the wind

September 4, 2018

Jesus stops the storm (Mk 4:39-4:39)

“Jesus

Woke up.

He rebuked the wind.

He said to the sea.

‘Peace!

Be still!’

Then the wind ceased.

There was a dead calm.”

 

καὶ διεγερθεὶς ἐπετίμησεν τῷ ἀνέμῳ καὶ εἶπεν τῇ θαλάσσῃ Σιώπα, πεφίμωσο. καὶ ἐκόπασεν ὁ ἄνεμος, καὶ ἐγένετο γαλήνη μεγάλη.

 

This response of Jesus can be found in Matthew, chapter 8:26, and Luke, chapter 8:24, in a somewhat similar manner.  Mark said that after Jesus woke up (καὶ διεγερθεὶς), he then rebuked or admonished (ἐπετίμησεν) the wind (τῷ ἀνέμῳ).  Then he spoke to the sea itself (καὶ τῇ θαλάσσῃ), as he told the sea to be silent, peaceful, and still (Σιώπα, πεφίμωσο).  Thus, the wind abated or was still (αὶ ἐκόπασεν ὁ ἄνεμος) and there was a great calmness in the sea (καὶ ἐγένετο γαλήνη μεγάλη).

October 6, 2017

The lost crop (Hos 8:7-8:7)

“They sow the wind.

But they shall reap

The whirlwind.

The standing grain

Has no heads.

It shall yield

No meal.

If it were to yield

Anything,

Foreigners

Would devour it.”

The northern Israelites were in a unique position. They would sow with the wind, but it suddenly would become a whirlwind. The planted grain would never mature in the field, since there would be no heads of grain. Therefore, there would be no harvesting of the grain for meals. Even if it yielded any grain, foreigners, and not them, would devour it, because of the invasion of the Assyrians.

September 24, 2017

The angel takes Habakkuk to Babylon (Dan 14:35-14:36)

“Habakkuk said.

‘Sir!

I have never seen Babylon.

I know nothing

About the den.’

Then the angel

Of the Lord

Took him

By the crown

Of his head.

He carried him

By his hair,

With the speed

Of the wind.

He set him down

In Babylon,

Right over the den.”

This prophet Habakkuk rightly said that he knew nothing about Babylon or any lion’s den. He had no idea of where he was to go. The angel of the Lord had a quick answer. He took Habakkuk by the hair on the crown of his head. He carried him away with the speed of the wind to Babylon, right over the lion’s den where Daniel was. That was a simple solution to a big transportation problem.

April 12, 2017

Yahweh will scatter the exiles (Ezek 12:14-12:16)

“I will scatter

To every wind

All who are around him,

His helpers,

All his troops.

I will unsheathe

The sword

Behind them.

They shall know

That I am Yahweh.

When I disperse them

Among the nations

I will scatter them

Through the countries.

But I will let

A few of them escape

From the sword,

From famine,

From pestilence.

Thus they may tell

Of all their abominations

Among the nations

Where they go.

Then they may know

That I am Yahweh.”

In this exile, not everyone will go to the same place. Yahweh indicated that he was going to scatter the helpers and the soldiers of the king to the wind. He certainly was going to make sure that some died by the sword. They should know that he was Yahweh. He was going to disperse them among the various nations and scatter them among different countries. He was going to let a few of them escape from the 3 ways of dying, the sword, famine, or pestilence. Those who survived would talk about all their abominations among the diverse nations, wherever they went. Thus everyone would know that Yahweh was the God of Israel.

March 31, 2017

The division of Ezekiel’s hair into thirds (Ezek 5:2-5:4)

“One third of the hair,

You shall burn

In the fire

Inside the city,

When the days

Of the siege

Are completed.

One third of the hair,

You shall take

To strike

With the sword

All around the city.

One third of the hair,

You shall scatter

To the wind.

I will unsheathe

The sword after them.

Then you shall take

From these

A small number.

You shall bind them

In the skirts

Of your robe.

From these,

Again,

You shall take some.

You shall throw them

Into the fire.

You shall burn them up.

From there a fire

Will come out

Against all the house of Israel.”

Ezekiel was to divide his shaved hair into thirds. He would burn one third of his shaved hair in a fire inside the city, when the siege days of Jerusalem were over. He was to strike with a sword all around the city another third of his shaved hair. This was kind of vague. The final third would be scattered to the wind, which is pretty simple. Yahweh was going to take a sword after them. The left over hair fragments were to be bound into the skirts of their robes. Finally, anything still not used up would be thrown into a burning fire. This fire indicated how fire would come against all the house of Israel. There was a symbolic purpose to the dividing of Ezekiel’s hair.

February 7, 2017

The destructive wind against Babylon (Jer 51:1-51:2)

“Thus says Yahweh.

‘I am going to stir up

A destructive wind

Against Babylon,

Against the inhabitants

Of Leb-qamai.

I will send winnowers

To Babylon.

They shall winnow her.

They shall empty

Her land,

When they come

Against her

From every side,

On the day of trouble.”

Yahweh, via Jeremiah, said that he was going to stir up a very destructive wind against Babylon and the people of Leb-qamai, which is a cryptogram for Kasdim in Chaldea. Yahweh was going to send winnowers, people who separate chaff from the good grain, who would throw grain into the air and let the wind take away the useless chaff. These winnowers were going to empty out the land of Babylon. All of this would happen on a future day of trouble when people would come from all sides against her. In the Septuagint Greek translation, this long chapter is numbered 28, not chapter 51 as here.

October 6, 2016

We are sinners (Isa 64:5-64:7)

“But you were angry.

We sinned!

Because you hid yourself,

We transgressed.

We have all become

Like one who is unclean.

All our righteous deeds are

Like a filthy cloth.

We all fade

Like a leaf.

Our iniquities are

Like the wind.

They take us away.

There is no one

Who calls on your name.

No one attempts

To take hold of you.

You have hidden your face

From us.

You have delivered us

Into the hand of our iniquities.”

Then the prophet proclaimed that he and his people were sinners. Once again, he tried to mitigate this sinfulness by saying that God was angry at them and hid his face. This made it easier to be a transgressor. They all became unclean, so that even their good deeds were like filthy cloths. They faded like a leaf into their iniquities. They were like the wind, blown away. No one called the name of Yahweh or tried to contact him, because Yahweh had hidden his face from them. Once again, in an attempt to avoid responsibility, the prophet said that he was delivered into the hands of iniquity, as if he could not refrain from it.

September 2, 2016

Yahweh the Redeemer (Isa 41:14-41:16)

“‘Do not fear!

You worm Jacob!

You insects of Israel!

I will help you!’

Says Yahweh.

Your Redeemer!

The Holy One of Israel!

‘Now I will make of you

A threshing sledge,

Sharp,

New,

Having teeth.

You shall thresh the mountains.

You shall crush them.

You shall make the hills

Like chaff.

You shall winnow them.

The wind shall carry them away.

The tempest shall scatter them.

You shall rejoice in Yahweh!

You shall glory in the Holy One of Israel!’”

Once again, Yahweh assumes the first person singular in Second Isaiah. He seems a little derogatory at first calling the Israelites the worm Jacob and the insect Israel. However, it is clear that he is here to help. He was going to be the Redeemer and the Holy One of Israel, no questions asked. He was going to make the Israelites strong, new, and sharp. They would be a teeth threshing sledge to beat up the crop. Instead of crops, they would go out and crush the mountains and the hills until they become like useless chaff. In other words they were to winnow or separate the grain from the chaff. Then they were to let the wind and the storms carry this chaff away and scatter it. They were to rejoice and glory in Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel.

August 17, 2016

The justice of the rulers (Isa 32:1-32:4)

“See!

A king will reign in righteousness.

Princes will rule with justice.

Each will be

Like a hiding place from the wind,

Like a covert from the tempest,

Like streams of water

In a dry place,

Like the shade of a great rock

In a weary land.

Then the eyes of those who have sight

Will not be closed.

The ears of those who have hearing

Will listen.

The minds of the rash

Will have good judgment.

The tongues of the stammerers

Will speak readily.

They will speak distinctly.”

Isaiah maintains that there will be new age when justice will prevail. The righteous kings and the good princes will rule with justice. Thus they will be helpful to others because they will be like a hiding place from the wind, like a covering in a storm, like streams of water in a dry place, and like shade in a hot weary land. The seeing will see and the hearing will hear. Minds will make good judgments. People who stammer will speak readily and distinctly. This would be some kind of utopian time when justice and fairness for all existed in an enlightened society.

July 12, 2016

The alliances (Isa 7:2-7:2)

“When the house of David heard

That Aram had allied itself

With Ephraim,

The heart of King Ahaz shook.

The heart of his people shook,

As the trees of the forest

Shake before the wind.”

King Ahaz had barely become king of Judah when this news that the King of Aram and Syria had joined with the King of Israel at Ephraim to come against him. Both he and his people of Judah were afraid. They were like shaking trees in a forest all shook up by the wind.