Have you ever tried to imagine what the earth was like before creation?
The “nothingness” or the “emptiness” can sometimes be too vast for our minds to comprehend, and yet, God provides us with this setting before the creation story begins
Honestly, I had never come across these words in the Hebrew text before I started delving into this verse:
tohû vābohû
It basically means “a waste and a void”
The two terms bring a relationship that, when combined, can then bring us an articulation of just how much the earth was in an utter state of confusion and desolation before the creation
Besides Genesis 1:2, there are only two more occurrences within Scripture where tohû vābohû occurs (Isaiah 34:11 and Jeremiah 4:23), and these words are always in conjunction with each other
Yet, although these words will never bring a “pretty” picture within our minds, the second and third days of creation saw God giving form to the universe, and during the following three days, God then filled the earth with living beings – which immediately fills my heart with hope
I love that even though darkness was over the surface of the earth, the darkness was dispelled on the first day
The image of the Spirit of God hovering over the waters is that similar to a mother bird protecting her young. I love this because the Holy Spirit was as much involved in creation as the Father, but it also shows God’s care and protection are just as active today as before the earth was even formed
Father, thank you that you cared enough to take something that was void and turn it into a home for us. Thank you, Lord, that you are still protecting us, and will do, until we return to you, in Heaven. Father, we ask that you continue to bring a more profound revelation or understanding of the Scriptures so that we may start to scratch the surface of who You really are
Categories: Genesis
