Genesis 1:2b - “Hovering over the Waters”
Genesis 1:2 - “Now the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters.” (Soncino Press)
When the earth was covered with water, waiting for God to transform it into world abounding with life, God’s spirit hovered overhead. We have scientifically established this point in history to have occurred about 3.9 billion years ago (Ga), and theologically established that God’s physical earthly presence always takes form as Jesus. Jesus, speaking through Solomon in Proverbs, even testified to His own presence.
Though we know that Jesus was present, Genesis 1:2 states that it was the spirit of God that was hovering over the waters. If you review our study on Jesus’ apearance to Moses, there are three interesting details worthy of note. First, Jesus told Moses that his “presence” would go with him, as he led God’s people through the desert. Second, when Jesus was transfigured before Moses and the Apostles, the Holy Spirit was there, manifested as a cloud. Finally, recall that God manifested Himself as a cloud in Moses’ tent door, while Jesus talked to Moses, “face to face”, as a man, suggesting that the Holy Spirit acted as Jesus’ transport. Perhaps then, 3.9 Ga, the Holy Spirit was transporting Jesus over the waters, to survey the world and perform His Father’s will. In fact, the creation Psalm, Psalm 104:3b, states as much in Day 1, when it says,
He makes the clouds his chariot
and rides on the wings of the wind.
One might object to this line of reasoning, pointing out that Jesus said in Proverbs that He was “beside” the Father during creation, and therefore not present with the Holy Spirit over the waters. The short response to this is that Genesis 1:2 was merely recording who it was doing the hovering… the Holy Spirit; Jesus was merely along for the ride. His use of the word “beside” was symbolic.
The longer explanation is given by Jesus Himself in the same scripture where He used the word “beside” in 8:22-30a (emphasis added)…
The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I have been established from everlasting, from the beginning, before there was ever an earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills, I was brought forth; while as yet He had not made the earth or the fields, or the primal dust of the world. When He prepared the heavens, I was there, when He drew a circle on the face of the deep, when He established the clouds above, when He strengthened the fountains of the deep, when He assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters would not transgress His command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside Him as a master craftsman;
Here is the sequence:
- Jesus was literally with the Father in Heaven “at the beginning of His way”.
- Some time, either during or after the Big Bang, but while “there were no depths” on the earth, Jesus was “brought forth”, into the universe.
- Jesus was in the universe, watching the stars form… “When He prepared the heavens, I was there…”
- Then, as stated in Genesis 1:2, the Holy Spirit was hovering over the waters. We know now, that He was acting as Jesus’ transport.
So, God brought Jesus forth, much like a carver brings forth a knife. Even if the carver himself were to never touch the medium, the knife still interacts with it intimately, even while remaining in contact with (i.e., “beside”) the carver. It is much the same here. Jesus was God’s tool for carving the universe, and more specifically, the earth. Jesus interacted intimately with the universe to affect the earth’s creation, even while remaining connected with (i.e., “beside”) the Father… and by extension the Holy Spirit, too.
If you still have a problem, notice how this reveals a pattern consistent with when Jesus will one day establish the Father’s kingdom on earth, “as it is in Heaven.” If it seems reasonable to say Jesus will be ruling by the Father’s side (Jesus on earth with the Father in Heaven), then, by extension, it should be reasonable for Jesus to say He created by the Father’s side, yet He was on earth while the Father was in Heaven. If you don’t think that creating and ruling are the same thing, then consider that Jesus was in some respect “ruling” the earth, telling it what to do, at the Father’s command. In some respect therefore, creating by the Father’s side really is analagous to ruling beside Him after all.
December 18th, 2006 at 11:22 pm
[…] We know that in Genesis 1:1 the terrestrial bodies and the earth were initially created; scientifically, we know this to be 4.5 billion years ago (Ga). We know that in Genesis 1:2, the earth had not yet undergone the “formation” of God’s pronouncements, and the earth had no life. We also know that the earth was covered in water, that the water was covered in darkness, and that Jesus was with the Holy Spirit, hovering over those waters; scientifically, we know this to be 3.9 billion years ago, and that conditions existed that prevented the darkness from permanently leaving, large meteors, to be specific. We know that in Genesis 1:3, at God’s command, Jesus stopped the meteor onslaught, to “let there be light”. As the atmosphere formed, now unencumbered by large meteor strikes, and sunlight scattered throughout the sky, God saw that light, and saw that it was good. Finally, we know scientifically that only half the earth was in the sun’s view at any one time, and in fact Genesis 1:4 records there was a separation between the light side of the earth and the dark. And then we come to Genesis 1:5, which practically says as much, noting the God’s separation of the night from the day. […]