Topical Encyclopedia
The concept of "ripened" in the Bible often symbolizes maturity, readiness, and the culmination of a process, whether it be spiritual, moral, or agricultural. The imagery of ripening is frequently used to convey the idea of reaching a state of completion or fulfillment, particularly in the context of God's timing and purposes.
Agricultural ImageryIn the agrarian society of ancient Israel, the process of ripening was a familiar and significant event. The Bible uses agricultural metaphors to illustrate spiritual truths, and the ripening of crops is a common theme. For example, in the parable of the wheat and the tares, Jesus speaks of the harvest time when the wheat has ripened and is ready to be gathered: "Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters, ‘First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat into my barn’” (
Matthew 13:30). Here, the ripening of the wheat signifies the readiness for the final judgment and the separation of the righteous from the wicked.
Spiritual MaturityThe concept of ripening is also applied to spiritual growth and maturity. Believers are encouraged to grow in their faith and to bear fruit as evidence of their spiritual development. In
Galatians 5:22-23, the Apostle Paul lists the fruit of the Spirit, which includes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These virtues are the result of a life that has ripened under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
Divine TimingThe ripening process is often associated with God's perfect timing.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 states, "To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven" . This verse underscores the idea that God has ordained specific times for events to reach their fulfillment. Just as fruit ripens in its season, so too do God's plans come to fruition at the appointed time.
Judgment and FulfillmentIn the prophetic literature, ripening can also symbolize the readiness for judgment. In
Joel 3:13, the prophet declares, "Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full; the vats overflow, because their wickedness is great" . Here, the ripeness of the harvest is a metaphor for the fullness of sin and the impending judgment that follows.
Moral and Ethical ImplicationsThe ripening process can also have moral and ethical implications. In the book of James, believers are exhorted to be patient and to establish their hearts, "because the Lord’s coming is near" (
James 5:8). This call to patience and steadfastness is akin to the patient waiting required for crops to ripen, emphasizing the importance of perseverance and readiness for the Lord's return.
In summary, the concept of "ripened" in the Bible serves as a powerful metaphor for maturity, readiness, and the fulfillment of God's purposes, whether in the natural world or in the spiritual lives of believers.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
(
imp. & p. p.) of Ripen.
Greek
4550. sapros -- rotten, worthless... rotten, useless, corrupt, depraved. 4550 -- properly, (putrid), over-ripe;
(figuratively) (
ripened); hence, . "4550 () is (akin
...3583. xeraino -- to dry up, waste away
... Transliteration: xeraino Phonetic Spelling: (xay-rah'-ee-no) Short Definition: I
dry up, parch, ripen Definition: I dry up, parch, amripened, wither, waste...
Strong's Hebrew
1061. bikkurim -- first fruits... Word Origin from bakar Definition first fruits NASB Word Usage early
ripened things
(2), first fruits (12), first ripe (1), first ripe fruits (1), ripe fruit (1
...2590. chanat -- to spice, make spicy, embalm
... Word Origin a prim. root Definition to spice, make spicy, embalm NASB Word Usage
embalm (1), embalmed (2),ripened (1). embalm, put forth....
Library
Development of the Ideas of Jesus Respecting the Kingdom of God.
... He regained Galilee,[1] his true home,ripened by an important experience, and having,
through contact with a great man, very different from himself, acquired...
The Unity of Revelation. 1 "Known unto God are all his Works from...
... But how unlike in outward form are the tender blade, the green stalk, and the
ripened ear! The year constitutes a self-consistent whole....
"Him. "
... It was of a woman whose long years hadripened her hair, and sapped her strength.
She was a true saint in her long life of devotion to God....
The Three Parables of Warning: to the Individual, to the Nation...
... on the tree for ten months of the year, [4450] the two barren months being probably
April and May, before the first of the three crops which it bore hadripened...
The Twofold Testimony of John - the First Sabbath of Jesus's...
... which had passed since Jesus had first come to him, must have been to the Baptist
a time of soul-quickening, of unfolding understanding, and ofripened decision...
The Seed Growing Secretly.
... it accord also with the representation, in the end of the parable, that he who in
spring sowed the seed, thrusts in his sickle and reaps theripened harvest?...
The Husbandman and his Operations
... IV. All the processes end in garnering the grain. There is a barn or
storehouse for theripened and threshed crops. The farmer's...
Whitsunday.
... It is so, I believe, often; that boyhood, which is, as it were,ripened childhood,
destroys the grace of our earliest years; that again, when youth offers us a...
The Prayer of Stephen.
... purify his nature and to eradicate from his heart the last root of bitterness against
his brethren; if they have not cleansed his heart andripened his spirit...
Chapter xl
... see, a vine was before me; and on the vine were three tendrils; and as soon as it
sprouted, blossoms had come upon it and its clusters hadripened out grapes....
Thesaurus
Ripened (8 Occurrences)... Noah Webster's Dictionary (imp. & pp) of Ripen. Multi-Version Concordance
Ripened (8 Occurrences). Revelation 14:18 And another angel
...Ripen (2 Occurrences)
... sun. 2. (vi) To approach or come to perfection. 3. (vt) To cause to mature;
to make ripe; as, the warm daysripened the corn. 4. (vt...
Overflowed (14 Occurrences)
... Joel 3:13 Send ye forth a sickle, Forripened hath harvest, Come in, come down,
for filled hath been the press, Overflowed hath wine-presses, For great 'is...
Green (72 Occurrences)
... 4. (superl.) Not ripe; immature; not fully grown orripened; as, green fruit,
corn, vegetables, etc. 5. (superl.) Not roasted; half raw....
Wine-presses (4 Occurrences)
... Joel 3:13 Send ye forth a sickle, Forripened hath harvest, Come in, come down,
for filled hath been the press, Overflowed hath wine-presses, For great 'is...
Fruit (318 Occurrences)
... berries, etc. 3. (n.) Theripened ovary of a flowering plant, with its contents
and whatever parts are consolidated with it. 4. (n...
Flourishing (11 Occurrences)
... Genesis 40:10 and in the vine 'are' three branches, and it 'is' as it were flourishing;
gone up hath its blossom, its clusters haveripened grapes; (YLT)....
Ripe (29 Occurrences)
... 6. (superl.) Ready for action or effect; prepared. 7. (superl.) Likeripened
fruit in ruddiness and plumpness. 8. (superl.) Intoxicated....
Ripeness (2 Occurrences)
Eliphaz (14 Occurrences)
... This wisdom is the result of ages of thought and experience (compare Job 15:17-19),
of long andripened study (compare Job 5:27), and claims the authority of...
Resources
What is the significance of pomegranates in the Bible? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is the significance of the olive tree in the Bible? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is the meaning of the Parable of the Vineyard? | GotQuestions.orgRipened: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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