Genesis 1:2b does not refer to God's original creation—that was completed with verse 1—but God's restoration. God was going to restore what had been damaged, and was going to have some further creation. For instance, this time God created man. Man was a being created by God, not a being restored by God. Genesis 1:2b—2:25 is a portion of the divine Word showing us God's restoration of the damaged universe, plus His further creation.
We need to read chapter 2, verse 4. "These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens." Most people pay little attention to this verse; yet, it is very meaningful. It shows us both God's original creation and God's restoration. The first half of the verse says, "...the heavens and the earth when they were created..." Notice that the heavens are mentioned first and then the earth, and that the verb used here is "created." The second half of the verse says, "...in the day that the Lord God made..." Here, the verb has been changed from "created" to "made." As we have pointed out in the first message, to create means to produce something out of nothing, and to make means to work upon an existing substance in order to produce something else out of it. We need to see that originally the heavens and the earth were created. Then the second half of the verse says, "...in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens." Have you noticed the change in the sequence? First, God created the heavens and the earth; then, He made the earth and the heavens.
In Genesis 1:1 God created. "In the beginning God created [firstly] the heavens and [then] the earth." Then, from verse 3 to the end of chapter 1, the Lord made the earth and the heavens. "...the Lord made the earth and the heavens" (Gen. 2:4b). If we read chapter 1 again, we can see that on the third day the Lord recovered the earth. God did not create the earth, for it was there already, submerged beneath the waters. So the Lord recovered the earth on the third day. Also, on the fourth day, the Lord recovered the sky, that is the heavens. Thus, in the restoration, it was not the heavens and the earth; it was firstly the earth, and then the heavens. But in the creation, it was firstly the heavens and then the earth. We can see both of these things in Genesis 2:4.
As we have pointed out strongly in the first message, the first two chapters of Genesis appear to be a record of God's creation, but the underlying thought is completely a matter of life. This is why some people consider that chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis are too simple, too brief, to be a record of creation. We agree. As a record of God's creation, it is too simple. But we know that the Bible is not a record of creation, neither a record of history, nor a record of any stories. The Bible is completely a book of life. The whole Bible is focused on life. If we read the first chapter of Genesis carefully and have light from the Holy Spirit, we can realize that it is absolutely a chapter of life. It was written from the point of view of life.
You may say that the word "life" is not found in this chapter. This is true. Nevertheless, we can find many items pertaining to life. When God recovered the earth on the third day, all kinds of plant life were produced. Then came the animal life in the water, the animal life in the air, the animal life on the earth, the human life, and ultimately the divine life in chapter 2. Hallelujah! Life is the focus of these two chapters. From this perspective, we can surely understand the record of Genesis 1.