The Lord has said that he made all of creation (Genesis 1:1). Now he is going to tell us how he created the earth. He also made the globe. On this globe, life was not immediately possible. The earth was without form and void.
The combination of these words shows that things on earth were not yet in order. The Lord is now going to bring order to his formless place in six days. He is going to do it in such a way that it becomes a wonderful place to live. The Lord did not make the earth to always be formless and empty, to always remain disordered. His purpose with creation is quite different. Isaiah 45:18 describes it in this way: “For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!): I am the Lord, and there is no other.
The earth is still shrouded in darkness. Therefore, no life is possible yet. The ground is also still completely covered with water. This is referred to here as the waters.
This verse also tells us more about the triune God. The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. The Spirit of life hovers over it because he gives, guards, and sustains life.
2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.