Topical Encyclopedia
In biblical terms, the concept of "smashing" often conveys the idea of destruction, judgment, or the breaking of objects, idols, or even nations. This term is used both literally and metaphorically throughout the Scriptures to illustrate God's power, judgment, and the consequences of sin.
Old Testament References1.
Idolatry and False Worship: One of the most prominent uses of smashing in the Old Testament is in the context of idolatry. God commanded the Israelites to smash the altars and idols of the pagan nations they encountered. In
Deuteronomy 7:5, God instructs, "But this is how you are to deal with them: Tear down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their idols in the fire." This act of smashing was a physical demonstration of rejecting false gods and purifying the land for the worship of Yahweh.
2.
Divine Judgment: Smashing is also used to describe God's judgment against nations and peoples who oppose Him. In
Jeremiah 19:11, God declares, "I will smash this city and this people as one smashes a potter’s jar that cannot be repaired." This imagery of smashing a potter's jar signifies total destruction and the irreversible nature of God's judgment.
3.
Symbol of Strength and Power: The act of smashing can also symbolize strength and power. In
Psalm 2:9, the psalmist writes about the Messiah, "You will break them with an iron scepter; You will smash them like pottery." This verse highlights the authority and power of the Messiah to subdue and judge the nations.
New Testament References1.
Spiritual Warfare: In the New Testament, the concept of smashing is often related to spiritual warfare and the victory of Christ over sin and evil. In
2 Corinthians 10:4-5, Paul writes, "The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We tear down arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God." Here, the smashing or demolishing of strongholds represents the spiritual victory over false ideologies and sinful patterns.
2.
Breaking of the Old Covenant: The New Testament also speaks of the breaking or smashing of the old covenant through the establishment of the new covenant in Christ.
Hebrews 8:13 states, "By calling this covenant 'new,' He has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear." The old covenant, with its rituals and sacrifices, is effectively "smashed" or rendered obsolete by the new covenant of grace through Jesus Christ.
Theological ImplicationsThe act of smashing in the Bible serves as a powerful reminder of God's holiness and the seriousness of sin. It underscores the necessity of removing anything that stands in opposition to God's will and the purity required in worship. Smashing also illustrates the ultimate victory of God over evil and the establishment of His kingdom through Christ. The imagery of smashing, whether of idols, nations, or spiritual strongholds, points to the transformative power of God's judgment and redemption.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
(
p. pr. & vb. n.) of Smash.
Strong's Hebrew
7667. sheber -- a breaking, fracture, crushing, breach, crash... 1), crash (1), crashing (1), crushed (1), crushes (1), destruction (17), disaster
(2), fracture (3), injury (2), interpretation (1), ruin (3),
smashing (1).
...Library
Species, or Units of Nature.
... The wonderful "machine" that Strauss talked about in connection with the "smashing"
and "crashing" that destroys parent forms did not smash the simplest forms...
The Dead Christ
... The breaking of the bones of the body, bysmashing them with clubs, was a peculiarly
horrible form of punishment sometimes inflicted by the Romans.[2] It was...
A New Age and New Standards
... Samaritan. Jesus gives it asmashing effectiveness by reversing the role and
showing the hated Samaritan as the heroic lover of his kind....
The Dismissal of Judas
...Smashing against the breakwater, they but consolidate its mighty blocks, and prove
that 'the Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters.' It has...
What are the Clouds?
... We will not interfere. If the potsherds will gosmashing one another, why, then
they must. We pray that old England may come off the safest of them all....
The Panoply of God
... The sea hurls tons of water against the slender lighthouse on the rock, and
if it stands, thesmashing of the waves consolidates it....
Mr. HG Wells and the Giants
... Not only does he no longer hold that view, but he has written about it in "Mankind
in the Making" with suchsmashing sense and humour, that I find it difficult...
Thou Shalt have no Other Gods Before Me.
... God connives and allows them to rest in security, that He either is entirely ignorant
or cares nothing about such matters, He must deal asmashing blow and...
Third Sunday after Easter
... drink here. I will behave peculiarly,smashing windows and turning things
upside down, for this is not my abiding-place"? For the...
(And Last): Homeward Bound
... artillery and ironclads: and there was more than one jest on board as to the
possibility of running the Channel Squadron across, andsmashing Cherbourg in a...
Thesaurus
Smashing (9 Occurrences)...Smashing (9 Occurrences).
... Jeremiah 18:7 Whenever I say anything about uprooting a
nation or a kingdom, and
smashing it and sending destruction on it; (BBE).
...Uproot (17 Occurrences)
... Jeremiah 1:10 See, this day I have put you over the nations and over the kingdoms,
for uprooting andsmashing down, for destruction and overturning, for...
Uprooting (10 Occurrences)
... Jeremiah 1:10 See, this day I have put you over the nations and over the kingdoms,
for uprooting andsmashing down, for destruction and overturning, for...
Overturning (14 Occurrences)
... (BBE). Jeremiah 1:10 See, this day I have put you over the nations and over the
kingdoms, for uprooting andsmashing down, for destruction and overturning, for...
Planting (57 Occurrences)
... (BBE). Jeremiah 1:10 See, this day I have put you over the nations and over the
kingdoms, for uprooting andsmashing down, for destruction and overturning, for...
Crushing (93 Occurrences)
... the fourth kingdom will be strong as iron: because, as all things are broken and
overcome by iron, so it will have the power of crushing andsmashing down all...
Uprooted (29 Occurrences)
... (BBE). Jeremiah 18:7 Whenever I say anything about uprooting a nation or a kingdom,
andsmashing it and sending destruction on it; (See NIV)....
Engines (4 Occurrences)
... in, building strong places against it, and making high an earthwork against it;
and put up tents against it, placing engines all round it forsmashing down its...
Earthwork (7 Occurrences)
... in, building strong places against it, and making high an earthwork against it;
and put up tents against it, placing engines all round it forsmashing down its...
Maul (3 Occurrences)
... mol (mephits, literally, "a breaker," "a club," "mace," "mattock"): Asmashing weapon
like the oriental war-club or the clubs always carried by the shepherds...
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