The Cosmic Sea
The symbolism of the sea in the Bible begins with the creation story. The creation of the universe by God was seen by ancient Hebraic peoples as creation from the cosmic sea (symbolic perhaps of the spiritual realm). In Genesis God separates the waters creating the sky (heaven) and the sea/water on earth as 2 distinct realms and then places boundaries on the earthly seas by creating land. At creation the Spirit is present as he hovered over the waters bringing order to the chaos. The sea is the source of all water on earth. Water springs forth from below and drops through apertures in the firmament above as rain and snow, even providing water for the great flood (Gen 7:11 & 8:2 – the rain fell in mighty torrents and the underground waters stopped flowing). God is seen to therefore use the sea in judgment against sin. In contrast, in Micah 7:19, we see God’s forgiveness by “casting sin into the depths of the sea” but t...
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