This Pattern Appears in Every Biblical Water Story—Here's Why

What I'm about to teach you, you've never seen before, even though it's been hiding right before your eyes in scripture. From Genesis 1 all the way to the Jordan River, when Jesus is baptized, God has used the same six-part pattern inside of every major water story in scripture. The flood, the Red Sea, the Jordan River, Peter walking on the water, and one more that's going to blow you away. Every single one of them follows the exact same sequence. And I bet you have no idea what it is. Today, you're going to want to stick with me to the end as we unpack this pattern and explain how God studies the chaotic waters of our own life today. Welcome back to Get Into the Word. My name is Robbie Gallaty. We're going to go back to the beginning to Genesis chapter one, verse one. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Then we see the earth was, note this, formless and empty. Darkness covered the surface of the watery depths and the spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. There are two Hebrew words that sit at the center of this verse, tohu vavohu. Your English Bible translates that as formless and empty. But that translation doesn't carry the weight of the original language. Tohu describes something that is desolate,

uninhabitable, a wilderness. Think of it this way, a barren wasteland. Vavohu is a word for void or emptiness. Together, these two words create a picture of a world that is not just empty, it is chaotic, hopeless, terrifying, empty. Some translate it as chaotic nothingness. Ancient Jewish readers would have felt the weight of this in their bones. And what's sitting on top of all of the chaos? It's water, deep, dark, boundless water. Now here's something critical that most Western readers miss. The Jewish people were not water people. How do I know this? If you've ever been to the Sea of Galilee in Israel, you'll notice there are no high rise condos or no beach houses like we would see in America or in Destin, Florida. They hated the water. They hated it back then and they still hate it today. Why? Because they were farmers, they were shepherds, desert people. To them, the open sea was not beautiful, it was dangerous. It was unpredictable. It was actually a symbol of everything that is wild and out of control. This is one reason that God demonstrates his authority to Job in the Old Testament when he says, I am the one who treads on the waters.

And he's saying, I'm the one who controls the chaos. This is a call forward actually to Jesus who will one day walk on the water to demonstrate not just a miracle, but to demonstrate that he's God. The Psalms and the prophets draw on this imagery over and over again. In the Jewish mind, large bodies of water always represent chaos. Now file that away and don't forget it. And eventually you'll see this connected to evil. So the world began in the worst possible place, Tohu Vavohu, chaos, darkness. Imagine it, water covering everything. And then something remarkable happens. Let's look at the verse again. It says that the spirit of God was hovering over the what? Surface of the waters. The word hovering there is the Hebrew word rakaph. It's a picture, you're gonna love this, of a mother bird gently fluttering over her nest of chicks or hens, wings barely touching. The ancient rabbis understood exactly what this image was portraying. The Babylonian Talmud says the spirit of God hovered over the water like a dove hovering over her young without touching them though. In an ancient rabbinic commentary, Genesis Rabbah, one of the oldest rabbinical texts we have, it echoes the same image. You're gonna love this.

The ruach, which is translated as spirit, breath, or wind of God, hovers over the chaos like a dove hovers over her nest. And then God speaks, let there be what? Light. And from that moment on, order begins to emerge from chaos. God invites humanity into the story to partner with him in overseeing it and tending it and enjoying what he's making. The first couple are called to help put order back to chaos. How do they do that? By caring for the garden. Now here's the pattern I want you to see in creation. And this is the pattern we will see for the rest of scripture. It starts with chaos, water, spirit over the water, God's spoken word, order. is expected, testing that leads to tragedy in every account. That sixth step is the one that stings. The partnership between God and man gets tested, and it ends in tragedy. Adam and Eve failed the test by eating the fruit, an act of ultimate betrayal. It's an act of rebellion. You know the rest of the story and how it ends. And here's where it gets interesting. God didn't just use this pattern once. He embedded it in the DNA of every redemption story in the Old Testament. Don't leave, you're gonna love this.

We see it in the flood in Genesis seven through nine. You'll go look it up on your own, but you'll remember the account. The world had descended into what? Chaos, violence, corruption. Every intent of every heart on earth was evil. God then covers the earth with what? Say it with me, water. Then the ruach, the spirit of God, the same spirit in Genesis one blows over the water, and it begins to recede. God speaks to Noah, come out of the ark to restore order again. Order is expected as Noah's family is called to replenish and tend the earth. Then the testing comes, and it ends in tragedy. Why? Noah gets drunk. The partnership is fractured. Same six steps. Here's a question. Where is the next water account in the Old Testament? Well, you guessed it right, Exodus 14. Let me remind you, Israel is in chaos, enslaved, broken, desperate. The Red Sea stands between them and their freedom in the wilderness and ultimately the promised land. The ruach blows over the water, and it divides. God then speaks, follow the pattern, to Moses on Sinai and establishes the covenant

with the people. Order is expected as Israel is called to be a kingdom of priest to the Lord. And then comes 40 years of what? Testing. It's a tragedy. Moses strikes the rock when God tells him to speak to it, and he enters the, oh, no, wait a minute. He never enters the promised land. He fails the test. The same six steps again. When is the next water crossing? Well, it happens when the nation gets to the Jordan River in Joshua three. Does that follow the same pattern? Well, it does. Canaan is in chaos. The Jordan River stands between Israel and the land ahead of them. The water parts as the priests step into it. God then speaks to Joshua. Order is expected as the nation finally enters the promised land, and then there's a test. Achan does the unthinkable. He takes what was supposed to be devoted to God, and he destroys it, and tragedy follows. Every account, same pattern, and here is the haunting truth I want you to see underneath all of it. Every single time, they fail the test. Adam fails, Noah fails, Moses fails, Achan fails.

The pattern is reset again and again and again. Every time, humanity drops the ball, and the question is, will anyone be able to pass the test until someone shows up at the Jordan River to do what no one could do before them? We have seen this pattern echo throughout Genesis, through the flood, through Egypt, through Canaan. Now I need you to see where it finally lands, because this is the moment where the entire pattern has been building toward. And by the way, what we've been building toward in this video is for you to subscribe. Do me a favor right now. Most of you who watch aren't subscribed to the channel. Do me a favor also and hit the like button if you've benefited from this video, and share it with a friend if they need it. Luke chapter three is where we'll begin. The world is in chaos when Jesus comes. They're under Roman occupation. The religious system is corrupted. People are desperate for a deliverer to come from God. And Jesus travels down to the Jordan River, the same river, the same water that Joshua crossed. And it's the same pattern over again. As Jesus comes out of the water, something extraordinary happens. It happens, in a sense, as a callback to Genesis 1-2. The spirit descends over the water like a dove, hovering, gentle.

This is not a coincidence. Ancient rabbis likened the spirit to brooding over the waters in Genesis 1, and they said it was like a bird nestling her young. The first century Jewish reader would have heard Mark's gospel for the first time and made the connection immediately to the same hovering of the spirit that was once in Genesis chapter one. The same spirit hovering is the same spirit hovering as a dove today. Something is being announced. In fact, the Dead Sea Scrolls fragment 4Q521, which is actually one of the oldest ones found at. the Qumran, it says that Genesis 1-2 is a picture describing the coming age of the Messiah. It is a picture of new creation on the horizon. The spirit hovering at the Jordan is a signal to every Jewish ear in that crowd, this is a new creation moment. And then what happens? God speaks from heaven, not from a mountain, not through a fire, but from heaven itself, directly, personally. And what does God say to Jesus? This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased. Now, let's stop here for a moment. Luke tells us that at this time, at Jesus' baptism, he hasn't preached a single sermon. Jesus hasn't healed anyone that we know about.

He hasn't cast out a demon. He hasn't turned the water into wine yet. By every human standard of measurement, Jesus hasn't accomplished anything yet in his ministry. And yet the Father says, I am well pleased with you, son. If you grew up with a father you could never satisfy, if you spent your whole life chasing approval through performance, listen to me. Before God sends Jesus, his son, into the ministry, before a single miracle, before a single soul is saved, the Father speaks a word of delight over his son. God is not pleased with Jesus because of what he does or what he will do. He is pleased with Jesus because of who he is. And if you and I are in Christ, that is the same declaration that covers us. Friends, we're not working for the approval of God. We already have the approval of God, and we work for him from that. Then order is expected. Jesus will spend the rest of his ministry doing exactly what every person before him was supposed to do, to bring order to chaos, healing the sick, restoring the brokenhearted, calming the storms of the sea, feeding the hungry, bringing the kingdom of God into every chaotic corner of human existence. And then comes the testing. The Spirit drives Jesus immediately into the wilderness.

And how long is he there? For 40 days, no food, Satan himself, tempting him at every turn. The same test that broke Adam in the garden, the same one that broke Noah after the flood, that broke Moses, that broke Israel, now comes to Jesus. And for the first time in human history, Jesus is about to do what no one before him could. He passes the test. And here's what I want you to meditate on. Think about this. Every time God resets this pattern, every time there's chaos, water, spirit, spoken word, a new partnership, God is not telling a history lesson. He is showing us something about how he works. This is God's signature move. He shows up at the lowest, darkest, chaotic moments in our life, and he hovers, he speaks, he brings order. Think about Peter walking on the water. The disciples are in chaos. The storm is raging. Here's another one. The boat is failing. Jesus walks on the water by them. He is the presence of God, in a sense, hovering over the chaotic waters. He then speaks, Peter, come to me. Order is expected. As Peter actually steps out of the boat and does the unthinkable, he begins to walk on the water.

And then the test comes. Peter takes his eyes off of Jesus and feels the wind and begins to sink. But notice what happens next. Jesus doesn't lecture him. Jesus doesn't say, I told you so. Why didn't you listen to me? No, he simply reaches out his hand because the pattern that used to end in tragedy now ends in rescue. Jesus catches what every human partnership before him dropped. And friends, this is the gospel in a moment. You and I fail the test every time in our humanity, and we serve a God who catches us when we fall. 2 Corinthians 5.17, one of my favorite verses in all of scripture. Here's what it says. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. See, the new has what? Come. You are not just a forgiven sinner. You are not just someone who has a checkered past. You are a new creation. The same pattern that started in Genesis 1 with chaos, water, spirit, the word, order. That is a pattern that is being worked out in your life and mine right now. God has not given up on this partnership.

He has actually perfected it in his son, Jesus, and he extends it to us today. So whatever chaos you're walking through right now, the spirit of the living God is hovering over you. He was hovering over the void before there was a world. He can hover over whatever, tohu vayu. of Ohu you are sitting in even today. If this video helped you see something new, do me a favor and share it with someone who needs it. If you haven't subscribed, again, please do me a favor, subscribe to the channel so you don't miss another episode in the days ahead. Until next time, get into the Word until the Word gets into you.