The Spirit over the waters
Two posts ago, I commented about the scripture where it says that the Holy Spirit hovered over the surface of the waters. I was thinking about that passage today. The picture in my mind came of a writer or artist posed over a blank sheet of paper or canvas preparing to create. There is a pause, as the creator considers what will be made. I think that is the same idea here-- one of anticipation.
The irony is that for much of the history of man, the sea was a place to be feared. Man had to use the sea and oceans for transporting goods, lumber and animals and people. But, people knew early on that storms could arise and that some people simply would not return from the voyage they undertook. Yet, here God is hovering over the waters to create. He is going to bring order out of chaos.
I was reading a web site about this where the author said, "Suffice it to say that the idea of water as a threat to the world, as a symbol of the destructive power of sin, as a way to describe the world or people without God, even as evidence of the judgment of God, is a pervasive theme in Scripture. Conversely, the conquest or taming of water is a common metaphor to describe the creative and transforming actions of God in the world, especially at crucial junctures in human history." God take something here that is feared and shows that he is master over it and creator.
http://www.crivoice.org/biblestudy/bbgen3.html
It reminds me of when Moses and the children of God were escaping from Egypt. As they moved from Egypt they went towards the Red Sea. They became trapped between the soliders of Egypt on one side and water and mountains on the others. Yet, here God again shows he is Lord over the things that we fear. He simply lifted up the waters and allowed the Israelites to pass through. But, at the same time, when the Egyptians tried the same thing they died in the waters.
How many people today have lives that we could describe as formless and void and in darkness. They have not allowed the God of peace to touch what is theirs and to mold it into things for his purposes. As a result, homes are destroyed, marriages crumble and lives are ruined. We are taught to be self-sufficient, when our only true rest and peace comes from surrender and dependence on God not self-sufficiency.
The irony is that for much of the history of man, the sea was a place to be feared. Man had to use the sea and oceans for transporting goods, lumber and animals and people. But, people knew early on that storms could arise and that some people simply would not return from the voyage they undertook. Yet, here God is hovering over the waters to create. He is going to bring order out of chaos.
I was reading a web site about this where the author said, "Suffice it to say that the idea of water as a threat to the world, as a symbol of the destructive power of sin, as a way to describe the world or people without God, even as evidence of the judgment of God, is a pervasive theme in Scripture. Conversely, the conquest or taming of water is a common metaphor to describe the creative and transforming actions of God in the world, especially at crucial junctures in human history." God take something here that is feared and shows that he is master over it and creator.
http://www.crivoice.org/biblestudy/bbgen3.html
It reminds me of when Moses and the children of God were escaping from Egypt. As they moved from Egypt they went towards the Red Sea. They became trapped between the soliders of Egypt on one side and water and mountains on the others. Yet, here God again shows he is Lord over the things that we fear. He simply lifted up the waters and allowed the Israelites to pass through. But, at the same time, when the Egyptians tried the same thing they died in the waters.
How many people today have lives that we could describe as formless and void and in darkness. They have not allowed the God of peace to touch what is theirs and to mold it into things for his purposes. As a result, homes are destroyed, marriages crumble and lives are ruined. We are taught to be self-sufficient, when our only true rest and peace comes from surrender and dependence on God not self-sufficiency.
