Friday, April 1, 2016

Isaiah 32: Biblical Imagery

The literary world is full of allusions to the Bible, sometimes quoting it directly.  Unfortunately, many of these callbacks are missed when the Bible is no longer studied and given a place of honor in our culture.  Even a relatively obscure chapter like Isaiah 32 holds biblical imagery that is picked up in other works.

For instance, verse 2 says, "Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a covert from the tempest, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land."  Do any of these phrases sound familiar?

You might be interested to know that a very famous daily devotional called "Streams in the Desert" by Charles Cowman employs this phrase from Isaiah 32 in its title.  Also, the hymn "Beneath the Cross of Jesus" incorporates another section of this verse in its opening line: "Beneath the cross of Jesus I fain would take my stand.  The shadow of a mighty Rock within a weary land.  A home within the wilderness, a rest upon the way.  From the burning of the noontide heat, and the burden of the day."

It's no wonder that the Bible was once a textbook in the classroom, considering the importance and influence that it holds in so many areas.  We have lost something beautiful when the Bible is no longer to be found in our schools.

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