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 (September 30, 2026): 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 accession, Qin Shi Huang was thirteen years old. For the next 25 years, Qin Shi Huang continued the conflict the State of Qin had with the other Chinese states. But in 221 B.C.E., Qin Shi Huang did what no other leader had been able to do; he united the warring Chinese States under one banner: his. To commemorate the unification of the Chinese States, Qin Shi Huang replaced the title King, used by every Shang and Zhou ruler before him, with the title "First Emperor." For the next two millennia, Chinese rulers followed Qin Shi Huang's example and continued to use the title "Emperor."

However, for all of the accomplishments and honor that the memory and record of Qin Shi Huang demand, 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. Most of Qin Shi Huang's army is still buried, and it has become known as the Terracotta Army. Amazingly, each statue was created to be unique. The entire army was created to protect the emperor after he died as he prepared to enter the afterlife. Although we do not know for sure, the statues likely began being built on the day Qin Shi Huang became King of the State of Qin, when the would-be emperor was only 13 years old.

Ezekiel speaks of all of the warriors who had died, spreading terror throughout the land. Ezekiel knows the reality: the damage these warriors could cause was finished. Whether it is 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 cannot influence the land of the living. The only soldiers that we need to fear are the ones who remain alive and are still able 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 soldiers are dead or if they never lived in the first place, they have no authority over those of us who continue to inhabit the land of the living.                

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 33