IN our first meditation we learnt that the meaning of the word for create in the Hebrew, 'bara', has the meaning of bringing into being something that did not exist before. In other words when God created the heaven and the earth, he had nothing to work with, and by his almighty power had to bring matter into existence by a sovereign act of divine power. This is expressed in verse one where we are told that God created the heaven and the earth. God alone existed as the ever living one. God determined to create, and so brought into being all that we see in the created universe. Human beings are said to create when they produce something new, but human creation always commences with what is already there, and makes something with this matter. This truth concerning creation by God is expressed throughout Scripture, and here are some of the Scriptures which declare it - Isaiah 42: 5 and 44: 26 and 45: 12, 18. Hebrews 11: 3. Revelation 4: 11.

However when we come to verse 2 of Genesis chapter 1 we are told that the earth was formless and empty, etc. In other words that some matter is said to have existed in this verse. Does this contradict verse 1 where we are told that nothing existed before God brought it into being. We cannot believe this for then we would find that verse 2 contradicted verse 1, and truth never conflicts. So how can we approach this dilemma.

Let us look at the testimony of verse 2. It tells us that the earth was formless and empty. It tells us that this mass of matter dwelt in darkness, and the earth existed simply of water without any shape or form. All this is an expression of destruction and disaster. Darkness in the Bible always expresses separation from God, and evil. The wicked dwell in darkness. Hell is all darkness where there is total separation from God and all that is good.

As we consider this we have a picture of judgement and separation from God. This suggests that there had been an initial creation, which somehow had been spoiled by evil, and God's final judgement had fallen and brought this darkness of hell on that creation, leaving this formless mass in the darkness of God's displeasure. This is not altered by being told in verse 2 that the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. This presence of the Spirit of God hovering over the waters surely tells us two things. The first is that when God judges he makes sure that his judgement lasts, and the second is that God still had in mind this disaster, which he then decided to start again with a recreation.

God is light and in him is no darkness at all. This we read in the first general letter of St. John chapter 1 and verse 5. Then we read in Isaiah 9: 2 these words - 'The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned'. From this we can understand that darkness is the result of sin and evil and the dominion of the evil one. Satan dwells in darkness. Hell is perpetual darkness and separation from God. So in verse 2 of Genesis chapter one we have to understand that God had judged evil and Satanic dominion in some original creation, and that original creation, at the point when God sovereignly chose to create again, was existing in the chaos of darkness brought about by God's judgement.

Darkness is the consequence of being apart from God due to judgement. Darkness is opposite to light which is God and comes from God.

This chaos mass is called earth, and expressed the whole of this chaos mass. The same word translated 'earth' in this verse is the same word translated 'land' in the NIV translation in verse 9. So we can see that this chaos mass encompassed all that was left of this original creation judged by God. This chaos was shapeless and empty. There was no light, but just darkness. In Jeremiah 4: 23 we read of Jeremiah saying 'I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty; and at the heavens, and their light was gone'. This described the condition of Israel in sin and darkness, ripe for the judgement of God. To those who are still unconverted and in the world, this describes their condition. They are without hope, and without God in the world. So this description of this chaos mass describes the darkness of final judgement and separation from God. God has totally separated himself from this mass and this mass describes hell.

The person in darkness of the world is in chaos and apart from God and needs the light of life, even Jesus Christ to come and shine the light of life on them. This is a sovereign act of recreation on the part of God. In the same way this chaos in total darkness, needed a sovereign act of God to create light to shine again, and so bring this chaos mass to life again by a new creation, which we know from Genesis chapter one as the creation of the universe as we know it.