Page 15 - ADAM IN GENESIS

the bulk of Scriptural evidence seems to indicate that the light was not created in Gen.
1:3. Darkness was created (Is. 45:7) and covered the earth in the beginning (Gen. 1:1-2,
Job 38:8-9), and God summoned the light to shine through the darkness and illuminate
the earth.
There also has been considerable debate about the source of the light whether it comes
from the same light sources we have today, namely the sun and other heavenly bodies or
whether this light is from Gods presence itself as will be the case in the new creation
(Rev. 21:23; 22:5). The latter is certainly possible but as was discussed above if God is
light there would be no need to call it into view. It would have been there already with
His presence. It makes more sense for this light in verse 3 to be coming from a
light-bearer that is also a part of the Creation. The problem however is that the light
bearers (Heb. meor) do not come on the scene until Creation Day 4 (Gen. 1:14-19). I
believe this problem could be alleviated simply by remembering the perspective of our
observer (in this case God Himself on earth). It is not much of a stretch to envision the
early atmosphere of earth as having a cloud cover of some thickness so as to block out the
image of the sun. If the original earth was covered in darkness (Gen. 1:2; Job 38:8-9),
then it would follow that there was a transition from total darkness to the present clear
skies we have today. That transition can be seen on any overcast day. On many of these
days we have enough sunlight to go about our daily outside activities while the sun itself
remains hidden in cloud cover. Plants still receive enough light to grow and the right
wavelengths to perform photosynthesis and thus continue to change the atmosphere by
extracting carbon dioxide and replacing it with oxygen. These physical observations
along with the Scriptural observation that plants appear on earth (Creation Day 3) before
the sun (Creation Day 4), combine to make the more plausible understanding of this light
as that being emitted from an already created sun as we know it today. I will discuss the
sun more later, but for now it will suffice to say that in Genesis 1:3 it is still behind a
cloud cover which will remain thick enough to block its image until Creation Day 4.
And God saw that the light was good. After God summons the light to shine out of the
darkness, He looks on it and declares it good. The word here is tov (LXX: kalos). It is
used just 44 times in the OT and carries a wide range of meanings according to TWOT
such as practical goodness, desirability, beauty, quality, moral goodness or philosophical
goodness. The LXX translation of kalos is interesting in that kalos is used in the NT to
depict more of an outward, noticeable goodness vs. agathos which denotes more of an
intrinsic good. As an example of the two uses we find in Matt. 7:17 where Jesus says So
every good (agathos) tree bears good (kalos) fruit. Note the use of the two words. Every
tree that is intrinsically good will naturally bear fruit that is noticeably good to those who
look upon it. The LXX splits usage in the Psalms when referring to God or His name
between agathos and krestos (see Ps. 34:9; 52:11; 54:8; 106:1; 107:1; 118:1, 29). Note
that the authors never use kalos when referring to God or an attribute of God.
Therefore it appears that God saw in the light an apparent goodness, that it was useful in
fulfilling its purpose of lighting the earth. If God is light (1John 1:5) and God alone is
good (agathos: Matt. 19:17), then it would stand that God's light is intrinsically good
being a part of His unique character. From the text there is difficulty in telling if this light
in verse 4 has any intrinsic goodness. Rather it is useful in purpose. In my opinion this
further evidences this light being a natural light inside God's Creation that is simply used