Seeing and Goodness: A Four-Part Exploration of the Revelation of God in Creation
Join me on a four-part exploration of Genesis chapter 1 tracing a few key words in the creation narrative that reveal profound truths of God's character and purposes. In This Part 1, "God's ‘love’ Revealed," we will see that God ’saw’ His new creation, and fell in ‘love’ with all He had made. The writer of Genesis reveals creation in a 4-part pattern:
God ‘commands’ – “Let there be…, Let the ….”
God ‘sees’ – “God ’saw’ that it was …)
God ‘names’ – After each ‘Let there…’ is a name or description of what should be.
God ‘judges’ – As He ‘sees’ what He created, He judges it as ‘good.’
Seeing and Goodness Part 1: See-Saw ‘Love’ (God's ‘love’ Revealed )
The purpose from which I write revolves around championing the First-Sentence Perspective (F-SP), rooted in the first four words of the Bible's first sentence found in Genesis 1:1. This perspective asserts that every truth is intricately linked to God's self-revelation: that all things originate from Him. Thus, the focal point of the F-SP life is prioritizing God in every aspect, aligning our pursuits with His original intent for creation.
In a previous article, Putting God in Perspective, I presented the premise that the opening words of scripture are intended to prompt a reevaluation among the congregation of Israel; a reassessment of their understanding of gods, particularly THE God leading them out of Egypt.
The objective of these opening chapters of Scripture is to systematically dismantle the influence of pagan gods rooted in Israel's Egyptian experience, establishing the God who led them out of Egypt as the Creator and the One with Whom they should exclusively align.
In this context, God reveals His identity to those recovering idolaters as the Creator who prepares a space with purpose and fills it with life. Let's hone in on the recurring words introduced in verse 4 and reiterated throughout Chapter 1, delving into the extensive discoveries from this chapter. These two words are quite revealing regarding the character of God. He ‘sees’ and ‘judges’ what is ‘good.’
Saw -’Good’ Pattern
The cycle of God 'see'-ing things as ’good’ begins in the fourth verse of Genesis’ first chapter:
““In the beginning, God ’saw’ His new creation, and fell in ‘love’ with all He had made.””
God ’saw’ that the light was ‘good’, and God separated the light from the darkness. (Genesis 1:4, NASB95, emphasis mine)
We often breeze through familiar Bible stories, rarely pausing to ponder the treasures buried beneath the surface. But Genesis 1 rewards slowing the pace and some persistent digging. In the account of God's week of creating, two words - 'saw' and 'good' - begin to stand out. They contain treasures of revelation that realign us to understanding creation from the Creator’s perspective. Wrestling with the F-SP of Scripture, I am intentionally slowing down to discover which parts of the foundation (link to Built to Last: Life on a Solid Rock Foundation) I may have neglected. Doing that and re-reading this chapter for the gazillionth time, the word 'good' first began to stand out. Then, the more I dug into the word 'good' I was led back to the word 'saw.' Wow! Did I learn a thing or two?
Let's set the scene for that historic creation week. As daylight waned on each day of creating during that first week, try to picture God pausing to drink in the fullness of what He had done and reflect on that day's work. A breathtaking moment — literally, considering He had just spoken it into existence. As I began to picture this, two questions began to surface:
1. What did it mean that God ’saw’ His creation?
2. What did it mean when He declared it ‘good?’
Seven Sides of Saw
For now, I am going to deal with the word 'saw'. I will return to 'good' after we explore where 'saw' leads us. (hyperlink to next?)
The Hebrew term employed in Chapter 1 for ’saw’ is rāʾāh, a word teeming with nuanced meanings easily overlooked. In the grammatical form used here, it has at least seven facets of meaning:
“to see”: perceive with the eyes; discern visually
“to know” or “to understand”: This implies an intimate understanding (Exo. 16:6f; Isa. 5:19; 6:9).
“to inspect”: Denoting an element of judgment or discernment (Gen. 11:5).
“to regard”: Expressing a thoughtful consideration (Isa. 17:7).
When God “sees,” He also “provides”: This is evident in various instances such as Gen. 16:13; 22:8, 14; 1 Sam. 16:1, Mt 9:36, 34).
“to have respect to” or “to regard,”: Especially associated with God when acting with mercy (Ps. 138:6; Isa. 38:5).
“To be concerned with” or “to be sympathetic toward”: Conveying a sense of compassion (Exo. 4:31; Ps. 9:13; Mt 9:36, 34-35).
“God sees His creation and speaks tenderly to it, prophesying to it. He judges it to be ‘good’ and supplies it with all His resources.”
Let’s explore the richness of ’saw’ in the context of creation, unveiling God's multifaceted engagement with His handiwork. Beyond the physical act of ‘see’-ing, God “knew” and “understood” what He had created. Inspection gave Him “regard” toward it with “compassion” stemming from “sympathy” to provide for all its needs.
Let's see where exploring the word 'saw' takes us.
Falling in ‘Love’
Reading Chapter 1 we see rāʾāh ('saw') used seven times. That's a lotta 'see'-ing. I would say this is God falling in ‘‘love’’ with His creation: ‘‘love’’ at first sight (pun intended). He couldn’t take His eyes off it.
When I say God was falling in ‘‘love’’ with His creation, I am not trying to convey that he was simply having some strong emotional reaction. Rather, He was being stirred to deep and lasting commitment. This is ‘love’ later described in Scripture as His chesed ’love’ toward us - the steadfast love of the Lord that never ceases (Lamentations 3:21–23). (Emphasis mine)
‘love’ is one of those words used in Scripture that we typically overlay with a contemporary definition far removed from what the Biblical definition intends. Dr. Del Tackett gives this great definition of ‘love’:
‘love’ is steadfast, sacrificial zeal for the true ’good’ of another.
That's how God acted at creation and has continued to act towards it ever since.
Exploring the subject of ‘love’ more thoroughly is for another time. However, ‘love’ is one of God's primary characteristics. We can see it being revealed right here at the beginning. It is this ‘love’ that will ultimately blossom into the declaration Jesus later makes to Nicodemus in the Gospel of John:
“‘See’-ing and ‘good’ in Genesis 1 point to core truths about God’s character. In ‘see’-ing, we discern the revelation of God’s ‘love’.”
“For God so ‘loved’ the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NASB95) (emphasis mine)
In this way, God sees His creation and speaks tenderly to it, to prophesy to it. Having spoken it into existence, He now judges it to be 'good' and supplies it with all His resources.
As we conclude this first installment, we have seen how God's act of 'see'-ing His creation begins to reveal the ‘love’ that characterizes God; His deep ‘love’ and commitment to what He has made. This steadfast devotion cascades through Scripture into the Gospel itself.
The repetition of ‘see’-ing and ‘good’ in Genesis 1 points to core truths about God's character and purposes. In 'see'-ing we can discern the revelation of God’s ‘love’. In Part 2, we dig deeper as we discover that ‘good’ reveals God's role as righteous Judge, discerning the meaning and intent of all He has made. What might this imply for us, the pinnacle of this creation, who so often struggle with purpose and perfection?
Next, in Part 2, we continue to explore Genesis 1 from the F-SP to realign our perspective toward God as revealed initially in those first four words of Scripture, “In the beginning God…. We have only begun to uncover the rich revelations in this Genesis gold mine.
LET'S TALK ABOUT IT
Embarking on this journey through Genesis 1 and uncovering the depths of God's 'love' in creation has been truly eye-opening. What are your thoughts on the profound pattern of God's 'see'-ing and declaring 'good'? Join me in the conversation at FirstSentencePerspective.com and share your insights in the comments. Let's delve deeper into the richness of Genesis 1, aligning our perspectives with the First-Sentence Perspective. Your reflections are not just comments; they're building blocks for a community journeying toward God's original intent for creation. Together, let's make the conversation at FirstSentencePerspective.com a vibrant tapestry of wisdom and revelation. Comment below and let your voice be part of this transformative exploration!
Please share this post with a friend and start a discussion in the comments at FirstSentencePerspective.com!
