In this week’s sermon our minister talked about God declaring creation as good. His description was that the ‘good’ of Genesis 1 is not just good as we understand it, but a description of the very best possible outcome. That made me think because I was sure that the Hebrew word here is, ‘tov’.

Tov is a very small but infinitely expansive Hebrew word. Today’s native English speakers may be vaguely familiar with tov only from hearing the Jewish/Yiddish saying ‘Mazel Tov’ (‘good luck’ in English), but it’s arguably one of the richest words out there. The explosive power in tov can be felt right from the beginning.

The very first occurrence of ‘tov’, not surprisingly, comes in this Genesis account and it is God using a word to describe what he is witnessing at the completion of the various phases of creation. Indeed, the use of ‘tov’ after Day 3 does a very good job of unpacking the richness of ‘tov’.

“God said, ‘Let the earth put forth grass, seed-producing plants, and fruit trees, each yielding its own kind of seed-bearing fruit, on the earth’; and that is how it was. The earth brought forth grass, plants each yielding its own kind of seed, and trees each producing its own kind of seed-bearing fruit; and God saw that it was good. So there was evening, and there was morning, a third day.” (Genesis 1:11-13, Complete Jewish Bible).

Creative potential in all

What we see in this passage is a pretty special progression, God speaks out the very seeds that he has embedded in creation, and in turn creation is bringing to fruition those seeds and future seeds. God declares the entire process ‘tov’. God created these ‘tov’ plants with the ability to produce more life. ‘Tov’ contains within it the full potential and capability of life.

What we are seeing in this tiny word is that what God sees as good is something, anything, that produces life and carries the potential for further life within itself. This understanding gives us a whole new perspective on Jesus’ words in John 10:10
“The thief comes only in order to steal, kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, life in its fullest measure.”

However, this is about so much more than reproduction, which is quite simply not always possible for one reason or another. That is only one small part. ‘Tov’ is about bringing life in so many different ways.

Encouragement

Just as the seed contains an orchard, a conversation contains the ability to stir us in a deeper appreciation of life and maybe provoke us to action that encourages life in others. I recall many years ago my wife was working as a business engagement leader in a school, and she had to give a speech to assembled business leaders. She used an acorn and spoke of the potential within that acorn to become a mighty oak to provide wood for various projects, to convert CO2 into oxygen, to give joy to nature lovers. All this is good. They could be encouraged through this that it only takes something small to make a big difference. It is good to encourage others – it brings life and enables potential – which is why ‘Barnabas – the son of encouragement’ (Acts 4:36) is such a key part of the New Testament. It is good to encourage others to life affirming activities, whatever they might be.

It is good to encourage others – it brings life and enables potential – which is why ‘Barnabas – the son of encouragement’ (Acts 4:36) is such a key part of the New Testament.

Choosing life

Just reflect on this for a moment. The biblical good, ‘tov’, is a world apart from the worldly good. The world uses good to describe something that indulges us, something that entertains us, something that makes us feel good. The world uses good as something of an inward-looking quality. In contrast the bible uses good in a far more selective and applied manner. Just look at the story of Solomon’s judgement. Solomon is asked to judge between two prostitutes arguing over who is the mother of the one living baby. The scene is set in 1 Kings 3:9 when Solomon seeks the Lord: “Therefore, give your servant an understanding heart able to administer justice to your people, so that I can discern between good and bad — for who is equal to judging this great people of yours?”

Two things are happening here. First, Solomon uses ‘tov’ as the word for good. Secondly, he uses the words ‘lev shomea’ which is normally translated as ‘understanding mind’, although in the Complete Jewish Bible I have used here it is translated as ‘understanding heart’. A literal translation is ‘listening heart or hearing heart’. Essentially Solomon is asking that God equips him to discern between good (‘tov’) and evil (‘ra’). Then, just a few verses, later the prostitutes bring their dispute to Solomon. They both claim the baby as their own. The test Solomon sets is designed to discern which one of the women will choose ‘tov’. The woman who prefers that the child lives, regardless of the outcome for her personally, is the one who chooses ‘tov’. She chose life – ‘tov’ is life-giving.

Saving life

There are many other scriptures that make a similar point. In Genesis 50:20 Joseph explains to his brothers that they intended to do evil or harm to him, but God made it good in order that Joseph might save many lives. In Psalm 23:6 David declares that God’s goodness actively pursues him every day of his life. In the New Testament we are instructed to judge a tree by the fruit it bears rather than its leaf cover or height.

Teaching, healing and nurturing

God spoke seeds of life into creation and breathed seeds of life into us. In turn we are called to bring forth those seeds of life from within ourselves to encourage, teach, intercede, heal, create, procreate and nurture.

‘Tov’ is a concept that is far reaching and encompasses literally everything. God spoke seeds of life into creation and breathed seeds of life into us. In turn we are called to bring forth those seeds of life from within ourselves to encourage, teach, intercede, heal, create, procreate and nurture. God’s Word provides us with the wisdom to ask for that ‘hearing heart’ that Solomon requested. God’s shabbat provides us with the opportunity to lay aside our creating and allow our creator to do his work within us, which in turn equips us to bring abundant life into the situations we encounter. And of course, the gospel, the good news about Jesus, is the one that brings eternal life – good news that we need to share with all around us.

Bringing new life

‘Tov’ it is a really small word, but it brings within it an enormous amount of good. This is not an exhaustive list, but a starter – what else could good, or tov, encompass? And in what ways can you bring life, the good that God created us to do?