“To everything there is a season,” and tomorrow marks the beginning of autumn. Fall decorations already grace homes and Pumpkin Spice is the flavor of the month.
That introductory phrase about a season for everything is actually a Biblical reference from Ecclesiastes 3 reminding us that life is filled with a variety of experiences. In fact, much of our language and culture utilize Biblical metaphors and phrases and those who use and hear them often never realize where they originated.
When Martin Luther King, Jr declared that he had, “been to the mountaintop,” he was referring to Moses standing on Mt. Nebo overlooking the Promised Land. King and his audience knew exactly what he meant but many today have no clue. A lack of Biblical literacy causes this metaphor to ring hollow.
Other American leaders employed Biblical references as well. When Lincoln gave his “House Divided” speech reminding Americans that institutions with internal division cannot stand, he was quoting Jesus from either Mark 3 or Luke 17.
Whenever someone speaks of their persistent frustration or adversary they often call it their “thorn in the flesh,” borrowing from Paul in 2 Corinthians 12, and “from time to time” comes straight from Ezekiel 4:10.
As we address a problem at work or home, we try to get to “the root of the matter” little knowing that we are repeating what Job said nearly 4,000 years ago. Once we discover the truth, we then say that we “know for certain” echoing Joshua’s warning in his farewell address to the Israelites.
From “time to time” we all stumble at our jobs or in relationships and describe how we “fell flat on our face,” just as Balaam did in Numbers 22:31. When we correct the situation by “pouring out our heart,” we copy David from Psalm 62:8.
We often speak of seeing “the handwriting on the wall,” which is a direct reference to Belshazzar’s wakeup call in Daniel 5. Sadly, if we don’t know the Biblical context, the metaphor fails to carry the freight it was intended to.
Although not quoted as often, some writers still talk of when politicians or societies desire to “return to the fleshpots of Egypt.” This allusion is borrowed from Exodus 16 where the newly liberated Israelites complained and yearned to go back to their slavery that they remembered as much less oppressive than it really was.
Sadly, our society seems be doing that exact same thing today as many wish to throw off the yoke of bondage (another Biblical metaphor) and revert to previous eras before Judeo-Christian values influenced governments and laws. Such desires fail to consider the harshness, the severe inequities, the poverty, and the general misery that non-Christian ethics still produce today.
Jaroslav Pelikan has said, “Jesus of Nazareth has been the dominant figure in the history of Western culture for almost twenty centuries. If it were possible, with some sort of super magnet, to pull up out of that history every scrap of metal bearing at least a trace of His name, how much would be left?”
Indeed, very little of value or beauty would remain. When we consider that the entire Bible is about Jesus, even less would be left if all Biblical influence was removed from American culture, art, and language. Even equality, justice, and fairness are Biblical concepts, though now coopted and corrupted.
In order to understand our history, our language, and our very selves, a thorough Biblical education is vital. Those who wish to remove God, His Word, and His Son from education and western civilization seek to destroy the foundation upon which this beneficial, protective, and gracious structure stands.
As we consider the Biblical underpinnings of our society may we remember that every season is suitable to share Jesus with others and may all parents, teachers, and Christians help our children and fellow citizens understand and appreciate our Biblical roots.
Blessings, George