In biblical terms, the concept of "fester" is often associated with the idea of decay, corruption, or the worsening of a condition, whether physical, moral, or spiritual. The imagery of festering is used in Scripture to illustrate the consequences of sin, the effects of unaddressed grievances, and the deterioration of relationships or spiritual health.

Physical Decay and Disease

The Bible frequently uses physical ailments as metaphors for spiritual or moral corruption. In the Old Testament, festering sores and diseases are sometimes depicted as manifestations of divine judgment or as symbols of impurity. For instance, in Leviticus 13:3, the priest is instructed to examine a skin disease to determine if it is a serious condition: "The priest shall examine the sore on the skin of his body, and if the hair in the sore has turned white and the sore appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a leprous sore. The priest shall examine him and pronounce him unclean."

The festering of physical wounds is also used to describe the consequences of sin. In Psalm 38:5, David laments, "My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly." Here, the festering wounds symbolize the internal and external consequences of sin, highlighting the need for repentance and divine healing.

Moral and Spiritual Corruption

The concept of festering extends beyond physical ailments to describe moral and spiritual decay. In the New Testament, Jesus warns against the corrupting influence of sin and false teachings. In Matthew 16:6, He cautions His disciples, "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees." The metaphor of yeast, which can cause dough to rise and spread, is akin to the idea of festering, where a small amount of corruption can permeate and spoil the whole.

James 5:3 uses the imagery of corrosion to describe the moral decay associated with greed and the hoarding of wealth: "Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and consume your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days." The festering corrosion of wealth serves as a warning against the spiritual dangers of materialism and the neglect of righteous living.

Unresolved Conflict and Bitterness

Festering is also used to describe the effects of unresolved conflict and bitterness within relationships. In Ephesians 4:26-27, Paul advises, "Be angry, yet do not sin. Do not let the sun set upon your anger, and do not give the devil a foothold." Allowing anger to fester can lead to bitterness and division, providing an opportunity for the enemy to exploit and damage the unity of believers.

Hebrews 12:15 further warns against the root of bitterness that can fester and cause trouble: "See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God, and that no root of bitterness springs up to cause trouble and defile many." This passage emphasizes the importance of addressing grievances and seeking reconciliation to prevent the festering of discord and spiritual harm.

Conclusion

The biblical imagery of festering serves as a powerful reminder of the destructive nature of sin, corruption, and unresolved conflict. It calls believers to seek healing, repentance, and reconciliation, relying on God's grace to cleanse and restore both individual lives and the community of faith.1. (n.) To generate pus; to become inflamed and suppurate; as, a sore or a wound festers.

2. (n.) To be inflamed; to grow virulent, or malignant; to grow in intensity; to rankle.

3. (v. t.) To cause to fester or rankle.

4. (n.) A small sore which becomes inflamed and discharges corrupt matter; a pustule.

5. (n.) A festering or rankling.

4743. maqaq -- to decay, rot, fester, pine away
... 4742, 4743. maqaq. 4744 . to decay, rot, fester, pine away. Transliteration:
maqaq Phonetic Spelling: (maw-kak') Short Definition: rot. Word Origin a prim. ...
/hebrew/4743.htm - 6k

The Plenary Inspiration of Every Part of the Bible, vindicated and ...
... And yet, inasmuch as it is the nature of doubts, when once injected into the mind,
to fester and to spread; inasmuch also as the bold confidence of plausible ...
/.../burgon/inspiration and interpretation/sermon iv the plenary inspiration.htm

A Good Teaching How a Man Shall Flee These Deceits, and Work More ...
... hard fastened in fleshliness of bodily feeling, and full dry from any witting of
grace; and they hurt full sore the silly soul, and make it fester in fantasy ...
/.../anonymous/the cloud of unknowing/here beginneth the six and 3.htm

First of Conversion
... Many truly are not healed, but their wounds rot and fester; for today turned to
God, tomorrow are turned from Him; today doing penance, tomorrow turning to ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/rolle/the fire of love/chapter i first of conversion.htm

The Faculty of Faith.
... For this reason a temporary faith can never save a man, but, on the contrary,
it injures him; for it causes his soul to fester. ...
/.../kuyper/the work of the holy spirit/xxxviii the faculty of faith.htm

Of the Causes which Separated the Eunomians from the Arians.
... Those of his hearers who had been nurtured on the divine oracles saw clearly that
his utterances concealed under their surface a foul fester of error. [581]. ...
/.../the ecclesiastical history of theodoret/chapter xxv of the causes which.htm

High Doctrine
... God. Leave men to themselves, and the corruption of their nature may fester,
and rot, and breed the fungus of a vile imagination. ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 6 1860/high doctrine.htm

The Resurrection of Christ.
... his own, and that this their vision was the beginning of their new higher faith
and of an their Christian labors." "Nichts steht geschichtlich fester," he says ...
/.../history of the christian church volume i/section 19 the resurrection of.htm

Human Soot
... the Nemesis fall on the world of man; so does that human soot, these human poison
gases, infect the whole society which has allowed them to fester under its ...
/.../kingsley/all saints day and other sermons/sermon xxxiii human soot.htm

Shall I not My God be Praising?
... afflict us now? How grievous are our wounds and sore, They stink and fester
more and more, But Thou canst heal them all. Pour in ...
/.../gerhardt/paul gerhardts spiritual songs/shall i not my god.htm

The Christian's Heaviness and Rejoicing
... It is that breaking down of the spirit, that pulling down of the strong man, that
is the very fester of the soreness of God's scourging""the blueness of the ...
/.../spurgeons sermons volume 4 1858/the christians heaviness and rejoicing.htm

Fester (1 Occurrence)
... 2. (n.) To be inflamed; to grow virulent, or malignant; to grow in intensity; to
rankle. 3. (vt) To cause to fester or rankle. ...Fester (1 Occurrence). ...
/f/fester.htm - 7k

Festering (7 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Fester. Multi-Version Concordance
Festering (7 Occurrences). Exodus 9:9 It shall become ...
/f/festering.htm - 8k

Festal-sacrifice (1 Occurrence)
Festal-sacrifice. Festal, Festal-sacrifice. Fester . Multi-Version Concordance ...
(YLT). Festal, Festal-sacrifice. Fester . Reference Bible.
/f/festal-sacrifice.htm - 6k

Revelation (52 Occurrences)
... sense, supernatural. It is, of course, not meant that God deserted His world
and left it to fester in its iniquity. His providence ...
/r/revelation.htm - 89k

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Fester: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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