Stories of TOV: Exploring the Biblical Call to Do Good

We all have stories. The best of stories are not always easy to tell. It takes work and intentionality. But the good ones, the ones that stick with us, are of the kind that keep us up at night — leading us to all sorts of places. Fear, anxiety, hope, desire. Stories shape us. Helping form our identities and points of view.

We tell stories because we understand them. Storytelling has been part of the human experience from the beginning. And this is where our story takes us.

To the beginning.

What is TOV?

TOV is good. The Hebrew word for good, that is. It’s written like this. ט֖וֹב (ṭō·wḇ), and it sounds like stove but with a T. Spelled in English as TOV.

And it means good.

It’s the pronouncement of approval. That all is well. When things are made right or as they should be. In the Hebrew Bible, this word can be used in many ways. 562 occurrences, to be exact.

Genesis 1 sets the stage for our purposes. Many have written about this chapter. Men and Woman much more educated than myself. But if I may, let me stand on their shoulders and take a swing.

In the beginning or way back at the start. A deity אֱלהִים (elohim) created all that we see. Up there, the sky. And down here, the ground. Heavens and Earth are most likely what you’ll read in any English translation. However, those words are a bit misleading to a modern audience. At bibleproject.com, the team does a great job unpacking the concept of Heaven and Earth. You should check them out. An ancient audience, the first to hear this story, might have heard the opening line like this.

A long time ago, a spiritual entity created everything we see.

At this point, they might have said, “Tell me something I don’t know.” A curious hearer might have inquired, “Tell me more about this spiritual being?” “What kind of god is this?” “How much more work are they going to cause me?” “What sacrifice and offering are they going to ask of me?”

The story goes on.

The up there and down here were a wasteland of sorts. Enter into our imagination Mel Gibson traveling a desolate road in the movie Mad Max . Or Tom Hardy, if you prefer. It’s a place where non-order is always present. The storyteller uses a combination of words to explain this kind of existence.

תֹ֙הוּ֙ (tohu) Without form, and בֹּהוּ (bohu), empty.

תֹ֙הוּ֙ ṯō-hū | בֹּהוּ wā-ḇō-hū, A place that lacks form and is empty. Do not confuse this with nothingness. Because something clearly exists. The up there and down here sky- land introduced in verse 1. The up there and down here don’t seem to have a purpose. They lack the organization it needs to fulfill its reason for existing.

Side note: Why would the storyteller begin a story like this? What about the formless emptiness would resonate with people listening? Could it be that we all sometimes feel empty and not fully formed, that is, not completely ourselves? Could it be that the listeners feel that they exist not to live life but to be subservient to it? Is the storyteller setting the listen up? Do they have a smirk on their face? Do they know something the hearer doesn’t yet?

Okay, let’s continue…

The spirit of this god is present. He is hovering over the nothingness. Again, not non-existence. Just non-order. And at this point, this god speaks.

In ancient times, people believed that the gods were involved in the world. After all, they did create it. And there are lots of stories that have been told about the gods. Creating the world, messing with human affairs within the world. There were stories that originated much earlier than the one being told. So there was a framework, an idea about the gods already in the minds and hearts of the people listening. So what was this god going to do? How was this god going to be different? How will this god require allegiance? All good questions.

If we read vs. 3–31 through our modern view of how things work, we may risk missing the writer’s point altogether. Again, I’ll defer to those who better explain this portion. My favorite is scholar John Walton of Wheaton College. He describes it like this. The story of Genesis 1 is about how God makes a house into a home.

Check out his work here if you’re interested in learning more.

When this god begins to speak, he orders the “up there” and “down here” in such a way that it serves a purpose. This is not just a story of a god creating everything so to reap it’s resources. It’s a story of a god that arranges everything in order to function as a home for those within it. This god seems to care about his creation. It’s like he is creating a home for both the god and the creation to coexist together. He wants to hang out in his creation. That purpose culminates on day six with the creation of humans. This god didn’t create everything to rule over humans. Like the ancient neighboring communities had once told. No, this god created everything to rule with the humans. They are to be like him so as to rule with him. Verses 27 and 28. Later, we will learn this god’s name. We find that this God loves his creation. He wants to know them and be known by them.

Now that’s something new!

This is something no one has ever said before. This God wants to be my friend and co-coworker. How revolutionary this must have been. How exciting. How unbelievable. This is indeed a very good story. (See what I did there?)

There are many patterns within this opening chapter. But the one that will stick out to most, to anyone paying attention, is the good spoken over each day by God. He says, seven times, in fact. That it is good, there’s that word. On the last day, he looks over everything, which is proclaimed very good.

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. Genesis 1:31 NIV

Here lies a central theme of the Bible. One that goes overlooked, in my humble opinion. God makes all good. He invites humans, his image, to keep doing good everywhere they go. That’s the fill the earth and subdue it sort of stuff mentioned in verse 28.

God says what is good. He invites us to partner with him, and they all live happier ever after, right? Well, not exactly. If you know the next two chapters, we find out quickly that the new humans choose not to trust their creator. It all goes downhill from there. The rest of history is full of the harm humans bring to the earth and each other. This harm is due to our choice to determine right and wrong.

Enter Jesus.

The story of Jesus is told in ancient biographies. It tells of God, yes, the Genesis 1 God, entering back into humanity. He came to show what it means to bring good (TOV). That’s what all those stories in the Gospels are about. The stories of healing, forgiveness, reconciliation, and spiritual warfare. His act of sacrifice and rebirth launch the new humans. They are remade through apprenticeship to him. Then, they can get on with the Genesis 1:28 job of bringing good to all creation. Now that we have an example and helper, of course.

Do we always get it right? I think you know the answer to that. But I would argue that the ongoing work of the people of God called his church is to bring TOV to all of creation. We eagerly await the day when new creation brings us into full view. It is the project God started all those years ago.

I love this statement of Paul in his letter to the church(s) of Galatia.

So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time, we will reap a harvest of blessings if we don’t give up.

One might argue, me specifically, that TOV is what the Bible is all about. God took all that we see and made it a home for the image/humans and himself. He said that it is TOV, and one day it will be TOV again.

What are Stories of TOV?

Stories of TOV will be my attempt to share ways in which we can be those kinds of people. People of TOV. By reflecting on the Biblical concepts, calling out ways we fail at TOV, and hoping for many more ways we can succeed.

I hope you are challenged, encouraged, and motivated. I hope you join me on this journey to bring TOV.

Stay tuned; there’s more to come.