We've all heard the expression, "...once in a blue moon...". It is a phrase that has come to mean that something only happens "very rarely" - in fact, an event which only happens "once in a blue moon" is an event which is known to be extremely rare.
In more recent times, a "blue moon" is an actual sky event, which occurs more commonly. When there are two full moons in single calendar month, it has come to be known as a "blue moon". Since the lunar cycle is 29.5 days, it is less likely that two full moons can occur within a 30 day period.
But this meaning of "blue moon" is fairly new and doesn't account for the original meaning in the phrase "once in a Blue Moon". As Philip Hiscock, a folklorist at the Memorial University of Newfoundland explained, in a 2010 article in Sky & Telescope magazine, the phrase has been around for more than 400 years. In the earliest use of the term, "once in a blue moon" meant "never". So saying, "Joe will come to visit when the moon turns blue" was like saying "he'll come for a visit when pigs fly."
In actuality, however, the moon really can appear blue! And it is an event so rare that seeing it would be (at maximum) a once-in-a-lifetime-event. Most will never witness a real "blue moon". But the moon does turn blue, on the extremely rare occasions where the atmosphere has certain coloring particles. And when it does, it looks like the photo below:
What sort of conditions are needed to make the moon "turn" blue? Well, it can turn to blue when the right size of dust particles or smoke are in the atmosphere. The last recorded full blue color moon was seen in 1883 when the Krakatoa volcano exploded filling the whole atmosphere with a dense ash.
Why does it happen? Dust particles in the atmosphere are normally of a small size that causes them to diffract blue light. But larger dust particles (such as would be present with volcanic ash) diffract red light, making the moon appear bluish.
It seems that there is a spiritual lesson in the blue moon events. Yahweh, our mighty God, can indeed do the impossible. Nothing is too hard for Him. Scripture refers to how impossible it is for a man to change from sinful and lost, to clean and redeemed... The prophet Jeremiah used expressions similar to "once in a blue moon" (as in never) could this occur:
Jeremiah 13:23 "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.."Yet, the blue moon is actually not a "never" event! Yahweh, Who is mighty enough to turn the moon blue, can transform a person who is habitually evil into a saved child of the King!
Jude 1:24 "...Unto Him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the Presence of His Glory with exceeding joy!"Yahweh is the God of the blue moon. Be encouraged - and in Him - be transformed!
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Encouraging word!
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