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:

10095. 'And it shall be for Aaron and his sons by the statute of an age from among the children of Israel' means the law of order in the representative Church as regards the Lord's Divine Good and the Divine Truth emanating from that Good. This is clear from the representation of 'Aaron and his sons' as the Lord in respect of Divine Good and of the Divine Truth emanating from that Good, dealt with in 9806, 9807, 10068; from the meaning of 'the statute of an age' as a law of Divine order, dealt with in 7884, 7995, 8357; and from the representation of 'the children of Israel' as the Church, dealt with in 4286, 6426, 6637, 9340. The reason why the representative Church is meant is that this Church was established among the children of Israel, see the places referred to in 9320(end).