The Goodness of HashemWhen we say that Hashem is good, it means that which is in the nature and character of Hashem that causes Him to be kind and benevolent. Hashem's goodness means that He is basically tenderhearted and sympathetic towards His creation; His underlying attitude towards His creatures is one of friendliness. By His very nature He is inclined to bestow blessing and happiness. By His inherent nature He takes pleasure in the happiness of His people. He is good and He does good (Psalm 119:68 ).
The goodness of Hashem is foundational for all sound thought about the Most High and is necessary for our moral sanity: If Hashem was not good, there could be no distinction between kindness and cruelty; good could be bad, and bad could be good; heaven could be hell, and hell could be heaven. But since the Lord is good, there is a real moral difference between good and evil, and they are not to be confused. Woe to those who call evil good and good evil because there is a difference (Is. 5:20). Depart from evil and do good (Ps. 34:14) is as good advice now as it was when it was written by King David 3000 years ago.
The goodness of Hashem is revealed in Creation: Every good thing that any creature enjoys in the present, or hopes to enjoy in the future, flows from the inexhaustible river of the goodness of Hashem. Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights (James 1:17).
The goodness of Hashem is revealed in His Word: Why did the Infinite One give us His special communication, the Bible? Why did Hashem send us righteous prophets to instruct us? Why did the Almighty send us good kings like David and Hezekiah? Why did Hashem send us priests and saints, holy men and apostles, pastors and teachers? It is because of His goodness.
The goodness of Hashem is revealed in Redemption: Why didn't Hashem destroy the world after Adam and Eve sinned? Why has Hashem saved a people in every generation? Why did Hashem take Israel out of Egypt? Why did Hashem give the Jewish people the land of Israel? Why does the Lord accept our repentance and forgive our sins? Because He is good - not because our repentance is so special in and of itself, and not because Hashem is obligated to forgive us. For You Lord are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You (Psalm 86:5). Why does the King of Heaven answer our prayers? Not because He is indebted to us in any way, or because our prayers are so meritorious in and of themselves, but simply because His nature is good.
The goodness of Hashem is revealed most clearly in Messiah Yeshua: Hashem sent His Son into the world to show us ultimate goodness. Yeshua is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11). He proclaimed the Good News. He did many good works from the Father. He gave good gifts, He sowed the good seed, and He served the best wine. He made many good promises. Then in an unparalleled act of pure goodness, Messiah sacrificed His endless life and died on a cross. In fact His life and ministry can be summarized by saying that He went about doing good (Acts 10:38 ). What caused Hashem to become a man? What sent Messiah to die on a cross? What will cause Him to return to earth, and bring unending blessing, prosperity, happiness and bliss to the world? The goodness of Hashem. How can we know for sure that the unseen infinite Hashem is good? The answer is that Hashem is exactly like Messiah Yeshua. He who has seen Me has seen the Father Messiah Yeshua dared to proclaim. Messiah walked on earth so that He might show us what the Father is like. He came to make Hashem known to a lost race that had all kinds of wrong ideas about Him. From Yeshua we can learn how Hashem acts toward people. The humble and the repentant will find Hashem good and merciful, as they found Yeshua. They will find the Father to be like the father of the prodigal son - gracious, welcoming, delirious with joy - if they come to Him like the prodigal son came to his father. The frightened will find Hashem friendly. To the poor in spirit He will be forgiving. To the ignorant He will be considerate. To the weak He will be gentle. To the stranger He will be hospitable. To those who mourn over their sins, He will be comforting, as was Yeshua. But those who think themselves wise will find out that the All Knowing One is even shrewder. The hypocrites and the insincere, those who honor Him with their lips but whose hearts are far from Him, will find Hashem cold and aloof - as they found Yeshua. Yeshua will always be the friend of sinners, but He will forever oppose the proud and independent. He will not force His friendship upon those who refuse to be friendly with Him.