Recently, I toured Alcatraz.

In case you don’t know, Alcatraz is an island in San Francisco Bay. It is a rocky island that is more than a mile from the breath-taking beauty of San Francisco and its Golden Gate Bridge.

Alcatraz is famous because it was a Federal prison from 1934-1964. It has inspired memorable movies including Escape from Alcatraz, starring Clint Eastwood, and The Birdman of Alcatraz, starring Burt Lancaster.

The island is now operated by the National Park Service. I reached it on a ferry that “vibrated” as it powered through choppy waves, despite it being a pleasant, sunny day.

I spent several hours on the island with my son and his girlfriend. We toured the aging, abandoned prison.

To prepare for our visit, we had watched Escape from Alcatraz the evening before.

So I was struck by how hard it would be to escape Alcatraz by swimming in the cold, choppy waves of San Francisco Bay.

I remembered that the chaos of the sea was often used by the Bible to symbolize the chaos of our lives and of our civilizations. And to emphasize that God is so powerful that he easily triumphs over the chaos of “the sea”.

This is in stark contrast to the myths of ancient Middle Eastern religions. Their gods had to struggle to quell the evil chaos of the seas. But at the very beginning of the Bible in Chapter One of Genesis, our LORD God effortlessly tames the evil chaos of “the seas” merely by the power of his words.

God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water. So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. God called the vault “sky.” Genesis 1:6-8).

And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. God called the dry ground “land”, and the gathered waters he called “seas.” (Genesis:1:9-10).

And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:10).

Citing this power of the LORD God through creation, the Psalmist sang to the LORD a new song, playing skillfully and shouting for joy. (Psalm 33:3).

Why?

For the word of the LORD is right and true;

   he is faithful in all he does.

The LORD loves justice and righteousness;

   the earth is full of his unfailing love.

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,

   their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

He gathers the water of the sea into jars;

   he puts the deep into storehouses.

Let all the earth fear the LORD;

   let all the people of the world revere him.

For he spoke and it came to be;

   he commanded, and it stood firm.

(Psalm 33:4-9)

As the Psalmist said in another Psalm:

You rule over the surging sea;

   when its waves mount up,

   you still them.

(Psalm 89:9)

In the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, God once again showed his power over the chaos of the sea. This time, it was his power over the Red Sea.

God ended the 400-year “incarceration” of the Israelites in Egypt by creating a path for the Israelites through the Red Sea on dry ground, but commanding the water of the Red Sea to save the fleeing Israelites by destroying the army of Pharaoh. (Exodus 14:1-15:21).

As the writer of Hebrews said:

By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do it, they were drowned. (Hebrews 13:29).

As the Psalmist said in Psalm 78:

He divided the sea and led them through:

   he made the water stand up like a wall. (Psalm 78:13).

And as the Psalmist said in Psalm 106:

He saved [his people] for his name’s sake,

   to make his mighty power known.

He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up;

   he led them through the depths

   as through a desert.

He saved them from the hand of the foe;

   from the hand of the enemy he redeemed them.

The waters covered their adversaries;

   not one of them survived.

Then they believed his promises

   and sang his praise.

(Psalm 106:8-12).

We all feel at times as if we are trapped on “Alcatraz”—incarcerated by chaotic “seas” in our lives and in our civilizations.

How do we escape from “Alcatraz”?

How do we escape the cold, choppy “waves” that surround us?

How do we escape the “armies” of “pharaohs” that are eager to drag us back to “slavery”?

We learn a new song—a song that we play skillfully, shouting for joy.

A new song with the words of the LORD God that can set us free from the island of Alcatraz.

A new song with the words of the LORD God that express his faithfulness in all he does and his love of justice and righteousness, filling the earth with his unfailing love.

A new song that puts into action the words of Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount.

A new song with the words of the LORD God, expressing his inseparable love for us that is in Christ Jesus.

Why?

Because we have the same faith as the Apostle Paul did that: “I]n all . . . things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” And that all means all. (Romans 8:37 (emphasis added)).

We are more than conquerors as we escape “Alcatraz” in spite of cold, choppy “waves” and “armies” of “pharaohs”.

For I am convinced that [neither chaotic seas with cold, choppy ‘waves’ nor ‘armies’ of ‘pharaohs’,] neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39).

QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT

What cold, choppy waves and armies of pharaohs have you overcome in your life and in your civilization?

What cold, choppy waves and armies of pharaohs must you still overcome in your life and your civilization?

When have you seen the word of the LORD God triumph over evil chaos?

When have you seen the word of the LORD God triumph over cold choppy “waves”?

When have you seen the word of the LORD God open a way for you or his people to escape from “Alcatraz”?

When have you seen the word of the LORD God save you or his people from “armies” of “pharaohs”?

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For more of my thoughts along a similar line, please read my blogs “Alcatraz: Imprisoned in a Cell”, “The Star of Bethlehem Was a ‘Can of Tuna Fish’” and “Places of Worship: Praying and Singing Hymns in ‘Prison’”.

For more about how Jesus sets us free from imprisonment by cold, choppy “waves” and “armies” of “pharaohs” in each “Alcatraz” in our life and civilization, please read my blogs about the post-Resurrection appearances of Jesus:  “Overcoming Oceans of Despair”,  “Overcoming Oceans of Hopeless Confusion”, “Overcoming Oceans of Fears”; “Overcoming Oceans of Doubts”, and “Overcoming Oceans of Failures”; and my blogs based on putting the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount into practice: “Building Houses on Rock: Mission Impossible?”, “Building Houses on Rock: Mercy and Forgiveness”, “Building Houses on Sand: Specks and Planks”, and “Building Houses on Rock: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”.