hands and cannot speak or walk. The Lord is the true God, the living God, the everlasting King.

The Gospel opens with the cosmic prologue: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word becomes flesh and dwells among us. John the Baptist testifies about the light, and the first disciples—Andrew, Peter, Philip, and Nathanael—begin following Jesus.

Job acknowledges God's power and wisdom but questions how a mortal can be righteous before God. He longs for a mediator between himself and God, feeling unable to present his case fairly.

Job pours out his complaint to God, questioning why God formed him only to destroy him. He asks God to remember that he was made from clay and pleads for a brief respite before death.

Job responds with awe-filled poetry about God's power over creation: stretching the north over empty space, hanging the earth on nothing, and controlling the waters. He declares these are but the outer fringe of God's works.

This wisdom poem asks where wisdom can be found. Humanity mines precious metals from the earth but cannot discover wisdom through effort or wealth. Only God understands wisdom, and the fear of the Lord is its beginning.

Elihu proclaims God's greatness and argues that suffering can be instructive. Those who listen to God are restored to prosperity, but those who refuse perish. He points to God's majestic works in nature.

Elihu marvels at God's power displayed in thunderstorms, ice, and weather. He urges Job to consider God's wondrous works and acknowledge that the Almighty is beyond human comprehension, setting the stage for God's speech.

God finally speaks from the whirlwind, asking Job where he was when the foundations of the earth were laid. Through a series of unanswerable questions about creation, God reveals Job's limited understanding of cosmic governance.

God continues his nature tour, describing the mountain goat, wild donkey, ox, ostrich, horse, and hawk. Each creature reveals divine wisdom and care in areas beyond human control or comprehension.

God challenges Job to answer, and Job humbly puts his hand over his mouth. God then describes Behemoth, a mighty creature that demonstrates divine power far beyond human ability to control.

God describes Leviathan, an untameable sea creature of terrifying power. The message is clear: if Job cannot control Leviathan, how can he contend with the God who made it? No one is fierce enough to rouse it.

One of the most beloved chapters in Proverbs. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. Wisdom is more precious than rubies.

Wisdom personified speaks in the first person, declaring she was present at creation as God's master craftsman. She offers riches, honour, and life. Those who find her find life and receive favour from the Lord. Those who hate wisdom love death.

The words of Agur son of Jakeh. He confesses his ignorance before God and asks for neither poverty nor riches. Contains the famous "two things I ask" prayer and numerical proverbs about four things that are never satisfied and four that are stately in their stride.

A hymn of wonder at creation and humanity's place in it. David marvels that the God who set his glory above the heavens cares about human beings, crowning them with glory and honour as stewards of creation.

The heavens declare God's glory, and the law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. David moves from creation's testimony to Scripture's power, and ends with a prayer to be kept from hidden faults and wilful sins.

A processional psalm declaring that the earth is the Lord's. It asks who may ascend God's holy mountain: those with clean hands and pure hearts. The gates are commanded to lift their heads for the King of Glory to enter.

A nature psalm celebrating God's voice thundering over waters, forests, and deserts. The voice of the Lord is powerful and majestic, stripping forests bare. In his temple, everyone cries "Glory!" God gives strength and peace.