Today’s Scripture Reading (April 26, 2020): Ezekiel 1
Imagining
beasts that incorporate both the attributes of humans with those of many
animals has been an ancient practice of various human cultures. Some have had an
incredible impact, even on our contemporary cultural imaginations. Most of us
have seen pictures of a minotaur, which is part bull and part man, or a centaur,
the horse-man of Greek legends. Stories persist in our fantasy fiction of mermaids
with the upper body of a woman and the lower body of a fish. Fans of Harry
Potter remember the mandrakes that inhabit those stories, creatures that are
made up of a blend of plant and human characteristics.
Or maybe it
is the Great Sphinx of Egypt that we remember, with the head of a human but the
body and haunches of a lion. But other images of a sphinx did not just stop at those
two characteristics but also included the wings of an eagle and the tail of a snake.
The Great Sphinx is still available for us to visit today at Giza, but we need
to remember that the sphinx is more than just a monument built long ago by an
ancient civilization. The sphinx is also the villain of old tales who loved to
challenge those he met with a question, and then devours them if they get the answer
to the question wrong. The sphinx is featured prominently in the story Oedipus,
which was developed into a tragedy by Sophocles.
What does it
all mean? We aren’t sure why humans seem to have an attraction to these beasts
of centuries past. Some argue that it is merely one way of describing the animal
lusts that lurk inside of every member of the human race. Others disagree that
there is anything behind the images; they are just convenient ways of inventing
scary stories.
Ezekiel has
long been accused of picking up on these cultural stories during his time in
Babylon and incorporating them into his visions and writing. But there is
actually no basis for the accusation. Ezekiel himself identifies the beasts
that he describes as cherubim or angels of God. And while the description of
these angels might be a little more fantastical than other descriptions of cherubim
in the Bible, cherubim were not unknown creatures to the Judean people.
The first cherubim
mentioned in the Tanakh, or the Hebrew Bible, appear in the Garden of Eden. It
is cherubim that God places at the entrance to the Garden after the eviction of
Adam and Eve. “After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing
back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life” (Genesis 3:24). And it was
cherubim that God instructs should be placed on the cover of the Ark of the Covenant.
And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the
cover. Make
one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of
one piece with the cover, at the two ends. The cherubim are to
have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim
are to face each other, looking toward the cover. Place the cover on top
of the ark and put in the ark the tablets of the covenant law that I will give
you. There,
above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the covenant
law, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites
(Exodus 25:18-22).
Ezekiel
was a priest and would have been well acquainted with the historical connection
between cherubim and his people. Therefore, it is not surprising that they make
it into his visions.
Tomorrow’s
Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 2
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