What is the meaning behind casting our sins in the depths of the sea in Micah 7:19?

Question

Does anyone have any insights into this verse?

19 He will again have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins Into the depths of the sea.

Answer 1

Micah 7:

18 Who is a God like you,
who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
but delight to show mercy.
19 He will again have compassion on us,
And will subdue our iniquities.
You will cast all our sins Into the depths of the sea.

These are acts of God: pardoning, subduing, and casting our sins. The metaphor is casting our sins into the depths of the sea, never to surface again, never to be seen again.

Other similar metaphors are used in Isaiah 38:

17b you have put all my sins behind your back.

Isaiah 43:

25 “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.

God will not see or remember our sins.

Answer 2

"Depths of the sea" is quintessential Hebrew metaphor simply meaning that something is so far away and beyond reach that it can never be recovered. This idea is used several times in hebrew:

• Neh 9:11 - You divided the sea before them, and they crossed through it on dry ground. You hurled their pursuers into the depths like a stone into raging waters. [An reference to Israel's exodus from Egypt that God could perform such a great miracle.]
• Jonah 2:3 - You hurled me into the depths, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me. [This shows the great miracle of God that Jonah could be rescued from the depths of the sea!!]
• Micah 7:19 - He will again have compassion on us; He will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast out all our sins into the depths of the sea. {this shows that by God's grace our forgiven sins will never be found again.]
• Isa 44:27 - who says to the depths of the sea, ‘Be dry, and I will dry up your currents,’ [A reference to God's omnipotence that He can even command the depths of the sea.]
• Eze 27:27 - Your wealth, wares, and merchandise, your sailors, captains, and shipwrights, your merchants and all the warriors within you, with all the other people on board, will sink into the heart of the sea on the day of your downfall. [The destruction of the wicked will be final and complete.]

... and so forth. Thus, Micah 7:19 is a wonderful description of how completely and totally God forgives our sin - a measure of His great grace.

Answer 3

There is a beautiful passage in Psalm 103 that parallels the thought of casting our sins into the depths of the sea, but uses a different metaphor.

He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. (Psalm 103:10, KJV)

For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. (Psalm 103:11, KJV)

As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:12, KJV)

How far is "the east" from "the west"? If you go north long enough, you'll eventually be going south, and vice versa. But you can travel east indefinitely and never be going west. Essentially, they are infinitely apart from each other.

God essentially promises that He will never, ever, remind us of our sins once they are forgiven and expunged from the record. Nor will we ever return to them once we have repented and obtained the final victory.

Addressing the world's sinful condition, the Bible says:

What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time. (Nahum 1:9, KJV)

Once sin has been purged from this planet, it will never return.

Conclusion

Comparing the various passages that address our sins and what God will do about/with them we can understand better the meaning of casting them into the depths of the sea. God will completely remove our transgressions from us.