Gal/Mishbar: WAVE after WAVE

WAVE: gal, masculine noun (Strong’s 1530) & mishbar, masculine noun (Strong’s 4867)

Root: גַּל Sounds like: gal

Root: מִשְׁבָּר Sounds like: meesh’bar

I live on an Island with the Northumberland Strait on one side, and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. My house is next to the DeSable River where the tides continually roll out and meander back in like clockwork. Growing up, I lived along the shores of Lake Huron and my childhood memories are filled with happy recollections of jumping into the waves on windy summer days. I’ve been surrounded by water and waves my whole life… and I couldn’t be happier about it.

Living along the coast means I’ve had the joy of being in a few boats in my lifetime. I used to go fishing with my great Uncle Robert MacLean in the Saint Lawrence River, near Summerstown Ontario. I loved going fast and catching the waves on the little fishing boat and then settling in for a calm afternoon catching fish on the gently rolling sea. 

Psalm 107 is really an ode to sailors and it reflects the tumultuous and risky life working on the seas: 

Psalm 107:23-30

Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters; they have seen the works of YHWH, and His wonders in the deep. For He spoke and raised a stormy wind, which lifted the waves [gallaw גַּלָּֽיו] of the sea. They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths; their soul melted away in their misery. They reeled and staggered like a drunken person, and were at their wits’ end. Then they cried out to YHWH in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distresses. He caused the storm to be still, so that the waves [gallehem גַּלֵּיהֶֽם] of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad because they were quiet, so He guided them to their desired harbour.

This brings to mind Jonah and his seafaring adventure when he tried to escape YHWH’s call for him to go and preach to Ninevah. Wanting nothing to do with the Assyrians in Ninevah, Jonah hopped onto a boat and headed in the opposite direction. A storm rose up and Jonah went overboard and was swallowed by a great fish. In his situation, the only option he had was to cry out to YHWH:

Jonah 2:1-6

Then Jonah prayed to YHWH his God from the stomach of the fish, and he said,

“I called out of my distress to YHWH, and He answered me. I called for help from the depth of Sheol; You heard my voice. For You threw me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the current flowed around me. All Your breakers and waves [mish’bareka w’galeka] passed over me. So I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight. Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple.’ Water encompassed me to the point of death. the deep flowed around me, seaweed was wrapped around my head. I descended to the base of the mountains. The earth with its bars was around me forever, but You have brought up my life from the pit, YHWH my God.”

YHWH: Stirring and Calming the Waves

In the Tanakh (Old Testament) YHWH was often referred to as a wave-stirrer. In Jeremiah we read that YHWH is He, “who stirs up the sea so that its waves [gallaw גַלָּ֔יו] roar— YHWH of armies is His name” (Jeremiah 31:35). In Zechariah we read that, “He will strike the waves [gallim גַּלִּ֔ים] in the sea, so that all the depths of the Nile will dry up” (Zechariah 10:11), which is reminiscent of the time when YHWH held back the waves of the Red Sea so that the Hebrew people could cross through the sea and escape the Egyptian army, hot on their heels.

Even YHWH announced His role as the One who stirs the waves:

Isaiah 51:14-16

“The exile will soon be set free, and will not die in the dungeon, nor will his bread be lacking. For I am YHWH your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves [gallaw גַּלָּ֑יו] roar (YHWH of armies is His name).

And I have put My words in your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of My hand, to establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”

If YHWH can stir the waves, He can also calm the waves:

Psalm 89:8-9

[Ethan the Ezrahite:] YHWH God of armies, who is like You, mighty YAH, Your faithfulness also surrounds You. You rule the surging of the sea; when its waves [gallaw גַ֝לָּ֗יו] rise, You calm them.

David compared YHWH’s calming of the seas to YHWH’s calming of the tumultuous nations:

Psalm 65:5-7

[David:] By awesome deeds You answer us in righteousness, God of our salvation, You who are the trust of all the ends of the earth and the farthest sea; who establishes the mountains by His strength, who is encircled with might; who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves [gallehem גַּלֵּיהֶ֗ם], and the turmoil of the nations.

Even YHWH announced the He was the wave-stopper. In the book of Job, YHWH defended His awesomeness and His command over the sea: “And I [YHWH] said [to the sea], ‘As far as this point you shall come, but no farther; and here your proud waves [galleka גַּלֶּֽיךָ] shall stop?’” (Job 38:11)

Waves as Metaphors

Waves make their way into the rich vocabulary of metaphors in the Bible. Here are some examples:

• Those who follow YHWH’s commandments, their righteousness will be like the waves [k-galley כְּגַלֵּ֥י] of the sea (Isaiah 48:18)
• Babylon will become a heap (wave) [l-gallim לְגַלִּ֧ים] of ruins (Jeremiah 51:37)
• The sea will engulf Babylon with its roaring waves [gallaw גַּלָּ֖יו] (Jeremiah 51:42)
• In their destruction the waves [gallehem גַלֵּיהֶם֙] of Babylon will roar like many waters (Jeremiah 51:55)
• Tyre would be attacked by many nations, like the waves [l-gallaw לְגַלָּֽיו] of the sea constantly crashing (Ezekiel 26:3)

The most prominent metaphor for waves was the image of waves of death. The sea was seen as a place of darkness and chaos, a reflection of life without God. David’s Psalm of Deliverance recalled his feelings of being dragged into the depths and his subsequent salvation:

2 Samuel 22:2-7

[David:] “YHWH is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; my Saviour, You save me from violence. I call upon YHWH, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. For the waves of death [mish’b’rey mawet מִשְׁבְּרֵי־מָ֑וֶת] encompassed me; the floods of destruction terrified me; the ropes of Sheol surrounded me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon YHWH, yes, I called out to my God; and from His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for help came into His ears.”

Two of the Psalms attributed to the Sons of Korah also spoke of being dragged down under the waves, heading towards Sheol:

Psalm 88:1-7

[Sons  of Korah:] YHWH, the God of my salvation, I have cried out by day and in the night before You. Let my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my cry! For my soul has had enough troubles, and my life has approached Sheol. I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I have become like a man without strength, abandoned among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom You no longer remember, and they are cut off from Your hand. You have put me in the lowest pit, in dark places, in the depths. Your wrath has rested upon me, and You have afflicted me with all Your waves [mish’bareka מִ֝שְׁבָּרֶ֗יךָ]. Selah

But all was not lost. Being afflicted with the waves of death did not mean you were destined to succumb to them. God would life His people out of the depths and point them to the way of life:

Psalm 42:7-8

[Sons  of Korah:] Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls; all Your breakers and Your waves [mish’bareka w-galleka מִשְׁבָּרֶ֥יךָ וְ֝גַלֶּ֗יךָ] have passed over me. YHWH will send His goodness in the daytime; and His song will be with me in the night, a prayer to the God of my life.

Yeshua and the Waves

There are two major passages associating Yeshua (Jesus) with waves. Yeshua hung out with fishmen; it’s not surprising that he spent many hours on boats in the Sea of Galilee. Once, while crossing the Sea and heading towards the Decapolis, they found themselves in the midst of a storm:

Mark 4:37-39 (see also Matthew 8:23-27)

And a fierce gale of wind developed, and the waves [Greek: kymata] were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling with water. And yet Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. 

This was, of course, reminiscent of YHWH calming the waves. This was a statement of Yeshua’s divinity making clear, to His disciples, just who they were dealing with. If that wasn’t clear enough, there’s another story where the disciples were out on the boats, this time without Yeshua:

Matthew 14:24-27

But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”

Yeshua didn’t just walk on calm water, the sea was battering the boat with waves, but Yeshua spoke to them like they shouldn’t be surprised at what they were seeing. This was the kind of thing that God could do… the unexpected should be expected. 

Clearly this is a mighty God, with great power. He can raise waves and calm them down. He has complete control over every aspect of creation: 

Jeremiah 5:22-23

[YHWH:] “Do you not fear Me?” declares YHWH. “Do you not tremble in My presence? For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea, an eternal limit, and it will not cross over it. Though the waves [gallaw גַלָּ֖יו] toss, they cannot prevail; though they roar, they will not cross over it.”

This is an all-powerful God worthy to be praised:

Psalm 93:3-4

The floods have lifted up, YHWH, the floods have lifted up their voice, the floods lift up their pounding (waves). More than the sounds of many waters, than the mighty breakers [mish’b’rey מִשְׁבְּרֵי] of the sea, YHWH on high is mighty.

How wonderful that this all-powerful God chose to place love, compassion, and mercy above all things. Waves can be relentless but they are nothing compared to the great flood of love that YHWH has for you and me.

Next week: Proverbs 20:12 (Ears & Eyes)