SAND

Jehovah God, in his great wisdom, has “set the sand as the boundary for the sea, an indefinitely lasting regulation that it cannot pass over.” (Jer. 5:22) Unlike solid rock, sand yields and thus absorbs the impact of the waves that pound against it. The force of the raging waves is diffused and dissipated, so that the sea is kept in check.

In blessing the tribes of Zebulun and Issachar, Moses said that they would “suck the abounding wealth of the seas and the hidden hoards of the sand.” (Deut. 33:18, 19) This may mean that they would be blessed with the riches of sea and land.

Time and again the “sand of the sea” is used in the Bible to designate innumerableness or great abundance. (Gen. 22:17; 32:12; 41:49; Josh. 11:4; Ps. 78:27; 139:17, 18; Jer. 15:8; Heb. 11:12) But the number in question is not astronomically great in each case. To the beholder, however, the number of persons or things involved is so great that it cannot be ascertained. For example, one part of the Philistine forces that came against Israel in the days of King Saul is described as “people like the grains of sand that are upon the seashore for multitude.” (1 Sam. 13:5) The number of those misled by Satan following his release from the abyss, as seen by John in vision, was “as the sand of the sea,” that is, the number was great enough that John could not determine how many were misled.—Rev. 20:8.

Describing the magnitude of his vexation, faithful Job declared: “It is heavier even than the sands of the seas.” (Job 6:3) On the average, just one cubic yard (.765 cubic meter) of wet sand weighs 3,213 pounds (1,457 kilograms). Though a load of sand is a heavy burden, the vexation of a foolish person is even heavier to the one having to bear it. This is alluded to at Proverbs 27:3: “The heaviness of a stone and a load of sand—but the vexation by someone foolish is heavier than both of them.”