The Wooden Asherah Pole

NIV  Deuteronomy 16:21 

Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole next to the altar you will build for the LORD your God.

Drawings on Pithos A from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud, late ninth–early eighth century BCE

Why is this ponderable?

Whether we know him as Yahweh, Allah or God, the people of the great Abrahamic religions, are agreed: There is only one of Him. So, how do we account for the wooden Asherah pole or tree traditionally placed next to alters dedicated to Yahweh by the Jews that settled in the ancient Canaanite city of Ugarit. Ancient texts, amulets and figurines unearthed primarily in the ancient city indicate that Asherah was worshiped as a powerful fertility goddess right along with Yahweh.  

Asherah's connection to Yahweh, is spelled out in both the Bible and an 8th-century B.C. inscription on pottery found in the Sinai desert at a site called Kuntillet Ajrud.

The inscription is a petition for a blessing. Crucially, the inscription asks for a blessing from 'Yahweh and his Asherah.' In those times, Yahweh and Asherah were viewed as a divine pair. 

Why do most passages in the Hebrew Bible seem to refer to an object rather than a deity?

In the ancient Near East it was common for deities to be represented by objects (i.e., a cult symbol). These objects were a physical manifestation of the deity and enabled the people to worship the deity in effigy. Asherah’s cult symbol was a living tree or a consecrated wooden pole.

The vast majority of references to Asherah in the Hebrew Bible are found in the Deuteronomistic History (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings), and one of the most important themes in these books is the rejection of other gods. One way the author(s) of the Deuteronomistic History could demean Asherah is by referring to her cult symbol rather than her name, thereby transforming her from a goddess to an object that could be discarded.

In the Deuteronomistic History, kings were often evaluated by how they responded to Asherah worship, which was apparently widespread among the Israelites. Evil kings, such as Jeroboam and Rehoboam, fostered Asherah worship (1Kgs 14:15, 1Kgs 14:23), and Ahab and Jezebel officially endorsed and promoted her cult (1Kgs 18:19). Yet, good kings, such as Asa, Josiah, Jehoshaphat, and Hezekiah (also Gideon the judge) attempted to eradicate Asherah worship (e.g., Judg 6:25-30, 1Kgs 15:13, 2Kgs 21:7). Despite these efforts, Israelites remained devoted to Asherah (Isa 27:9, Jer 17:1, Mic 5:14), which indicates that the beliefs expressed in the Deuteronomistic History are not the ones that governed popular practice.

 

 

Not Peace, but a Sword

 

  NLT Matthew 10:34

 “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword

Photo by Gioele Fazzeri on Unsplash

Why is this ponderable?

I came, not to bring peace, but a sword. By the "sword" may be meant the Gospel, which is the means of dividing and separating the people of Christ from the men of the world, and from their principles and practices. Over time, the belief in the Gospel will pit family members against each other. It will be the cause of divisions, discords, and persecutions. That clearly was not the intention and design of Christ. He did not come into the world to foment and encourage such things. Instead, it was the malice and wickedness of men who rejected him and his Gospel. If, as the apostles wished, he had blunted out all the malice and wickedness in the world, that would have also negated free will and each soul's choice to choose its own destiny. 

In this respect, God dispenses both Justice and Mercy in the same fiat. The Mercy comes in the form of a way out of the hell that malice and wickedness have created on earth. The Justice comes in the form of the hell on earth these people have created for themselves. Both souls have a place waiting for them when they part from the earth. The followers will find themselves in the abode Jesus has prepared for them, where they will dwell in peace and love forever. Those who rejected Jesus will find themselves in an abode not too different from their fate on the earth. They will share everlasting darkness, malice, and resentment against each other with no way out.

We, Though Many, Are One Body

ESV Romans 12: 4-8

 For as in one body we have many members,^[e] and the members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. ⁶ Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; ⁷ if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; ⁸ the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads,^[f] with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Why is this ponderable?

It almost seems like Paul had a vision of the World Wide Web in this message. Although he relates this corporal unity to Christ's body, he is describing the Global Village emerging in the 21st Century.