Topical Bible: The Sun: (Before or in Sight of) of Public Ignominy

◄ The Sun: (Before or in Sight of) of Public Ignominy ►

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The sun, a central celestial body in the biblical narrative, often symbolizes God's creation, light, and truth. However, it also serves as a backdrop for moments of public ignominy, where individuals or groups face shame or disgrace under its unrelenting gaze. This theme is woven throughout Scripture, illustrating the sun's role in exposing sin and folly.

Biblical Instances of Public Ignominy Under the Sun

1. Adam and Eve's Shame (Genesis 3:7-8): After Adam and Eve's disobedience in the Garden of Eden, their eyes were opened, and they realized their nakedness. In their shame, they attempted to hide from God among the trees. The sun, a witness to their transgression, illuminated their newfound vulnerability and guilt. "Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves" (Genesis 3:7).

2. David and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:11-12): King David's sin with Bathsheba and the subsequent murder of her husband, Uriah, were acts committed in secret. However, the prophet Nathan declared that David's punishment would be public, as God would bring his deeds into the light of day. "You have acted in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel" (2 Samuel 12:12). The sun, in this context, symbolizes the exposure of sin and the inevitability of divine justice.

3. The Crucifixion of Jesus (Matthew 27:45-46): The crucifixion of Jesus Christ is the ultimate moment of public ignominy, where the sinless Son of God was subjected to the shame and scorn of the world. From noon until three in the afternoon, darkness fell over the land, a supernatural event that underscored the gravity of the moment. "From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land" (Matthew 27:45). The sun's temporary obscuration highlights the cosmic significance of Christ's sacrifice and the weight of humanity's sin.

4. The Judgment of Nations (Matthew 25:31-46): In the eschatological vision of the final judgment, the sun serves as a metaphor for the revealing light of Christ's righteous judgment. All nations will be gathered before Him, and their deeds will be exposed. The righteous will inherit eternal life, while the unrighteous will face eternal punishment. This scene emphasizes the sun's role in illuminating truth and justice.

Theological Implications

The sun's presence in these narratives serves as a powerful symbol of God's omniscience and the inevitability of His justice. It reminds believers that no sin is hidden from God's sight and that all actions will ultimately be brought to light. The sun's unyielding illumination calls individuals to live lives of integrity and repentance, acknowledging that God's truth will prevail over darkness and deceit.

In conclusion, the sun, as a witness to public ignominy, underscores the biblical themes of exposure, judgment, and redemption. It serves as a reminder of the moral and spiritual accountability that all individuals face before God, urging a life of righteousness and humility under His watchful eye.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

2 Samuel 12:11,12
Thus said the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house, and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Jeremiah 8:2
And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung on the face of the earth.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

The Death of Christ
... The sun veiled his face, the earth quaked, the mountains were rent asunder ... it have
been declared, had not the Lord thus challenged it before the sight of all ...
/.../athanasius/on the incarnation of the word/chapter 4 the death of.htm

Necessity of Contemplating the Judgment-Seat of God, in Order to ...
... judgment with thy servant; for in thy sight shall no man ... their brightness on the
appearance of the sun, what think ... to words, has by a parable set before us, as ...
/.../chapter 12 necessity of contemplating.htm

Of Matrimony.
... The heavens figuratively represent the apostles; the sun Christ; the ... yet it is lawful
in the sight of God ... the death of a betrothed husband before actual marriage ...
/.../luther/first principles of the reformation/of matrimony.htm

The Shameful Sufferer
... us go to Calvary this morning, and see this great sight. ... The sun itself had one big
tear in its own ... light compared with the joy which was set before him, that ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 5 1859/the shameful sufferer.htm

The Evidences of Christianity, Deduced from the New Testament ...
... the most enormous act of wickedness which the sun had ever ... in general, on the principles
which I before laid down ... in the public streets, in the sight of enemies ...
/.../the evidences of christianity/the evidences of christianity deduced.htm

The Resurrection
... shall the righteous shine forth as the sun.' Matthew 13 ... the dead, small and great,
stand before God.' Revelation 20 ... can a guilty prisoner endure the sight of the ...
//christianbookshelf.org/watson/a body of divinity/3 the resurrection.htm

On the Great Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria.
... makes our bodily eyes to see the sun, the other ... Church; and such, even when he retired
before the insults ... Athanasius, or feast their eyes upon the sight of him ...
/.../cyril/lectures of s cyril of jerusalem/oration xxi on the great.htm

The Order of Thought which Surrounded the Development of Jesus.
... had persecuted them.[6] "They live in the sight of God ... the year 600, consequently
fifty years before the Mussulman ... which illumines its picture is the sun of the ...
//christianbookshelf.org/renan/the life of jesus/chapter iv the order of.htm

Christ.
... Now the earth quakes, the rocks are rent, the sun becomes black ... as we say among men,
out of sight, out of ... by my Father or me, that he should appear before us as ...
//christianbookshelf.org/bunyan/the riches of bunyan/vii christ.htm

The Fruitless vine
... I used to weep before God, and pray to him ... their own hopes was the dawning of the
Sun of righteousness ... will be the most horrible and ignominious sight that ever ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 3 1857/the fruitless vine.htm