COOL!

 

Saturday, October 1, 2022

 

COOL!

 

Gen 3:8-9

8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.

9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

 

Luke 16:22-24

22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

 

          Only twice in The Authorized Version do we find the word COOL. Once in the Old Testament as it describes that part of the evening when the sun is about to retire and again in the New Testament when a doomed man longs for some refreshment.

 

          In the Old Testament the word is ruwach (roo’-akh) and it means “a wind or a breath, perhaps a sigh.” Here in the south, this morning dawned with a temperature a full forty degrees cooler than summer! The fourth quarter of this year began with a whisper reminding us that Winter is near. It is a time to both relax and to prepare.

 

          In the New Testament the word “cool” is katapsucho and it means “to cool down; to refresh.” Sadly, there was no response to the request of the doomed rich man.

 

          These two verses, separated by so much time, show the vast distance between God’s searching for man and man’s hiding from God. It shows the ghastly consequences of a failed response to “where art thou?”

 

Lord, how my thankful soul breathes in the coolness of your presence. Thank you for searching for me and for finding me hiding. AMEN