Psalm 102 The Song of One Suffering in Solitude

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Job (oil on canvas) by Bonnat, Leon Joseph Florentin (1833-1922)

Psalm 102

A prayer of one afflicted, when faint and pleading before the LORD.
 1Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry come to you.
 2Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress. Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call.
 3For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace.
 4My heart is stricken and withered like grass; I am too wasted to eat my bread.
 5Because of my loud groaning my bones cling to my skin.
 6I am like an owl of the wilderness, like a little owl of the waste places.
 7I lie awake; I am like a lonely bird on the housetop.
 8All day long my enemies taunt me; those who deride me use my name for a curse.
 9For I eat ashes like bread, and mingle tears with my drink,
 10because of your indignation and anger; for you have lifted me up and thrown me aside.
 11My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.
 12But you, O LORD, are enthroned forever; your name endures to all generations.
 13You will rise up and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to favor it; the appointed time has come.
 14For your servants hold its stones dear, and have pity on its dust.
 15The nations will fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth your glory.
 16For the LORD will build up Zion; he will appear in his glory.
 17He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and will not despise their prayer.
 18Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet unborn may praise the LORD:
 19that he looked down from his holy height, from heaven the LORD looked at the earth,
 20to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die;
 21so that the name of the LORD may be declared in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem,
 22when peoples gather together, and kingdoms, to worship the LORD.
 23He has broken my strength in midcourse; he has shortened my days.
 24“O my God,” I say, “do not take me away at the midpoint of my life, you whose years endure throughout all generations.”
 25Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
 26They will perish, but you endure; they will all wear out like a garment. You change them like clothing, and they pass away;
 27but you are the same, and your years have no end.

 28The children of your servants shall live secure; their offspring shall be established in your presence.

Psalm 102 is described in its superscription as a prayer of one afflicted, when faint and pleading before the LORD. This type of description is unusual among the psalms. It doesn’t indicate an author to attribute the psalm to, nor does it give instructions for its performance or a reference to a scriptural story that the psalm comes from. This psalm of a suffering one who is alienated from their body, from society, and ultimately from God may have been intended as a psalm that any suffering individual could recite at times where their situation seemed hopeless, and God’s help seemed far away. Imagery of impermanence, loneliness, pain, and shame permeate the complaint of the psalm, but like many psalms of complaint there is a turn towards hope. The psalmist intuits that the answer, “to human finitude and mortality is divine infinitude and immortality.” (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 754)

The opening language of the psalm resonates with appeals throughout the psalter as Rolf A. Jacobson notes:

The opening appeal to be heard employs language quite typical of these entreaties—hear my prayer, let my cry come unto you (39:12), do not hide your face (27:9; 143:7), turn your ear towards me (31:2; 71:2), make haste to answer me (69:17; 143:7) (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 751)

Although Rolf Jacobson attributes this to intentionally creating a generic composition for use in the community, the use of familiar language may also reflect a person shaped in the communal worship which utilizes these psalms. The language of prayer and faith is shaped in the worshipping community which shaped the psalmist’s faith and life. Yet, now in a time when the author is alienated from their own physical body, from the community, and from God, they turn to the words that shaped their life when they were physically, socially, and religiously whole.

The psalm moves between personal complaints about their own health and isolation, “I complaints” in Westermann’s terminology, complaints about the actions of isolation and persecution by those in the psalmist’s society, “they complaints”, and complaints about the way that God is treating the psalmist, “you complaints.”[1] The personal complaints begin with an image of transience that reminds me of Ecclesiastes frequently used term hebel (vanity, emptiness). Hebel literally means smoke, mist, or vapor but is often used metaphorically to refer to the emptiness of life.[2] Now for the psalmist their days pass away like smoke and their bones burn like a furnace. Their life down to their very bones is going up in smoke while their heart withers like grass and they are too far gone to even eat the bread that could give them strength.  Their songs have turned to groans and their body now is transforming into a (barely) living skeleton. We don’t know if they were suffering from an illness, but they attribute their suffering to God’s judgment upon them. Their suffering is also done in isolation, they are like an unclean owl of the wastelands or a lonely bird on a roof. These lonely images of birds heighten the feeling of the psalm, for the sufferer is not only weak but they are abandoned.

The social complaints are also sharply worded as the psalmist’s unnamed name is synonymous with a curse among their enemies. Their personal weakness and isolation are viewed in the society as a curse from God, and enemies have taken advantage of this weakness. The only nourishment left for this abandoned one is the bread of ashes and the drink of tears.  Yet, behind both the physical pain and suffering and the social isolation is the LORD. We are never told of any sin that this poet has committed, but they view their suffering because of God’s anger and distance. In the words of the psalm God has cast the suffering one aside and yet hope resides in God repenting from God’s attitude towards the psalmist, turning the face and hearing with the ear and responding with grace and healing.

In contrast to the evanescent position of the psalmist is the strength and might of the LORD. The psalmist now joins his fate to the action of God to have compassion on Zion. It is possible that this psalm originates in the time of the exile where there is hope for the rebuilding of Zion and rescue the people from the destitute position as exiles in a foreign land. Yet, even without the context of the Babylonian exile, the turn to hope is based on the faithfulness of God for the people and a belief that God’s anger lasts only a moment, but God’s favor is for a lifetime.[3] The poet’s strength may have been broken in the middle of their life by God’s action, but if God wills it will be renewed. The heavens and the earth which seem so permanent to humanity are like a garment that can easily be changed by the powerful and permanent God. God will continue to endure and only in God can this suffering one hope to find a renewed physical, social, and religious life. The psalmist claims their familial bond to the LORD the God of Israel and now awaits the parental turning of their God to the children of God’s servants.

[1] Rolf A. Jacobson notes this helpful pattern citing Westermann, The Psalms (54-57). (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 752)

[2] Psalm102 does not use the term hebel but the combination of words of impermanence create a similar resonance for me as Ecclesiastes.

[3] Psalm 30:5.

Psalm 101 A Leader Shaping a Community of Character

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The Presentation of the Torah By Édouard Moyse – Own work Musée d’art et d’histoire du Judaïsme, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41893002

Psalm 101

Of David. A Psalm.
 1I will sing of loyalty and of justice; to you, O LORD, I will sing.
 2I will study the way that is blameless. When shall I attain it? I will walk with integrity of heart within my house;
 3I will not set before my eyes anything that is base. I hate the work of those who fall away;
 it shall not cling to me.
 4Perverseness of heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil.
 5One who secretly slanders a neighbor I will destroy. A haughty look and an arrogant heart
 I will not tolerate.
 6I will look with favor on the faithful in the land, so that they may live with me; whoever walks in the way that is blameless shall minister to me.
 7No one who practices deceit shall remain in my house; no one who utters lies shall continue in my presence.
 8Morning by morning I will destroy all the wicked in the land, cutting off all evildoers from the city of the LORD.

As modern readers we tend to read the psalms individualistically, and from that perspective this psalm can sound judgmental. “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged”[1] may resonate with many modern readers but if we read the psalm from this perspective, we fundamentally have missed the point of this psalm written for or by a ruler in a communal society. I am heavily influenced by Charles Taylor’s description of society prior to our disenchanted view of the world, and I think his description of the community or parish deploying the collective power of its prayers, worship, and faith for blessing and protection is instructive here. In Taylor’s words, “Villagers who hold out, or even denounce the common rites, put the efficacy of these rites in danger, and hence pose a menace to everyone.” (Taylor, 2007, p. 42) Especially after working through the prophet Ezekiel, it is clear that the Hebrew view of the world in relation to God expects a society of justice and a ruler who enforces the character of the world that God’s law articulates. The king in Jerusalem, and leaders throughout history have been responsible for checking the selfish impulses of those who have the power to exploit others. Allowing injustice to take root in their kingdom quickly corrupts not only the individual practicing the injustice but the entire society.

This is a psalm of loyalty (hesed)[2] and justice, two primary characteristics of God that are to be embodied in the community of the faithful. Throughout this psalm the ideas of being blameless and having integrity translate the Hebrew terms tam and tamim.[3] This psalm is a royal psalm, and so the one studying the way of blamelessness (tamim) likely points to the ideal of a king articulated in Deuteronomy 17:14-20. Yet, the king can acknowledge that their practice of these ideals of loyalty and justice and the way of blamelessness are still aspirational.

The leader aspires to walk with integrity of heart and to keep its opposite, perverseness in heart, far from them. The metaphor of walking (halak) is often used in Hebrew about the way one lives one’s life. Halakah is a term commonly used to talk about the law and one’s life is to be oriented around the practices outlined in the law of God. In addition, the heart in Hebrew thought is not the seat of emotion, but the seat of will and discernment. This leader’s life and will are set upon God’s way for the community and not on the way that will enrich themselves or allow them to accrue more power. This leader in following God is walking in God’s way, learning to set their heart on the things of integrity and justice, and their character is shaped by the God they serve.

The character of the leader shapes the character of the community. One of the critical acts of leading a community is setting boundaries that protect those under the leader’s authority. Those who slander a neighbor, who are haughty and arrogant and feel they are above the law, who practice deceit and utter lies undermine the ethos the leader is attempting to cultivate. The leader seeks the way of loyalty and justice, a blameless way that models the character of God, and the presence of those who follow the path of wickedness, deceit and injustice are a danger to the life of the community.

James Mays notes that Martin Luther called this psalm, “the mirror of a monarch” and relates the story of Ernest the Pious, Duke of Saxe-Gotha who would send an unfaithful minister a copy of the 101st Psalm when that official had done anything wrong. (Mays, 1994, pp. 321-322) A leader who models their leadership on the loyalty and justice of God, who strives to study the way that is blameless and walk in integrity of heart was unusual both in biblical times and in our own time. Yet, it is path that the way of God expects for those entrusted with power in family, land, city, congregation, or the world. The things we invest in with both our resources and our actions show where our heart is located. As Jesus would state in the Sermon on the Mount, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”[4] The life of faith is not merely a quest for individualistic righteousness, but to shape a community of loyalty and justice that seek the way of blamelessness and walk in integrity. Both Hebrew and Christian communities have often fallen short of the vision of this psalm, but leaders can call the community together to this of life shaped by the character of the God we attempt to follow. Communities that are in the heart shaping business of studying the way that is blameless and modeling walking with integrity.

[1] Matthew 7:1.

[2] Hesed is one of those rich Hebrew concepts that loses richness in translation. It is often translated as steadfast love in English. I am partial to ‘covenantal faithfulness’ as a translation of this term but it almost always points to the connection between God and God’s people. A Christian/New Testament term that is heavily related to God’s hesed is grace.

[3] See my discussion on Perfection and Blamelessness in the Bible.

[4] Matthew 6:21.

Review of Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

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Five Star Book Review

Larry McMurtry. Lonesome Dove.

For me a five-star book is something that either I want to read again or something that is so profound it makes an immediate impact. There are lots of ways that books can be compelling: a unique idea, an interesting set of characters, a complex plot, an artistic use of the English language and more. Reading is also a subjective experience, so what appeals to me as a reader may be very different for you. I read a lot for both pleasure and work, but these short reviews are a way for me to show my appreciation for the work and the craft of the author of the reviewed work.

Lonesome Dove is an invitation back to a journey through a time when the American West in transition with a memorable cast of characters. Augustus “Gus” McCrae and Woodrow F. Call are two retired Texas Rangers living in Lonesome Dove on the Texas border with Mexico. One of their former rangers comes riding into town with a description of Montana, and that sets the journey in motion through the central United States driving a herd to establish the first ranch in Montana. Through the drive and the struggles they encounter, I grew to love this group of men. Larry McMurtry takes you back to a different time and makes you feel as if you are a part of the drive observing the conversations between Gus, Call, Deets, Newt, Jake and more. This is a long book, but I wasn’t ready for the journey to end either in Montana or when the book ends.

I’ve been doing a lot of reading on the American West from a historical perspective, and this journey put a narrative to the time after the Civil War and before the railroads crossed the nation. The drive north may be the unifying plotline, but the characters are what really make this a delightful journey. Gus is the philosopher and comedian who continually needs to talk, there is the driven but quiet Call, to the young Newt wondering about his place in the world and wondering who his father is. It is a story of tragedy and perseverance, of unrequited love and the search for meaning in a wild and dangerous land. I had seen the miniseries years ago, and although the actors do a great job in that series it is impossible even in a long series to capture the majesty of this journey on the written page.

 

The Book of Ezekiel

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A tetramorph cherub, in Eastern Orthodox iconography 16th Century

This is a link to my reflections journeying through the Book of Ezekiel in 2024-2025.

Introduction to the Prophet Ezekiel

Ezekiel 1 Ezekiel’s Experience of the Divine Chariot in Exile

Ezekiel 2 A Prophet’s Call and a Message to Be Consumed

Ezekiel 3 A Consumed Word, a Commissioned Sentinel, and a Prophet Silenced

Ezekiel 4 The Siege of Jerusalem Portrayed

Ezekiel 5 An Image of Jerusalem’s Destruction

Ezekiel 6 Judgment Against the Land of Israel

Ezekiel 7 A Three Alarm Crisis

Ezekiel 8 The Corruption of the Temple and the People

Ezekiel 9 The Sealing of the Righteous and the Judgment of the City

Ezekiel 10 God Prepares to Leave the Temple

Ezekiel 11 Judgment on Jerusalem and Hope for the Exiles

Ezekiel 12 Judgment on the Leaders and People of Jerusalem

Ezekiel 13 Against False Prophets

Reflection: A Split in the Identity of God

Ezekiel 14 Unfaithful Elders, Deceived Prophets, and Representative Righteous Ones

Ezekiel 15 The Unfruitful Vine

Ezekiel 16 Jerusalem as an Unfaithful Bride

Ezekiel 17 A Parable of Two Great Eagles, Two Trees, and a Fickle Vine

Ezekiel 18 Life for the Righteous Ones

Ezekiel 19 A Lamentation for the Princes of Israel: Violent Lions and a Lofty Branch

Ezekiel 20 Retelling Israel’s Story in a Negative Light

Ezekiel 21 God’s Sword Against Judah

The Babylonian Empire

Ezekiel 22 A Bloody City, Impure Ore, and No One to Stand in the Breach

Ezekiel 23 Oholah and Oholibah: The Metaphor of Unfaithfulness Revisited

Ezekiel 24 The Painful Judgment of God

Ezekiel 25 Against Ammon, Moab, Edom, and the Philistines

Ezekiel 26 Against Tyre

Ezekiel 27 A Satirical Lament for Tyre

Ezekiel 28 Against the Rulers of Tyre, Sidon, and a Renewed Hope for Israel

Egypt’s Role in the Geopolitics of Israel/Judah During the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires

Military Actions as Economic Decisions in the Ancient World

Ezekiel 29 Against the Pharoah of Egypt

Ezekiel 30 Oracles Against Egypt Continued

Ezekiel 31Egypt as a Mighty Tree Cut Down

Ezekiel 32 Concluding the Oracles Against Egypt

Ezekiel 33 The Beginning of Ezekiel’s Role after Jerusalem’s Fall

Ezekiel 34 Unfaithful and Faithful Shepherd

Ezekiel 35 Judgment on Edom and Hope for Israel

Ezekiel 36 A Healed Land for a People Renewed Heart and Spirit

Ezekiel 37 The Valley of the Dry Bones and a Sign of Reunification

Ezekiel 38 The Forces of Gog and the Divine Warrior

Ezekiel 39 The Disposal of Gog and the Glorification of the LORD

Ezekiel 40 A New Temple for a New Beginning

Ezekiel 41 The Center of the New Temple

Ezekiel 42 Concluding the Survey of the New Temple

Ezekiel 43 The Presence of the LORD Returns and the New Altar

Ezekiel 44 The Sealed Gate, the Levites, and the Priests

Ezekiel 45 Land, Justice, Sacrifices, and the Passover

Ezekiel 46 Daily, Weekly, and Monthly Sacrifices, Land, and Sanctified Food

Ezekiel 47 The Waters of Life and the Boundaries of a Renewed Israel

Ezekiel 48 A Reconstituted Land, Tribes, and a New City

Resources on the Book of Ezekiel

Reflections on the Journey Through Ezekiel

Reflections on the Journey through Ezekiel

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Ezekiel as depicted by Michelangelo on the Sistene Chapel ceiling

I am glad to be coming to the end of this long journey with the prophet Ezekiel and I appreciate the work of scholars who make this book in particular their life work. Working through both Jeremiah and Ezekiel has given me a much richer view of the time leading up to and after the Babylonian exile. I have a much richer view of the history, technology, and culture of the time but also of the way this people of Israel and these prophets had to deconstruct and reconstruct their view of the world. Prior to the exile, for Judah, the Davidic king, the temple of Solomon, the city of Jerusalem (or Zion), and the land were all central images for the faith of the people and Babylon shattered all of these. Ezekiel as a prophet of primarily written word due to communicating to Jerusalem from the exile in Babylon, although many of his visions, sign acts, and proclamations were likely done for a local audience first, is a part of the transition of the people of Judah from being the people of the land, temple and king to being a people of the book. Ezekiel’s perspectives are very different, even from his elder contemporary Jeremiah and there was a lot I gained from this protracted study.

Jeremiah has often been called the ‘wailing prophet’ and his dialogues with God are often honest and pathos filled while Ezekiel only protests when God asks him to do something that offends his priestly sensibilities. In this book obedience to God is a central idea and Ezekiel is a contrast to a disobedient and rebellious people. I do think both Jeremiah and Ezekiel illustrate different aspects of a faithful relationship to the God of Israel and especially for an independently minded person like myself in an independent and individualistic culture Ezekiel’s obedience was both uncomfortable but also provided a necessary correction for me.

 Ezekiel’s priestly perspective on holiness was also an uncomfortable but necessary corrective for me. Within many Protestant traditions the focus on the intimacy of the relationship with God or the closeness of God has obscured the dangerous and holy God that Ezekiel knows. This holiness in Ezekiel impacts everything from the design of the new temple to God’s reaction to the disobedience of the people. God’s holiness and the careless actions of idolatry and abomination committed by the people which defile this holiness form Ezekiel’s justification (or God’s justification in Ezekiel) for the death and suffering caused by the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of the people. This way of thinking and believing enabled Ezekiel and those who heard and passed on his words to make sense of the disorienting reality of their homes and beliefs being shattered by the armies of Chaldeans and their allies.

Ezekiel’s imagery can be offensive. The culture that I live in can occasionally silence offensive voices, especially in academic circles, and promote offensive voices in other contexts. Sometimes the offensive message, as in Ezekiel, can point to an uncomfortable truth. Would there be different images or words we would utilize in our context, almost certainly, but there is a reason these words have been transmitted for more than two millennia (often by hand copying the words). I think in general much of the church’s response to Ezekiel has been either embarrassment or neglect. Ezekiel may never be our favorite messenger, but I am thankful that I have taken this time to reflect on his strange and uncomfortable messages.

There were several times as I was working through Ezekiel that I noted his influence on Revelation. Even when I worked through Revelation in 2018, I wished that I could have worked through Ezekiel and Daniel first, but now the echoes of Ezekiel in Revelation are much clearer. Ezekiel may not be at the center of the cannon within the cannon for the Lutheran tradition I am a part of, but I am beginning to have a fuller grasp of the breadth, depth and width of the scriptures which have been handed on to us and the ways in which the law, the prophets, the poetry and narratives of the Hebrew Scriptures enrich and inform the New Testament and ultimately my faith.

This is the thirteenth book I have walked through, and it was one of the hardest. My faith and life were enriched by this journey, and I can appreciate this book in ways I didn’t before. Next, I will be returning to Psalms, now for Psalm 101-110, before selecting another book to begin. Back in 2022 I mapped out the journey through 1 Kings, Joel, and Ezekiel with ten psalms surrounding each reading and I am finally approaching the final leg of this group of texts from the Hebrew Scriptures.

Resources on the Book of Ezekiel

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This is a list of the major sources I used on this fourteen-month journey through the book of Ezekiel. I selected each resource for a reason and below is a brief evaluation of each source. It is not a comprehensive evaluation of the literature on Ezekiel, but it may be a useful place to start for those interested in learning more about this book of scripture. Ezekiel is a very difficult book to approach from a scholarly perspective and yet I can now see the way some of the imagery of Ezekiel has influenced both later prophets and New Testament authors.

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Block, Daniel I. The Book of Ezekiel: Chapters 1-24. (New International Commentary on the Old Testament series) Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997.

_______. The Book of Ezekiel: Chapters 25-48. (New International Commentary on the Old Testament series) Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1998.

Daniel Block’s massive two volume commentary on the prophet Ezekiel is probably more information than the casual reader will probably ever want, but it ended up being the source I referenced the most throughout this study. Daniel Block is both a phenomenal interpreter of the Hebrew text and very familiar with both the literature of the surrounding world and the archeological/historical context of the period around the Babylonian exile. I typically try to consult at least one textual commentary that pays attention to translational issues and especially with a text like Ezekiel that is both hard to translate due to unusual words and gaps. This work was highly valuable. Block and a lot of readers of Ezekiel tend to lean a little farther into source criticism that I would prefer, but Ezekiel’s history of interpretation is heavily influenced by that period of Old Testament scholarship.

Darr, Katheryn Pfisterer. “The Book of Ezekiel.” In The New Interpreter’s Bible. (New International Commentary on the Old Testament series) Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997.Volume VI. Nashville, Abingdon Press, 1994.

The NIB is a solid all-around commentary on the entire bible and apocrypha. It is designed for pastors and those leading in congregations, so it does not normally engage the textual issues as deeply as the NICOT or Anchor Bible commentaries. Katheryn Pfisterer Darr does a good job of providing textual notes when they are important but remains focused on making Ezekiel intelligible to a reader with some education in the text, but who may not want to wade too deeply into the waters of this rarely utilized book in Christian circles. There are times where you can tell that the author is uncomfortable with Ezekiel’s language as a feminist scholar, but she does a good job of remaining attentive to the text even when the language or content becomes challenging.

Davis, Ellen F. Swallowing the Scroll: Textuality and the Dynamics of Discourse in Ezekiel’s Prophecy. Sheffield, England: Almond Press, 1989.

Ellen Davis is one of the scholars who I attempt to read anything that they write. This is her doctoral dissertation, and it really focuses on the initial call of Ezekiel and his position as a composer of a written text. I found this text particularly helpful in the early chapters of Ezekiel as I was trying to understand this strange prophet. Most readers are not going to pick up a doctoral dissertation, no matter how well written, but Ellen Davis is a gifted author, and you can see in this early work how she will develop as a patient and generous reader of scripture.

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Klein, Ralph W. Ezekiel: The Prophet and His Message. Clemson, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1988. Reprinted by Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2024.

Ralph Klien is a Lutheran Old Testament scholar and when I picked this up, I thought it was a new work. I quickly realized that it was a reprint of a work published in 1988 that dealt with Ezekiel in a more introductory manner. This may have been more useful if I was not reading it in conjunction with several other authors discussing Ezekiel, but it was the source I referenced the least once I read through it.

 

 

 

Ganzel, Tova. Ezekiel: From Destruction to Restoration. Maggid Studies in Tanakh. Jerusalem: Maggid Books, 2020.

When I can I attempt to utilize a Jewish scholar when reading the scriptures that we share. The Maggid Studies I have utilized in the past have been approachable but also provide a window into perspectives that most Christian scholars may not explore. This volume was also readable and had some insightful comments.

Ezekiel 48 A Reconstituted Land, Tribes, and City

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Ezekiel 48: 1-29 The Tribes and the Territory

1These are the names of the tribes: Beginning at the northern border, on the Hethlon road, from Lebo-hamath, as far as Hazar- enon (which is on the border of Damascus, with Hamath to the north), and extending from the east side to the west, Dan, one portion. 2Adjoining the territory of Dan, from the east side to the west, Asher, one portion. 3Adjoining the territory of Asher, from the east side to the west, Naphtali, one portion. 4Adjoining the territory of Naphtali, from the east side to the west, Manasseh, one portion. 5Adjoining the territory of Manasseh, from the east side to the west, Ephraim, one portion. 6Adjoining the territory of Ephraim, from the east side to the west, Reuben, one portion. 7Adjoining the territory of Reuben, from the east side to the west, Judah, one portion.
8Adjoining the territory of Judah, from the east side to the west, shall be the portion that you shall set apart, twenty-five thousand cubits in width, and in length equal to one of the tribal portions, from the east side to the west, with the sanctuary in the middle of it. 9The portion that you shall set apart for the LORD shall be twenty-five thousand cubits in length, and twenty thousand in width. 10These shall be the allotments of the holy portion: the priests shall have an allotment measuring twenty- five thousand cubits on the northern side, ten thousand cubits in width on the western side, ten thousand in width on the eastern side, and twenty-five thousand in length on the southern side, with the sanctuary of the LORD in the middle of it. 11This shall be for the consecrated priests, the descendants of Zadok, who kept my charge, who did not go astray when the people of Israel went astray, as the Levites did. 12It shall belong to them as a special portion from the holy portion of the land, a most holy place, adjoining the territory of the Levites. 13Alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites shall have an allotment twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in width. The whole length shall be twenty-five thousand cubits and the width twenty thousand. 14They shall not sell or exchange any of it; they shall not transfer this choice portion of the land, for it is holy to the LORD.
15The remainder, five thousand cubits in width and twenty-five thousand in length, shall be for ordinary use for the city, for dwellings and for open country. In the middle of it shall be the city; 16and these shall be its dimensions: the north side four thousand five hundred cubits, the south side four thousand five hundred, the east side four thousand five hundred, and the west side four thousand five hundred. 17The city shall have open land: on the north two hundred fifty cubits, on the south two hundred fifty, on the east two hundred fifty, on the west two hundred fifty. 18The remainder of the length alongside the holy portion shall be ten thousand cubits to the east, and ten thousand to the west, and it shall be alongside the holy portion. Its produce shall be food for the workers of the city. 19The workers of the city, from all the tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it. 20The whole portion that you shall set apart shall be twenty-five thousand cubits square, that is, the holy portion together with the property of the city.
21What remains on both sides of the holy portion and of the property of the city shall belong to the prince. Extending from the twenty-five thousand cubits of the holy portion to the east border, and westward from the twenty-five thousand cubits to the west border, parallel to the tribal portions, it shall belong to the prince. The holy portion with the sanctuary of the temple in the middle of it, 22and the property of the Levites and of the city, shall be in the middle of that which belongs to the prince. The portion of the prince shall lie between the territory of Judah and the territory of Benjamin.
23As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west, Benjamin, one portion. 24Adjoining the territory of Benjamin, from the east side to the west, Simeon, one portion. 25Adjoining the territory of Simeon, from the east side to the west, Issachar, one portion. 26Adjoining the territory of Issachar, from the east side to the west, Zebulun, one portion. 27Adjoining the territory of Zebulun, from the east side to the west, Gad, one portion. 28And adjoining the territory of Gad to the south, the boundary shall run from Tamar to the waters of Meribath- kadesh, from there along the Wadi of Egypt to the Great Sea. 29This is the land that you shall allot as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel, and these are their portions, says the Lord GOD.

As we come to the end of Ezekiel’s final vision recorded in the book of Ezekiel, we are given a vision of a perfectly ordered arrangement of the tribes surrounding a perfectly ordered temple and city. Ezekiel takes us back to the memory of the tribal order of Israel prior to the monarchy. Solomon had centralized much of the power in Israel[1] and later kings likely continued to centralize power. Yet, for Ezekiel the nasi (prince) does not exercise the same type of authority as previous monarchs. Reestablishing the twelve tribes in the land is a regathering of both the exiles in Babylon and Egypt from Judah, but also a reconstitution of the northern tribes which have been separated from Judah for almost four centuries and have were scattered among the Assyrian empire two and a half centuries ago. Any close look at a topographical map will cause most readers to realize that, in Daniel Block’s words, we are looking at, “a cartographic painting by an artist with a particular theological agenda.” (Block, 1998, p. 723)

The positions of the tribe do not match the original assignments in Joshua[2] or the tribal areas reflected throughout the Deuteronomic history. The territory east of the Jordan, which Reuben, Gad, and one half of Manesseh settled in is not a part of the territory of Israel. Issachar, Zebulun, and Gad are now in the south instead of the north, and even in this equalizing scheme of granting each tribe one portion, there is a reality of assigning Judah and Benjamin, the former royal tribes, a position closest to the temple and city while the tribes descended from Zilpah and Bilhah occupy the farthest distance from the temple. The breadth of the land also is significantly wider in the north than in the south but since there are no dimensions given for the portions that may be accounted for by making the northern portions narrower. The biggest problem with this map is topographical. Each tribal boundary crosses the coastal plains, the northern spine and the Jordan rift valley and travel north and south along those natural boundaries is easier than east and west inside the territory. Ezekiel never mentions the topography of this recreated Israel so in his mind the mountains may be made low and the low places raised up, but this is never alluded to in his visions.

Between the tribes in the north and the tribes in the south is the set aside area for the prince, the priests and Levites, and especially in Ezekiel’s view the temple. This area was previously discussed in Ezekiel 45:1-8, and this is another example of Ezekiel discussing an item at a previous point and then revisiting it in a later portion of the text. For Ezekiel this perfectly ordered land is centered on the temple and has an equitable distribution of land for each of the reconstituted tribes. Pragmatic difficulties are set aside as Ezekiel discloses this vision of a renewed land and people.

Ezekiel 48: 30-35 The City Named the LORD is There


30These shall be the exits of the city: On the north side, which is to be four thousand five hundred cubits by measure, 31three gates, the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah, and the gate of Levi, the gates of the city being named after the tribes of Israel. 32On the east side, which is to be four thousand five hundred cubits, three gates, the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, and the gate of Dan. 33On the south side, which is to be four thousand five hundred cubits by measure, three gates, the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar, and the gate of Zebulun. 34On the west side, which is to be four thousand five hundred cubits, three gates, the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher, and the gate of Naphtali. 35The circumference of the city shall be eighteen thousand cubits. And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The LORD is There.

Ancient cities are tiny in comparison to modern cities since the effort of creating a wall to protect a city is expensive. This newly created city is roughly one and a half miles on each of its four sides. Ancient walled cities normally had one or a small number of gates that are easier to defend and a twelve gated city is unusual, although the Jerusalem of Ezekiel’s youth had at least six. (Block, 1998, p. 736) This perfectly square city with a gate named for each of the twelve tribes fits within Ezekiel’s scheme and if the city is a place where ‘the LORD is there’ the defensive needs of a walled city are less important.

The new city name ‘YHWH samma’ (the LORD is there) is phonetically similar to Jerusalayim, but there is more than a simple renaming of the city occurring in this image. (NIB VI: 1607) This city placed in the center of the tribes is no longer the city of David, or the capital of Judah, instead the twelve gates indicate it is the city of all the people. The names of the tribes are organized by their mother, with the tribes descended from Leah comprising the north and south gates, Rachel’s two children are on the west, Zilpah’s two children are on the east, and Bilhah’s two children fill in the remaining slots on east and west. It is a perfectly square city near the perfectly ordered temple in the center of a perfectly ordered land. But centrally, the city like the temple is a place where the LORD is there.

[1] 1 Kings 4: 1-19.

[2] Joshua 13-19.

Ezekiel 47 The Waters of Life and the Boundaries of a Renewed Israel

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Dead Sea Jordanian Shore Showing Salt Deposits Left Behind By Falling Water Levels By Alexandermcnabb – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=74858999

Ezekiel 47: 1-12 The Renewing Waters from the Temple

1Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple; there, water was flowing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east); and the water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. 2Then he brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and the water was coming out on the south side.
3Going on eastward with a cord in his hand, the man measured one thousand cubits, and then led me through the water; and it was ankle- deep. 4Again he measured one thousand, and led me through the water; and it was knee-deep. Again he measured one thousand, and led me through the water; and it was up to the waist. 5Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross, for the water had risen; it was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be crossed. 6He said to me, “Mortal, have you seen this?”
Then he led me back along the bank of the river. 7As I came back, I saw on the bank of the river a great many trees on the one side and on the other. 8He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah; and when it enters the sea, the sea of stagnant waters, the water will become fresh. 9Wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish, once these waters reach there. It will become fresh; and everything will live where the river goes. 10People will stand fishing beside the sea from En-gedi to En-eglaim; it will be a place for the spreading of nets; its fish will be of a great many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea. 11But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. 12On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.

Ezekiel’s vision of a renewed society starts with the temple, but then from the temple it flows out to a renewed land and people. This vision of a life-giving stream that flows from the temple may originate in the imagery of the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2:10-14 where a river flows from through the garden providing life for both the flora and fauna of creation. This imagery is picked up in Psalm 46:4 and centered in Zion when that poet writes: “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.” This vision of Ezekiel adopts this stream flowing out of Zion and fixes its source as the holy habitation of the Most High, specifically the threshold of the temple becomes the source of this bubbling spring of renewing waters which bring life to dead waters and desiccated lands. A renewed temple where God’s presence dwells is the source of life for the renewed land.

This image of comfort is one of the portions of Ezekiel that would have the greatest reach in later years, but for a people who had been through the destruction of their home and their hope was a potent vision. As Daniel Block can state:

This marvelous picture of renewal would have stirred the heart of any true Israelite, especially one who had lived through the desolation of Judah and spent many years in exile. (Block, 1998, p. 690)

The people of Judah and Israel have no reason to believe that they can be recreated as a people unless the LORD acts in new and creative ways. Here Ezekiel joins with Jeremiah, Isaiah, and other prophets in viewing a land recreated by the God of Israel. This impossible stream which in the span of a little more than a mile and a quarter moves from a trickling flow bubbling up from the foundation to a stream too deep to wade across defies everything that water should be able to do, and yet this impossible stream can only occur within the world made possible by their God.

Daniel Block is correct from a logical point of view that everything about this stream is unrealistic: streams do not grow from a bubbling source to water too deep to cross without tributaries, nor do they come from temple thresholds or flow uphill. Freshwater when it encounters water that is too salty for life becomes fouled rather than renewing the larger body of water. (Block, 1998, pp. 700-701) Yet, the impossibility of this stream is part of the imaginative power of this image, for this is the image of a God who is doing a new thing and making streams of water to flow in the desert.[1] These miraculous waters which bubble up from the temple threshold and rapidly accumulate depth and volume as they proceed away from their source bringing vegetation to the wastelands and renewing the waters of the Dead Sea can only be an act of the creating God. The path from the temple to the Arabah would require the waters to pass over or through the Mount of Olives and a series of valleys and mountain ranges. Perhaps Ezekiel imagines a scene like Zechariah 14: 4 where the Mount of Olives is split in two which would allow the river to proceed through that space, but that is not explicit in this brief image.

The Dead Sea is the lowest land elevation on earth and its salinity is nine and a half times higher than the ocean. These waters are unable to support life and although salt is a valuable commodity in the ancient world, this place is known for its absence of life. The vision shows the image of the sea and surrounding land revitalized to be a place where fishermen gather food, and the land becomes fruitful. Yet, the marshes[2] still provide valuable salt that can be harvested by the people for preservation, seasoning, and sale.[3] The geographical markers of En-gedi and En-eglaim[4] form a “topographical merismus” (Block, 1998, p. 695) indicating the eastern and western borders of the area and indicating that the entire region is renewed.

This section of Ezekiel resonates with Genesis and the Psalms, but this vision of Ezekiel will have echoes in several other portions of scripture. Among the prophets both Joel 3:18 and Zechariah 14:8 will make a passing reference to water flowing out of the temple or Jerusalem and may be influenced by Ezekiel. In John’s gospel, Jesus will paraphrase scripture saying that, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.”[5] It is likely that with John’s imagery that utilizes Jesus as the temple that here Jesus may envision the community of faith as the new temple which these living waters flow out of and may be alluding to Ezekiel 47. The most direct New Testament reference is Revelation 22:1-2 where the water of life flows out of the New Jerusalem and develops Ezekiel’s imagery of trees that continually bear fruit and whose leaves are medicinal. One significant difference between Ezekiel’s and Revelation’s imagery is that in Revelation the living waters, fruit and healing leaves are for the healing of the nations but in Ezekiel there is no indication of any transformation outside of Israel. (NIB VI:1599) Ezekiel’s vision of a renewed temple, a renewed land, and a renewed people emerging out of the devastation of the exile was probably as amazing as this impossible stream that he narrates. Yet, this image of this stream of living water which may have originated in the Garden of Eden will flow through the scriptures to the ultimate chapter of Revelation as God work of healing and renewal reaches its culmination.

Ezekiel 47: 13-23 The Boundaries of the Land

13Thus says the Lord GOD: These are the boundaries by which you shall divide the land for inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions. 14You shall divide it equally; I swore to give it to your ancestors, and this land shall fall to you as your inheritance.
15This shall be the boundary of the land: On the north side, from the Great Sea by way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, and on to Zedad, 16Berothah, Sibraim (which lies between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath), as far as Hazer-hatticon, which is on the border of Hauran. 17So the boundary shall run from the sea to Hazar-enon, which is north of the border of Damascus, with the border of Hamath to the north. This shall be the north side.
18On the east side, between Hauran and Damascus; along the Jordan between Gilead and the land of Israel; to the eastern sea and as far as Tamar. This shall be the east side.
19On the south side, it shall run from Tamar as far as the waters of Meribath-kadesh, from there along the Wadi of Egypt to the Great Sea. This shall be the south side.
20On the west side, the Great Sea shall be the boundary to a point opposite Lebo-hamath. This shall be the west side.
21So you shall divide this land among you according to the tribes of Israel. 22You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the aliens who reside among you and have begotten children among you. They shall be to you as citizens of Israel; with you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. 23In whatever tribe aliens reside, there you shall assign them their inheritance, says the Lord GOD.

Map of the Land of Israel as defined in Numbers 34 and Ezekiel 47 by Emmanuelm 21 October 2007. Shared under CC 3.0.

For most readers this section describing the territory of the renewed Israel is a place where a picture is worth one thousand words. Yet, there is an important caveat that any pictorial representation of Ezekiel’s map of Israel is an educated guess because many of the place, especially along the northern border cannot be identified with any certainty. Ezekiel does generally follow the Mosaic description of the land in Numbers 34: 3-12, even though the order of describing the boundaries is different (SWNE in Numbers, NESW in Ezekiel). Like Numbers, Ezekiel excludes the Transjordanian originally occupied by Gad, Reuben and one half of the tribe of Manasseh and the holy land stops at the Jordan. (Block, 1998, p. 716) The northern boundary of Lebo-hamath[6] to the southern boundary of the Wadi of Egypt is the northern and southern border of Solomon’s Kingdom (1 Kings 8:65) and this recreated land for the people recreates Israel at its peak.

The reconstruction of the land and people of Israel is as incredible as the stream that flows from the temple, crosses mountains, swells in depth, and renews the Arabah. At this point Northern Israel, sometimes called Samaria or Ephraim, has been scattered throughout the former Assyrian empire for two and a half centuries and has been separated from Judah for almost four centuries by the time the first remnants of Judah return to Jerusalem in the time of Cyrus the Great. Even Judah has been brought in exile to Babylon with some portions of the population fleeing to Egypt and others likely scattered across the empire. The recreation of Israel is not a creation ex nihlo[7] but it is a resurrection of a people long imagined as a dead stump, leaderless and lost.

The loss and dispersal of the people may be the reason that there is a space for the gerim, the “resident aliens” to be incorporated into the people and the tribes. Leviticus 19: 33-34 prohibits the resident alien from being oppressed and the people are commanded to treat these aliens like they treat themselves in remembrance of their time as aliens in Egypt. We don’t know how these people were treated throughout the history of Israel, but even Ezekiel seems to have viewed them through the lens of Leviticus 19. In Ezekiel 14:7 these aliens are held to the same standard as the people of Judah in relation to idol worship and in Ezekiel 22 they are listed with the vulnerable members of society: the widows and orphans, the poor and needy who are exploited by the residents and leaders of the bloody city.[8] As Daniel Block remarks, Ezekiel takes the fringe territories of Numbers 35: 13-15 and replaces them with a fringe people. (Block, 1998, p. 717) With the loss of connection between the tribes and the loss of population due to both war and scattering, these aliens now become citizens owning land in the tribes that are now their tribe and whose inheritance they share. They become grafted onto the vine of Israel and are a new growth among the recreated people.

[1] Isaiah 43:19.

[2] Daniel Block indicates this likely refers to the Lashon, a peninsula jutting into the sea from the eastern shore that has shallow waters that are not deep enough for fish to live in. (Block, 1998, p. 695)

[3] Preservation was the primary usage for salt in a world prior to refrigeration. Meats and fishes were packed in salt to prevent their spoilage. Salt was a heavily traded commodity in the ancient world and was so essential that our word ‘salary’ evolved from the Roman soldier’s allowance to buy salt.

[4] The location of En-eglaim is less certain, (NIB VI:1596) but most scholars believe Ezekiel intends to indicate opposite ends of the region of the Dead Sea.

[5] John 7:38.

[6] Jeroboam II also restores this border for Northern Israel in 2 Kings 14:25, yet this is during the divided kingdom but Lebo-hamath seem to be the northern edge of the territory Israel manages to secure during its history.

[7] Creation from nothing.

[8] Ezekiel 22:7, 29.

Review of Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather

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Time Magazine Top 100 Novels

Book 27: Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather (1927)

This is a series of reflections reading through Time Magazine’s top 100 novels as selected by Lev Grossman and Richard Lacayo published since 1923 (when Time magazine was founded). For me this is an attempt to broaden my exposure to authors I may not encounter otherwise, especially as a person who was not a liberal arts major in college. Time’s list is alphabetical, so I decided to read through in a random order, and I plan to write a short reflection on each novel.

This was a well written and very enjoyable historical fiction book set in late 1800s New Mexico and Arizona. Bishop Jean Marie Latour travels with his friend and fellow priest Joseph Valliant from Ohio to assume responsibility for the parish of New Mexico now that New Mexico and Arizona have been incorporated into the United States. The author does a great job describing the environment that the two men inhabit, and I appreciate her sympathetic handling of both the two main characters, the Mexican and the Native People who inhabit this world. The story includes several historical characters including Kit Carson and Pope Gregory XVI and both the main characters and their parishioners are well developed and interesting. As a pastor I found the devotion of both Bishop Latour and Father Valliant to their flock inspiring.

The descriptions of the land are breathtaking, and Willa Cather obviously has a great deal of affection for both the land and the characters in the story. As a person who enjoys the history of the American West and is a religious leader this was a story that appealed to me strongly. I quickly found myself journeying with the characters through New Mexico, Mexico, Arizona, and eventually Colorado. It was a story of life, faith, and relationships. This was a beautifully written work of historical fiction portraying the faithful life of two religious leaders encountering faith in the people they are called to shepherd is the type of novel I hoped to discover in this reading list.

Review of The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

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Melissa Albert, The Hazel Wood

For me a five-star book is something that either I want to read again or something that is so profound it makes an immediate impact. There are lots of ways that books can be compelling: a unique idea, an interesting set of characters, a complex plot, an artistic use of the English language and more. Reading is also a subjective experience, so what appeals to me as a reader may be very different for you. I read a lot for both pleasure and work, but these short reviews are a way for me to show my appreciation for the work and the craft of the author of the reviewed work.

Every reader has certain types of stories that they are drawn to and for me two of those genres are dark fairy tales and books that have another story underneath the story that helps to shape the world. The Hazel Wood is dark fairy tale that lives on the edge of our world that is defined by a set of stories published by the protagonist’s grandmother. This is the first book in a series of three books set in this world, one is the book of stories alluded to throughout the Hazel Wood while the second is a sequel that continues the story of Alice and Finch. This is my second reading of the series and yet it still retains its edge even though the journey was familiar. I appreciate this fantasy world which has teeth and claws and is as close to hell as heaven.

The story is more plot driven than character driven which would normally be less appealing for me, but in this story is about stories where the story spinner places an actual Story Spinner in the narrative and stories are characters it works. The dynamic of a broken family haunted by a story that has planted its roots in our world and follows the characters wanting to draw them back to the Hazel Wood, and eventually back to the Hinterlands. For Alice it is a journey into wonderland where she discovers the family she needed is the family she already had, not the mysterious grandmother who she could only read about until she arrives at her estate and discovers that some dreams are nightmares.