Ever try to catch the wind? I remember as a boy, the frustration I encountered as I attempted to catch and stomp on small dust devils that we often experienced in Southern California. It leaves him pondering or wondering what is next, and in fact when it comes to powerful winds, all we can do is hide, seeking shelter for protection. Wind by virtue of its strength, but also its unpredictable changeableness, frustrates mankind. Its apparent autonomy, this freedom that it displays to do whatever it pleases, make it a splendid emblem of God's sovereignty and at the same time of mankind's weakness. Wind almost appears to be impulsive or whimsical, if we were to think about it terms of human behaviors. There will be flooding rain, and you, O great hailstones, shall fall and a stormy wind shall tear it down.”Ī second and more interesting aspect of wind is its independence. Job 1:18-19 While he as still speaking, another also came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their older brother’s house, and suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young men, and they are dead and I alone have escaped to tell you!”Įzekiel 13:11 “Say to those who plaster it with untempered mortar, that it will fall. Any number of scriptures speak of the power of wind. Saharan sand in North Africa, actually is found in the Caribbean. Indeed it can move sand from one continent to another. Third example, wind can damage soil over time, that is erosion. It happens all the time, as in the case of oak, and grasses. Through a similar process, called anemophily, wind can disperse pollen. This is a very important function of wind, one that we do not often speak about. Second example, consider that wind broadcasts seeds through a process called anemochory. Of course we know what wind is powerful enough to disperse today it can gather tomorrow. In no time at all, practically, winds can clear the air of smoke, dust, and haze. I will avoid the more sensational examples of wind power, focusing instead on examples more interesting to me at least than tangled buildings and demolished homes.Īs one example, we know that wind is capable of cleaning the atmosphere of colloidal substances such as clouds. An EF5 tornado registers speeds in excess of 200 mph. The major upper atmospheric winds are actually set up by the rotation of the earth. My approach would be to review five physical characteristics of wind and see what each one can teach us about the Spirit.įirst, wind can be titanically powerful. Today I want to talk about the symbol of wind. Well obviously, he had confused the symbol with the thing for which the symbol stood. One person actually wrote to the church awhile back, and he stated that the air around us-wind-is the Holy Spirit. All of this makes wind one of the most complex images in the Scriptures and, by that token, an image can be surprising. So it is at least apparently, a study of wind is a study in contrasts, we can say a study in opposites. The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery comments that “wind in Scripture can picture lack of substance and mean adversity or changeableness.” The writer continues “Only when the pictures of wind connects to the person of God do we find more positive meanings.” The image of wind covers a lot of territory. Yet, at other times, the symbol of wind has a decidedly positive meaning. Used as an image in the Scriptures, wind often has a negative meaning. Through God's Words empowered with His Holy Spirit, we can be transported into His Kingdom. God's breathing life into Adam was a precursor of the later granting of His Holy Spirit. Wind is a major factor in determining the weather, as well the psychological environment of our mind-a kind of zeitgeist having the power to encourage or discourage attitudes. Without words, we have no access to spirit whether it is the spirit in man, a demonic spirit, or God's Holy Spirit. Thought without words cannot be communicated. Through the spirit in man, mankind can produce audible vocal symbols called words, symbols of concepts, referred to by the Greeks as logos. When we consider the voice mechanism, the power to articulate the vocal bands is wind from the lungs. Mankind has difficulty controlling or harnessing the wind God Almighty controls and channels wind, an invisible medium, making it an ideal symbol for God's Holy Spirit, having both powerful and gentle properties-as a still small voice of a gentle breeze. ![]() ![]() Wind has the function to broadcast seed and disperse pollen. Wind can be frightfully powerful, as depicted by tornadoes and hurricanes. In Scripture, the symbol of wind has both positive and negative connotations.
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