On the third day God caused the dry land to appear. This He called Earth, and the gathering of the waters called the Seas. Doubtless in Gen. 1 The Earth refers to the whole land surface, just as the Seas refers to the oceans that belt the globe. But what is the typical meaning of this division between the Earth and Seas? The Earth is typical of the land of Israel, which we shall plainly see as we develop this thought.
The Israelites are the only people chosen of God as His earthly people. The land of Israel is the only land specially chosen by God to be their land. The land of Israel is constantly referred to in Scripture as the land. "He ... will be merciful unto His land and to His people" (Deut. 32: 43) "And that ye may prolong your days in the land, which the Lord swap unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land that floweth with milk and honey" (Deut. 11:9). One passage is very decisive, showing that we have justification for speaking of the nations as Seas in contrast to Israel as the land, or the Earth. If the nations are set forth as Seas, there is only one nation that can come typically under the heading of Earth. We read, "The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are people, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues" (Rev. 27: 15).
It will be noticed that by far the greater part of the history of the Old Testament is taken up with " the Land," that is with the history of God's earthly people, the children of Israel. Other lands, Egyptian, Assyrian, Chaldean, Moabite, Philistine, etc., are mentioned simply as those, whose actions affect "the Land "-the history of God's chosen people. There was one little bit of Earth's surface where God put His name, and wherein He worked to a plan, which is gradually unrolled in the Scriptures, and is still unrolling before our eyes. Nay further, the history of the world, before Abraham was chosen to be the recipient of God's promise, that in his seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed, was all leading up to that moment. And in a future day all the nations of the world will go up to Jerusalem to worship. God's promise to Abraham will yet be literally and completely fulfilled.
And though " the times of the Gentiles " began when Judah was carried into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar, yet God has His earthly people before Him for blessing under the personal reign of Christ. Much that is happening in the world to-day tells us that this day is not far distant.
The surrounding nations may well be called Seas.