Today’s Scripture Readings (May 22,
2013): 1 Kings 12
Very early
in the history of Egypt we find the religious cult of the god Apis. Apis was imagined
in the shape of a bull and he was probably considered to be a fertility god.
But he was also the protector of all those who had died. The shape of a bull that
he assumed was meant to symbolize courage, a spirit that was willing to enter
the fight no matter what the odds were, great strength and virility. Those who
died well were protected by Apis through all of their afterlife wanderings. But
because all of these traits were also traits that made up a good king, Apis
came to symbolize the Pharaoh of Egypt. Later another bull god was on the rise
in Egypt. His name was Mnevis, and Mnevis was believed to be at work in the
physical world. One of the customs was to find a perfect bull – and
traditionally a bull that was entirely black – and move him into the temple
area. Here the bull was to be worshipped as Mnevis’ bodily presence here on the
earth. Eventually the worship of both of these gods would be combined, and
Mnevis was seen as just another form of the god Apis.
As the
division between Israel and Judah becomes a reality, the political structure of
the Northern Kingdom begins to fear the religious structure of the Southern
Kingdom. If the people continued to have to travel into the Southern Kingdom to
make their sacrifices they would be easy victims of the propaganda campaign of
the house of David. And so Jeroboam and his advisers make the fateful decision
to create a new religion. Some have tried to argue that this was not their
intention, that maybe the two calves were simply the pedestal on which the
invisible God of Israel would stand, but there is little to support this
viewpoint. In this act, Jeroboam took a step away from the God of Israel. It
was a step away that no king of Israel (the Northern Kingdom) would ever take
in the opposite direction. After this point no king in the Northern Kingdom
would ever be seen as a godly king - they are all said to be evil.
As Jeroboam
creates his new religious cult, it probably should not be surprising that he
picks the calf. The
calf itself is a step back to the golden calf that Aaron
created to be worshiped in the midst of the desert wanderings. But the number
and the mention of Egypt would seem to bring the reader back to the Egyptian
cult of Apis and Mnevis. In these two calves were placed the hopes of the young
nation – and the desire that both the king and the Northern Kingdom would be
forever strong, courageous, not willing to back down from the fight and virile.
The reincarnation of Apis and Mnevis seemed perfect for the fledgling nation
that had now decided to go on without the house of David and their God.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Kings
13
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