Who or what else is referred to as "our shadow"?

Answer 1

It may afford welcome protection from the hot sun. Therefore, one is figuratively said to come under the “shadow” of that which serves as or is looked to for protection, covering, security, or refuge. Thus, with reference to the strangers he had taken into his home, Lot said to the men of Sodom: “Only to these men do not do a thing, because that is why they have come under the shadow of my roof.” And Jehovah, by means of his prophet Isaiah, pronounced woe upon those taking refuge in “the shadow of Egypt,” that is, looking to Egypt for protection. Especially is Jehovah described as providing protective shade or shadow to his people or giving them shadowlike protection under his “hand” or his “wings.” On the other hand, “deep shadow” is associated with gloom, danger, even the grave, “the land of darkness.”

The way in which a shadow changes in size and finally is no more as a result of the sun’s progress is used as a simile of man’s being short-lived or transient. For an individual’s days to be “like a shadow that has declined” signifies that his death is near. Whereas shadows cast by the sun are always changing in size and direction as the earth rotates, Jehovah is unchangeable. As the disciple James wrote: “With him there is not a variation of the turning of the shadow.” Jas 1:17.

The shadow, or dark image, that an object casts on a surface is not substantial, not the real thing. Yet it can give an idea of the general shape or design of the reality that casts it. In this connection Paul explained that the Law, including its festivals, tabernacle, and sacrifices, had a shadow that represented greater things to come. He wrote: “The reality belongs to the Christ.”

The Law, though truthful, was not the full truth and, therefore, had to give way to the realities that it foreshadowed. This point is emphasized by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Colossians: “Let no man judge you in eating and drinking or in respect of a festival or of an observance of the new moon or of a sabbath; for those things are a shadow of the things to come, but the reality belongs to the Christ.” “the truth came to be through Jesus” in the sense that he put the things foreshadowed by the Law into the realm of actual truth. As he himself was no shadow but the reality, Jesus was “the truth.” Jesus also became ‘a minister in behalf of God’s truthfulness’ in that he fulfilled God’s promises made to the forefathers of the Jews by ministering to the circumcised Jews and proselytes.

Answer 2

Our shadow side is that part of ourselves that we deny or neglect, that which we reject or repress in order to maintain a more idealized image of ourselves. It is our darker side, or perhaps our blind side. But it is also rich with saving grace.


Have a nice day.