Hover. It’s a strange word. Merriam-Webster says it means, “Flutter. To move to and fro. To be in an uncertain state.”
In nature, butterflies and hummingbirds hover to gather nectar and then move on. Hovering allows provision from the flowers and protection to avoid a predator. More often we hear the word and think of helicopters poised to drop off or pick up supplies or passengers in a war-zone, ready to take-off at any second. In this sense, hovering also allows for provision and protection.
I bring up this word and its meaning as I contemplate Genesis 1:2, “And the earth was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” (ESV, Bible)
I used e-sword as my source for the original Hebrew and I was surprised to see that the definitions for “deep”and “waters” were not the same. I always thought that they both meant the vast stretches of ocean. I pictured water like that of the Great Flood in which Noah and his family were protected in the Ark; the floating zoo that he obediently made. I found that definition true of the first term, the “deep.” The second term, the “waters,” however, had a different meaning. It was used in the Hebrew to mean water as we know it, but also meant “wasting water,” a nice way to say bodily emissions.
I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time picturing God’s Holy Spirit hovering over “wasting water.” Some translations use the term “brood*,” which, according to Webster, means to sit on eggs to hatch them, to shelter or to ponder. I can always picture His Spirit doing those things… but over waste water? Hard to fathom.
Many questions come to mind: Where did the water or the waste water come from? Why is this verse right in the middle of God creating the heavens and the earth and the “let there be” verses? If God has already created the earth, why was it without form and void? What happened to the heavens and the earth to create this formless void? And if He was able to hover or brood over waste water, is that why He died for us while we were yet sinners… very much imperfect?
I wonder if the battle between God and Lucifer took place between verse one and verse two? What else but a heaven and earth-shaking battle could have caused this mess? Why did the Holy Spirit have to protect this combination of surging water, waste water and darkness. What was so special about it that it needed His protection?
I have a theory, untested, deniable and completely my own. But, since God doesn’t make mistakes, there is a reason why verse two is not verse one!
What if the original Creation was destroyed and the Spirit needed to stand guard over the remnants of what once was until it was recreated. What if we are made out of water and earth because the original creation was so precious to God that He wanted to breathe life into its remains? What if He wanted this original Creation tangibly remembered… something that would live on… responding to Him, relating to Him and loving Him once again? What if the reason He used the phrase, “let there be,” starting in verse three, was because He already had the originals of His Creation that only needed to be spoken to and reminded of their purpose? And why did He “make” man in His image and after His likeness? (Genesis 1:26)
I have lots of unanswered questions. Some don’t really matter in the eternal scheme of things, but I would like to know why the Holy Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters? My theory is that it is what He had always done and continues to do… to provide for and protect what was rightfully His.
In the case of His “brooding*,” I can picture the Spirit nestled over the waters, as a hen spreads her body over her eggs. I can see Him sheltering what was left, pondering all that it has been and all that it would become
But, I suppose the answers to these questions lie with Him. After all, He’s the only One who knows the full story. He’s the only One who was there… before the very Beginning.
At least, that’s what I believe…