In Genesis 1:9, God calls for the waters “under the heavens” to be gathered together so that dry land emerges. In yesterday’s post, we discussed the way in which this event differs from the way it is generally summarized: “the division of land and sea.” Moses does not describe the division of land and sea, but the integration of that which was dispersed. The gathering together of the dispersed water then results in the appearance of land. We noted the sacred character of the land which emerges- the land which emerges is a place upon which worship of God will commence- it is a place rising from the sea up to heaven, and this is the way the narrative is replayed in the story of the flood. In the story of the flood, the primordial sea again covers the earth, and that which emerges is centered on a mountain on which Noah rests and offers an ascension offering to God. The architectural plan for the ark comes from heaven in Genesis 6- its precise dimensions are narrated in language anticipating the architectural plan of the tabernacle- and through the flood, that plan is embedded in the matter of creation through the collaborative agency of God and man so that it creates a path back upwards to God. The dry land of the third day of creation is the land on which man rises up to God. Hence, the third creation day organically develops the events of the second day.
On the second day, the waters above are divided from the waters below by the expanse between the two which is named “Heaven.” Heaven is the space in which God dwells, and scripture consistently delineates two heavens: the “Heaven of Heavens” in which God is enthroned with His court as well as the “Heavens” which is the expanse made on the second day. That the expanse is named from God’s Heaven reveals its character- the world is divided into upper and lower chambers in order to create a bridge from the upper to the lower. Man cannot walk up a cliff- the cliff must be shaped into a slope along which ascension can be made. Thus the third day matches the second: the second splits the world into upper and lower chambers and designates the midpoint as a mediatorial space for the two. The third fulfills that designation as the land rises to fill that space as ground up which mankind might ascend in priestly offering. We see this conceptual map implied in a myriad of ancient cultures. For example, the Latin word “pons” -from which we get the word “pontiff”, a member of the ancient priestly college of the Roman state- means “bridge.” The priesthood bridges separation and is signified accordingly. It is the priesthood which serves on the mountain of God and brings him offering from those things made in the latter part of the third creation day- fruits and grains.
We should also note the significance of the specific words used to express the waters. In preceding discussions of Genesis 1, it was observed that Genesis 1:2 uses two different words for “water.” The first word, translated “deep”, plays on the Hebrew word used for “chaos” - the two words differ only by the addition of one consonant to the former (tehom and tohu). The second word is “hamayim” and plays on the word for “heavens” or “hashamayim.” The “deep” describes the primordial sea prior to the descent of the Holy Spirit. The descent of the Spirit transfigures the deep into the “waters” which reflect celestial light through the Spirit of God. Subsequent to the descent of the Spirit, the sea is always referred to as the “waters”, playing on the heavens. In a sense, the descent of the Spirit contains within itself the entire course of creation history. The history of the cosmos is the development of the world through the operation of the Word and Spirit into a mirror for the glory of God. It therefore naturally culminates in the creation of the Image of God as an angled mirror which (to use the analogy of N.T. Wright) reflects the splendor of God into creation and gathers the praises of creation up to God. We see this imagery in the gathering of the dispersed waters to unveil the land for worship. The holy mountain- standing at the center of the antediluvian continent- is that from which the river of life sends forth the four rivers to divide the world into quarters. It likewise marks out the path by which mankind is regathered to the worship of God. While the first concrete embodiment of this symbolism (in what I would suggest is the geography of the antediluvian world, though I recognize that this is too much for certain readers) was shattered in the flood, the prophetic significance of this image remains and is seen throughout the prophets. Hence, the nations of the world are said to “flow” to Zion in Isaiah 2:1-4- watery language at the beginning of the book which anticipates the vision of a river flowing from and back to Zion at the conclusion of the book.
If the “waters” which are gathered together to reveal the liturgical land are reflective of heavenly glory, this helps deepen our appreciation for the language of gathering in Deuteronomy 30. The children of Israel are gathered from their dispersion. The last book of the Torah is thematically ordered around the liturgical gathering of the Children of Israel to the singular “place” which the LORD will “choose” (Deuteronomy 12:1-5). This is the place where God makes His “Name” to dwell. The unity of the nation is a key thread which runs through the book. They are named with the single name of the “One Lord” of the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4) Indeed, the word “echad” or “one” is used twenty-six times in Deuteronomy- the gematria of the Tetragrammaton itself. The next time it is used after the Shema is in Deuteronomy 12:14- where the LORD promises to “choose” a “place” in “one” of the tribes. That place is where the entirety of the nation will gather into “one place.” These two words for “one” and “place” are both present in Genesis 1:9. Here the waters are gathered into “one place” so that the land emerges out of the waters. The land is centered in the sacred mountain where God’s Name dwells liturgically. And that Name is the principle by which all creation is unified into an integrated whole, for that by which the world was born as a harmony is the Name-Logos of God. He created the world through His Name and glorifies the world by our utterance of that Name back to Him. Thus, the ongoing life of the nation is expressed in their “Name” not being blotted out “under Heaven” (Deuteronomy 9:14). The nation, though dispersed, is gathered from the uttermost parts of heaven (Deuteronomy 30:14) through their worship of God. The New Testament thus describes the sacralization of the entire cosmos- unifying the fragments of mankind in worshiping God “in Spirit” - the same Spirit by which St. John is carried up to the “great, high mountain” on which dwells the church, the city of God.
(John 4:23-24) But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. (24) God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."
(John 11:51-52) He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, (52) and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.
(Revelation 21:10) And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,