In the context of the Bible, the term "melts" is often used metaphorically to describe the process of transformation, dissolution, or the softening of something that was once hard or firm. This imagery is frequently employed in Scripture to convey spiritual truths, emotional states, or divine actions.

Biblical Usage and Symbolism

1. Emotional and Spiritual Transformation: The concept of melting is used to describe the softening of the heart, often in response to God's presence or actions. In Ezekiel 21:7 , the prophet speaks of hearts melting in fear: "And when they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you are to say, ‘Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt, every hand will go limp, every spirit will faint, and every knee will turn to water. Yes, it is coming, and it will surely happen,’ declares the Lord GOD."

2. Judgment and Destruction: Melting is also used to depict the dissolution or destruction of the wicked or the elements of the earth in the face of God's judgment. In Psalm 46:6 , the psalmist writes, "Nations rage, kingdoms crumble; the earth melts when He lifts His voice." This portrays the power of God's word to dissolve the very foundations of the earth.

3. Divine Power and Majesty: The imagery of melting is employed to illustrate the overwhelming power and majesty of God. In Nahum 1:5 , it is written, "The mountains quake before Him, and the hills melt away; the earth trembles at His presence—the world and all its dwellers." This passage emphasizes the awe-inspiring presence of God that causes even the most stable and enduring elements of creation to dissolve.

4. Human Frailty and Dependence on God: The metaphor of melting can also highlight human frailty and the need for reliance on God. In Psalm 22:14 , David laments, "I am poured out like water, and all my bones are disjointed. My heart is like wax; it melts away within me." Here, the psalmist expresses a profound sense of vulnerability and dependence on divine intervention.

Theological Implications

The use of "melts" in the Bible serves as a powerful reminder of the transformative power of God, both in judgment and in grace. It underscores the idea that human strength and earthly foundations are ultimately transient and subject to the sovereign will of God. The imagery calls believers to a posture of humility, recognizing their own limitations and the necessity of divine strength and guidance.

Practical Application

For believers, the metaphor of melting can serve as an invitation to allow God to soften their hearts, transforming them from hardness and resistance to receptivity and obedience. It encourages a response of faith and trust in God's power to change circumstances and hearts, aligning them with His divine purposes.4549. masas -- to dissolve, melt
... to dissolve, melt NASB Word Usage completely lose heart (1), drenched (1), dropped
(1), melt (7), melt away (1), melted (5), melting (1), melts (1), wastes ...
/hebrew/4549.htm - 6k

4127. mug -- to melt
... root Definition to melt NASB Word Usage disheartened (1), dissolve (2), dissolved
(2), melt (3), melted (2), melted away (4), melts (1), soften (1). ...
/hebrew/4127.htm - 6k

5956. alam -- to conceal
... root Definition to conceal NASB Word Usage blind (1), disregard* (1), escapes (1),
ever (1), hidden (10), hide (6), hides (1), melts (1), neglect (1), pay no ...
/hebrew/5956.htm - 6k

4529. masah -- to melt, dissolve, be liquefied
... Word Origin a prim. root Definition to melt, dissolve, be liquefied NASB Word
Usage consume (1), dissolve (1), melt with fear (1), melts (1). ...
/hebrew/4529.htm - 6k

8557. temes -- a melting (away)
... Word Origin from masas Definition a melting (away) NASB Word Usage melts away (1).
melt. From macah; liquefaction, ie Disappearance -- melt. see HEBREW macah. ...
/hebrew/8557.htm - 6k

Motives to Holy Mourning
... When a malefactor comes weeping to the bar, this melts the judge's heart towards
him. ... Rain melts and washes away a ball of snow. Repenting tears wash away sin. ...
/.../the beatitudes an exposition of matthew 51-12/8 motives to holy mourning.htm

Prayer and Sacrifice Explained by the Similitude of a Perfume ...
... Prayer is the heat of love, which melts and dissolves the soul, and carries
it to God. In proportion as it melts, it gives out its ...
/.../chapter xv prayer and sacrifice.htm

Faith
... He who believes not in Christ, is not affected with his sufferings, he melts
not in tears of love. ... Faith melts our will into the will of God. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/watson/the ten commandments/4 1 faith.htm

A Discourse of Mercifulness
... When the sun shines the ice melts. When the Sun of righteousness once shines with
beams of grace upon the soul, then it melts in mercy and tenderness. ...
/.../15 a discourse of mercifulness.htm

Do are Then Make Void the Law through Faith? God Forbid; Yea, we ...
... When he sees God stooping from heaven to save him, and understands that it is indeed
true, oh, how it melts and breaks down the heart, strikes a death-blow to ...
/.../finney/lectures to professing christians/do are then make void.htm

Life a Tale
... What more rapid and momentary than a story? It is heard, and passes. Though it beguiles
us for the time, it dies away in sound, or melts from before, the eye. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/chapin/the crown of thorns/life a tale.htm

The Tests of Love to God
... against Him. A child which loves his father cannot but weep for offending
him. The heart that burns in love melts in tears. Oh! that ...
//christianbookshelf.org/watson/a divine cordial/the tests of love to.htm

The Arrest of the Body
... particle of food on which it lives a portion of its body lengthens out, and, moving
towards the object, flows over it, engulfs it, and melts back again into ...
/.../drummond/the lowell lectures on the ascent of man/chapter iii the arrest of.htm

The Anti-Missionary Agitation.
... The Spirit of God touches and dissolves the apathy, melts the ice, breaks the stone,
and we see men alive unto God; "old things are passed away, behold all ...
/.../fagg/forty years in south china/x the anti-missionary agitation.htm

The Exile --Continued.
... Then follows, with another abrupt turn, a vehement cry to God to judge his cause;
his own individual case melts into the thought of a world-wide judgment ...
//christianbookshelf.org/maclaren/the life of david/vii the exilecontinued.htm

Melts (11 Occurrences)
...Melts (11 Occurrences). ... (See RSV NIV). Psalms 58:8 Let them be like a snail which
melts and passes away, like the stillborn child, who has not seen the sun. ...
/m/melts.htm - 9k

Melt (33 Occurrences)
... 5. (vi) To dissolve; as, sugar melts in the mouth. ... 8. (vi) To disappear by being
dispersed or dissipated; as, the fog melts away. Multi-Version Concordance ...
/m/melt.htm - 17k

Snail (2 Occurrences)
... 6b) supports "snail." The ordinary explanation of the passage, which is not very
satisfying, is that the snail leaves a trail of mucus (ie it melts) as it ...
/s/snail.htm - 10k

Melting (9 Occurrences)

/m/melting.htm - 9k

Knocking (9 Occurrences)
... (See NAS). Nahum 2:10 She is empty, void, and waste. The heart melts, the knees
knock together, their bodies and faces have grown pale. (See NAS). ...
/k/knocking.htm - 9k

Knock (7 Occurrences)
... (DBY YLT NAS RSV NIV). Nahum 2:10 She is empty, void, and waste. The heart melts,
the knees knock together, their bodies and faces have grown pale. (WEB NAS). ...
/k/knock.htm - 11k

Dissolves (1 Occurrence)
... Dissolves (1 Occurrence). Psalms 58:8 Let them be like a snail which melts and passes
away, like the stillborn child, who has not seen the sun. (See RSV). ...
/d/dissolves.htm - 6k

Meltzar (2 Occurrences)

/m/meltzar.htm - 6k

Miscarriages (1 Occurrence)
... Miscarriages (1 Occurrence). Psalms 58:8 Let them be like a snail which melts and
passes away, like the stillborn child, who has not seen the sun. (See NAS). ...
/m/miscarriages.htm - 6k

Peril (9 Occurrences)
... NIV). Psalms 107:26 They mount up to the sky; they go down again to the depths.
Their soul melts away because of trouble. (See NIV). ...
/p/peril.htm - 9k

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