Ps 89:9-10, ‘You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them. You crushed Rahab like a carcass…’
Here we find a poetic description of YHWH’s creation of the world, which may also be understood as a poetic recounting of the Exodus. How do we know this? First of all, the creation aspect is made clear in verses 11-12 where the Psalmist specifically refers to YHWH as Creator. In ancient Near Eastern mythology, the ‘gods’ created the world through long battles against the forces of chaos…here, however, the Palmist presents YHWH as sole Creator, presiding with absolute and unquestioned authority over all primordial ‘chaos monsters’ (‘Rahab’ being a word for a prideful and God-opposing power, similar to ‘Leviathan’). There is no ‘battle’ here, YHWH, in complete sovereignty, puts down the raging of the chaotic sea and establishes His creation.
But secondly, ‘Rahab’ is also a symbolic word for Egypt. So, the crushing of ‘Rahab’ and the scattering of God’s enemies also refers to that great work of OT redemption, the Exodus—which was indeed a sort of ‘new creation’ for God’s people. And so in these verses we see the creation of the cosmos, and the redemption of God’s people brought together into a single vision…and all of this takes place under the banner of the Messianic King who will be established over God’s people forever (v.4)…And we will see these things brought to their fulfillment in the appearing of that Messiah, Jesus Christ.
When the crucified Jesus is raised up as the Messianic King, reigning from the Alter-Throne of Calvary, THEN we see all of these pieces come together. It is by Christ’s death and resurrection that YHWH truly tramples the forces of human and spiritual rebellion (‘Rahab’) into the grave (Col.2:15), and so sets His people free from their oppression (Heb.2:14), achieving the true Exodus out of the raging waves of death for all those united to the True Israel. And simultaneously, it is with the resurrection of the crucified Jesus that the New and True Creation of God begins and finds its completion….He is the True ‘Let There Be’ and ‘It Is Finished’, the Genesis and the Telos of all God’s works.
