Genesis 1:4 — ‘separated the light from the darkness’

Many say that God is all about unity, bringing people together. Yes, He wants to reconcile rebellious mankind to Himself. Yet, why is He continually setting people, behavior and things apart — making them holy?

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Food for thought from the recorded discussion

Recap of previous Hebrew word studies

bereshit — “in the beginning”
bet — “in,” “of”; in ancient times, the letter was drawn as a house with the door open
resh — “head,” that which is moving (inside the house)
bara — create (by Elohim)
Elohim — powers; literally, the Intertwined Strong One
et — the sign that something is coming; alef (first Hebrew letter, equivalent to α alpha, the first Greek letter) and tav (last Hebrew letter, equivalent to Ω omega, the last Greek letter); self-existing, exists of itself (refers to the Messiah)
ha-shamaim — “the heavens”; not solid, moving
ha-’aretz — “the land”; solid, not moving

Why is light good? Because God said it was good. God called for the light and then He saw it.

Why did He call for the light? He didn’t call forth the light just because He wanted light. The light had a job to do, a purpose.

What does the Hebrew word tov mean? (See May 24 notes.)

‘separated the light and the darkness’

God made a division/separation between the light and the darkness. Something will increase and something will decrease as a consequence of the separation. What does the light do inside a house? What happens if the light is not welcome?

What is the symbolism of the mezzuzah, a box on one’s doorpost with God’s instructions (Deut. 6:9)? What does it point towards?

Let’s look at other verses about division ( yavdeyl — “separate,” “divide,” “distinguish”):

Gen. 1:6-7 — God separated the waters of the air and waters below. It doesn’t say that God “saw” this, it says that he separated it.

Gen.1:16-18 — God made the “two different lights” and the stars to divide the day from night and to divide light from darkness.

Lev. 20:24-26 — God separates Israel from the nations just as He separates the clean from unclean animals. When we are “called out” of the world, this is God’s work of sanctification. God makes the distinction of clean and unclean. We are simply called to respond to His decision.

God did the division, not man. Why? What does God do with this division?

What increases in the House of Israel when we live by God’s standard of cleanliness?

Num. 16:8-9 — Korah didn’t really think that what God called him to do was that important. He wanted Aaron’s job of High Priest. Moses tried to reassure Korah that his job was important but Korah wanted more.

Which one of the waters (the air or on the earth) is more important? The water in the air can’t do what the water on the earth does and visa versa.

Gen 3:14-15 — God separated the serpent from the other animals. God also separated the serpent and its seed from the woman and her seed. God declared war between the woman and the serpent. Guess who’s going to win that war? Why does she win? Is the woman here Eve or the Virgin Mary.

The woman doesn’t fight the war alone. Her seed will also fight this war and they will gain victory on her behalf.

Gen. 9:11-17 — God tells Noah that He will never use water to cut people off the earth or destroy the earth. God uses the rainbow as a reminder of the distinction between God and the earth He created. God didn’t need the rainbow to remember, but mankind needs the rainbow.

God uses water as a form of purification. This is why baptism is important. We are cleansed from the old life into a new life.

God uses the word “between” between times in this final text. He wants us to remember the covenant between Himself and Noah.

Speaker: Richard Agee.