Topical Bible: Fishes: Taken With: Often Suffered for Man's Sin

◄ Fishes: Taken With: Often Suffered for Man's Sin ►

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Topical Encyclopedia

In the biblical narrative, fish and fishing hold significant symbolic and practical roles. Fish are frequently mentioned in the context of sustenance, miracles, and divine provision. However, they also appear in scenarios where they suffer due to human sinfulness, reflecting the broader consequences of sin on creation.

Symbolism and Provision

Fish are emblematic of God's provision and abundance. In the New Testament, Jesus performs miracles involving fish, such as the feeding of the five thousand, where He multiplies five loaves and two fish to feed a multitude (Matthew 14:17-21). This miracle underscores the theme of divine provision and the sufficiency of God's grace.

Consequences of Sin

The suffering of fish due to human sin is a theme that emerges in the context of divine judgment. In the book of Jonah, the prophet is swallowed by a great fish, which serves as both a vehicle of judgment and a means of deliverance (Jonah 1:17). This narrative illustrates the broader impact of human disobedience on creation, where even sea creatures are drawn into the unfolding of God's redemptive plan.

In the prophetic literature, the suffering of fish is often depicted as part of the natural consequences of human sin. For instance, in Hosea 4:3 , the prophet declares, "Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away; the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and even the fish of the sea will perish." This passage highlights the interconnectedness of creation and the pervasive impact of sin, where the natural world suffers alongside humanity.

Judgment and Restoration

The theme of fish suffering due to human sin is also evident in the context of divine judgment and eventual restoration. In Ezekiel 29:4-5 , God pronounces judgment on Egypt, saying, "I will put hooks in your jaws and make the fish of your streams cling to your scales. I will haul you up from the midst of your streams, with all the fish clinging to your scales." This imagery of fish being caught and suffering as part of God's judgment on a nation underscores the broader biblical theme of accountability and the hope of restoration.

Conclusion

Throughout Scripture, fish serve as a symbol of God's provision and a reminder of the consequences of sin. They are integral to the biblical narrative, illustrating both the abundance of God's blessings and the far-reaching effects of human disobedience.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Exodus 7:21
And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Ezekiel 38:20
So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all the men that are on the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

The Providence of God
... the godly, who in a special manner are taken notice of ... providence sent a great number
of small fishes to feed ... that the Lord by cross providences often brings to ...
//christianbookshelf.org/watson/a body of divinity/14 the providence of god.htm

Whether a Suitable Cause Can be Assigned for the Ceremonies which ...
... Consequently it was unfitting for fishes to be excluded from ... the priest of the Old
Law "often" offered "the ... like perfect bread after He had taken human nature ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether a suitable cause can.htm

The Wedding Garment
... in the many, but all are not good fishes that are ... In their dying hours false professors
have often found that ... the baptism in which you gloried, taken away from ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 17 1871/the wedding garment.htm

The Tenth Chapter of the Gospel of John. Of the Shepherd, and the ...
... draught [4090] and so large a number of fishes, that the ... turn to Christ, the vail
shall be taken away." [4094 ... but look, mark well, if haply, as is often the case ...
/.../sermon lxxxvii the tenth chapter.htm

The Shame and Spitting
... did in Egypt, but He multiplied loaves and fishes so that ... be crucified; and because
our Lord had taken upon Himself ... I have often heard that there is no faith ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 25 1879/the shame and spitting.htm

St. Augustine (Ad 354-430)
... in a field of wheat, or bad fishes mixed with ... were then made against them; their
churches were taken away; many ... they used to beat people, and often so severely ...
/.../chapter xxi st augustine ad.htm

Of the True Church. Duty of Cultivating Unity with Her, as the ...
... to life, while those who seemed most stable often fall. ... to a net in which all kinds
of fishes are taken ... What course was taken by the holy apostle, in other words ...
/.../calvin/the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 1 of the true.htm

The Life of Sir Thomas Browne.
... Then follow "Answers to certain queries about fishes, birds, and ... and elude proof,
is too often the sport ... which Browne declares himself to have taken: "If there ...
//christianbookshelf.org/browne/christian morals/the life of sir thomas.htm

Colossians iii. 7-May
... know whether it would be food for fishes, or for ... 4.): and again, "There hath no
temptation taken you but ... passage has been expanded in the often above mentioned ...
/.../homily viii colossians iii 7-may.htm

English Version of the Second Helvetic Confession, AD 1566.
... bodily death, which is once to be suffered of us ... To conclude, as often as God in
the Scripture is ... His understanding, indeed, was not taken from him, neither ...
/.../english version of the second.htm