Divided Waters

Divided Waters

Devotional Reading: Genesis 1

Photo Credit: Nocturnal Flame Designs

As we read more into the events of creation we see that once the light was divided from the darkness, this began the series of rotations we know as Day and Night. On that first rotation there was a separation of the two and their timing was established- it starts with the evening, ends with the morning, and the day is complete just before evening comes again. “And God saw the light, that it was good and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.” (Genesis 1:4-5) It is plain to see that the evening begins the day since in the beginning “darkness was on the face of the deep” (Genesis 1:2) and then next God spoke light into existence. “Then God said ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.” (Genesis 1:3)

Sometimes people get stuck in patterns and routines, tradition and opinion, and we lose track of the facts- the details. The fact, or dare I say truth, is that since the very dawn of creation the day began with evening and then the light broke the darkness, and once darkness returned that began a new day. The divided perspectives among Christians on what makes a day and when a day starts requires just one thing- truth- and where we get that truth is the scriptures. We look back into the Pentateuch, the five books of law and instruction that are consistent across Jewish and Christian faith, and we see that in the beginning, God spoke light into darkness, called the light Day and the darkness Night, and established “the evening and the morning were the first day” (Genesis 1:5).

Looking further into Genesis 1, we go on to read of the firmament. “Then God said, ‘Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.’” (Genesis 1:6) Let’s pause right there and talk about this word – firmament. The original text of Genesis was written by Moses, and the root meaning of the Hebrew word for “firmament” actually means “to beat out” or “to spread out” so as it was translated into other languages we can understand it has been described as a vast ”expanse” or “sky”. So as we look at what was happening here, we see that God commanded a large expansion of space to separate the waters into two locations.

Wait – maybe you are now thinking where did the waters come from? If you look back to the first day, before God even brought the light, we see that the waters were here. “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2) The scene for he second day is now set: the light is separate from the darkness, and God has now called for a “space” to divide the waters in two. He established the waters to be separated, located above and below this space (firmament). “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.” (Genesis 1:7-8) The term “heaven” refers to the expanse of firmament, another term describing the vast expanse separating the waters.

From the beginning of all creation, God established boundaries and divided things as He went. In the creation of the firmament, Heaven, there became a separation of God and His creation. When we look again at verse 2, it says “the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2) We see the scene at this point is that God is above (“over the face”) the waters, divides the waters into a top and bottom and then places a firmament (Heaven) between them, and at no point has He moved into a new position. He remained above everything as things were coming into place, remained in His place as Creator of Heaven.

Consider this perspective for today, and view God as Creator of Heaven while staying above His creation. If He remained above Heaven, and the waters, then the understanding of who He is becomes even greater than ever before. He is the Master of the Universe! He commanded it into existence, and still look down and see it from a higher position. We (people) are not even in this story yet, and already we see how massive and great His presence is over the entirety of space. As the second day came to a close, God kept his position of authority and power in place.

When we sing songs and hymns, and say things like “your name is the highest, your name is the greatest” and “To God be the glory, great things He has done” we must consider the true magnitude of what those words mean. To fully grasp the power and authority of God we must see that He divided the waters, placed the heavenly spaces between them and remained all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful and fully able to do anything with it He pleased. This is the literal definition of omniscient: to have infinite vision, awareness, knowledge and understanding. As you move forward in this recognition of God as the Creator, and the Omniscient One, ask Him to join you in your journey of faith by bringing more evidence and weight of His presence in your life. Share with Him the revelations you have of His position of power and authority, His ability to create, the infinity of His knowledge and ask Him to lead you in a way you have never lived before. When we recognize the power of God, this captures our souls in such a way that we have no doubt of His existence, and it is up to us whether we live out this understanding or continue to live a life of denial. Will you continue to be divided in your heart as you come to know this God of mine, the Omniscient Creator of Heaven above?

– Adrianne Michele, Author
Nocturnal Flame Ministries