ALL the good things we have come from God. He made the sun to give us light by day, and the moon and stars so we can have some light at night. And God made the earth for us to live on.

But the sun, the moon, the stars and the earth were not the first things God made. Do you know what was the first? God first made persons like himself. We can’t see these persons, just as we can’t see God. In the Bible these persons are called angels. God made the angels to live with himself in heaven.

The first angel God made was very special. He was God’s first Son, and he worked with his Father. He helped God to make all other things. He helped God to make the sun, the moon, the stars and also our earth.

What was the earth like then? In the beginning no one could live on earth. There was nothing but one big ocean of water all over the land. But God wanted people to live on earth. So he began to get things ready for us. What did he do?

Well, first the earth needed light. So God made the light from the sun to shine on the earth. He made it so there could be both nighttime and daytime. Afterward God caused land to come up above the water of the ocean.

At first there was nothing on the land. It looked like the picture you see here. There were no flowers or trees or animals. There were not even any fish in the oceans. God had a lot more work to do to make the earth really nice for animals and people to live on.

LOOK at the earth here! How pretty everything is! Look at the grass and the trees, the flowers and all the animals. Can you pick out the elephant and the lions?

How did this beautiful garden come to be? Well, let’s see how God got the earth ready for us.

First, God made green grass to cover the land. And he made all kinds of small plants and bushes and trees. These growing things help to make the earth pretty. But they do more than that. Many of them also give us foods that taste very good.

God later made fish to swim in the water and birds to fly in the sky. He made dogs and cats and horses; big animals and small animals. What animals live near your home? Shouldn’t we be glad that God made all these things for us?

Finally, God made one part of the earth a very special place. He called this place the garden of Eden. It was just perfect. Everything about it was beautiful. And God wanted the whole earth to become just like this pretty garden he had made.

But look at the picture of this garden again. Do you know what God saw that was missing? Let’s see.