The concept of "ripened" in the Bible often symbolizes maturity, readiness, and the culmination of a process, whether it be spiritual, moral, or agricultural. The imagery of ripening is frequently used to convey the idea of reaching a state of completion or fulfillment, particularly in the context of God's timing and purposes.

Agricultural Imagery

In the agrarian society of ancient Israel, the process of ripening was a familiar and significant event. The Bible uses agricultural metaphors to illustrate spiritual truths, and the ripening of crops is a common theme. For example, in the parable of the wheat and the tares, Jesus speaks of the harvest time when the wheat has ripened and is ready to be gathered: "Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters, ‘First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat into my barn’” (Matthew 13:30). Here, the ripening of the wheat signifies the readiness for the final judgment and the separation of the righteous from the wicked.

Spiritual Maturity

The concept of ripening is also applied to spiritual growth and maturity. Believers are encouraged to grow in their faith and to bear fruit as evidence of their spiritual development. In Galatians 5:22-23, the Apostle Paul lists the fruit of the Spirit, which includes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These virtues are the result of a life that has ripened under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

Divine Timing

The ripening process is often associated with God's perfect timing. Ecclesiastes 3:1 states, "To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven" . This verse underscores the idea that God has ordained specific times for events to reach their fulfillment. Just as fruit ripens in its season, so too do God's plans come to fruition at the appointed time.

Judgment and Fulfillment

In the prophetic literature, ripening can also symbolize the readiness for judgment. In Joel 3:13, the prophet declares, "Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full; the vats overflow, because their wickedness is great" . Here, the ripeness of the harvest is a metaphor for the fullness of sin and the impending judgment that follows.

Moral and Ethical Implications

The ripening process can also have moral and ethical implications. In the book of James, believers are exhorted to be patient and to establish their hearts, "because the Lord’s coming is near" (James 5:8). This call to patience and steadfastness is akin to the patient waiting required for crops to ripen, emphasizing the importance of perseverance and readiness for the Lord's return.

In summary, the concept of "ripened" in the Bible serves as a powerful metaphor for maturity, readiness, and the fulfillment of God's purposes, whether in the natural world or in the spiritual lives of believers.(imp. & p. p.) of Ripen.4550. sapros -- rotten, worthless
... rotten, useless, corrupt, depraved. 4550 -- properly, (putrid), over-ripe;
(figuratively) (ripened); hence, . "4550 () is (akin ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4550.htm - 7k

3583. xeraino -- to dry up, waste away
... Transliteration: xeraino Phonetic Spelling: (xay-rah'-ee-no) Short Definition: I
dry up, parch, ripen Definition: I dry up, parch, am ripened, wither, waste ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3583.htm - 6k

1061. bikkurim -- first fruits
... Word Origin from bakar Definition first fruits NASB Word Usage early ripened things
(2), first fruits (12), first ripe (1), first ripe fruits (1), ripe fruit (1 ...
/hebrew/1061.htm - 6k

2590. chanat -- to spice, make spicy, embalm
... Word Origin a prim. root Definition to spice, make spicy, embalm NASB Word Usage
embalm (1), embalmed (2), ripened (1). embalm, put forth. ...
/hebrew/2590.htm - 6k

Development of the Ideas of Jesus Respecting the Kingdom of God.
... He regained Galilee,[1] his true home, ripened by an important experience, and having,
through contact with a great man, very different from himself, acquired ...
/.../renan/the life of jesus/chapter vii development of the.htm

The Unity of Revelation. 1 "Known unto God are all his Works from ...
... But how unlike in outward form are the tender blade, the green stalk, and the
ripened ear! The year constitutes a self-consistent whole. ...
/.../barrows/companion to the bible/chapter xxxvi the unity of.htm

"Him. "
... It was of a woman whose long years had ripened her hair, and sapped her strength.
She was a true saint in her long life of devotion to God. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/gordon/quiet talks on service/him.htm

The Three Parables of Warning: to the Individual, to the Nation ...
... on the tree for ten months of the year, [4450] the two barren months being probably
April and May, before the first of the three crops which it bore had ripened ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter xvi the three parables.htm

The Twofold Testimony of John - the First Sabbath of Jesus's ...
... which had passed since Jesus had first come to him, must have been to the Baptist
a time of soul-quickening, of unfolding understanding, and of ripened decision ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter iii the twofold testimony.htm

The Seed Growing Secretly.
... it accord also with the representation, in the end of the parable, that he who in
spring sowed the seed, thrusts in his sickle and reaps the ripened harvest? ...
/.../arnot/the parables of our lord/xv the seed growing secretly.htm

The Husbandman and his Operations
... IV. All the processes end in garnering the grain. There is a barn or
storehouse for the ripened and threshed crops. The farmer's ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture h/the husbandman and his operations.htm

Whitsunday.
... It is so, I believe, often; that boyhood, which is, as it were, ripened childhood,
destroys the grace of our earliest years; that again, when youth offers us a ...
//christianbookshelf.org/arnold/the christian life/lecture xxvi whitsunday.htm

The Prayer of Stephen.
... purify his nature and to eradicate from his heart the last root of bitterness against
his brethren; if they have not cleansed his heart and ripened his spirit ...
/.../selected sermons of schleiermacher/xxiii the prayer of stephen.htm

Chapter xl
... see, a vine was before me; and on the vine were three tendrils; and as soon as it
sprouted, blossoms had come upon it and its clusters had ripened out grapes. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/leupold/exposition of genesis volume 1/chapter xl.htm

Ripened (8 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (imp. & pp) of Ripen. Multi-Version Concordance
Ripened (8 Occurrences). Revelation 14:18 And another angel ...
/r/ripened.htm - 9k

Ripen (2 Occurrences)
... sun. 2. (vi) To approach or come to perfection. 3. (vt) To cause to mature;
to make ripe; as, the warm days ripened the corn. 4. (vt ...
/r/ripen.htm - 7k

Overflowed (14 Occurrences)
... Joel 3:13 Send ye forth a sickle, For ripened hath harvest, Come in, come down,
for filled hath been the press, Overflowed hath wine-presses, For great 'is ...
/o/overflowed.htm - 10k

Green (72 Occurrences)
... 4. (superl.) Not ripe; immature; not fully grown or ripened; as, green fruit,
corn, vegetables, etc. 5. (superl.) Not roasted; half raw. ...
/g/green.htm - 31k

Wine-presses (4 Occurrences)
... Joel 3:13 Send ye forth a sickle, For ripened hath harvest, Come in, come down,
for filled hath been the press, Overflowed hath wine-presses, For great 'is ...
/w/wine-presses.htm - 7k

Fruit (318 Occurrences)
... berries, etc. 3. (n.) The ripened ovary of a flowering plant, with its contents
and whatever parts are consolidated with it. 4. (n ...
/f/fruit.htm - 40k

Flourishing (11 Occurrences)
... Genesis 40:10 and in the vine 'are' three branches, and it 'is' as it were flourishing;
gone up hath its blossom, its clusters have ripened grapes; (YLT). ...
/f/flourishing.htm - 9k

Ripe (29 Occurrences)
... 6. (superl.) Ready for action or effect; prepared. 7. (superl.) Like ripened
fruit in ruddiness and plumpness. 8. (superl.) Intoxicated. ...
/r/ripe.htm - 16k

Ripeness (2 Occurrences)

/r/ripeness.htm - 7k

Eliphaz (14 Occurrences)
... This wisdom is the result of ages of thought and experience (compare Job 15:17-19),
of long and ripened study (compare Job 5:27), and claims the authority of ...
/e/eliphaz.htm - 15k

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Ripened: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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