Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Arrow » Figurative
Because the arrows of the Almighty are within me,
My spirit drinks their poison;
The terrors of God are arrayed against me.
My life is among lions;
I must lie among those who breathe out fire—
The sons of men whose teeth are spears and arrows,
And their tongue a sharp sword.
“God brought Israel out of Egypt;
Israel has
He will devour [Gentile] nations, his adversaries (enemies),
And will crush their bones in pieces,
And shatter them with his arrows.
‘I will make My arrows drunk with blood,
And My sword will devour flesh,
With the blood of the slain and the captives,
From the heads of the leaders of the enemy.’
For look, the wicked are bending the bow;
They take aim with their arrow on the string
To shoot [by stealth] in darkness at the upright in heart.
For You will make them turn their backs [in defeat];
You will aim Your bowstring [of divine justice] at their faces.
For Your arrows have sunk into me and penetrate deeply,
And Your hand has pressed down on me and greatly disciplined me.
Your arrows are sharp;
The peoples (nations) fall under You;
Your arrows pierce the hearts of the King’s enemies.
Let them flow away like water that runs off;
When he aims his arrows, let them be as headless shafts.
You will not be afraid of the terror of night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
Flash lightning and scatter my enemies;
Send out Your arrows and confuse and embarrass and frustrate them.
Like a club and a sword and a piercing arrow
Is a man who testifies falsely against his neighbor (acquaintance).
He has bent His bow and set me as a mark for the arrow. He has caused the arrows of His quiver to enter into my heart [the seat of my affections and desires].
When I send against them the deadly arrows of hunger which were for the destruction of those whom I will send to destroy you, then I will increase the famine upon you and break your staff of bread.
The sun and moon stood in their places [as before Joshua];
They went away at the light of Your [swift] arrows,
At the radiance and gleam of Your glittering spear.
Bow » Figurative
They turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers;
They were twisted like a warped bow [that will not respond to the archer’s aim].
I looked, and behold, a white horse [of victory] whose rider carried a bow; and a crown [of victory] was given to him, and he rode forth conquering and to conquer.
“But his bow remained firm and steady [in the Strength that does not fail],
For his arms were made strong and agile
By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,
(By the name of the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),
“His arrows surround me.
He pierces my kidneys (vital organs) without mercy;
He pours out my gall on the ground.
‘My glory and honor are fresh in me [being constantly renewed],
And my bow gains [ever] new strength in my hand.’
On that day I will break the bow [of the military power] of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”
Your bow was made bare;
The rods of chastisement were sworn. Selah (pause, calmly think of that).
You split the earth with rivers [bringing waters to dry places].
Judgments » Should lead to » Humiliation
Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and [with great sorrow] they put dust on their heads.
Clothe yourselves with sackcloth
And lament (cry out in grief), O priests;
Wail, O ministers of the altar!
Come, spend the night in sackcloth [and pray without ceasing],
O ministers of my God,
For the grain offering and the drink offering
Are withheld from the house of your God.
Then the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is righteous.”
I am [Jeremiah] the man who has seen affliction under the rod of His wrath. He has led me and brought me into darkness and not light. Surely He has turned away from me; His hand is against me all the day. read more.
My flesh and my skin has He worn out and made old; He has shattered my bones. He has built up [siege mounds] against me and surrounded me with bitterness, tribulation, and anguish. He has caused me to dwell in dark places like those long dead. He walled me in so that I cannot get out; He has weighted down my chain. Even when I cry and shout for help, He shuts out my prayer. He has enclosed my ways with hewn stone; He has made my paths crooked. He is to me like a bear lying in wait, and like a lion [hiding] in secret places. He has turned me off my ways and pulled me in pieces; He has made me desolate. He has bent His bow and set me as a mark for the arrow. He has caused the arrows of His quiver to enter into my heart [the seat of my affections and desires]. I have become a derision to all my people, and [the subject of] their singsong all the day. He has filled me with bitterness; He has made me drink to excess and until drunken with wormwood [bitterness]. He has also broken my teeth with gravel (stones); He has covered me with ashes. And You have bereaved my soul and cast it off far from peace; I have forgotten what good and happiness are. And I say, Perished is my strength and my expectation from the Lord. [O Lord] remember [earnestly] my affliction and my misery, my wandering and my outcast state, the wormwood and the gall. My soul has them continually in remembrance and is bowed down within me.
My flesh and my skin has He worn out and made old; He has shattered my bones. He has built up [siege mounds] against me and surrounded me with bitterness, tribulation, and anguish. He has caused me to dwell in dark places like those long dead. He walled me in so that I cannot get out; He has weighted down my chain. Even when I cry and shout for help, He shuts out my prayer. He has enclosed my ways with hewn stone; He has made my paths crooked. He is to me like a bear lying in wait, and like a lion [hiding] in secret places. He has turned me off my ways and pulled me in pieces; He has made me desolate. He has bent His bow and set me as a mark for the arrow. He has caused the arrows of His quiver to enter into my heart [the seat of my affections and desires]. I have become a derision to all my people, and [the subject of] their singsong all the day. He has filled me with bitterness; He has made me drink to excess and until drunken with wormwood [bitterness]. He has also broken my teeth with gravel (stones); He has covered me with ashes. And You have bereaved my soul and cast it off far from peace; I have forgotten what good and happiness are. And I say, Perished is my strength and my expectation from the Lord. [O Lord] remember [earnestly] my affliction and my misery, my wandering and my outcast state, the wormwood and the gall. My soul has them continually in remembrance and is bowed down within me.
So the people of Nineveh believed in God and proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth [in penitent mourning], from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came to the king of Nineveh [of all that had happened to Jonah, and his terrifying message from God], and he arose from his throne and he laid his robe aside, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.