'Good' in Genesis 1

[charity]

'And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: (H2896)
and God divided the light from the darkness.'
(Gen 1:3-4)

Hello there,

I opened my Bible to the first chapter of Genesis and started to read, and was arrested by the word 'good', for I remembered a debate in which it was argued that if everything that God made was good how could evil come from it? or something to that effect.

In my Bible's marginal notes the word, 'good' equals 'beautiful', and reference is made to Ecclesiastes 3:11, and I'm sorry but I have to quote it within it's context (ie., vv. 10-15):-

'What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
.. He hath made every thing beautiful in His time: (H3303)
.... also He hath set the world (ie., the age) in their heart,
...... so that no man can find out the work that God maketh
........ from the beginning to the end.
I know that there is no good in them,
.. but for a man to rejoice,
.... and to do good in his life.
...... And also that every man should eat and drink,
........ and enjoy the good of all his labour,
.......... it is the gift of God.
I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever:
.. nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it:
.... and God doeth it, that men should fear before Him.
That which hath been is now;
.. and that which is to be hath already been;
.... and God requireth that which is past.'

* This is an amazing portion of Scripture, and deserves to be considered for it's own sake, doesn't it. (Feel free to do that if you would like)

* So, the word, 'good' in Genesis 1:3-4 has the meaning of 'beautiful' in this context: and not 'good' in a moral sense, yes? Each day's work is called 'good' except the second day, in which nothing was created only divided (vv. 6-8).

* The word 'world', when translated from ('Kosmos' G2889) means a decoration, or an adorning too.

Any thoughts?

In Christ Jesus
Chris

 

[Ronald David Bruno]

'And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: (H2896)
and God divided the light from the darkness.'
(Gen 1:3-4)

Hello there,

I opened my Bible to the first chapter of Genesis and started to read, and was arrested by the word 'good', for I remembered a debate in which it was argued that if everything that God made was good how could evil come from it? or something to that effect.

In my Bible's marginal notes the word, 'good' equals 'beautiful', and reference is made to Ecclesiastes 3:11, and I'm sorry but I have to quote it within it's context (ie., vv. 10-15):-

'What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
.. He hath made every thing beautiful in His time: (H3303)
.... also He hath set the world (ie., the age) in their heart,
...... so that no man can find out the work that God maketh
........ from the beginning to the end.
I know that there is no good in them,
.. but for a man to rejoice,
.... and to do good in his life.
...... And also that every man should eat and drink,
........ and enjoy the good of all his labour,
.......... it is the gift of God.
I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever:
.. nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it:
.... and God doeth it, that men should fear before Him.
That which hath been is now;
.. and that which is to be hath already been;
.... and God requireth that which is past.'

* This is an amazing portion of Scripture, and deserves to be considered for it's own sake, doesn't it. (Feel free to do that if you would like)

* So, the word, 'good' in Genesis 1:3-4 has the meaning of 'beautiful' in this context: and not 'good' in a moral sense, yes? Each day's work is called 'good' except the second day, in which nothing was created only divided (vv. 6-8).

* The word 'world', when translated from ('Kosmos' G2889) means a decoration, or an adorning too.

Any thoughts?

In Christ Jesus
Chris

God created good. But how do we know what good is unless we experience and know what it's opposite is, evil?
Adam and Eve (or the rest of us) could not really know or appreciate the attributes of God unless knew what it was like to be without them.
He put the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden. He knew they would eat of it and that was part of the plan. Now we can know and appreciate good. We couldn't know forgiveness or mercy or comprehend happiness unless we are in need.
Example: An earthquake killed 300,000 people on Haiti, a country that suffered the worse impoverished conditions on the planet. They were also enslaved to evil religions such as Voodoo, demons lording over them. We can say they knew evil. What happened after the quake? The world, who before that point, ignored them, was now focused like a lazer beam on them, flooding them with medical aid, food, love, mercy, kindness, goodness and of course _ the gospel. Many conversions took place. Now they experienced good, they were thankful to the true God. Stories of them reflecting about their former lives subject to evil and fear, demon possessions, darkness, hopelessness, etc.; now seeing the LIGHT, understanding what good is ... and beauty.
It is a perfect plan.

"I form the light and create darkness: I make peace and create evil (calamity, troubles, disaster): I the Lord do all these things." ISAIAH 45:7

 

[charity]

God created good. But how do we know what good is unless we experience and know what it's opposite is, evil?
Adam and Eve (or the rest of us) could not really know or appreciate the attributes of God unless knew what it was like to be without them.
He put the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden. He knew they would eat of it and that was part of the plan. Now we can know and appreciate good. We couldn't know forgiveness or mercy or comprehend happiness unless we are in need.
Example: An earthquake killed 300,000 people on Haiti, a country that suffered the worse impoverished conditions on the planet. They were also enslaved to evil religions such as Voodoo, demons lording over them. We can say they knew evil. What happened after the quake? The world, who before that point, ignored them, was now focused like a lazer beam on them, flooding them with medical aid, food, love, mercy, kindness, goodness and of course _ the gospel. Many conversions took place. Now they experienced good, they were thankful to the true God. Stories of them reflecting about their former lives subject to evil and fear, demon possessions, darkness, hopelessness, etc.; now seeing the LIGHT, understanding what good is ... and beauty.
It is a perfect plan.

"I form the light and create darkness: I make peace and create evil (calamity, troubles, disaster): I the Lord do all these things." ISAIAH 45:7

'Thou art worthy, O Lord,
to receive glory and honour and power:
for Thou hast created all things,
and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.'
(Rev 4:11)

Hello @Ronald David Bruno,

Thank you for responding and expressing your thoughts as you have.

My mind is still focussed on the meaning of the word 'good' in Genesis one, as being the expression of pleasure at the beauty of each stage of the creation process. It gave God pleasure to create all things.

Praise His Name!

In Christ Jesus
Chris

 

[amadeus]

'And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: (H2896)
and God divided the light from the darkness.'
(Gen 1:3-4)

Hello there,

I opened my Bible to the first chapter of Genesis and started to read, and was arrested by the word 'good', for I remembered a debate in which it was argued that if everything that God made was good how could evil come from it? or something to that effect.

In my Bible's marginal notes the word, 'good' equals 'beautiful', and reference is made to Ecclesiastes 3:11, and I'm sorry but I have to quote it within it's context (ie., vv. 10-15):-

'What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
.. He hath made every thing beautiful in His time: (H3303)
.... also He hath set the world (ie., the age) in their heart,
...... so that no man can find out the work that God maketh
........ from the beginning to the end.0
I know that there is no good in them,
.. but for a man to rejoice,
.... and to do good in his life.
...... And also that every man should eat and drink,
........ and enjoy the good of all his labour,
.......... it is the gift of God.
I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever:
.. nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it:
.... and God doeth it, that men should fear before Him.
That which hath been is now;
.. and that which is to be hath already been;
.... and God requireth that which is past.'

* This is an amazing portion of Scripture, and deserves to be considered for it's own sake, doesn't it. (Feel free to do that if you would like)

* So, the word, 'good' in Genesis 1:3-4 has the meaning of 'beautiful' in this context: and not 'good' in a moral sense, yes? Each day's work is called 'good' except the second day, in which nothing was created only divided (vv. 6-8).

* The word 'world', when translated from ('Kosmos' G2889) means a decoration, or an adorning too.

Any thoughts?

In Christ Jesus
Chris

Without adding a lot to what you have said I would like to include the following questions and verses for anyone's consideration here:

In the very last verse of 1st chapter of Genesis we read that the 6th day ended "very good". God, the only one who is "good," made it all then very good! No surprise, right?

"And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." Matt 19:17

Good:
ajgaqovß Agathos (ag-ath-os');
Word Origin: Greek, Adjective, Strong #: 18

1. of good constitution or nature
2. useful, salutary
3. good, pleasant, agreeable, joyful, happy
4. excellent, distinguished
5. upright, honourable

KJV Word Usage and Count
good 77
good thing 14
tthat which is good 8
the thing which is good 1
well 1
benefit 1

"And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day." Gen 1:31

Very Good:
d[m M@`od (meh-ode'); , Strong #: 3966

adv

1. exceedingly, much subst
2. might, force, abundance n m
3. muchness, force, abundance, exceedingly
   1. force, might
   2. exceedingly, greatly, very (idioms showing magnitude or degree)
      1. exceedingly
      2. up to abundance, to a great degree, exceedingly
      3. with muchness, muchness

KJV Word Usage and Count
very 137
greatly 49
sore 23
exceeding 18
great 12
exceedingly 11
much 10
exceeding 6
exceedingly (03966) 5
diligently 4
good 3
might 2
mightily 2
miscellaneous 17

But then in that 1st chapter of Genesis God made man as well... included in all the "very good" that He had made [1:26-27].

Then in the 2nd chapter God gave to man something He had given to nothing and to no one else: the possibility of disobeying God:

"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Gen 2:17

Then a couple of questions: Without Life, the Life which God is, is anything good? Is death good? Are the dead, good?

When our first natural parents disobeyed God, did not they and all of their offspring [including you and me] die and lose Life [goodness?] until Jesus was sent to bring to us a renewed possibility of Life, or that which is Good?

 

[Robert Gwin]

'And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: (H2896)
and God divided the light from the darkness.'
(Gen 1:3-4)

Hello there,

I opened my Bible to the first chapter of Genesis and started to read, and was arrested by the word 'good', for I remembered a debate in which it was argued that if everything that God made was good how could evil come from it? or something to that effect.

In my Bible's marginal notes the word, 'good' equals 'beautiful', and reference is made to Ecclesiastes 3:11, and I'm sorry but I have to quote it within it's context (ie., vv. 10-15):-

'What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
.. He hath made every thing beautiful in His time: (H3303)
.... also He hath set the world (ie., the age) in their heart,
...... so that no man can find out the work that God maketh
........ from the beginning to the end.
I know that there is no good in them,
.. but for a man to rejoice,
.... and to do good in his life.
...... And also that every man should eat and drink,
........ and enjoy the good of all his labour,
.......... it is the gift of God.
I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever:
.. nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it:
.... and God doeth it, that men should fear before Him.
That which hath been is now;
.. and that which is to be hath already been;
.... and God requireth that which is past.'

* This is an amazing portion of Scripture, and deserves to be considered for it's own sake, doesn't it. (Feel free to do that if you would like)

* So, the word, 'good' in Genesis 1:3-4 has the meaning of 'beautiful' in this context: and not 'good' in a moral sense, yes? Each day's work is called 'good' except the second day, in which nothing was created only divided (vv. 6-8).

* The word 'world', when translated from ('Kosmos' G2889) means a decoration, or an adorning too.

Any thoughts?

In Christ Jesus
Chris

Evil came from free will maam. God could have made us robots, but He chose to make us in His image. Was it a mistake, or do you prefer that He gave us the privilege of choice?

 

[charity]

Evil came from free will maam. God could have made us robots, but He chose to make us in His image. Was it a mistake, or do you prefer that He gave us the privilege of choice?

(Job 1:6-12)
Hello @Robert Gwin,

God doesn't make mistakes, so whatever His will is, then that is my preference.
Mankind was tried and failed, but our Lord was tried and was victorious (Matthew 4, Mark 1 and Luke 4) . He, unlike Mary, used the word of God skillfully to defeat the foe, she misquoted and added to it, and it resulted in her downfall (Genesis 3), being unskilled in it's use. Whereas Satan used the word of God on each occasion deceitfully.

'For when for the time ye ought to be teachers,
.. ye have need that one teach you again
.... which be the first principles of the oracles of God;
...... and are become such as have need of milk,
........ and not of strong meat.
For every one that useth milk
.. is unskilful in the word of righteousness:
.... for he is a babe.
But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age,
.. even those who by reason of use
.... have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.'
(Heb 5:12-14)

Thank you
In Christ Jesus
Chris

 

[Robert Gwin]

(Job 1:6-12)
Hello @Robert Gwin,

God doesn't make mistakes, so whatever His will is, then that is my preference.
Mankind was tried and failed, but our Lord was tried and was victorious (Matthew 4, Mark 1 and Luke 4) . He, unlike Mary, used the word of God skillfully to defeat the foe, she misquoted and added to it, and it resulted in her downfall (Genesis 3), being unskilled in it's use. Whereas Satan used the word of God on each occasion deceitfully.

'For when for the time ye ought to be teachers,
.. ye have need that one teach you again
.... which be the first principles of the oracles of God;
...... and are become such as have need of milk,
........ and not of strong meat.
For every one that useth milk
.. is unskilful in the word of righteousness:
.... for he is a babe.
But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age,
.. even those who by reason of use
.... have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.'
(Heb 5:12-14)

Thank you
In Christ Jesus
Chris

I fully agree, did you mean to say Eve however? I seriously doubt she added to it, the Bible is vague in most details, especially in it's opening chapters John 21:25

 

[Brakelite]

He put the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden. He knew they would eat of it and that was part of the plan.

Foreknowledge and preparedness, does not of necessity mean same as or equate to malice and aforethought.

 

[Ronald David Bruno]

Foreknowledge and preparedness, does not of necessity mean same as or equate to malice and aforethought.

Who said God was malicious? God made everything in the Garden good. (Gen. 1:31)
But He put the necessary and inevitably potential for evil to be part of the knowledge of man. And thay was good too.

 

[marks]

* So, the word, 'good' in Genesis 1:3-4 has the meaning of 'beautiful' in this context: and not 'good' in a moral sense, yes? Each day's work is called 'good' except the second day, in which nothing was created only divided (vv. 6-8).

My thought is that "good" here takes in all of that, morally good, aesthetically beautiful, excellent in design, pure in composition.

And then there is Jesus, Why do you call Me good? Only One is good. Only God is intrinsically good, good just of Himself. He created man good, but man was not intrinsically good, and man lost his goodness in a wrong choice.

So then the Holy Spirit comes to live in those who believe and receive, and unites us to Himself, and now we share His goodness. Now our goodness cannot be lost. We have an anchor, sure and stedfast.

I'll come back for that part of Ecclesiastes.

Much love!

 

[marks]

God created good. But how do we know what good is unless we experience and know what it's opposite is, evil?

Personally, I think God's intent for man was that he would abstain from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and after a season, there would have been fruit on the tree of life, and maybe no more fruit on that other tree.

Of course God knew what man would do. But God is good, and I don't believe God created man with the intend that man would suffer. I think God has a true good intent for mankind, and that this hasn't changed since the beginning.

I don't think God's intent for me was that I would have pain and misery just so I could know what it was like. But I do think that mankind, not being the source of what it good, was able to remain good. So we brought misery on ourselves.

I think if Adam had not eaten, had he passed the test, he would have eaten from the tree of life, and received eternal life. But the test was there, just like every test in our lives, it was there to expose the weakness, and divert to a course of correction. In justifying us from that sin, God does it by bringing His goodness into us. And we become spiritually stable. We are good because the One Who is good lives in us. Has joined to us.

Much love!

 

[Enoch111]

Any thoughts?

For God "good" means "perfect".

 

[marks]

My mind is still focussed on the meaning of the word 'good' in Genesis one, as being the expression of pleasure at the beauty of each stage of the creation process. It gave God pleasure to create all things.

Praise His Name!

In Christ Jesus
Chris

What a good focus!!

And the Lord delights to create you, and to rebirth you!

I remember a sermon from Michael Reeves, creation was an act of grace, and continues an act of grace today. God is love. Love gives. The best God can give is Himself. I think this was why God created us. So that we could be recipients of His love, and admirers of His glory, in the purest love and joy as we become just like Him, lights of love shining ourselves in all directions.

And God's precious jewels, little beings made from dirt, in a setting no jeweler could dream of! Endless revelations of God's glory, and that's just in this material universe. The endless revelations of God Himself!

God who knows the end of a thing when He begins. For the Joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross. Yes, He created with Joy and love for those He would make, who would reflect His goodness, knowing we would fail the test, and knowing why, and knowing what He would do, that this will give Him what He wants.

Much love!

 

[marks]

God doesn't make mistakes, so whatever His will is, then that is my preference.

Amen!

 

[Ronald David Bruno]

Personally, I think God's intent for man was that he would abstain from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and after a season, there would have been fruit on the tree of life, and maybe no more fruit on that other tree.

I believe you hold the traditional view. Intent means purpose. But God's intention is perfect and will be done.
He put the tree in there knowing what would happen. He also allowed Satan in there to tempt them. If his intention was just for man to live without knowing evil, our All Mighty, Perfect and All Knowing Creator would simply not put it in there to ensure there eternal though somewhat ignorant and naive bliss. He would have not let Satan in and would have destroyed him as well - as soon as he rebelled.
"I form the light and create darkness; I make peace and create evil: I the LORD do all these things." Isaiah 45:7
Apparently, evil serves a purpose.

 

[marks]

I believe you hold the traditional view. Intent means purpose. But God's intention is perfect and will be done.
He put the tree in there knowing what would happen. He also allowed Satan in there to tempt them. If his intention was just for man to live without knowing evil, our All Mighty, Perfect and All Knowing Creator would simply not put it in there to ensure there eternal though somewhat ignorant and naive bliss. He would have not let Satan in and would have destroyed him as well - as soon as he rebelled.
"I form the light and create darkness; I make peace and create evil: I the LORD do all these things." Isaiah 45:7
Apparently, evil serves a purpose.

You make it sound like God wants sin. I do not believe that is so.

And I don't think I hold the traditional view, not quite. But maybe, I guess I don't know what that is.

Ecclesiastes 3:14-15 KJV
14) I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.
15) That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.

This is one of those places which, I think, reads easier in a less literal translation.

14 And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God’s purpose is that people should fear him. 15 What is happening now has happened before, and what will happen in the future has happened before, because God makes the same things happen over and over again.

God's method hasn't changed, nor does His intent for man. He tests us to expose weakness, and in the test, provides the means of reformation.

Much love!

 

[marks]

God created good. But how do we know what good is unless we experience and know what it's opposite is, evil?

I guess this is what I've heard more often, that I think of as "the traditional view. That God meant for us to sin and know death and evil so we would have a better idea of how good He is. That He wants us to suffer so we can know how much He loves us. That doesn't make sense to me.

Much love!

 

[marks]

'What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
.. He hath made every thing beautiful in His time: (H3303)
.... also He hath set the world (ie., the age) in their heart,
...... so that no man can find out the work that God maketh
........ from the beginning to the end.
I know that there is no good in them,
.. but for a man to rejoice,
.... and to do good in his life.
...... And also that every man should eat and drink,
........ and enjoy the good of all his labour,
.......... it is the gift of God.
I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever:
.. nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it:
.... and God doeth it, that men should fear before Him.
That which hath been is now;
.. and that which is to be hath already been;
.... and God requireth that which is past.'

* This is an amazing portion of Scripture, and deserves to be considered for it's own sake, doesn't it. (Feel free to do that if you would like)

I've been meditating on this passage all day - It's a great passage!

Much love!

 

[Ronald David Bruno]

You make it sound like God wants sin.

No, He wants us to know and appreciate what good is.
The Prodical Son is a good example. He did not appreciate the life he was given, He didn't value it until he went out into the world and experienced all the evils. After he lost everything, He became a beggar, eating and drinking from a pigs trough. He returned a changed man, appreciating what he once had, that he took for granted.

" ...that men should fear before him".

How could man fear God unless fear existed? Chastising, punishments, judgments are all due to disobedience. But if we were in a state of eternal righteousness, fear would not exist. The beginning of knowledge IS the fear of the LORD.

 

[marks]

No, He wants us to know and appreciate what good is.
The Prodical Son is a good example. He did not appreciate the life he was given, He didn't value it until he went out into the world and experienced all the evils. After he lost everything, He became a beggar, eating and drinking from a pigs trough. He returned a changed man, appreciating what he once had, that he took for granted.

How could man fear God unless fear existed? Chastising, punishments, judgments are all due to disobedience. But if we were in a state of eternal righteousness, fear would not exist. The beginning of knowledge IS the fear of the LORD.

Darkness need not exist for there to be light.

Much love!