Topical Bible: The Sea: (Waves of) the Unsteady

◄ The Sea: (Waves of) the Unsteady ►

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Topical Encyclopedia

The sea, with its vastness and power, is a recurring symbol in the Bible, often representing chaos, mystery, and the unknown. The imagery of the sea's waves, particularly their unsteadiness, serves as a powerful metaphor for instability and unpredictability in the spiritual and moral realms.

Biblical References and Symbolism

1. Creation and Sovereignty: In the creation narrative, the sea is depicted as part of God's ordered universe. Genesis 1:9-10 describes how God gathered the waters to create dry land, demonstrating His authority over the chaotic waters. This act signifies God's power to bring order out of chaos.

2. Judgment and Deliverance: The sea is frequently associated with divine judgment and deliverance. In the story of the Exodus, God parts the Red Sea to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian bondage (Exodus 14:21-22). This miraculous event underscores God's control over the natural world and His ability to save His people from peril.

3. Unsteadiness and Doubt: The unsteady waves of the sea are often used to illustrate doubt and lack of faith. In James 1:6, the apostle warns believers to ask for wisdom in faith, "without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." This imagery highlights the instability that comes from wavering faith and the need for steadfast trust in God.

4. Jesus Calming the Storm: One of the most profound New Testament accounts involving the sea is Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:37-39). As the disciples faced the unsteady waves and feared for their lives, Jesus rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" The immediate calm that followed demonstrated His divine authority over creation and reassured the disciples of His power to bring peace amidst turmoil.

5. Eschatological Imagery: In the apocalyptic visions of Revelation, the sea often symbolizes the tumultuous and rebellious nations of the world. Revelation 21:1 speaks of a new heaven and a new earth, where "the sea was no more," signifying the ultimate removal of chaos and the establishment of God's eternal order.

Theological Implications

The unsteady waves of the sea serve as a reminder of the inherent instability of life apart from God. They call believers to anchor their faith in the steadfastness of God's promises and His sovereign control over all circumstances. The sea's unpredictability contrasts with the constancy of God's character, encouraging Christians to seek refuge in Him amidst life's uncertainties.

Practical Application

For believers, the imagery of the unsteady sea waves is a call to cultivate a firm and unwavering faith. It challenges Christians to trust in God's providence and to remain steadfast in prayer and obedience, even when faced with life's storms. By focusing on the One who commands the winds and the waves, believers can find peace and stability in a world that is often as unpredictable as the sea itself.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

James 1:6
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Upon the Gathering Together of the Waters.
... you know perfectly well the motion of water; you know that it is unsteady and unstable ...
Thus we often see the furious sea raising mighty waves to the ...
/.../basil/basil letters and select works/homily iv upon the gathering.htm

Striking Similes
... The solid mountains gleamed like the unsteady sea. ... of your running feet that like
the sea-hoofs beat. ... down and trembling glow like blossoms on the waves below. ...
/.../kleiser/fifteen thousand useful phrases/section viii striking similes.htm

With those Also Who, as it were from Sleep...
... the temptations as it were of a sea-fight, and the inundations of many waves, or
rather are ... sleep, have no constant reason, but one perturbed and unsteady. ...
/.../peter/the writings of peter of alexandria/canon ix with those also.htm

A Strain of the Judgment of the Lord.
... With rapid fire enclosed is; and flame. 385 Is fluctuant within with tempest waves; ...
Possest, is by the sea's profundity. ... Had worshipped stones unsteady, lyingly. ...
/.../unknown/fathers of the third century tertullian appendix/4 a strain of the.htm

God in the Covenant
... yet is not this enough to fill it until thy unsteady hand cannot ... him for the God
who stilleth the raging of the sea, and saith unto the waves, "Be still ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 2 1856/god in the covenant.htm

The Marvels of Holy Scripture, --Moral and Physical. --Jael's Deed ...
... on their left [628] :"that when Christ said to the waves of the sea of Galilee ... regard
the trials and perils of the young; who beguiles unsteady feet to ...
/.../burgon/inspiration and interpretation/sermon vii the marvels of.htm

1 Timothy vi. 7-Feb
... and able to captivate those who are unsteady, and who do ... and violent winds, sweeping
over a calm sea, stir it up ... the sands of the deep with the waves above, so ...
/.../homily xvii 1 timothy vi.htm

The Deepest Need of the Church Today is not for any Material or ...
... and though the wind was sometimes unsteady, we did not ... Stevenson tells a vivid story
of a storm at sea. ... below were greatly alarmed, as the waves dashed over ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/bounds/purpose in prayer/chapter xi the deepest need.htm

Letter cxlvii. To Sabinianus.
... for the sea of Tully's eloquence! ... sides, your chest must have heaved, your gait must
have become unsteady. ... Why do you struggle in the waves [3999] when you can ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/letter cxlvii to sabinianus.htm

The Christ in the Garden
... the end of it as soon as they crossed the sea. ... times he was assailed by those great
waves of sadness ... only too certain: his new faith was still very unsteady. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/bertrand/saint augustin/v the christ in the.htm