Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth."

So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." God said, "See, I have given you every plant yielding seeds that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plan for food." And it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Genesis 1:26-31

The writer of Genesis made the radical declaration that there is one God. That truth stood in sharp contrast to the theories of the ancient world of multiple gods. As we read the first chapter of Genesis we see that gods of light and darkness are dismissed; day 2 the gods of sea and sky are dismissed; day 3 gods of earth and vegetation are dismissed; day 4 sun, moon and star gods are dismissed; days 5 and 6 animal gods are dismissed. And finally, humans are created. Even though all people are granted a divine likeness, they too are only created beings and must never be worshipped. This account gives the foundation for Israel's covenant with God.

God is the maker of heaven and earth.

He is the only God.

Make it your goal

to get to know the true and living God.

In the beginning - God.

Our Daily Bread - February 27, 2005