an eagle

November 11, 2017

The punishment for Edom (Ob 1:2-1:4)

“I will surely make you

Least among the nations.

You shall be

Utterly despised.

Your proud heart

Has deceived you.

You live

In the clefts

Of the rock.

This dwelling is

In the heights.

You say in your heart.

‘Who will bring me down

To the ground?’

Though you soar aloft

Like the eagle,

Though your nest

Is set among the stars,

From there,

I will bring you down.’

Says Yahweh.”

Yahweh’s oracle in Obadiah was addressed to Edom itself.  Yahweh was going to make them the least of the nations of the world.  They would be utterly despised.  Their proud hearts had deceived them.  They lived high in the rocks.  They thought that no one could bring them down to earth.  They could soar like an eagle, since their nests were in the high stars.  However, Yahweh was clear.  He was going to bring them down.

April 24, 2017

The allegory of the eagle (Ezek 17:1-17:3)

“The word of Yahweh

Came to me.

‘Son of man!

Propound a riddle!

Speak an allegory

To the house of Israel!

Say!

Thus says Yahweh God!

‘A great eagle

With great wings,

With long pinions,

Rich in plumage

Of many colors,

Came to Lebanon.

He took the top

Of the cedar.’”

Yahweh once again came to Ezekiel, the son of man. This time Yahweh proposed a riddle or an allegory for the house of Israel about an eagle. A great eagle with colorful rich wonderful wings and feathers came to sit on the top of a cedar in Lebanon. Is this an allegory or riddle about King Nebuchadnezzar who became king of Babylon in 597 BCE? It sure seems like it, since he was the great eagle who came to sit on his throne.

March 25, 2017

The faces of the four living creatures (Ezek 1:10-1:11)

“As for the appearance

Of their faces,

Each had

The face

Of a human being

In front.

Each had

The face

Of a lion

On the right side.

Each had

The face

Of an ox

On the left side.

Each had

The face

Of an eagle

At the back.

Such were their faces.

Their wings

Were spread out above.

Each creature

Had two wings.

Each wing

Touched the wing

Of another.

The two wings

Covered their bodies.”

Each creature had the face of a human being in front. Then there was a face of a lion on the right side with a face of an ox on the left side. In the back was the face of an eagle. Interesting enough this is similar to the idea of cherubim in Assyrian and Babylonian times. They had a statue of a god who had the head of a human, the body of a lion, the paws of an ox, with wings. This same symbolism was later taken up as the symbols of the four Christian evangelists, as well as the 4 creatures of the apocalypse in the Book of Revelation. There is also the interpretation that these animal heads symbolize mobility, intelligence, and strength. Their wings were spread out above each of these creatures, so that they touched each other. Thus these wings covered the bodies of these creatures.

February 8, 2016

Fleeting wealth (Prov 23:4-23:5)

“Do not wear yourself out to get rich.

Be wise enough to desist.

When your eyes light upon it,

It is gone.

Suddenly it takes wings to itself.

It flies like an eagle toward heaven.”

Don’t bother working hard to get rich. Be smart enough not to try. If you do get rich, it will be gone right before your eyes. This wealth takes wings and flies like an eagle toward the skies. Bye-bye money!

July 7, 2015

Job’s days are numbered (Job 9:25-9:35)

“My days are swifter than a runner.

They flee away.

They see no good.

They go by like skiffs of reed.

They go by like an eagle swooping on the prey.

If I say.

‘I will forget my complaint.

I will put off my sad countenance

I will be of good cheer.’

I become afraid of all my suffering.

I know that you will not hold me innocent.

I shall be condemned.

Why then do I labor in vain?

If I wash myself with snow,

And cleanse my hands with lye,

Yet you will plunge me into filth.

My own clothes will abhor me.

God is not a mortal,

As I am.

I cannot answer him.

We cannot come to trial together.

There is no umpire between us.

There is no one who might lay his hand upon us both.

Let him take his rod away from me.

Let not dread of him terrify me.

Then I would speak without fear of him,

I know that I am not what I am thought to be.”

Job believes that his days are numbered since they go quicker than a runner, a reed, or an eagle. Was he supposed to forget the complaint and all his sufferings? He would still suffer and be considered guilty. Why should he labor in vain, by washing with snow and lye? He will be sent back into filth, so that his own clothes will still dislike him? God is not a mortal like him. They are not equals. There is no umpire to say who is right. Just let God take his stick away from him. He wanted this dread to leave him so that he could speak freely. He realized that he was not perfect. Job could not forget about his circumstances. He could not cleanse himself. He could not call in a fair referee to solve his problems.