grave

September 23, 2016

The silent sufferings of the servant of Yahweh (Isa 53:7-53:9)

“He was oppressed.

He was afflicted.

Yet he did not open his mouth.

He was

Like a lamb

That is led to the slaughter.

He was

Like a sheep

That before its shearers is silent.

Thus he did not open his mouth.

By a perversion of justice

He was taken away.

Who could have imagined his future?

He was cut off

From the land of the living.

He was stricken

For the transgression of my people.

They made his grave

With the wicked.

His tomb was with the rich.

He had done no violence.

There was no deceit in his mouth.”

This suffering servant does not open his mouth to complain, unlike Job and others. Even though he was oppressed and afflicted, he was like a lamb led to slaughter or a sheep about to have his wool sheared, since he never opened his mouth. Although there was a perversion of justice against him, no one knew about his future. He was cut off from the land of the living for the transgressions of his people, indicating that this was an Israelite person. He had a grave with the wicked, but somehow he ended up in the tomb of a rich man. He had done no violence nor was there any deceit in his mouth. Once again, who is this silent suffering servant? Is this an Israelite prophet? Is it Isaiah? Obviously, many of these thoughts about the silent suffering innocent servant, who was oppressed, were later applied to Jesus Christ.

March 23, 2016

The reasoning of the impious (Wis 2:1-2:5)

“The ungodly reasoned unsoundly.

They say to themselves.

‘Our life is short.

Our life is sorrowful.

There is no remedy

When a life comes to an end.

No one has been known

To return from Hades.

We were born by mere chance.

Hereafter we shall be

As though we had never been.

The breath in our nostrils is smoke.

Reason is a spark kindled

By the beating of our hearts.

When it is extinguished,

The body will turn to ashes.

The spirit will dissolve

Like empty air.

Our name will be forgotten in time.

No one will remember our works.

Our life will pass away.

Like the traces of a cloud,

Our life will be scattered like mist

That is chased by the rays of the sun.

Our life will be overcome by its heat.

Our allotted time is

The passing of a shadow.

There is no return from our death.

Because it is sealed up.

No one turns back.’”

The ungodly or the impious sound a little like Qoheleth in Ecclesiastes with this emphasis on the vanity of life. This author calls their thinking unsound. We lead a short and sorrowful life (ὁ βίος ἡμῶν). There is no remedy when death comes. No one has ever returned from the grave. We were born by chance. When we are gone, it will be as if we never existed. Our breath is like smoke. Our reasoning stops when our heart stops, as our body (τὸ σῶμα) returns to ashes. Our spirit (τὸ πνεῦμα) also dissolves like empty air. Our names (τὸ ὄνομα ἡμῶν) will be forgotten as no one will remember our works (ἔργων ἡμῶν). We will pass away like a cloud or scattered mist that evaporates with heat. Our time on earth is like a passing shadow since there is no return from death. We are sealed up with death since no one returns.

November 12, 2015

The futility of death (Ps 88:11-88:12)

“Is your steadfast love declared in the grave?

Is your faithfulness in Abaddon?

Are your wonders known in the darkness?

Is your saving help in the land of forgetfulness?”

Now the psalmist asks a series of questions that indicate that if he died he could no longer show his love to God or tell people about God’s wonderful things. He would be in the grave. Abaddon is another name for Sheol, since there would be no contact with the living. If he died he would be in the land of darkness and forgetfulness.

October 2, 2015

Sheol for all (Ps 49:14-49:15)

“Like sheep

They are appointed for Sheol.

Death shall be their shepherd.

Straight to the grave they descend.

Their form shall waste away.

Sheol shall be their home.

But God will ransom my soul

From the power of Sheol,

He will receive me.”

Selah

Once again we have the theme of the shepherd. This time death, not Yahweh, is the shepherd. Death leads all of us sheep directly to the grave, where we waste away. Our homes will be Sheol, the ill-defined underground afterlife. However, we do have an exception. The psalmist believes that God will rescue him from the eternal power of Sheol. God will ransom his soul with his belief in an eternal afterlife with God. With that, it is time for another musical interlude pause of Selah.

July 14, 2015

Job calls out his friends for lying (Job 21:27-21:34)

“O, I know your thoughts.

I know your schemes to wrong me.

For you say.

‘Where is the house of the prince?

Where is the tent in which the wicked live?’

Have you not asked those who travel the roads?

Do you not accept their testimony?

The wicked are spared in the day of calamity.

The wicked are rescued in the day of wrath.

Who declares their way to their face?

Who repays them for what they have done?

When are they carried to the grave?

A watch is kept over their tomb.

The clods of the valley are sweet to them.

Everyone will follow after.

Those who went before are innumerable.

How then will you comfort me with empty nothings?

There is nothing left of your answers but falsehood.”

Job continued to respond to his detractors. In the end he called them liars. They were trying to wrong him. Where was the house of the wicked? Where were their tents? Ask anyone you meet on the roads. The wicked will be rescued and spared from disaster on the day of wrath. Who got in their face? Who repaid them for what they did? The wicked dead ones have a grave, a tomb, and someone to watch over them. There were many examples of this. He did not want them to try to comfort him with empty sayings. They were answering falsely.

July 11, 2015

Job prepares for his death (Job 17:1-17:2)

“My spirit is broken.

My days are extinct,

The grave is ready for me.

Surely there are mockers about me.

My eye dwells on their provocation.”

Job, like a sick old man, said that his spirit was broken. He was in a state of despair. His days were gone. Get the grave ready! People still mocked him. He saw all the various provocations around him. He wanted it all to end.

July 3, 2015

Job curses life itself (Job 3:20-3:23)

“Why is light given to one in misery?

Why is life given to the bitter in soul?

They long for death, but it does not come.

They dig for it more than for hidden treasures.

They rejoice exceedingly.

They are glad

As they find the grave.

Why is light given to one who cannot see the way?

Why is light given to those whom God has fenced in?”

The major question of this biblical book is why.  Why do the bitter in soul have life? Why is there light for the miserable? Why doesn’t death come to those who long for it? Some people seek death as if they were seeking hidden treasures. They are glad and rejoicing when they find their grave. Why give light to one who cannot see. Why has God fenced in certain people? This seems to favor those who are suffering and want an end to it with euthanasia. However, death here seems to be passive rather than active.

February 22, 2015

The preparations for the wedding feast (Tob 8:18-8:21)

“Then Raguel ordered his servants to fill in the grave before daybreak. After this, he asked his wife to bake many loaves of bread. He went out to the herd. He brought in two steers and four rams. He ordered them to be slaughtered. So they began to make preparations. Then he called for Tobias. He swore an oath to him in these words. ‘You shall not leave here for fourteen days, but shall stay here eating and drinking with me. You shall cheer up my daughter, who has been depressed. Take at once half of what I own. Return in safety to your father. The other half will be yours when my wife and I die. Take courage, my child. I am your father and Edna is your mother. We belong to you as well as your wife, now and forever. Take courage, my child.’”

Raguel had his servants fill up the grave that he had dug before morning. He did not know that Tobias had chased away the evil spirit. He asked his wife to bake many loaves of bread. He took 2 steers and 4 rams from his herd and had them slaughtered. The he asked Tobias to take an oath. Tobias had to stay for a 14 day wedding festival, where he would eat and drink. This was twice as long as the usual 7 day wedding festival. This is somewhat reminiscent of the marriage of Rebecca and Isaac in Genesis, chapter 24. Tobias was to cheer up his new wife Sarah because she was depressed. In fact, Raguel was giving half his possessions to Tobias now and he would inherit the rest at the death of himself and his wife Edna. He asked him to take courage and return safely to his father.

February 18, 2015

Tobit prepares for death (Tob 4:1-4:4)

“That same day, Tobit remembered the money which he had left in trust with Gabael at Rages in Media. He said to himself. ‘Now I have asked for death. Why do I not call my son Tobias? I can explain to him about the money before I die.’ Then he called his son Tobias. When he came to him, he said.

‘My son,

When I die,

Give me a proper burial.

Honor your mother.  

Do not abandon her all the days of your life.

Do whatever pleases her.

Do not grieve her in anything.

Remember her, my son,

Because she faced many dangers for you

While you were in her womb.

When she dies,

Bury her beside me in the same grave.’”

Tobit continued his obsession with his death. He remembered the money he had left with Gabael in Media. He wanted to tell his son about this money before he died. When his son, Tobias, came to him, he told him that he wanted a proper burial. At the same time, he wanted his son to honor his mother. He wanted him not to give her much grief. There is no indication of his age so far, but you know how teenagers can be. On top of that, there is an indication that the pregnancy with him was difficult. Tobit wanted his wife to be buried in the same grave as himself.