The term "recurrent" refers to something that occurs repeatedly or periodically. In the context of the Bible, the concept of recurrence can be seen in various themes, events, and teachings that appear throughout the Scriptures. These recurrences serve to emphasize important spiritual truths and divine principles that are central to the biblical narrative.

Recurrent Themes

1. Covenant: The theme of covenant is recurrent throughout the Bible, beginning with God's covenant with Noah (Genesis 9:8-17), continuing with His promises to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3), and extending through the Mosaic Covenant (Exodus 19-24) and the New Covenant prophesied in Jeremiah 31:31-34 and fulfilled in Christ (Luke 22:20). These covenants highlight God's faithfulness and His desire for a relationship with His people.

2. Repentance and Forgiveness: The call to repentance and the promise of forgiveness are recurrent messages in both the Old and New Testaments. The prophets frequently called Israel to repent and return to God (e.g., Joel 2:12-13), and Jesus' ministry emphasized repentance as a prerequisite for entering the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:15). The parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) beautifully illustrates the recurring theme of forgiveness.

3. Faithfulness and Unfaithfulness: The cycle of faithfulness and unfaithfulness is a recurrent pattern in the history of Israel. The Book of Judges, for example, depicts a repeated cycle of Israel's apostasy, oppression, repentance, and deliverance (Judges 2:11-19). This pattern underscores the need for steadfast faithfulness to God.

Recurrent Events

1. Feasts and Festivals: The recurrence of feasts and festivals in the Jewish calendar, such as Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles, serves as a reminder of God's past deliverance and provision (Leviticus 23). These events are not only historical commemorations but also foreshadow the redemptive work of Christ.

2. Prophetic Fulfillment: The recurrent fulfillment of prophecy is a testament to the reliability of God's Word. Many Old Testament prophecies find their fulfillment in the New Testament, particularly in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (e.g., Isaiah 53; Matthew 1:22-23).

Recurrent Teachings

1. Love and Obedience: The teaching of love as the greatest commandment is recurrent in Scripture. Jesus affirmed the Shema from Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and expanded it to include love for one's neighbor (Matthew 22:37-39). Obedience to God's commandments is consistently linked with love for Him (John 14:15).

2. The Kingdom of God: The concept of the Kingdom of God is a recurrent theme in Jesus' teachings. He frequently used parables to describe the nature and values of the Kingdom (e.g., Matthew 13). The Kingdom is both a present reality and a future hope, calling believers to live in anticipation of its full realization.

Recurrent Symbols

1. Water: Water is a recurrent symbol in the Bible, representing purification, life, and the Holy Spirit. Baptism, as a rite of initiation into the Christian faith, symbolizes the washing away of sin and the believer's new life in Christ (Matthew 3:11; John 3:5).

2. Light and Darkness: The contrast between light and darkness is a recurrent motif, symbolizing the struggle between good and evil, truth and falsehood. Jesus declared Himself to be the "light of the world" (John 8:12), calling His followers to walk in the light and reflect His truth.

In summary, the concept of recurrence in the Bible serves to reinforce key theological truths and divine principles, providing believers with a consistent and coherent understanding of God's redemptive plan throughout history.1. (a.) Returning from time to time; recurring; as, recurrent pains.

2. (a.) Running back toward its origin; as, a recurrent nerve or artery.

Why God Made Man.
... Footnotes: [1729] [I cease to note this perpetually recurrent thought. It had
profoundly impressed our author as an element of natural religion.]. ...
/.../chap xiv why god made man.htm

Letters Describing the Experience Preceding Death
... Her whole life was an Act of Faith: faith the more heroic because maintained
against the recurrent attacks of spiritual doubt and despair. ...
/.../letters of catherine benincasa/letters describing the experience preceding.htm

'Physicians of no Value'
... Small and recurrent faults may evoke recurring remonstrances of conscience, but
that is a very different thing from the deep tones and the clear voice of ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture a/physicians of no value.htm

An Analysis of Augustin's Writings against the Donatists.
... In the pulpit he made Donatism the occasion of many a polemic, many an appeal; in
his correspondence it was an ever-recurrent topic; it was the staple of many ...
/.../chapter ii name analysis of.htm

John's Witness to Jesus, and God's
... as reality and symbol. Fire is a frequently recurrent emblem of the Holy
Spirit, both in the Old and New Testament. It is not the ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture e/johns witness to jesus and.htm

The vision of Creation
... We note, not only the recurrent 'and it was so,' which declares the perfect
correspondence of the result with the divine intention, but also the recurring ' ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture k/the vision of creation.htm

Sebastian Castellio: a Forgotten Prophet
... his courage. One of those ever-recurrent plagues that harassed former ages,
before microbes were discovered, fell upon Geneva. The ...
/.../chapter vi sebastian castellio a.htm

Seeking and Finding
... These godly people are neither fanatics nor mystics. They consider the recurrent
visitations of Jesus to be the norm of spiritual life. ...
/.../anderson/prayer availeth much/chapter 11 seeking and finding.htm

The Stage as it was Once.
... The heart of the haughty delights to beget A haughty heart. From time to time
In children's children recurrent appears The ancestral crime. ...
/.../kingsley/lectures delivered in america in 1874/lecture ii the stage as.htm

Paul Before his Conversion.
... He was afflicted with a mysterious, painful, recurrent, and repulsive physical
infirmity, which he calls a "thorn in the flesh, " and which acted as a check ...
/.../schaff/history of the christian church volume i/section 30 paul before his.htm

Recurrent (1 Occurrence)
... 1. (a.) Returning from time to time; recurring; as, recurrent pains. 2. (a.) Running
back toward its origin; as, a recurrent nerve or artery. ...
/r/recurrent.htm - 6k

Intermittent (1 Occurrence)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (a.) Coming and going at intervals; alternating;
recurrent; periodic; as, an intermittent fever. 2. (n ...
/i/intermittent.htm - 6k

Rectangular (2 Occurrences)

/r/rectangular.htm - 7k

Dropsy (1 Occurrence)
... liver infection. The latter is the commoner, as liver disease is a frequent
result of recurrent attacks of malarial fever. The man ...
/d/dropsy.htm - 7k

Judges (117 Occurrences)
... Thus the entire history is set as it were in a recurrent framework of moral and
religious teaching and warning; and the lesson is enforced that it is the sin ...
/j/judges.htm - 81k

Sanctification (13 Occurrences)
... of God, His supremacy, which is seen here in the judgment (justice, righteousness)
meted out to the disobedient people (compare the recurrent refrain of Isaiah ...
/s/sanctification.htm - 45k

Anem (1 Occurrence)
... Thus the entire history is set as it were in a recurrent framework of moral and
religious teaching and warning; and the lesson is enforced that it is the sin ...
/a/anem.htm - 101k

Red (124 Occurrences)

/r/red.htm - 77k

Tabernacle (333 Occurrences)
... the unusual that is recorded; the daily aspect of the tabernacle and the part it
played in the life of the people were among the things recurrent and familiar. ...
/t/tabernacle.htm - 101k

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