\u00a0![\"3.](\"http:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/3.-WIND.png\")
<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0WIND\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\nThe East wind lifted Mary Poppins and her parrot-headed umbrella aloft for deposit at Seventeen Cherry-Tree Lane, where she stayed until the weathervane changed direction. The imagery of wind blows throughout literature and art: G.K. Chesterton\u2019s Great Wind tore across England \u201clike a wave of unreasonable happiness\u201d; the heroine of Chocolat<\/em> arrived on the winds of the carnival, the wind of emotion inside her \u201ctugging . . . with its relentless imperative\u201d; and Botticelli in Birth of Venus<\/em> depicted Zephyr\u2019s breath carrying the goddess across the sea.<\/p>\nThe motif permeates Holy Scripture as well, two oft-used words\u2014ruach <\/em>(Hebrew)and pneuma <\/em>(Greek)\u2014variously translated as \u201cwind,\u201d \u201cbreath,\u201d and \u201cspirit.\u201d<\/p>\nWind\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>is invisible yet physically powerful, and represents God\u2019s characteristics as well as adversity and mankind\u2019s fickleness. God created and rules the winds, keeping them in His storehouse and sending them out to do His bidding\u2014as messengers of mercy or scorching judgment (2 Sam. 22:11<\/span><\/span>; Ps. 104:3-4<\/span><\/span>; Jer. 51:16<\/span><\/span>; Ps. 148:8<\/span><\/span>; Ps. 11:6<\/span><\/span>; Ezek. 13:13<\/span><\/span>). A strong wind blew a dry path through the Red Sea for the salvation of the Israelites, then turned to drown the enemy army (Exod. 14:21<\/span><\/span>; Exod. 15:10<\/span><\/span>). Under testing of his character, Job\u2019s house collapsed in a storm arising in the night, and the Lord hurled a gale after Jonah fleeing His holy presence (Job 1:19<\/span><\/span>; Jon. 1:4<\/span><\/span>). Human activity alone is a meaningless chasing after the wind, and sin can sweep us away in a gust (Eccl. 1:14-17<\/span><\/span>; Eccl. 5:16<\/span><\/span>; Isa. 64:6<\/span><\/span>). Ungodly kingdoms have been and will be uprooted and divided by the four winds of heaven, chased like chaff and scattered by storm (Dan. 11:4<\/span><\/span>; Isa. 17:13<\/span><\/span>; Isa. 41:16<\/span><\/span>). The disciples of Jesus\u00a0marveled\u00a0that even the winds and the waters obeyed the Him, and without the Word of God to anchor us today, we\u2019re tossed about by false teaching and doubt like waves upon the wind-whipped sea (Mark 4:41<\/span><\/span>; Eph. 4:14<\/span><\/span>; James 1:6<\/span><\/span>).<\/p>\nBreath<\/strong><\/em>–the wind of life\u2014warms the first pages of the Bible, for God breathed His Spirit over the face of the waters and breathed life into Adam and Eve (Gen. 1:2<\/span>;<\/span> Gen. 2:7<\/span><\/span>). By His breath all was created\u2014from the foundations of the earth to the hosts of heaven (Ps. 18:15<\/span><\/span>; Ps. 33:6<\/span><\/span>). He brings the dead to life; in Ezekiel\u2019s vision, the dry bones were fleshed out and the breath of God revivified His people (Ezek. 37:9-10<\/span><\/span>). What a contrast to lifeless idols that cannot breathe\u2014and to us humans ourselves, whose physical lives are but a mere breath, as temporal as mist on a cold morning (Hab. 2:19<\/span><\/span>; Ps. 39:5<\/span><\/span>; James 4:14<\/span><\/span>). When God takes away the breath of our lungs, we die and our bodies return to the dust, our souls to be judged by the breath of God\u2019s lips, by the \u201csharp sword\u201d that comes out of the mouth of Christ (Ps. 104:29<\/span><\/span>; Job 34:14-15<\/span><\/span>; Isa. 11:4<\/span><\/span>; Heb. 9:27<\/span><\/span>; Rev.19:15<\/span><\/span>). But this breath of eternal judgment is stayed for those who\u2019ve trusted in Christ\u2019s payment of sin\u2019s penalty on the cross, for the third translation of ruach<\/em> and pneuma<\/em> (\u201cspirit\u201d) demonstrates divine mercy.<\/p>\nSpirit<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0emanates from Father and Son, invisible as wind and warm as breath. The Holy Spirit, present at creation, was breathed out again by Jesus upon His disciples, and ushered in Pentecost like a rushing mighty wind (Heb. 11:3<\/span><\/span>; John 20:22<\/span><\/span>; Acts 2:2<\/span><\/span>). Through this same Spirit\u2014blowing where He pleases\u2014God regenerates fallen humanity in bringing birth from above (John 3:6-8<\/span><\/span>). The Spirit of truth goes out from the Father and proceeds through the Son at the behest of Jesus, making Him known to us (John 15:26<\/span><\/span>; John 16:12-15<\/span><\/span>). This knowledge resides in the God-breathed Scriptures, the very words of God Himself, written by men who were carried along like ships with sails full of the wind of the Spirit (2 Tim. 3:16<\/span><\/span>; 2 Pet. 1:21<\/span><\/span>). This living Word\u2014this \u201csword of the Spirit\u201d\u2014also abides in believers, accomplishing what God pleases as the full revelation of Himself, for in the Scriptures we have the mind of Christ (Eph. 6:17<\/span><\/span>; John 5:38<\/span><\/span>; 1 John 2:14<\/span><\/span>; Isa. 55:11<\/span><\/span>; 1 Cor. 2:12-16<\/span><\/span>).<\/p>\nThe complex biblical theme of wind\/breath\/spirit blows cultural expressions of art and literature out of the water! The spiritual truths of God are knowable to us through His living, breathing Word. The Bible is one of many books we might read, but it is the only Book that reads us.<\/p>\n
*<\/p>\n
To comment on this reading, or to subscribe or unsubscribe to a monthly email reminder of new postings, please write me: deb@rolledscroll.com<\/span><\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\nThese short literary articles tied to the Bible explore what God might have been saying in His pattern of usage for each symbol. English rendition of the original Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek varies with translations (e.g., \u201cscroll\u201d is sometimes interchangeable with \u201cbook\u201d); however, the quality and underlying meaning of the selected emblem remain consistent across versions. Sketches are by Lorenda Harder.<\/em><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome to my blog, ROLLED SCROLL, where I follow cultural and literary images found in the Bible in an attempt to unearth God\u2019s meaning in His pattern of usage. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0WIND\u00a0 The East wind lifted Mary Poppins and her parrot-headed umbrella aloft for deposit at Seventeen Cherry-Tree Lane, where she stayed until the weathervane changed direction. … Wind<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":536,"href":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77\/revisions\/536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
The motif permeates Holy Scripture as well, two oft-used words\u2014ruach <\/em>(Hebrew)and pneuma <\/em>(Greek)\u2014variously translated as \u201cwind,\u201d \u201cbreath,\u201d and \u201cspirit.\u201d<\/p>\n Wind\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>is invisible yet physically powerful, and represents God\u2019s characteristics as well as adversity and mankind\u2019s fickleness. God created and rules the winds, keeping them in His storehouse and sending them out to do His bidding\u2014as messengers of mercy or scorching judgment (2 Sam. 22:11<\/span><\/span>; Ps. 104:3-4<\/span><\/span>; Jer. 51:16<\/span><\/span>; Ps. 148:8<\/span><\/span>; Ps. 11:6<\/span><\/span>; Ezek. 13:13<\/span><\/span>). A strong wind blew a dry path through the Red Sea for the salvation of the Israelites, then turned to drown the enemy army (Exod. 14:21<\/span><\/span>; Exod. 15:10<\/span><\/span>). Under testing of his character, Job\u2019s house collapsed in a storm arising in the night, and the Lord hurled a gale after Jonah fleeing His holy presence (Job 1:19<\/span><\/span>; Jon. 1:4<\/span><\/span>). Human activity alone is a meaningless chasing after the wind, and sin can sweep us away in a gust (Eccl. 1:14-17<\/span><\/span>; Eccl. 5:16<\/span><\/span>; Isa. 64:6<\/span><\/span>). Ungodly kingdoms have been and will be uprooted and divided by the four winds of heaven, chased like chaff and scattered by storm (Dan. 11:4<\/span><\/span>; Isa. 17:13<\/span><\/span>; Isa. 41:16<\/span><\/span>). The disciples of Jesus\u00a0marveled\u00a0that even the winds and the waters obeyed the Him, and without the Word of God to anchor us today, we\u2019re tossed about by false teaching and doubt like waves upon the wind-whipped sea (Mark 4:41<\/span><\/span>; Eph. 4:14<\/span><\/span>; James 1:6<\/span><\/span>).<\/p>\n Breath<\/strong><\/em>–the wind of life\u2014warms the first pages of the Bible, for God breathed His Spirit over the face of the waters and breathed life into Adam and Eve (Gen. 1:2<\/span>;<\/span> Gen. 2:7<\/span><\/span>). By His breath all was created\u2014from the foundations of the earth to the hosts of heaven (Ps. 18:15<\/span><\/span>; Ps. 33:6<\/span><\/span>). He brings the dead to life; in Ezekiel\u2019s vision, the dry bones were fleshed out and the breath of God revivified His people (Ezek. 37:9-10<\/span><\/span>). What a contrast to lifeless idols that cannot breathe\u2014and to us humans ourselves, whose physical lives are but a mere breath, as temporal as mist on a cold morning (Hab. 2:19<\/span><\/span>; Ps. 39:5<\/span><\/span>; James 4:14<\/span><\/span>). When God takes away the breath of our lungs, we die and our bodies return to the dust, our souls to be judged by the breath of God\u2019s lips, by the \u201csharp sword\u201d that comes out of the mouth of Christ (Ps. 104:29<\/span><\/span>; Job 34:14-15<\/span><\/span>; Isa. 11:4<\/span><\/span>; Heb. 9:27<\/span><\/span>; Rev.19:15<\/span><\/span>). But this breath of eternal judgment is stayed for those who\u2019ve trusted in Christ\u2019s payment of sin\u2019s penalty on the cross, for the third translation of ruach<\/em> and pneuma<\/em> (\u201cspirit\u201d) demonstrates divine mercy.<\/p>\n Spirit<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0emanates from Father and Son, invisible as wind and warm as breath. The Holy Spirit, present at creation, was breathed out again by Jesus upon His disciples, and ushered in Pentecost like a rushing mighty wind (Heb. 11:3<\/span><\/span>; John 20:22<\/span><\/span>; Acts 2:2<\/span><\/span>). Through this same Spirit\u2014blowing where He pleases\u2014God regenerates fallen humanity in bringing birth from above (John 3:6-8<\/span><\/span>). The Spirit of truth goes out from the Father and proceeds through the Son at the behest of Jesus, making Him known to us (John 15:26<\/span><\/span>; John 16:12-15<\/span><\/span>). This knowledge resides in the God-breathed Scriptures, the very words of God Himself, written by men who were carried along like ships with sails full of the wind of the Spirit (2 Tim. 3:16<\/span><\/span>; 2 Pet. 1:21<\/span><\/span>). This living Word\u2014this \u201csword of the Spirit\u201d\u2014also abides in believers, accomplishing what God pleases as the full revelation of Himself, for in the Scriptures we have the mind of Christ (Eph. 6:17<\/span><\/span>; John 5:38<\/span><\/span>; 1 John 2:14<\/span><\/span>; Isa. 55:11<\/span><\/span>; 1 Cor. 2:12-16<\/span><\/span>).<\/p>\n The complex biblical theme of wind\/breath\/spirit blows cultural expressions of art and literature out of the water! The spiritual truths of God are knowable to us through His living, breathing Word. The Bible is one of many books we might read, but it is the only Book that reads us.<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n To comment on this reading, or to subscribe or unsubscribe to a monthly email reminder of new postings, please write me: deb@rolledscroll.com<\/span><\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n These short literary articles tied to the Bible explore what God might have been saying in His pattern of usage for each symbol. English rendition of the original Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek varies with translations (e.g., \u201cscroll\u201d is sometimes interchangeable with \u201cbook\u201d); however, the quality and underlying meaning of the selected emblem remain consistent across versions. Sketches are by Lorenda Harder.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Welcome to my blog, ROLLED SCROLL, where I follow cultural and literary images found in the Bible in an attempt to unearth God\u2019s meaning in His pattern of usage. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0WIND\u00a0 The East wind lifted Mary Poppins and her parrot-headed umbrella aloft for deposit at Seventeen Cherry-Tree Lane, where she stayed until the weathervane changed direction. … Wind<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":536,"href":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77\/revisions\/536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}