Welcome to the second issue of our series on baptism. Last week, we considered the signs, symbols, and significance of baptism. Today, we consider how water is used throughout the Bible.
In the opening scene of the Old Testament, the setting is water: “the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). The story of creation begins with a water. God changes that scenery—dividing and naming, forming and filling the world out of the water.
Water as Blessing
Biblical authors draw upon this life-giving symbolism of water when they compare water with God’s blessing.
Consider the water in the temple for the priests (Exodus 30:18–20; 1 Kings 7) and the people (2 Chronicles 4:6).
Or recall the rivers that flow from God’s temples (Genesis 2:10–14; Psalm 46:4; Ezekiel 47:12; John 4:14; 7:38; Revelation 22:1–2).
God’s goodness is shared generally with the whole earth (Psalm 65:9–10, “You visit the earth and water it”). This goodness is shared especially with those in difficult circumstances (Psalm 105:41, “He opened the rock and water gushed out,” describing Deuteronomy 32). God provides for both good and evil people (Matthew 5:44–45).
But his life-giving presence is particularly enjoyed by his followers (Psalm 1:3 “like a tree firmly planted by streams of water;” 36:8; 46:4–5; cf. Ezekiel 47).
His presence is also forfeit by disobedience. Isaiah 48:18 says, “Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;” Isaiah 66:12, “ For thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip, and bounced upon her knees.’”
In the eschaton God’s people will finally enjoy his full presence and blessing, as pictured by a river (Revelation 22:1–2).
Water as Chaos
Beyond the redemptive symbolism of water as a blessing, careful readers of Scripture note how even after the creation story, the Bible presents imagery of watery chaos. The psalmist describes chaotic circumstances using water metaphors (Psalm 69:1–2, 14–15). Even today, floods, tsunamis, and drowning remind us of water’s sometimes uncontrollable chaos and destructive power.
The New Testament contains many stories of journeys on dangerous seas. From the storms on the sea of Galilee (John 6:16–21; Mark 6:46–52) to Paul’s treacherous shipwrecks (Acts 27:39–44; 2 Corinthians 11:25–27), the sea is portrayed as a place of terror and a destiny for the dead (cf. Revelation 20:13).
The Old and New Testament also use sea imagery to describe a chaotic person. In the anti-blessing of Genesis 49:4, Jacob condemns sinful Reuben, calling him “unstable as water.” James 1:6 describes a doubting person “like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.” Jesus names the roaring sea and waves as a cause of distress during the end-times (Luke 21:25–26). In the book of Revelation, Satan attacks God’s people with a river and flood (Revelation 12:15), and the Beast who opposes God rises from the sea (Revelation 13:1).
Water as Judgment
Not only God’s enemies are described with water metaphors. God’s judgement and wrath are compared to breakers and waterfalls that go over a person (Psalm 42:7) and waves that overwhelm (Psalm 88:7; cf. Jonah 2:3). He uses the sea to overwhelm individuals and nations (Psalm 78:53; Isaiah 8:7).[2] In the Old and New Testaments water is often a place of judgement (the legion of demons drove pigs into the sea in Mark 5:13; cf. Luke 17:1–2).[3]
Ultimately, even the chaos and terror of water is subject to God’s rule. [4]
Psalm 77:16 says, “When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled.”
Jesus, the divine Son of God, rules over the wind and waves (Mark 4:39–41; Luke 8:25, “even winds and water … obey him).
And at the final judgement, God’s peaceful rule finally conquers the chaos of the sea.
As we read in Revelation 21:1: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.”
Lovers of sailing and naval history will be glad to see verses describing a tamed “sea of glass”, “clear as crystal” rather than the obliteration of water recreation (Revelation 4:6 and 15:2). The first redemptive image of water symbolism points us to Christ’s creative power over the waves of chaos.
Thanks for joining our discussion of baptism. We’ve been talking about water, but I hope you begin seeing some connections! Next week, they become much clearer.
[2] Psalm 78:53, “He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid, but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.” Isaiah 8:7, “therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks”
[3] Mark 5:13, “So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.” Luke 17:1–2, “And he said to his disciples, ‘Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! [2] It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.’” Of course, waterlessness is also a metaphor for God’s judgement. Zechariah 9:11, “As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.”
[4] Old Testament scholar Tremper Longman describes how some ancient creation myths described the formation of the world around the subduing of a defeated water god. “No knowledge of ancient mythology is needed to understand the psalmist’s dire condition [in Psalm 69], but, in its Old Testament context, the waters are often identified with chaos and connected to ancient stories that root creation in the defeat of gods associated with the waters by a chief god who subdues the waters and creates order (Curtis, 1978; Kloos, 1986; Wakeman, 1973)” (T. Longman, Psalms TOTC, 262). Perhaps this is The Book of Psalms by Norman Curtis (published in 1978), Yhawh's Combat with the Sea: A Canaanite Tradition in the Religion of Ancient Israel by Carola Kloos; and The Psalms in Human Life by Rowland E. Wakeman (published in 1973). Interestingly, depending on the interpretation, the beasts in Daniel 7:2–3 who come from the water either represent political forces under God’s rule or demonic forces that oppose him.
[5] There’s no footnote number 5! What are you looking for? Click the “LIKE” button if you read this! :)