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| "Parting the Red Sea" by Tony Morgan |
From April to October, an east wind sweeps across the Arabian Desert, gains speed over bare mountain slopes, and blasts Egypt to Lebanon with insufferably hot and dry gusts that often last 24 hours or longer. The east wind can spawn tornados, carry thick clouds of sand and silt, scorch plants, injure livestock, and cause various illnesses to those in its path. It can be so oppressive it is sometimes called "the poison wind." It also plays an important role in the scriptures.
The word for "wind" in Hebrew (ruach) can also be translated as "spirit" or "breath." Ruach is the breath of life that began and sustains creation (Genesis 1:2; 2:7; 6:17). It drove away the water after the great flood in Noah's day (Genesis 8:1). Ruach can also refer to the spirit of the Lord, as when King David prayed that God would not take his spirit from him (Psalms 51:11), or the human spirit. In the New Testament, the word pneuma can also mean wind, breath, or spirit.
Wind plays a prominent role in many scriptural accounts. As Elijah stood on Mount Horeb, "the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains" but the spirit spoke in a still, small voice (1 Kings 19:11-12). On the day of Pentecost, "suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house" and the faithful began to exercise spiritual gifts (Acts 2:2,4). Paul warned against being "carried about with every wind of doctrine" (Ephesians 4:14) and Christ rebuked the wind and sea (Matthew 8:26). Wind drove the Nephites and Jaredites to the promised land. Christ taught that "the wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and wither it goeth," just as those who are led by the spirit (John 3:8).
Winds in the Middle East each have a specific meaning and consequence. Arabs refer to refreshing western winds as "the fathers of rain." "Fair weather cometh out of the north" (Job 37:22), which is why Solomon called for a north wind to blow upon his garden (Song of Solomon 4:16).
South winds are warm and pleasant, but they can also symbolize quiet trials or a false sense of security (Luke 12:55, Song of Solomon 4:16). Job notes the quiet of the south wind and the refining heat of personal trials (Job 37:17). Luke records that a "gentle south wind" led a ship too close to shore and caused it to be shipwrecked (Acts 27:13).
Hosea called the east wind "the wind of the Lord" (Hosea 13:15). When the Egyptian Pharoah had experienced seven plagues (symbolic of the completeness of divine judgement), "the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts." The locusts brought total destruction, so that "there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, throughout all the land of Egypt" (Exodus 10:12-15). After the locusts were dispersed by a west wind, there was only darkness and death until the Israelites were delivered.
In Joseph's interpretations of the Pharoah's dreams, seven years of famine were represented by grain and cattle scorched by the east wind (Genesis 41:6, 23, 27). When the Lord was displeased with Jonah, he "prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished himself to die" (Jonah 4:8). The east wind shattered ships (Psalm 48:7; Ezekiel 27:26), dried up springs (Hosea 13:15), and carried away the wicked in a whirlwind (Job 27:21).
If this was all we knew about the "wind of the Lord," it would be easy to conclude that the Lord is harsh and vindictive. A closer look tells a different story.
The Lord brought the locusts in the east wind to end the slavery of the Israelites in Egypt. When the Israelites were trapped at the Red Sea, with Pharoah's army in pursuit, "the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land... And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground" (Exodus 14:21-22).
Later, when the Israelites were hungry, the Lord "caused an east wind to blow in the heaven... He rained flesh also upon them as dust, and feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea... So they did eat, and were filled: for he gave them their own desire" (Psalm 78:26-29).
Even in the natural world, the east wind is not purely destructive. It drives fish back toward the shore and pushes game into the open. The winds often arrive during changes in weather, breaking up stagnant high pressure systems and clearing oppressive heat and dryness. Though unpleasant for a time, the cooler, more humid conditions that follow, and the increased availability of food, ultimately sustain and improve life.
Sometimes the changes and challenges we experience feel like we are being blasted by the relentless heat of an east wind. We may wonder if we are being punished or if God is being unnecessarily harsh. The lesson of the east wind is that sometimes the same wind that scorches the earth can also part the seas and provide the quail. The wind is never permanent and there are better days ahead.
As the Lord has promised, "thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes" (D&C 121:7-8).