“Thus says Yahweh.
Who made the earth.
Yahweh formed it
To establish it.
Yahweh is his name.
‘Call to me!
I will answer you!
I will tell you great things.
I will tell you hidden things
That you have not known.’”
Yahweh has made the earth, as he formed it and established it. There is no doubt that Yahweh was his name. Because Yahweh is so powerful, he wants them to call to him, since he was going to answer them. He would tell them great and hidden things that they did not know about.
“The Lord hardened Pharaoh.
Thus he did not recognize him.
The result was
That his works might be known
Under heaven.
His mercy is manifest
To the whole of creation.
He divided
His light
And his darkness
With a plumb line.”
Sirach seems to say that the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh in order to show off his majesty. His great power was manifested in all his creation, including his mercy. The Lord has divided the world into light and darkness using a builder’s plumb line that measures things.
“Once God has spoken.
Twice have I heard this.
That power belongs to God.
Yahweh!
Steadfast love belongs to you!
You repay to all
According to their work.”
This psalm ends with the stress on the power of God. There is a two part conversation with God. First David speaks and then he listens. David had learned that power belonged to God. Once again, there is an emphasis on the steadfast love of Yahweh. However, Yahweh is a fair God since he repays all according to their work with the concept of retribution.
“The shades below tremble.
The waters and their inhabitants tremble.
Sheol is naked before God.
Abaddon has no covering.
He stretches out Zaphon over the void.
He hangs the earth upon nothing.
He binds up the waters in his thick clouds.
The cloud is not torn open by them.
He covers the face of the full moon.
He spreads over it his cloud.
He has described a circle on the face of the waters.
He has described a circle at the boundary between light and darkness.
The pillars of heaven tremble.
They are astounded at his rebuke.
By his power he stilled the sea.
By his understanding he struck down Rahab.
By his wind the heavens were made fair.
His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.
These are indeed but the outskirts of his ways.
How small a whisper do we hear of him!
But the thunder of his power,
Who can understand?”
Then Job broke into a hymn about the all powerful God. Could this be from Bildad? In very explicit colorful language, he describes the power of God over all things. This is the vision of earth, Sheol, and heaven. Sheol and Abaddon are similar, like a bottomless pit. Abaddon will become a person in the Christian book of Revelation. Here it is like another name for Sheol, so that even those below must recognize the power of God since they have no place to hide or cover up. Zaphon is the northern mountain area of the Canaanite gods, something like the Greek Mount Olympus. The earth was suspended over an abyss. The water in the clouds was still accepted today as the cause of rain. Only God could make it rain and break the clouds. He also had control of the moon creating eclipses. God was of course responsible for the boundary between water and earth as well as light and darkness. There were even pillars in heaven that were afraid of him. Perhaps these pillars are the mountains that seem to reach up into the heavens. Obviously he controlled the sea and the mythical sea monster Rahab. Rahab was also the name of the prostitute, who helped the troops of Joshua, chapter 2. God then pierced the fleeing serpent, perhaps a reference to Genesis, chapter 3. We mortals only catch a glimpse of his power like a whisper when he thunders. The idea that God spoke through thunder was prevalent. However, we cannot understand all this.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 