Reflections
Very often in our everyday life we, consciously or unconsciously, use ideas and expressions which are biblical, but do we know the meaning and significance of these invaluable words? Aren’t we using them inappropriately, out of place? The show “Reflections” touches upon these issues.
To Freeze like a Stone Pillar
This expression is used in the following meanings: to stiffen in astonishment, to freeze, to petrify. Lot, nephew of Abraham, son of Aran, left the land of Chaldeans and settled in Canaan together with his uncle. With sizable possessions, Lot and Abraham had problems with sharing the lands they had occupied, so they separated in peace. Lot settled down in Sodom.
Shortly after, two angels came down to Lot and told that they had come to destroy the city of Sodom, since the noise of its inhabitants had reached the Lord. Lot had to leave the city together with his daughters, sons-in-law, and wife.
At daybreak, as soon as Lot made it to Zoar, the heavens opened up raining down fire and sulfur upon the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah until they were completely destroyed, including all surroundings, inhabitants, and vegetation. On their way to Zoar, Lot’s wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt.
Sodom and Gomorrah
When saying Sodom and Gomorrah, we mean disorder, noise, hubbub, fuss, or excess of immorality and hard drinking. Sodom and Gomorrah are two of the five cities conquered by Cedorlaomer, the king of Elam. Except for the city of Zoar, the other four cities were completely consumed by fire from heaven, and this is a warning for us. Abraham prayed for the salvation of Sodom and Gomorrah; however, it was only the family of Lot whom his prayers helped.
You shall not make an idol for yourself!
We find this expression in the second commandment of the Decalogue. The Lord is love, and one of the manifestations of His love is the overall harmony. Thus, everything related to disagreement, rebelliousness, etc. in us is not desirable for God. To reach harmony both in our inner world and in interpersonal relationships, the Lord announces the ten commandments so that they may become the beginning, center and end of the moral path of humanity. These commandments, as a basis for the Lord's law, have a great significance for tաe New Testament.
You will see me from the back of your head
The expression “You will see me from the back of your head” or the more widespread version, “you will rather see the back of your head than…,” is used in the sense that a human sees not the essence of the matter or perceives its truth, but confines himself to superficial, fragmentary information only. The Book of Exodus tells us that when God announced about His plans on the earth to the people of Israel, only Moses, unlike the sinful people, was awarded the gift of understanding those plans.
Belshazzar's Feast
In everyday life, this expression has the following meanings: blasphemy, perversion, noisy feast in the overall distress. The Bible tells about Belshazzar's feast in the Book of Daniel, where several tense episodes of the eternal struggle between the domains of light and darkness are reflected. In such dramatic moments, the Bible helps us today too, to regain courage of spirit and find necessary power for spiritual struggle.
Balaam’s Ass
The expression “Balaam’s Ass” is used when a quiet, not talkative person all of a sudden starts to talk and object. Balaam who lived in Pethor in Mesopotamia was probably from the generation of Shem, where everyone was endowed with spiritual gifts. Evidently, this region was known for its soothsayers, oneiromancers, visionaries, prophets… At Balak’s request, Balaam had to curse the Israel people who left Transjordan and moved in the direction of the land of the Moabites. If you want to know what has come out of this undertaking, please listen to our broadcast.
Babylonian Confusion
“Babylonian confusion” — this is how we call a situation of disorder, noise, and mess in a crowd of unacquainted people. But why “Babylonian confusion”?
The Lord said, "If they have begun to do this as one people speaking the same language, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their languages, so they may not understand each other."
Unity of people and nations in one common true belief is the Lord’s almighty power and love. If pride and hatred separate people, God’s power leads them to unity, and this is why the Church founded by Jesus Christ stands firm.
Let there be light
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light” and there was light”. When reading these words, like it or not, a question arises: what was there “in the beginning”, what did the world originate from? The answer to this question begins with the same words: “In the beginning”. According to John the Apostle, God’s first words “Let there be light” are the appearance and manifestation of the Son of God on the earth, which the whole Gospel tells us about.
Return of the Prodigal Son
Often we characterize one as prodigal if one has committed many disgusting blunders and is now sorry and returns to those who one has offended and abandoned. However, when we say “prodigal son”, we don’t mean how sinful one is, but how one is loved by his father and that one can always come back to his father. In fact, we should concentrate on merciful love of the Lord.
The Great Flood
After being expelled from the Garden of Eden, men began to increase in number on the Earth. However, their evil deeds also increased in number. And the Lord repented that he had made man on the earth, and grieved in his heart. And the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air.”
After the flood, Noah's Ark rested on Mount Ararat. The blessing of God bestowed to the humankind in the person of Noah has not wavered, and His mercy upon Noah's generations has not diminished. Therefore, the covenant established through Noah is of unfading significance for all of us.
Noah's Ark
"Noah's Ark" – this expression reminds us of the "Great Flood." To escape from the forthcoming flood, Noah built at God's command a three-deck vessel, an Ark, for his family, as well as for all the sorts of animals and birds living on the land.
Through Noah, God established his second covenant with the humanity. Noah would become the humanity's second forefather after Adam. The spiritual cause for the flood disaster was the immense corruption of the humankind and God's wrath in response to that.
