I think there is something here, something more than all you see and feel…it’s in the wind…. But you do not know what music is until you have heard the wind in the cedars, or the far-off wind in the pines.”
–Louis L’Amour (Conagher)
“For behold, He who forms mountains, and creates the wind, Who declares to man what his thought is, and makes the morning darkness, Who treads the high places of the earth— The Lord God of hosts is His name.”
–Amos 4:13 (NKJV)
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“The wind knows the songs of cities and canyons,
The thunder of mountains, the roar of the sea.
The wind is the taker and giver of mornings,
The wind is the symbol of all that is free.”
–John Denver
In this, the last study on the symbol of the wind I want to bring forth again the verse from John. Jesus uses this idea for a power that is felt but unseen. “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8, ESV) This shows the unseen power and work of the Spirit, but also the sovereignty of God and implies that no one can control His sovereignty. We cannot see the working of the Spirit within a man, and it is God who chooses who and how to work.
But, then, there are four directions from which the wind blows. My Grandpa had a saying that I’ve heard in various forms: “Wind from the West, fish bite the best. Wind from the East, fish bite the least. Wind from the North, do not go forth. Wind from the South blows the bait in the fish’s mouth.” Truth or folklore? I guess it depends upon the fisherman, for when Grandpa went he most always came back with something; it may not be the limit, but there was usually something for the skillet.
The East wind is often depicted as a wind of destruction. In the Middle East it is referred to as the “sirocco” and even worse as the people of Lebanon call it “the poison wind.” In Scripture it was an east wind that blasted the grain in Pharaoh’s dream (Genesis 41); it brought the locusts upon Egypt (Exodus 10:13). Job said it was the east which that carried the wicked away (Job 27:21) Ezekiel depicts the east wind as the work of God’s judgment in the withering of the fruit trees (Ezekiel 17:10; 19:12). It was also the east wind that blew on Jonah until he fainted (John 4:8). F. E. Marsh relates it this way, “The Spirit of God comes sometimes as an east wind, breaking and discomforting, till like Jonah we faint with despair.” When tribulation comes it may be the east wind blowing on our souls to develop the spiritual man and our character.
Then there is the West wind of deliverance. The east wind brought the locusts and it was the west wind that drove them away. Jesus says that from the west comes the refreshing shower (Luke 12:54). “The Spirit of God comes in the effectiveness of His power and drives away the locusts of evil, and in the shower of His grace to refresh the weariness of the saints.” (Marsh)
“There’s a blue norther comin’ in
I’ve never been so cold,
How I hate that wind…”
–R.W. Hampton
I’ve been in some of those blue northers. They come up quickly from nowhere bringing cold weather. Job alludes to this when he says, “Cold cometh out of the north.” (37:9) No wonder we are told not to go forth to fish when the wind comes down from the north. That wind can bring misery to the bones. But that wind also brings fair weather (Job 37:22). Yes, it may be cold, but the storm is gone. No matter where we are in life the wind of the Spirit can invigorate the soul.
Then there is the wind that comes in from the south, the wind of pleasantness. Elihu says that the “garments are warm, when He quieteth the earth by south wind. (Job 37:17). In the Song of Solomon we read that it is the south wind that “blow upon my garden, till the spices thereof may flow out.” (4:16) What are these fragrances, these aromas that are stirred up by the south wind? The odor of intercession (Revelation 5:8); the frankincense of a consecrated life (Matthew 2:11); the spikenard of love’s devotion (Mark 14:3); the incense of grateful worship (2 Chronicles 29:11); the fragrance of lowly adoration (Song of Solomon 1:12); the aroma of holy character (Psalm 45:8); the sweet smell of generous help (Philippians 4:18), the perfume of a faithful ministry (2 Corinthians 2:14-16). (Marsh)
Yes, God is sovereign and the wind is but a symbol of the Holy Spirit in that sovereignty. The wind suggest the Spirit’s active operations. As F.E. Marsh so ably puts it, “He is the Begetter of the new life, He is the Sustainer of the life He begets, He is the Purifier of the heart, He is the Active Opponent of the flesh, He is the Sanctifier of the saint, He is the Worker in service, He is the Leader in worship, and the Producer of the fruit of love and the fruits of Righteousness.” When you see the wind blowing through the trees smile at the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. Upon the breath of the breeze upon your neck think of the gentle touch of the Spirit working and guiding you. Even in the roar of the storm do not fail to see the Spirit, for He is at work in the storms that come upon your life.
————————————
“The wind knows the songs of cities and canyons,
The thunder of mountains, the roar of the sea.
The wind is the taker and giver of mornings,
The wind is the symbol of all that is free.”
–John Denver
In this, the last study on the symbol of the wind I want to bring forth again the verse from John. Jesus uses this idea for a power that is felt but unseen. “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8, ESV) This shows the unseen power and work of the Spirit, but also the sovereignty of God and implies that no one can control His sovereignty. We cannot see the working of the Spirit within a man, and it is God who chooses who and how to work.
But, then, there are four directions from which the wind blows. My Grandpa had a saying that I’ve heard in various forms: “Wind from the West, fish bite the best. Wind from the East, fish bite the least. Wind from the North, do not go forth. Wind from the South blows the bait in the fish’s mouth.” Truth or folklore? I guess it depends upon the fisherman, for when Grandpa went he most always came back with something; it may not be the limit, but there was usually something for the skillet.
The East wind is often depicted as a wind of destruction. In the Middle East it is referred to as the “sirocco” and even worse as the people of Lebanon call it “the poison wind.” In Scripture it was an east wind that blasted the grain in Pharaoh’s dream (Genesis 41); it brought the locusts upon Egypt (Exodus 10:13). Job said it was the east which that carried the wicked away (Job 27:21) Ezekiel depicts the east wind as the work of God’s judgment in the withering of the fruit trees (Ezekiel 17:10; 19:12). It was also the east wind that blew on Jonah until he fainted (John 4:8). F. E. Marsh relates it this way, “The Spirit of God comes sometimes as an east wind, breaking and discomforting, till like Jonah we faint with despair.” When tribulation comes it may be the east wind blowing on our souls to develop the spiritual man and our character.
Then there is the West wind of deliverance. The east wind brought the locusts and it was the west wind that drove them away. Jesus says that from the west comes the refreshing shower (Luke 12:54). “The Spirit of God comes in the effectiveness of His power and drives away the locusts of evil, and in the shower of His grace to refresh the weariness of the saints.” (Marsh)
“There’s a blue norther comin’ in
I’ve never been so cold,
How I hate that wind…”
–R.W. Hampton
I’ve been in some of those blue northers. They come up quickly from nowhere bringing cold weather. Job alludes to this when he says, “Cold cometh out of the north.” (37:9) No wonder we are told not to go forth to fish when the wind comes down from the north. That wind can bring misery to the bones. But that wind also brings fair weather (Job 37:22). Yes, it may be cold, but the storm is gone. No matter where we are in life the wind of the Spirit can invigorate the soul.
Then there is the wind that comes in from the south, the wind of pleasantness. Elihu says that the “garments are warm, when He quieteth the earth by south wind. (Job 37:17). In the Song of Solomon we read that it is the south wind that “blow upon my garden, till the spices thereof may flow out.” (4:16) What are these fragrances, these aromas that are stirred up by the south wind? The odor of intercession (Revelation 5:8); the frankincense of a consecrated life (Matthew 2:11); the spikenard of love’s devotion (Mark 14:3); the incense of grateful worship (2 Chronicles 29:11); the fragrance of lowly adoration (Song of Solomon 1:12); the aroma of holy character (Psalm 45:8); the sweet smell of generous help (Philippians 4:18), the perfume of a faithful ministry (2 Corinthians 2:14-16). (Marsh)
Yes, God is sovereign and the wind is but a symbol of the Holy Spirit in that sovereignty. The wind suggest the Spirit’s active operations. As F.E. Marsh so ably puts it, “He is the Begetter of the new life, He is the Sustainer of the life He begets, He is the Purifier of the heart, He is the Active Opponent of the flesh, He is the Sanctifier of the saint, He is the Worker in service, He is the Leader in worship, and the Producer of the fruit of love and the fruits of Righteousness.” When you see the wind blowing through the trees smile at the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. Upon the breath of the breeze upon your neck think of the gentle touch of the Spirit working and guiding you. Even in the roar of the storm do not fail to see the Spirit, for He is at work in the storms that come upon your life.