What if there is a reality so profound about the interaction between the waves and the sand on the shoreline, that it makes all the other wonders and enjoyments of going to the beach at once less significant as well as more vibrant and deeply true?
There is a an amazing sense of calm one can feel when walking barefoot through the wet sand and pulsing tides of the California coast line.
Many visit the beach everyday to escape stress, relax in the sun, swim in the rushing waves, or simply hear the constant roar of water, which strangely seems to quiet the world despite the volume.
But these are not the profound reality I mentioned. The profound reality is that the beach says something about God.
Specifically, considering the scriptures that describe God limiting the tide, while at the same time experiencing the physical tide and seeing how it works, lead to knowing God more fully as the wise, powerful, loving artist that he is.
God is Wise
The book of Proverbs, in chapter 8 personifies wisdom as a someone who was with God when he created the world. Wisdom is shown to be describing her role as God’s partner in all he did. Verses 27-29 talk about God’s creation of the oceans and the tides.
When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
Proverbs 8:27-29 ESV
Notice how the passage says “he assigned to the sea its limit.” The reason that the waves do not overwhelm the earth is because God drew a line that the sea cannot breach. And why did he do this? “so that the waters might not transgress his command.”
It could be said that this is not so much a display of wisdom as it is a display of power. While it is true that God’s power is on display in his control over the sea, wisdom in the Bible carries more of a sense of “skill” or “talent” than it does a sense of mere intelligence.
For example, in Exodus 31:3, God gives wisdom to Bezalel to build skillful works: “I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship.” (NASB)
So, this act of limiting the sea so that it might not transgress his command, overrunning the world and destroying his works that he had made, is surely the act of a skillful and wise craftsman, carefully laying down the foundations of the world.
When you visit the sea next, look at the way the waves come in, roaring and powerful. Stare out into that vast expanse of water that could destroy the strongest mountain. Then, see how all the vast energy simply dissipates on the gradual slope of sand. Think about God’s wisdom in using the weakest material for building sturdy structures as a perfect sponge for absorbing the force behind the waves. Further, he didn’t simply build a high wall that would be worn down with time and repetition. Instead, he built a gradual slope that would allow the waves to slowly grow weaker until they broke. Finally, the system is self perpetuating. Sand that is pulled into the ocean by one wave is just as readily returned by the next. This ensures that the wall will never run out, be worn away, or fall apart. It is truly ingenious in its simplicity, elegance, and function. God is very wise.
God is Powerful
The book of Job describes the story of a man going through deep suffering, who seeks to argue with God. The man, Job, throughout the book tells his friends that if he could present his case before God, he could prove his own righteousness in the face of all of the suffering that God was sending his way.
In the final pages of the book, God comes to Job. One thinks that perhaps Job has won. He convinced the almighty God to listen to his case, the case of a mere man. But that is not what happens. Instead, God asks Job a series of rhetorical questions designed to display God’s power, and showing Job just how small he is in comparison. This next segment from chapter 38 is from God’s questioning speech.
Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb, when I made clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors, and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?
Job 38:8-11 ESV
The tone of the passage along with the words used convey the almighty God powerfully restraining a turbulent and wild ocean with its “proud waves.” He “shut in the sea,” “prescribed limits,” and “set bars and doors.” And how does God do this? With the mere words that come from his mouth, “Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed.”
Elsewhere, in the book of Jeremiah, God again uses his limiting control over the ocean as evidence of his power and as a reason to fear and tremble before him.
Do you not fear me? declares the Lord. Do you not tremble before me? I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea, a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass; though the waves toss, they cannot prevail; though they roar, they cannot pass over it.
Jeremiah 5:22
And what better proof could God use? Is there a more vast and intimidating force on earth than the ocean? Not even nuclear bombs can make a lasting dent in it. It is thought that the deepest point in the ocean has a pressure of 15,000 pounds per square inch. Imagine a semitruck being squashed up into a cube the size of your thumb, and still being just as heavy. That’s how much pressure the ocean exerts. And yet, the ocean is no match for God, who restrains it all with the words he speaks.
The next time you are at the beach, take a note of the lifeguard towers. Why are they there? The ocean currents rip swimmers underwater, dragging them back into the depths, holding them down until they die. It is so dangerous that we pay people to watch us swim so that we don’t drown. Then, think about the power of God. He not only made the ocean, but he restrains it, and he holds it at bay.
God is Love
Why did God even make this vast powerful ocean, just to restrain it, and keep in from tearing the world apart? The book of Genesis describes the scene that shows God creating the seas.
And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures…
Genesis 1:9-10, 20
In the beginning, God called the sea “good.” It was not made to be a terrible force of death. Later in the creation week, God fills the ocean with “swarms of living creatures.” He fills it with life and beauty and goodness. The ocean is a source of life, as God created it to be.
When I went walking on beach a few days ago, I saw the tide come in and go out. When the waters sank back into the sea, I saw bubbles in the sand revealing countless crabs that make their homes there. They would not have homes if it were not for the tides. I also saw countless seagulls and piper birds scrounging up food, playing in the water and with each other.
As I walked, a speckled brown dog bolted past me on my left. His tongue was hanging out of his gaping, gloriously happy grin. He dashed straight into a white foaming wave, leaping and barking with delight. Then, he ran out again, and back to his owner for a quick pet of congratulations before setting out to the water again.
I saw children splashing and laughing. Couples were talking and walking. Surfers were smiling and swimming. I thought about how good God is to create something that bring so much joy to so many. Though the world is full of the wickedness and destruction brought to it by sinful man’s actions, God’s original design was perfect and good. And it shows in the ocean that he made. God is love.
I hope you can make it to the coastline soon. Take off your sandals and walk a while. Think about God’s wisdom and skill in how he set the boundary for the sea. Let yourself tremble a little when you face the truth of God’s unmatched power, controlling the blue deep that stretches as far as you can see from left to right. And then breath deeply of the ocean air, letting it bring that sense of calm to the crazy world. God made this beautiful spot for us to play in, and delight in, because he loves his creatures.