Ganeida's Knots

A man hasn't got a corner on virtue just because his shoes are shined. ~Anne Petry

 The things I don't know!  I am working on Revelation three ~ Laodicea ~ [for that other place, you know *wink, wink*] & I make no bones about the fact I'm no theologian.  Theology requires logic & logic is not my strong point.  As I'm sure I'm not the only one with this difficulty it always assures me of God's great love for His people when I discover He has made provision for those of us a little lacking in the cerebral department.  My areas, which always make my children groan & refuse to watch historical movies with me, are in the Arts ~ particularly history & literature.

I can desiccate a piece of literature with my eyes closed, both hands tied behind my back & standing on my head.  That's the way my brain is wired & I get all excited when I see symbolic associations that I can leap~frog on all over the bible.  I really do.  It gives me great delight.  I am not so strong on bible history but research is something I like & as it is invariably full of interesting bunny trails I could research forever & go nowhere fast.  I'm sure this is not bothering anybody as the world might be waiting with baited breath for my insights but it is certainly waiting with infinite patience!

You see the thing with bunny trails, & why I like them so very, very much, is the lovely places they take you, the symbolism that pops up out of nowhere & just how much insight they give you.

So, Laodicea.  At the junction of the Lycus & Meander Valleys & 3 major Roman highways near Phrygia.  Fed by 2 rivers & thus a primary hub for the Roman aqueduct system.  The water, by the time it arrived in Laeodecea was neither the freezing invigorating cold of a mountain fed stream nor the soothing, relaxing heat of the spa waters.  Rather it was so tepid as to be undrinkable!

Now ancient Laodicea was known primarily for 2 things: its textiles & its medical school. [It was also a central commerce centre that minted its own coinage & ran its own banks but that was because of the wool & the medicine ~ Oh, & the fact just about everybody else's goods passed through the place on their way to somewhere or other else.]  Laodicea provided the finest black wool in the ancient world & all the best people wore the finespun black designer garments made from this wool. *sigh* You can see when I'm going with this, can't you, & why the integral way scripture so tightly interweaves its symbolism gives me great joy!

Laodicea also had a very fine medical school & was rather famous for its eyes salves. [& can't you just hear John's sarcasm now in Revelation?!]  They had the stuff, John tells them they should use it!  Anyway what really intrigued me, & I bet you the ancient world knew all this, is that they had a particular salve known as kollourion which was shaped like small loaves ~ & what does bread symbolise in the scriptures. dancing a little jig here! 

Ok, so I'm a little odd. Shoot me. So many bunny trails; so little time.