17. Verse 2 And the earth was a void and an emptiness, and there was thick darkness over the face ¹ of the deep; and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face ¹ of the waters. The person who has yet to be regenerated is called 'a void and an empty earth', and also 'ground', in which no good or truth at all has been sown - 'void' where there is no good, and 'empty' where there is no truth. Consequently there is 'thick darkness', or stupidity and lack of knowledge about anything that has to do with faith in the Lord and so anything that has to do with spiritual and celestial life. This kind of person is described by the Lord through Jeremiah,

My people are foolish, they know Me not; they are stupid children, having no understanding; they are wise to do evil, and know not how to do good. I looked to the earth, and, behold, a void and an emptiness; and towards the heavens, and they had no light. Jeremiah 4:22-23, 25.

Footnotes:

3556. 'And he said, Because Jehovah your God caused it to come before my face' means provision. This too becomes clear without explanation. The provision referred to here is that in which good and truths from that good are re-arranged into proper order in a person while he is being regenerated. That is to say, they are re-ordered so that they appear outwardly, or manifest themselves on the surface, as though they were genuine good and genuine truths from that good. In actual fact they are not such but, as stated above, are homeborn good and truths from this good, which serve solely to aid a person's regeneration, and so to bring in goods and truths of a grosser nature because such are conducive to his regeneration.