We have seen elsewhere in this issue that water is used a number of times in Scripture as a figure of judgment. Sometimes it is used in connection with God’s judgment against man, but at other times, it brings before us the judgment of God against sin at the cross. At least once it typifies man’s hatred of Christ.
The Flood
If we pass by, for the moment, whatever may have caused the earth to be covered with water in Genesis 1:22And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:2), then we find the first real mention of judgment by water in the flood of Noah. Water in judgment has two characters in Scripture—its depth and its violence. In the flood of Noah, it is the depth of the water that is prominent, for we read that “the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered” (Gen. 7:19-2019And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. 20Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. (Genesis 7:19‑20)). These waters were God’s direct judgment on man for his wickedness — for filling the earth with violence and corruption (Gen. 6:1111The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. (Genesis 6:11)). All flesh died — all “in whose nostrils was the breath of life” (Gen. 7:2222All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. (Genesis 7:22)). It not only destroyed the world of that day, but God intends it as a warning to man today, for we read in 2 Peter, “This they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God ... the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: but the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire” (2 Peter 3:5-75For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 7But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. (2 Peter 3:5‑7)). But as in Noah’s day there was an ark prepared for those who had faith, so today men may turn to Christ for salvation; there is no need to fall under that awful judgment that will come upon this world.
The Depth of Judgment
But if God, in His holiness, had to judge the wickedness of man in the flood of Noah, there was, in type, a depth to the waters of another judgment—a depth that could not be measured. At the cross, all of the depths of God’s judgment against sin rose up against the Lord Jesus. We read in Joshua 3:1515And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) (Joshua 3:15), “Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest.” Later, in Psalm 42:77Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. (Psalm 42:7), we read prophetically of our Lord’s sufferings, “Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of Thy waterspouts; all Thy waves and Thy billows are gone over Me.” Also, in Psalm 88:16-1716Thy fierce wrath goeth over me; thy terrors have cut me off. 17They came round about me daily like water; they compassed me about together. (Psalm 88:16‑17), “Thy fierce wrath goeth over Me; Thy terrors have cut Me off. They came round upon Me daily like water.” All this reminds us of the words of a hymn, “The depth of all Thy sufferings, no heart could e’er conceive.” We will never know the depth of our Lord’s sufferings during the three hours of darkness, when God dealt with Him about the whole matter of sin. The best imagery that human language can use is that of the depths of water in the sea.
Judgment From Man
But the Lord Jesus also suffered from the hands of man, for we read, “Save Me, O God; for the waters are come in unto My soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow Me” (Psa. 69:1-21<<To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, A Psalm of David.>> Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. 2I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. (Psalm 69:1‑2)). Here it is man’s hatred of Christ, energized by Satan, that reproached and insulted that blessed One—that dared to spit in His face, to crown Him with thorns, and to offer Him vinegar to drink when He was thirsty. The Lord felt all this keenly, as any man would. But we want to make it clear that none of this, awful though it was, had anything to do with putting away sin. No, it was only in the three hours of darkness that the work was done, whereby our sins were put away. His sufferings from the hands of man rather showed us how much He loved us and enabled Him to be a merciful and faithful High Priest.
The Violence of Water
In addition to depth, the waters of judgment are often spoken about as having violence. We have already seen the expression “waves and billows” in Psalm 42. In Psalm 88, already referred to, we read, “Thy wrath lieth hard upon Me, and Thou hast afflicted Me with all Thy waves” (vs. 7). Also, we read in Jonah (who, among other symbolical meanings, is a type of Christ), “All Thy billows and Thy waves passed over me” (Jonah 2:33For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. (Jonah 2:3)).
Man is very familiar with the violence of water, whether it is in a mighty river, during a storm on a lake, or at sea. How many stories could be told of the fierceness of waves, against which man has no power! Recent events, such as the tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004 or the earthquake/tsunami that struck Japan in 2016, caused untold damage and loss of life, while hurricanes and storms that have struck the Caribbean islands and the coast of the U.S. in the past few years have done the same. Man can only try to get out of the way and then proceed to clean up the damage afterwards. All this, in type, can give us only a small idea of what took place during the three hours of darkness on the cross, when God’s wrath against sin was unleashed against His beloved Son.
Grace Terminated
But will God not have an answer to all this? Today is the day of God’s grace, but as He could say in the days of Noah, “My spirit shall not always strive with man” (Gen. 6:33And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. (Genesis 6:3)), so the present day of His grace will not go on indefinitely. There is a day coming when our Lord Jesus Christ will appear as the Son of Man, ready for judgment, and even the Apostle John, who had previously leaned on Jesus’ bosom, fell at His feet as dead when he saw Him in that character. In that day, we read that His voice was “as the sound of many waters” (Rev. 1:1515And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. (Revelation 1:15))—the waters of judgment about to fall on this world. This will begin with disturbances among the nations on earth, with “distress of nations in perplexity at the roar of the sea and the rolling waves” (Luke 21:2525And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; (Luke 21:25) JND). Then later the wrath of God will be directly poured out on those who have rejected Christ and continue to rebel against God. No doubt the epicenter of this judgment will be in the prophetic earth, and especially in the land of Israel, for we read, “Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place” (Isa. 28:1717Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. (Isaiah 28:17)).
As the Waters Cover the Sea
However, when this judgment is over, water is used finally in a positive sense. In the millennial day, when our Lord Jesus reigns in righteousness, we read, “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Isa. 11:99They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:9)). God will have the victory in the end, and His beloved Son, who once suffered under the waters of judgment at the cross, will be known throughout the world in His glory, as the waters cover the sea.
W. J. Prost