Who is God: Genesis 1.2

In the ancient world, water was a symbol of chaos. It is powerful and unpredictable, and even though it is essential to life, it can easily destroy life. In the beginning there was formless, empty, chaos, but God was there.

"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."

This verse has caused some debate in the theological world, which has resulted in what is known as "The Gap Theory" or "Ruin Restoration Creationism". This theory says that there was a first creation in Genesis 1.1, then a gap of time in which the fall of Satan occurred, ruining that creation, and then in Genesis 1.2 God begins by restoring the ruined creation. It's an attractive theory because it allows for faith and science to be easily reconciled, if we have a gap of time it can account for millions of years, dinosaurs, and everything else, but we have to remember that we're dealing with a book of theology, centered on God, written to real people in history.

The original audience of the Genesis was the exodus generation. Up to this point, the only thing they had was oral traditions passed down to the generations, but it is in the wilderness journey that these things are being written for the first time. The original audience isn't reading into this two separate creations, and so we can't do that either.

The key to this verse is that there is emptiness and chaos before God moves. There is a formless void, that is covered with darkness and chaos, but in that God is there, and God is not stagnant. In the darkness, amidst the chaos, God is moving.

God is never absent. Though He may be silent, He is always present. When there is chaos, when there is darkness and uncertainty, God is there. God is over the chaos of your life. God is present in the darkness, and God is at work in those moments.

The Exodus generation would have heard this in the wilderness, a place that was formless and empty, and seen what God could do. They would have heard the chaos imagery and seen the presence of God in it. And that is what we have to focus on. This does not give us a solution to science/faith question, it tells us that God is there in the darkness when everything is in chaos...


Fight the lion, 1 Peter 5.1-11

TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY!