Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day. Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the third day.
When I approach a text like this, I want to know what the text is trying to communicate. There are a lot of creation scientists who take these verses and immediately start trying to teach about how science proves that this actually happened the way the Bible says it happened. The original intent of these Scriptures isn't about that, though.
So what is it that is trying to be communicated?
The first thing I do is look at the Hebrew. The verb comes first wayomer (wah-yoh-mair). The waw means and. Interestingly, the yohd prefix means "will" (kind of, but we won't go into Hebrew linguistics). The verb in verse six should say, "And He will say..." It could also be "they," but the context of the first 5 verses being Elohim (a plural noun used as a singular) tells me that it should be He, not they. So when it says wayomer elohim, we translate it as "God, He will say..." The "he" is a reflection back onto God.
We have in the next part "Let there be..." This verb is yahi (yaw-hee). The verb root is hayah (haw-yaw). Once again we have a yohd prefix to mean "will." The verb itself means to come to pass or become. "He will be..."
Raqiah is the noun form of raqi, which means to expand. So "And God will say, He will be an expanse..."
Tavek means "in the middle..."
"God will say, He will be an expanse in the middle..."
Mayim is the plural for water (waters). "God will say, He will be an expanse in the middle of the waters." The ha- prefix tells us that the word "the" is supposed to be there.
We have that ver hayah again. This time the conjugation is wihi (wee-hee). This would be literally translated as "become."
"And God will say, He will be an expanse in the middle of the waters become..."
The Hebrew word badal means divide or separate.
"And God will say, He will be an expanse in the middle of the waters become separate..."
The next word is bayin. Bayin means a separation or a space between. It comes from the Hebrew verb bene. Bene means to discern. The idea of discernment is that you have to separate the true from the false. Know that Hebrew always searches for an action to help understand something that is actionless (like faith, discernment, grace, etc).
So we have: "And God will say, He will be an expanse in the middle of the waters (to) become separate (with a) space between..." Notice I added the (to) and the (with a) in order to help with understanding.
Mayim, once again, is water or waters. This time it is repeated: mayim lamayim. The lamed prefix means to or for.
So Genesis 1:6 reads: "And God will say, He will be an expanse in the middle of the waters to become separate with a space between water to water."
Now the difference isn't much, but it is enough that makes me ask the question "who is He?" He will be an expanse...
The He is in relation to God. God Himself will come in the midst of (or in the middle) of the waters that He had been hovering over. God Himself places Himself as the division between the waters. What is this division? It is the atmosphere. God called the "firmament" or the separation Heaven.
Think forward a little bit. In the book of Matthew, Jesus continually talks about the kingdom of heaven. I've heard people say that the kingdom of heaven is different from the kingdom of God. Not true. The Hebrews were able to look back at this verse and see that God Himself was the expanse called heaven. So in reverence to the name of God, they would not say God, or YHWH, or Lord. They even today will write G-d (without the o). The kingdom of heaven was a way of saying or referencing God without saying His name.
So the point of these verses isn't that there was water over the heavens (whether that is outer space or the atmosphere is unclear); the point is that God Himself is the expanse. The point is that God isn't far away, but near.
So what do we do with that?
If God is near, what does that mean?
I believe that when people choose to live from the Spirit of God, they tap into this rauch that separated the waters. This shows us the heart of God. He has always desired to be with us and in us and through us. The new creation is in Genesis 1. That is why its so perverse to call a building church. That is why it is so detestable to claim Christ and walk in darkness. God actually wants to be with us and dwell among us, and there are millions of people across the world who only desire for Moses to go up on Mount Sinai to speak with God. We'll listen to the Moses (or pastor), but we are unwilling to speak to God Himself.
We can't begin to understand the implications. God is with us. Even if we aren't with Him, He is with us. Spirituality is finding Him here and now. Spirituality is the recognition that God has been present all along. Heaven is not something future in the clouds somewhere, but living and breathing and moving along the earth here and now. Heaven is not somewhere else. Heaven is here and now.
We have the choice: heaven or earth? Do we want to dwell with God? Or do we want to continue to be people of this earth ignoring God? That choice is what will send people to heaven or hell. If we cannot even bare heaven when it isn't in its full radiance, how are we supposed to enjoy it in the age to come? Heaven offends us now. Why are people getting angry at the idea of being sent to hell when they are the same people who hate the idea of heaven?
Heaven is the place where purity dwells. Heaven is the place (or should I say age?) that we cannot be immoral. We cannot be oppressive. We cannot be abusive. We cannot be selfish. Heaven is the time where oppression ends and freedom begins. And it is accessible here and now.
To some, this is the best news ever. To others, this is bondage and oppression. "You mean I can't do my drugs? I can't rape? I can't masturbate? I can't have sex with whomever I please? I can't extortion? I can't hate? I can't be a racist?" I guess the system works for some. For others like myself, the system only abuses. They take advantage of someone like me. Freedom (even if it isn't fully now) is hope. I am willing to endure hardships and struggle now for the sake of glory beyond understanding then.
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