their sides

June 14, 2017

Yahweh saves his flock (Ezek 34:21-34:22)

“You pushed

With your flank.

You pushed

With your shoulder.

You butted

At all the weak animals

With your horns.

You have scattered them

Far and wide.

I will save my flock.

They shall no longer

Be ravaged.

I will judge

Between sheep

With sheep.”

Yahweh, via Ezekiel, complained about the bad sheep. They were pushing the other sheep around with their sides or flanks and their shoulders. They were butting all the weak sheep with their horns. Thus, they were scattering Yahweh’s flock of sheep. Yahweh said that his sheep would no longer be ravaged, because he was going to judge between the good and the bad sheep.

March 17, 2016

The procession (Song 3:6-3:8)

“What is that coming up from the wilderness?

It is like a column of smoke,

Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense.

It has all the fragrant powders of the merchant.

Look!

It is the litter of Solomon!

Around it are sixty mighty men

Of the mighty men of Israel.

They are all equipped with swords.

They are experts in war.

Each has his sword at his thigh

Because of alarms by night.”

This is the start of another poem with the armies of Solomon coming out of the wilderness in some kind of parade procession. They were like a column of smoke. However, they had a very nice fragrant smell of myrrh and frankincense, the favorite expensive perfume of the ancient world, as well as many of the smells of a powder merchant. They were called the litter of Solomon as if they were kittens. They were 60 mighty men of Israel, experts in war with swords at their sides ready for action.