Their graves are in the depths of the pit and her army lies around her grave. All who had spread terror in the land of the living are slain, fallen by the sword. – Ezekiel 32:23

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 25, 2014): Ezekiel 32

In 246 B.C.E, Qin Shi Huang ascended the throne and became King of the State of Qin, an ancient Chinese state roughly occupying the western section of China. At the time of his ascension, Qin Shi Huang was thirteen years of age. For the next 25 years, Qin Shi Huang would continue the conflict that the State of Qin had with the other Chinese states. But in 221 B.C.E. Qin Shi Huang did something that no other leader had been able to do; he united the warring Chinese States under one banner – his. To commemorate the uniting of the Chinese States, Qin Shi Huang exchanged the title King, a title that had been used by every Shang and Zhou ruler prior to Qin Shi Huang, for the title “First Emperor.” For the next two millennia, Chinese rulers would follow the example of Qin Shi Huang and would continue to use the title “Emperor.”

But for all of the accomplishments and honor that the memory and record of Qin Shi Huang demands, today we remember him for a vastly different reason. In 1974 some local farmers in the “Lintong District” uncovered a surprise that no one seemed to know about Qin Shi Huang. Buried with the First Emperor was an army of statues. 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses. The majority of the army is still buried and is known as the Terracotta Army. Amazingly, every one of the statues was created to be unique. And the entire army was created to protect the emperor after he died and was preparing to enter the afterlife. Although we do not really know for sure, it is likely that the building of the statues started on the day that Qin Shi Huang became king of the State of Qin – back when the would be emperor was only 13 years old.

Ezekiel speaks of all of the warriors that had died spreading terror in the land. But Ezekiel knows the reality, the damage that they could cause is finished. Whether it is the soldiers, once alive but now buried in the grave, or the Terracotta Army buried with the First Emperor of China, the truth is that they have no ability to influence the land of the living. The only soldiers that we need to fear are the ones that are alive and still has the ability to handle a weapon.

In the end, the living are responsible for the living. Who knows, maybe Qin Shi Huang got it right. Leave the living soldiers to fight the battle among the living and bury the statues. Because whether the soldier are dead, or if they never lived, they have no authority over those of us who still live.    

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 33