How Could God Be Good If...?

Psalm 136:1 ESV Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.

“How could God be good if he killed the firstborn children of Egypt?”

Questions in the form of “How could God be good if...?” assume that God cannot be good if indeed he did what he did. The question is indeed understandable in many cases, since it would be inconceivable to our sensitivities that a good God would do such a thing. However, we must be careful that we do not determine truth according to what we feel.

Psalm 136 begins with an exhortation to give thanks to the Lord: “Give thanks to the LORD.” Why should we even give thanks to the Lord? The psalmist gives us the reason: “for he is good.” And why is he good? Again, the psalmist tells us: “for his love endures forever.” But how would we know that the Lord’s love endures forever? In order to answer this question, the psalmist then proceeds to give us descriptions of this good God.

In order to show that God is good, the psalmist has to show that “his love endures forever,” since that was his claim. This is why, after each description of God, the psalmist ends with the refrain, “for his love endures forever.” Hence, in the psalmist’s mind, each of these descriptions of God is proof and demonstration of God’s everlasting love which, according to verse 1, is the reason that he is good. Let us consider an example.

In verse 5, the psalmist says, “to him who by understanding made the heavens.” This verse—like every other verse in Psalm 136—is a continuation from the exhortation “Give thanks” in verse 1. Hence, we should understand the verse as saying, “Give thanks to him who by understanding made the heavens,” even though the words “give thanks” do not appear in this verse. So, according to verse 5, we should give thanks to the Lord because he made the heavens by understanding.

Now, with that foundation in mind, let us look at another one of the descriptions of God in verse 10, “[Give thanks] to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt.” What are we to give thanks to God for? For striking the firstborn of Egypt! Why is this the reason for giving thanks to God? The psalmist tells us, “for his love endures forever!”

Therefore, according to the Bible, there is no contradiction between God’s goodness and love and his killing of Egypt’s firstborn children. In fact, according to this passage of scripture, it is precisely because of his goodness and love that God killed the firstborn children of Egypt!