The Spirit Hovers
What seems so amazing about the second verse of Genesis 1 is that it
contains the recipe, with all the ingredients, for the making of the entire
creation: There is a bowl called heaven, add earth's flour, sprinkle a black substance
for flavor, pour water, and let the Spirit of Elohim mix it with the Word. The result is that some of the concoction will
be baked, fried, frozen, pickled, cooked, or just left raw. No matter, the taste will be sweet as honey in
the mouth, but bitter in the stomach (ref. Revelation 10:10).
We have finally reached the last statement of Genesis 1:2: “…and
the Spirit of Elohim was hovering over the surface of the waters." Let us
make a brief acquaintance with the Spirit of Elohim. That "Elohim is Spirit, and those who
worship Him must worship in spirit and truth," is a spiritual
reality that is emphasized by Yeshua (John 4:24). 2 Corinthians 3:17a echoes
the same fact: "Now YHVH is the Spirit…" In Chapter 1, “Introducing the Creator,” the
unity of the Son and the Father is mentioned as they are together in the One
Spirit. When Yeshua cried out: "And now, O Father, glorify Me
together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You…," He
qualified, "before the world was" (John 17:5 emphasis added).
Interestingly, Yeshua's water immersion was accompanied by "… the Holy Spirit [who] descended in
bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, 'You
are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased'" (Luke 3:22, see also John 1:32)). This scene evokes the hovering of the
Spirit over the waters at creation.
This hovering, brooding, or vibrating of the Spirit upon the face of the waters
was akin to saying: “I’m ready to begin the creation process in order to have
seed after My image and likeness.” The Hebrew word for hovering is "rachaf" and has an interesting meaning. But let’s first start with the sound
of this word. In Hebrew, there are many
words that are onomatopoeic, that is, the sound that such a word makes imitates
that which it (the given word) represents. In this case, “rachaf” reproduces the flapping
of the wings of a large bird, such as an eagle or hawk, as it hovers in the air above
its prey or nest. The tender loving care
of Elohim for His people, at the onset of their exodus is portrayed thus: "As
an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreading out its wings,
taking them up, carrying them on its wings" (Deuteronomy 32:11). Rachaf
can also mean tremors or trembling caused by fear, as is described in Jeremiah
23:9: “As for the prophets: my heart
is broken within me, all my bones tremble… Because of YHVH, and
because of His holy words." In
the case of the creation, however, most agree that the hovering was of the
gentle kind, as a mother would brood over her nest and young ones.
We have already ventured to proclaim that the Earth's chaotic condition
and the darkness over the abyss were a constant. But now, for the first
time, a movement is recorded - a positive action, a sense that a change is
about to occur. Whatever may be
commenced here has its origin in and from the spiritual realm of the Creator.
It says about the Spirit: "… the thoughts of Elohim no one knows except
the Spirit of Elohim" (1 Corinthians 2:11b emphasis added). The Spirit, carrying the thoughts of the
Father and manifesting as His hovering presence, demonstrates sovereign control
over all that was to transpire in these spiritual waters.
There is clear evidence here of a trajectory of "first the spiritual,
then the natural." How encouraging
that the roots of all tangibility and materiality go back to the Spirit of
Elohim! And what is that first
"primordial" activity? Is it a
splash? An explosion? A big bang? Absolutely not! It is a gentle movement of the Spirit, which
is "ruach" in Hebrew, also meaning "wind/breath." As we
just observed, hovering usually denotes very minimal action, light and gentle,
with little exertion. Yet this is the
start of a display of a mighty power that will bring forth the most
magnificent and complex universe(s) with countless elements, both great and minuscule. "'Not
by might, nor by power but by My Spirit,' says YHVH" (Zechariah
4:6). Elijah can testify to that subtle action,
when he heard the Spirit whisper (literally): "a sound of thin
silence" (1 Kings 19:11).
After Satan and the hordes of demonic entities were cast out of these
spiritual waters, we saw that the waters were left in a state of turmoil (tohu
va’vohu). But then, at the end of verse
2, when the Spirit of the Father was moving over those waters, it was in order to
prepare them for His Son to be the expression of His glory and to be
the “Resheet” - the beginning of this present creation. Thus, the Word/Son is waiting in the wings
for the Father to speak Light and Life into those troubled Waters.
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