Nothing Special Going On - July 30, 2010

Good Friday morning! I'll bet you're tired of hearing about the weather out here each day so we'll just skip it for this devotional. I'm tired of writing about it, except for all the times when I just won't shut up about it that is. We like to talk about our surroundings, and one of the things that surrounds us each day is the weather. Rain, sun, snow, or whatever else is given to us each day can affect our travel, work, and even what activities we can enjoy in that day. Our verse for today sets the stage for the verses to follow, but on its own the verse seems something like a weather report on a day with nothing special happening.

Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold twenty to thirty gallons. (John 2:6)

Why six? We know that numbers are important in the Bible. Perhaps the owner of this house or building had one stone jar for each day of the week except for the Sabbath. That seems unlikely as most of us would go ahead and have the seven jars to match the days of each week. We have heard that six is often a representation of something just short of perfection. The number of the Antichrist is three sixes or 666. I may simply be making too much of that number; six may have been standing nearby because the seventh had broken the week before the wedding. The bride's mother might have gone back there to vent a little frustration and kicked a hole in the seventh stone jar. We don't know why there were six jars. What we do know is their normal function - Jewish ceremonial washing - and the jars volume.

According to WikiAnswers, a gallon of water weighs approximately 8.35 lbs, which makes the amount of water at the lower end weigh about 167 lbs plus the weight of a stone jar that size, we can figure at least a 200 lb load with a large stone jar. From that we realize that no one, other than a Samson, is going to be grabbing one of these jars and taking off with it. If the stone jars are on the larger side, the weight of water alone will be over 250 lbs. The impression we should take away from this is that these are large jars. Anytime a writer sets the stage like this, we know that we can expect something pretty spectacular. Large stone jars sitting there, the host has run out of wine, and Jesus is right there with servants waiting for his command... what is going to happen next? We'll just have to stay tuned for tomorrow!

Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy this fine Friday in Christ!

Bucky