#19──米塔哈特．瑪伊姆──水下──Mittahat Mayim – Underwaters

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第二部分：可見的創造系統

三、眾水：第十九章 米塔哈特．瑪伊姆──水下

我們知道，在創世記中提到，有四道河從伊甸園流出來。它們發生了什麼事？首先讓我們先瞭解一下它們：「有河從伊甸流出來滋潤那園子、從那裡分為四道。第一道名叫比遜、就是環繞哈腓拉全地的．在那裡有金子、並且那地的金子是好的．在那裡又有珍珠和紅瑪瑙。第二道河名叫基訓、就是環繞古實全地的。 第三道河名叫希底結、流在亞述的東邊。第四道河就是伯拉河。」²⁶⁵ 這似乎是在告訴我們，祂安置人在園子裡，並有許多的河流滋潤那園子。的確，水是需要的，因為之前未曾下過雨。「創造天地的來歷、在耶和華　神造天地的日子、乃是這樣．野地還沒有草木、田間的菜蔬還沒有長起來、因為耶和華　神還沒有降雨在地上、也沒有人耕地。但有霧氣從地上騰、滋潤遍地。」 ²⁶⁶

大地之下的水──非洋海或大海的水──是在地底之下的水，今天我們知道這些水依然以「地下水」的形式存在著，而在大地上所有的水中，只有 2.5% 是淡水，其中 1.2% 才是地下水。²⁶⁷ 上帝創造了這個非常精緻的系統，使我們用這麼少的水便足以生存。誠然，這些數字是當前數字，並沒有任何上古時期的數字，但我們可以這麼說，雨水第一次降在地上前，地下水的淡水量已很豐富。但我們可以肯定，從地面升起的霧氣都包含在淡水之內，即使在今天也是如此，這被稱為蒸騰作用──「蒸騰作用的過程是水分從植物的根部被帶到到葉子背面的小孔，汽化後釋放到空氣中。而蒸騰作用實質上就是植物葉子中水分的蒸發。」²⁶⁸ 那麼這是否包括所有「從地面出來的」水？可能不是，但如果有另一種形式，今天就會被認為「昇華作用」──「昇華作用是物質的固態和氣態之間的轉換，中間沒有液態階段。」²⁶⁹ 這個大地上到處都有大量的冰，這個昇華作用的過程為大地補充了自身足夠的水。

這似乎可以解決水是如何「從地裡冒出來」的問題。但是，讓我們更深入地了解有關水的經文。我的意思是，我們可以研究我們想要研究的所有科學，但如果沒有上帝話語這堅固根基的話，科學只是驗證理論而已。 我們要尋求驗證的真理，但還有什麼比得上由祂的先知和歷史學家來解釋上帝的傑作更來得真實呢？

讓我們再次回到創世記，我們當然要再次回到創世記，需要我再說嗎？我們知道這都會發生的。創世記1:2 說到「神的靈運行在水面上」，我已對這個問題進行了一些討論，我將在這裡提供每一個論點：有些人可能會說，這很可能是意味著「海洋」。希伯來語是哈馬伊姆 (Hammayim) ²⁷⁰──它是水最直接的詞，所以這是一個很好的論據。若我們假設上帝大到可以同時間在所有的水域上運行，正如有些人可能會如此的爭辯著。那麼，祂基本上是覆蓋了整個大地──霧氣、水和冰。有人會認為這是合理的，祂是大神，為什麼不呢？但對於我們的認知來說，無論祂的靈是運行在太平洋上空、盤古大洋上空， 還是在從伊甸園流出來的四道河之上的某一處，都沒什麼區別。但對我來說，祂是神，祂的靈就在盤旋運行，這就已經足夠了。但容我們更深入去探索這個看法，好找到這個教導的完整啟示。

第二天，我們知道祂將諸水分為上下──水以下和水以上的水。²⁷¹ 第三天，他把天下的水聚在一處，使旱地露出來。²⁷² 那麼如果他一開始就運行盤旋在特定的水面上，那麼祂在運行什麼？祂在諸水上運行──神的靈是在全地、在諸水之上──在水被分為上下之前。無論所創造的水的總量有多少，上帝的靈都在它們的表面上運行盤旋。

這是一個令人難以置信的概念，因為它必須是這樣的。此時此刻，仍是空虛混沌，沒有什麼被分開，因此「水」應該是一個大的、單一的、具體的東西。現在我們知道，前兩層天是在第三層天之下，全地都是上帝的腳凳²⁷³。所以，任何在神寶座之下的事物，都是在寶座之下。諸水（無論是分散的還是聚集的）都與其餘的創造物在一起。上帝高於一切… 在第三層天還沒有名字或地域之前，祂就居住在那裡。無論諸水之後發生什麼事，起始都可能發生在第二天以穹蒼分開和第三天以旱地分開的那刻。

第三天，上帝將諸水聚集在一處，旱地就露出來。「神說、天下的水要聚在一處、使旱地露出來．事就這樣成了。 神稱旱地為地、稱水的聚處為海．　神看著是好的。」²⁷⁴上帝稱這個詞為「水體」：”yam”，字面的意思是「群水」，而最完美的意思是「多水累積之處」，但也可以指像約旦河那樣小的河水。²⁷⁵ 綜上所述，我們可以得出，穹蒼之下的諸水都包含在這含義中。當然，諸水都有不同的差異，「聚在一處」可以意味著「聚在這個高度」──水總是試圖填滿它所進入的容器、總是尋求自己的水平，而形成一個平頂，稱之為「海平面」，它在地平線上總是變成水平的。水──這種奇妙的物質，潤滑了整個創造物並賦予它生命──這是對聖靈的一個很好的比喻。

在創世記6:14，神叫挪亞要造一隻方舟好「保全生命」，因為將會有一些變化發生，使之永遠破壞整個大地的系統──也許在洪水之前，只有一個大湖；也許伊甸園就在北極，陸地邊緣有一個環，水就像甜甜圈的形狀一般「聚在一處」；也許大淵的泉源裂開、天上的窗戶也敞開時，大地的陸地形狀就改變了，當然，看起來是這樣的。但最有可能的是沒有外環，旱地就像一個圓盤似的在中間露出來，自從洪水氾濫在地上以來，一直在緩慢地向外移動。事實上，地根基的深層裂縫可能就造成地殼板塊移動的證據。誰知道？這都是猜測。但創世記10:25確實地告訴我們知道：「希伯生了兩個兒子、一個名叫法勒、〔法勒就是分的意思〕、因為那時人就分地居住。」我們必須對創世記7:11 的大地根基的裂開與分開有所理解。

我們若往後數算，可能會發現法勒大約生於公元前2222年，而洪水的發生是在 2304 年左右，這82 年是否足以讓整個地面完成移動和沉降下來？當然，這純粹只是個猜測，但能想像一下也是蠻有趣的。

不管是什麼情況，我們都同意，「水」這個詞是指著地下和地上的水，這就是本章的重點。如果你沒有注意到，尚未提及的是大地的冰區，我故意跳過這一點，因為我們將在另一節中，花更多的時間來討論它。

註

²⁶⁵ 創世記2:10-14

²⁶⁶ 創世記2:4-6

²⁶⁷ Water.usgs.gov

268 同上

269 同上

²⁷⁰ Strong’s 4325

²⁷¹ 創世記1:6

²⁷² 創世記1:9

²⁷³ 以賽亞書66:1a「天是我的座位、地是我的腳凳。」

²⁷⁴ 創世記1:9-10

²⁷⁵ 在研究這個問題時，我發現了一個有趣的邊注：在創世記22:17中，我們的詞被錯誤地翻譯成「海邊」──說的是亞伯拉罕將有像「海邊的沙」一樣多的後裔，而實際上這節經文是說：他將有像「海裡的沙」一樣多的後裔。

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Part Two: The System of Visible Creation

III: Waters──Chapter 19: Mittahat Mayim – Underwaters

We know that the number of rivers that flowed out from Eden were four, and are mentioned in Genesis. What happened to them? Let us find out what they were firstly. “Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it branched into four headwaters: The name of the first river is Pishon; it winds through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is pure, and bdellium and onyx are found there. The name of the second river is Gihon; it winds through the whole land of Cush. The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it runs along the east side of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.”¹ This seems to tell us that rivers were aplenty in the watering of the garden where He placed man. Indeed, waters were needed, for it had not ever rained before. “These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens. When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground”²

The underwaters of the earth, the ones that were not ocean or sea, were under the earth. We know these waters still exist today, in the form of “groundwater” and that of all the earth’s water, only 2.5 % is fresh and of that 1.2% is groundwater.³ This is a very delicate system that God created to allow us to live with such a low amount. Granted, these figures are current figures and do not have any antediluvian figures, but we can most likely say that the amount of fresh groundwater was higher before the rains came for the first time to earth. But we can be sure that these fresh waters were included in the mist that came up from the ground. This is seen even today. It is called Transpiration. “Transpiration is the process by which moisture is carried through plants from roots to small pores on the underside of leaves, where it changes to vapor and is released to the atmosphere. Transpiration is essentially evaporation of water from plant leaves.”⁴ Does this include all of the waters that “came forth from the ground?” Probably not, but if there was another form, then it would be reconciled today as Sublimation. “Sublimation is the conversion between the solid and the gaseous phases of matter, with no intermediate liquid stage.”⁵ There is plenty of ice all over earth for this process to have given earth enough water to replenish itself.

This would seem to lay to rest the question of how water “came forth from the ground.” But let’s dive a little deeper into the scripture about water. I mean, we can research all the science we want to, but without a firm foundation of the Word of God, science is just proven theory. We seek proven truth, and what could be more true than God’s handiwork explained by His prophets and historians?

Let’s go back to Genesis again. Of course we’re going back to Genesis again. Need I have even said that ? We all knew it would happen. Genesis 1:2 The Holy Spirit is there hovering on the face of the waters. I have had some discourse on this matter and I will supply each argument here: Some might say that this most likely means “The oceans.” The Hebrew word is “Hammayim”⁶ which is the most direct word for water. So that’s a good reasoning. But let’s suppose that God is big enough to hover over all the waters at once, as some might argue. He’s basically blanketing the plane of the earth if this were the case. Vapors, Waters, and the Ice. Others would say this is also legitimate. He’s a big God, why not? It makes little difference for our understanding, whether He’s there in one place over the Pacific Ocean, over the ocean of Pangea, or over the four rivers flowing out of Eden. He’s God and He was hovering. And that’s good enough for me. But let us explore this idea deeper, and find the full revelation of this teaching.

Day two we know that He divided the waters up from down. The overwaters from the underwaters.⁷ Day three, He gathers all of the underwaters together in one place so that dry land can appear.⁸ So what was He hovering over if He was supposed to have been hovering over specific waters at the beginning? He was hovering over all the waters. The Spirit of God was above all the earth, above the whole of the waters, before they were divided up and down. Whatever the total volume of all the waters created, the Holy Spirit of God was hovering on their face.

This is an incredible concept. For it had to have been this way. It was still chaos at this moment. Nothing was separated, so “the waters” would have been a large, single, specific thing. Now we know that above the first two heavens is contained the realm under the third heaven, and that all earth is God’s footstool⁹. So anything under the throne of God is literally under the throne. All of the waters (whether scattered or together) were together with the rest of creation. And God was above it all… Residing in the third heaven before it had a name or a locality. Whatever happened to the waters after that, probably occurred during the Day Two Firmament Separation and the Day Three Dry Ground Separation.

Day three God gathers all of the water together in one place and dry ground appeared. “And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto 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 called the Seas: and God saw that it was good.”¹⁰ God calls this word for “bodies of water: “yam” which literally means “group of water.” It most perfectly means “large body of water” but it can mean something as small as the Jordan River.¹¹ All this being said, we can gather that all the water underneath the firmament is included in this meaning. Certainly there were differentiations of all waters, and “in one place” can certainly mean “at this height” – water always seeks to fill the container it goes into. Water always seeks its own level. Water forms a flat top, called the “Sea Level.” It always becomes horizontal at the horizon. This wonderful substance, that lubricates the whole of creation and gives it life. A great metaphor for the Holy Spirit.

In Genesis 6:14, where God told Noah to make the ark “safe from the water” there were changes that were going to happen that would disrupt the entirety of the system of the earth forever. Perhaps there was just one large lake before the flood. Maybe Eden was at the North Pole, there was a ring around the edge of land, and the water was “in one place” as a donut shape. Maybe when the fountains of the deep broke and the floodgates of the heavens opened, the earth changed its land-mass shape. Certainly it appears so. Most probably there was no outer ring and all of dry land was in the middle as a disc, and have been moving outward ever so slowly since the great days of the flood. Indeed the foundations of the deep cracking could have been the evidence for tectonic plate shift. Who knows? It’s all speculation. But we do know that Genesis 10:25 tells us: “Eber had two sons. One was named Peleg, for during his days the earth was divided.” We have to make sense of Genesis 7:11 and the breaking of the foundations and the dividing of the earth.

Were we to count backwards we might find that Peleg lived around 2222BC and the flood was around 2304. Would the 82 years be enough for the ground to finish moving and settle? Of course this is all pure conjecture, but it’s fun to do some imagining.

Whatever the case may be, we can all agree that the Word points to water that is here, under and on our earth. And that’s the point of this chapter. What hasn’t been addressed, if you didn’t notice, are the ice regions of the earth. I have skipped this on purpose because we will devote more time to it in another section.

Footnotes

¹ Genesis 2:10-14 BSB

² Genesis 2:4-6 ESV

³ Water.usgs.gov

⁴ Ibid

⁵ Ibid

⁶ Strong’s 4325

⁷ Genesis 1:6

⁸ Genesis 1:9

⁹ Isaiah 66:1a NLT “This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.”

¹⁰ Genesis 1:9,10 KJV

¹¹ In study for this, I found an interesting side note. In Genesis 22:17 our word is incorrectly translated: “seashore” – talking about Abraham will have descendants like unto as numerous as the “sand on the seashore” when actually the verse reads that he will have descendants like unto “the sand in the sea.”

──Biblical Cosmology by Pauly Hart
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