Genesis 1:4

Light and Darkness

And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. Genesis 1:4

And God saw that the light was good

God of course knew that the light would be good prior to the creation of it, but He here beholds that light for the first time, and He sees that it is good — that it is beneficial to the creation now and that it will be useful to creation throughout time.

How desolate would the universe be without light? There would be no heat, no electricity. Sight would be meaningless, even if it were possible for life to survive in such a universe.

Undoubtedly, light is good — very good ((Ecclesiastes 11:7 says that the light is “sweet” — and how sweet it is! I’ll be getting a nice dose of light next week when I’m in Florida!)) — and I’m thankful that the Lord made note for us that He determined the light to be a good thing. After all, how often in mythology do we find the gods messing up? How fallible are the idols of this world, yet how remarkably perfect is our God, the true God of which there is no other!

But Earth would not be fully covered in light at all times; it was not God’s purpose to bake the plants which He would soon bring forth, but to sustain them, and in so doing He finds usefulness even for the darkness.

And God separated the light from the darkness.

Bear in mind that up until this point, there is still no sun nor moon nor stars of the heavens. The precise mechanism of this separation of light from darkness we may not be able to determine, but we can rest assured knowing that He who brings forth the light is capable of restraining where it shines. And here He thrusts the focal point of light around Earth to but one side of the still-swirling mass, leaving the other side in darkness.

I have heard it said on more than one occasion — though I regret forgetting the sources — that this was the one act of creation which God did not behold and declare good, presumably because He hates separation. However, I could not disagree more with that interpretation. On the one hand, we see that God eventually (in verse 31) declares “everything that he had made … very good” — “everything” would certainly include day and night! On the other hand, to suppose that God here does something which He does not find good would be a supposition that God could make a mistake or act against His own will and determination. That simply cannot be, for according to Jesus, something which is divided against itself (whether that be a house, a kingdom, Satan, or anything else) cannot stand (Matthew 12:25-26). Believe it when I tell you that God knew exactly what He was doing and was happy with what He was doing when He separated the light from the darkness.

And God has so separated the light from the darkness that the two can no longer coexist; indeed, we can now define darkness as the absence of light, and we get only a vague sense of their mixture within the shadows which may be cast upon various objects, yet as the light increases, the darkness is diminished accordingly.

I wonder if this play of light with darkness may serve as a parable or illustration of Jesus’ effect on sinners? He is “the true light, which enlightens everyone … He was made in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:9-13).

We must be born of God; we must receive the Light — Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Thousands of years ago, Jesus Christ separated the light from the darkness and it was good. Won’t you today believe in Him, that He was pierced for your sins and risen from the dead that you may live forever? Receive Him and be separated from the darkness. Do not remain in the darkness. Do not allow this to be said of you, “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil” (John 1:19).

“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:18).

Unless otherwise noted, all Scriptures quoted within this post come from the English Standard Version of the Holy Bible.

3 thoughts on “Genesis 1:4”

  1. I like this paragraph. I think it is very true.

    “And God has so separated the light from the darkness that the two can no longer coexist; indeed, we can no define darkness as the absence of light, and we get only a vague sense of their mixture within the shadows which may be cast upon various objects, yet as the light increases, the darkness is diminished accordingly.”

    Thanks,

    -Steve

  2. Thanks, Steve, I appreciate the encouragement.

    And re-rereading the paragraph you quoted, several different ways of saying it better are coming to mind. I gotta start reading and re-reading what I write before posting! :-)

  3. Hey, Rick, nice observations. I had a minor epiphany in my own study of Genesis 1 when I realized how much of the Creation week involved “division.” Once you see that, it’s everywhere! Creation through division.

    You are surely right to make a bee-line from this to Christ and our relationship to Him. The “new creation,” our new life in Christ, is a continual process of being divided and separated from the old world, the old life, etc.

    Latest from Gordan: Myths about Arminianism

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