In the beginning God created the heavens
and the earth.
This is the beginning of time, for us, in HIStory. Not
Him. He has no beginning, or end. He is. I AM.
Out of courtesy, not necessity, He introduces Himself
at the opening of the gate. Because He wants you to know Him personally, He
uses the name, ’Ĕ·lō·hîm, which is plural. The first hint to His Triune
Being, the Trinity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. You get that family
resemblance, that triune character trait, from Him. You are a spirit, live in a
body, and have a soul.
He opens the door, invites you in, “I created all this…for
you.”
You look and see. He’s covered in light, like a
garment (Psalm 104:2). There is no darkness, in Him (1 John 1:5). The heavens,
glimmer His glory, the skies shine His majesty (Psalm 19:1-2). Everything He
created, is good (1 Timothy 4:4). He’s Giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). The Divine Design, beautifully woven, everything in order, nothing wasted,
the perfect paradise (Isaiah 45:18).
That’s Him.
Wonderful, right? It is. Just knowing Him,
automatically gives you a lot of information about His creation.
And we haven’t even talked about the colors. He
could’ve made it all black and white. I just mowed green grass under a blue sky
with white clouds. Now, I look out the window and see all sorts of different colored
plants and flowers.
Oh, and then there’s delicious. Taste buds. What an awesome creation. That says a lot about Him. He thinks of everything.
It’s like this.
There’s banana bread.
Okay fine.
But then there’s Sally’s banana bread.
Okay! Now that’s a different story. I’ll take two, or three.
Oh, and Virginia brought her sweet rolls to Church this morning. My oh my, God is Good.
You'll know a lot about creation, just by knowing the Creator.
But there’s something else He wants you to know. He is
Truth. At times, Truth hurts. That’s why the next verse must be said, even
though it’ll sting…
Genesis 1:2. The earth was
without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of
the deep…
Now, we’re going to unpack this verse word by word according to
the original text and definition. It may feel like we’re reading a dictionary,
but hang in there, we’ll tie it all together in a moment, okay?
The earth… Notice in the opening statement, God thinks the
word “earth” is important enough to repeat twice, back-to-back. We don’t
know why, yet, but let’s pay attention. The best commentary on the Bible
is the Bible, and we don’t need to go far, before God gives us His definition
of “earth”. Verse ten says: And God called the dry land Earth.
So, remember, God calls dry land, earth.
The earth was… The
original text uses the word, hayah, for the word, was. It
means: become, became, come to pass, or came to pass.
The earth was without form, and void… The
words for without form (formless) and void, are:
Tohu: confusion; place
of chaos; wilderness; waste; an indistinguishable ruin.
Bohu: emptiness, void,
waste.
Notice both definitions use the word ‘waste’ (Reminds
me of our recent Bible study in John 6. After feeding the multitude Jesus told
them to pick up the left overs, so there’s no waste.)
The earth was without form, and void; and darkness
was on the face of the deep… In
the original text, the word used for, darkness, has a very dark definition. In Hebrew it’s,
choshek; (kho-shek'). It means: the dark, darkness, misery, destruction,
death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness.
So, if we apply the original
definitions to verse two, a literal rending of, the beginning, might sound
something like this:
In the beginning, ’Ĕlōhîm created the
heavens and the earth. 2 The
earth (dry land) became a chaotic waste and an indistinguishable
ruin; and the darkness of death was on the face of the deep.
Is this what you expected as
we stood between verses one and two; as we smelled the fresh cut green grass,
and tasted Sally’s homemade banana bread?
It goes
against Scripture (Isaiah 45:18) and the very character of God, to suggest He created
the earth tohu, bohu (a dark chaotic, empty, waste land). For
God is not the author of confusion, but of peace. 1 Corinthians 14:33.
Yet,
here we are. Here it is.
Remember,
in the beginning, is only the beginning of time for us, but not all.
In the
dateless past, God created angelic beings. In accordance with His character of
Love, they were created good, and with the ability to choose; because built
into Love, is freedom.
Now, Ezekiel 28:11-17, and Isaiah 14:12-14, tell of when lucifer, the loveliest of angelic beings, chose pride, and was cast to the earth. He still waves the banner of Choice and Pride, to deceive, to steal, to kill and destroy, as many as he can, before his imminent, ultimate, destiny in the lake of fire.
Now,
putting it all together, it appears, that God created the heavens and the
earth, good.
lucifer
was cast to the earth, and he did what he does; kill, steal, destroy. The
prehistoric world that then was, perished. The earth became without form and
void and darkness covered the face of the deep.
Do you think this sounds a
bit like Genesis 6:6? When God was so grieved over the wickedness of man, that He
decided to destroy the earth with a flood…but, God is slow to wrath; that wasn’t
the end, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Genesis 6:8.
And likewise, God is slow to
throw in the towel, and grace can be found at the end of verse two.
And the Spirit of God was hovering
over the face of the waters. Genesis 1:2.
Now we’re
introduced to another member of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit.
I can’t
help but see the Holy Spirit, hovering over the face of our lessons. The timing
is Divine. Today, May 28, 2023, is Pentecost Sunday. The day we
remember when the Holy Spirit hovered, as tongues of fire, over those in
the upper room; they were filled, and they spoke, and thousands received the
Light of the World as Savior that day.
A few
days ago in our Wednesday Bible study, we studied, John
6, when Jesus walked, (hovered) over the face of the waters.
If you
were with us, you’ll remember. Jesus created a meal for a multitude. All was
good and right. But then, somehow it came
undone. You know. Smooth sailing one minute and then, the next you’re in the middle
of the Sea, middle of the night, middle of a storm. The Sea of Galilee became
without form and void; and darkness covered the face of the deep.
Jesus
was miles away on shore. Is that how it seems? Where’s God when you need Him?
They
strained at the oars, all night they rowed, but only blew further from shore.
Listen
close. Jesus saw their efforts, not the success of their effort, but their
effort. He saw them straining at the oars. Their attempt to do His will (He
told them to get in the boat and go to the other side). Their effort was a
beacon, that drew Him. He walked (hovered) over the face of the waters, through the storm. He spoke light to their night, calmed their fear, calmed the storm, got in their boat, and delivered them safely to shore. All that and more, for them...and you.
The
Holy Spirit hovered over the deep darkness, and the deep freeze thawed…
Then
God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. Genesis 1:3.
No
amount of darkness could hold it back.
Light
first came by the WORD of God, “Let there be light…” as light to the
world, and to man’s soul.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word, was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by Him; and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in darkness; and the darkness cannot overcome it… and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. John 1:1-5, 14.
Now, the Trinity is revealed in full, in the
first three verses of the Bible.
Notice
He spoke light. Period. He didn’t waste time talking to waste (trash talking).
He didn’t sit in the dark, cursing the dark.
He simply
slipped in and turned on the light by the Word of God, “Let there be light.”
Just as
the Word slipped into the world, through the womb, of a virgin, on a silent
holy night, tucked away in a manger.
It’s how,
here and now, He enters the dark, chaos of your world and says, “Let there
be light.”
No power
of darkness could stop the Light from entering the world.
lucifer
couldn’t stop the star from shining, the angels from singing, the Light of The
World from becoming flesh, and dwelling among us.
Nothing,
not all the demons of hell, not a stone, a seal, or all the soldiers in the
world, could keep the Light of the World, in that dark tomb.
No
darkness can keep His Light from reaching you. Here. Now.
If only
you will answer His call and... let there, be Light.
4 And
God saw the light, that it was good…
God sees
the light.
He sees
His light in you.
You may
not see it, but He does. You may just see the wind and the waves. The weakness.
The failure. Peter might’ve only remembered that he sank. But Jesus sees that
he gave it a go, and walked on water.
God
approves of the Light.
God
sees the Light, His Light in you. And He says, it is good.
You may
think it’s no big deal. Just bake a little banana bread, or make a sweet roll
now and then. Or help a neighbor keep their house in order, or, crochet a
blanket or two, or, run the video at Church, or, wake up and pray in the middle
of the night, or, do dishes, and laundry, clean house, help with homework, or
be a friend, or, perhaps His light in you, is to light someone else’s light, like
John the Baptist, the ministry of encouragement…
God
sees the Light He’s placed in you, and He approves of your willingness to shine,
your effort is the victory. The results are up to Him.
He
who began a Good work in you is faithful to complete it. Philippians 1:6.
Let
your light so shine that they may see your Good works and glorify your Father
in heaven. Matthew 5:16.
Let’s
pray.
’Ĕ·lō·hîm, Heavenly Father,
Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit,
Thank
You, for creating in us a clean heart, and renewing a right spirit within us. Thank
You for Your Light. May this prayer, fan this little light of ours, into a blazing
passion to see Your Good and perfect will be done, so that as much as it
depends on us, not one soul will be left behind.
We love
you, forever.
Amen.
WATCH
SERVICE HERE:
Without Form
and Void, Genesis 1:2-4
Prayer
Requests & Praise Reports:
Text:
612-554-2522
Email:
pray4measap@aol.com
Send contact info. if you’d like to keep in touch.
NEXT:
WEDNESDAY:
Bread from Heaven, John 6:22-70
SUNDAY:
Creation Week, Genesis 1:4-31
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