"And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light. And God saw that the light was good." Genesis 1:3-4 "God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:10 "And God said, 'Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night...' And God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:14,18 "And God said, 'Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.' ...And God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:20-21 "And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:25 "And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good." Genesis 1:31
The poetic refrain of Genesis one is “And God said… And it was good.” Each day of creation begins with “And God said.” And each day ends with the comforting resolve, “and there was evening and there was morning.” This creates a rhythmic pattern the listener feels as you hear of God’s awesome power and creativity as He spoke the world into being. (Remember Scripture was read out loud for centuries and only in modern times was it common to be read personally.)
Therefore repetition matters, patterns are important. Every day of creation there is a pronouncement “and it was good,” except for the second day. Does this mean the separation of the waters above (space/atmosphere) from the waters below (oceans) was not good? Of course not – everything God made was part of His original, good design. But the absence of this phrase creates a poetic vacuum the listener waits to see if the speaker will fill. And immediately, He does.
On day 3 God separated the land from the water and at that point declares them to be good. Water is clearly one of the greatest “good things” on our planet, for without it no life would be possible. The water above us, in the atmosphere is good and necessary for life. The water beside us, in our lakes, rivers, oceans and water table is good and we depend on it every day. And even the water inside our cells is necessary for our day to day existence. It is GOOD.
This pause in day three provides the only time God speaks of His creation’s goodness twice in one day until day six with the creation of mankind and the completion of His work. Is there intentional symmetry in the poetic structure to illustrate the precision balance God wove into our world?
Then, while God blessed the man and woman He made, in Genesis one He does not yet pronounce them good – which creates a tension in the account. “Everything He had made” was “very good,” but that phrase concludes the chapter and summarizes the goodness of all of creation, making us wonder if some additional step was needed in the creation of people. And, of course, that is exactly what Genesis two addresses.
The only time in the creation account that God says “it is not good,” was in reference to the man being alone. Genesis two provides a poetic narrative to follow the resounding and rhythmic poetry of Genesis one. This narrative zooms in on the creation of one being – Adam – to show the value of this man and his importance in the story God is telling. There is nothing wrong with the man, he is good like everything else God made. But unlike everything else God made that had a mate and a partner, Adam did not yet have a partner to complete him.
God let Adam feel this missing piece, even as we the listeners feel the absence that final pronouncement, “and it was good.” But it never comes, at least not from God’s mouth. Instead, the final pronouncement of Genesis two comes from the mouth of Adam, expressing his function to immediately serve as God’s agent and representative on earth. “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.” Adam is the one who acknowledges the creation of Eve. Adam is the one who names her. This is not sexist patriarchy, this is the final manifestation of the goodness of God’s original creation! Adam and Eve were happy and blessed with Adam as the firstborn and Eve coming second; with Adam as the leader and Eve as the helper. There was no strife, not conflict, no domination or rebellion. Everything was in perfect harmony. Everything was good. They “were both naked and felt no shame.”
There is one other important detail to observe in Genesis one and two. The connector between the two chapters is:
"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation." Genesis 2:1-3
Three times God spoke blessing over His creation. Once on day five over the birds and fish. Once on day six over the man and woman. And once on day seven over the Sabbath day. When Moses wrote the book of Genesis it was part of the giving of the Law from Mount Sinai. Of course Genesis one is about establishing the truth that there is one God, the Almighty Creator of all things. Of course Genesis one is designed to move us to praise, trust and serve this One True God. But the six days of creation followed by one day of rest also establishes a pattern for people to follow – a rhythm to life just like the rhythmic pattern in the days of creation.
God rested. He worked for six days, then He stopped. Our Creator designed us in His own image to reflect His glory and to exercise dominion over the world He made for us. Part of how we honor Him and serve Him is by obeying His instructions for life and following the routine He designed for us. The Sabbath is not a curse resulting from the fall, it is a blessing from the original creation. We are not supposed to work all the time – and we bring a curse upon ourselves when we do. We are supposed to be able to rest knowing that our all-glorious Creator God has given us everything we need because He is good.
That is what Genesis one establishes so clearly and powerfully – God is good. Everything He made was very good. There was not even a mention of evil until God gave Adam his one directive not to eat from the forbidden tree. Meditating on the goodness of creation – which is still very evident, even through the brokenness of our world – should move us to remember and celebrate the goodness of God.
Even when creation groans, and even when we groan in this dark and dying world, and in our broken and dying bodies, we can hold on to the goodness of our God.
"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!" Psalm 107:1