God's Use of Water

Studying the use of water throughout the Bible is an interesting endeavor. It is surprising to see how many accounts throughout the Bible center on the way that God uses water. With this article, we want to examine just a few of the examples that we can find that show us how God has used water in the past, and how He continues to use it even today.

Noah's Ark

In Genesis chapter 6, we find the account of Noah and his ark. God commanded Noah to build the ark to save those who would listen to the message to repent and turn away from the wickedness that was causing God to destroy the whole earth. Noah was not very successful in convincing others to heed the warning of God. Only his own family entered the ark that was prepared. In the flood of Noah's day, God used water to destroy all that were wicked. In fact, the Genesis account records God's thoughts for us in Genesis 6:6-7:

And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them."

When God sent the rain upon the earth, the flooding killed all the living creatures on land, including all men and beasts. Noah and his family (8 souls) were the only people spared from the destruction. God clearly was using water as a means of destruction, a means of punishment on all that were disobedient to Him. The apostle Peter, however, reveals an aspect of this account that we may not have thought of otherwise. Peter tells us that God used the waters of the flood to save Noah and his family!

...while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.
--1 Peter 3:20

In this account, we see that God used water for two distinct purposes at the same time. For one group of people, God used water as a punishing force, to destroy those who were disobedient. For the second group of people, God used water as the means of salvation for those who would be obedient. These are the two ways that we see God use water repeatedly throughout the Biblical history. We will see these same ideas in each of the accounts that we will examine.

Crossing the Red Sea

In Exodus 14, after the time of the plagues on the Egyptians, we see the Israelites ready to flee from the land of Egypt. The Israelites fled in the direction of the Red Sea, and were led by God to a position that made it appear as if they were trapped, where they waited for the coming Egyptians. As the Egyptians were approaching, God told Moses to stretch his hand over the sea, and it would be divided. In a miraculous display, the children of Israel were able to walk through the Red Sea on dry land. After crossing the Red Sea, God told Moses to stretch his hand back over the sea, so that the waters would come back upon the Egyptians. Sure enough, the Egyptians were destroyed by the water crashing back down onto them, completely destroying the whole army that had pursued the Israelites.

Notice that the same water that provided salvation to the Israelites brought destruction to the Egyptians. Just as in the flood, God used the same water to divide those who were being saved from those who were being destroyed. The apostle Paul uses interesting language to refer to this event in 1 Corinthians 10:1-2:

Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea...

--1 Corinthians 10:1-2

The inspired writer refers to this event as being a baptism into Moses. Those that were baptized into Moses were a part of God's people and were thus preserved. Those that were not baptized were destroyed by the same water that provided a haven for God's people. This language becomes even more important when we progress into the New Testament.

Naaman

In 2 Kings chapter 5, we find the account of the healing of Naaman. Naaman had leprosy, which was a terrible disease that led to being shunned by society, and often led to death. Naaman was given the opportunity to have this terrible disease taken away from him by a chance interaction with Elisha, the prophet of God. In this account we see a very interesting account of how God uses water.

Elisha, on the command of God, instructed Naaman (through one of his own messengers) to go and dip seven times in the Jordan River. Naaman was furious about this command, since Elisha didn't do what he expected him to do. He thought Elisha would come out and make a big deal out of waving his hands over him, and call on the name of the Lord (2 Kings 5:11). Naaman thought he had a better plan for healing himself than God did! In fact, Naaman almost left without being obedient to God's will. But, fortunately, Naaman had a smart servant who told him to at least try being obedient, since what was commanded was not difficult (verse 13).

Naaman submitted to the command of God, and was healed of his leprosy. In this account, we can see that God used water to divide the obedient from the disobedient once again. If Naaman had refused to submit to the will of God, and had not washed seven times in the Jordan River, he would not have been healed. But, because he submitted to the will of God, he had his leprosy removed from him. If Naaman had changed anything about God's command, he would not have been healed. If he had gone to another river (as he suggested he could), or if he had dipped himself a different number of times than the seven that were commanded, he would still have suffered from his ailment.

New Testament Baptism

These Old Testament examples lead us to God's use of water in the New Testament. Much like each of these examples, God uses water today to divide those who would be saved from those who would be lost. He divides those who would be rewarded spiritually from those that would be punished. This point is made evident from the writings of the apostle Peter. Earlier, we saw that Peter wrote that Noah and his family were saved through the water of the flood. In that context, he also tells us that, in like manner, we are saved through the waters of baptism:

...while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us-baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ...

--1 Peter 3:20-21

Baptism, an act of faith which is minimized by most of the religious world today, is a vital part of God's plan of redemption for mankind. It is what often stands between an honest soul and the salvation that God offers to all men. The same water that saved Noah destroyed the ungodly. The same water that saved the Israelites destroyed the Egyptians. The same water that healed Naaman had the potential to condemn him (if he had been disobedient to the command). The same water (baptism) that can save men today can also condemn them. The decision to reject God's command to submit to baptism will cause us today to be just as leprous (spiritually) as was Naaman (physically). We cannot be healed without submitting to God's command. The command has been the same since the preaching of the first gospel message:

Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

--Acts 2:38

Baptism saves us. Baptism provides remission of sins. Without baptism, we can have neither of these benefits! God has used water throughout the Bible in such a way as to show it to be an important element. Each of these instances points us to just how important water is in the New Testament. We cannot simply ignore the command of God and think there are no consequences. We must submit to the commands of God, just as each one of these characters of the Bible had to be obedient to be approved by God!