The Sea of God's Forgetfulness

The Sea of God’s Forgetfulness

Micah 7:18-19

To ancient humans the sea represented chaos—evil.  There were two reasons for this belief.  First, they could not see below the surface, so had no idea what was down there.  Fish, of course, but what else?  As late as the Middle Ages, maps had the words “Here be monsters” superimposed on the waters of the seas. 

Then there were the storms.  If one ventured too far from shore, and a storm blew up, the ship would most certainly be lost, along with all those on board.  I suspect that might be part of the reason Lake Gennesaret is called the Sea of Galilee.  This body of water is a lake that behaves like a sea.  Although it is shallow (unlike the sea), storms blow up suddenly and rage fiercely.  Remember the stories the gospel writers told about Jesus calming the storms. 

Just north of Syracuse, New York, lies Oneida Lake.  Like the Sea of Galilee, it is shallow. Storms rise quickly and can catch boaters unawares.  When I lived in that area there were not infrequent reports of people caught out on the lake in a storm, the boat capsizing, and lives lost.

The vast majority of biblical mentions of seas are negative.  Seas roar up, overflow their shores, cause destruction, until God calms the storm and restores peaceful waters—for Israel’s God rules the seas.  From the very beginning we see the Spirit of God moving over the waters, bringing order out of chaos.

God also used water to punish Israel’s enemies.  The most notable example is God rolling back the Red Sea, allowing Israel to pass through on dry land.  When the people were safely on the other side, freed from slavery, God allowed the waters to come together and drown Pharaoh and the Egyptian army.

My wife and I have just returned from a three-week vacation where more than two thirds of the time was spent on the open seas.  We began by crossing the Atlantic from New York City to Southampton, England, which took seven days.  We ended by reversing the process.  In between there were a few more days spent entirely at sea.  Outside of the occasional passing ship, or (in the North Sea) a few oil or gas platforms, we saw nothing but water. 

There were a few days when the movement of the water caused the ship to roll a bit, and one day where everyone walked as if they were drunk because of the motion.  On those days it was easy to understand why ancient mariners kept close to shore.  Large waves would have been frightening and disastrous, especially since the ships were much smaller than ours.

My overwhelming impression was of the vastness of the sea.  When you see nothing but water for days upon days you begin to understand how small an area of our planet is devoted to land.  It is the vastness of the sea, more than any other characteristic, that stays with me.

To the best of my knowledge, the prophet Micah was not a seafarer.  Still, he understood something of the sea’s vastness.  In the final verses of his prophecy he catches a vision of the extent of God’s forgiveness.  God will indeed destroy the wicked, but God’s steadfast love and compassion will always be available to those who do what is right.  “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity?” Micah asks, then adds: “He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love.”

But the words that continue to resonate with me after our sea voyage are: “You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea,” a sea so vast our sins will disappear and be remembered no more.

What a promise!  What a blessing!