The word Genesis means “beginning” or “origin.” Jewish and Christian tradition credits Moses with writing it as the first of the five books of the Law. Genesis does not begin by arguing that God exists; it simply declares Him. Before anything else was, God was — and everything else exists because He spoke.
Over six days God brings order out of what was “without form, and void.” On the first day He says, “Let there be light.” He separates the waters, gathers the dry land, fills the sky with the sun, moon and stars on the fourth day, and fills the seas, the air and the land with living creatures. Again and again the Scripture repeats, “And God saw that it was good.”
On the sixth day God does something different. He says, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” Every man and woman carries the image of God — that is the root of our worth, our dignity and our calling to care for His creation. When God looked at all He had made, He saw that it was “very good.”
On the seventh day God rested — not because He was tired, but because His work was complete. He blessed the seventh day and set it apart. From the very first page, God invites us into a rhythm of work and holy rest with Him.