God's Power over the Sea
The people of Jesus' day believed that God alone could rescue them from the evil of the sea.
From the beginning, God had power over the formless, watery chaos. He brought order to the chaos, gathering the seas together to form dry land. He saw what he had made and said it was good (Gen. 1:2, 1:6-10; Ps. 24:1-2).
God used water to punish sinful people. Sinful people were removed from the earth during the great flood. He also used it to kill Pharaoh's soldiers as they pursued the Israelites (Gen. 7; Ex. 14:23-28).
God also used water to save his people. God helped the Israelites as they fled Egypt by turning part of the Red Sea into a pathway so they could cross to the other side, and by drowning Pharaoh's soldiers.
In despair, David writes in Psalm 69, "Save me O God, for the waters have come up to my neck" (Ps. 69:1-3). This is just one example of how many early writers of the Scriptures used water to describe difficulties and despair, or the way in which God brought miraculous deliverance when people called on him for help.
