What does it mean in Genesis 1:2 that the earth was “empty” which is translated as “void” or desolated? Does it mean God reconstructed the earth, or that God made the earth out of nothing, the beginning of all beginnings?
Let’s read Genesis 1:1-2, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was WASTE and EMPTY, and darkness was on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (DARBY translation). I would add that Mr. William Kelly (who was a renowned Hebrew scholar) stated the word “was” in verse 2 can be translated “became.” Verse 2 would then be rendered, “and the earth BECAME WASTE and EMPTY.” The words WASTE and EMPTY surely convey the thought of DESOLATION, which would imply that some cataclysmic event must have occurred after the original creation (in verse 1) that resulted in the earth becoming a wasteland. Strong’s Concordance supports this for the word “void” (i.e. empty” takes on the meaning of “ruin.” Again, something happened to turn God’s perfect creation into a state of chaos and disorder.
In fairness, there are those who read Genesis chapter one and believe that the whole chapter describes God’s original creation. They affirm that God started out with a formless void and then gave everything shape to make it habitable for man (who would be created on the 6th day….see verses 26-27). But there is a serious problem with that view according to Isaiah 45:18 which reads, “For thus says the LORD, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who DID NOT CREATE IT IN VAIN, who FORMED IT TO BE INHABITED: ‘I am the LORD, and there is no other’” (NKJV). We learn in this verse that the original earth was NOT CREATED IN VAIN; in other words, it was not created in a state of emptiness or desolation, but that it was “formed to be inhabited.” This surely makes more sense, for we know that our God, Who is the Almighty Creator, is perfect in everything He does and this includes His work in creation. The thought that He would create the heavens and the earth in a state of desolation and then, in the course of six days, bring harmony and order to it, is not in keeping with what Scripture teaches about God.
I believe that after the earth became desolate (as the result of some catastrophic event), God did indeed come in to RECONSTRUCT THE EARTH and to set in order the heavenly bodies to rule the day and night. This account is given to us in verses 3-25, along with God’s creation of the vegetable and animal kingdoms. He then created Man and gave him “dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth” (verse 26). If we study the genealogies of the Bible we can conclude that the creation of Adam took place approximately 6,000 years ago. Yet the original creation in verse 1 may have occurred millions of years ago. Many scientists (including “Christian scientists”) believe that this view allows for all the scientific discoveries that lead to the conclusion that many “geologic ages” occurred, demanding millions, if not billions, of years. I realize that this view is contested by those who hold to the “Young Earth Theory” (the view that the Earth, like Adam, began about 6,000 years ago), but in my mind that view cannot be substantiated in the light of Genesis 1:2 and Isaiah 45:18. (381.5) (DO)