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.

Фусноте:

10627. 'Let [my] Lord, I beg You, go in our midst' means in order that what is Divine may be inwardly present in it. This is clear from the meaning of 'going' as living, dealt with in 3335, 4882, 5493, 5605, 8417, 8420, and, when it refers to the Lord's doing so, as His imparting life and being present; and from the meaning of 'in the midst' as inwardly present in it, dealt with in 1074, 5897, 6068, 6084, 6103, 9164. The reason why 'let Jehovah go in our midst' means in order that what is Divine may be inwardly present in the outward form is that Moses represents the outward form taken by the Word, the Church, and worship, which is receptive of what is inward. That outward form must have what is inward, namely that which is Divine, within it; and the outward form has what is Divine within it when in every single part it contains the internal sense, which is for the angels of every heaven. For this to be so the outward or literal sense must consist of pure correspondences; and it consists of these when every word and every group of words serve in the internal sense to mean spiritual and celestial realities. These are the Divine things inwardly present in the outward form.