Dictionary of Bible Themes: 4045 chaos

4045 chaos

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Dictionary of Bible Themes » 4000 Creation » 0 » 4045 chaos

A state of complete disorder or confusion. The first stage of creation where, having brought something out of nothing, God had not yet brought order to the universe. This primeval chaos, often symbolised by surging waters, threatens to disrupt God's order at any time. God sometimes allows a return to chaos as judgment.

God creates order out of chaos

God creates something out of nothing

Genesis 1:1-2 See also Psalm 33:9; Psalm 148:5-6; Romans 4:17; Hebrews 11:3

God brings order to his creation

Isaiah 45:12 See also Genesis 1:14-19; Job 9:8; Psalm 8:3; Isaiah 48:13

Chaos threatens God's order

Life and order in creation must be sustained by God

Psalm 104:29; Colossians 1:16-17 See also Job 12:10; Job 34:14-15; Isaiah 42:5; Hebrews 1:2-3

The raging sea as a symbol of chaos

Psalm 46:2-3 The raging sea is a frequent symbol of the chaos from which the world was created and to which it could return. Yet those whose confidence is in the God who brought order out of chaos have nothing to fear ; Psalm 104:7-9 See also Exodus 15:8; Psalm 69:2,15; Psalm 77:16; Proverbs 8:29; Zechariah 10:11; Matthew 8:23-27 pp Mark 4:36-41 pp Luke 8:22-25

Threatening nations are likened to the raging seas as bringers of chaos

Isaiah 17:12-13 See also Psalm 46:6; Jeremiah 46:7

Spiritual and political chaos

Judges 17:6 A period of anarchy, when no spiritual or political authority was recognised in Israel ; Ephesians 4:14 See also Galatians 1:7

God uses chaos as a judgment

Isaiah 34:11 See also Isaiah 24:1,3-4,10-12,17-21; Isaiah 27:10; Isaiah 32:14; Zephaniah 1:14-15; Revelation 6:15-17

Floodwaters as a symbol of the chaos of judgment

Panic and destruction characterise the chaos that follows judgment

Zechariah 14:13 See also Judges 7:22; 1 Samuel 14:20; 2 Chronicles 20:22-23; Isaiah 19:2; Ezekiel 38:21; Haggai 2:22