FORMLESS AND VOID
January 17, 2008
image: solar flare (cc) kittykatfish
In previous posts in the cynical theology section, I mentioned that Genesis 1:1 is not just a chapter heading. In that single verse, we see the heavens and the earth created -- quite a powerful statement that places God at the helm of the universe. The event is said to take place "in the beginning," which leaves us without a specific reference to time. The event could have taken place 13 billion years ago for all we know; the text does not prohibit such an interpretation. This is fortunate -- freedom from the often-suggested 7-day timeline (young universe theorists) allows the text to align with what science has demonstrated to be the fundamental laws of the universe.
Age of the universe aside, by the time Genesis 1:2 rolls around, the universe exists. The cosmos, with galaxies, stars, planets, asteroids, comets, catastrophic collisions are all interacting, obeying those fundamental laws. God's laws, if you will. And however long they've been interacting, it is in Genesis 1:2 that we see the beginnings of specific interaction between God and His creation.
The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.
There are themes in the Old Testament that occur over and over, as though God is retelling the same story through many casts of characters. Perhaps this is to drive home a message about His nature, about our own nature, and about how we are meant to relate to one another. When Jesus walked the earth, He spoke through parables -- simple stories that were repeated in different ways, using different metaphors. God, it seems, is a storyteller. And He wastes no time weaving the stories together.
A couple of things to note in the Genesis 1:2 passage:
1. We have land.
While Moses and company have no concept of round planets, the notion of earth exists. The hebrew word for earth here implies land, and the description (formless and void) implies a barren wilderness wasteland, or place of chaos. Interestingly, this is not an inaccurate description of sinful man, prior to conversation or enlightenment.
2. We have water.
Water is first implied when the text states that "darkness was over the surface of the deep," where "deep" is a hebrew word for abyss, or deepest part of the sea or body of water. The verse continues to say that the Spirit of God moved over the surface of the waters. Over, and not in. It's interesting that the abyss is mentioned, because when you read through the account of Jonah, he cries out from the belly of the fish: "the great deep engulfed me." (Jonah 2) The "deep" here is the same one in Genesis. And to add further interest, Jesus hints at His own death and resurrection in His reference to the "sign of Jonah" (Luke 11:27). Jonah, in the fish for three days -- dead, and risen again. There is a symbolic link between the abyss and death. And when you take a look at baptism, the symbolism is maintained: submersion under water represents death, and coming out of the water represents new life.
And at the edge of the wilderness wasteland that is the life of every man, God hovers over the surface of the waters, above the abyss of death. The text states believers, prior to their transformation into new life, were dead in their sins (Eph 2:1-2).
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
We were dead in our sins - a wasteland, and in death... in the abyss, we were unable to reach up to God. How can the dead raise themselves up?
Fortunately, God had a plan. Genesis 1:3 is where we see God reaching out to His creation. More coming soon.