The Bible is a great book! One of
the many reasons I love the Bible is that there is always something to learn. I
just recently finished reading through the Bible and one of the things I did as
I read through it was underlined areas where water is mentioned in the Bible. I
used a blue colored pencil and my underline was in the shape of waves. This
post is about what I've learned about how water is used in the Bible. Generally
speaking, I think most uses can be placed into one of five broad categories. There
are certainly more, but these are five big ones I found.
1. As a setting for or means of a miracle
This category included times when God
actually uses water to do something amazing. It can be that water is actually
used in the miracle itself (i.e. splitting the Red Sea) or it’s in the setting
(i.e. Jesus’ Baptism). There are a plethora of verses and sections of Scripture
that would fit here. Probably the most obvious example is the parting of the
Red Sea as the Israelites were running away from Pharaoh’s army in Exodus 14. Also
included would be water flowing from the rock (Exo 17), Jesus walking on water
(Matt 14:25), Jesus calming the storm (Matt 8:23ff), Jesus turning water into
wine (John 2), the healing of Namaan (2 Kings 5), the crossing of the Jordan river (Joshua 3), and many others.
2. As a positive description of God
There are many times in the Bible where
God describes himself using water. One of my favorites is Jeremiah 2:13, “My
people have committed two sins: they have forsaken me, the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”
Certainly Jesus is drawing upon this passage and others when he is talking with
the Samaritan women in John 4, and again at the Feast of Tabernacles in John
7:37-39. Other verses that fit here are Zech 14:8, 1 Cor 10:4,all throughout
Isaiah, Hosea 6:3, and many others.
3. As a form of judgment and wrath
God also uses water to judge. One clear
instance is the flood in Genesis 6. You also have the storm that came upon
Jonah’s boat when he attempted to flee. Hosea 5:10 says, “I will pour out my
wrath on them like a flood of water.”
This may be one reason that John says in Revelation 21:1 that there was no more
sea.
4. To establish God’s power or faithfulness
God’s control over water is often used
as evidence for his power and might. Psalm 104 describes God’s incredible
strength and greatness. One phrase sticks out, “at your rebuke the waters fled,”.
Additionally, throughout the Scriptures, we find authors referring to past
events of how God used water as a reason for trust God in the future.
Repeatedly the splitting of the Red Sea and the water coming from the rock are
used as means to encourage people to trust in God for provision. Nehemiah’s
prayer in Nehemiah 9.
5. Simply to mean water
Occasionally, the Bible uses water just
to mean water. When describing the rebuilding of the temple in Ezra 3, it says
that cedar logs were brought by the sea. There are a couple of times when it
simply means water and is not being used as judgment, as a setting or means of a
miracle.
By the time you get to this paragraph, you've probably already realized that a fair amount of times water is used in
the Bible, it’s used in more than one way. For example, the splitting of the
Red Sea is a miracle of God, a form of judgment, and is used to establish God’s
power. Jesus calming the storm is a miracle, and also a method by which he
establishes his own identity as God. We can’t squish the Bible into categories.
What I've done here is simple show 5 ways that water can be used in the Bible.
Finally, before I end this post, I’d like to
say something about baptism. I think one of the reasons baptism is so
significant for believers is that is shows that God has worked in our life.
When God cleansed the earth of evil, he did it by the flood – thereby establishing
Noah and his family as the new race on earth, when he brought the Israelites
out of Egypt and established them as a nation, he did it through the Red Sea.
When he brought the Israelites into the promised land, he did and it through the Jordan River. The point is
this: God’s people pass through water to be cleansed, washed, or even “reborn”
if you will. In fact, Paul says that the Red Sea was a baptism for the
Israelites (1 Cor 10:1) and Peter says that the flood symbolizes our baptism (1
Peter 3:20-21). In baptism, we identify ourselves among God’s people who have
reborn by passing through water. He washes and cleanses us and we declare his
work in our hearts.
