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Without Form and Void?

January 17, 2026 at 10:06 AM Leave a comment

Reading through Genesis this month got me thinking about the old Gap Theory that can be traced back to ancient rabbis of old. They believed there was a gap of sorts between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. I have previously subscribed to this idea, which was brought back to life in the mid-1800s (1814) by Thomas Chalmers. His purpose, according to Dr. Thomas Constable, “was to harmonize Scripture with Scripture, not with science.” Not long after this, Darwin’s Origin of Species was first published in 1859. Numerous others also supported the Gap Theory, like Franz Delitzsch (1899) and G. H. Pember (1907).

The Gap theory is an interesting concept because it purports that between verses 1 and 2 of Genesis 1, something cataclysmic occurred, which also included Lucifer’s fall (who became Satan), and the belief that there was  a preAdamic race that had become corrupted. God had no choice but to destroy that entire race and a battle erupted on earth that put the earth into major disarray. God was then forced to start over with two new people; Adam and Eve after somewhat of a redesign of this planet.

This theory makes an interesting read as a potential explanation for what occurred between the lines of Scripture. However, as experts in the Hebrew language point out, the Hebrew itself does not support the notion that the Gap Theory has relevance. In fact, according to Dr. Thomas Constable, no known Hebrew scholar today gives credence to the Gap Theory.

Several phrases or words tend to make people think that there is something hidden in the very first two verses of Genesis 1 that God wants us to search out for hidden gems of information. These words and phrases include “without form and void” and “darkness” or “over the surface of the deep,” verse 2. These create a sense of “chaos” as the result and God would not deliberately create chaos. Therefore, it is conjectured, something major occurred.

Chaos (tohu wa bohu), is thought to mean “a formless and desolate emptiness” or an evil condition (Constable), but this is not necessarily the case as shown in various other Scripture passages (cf. Deut. 32:10; Job 6:18; 12:24; 26:7; Ps. 107:40).

For anyone who would like to go into more depth in the Hebrew language, I’m including a link to Dr. Thomas Constable’s Notes on Genesis below.[1] I think his points make a strong case for the possibility that there actually is no Gap of any indeterminate length of time between Genesis 1:1-2. Ultimately though, each person will have to make their own decision. It’s probably pointless to debate it.

I’d like to offer a completely different tack here in attempting to show that all is not always what it may seem in life. Before I do, let me state without equivocation that I fully believe God could have simply had one thought lasting one millisecond or less and the entire Creation could have appeared in completed, finished form then, not over the course of six days. However, it is clear He did not do that and it seems reasonable to me that He did not do that because He was, in part, offering us a pattern that we ourselves should use in life; that is, to work six days and rest on one. Had God fully and completely created everything instantly, that lesson would not have materialized as God pointed it out later to Moses when He gave Moses the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 20:8-11). God did not need to “rest,” following Creation, but He certainly knew humanity would need to do so after six days of work.

Some things in life, in their initial stages, look to us to be chaotic, or without form and void, if you will. Let me provide a concrete example of what I’m talking about.

I work in construction, driving a dump truck (and a few other heavy equipment machines). I’ve been on many construction sites (both residential and commercial), and what always appeared to me to be somewhat chaotic (before I got into construction), now makes perfect sense and I can easily now see the pattern.

If we consider how homes are built in new residential neighborhoods, we gain insight into what it means to be without form and void. A builder/developer will come along and buy acreage. They already have a good idea of how they will develop that acreage and how many homes they will build on it. However, the process can take a few years to finalize depending on how many acres/homes are involved in that development.

In general, here is how the process unfolds. After the acreage is purchased, it may sit there for quite some time before the builder/developer gets moving on it. When things begin, the first group of people into any development are those connected to the putting in the infrastructure. Utility companies are always first on scene. They will measure everything according to the blueprints and schematics from the builder. They’ll then dig and lay wire for electricity (and gas lines for gas if used), for the entire subdivision (usually at least 3′ down). After the utility company has done their job, they leave and the next group comes in. That group adds to the current infrastructure by creating roads, sidewalks (if used) and drainage, and curbs for driveways. During this time, water basins would also likely be added to existing drainage to catch rainwater away from homes, where it can eventually drain into the ground safely.

If a person drives past that development during these early stages, they’d probably think, “What are they doing? It looks a bit chaotic.” However, to the people involved in the construction there is absolutely nothing chaotic about it. Though it appears to be without form and void to much of the public, there’s a great deal going on and to workers, it all makes perfect sense. To the outsider without inside knowledge, it makes little sense. However, it will begin to make sense later on as they start to see things they recognize taking shape.

Once the infrastructure is complete (which includes surveying the entire development and placing marks on curbs and sticks to note individual home sites and electrical boxes), then work can begin on individual lots and ultimately on homes. So what does that look like?

If there are a ton of trees throughout the raw development, excavating equipment is usually brought in on trailers (called “low boys”). Those excavators are used to bring down the trees and make log piles. Eventually, logging trucks will pull up to that site and the excavator operator will take each “log” and place it on the logging truck to be carted away.

Once all the necessary trees are taken down, work can actually begin on moving dirt and flattening out of the area where the home is going to sit. This specific area is referred to as the “box” because stakes are used at each main corner to let the grader (the person on the bulldozer who moves, flattens and grades dirt), know where the house is going to go. This box will take shape only after the grader has measured everything with a laser light, zeroing in on precisely where the home will be going and the stakes that create the box are often placed by a professional surveyor. The dirt on top of the box will need to be seriously packed down and if it’s the wrong type of dirt there (like top soil), it will need to be loaded onto dump trucks and relocated somewhere else in the development. Then the correct kind of dirt (normally clay because it creates a more solid foundation) is trucked into that lot and dumped (often from other parts of the same development). The bulldozer operator (or grader) then moves the dirt to create the box, making it as level as possible. It’s of course, slightly different when a house is being built with a basement. But the bottom of that basement needs the same care.

Once the grading is done, other equipment might be brought in to “roll” or “pack” down the dirt. Sometimes this is done with a dump truck filled with dirt, where the driver will roll back and forth over the box area itself (ensuring to avoid all stakes), to pack down the dirt. The dump truck with a full load of dirt weighs about 70,000 pounds and can do the job. On other occasions an actual packer is brought in, which looks similar to what they use to flatten newly poured asphalt on hard roads. Again, for the average person who is not at all familiar with this entire process, they might scratch their heads and wonder what’s actually happening simply because they are not familiar with the building process.

When a particular lot has received enough dirt, the grader stays behind to do a final grading while the rest of the crew moves onto another lot to start the entire process over on that new lot. Once the grader grades the entire lot to the specifications provided, they can then move onto another lot.

So what happens next on that lot that is now ready? Soon, large flatbed trucks start pulling up to the lot. They unload all sorts of things like wood, rebar, and other supplies to create the form that will allow the concrete slab foundation for the house to be poured. This of course, is only done when inspectors are certain the lot is perfectly level and packed down enough (taking soil samples to determine it). If not, pouring a concrete foundation might result in serious cracks or ruptures later on.

Finally, the form is created to hold the concrete. Concrete trucks pull up to that lot and empty their concrete into the forms, guided by workers to ensure it goes where it’s supposed to go. When enough concrete is poured, workers then spend the rest of the day leveling and smoothing the concrete with special machines. Then everything is left there for up to two weeks to allow the concrete to fully set before starting to build on top of it. This also helps to ensure the absence of small fissures and cracks in the concrete later on. Once the concrete sets, the actual home can then be built, which can take 6 months or more. As an aside, if you are considering buying a new home that needs to be built and the builder guarantees that they can build in 30-45 days, I suggest running away because that home will likely have a ton of problems connected to it. It takes time to build a quality home.

All of what I just described can take weeks to accomplish and during that time, things often look haphazard and chaotic. But none of that means that there is no plan or purpose. It means that what is happening is all part of the overall purpose in building a home on that lot. It is a step-by-step process that requires lots of time and effort to complete correctly.

I’ve been to some developments that had lots where an underground water stream was rolling through that was not caught by anyone who did the initial prep and grading. In one case, it was discovered after the grading had been completed, though the house had not been started yet. An engineer needed to be called in to determine what to do about it because if left alone, and a house was built, there was a very real possibility that the house would start to sink into the dirt resulting in huge problems and lawsuits as you can imagine.

What I’ve just described is often the normal routine in preparing land for homes. It is a multi-step process that makes perfect sense to those who are directly involved in it, but to the average person looking at it from the outside, it doesn’t seem to make sense at all at its early stages, until more noticeable things like roads, curbs, concrete slabs and then actual buildings begin to take shape. Then people will go, “Oh, they’re building lots of homes!”

Is that what God did? I think so. Again, did He have to do things as He did over the span of six days of 24 hours each? Not at all, as He could have simply thought everything into existence completely finished in a split second. What He did He did at least in part, as an example of how we should live our lives, working six days and resting one.

I believe there are many, many things in Scripture that we cannot know the details about and at times, makes us feel like we are missing something. We are missing something, but are not capable of understanding it even if God explained everything to us.

How many understand exactly how God is able to hear and see everything that goes on in this world in real time at the same time and keep it all straight? How does He hear every prayer and then answer those prayers in real time for each person? I have no idea, but I do know that this is what makes Him God. Even if He were to fully explain that to me, I doubt if I could grasp it. I am not God. I am a finite human without that capacity. This is where faith comes in.

How many can fully comprehend the hypostatic union in which two separate and distinct natures – human and divine – come together perfectly in one Person, Jesus? I can’t. I get the gist of it, but I do not understand how it worked on a day-to-day basis and throughout each 24-hour period. What it all boils down to is embracing what I understand and leaving the rest up to Him.

This is not unusual as we see many prophets throughout Scripture who seemed unable to fully grasp what God was trying to explain to them. Daniel, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, John and others did this. They were puzzled, flummoxed and even somewhat confused at times.

Whether the Gap Theory is actual or not, I really don’t know. I’m inclined to think that Satan fell after the Creation was completed because everything God did He said was “good.” However, I’m also inclined to believe that the way in which God created (over the course of six days), not only showcased His immense power, but also provided an object lesson in how men and women should live, by working six days and resting one day each week. By resting, it really means resting, not necessarily doing jobs around the house either. We need to take a day off each week to renew and refresh ourselves. Of course, God did not have to do that but He chose to do that as our example, for our benefit.

Let’s learn from that. Keep your day of rest as actual rest.

[1] https://soniclight.com/tcon/notes/html/genesis/genesis.htm

Entry filed under: christianity, Religious - Christian - Prophecy, Religious - Christian - Theology. Tags: chaos, creation, darkness over the deep, gap theory, without form and void.