Today’s Scripture Reading (August 1,
2013): Psalm 120 & 121
There is a
reason why the planet Jupiter bears its name. From ancient times the planet has
been known to people who watch the skies. It can be seen with the naked eye (it
is the third brightest object in the sky, following the moon and Venus –
occasionally Mars has the capability of matching Jupiter in brilliance.) In
fact, when the sun is low Jupiter can even be seen in daylight – a property
that Jupiter shares with only the moon and Venus. This aspect of the gas giant
meant that the earliest people on the planet knew of Jupiter’s existence. And
Jupiter is the largest planet of our Solar system. Even in ancient times it was
believed that Jupiter had the capability of defeating all other planets. And
they were right. Jupiter is two and a half times as big as all of the other
planets in the solar system – combined.
It was the
Romans that gave the planet the name that it bears today. They name refers to
the “father-god.” Jupiter was the Roman counterpart of the Greek god Zeus –
together they are the chief gods of their respective pantheons. Actually the
planet has had several names, and most of them have been derived from the names
of the chief gods of the various pantheons of the gods. For the ancient
Babylonians, the name that they gave to the planet was Marduk, the Babylonian
chief god. The ancient Greeks gave the planet the name Zeus – and the Romans
the name Jupiter. And according to the ancient philosopher Homer, Jupiter, the
father god, never sleeps.
As the
Psalmist speaks of the God of Israel, he is in agreement with Homer – the
father God never sleeps. It was an ancient belief. Even Elijah as he battled
with the prophets of Baal and Asherah on Mount Carmel taunted his opponents
with the words - “Shout louder!” he said.
“Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling.
Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened” (1 Kings 18:27.) A sleeping God,
the God Israel never was.
The
implication of the Psalmist’s words is that there is no reason to fear the
unknown, or to be scared of the dark. God never sleeps. He is there in the
darkness watching over his people – keeping everything in line. It probably
should not be surprising that Jupiter, the Roman “Heavenly Father” takes after
the biblical one. It is exactly what we would expect if both come from a common
early belief system. The idea of a Heavenly Father who never sleeps, who holds
the events of the universe in his hands, and who watches over his people as
they sleep is a common one - and one that we need to be reminded of whenever
the terrors of the night attack our minds and our souls.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm
122 & 123
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