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Shame, Shit and Jesus: Difference between revisions
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This article provides a short summary of human excrament in the Bible. It starts with a look at Jerusalem's dunghill, then a prophet's call to eat manure, a curse on dishonest priests, and ends with the suffering servant. | This article provides a short summary of human excrament in the Bible. It starts with a look at Jerusalem's dunghill, then a prophet's call to eat manure, a curse on dishonest priests, and ends with the suffering servant. | ||
[[Image:Hinnom.JPG|right|thumb|300px|This valley is called "Hinnom" in Hebrew and "Gehenna" in Greek. Gehenna is often translated as "Hell" in English.]] | [[Image:Hinnom.JPG|right|thumb|300px|This valley is called "Hinnom" in Hebrew and "Gehenna" in Greek. Gehenna is often translated as "Hell" in English.]] | ||
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Old Jerusalem was a walled city with many gates. At the southern end of Jerusalem, at the lowest part of the city, is the Dung Gate. The Dung Gate once carried refuse from the city down into the Valley of the Son of Hinnom. It was in this valley that the Israelites sacrificed their children to pagan gods (causing them to “pass through the fire”) and built their high places. It is because of this history that the Hinnom Valley is often typed to hell. All of Jerusalem’s evil seemed to flow here, both natural and spiritual. | Old Jerusalem was a walled city with many gates. At the southern end of Jerusalem, at the lowest part of the city, is the Dung Gate. The Dung Gate once carried refuse from the city down into the Valley of the Son of Hinnom. It was in this valley that the Israelites sacrificed their children to pagan gods (causing them to “pass through the fire”) and built their high places. It is because of this history that the Hinnom Valley is often typed to hell. All of Jerusalem’s evil seemed to flow here, both natural and spiritual. | ||
Paul said that “when I do good, evil is present with me”. Evil belongs with us just like the dung pile belonged to Jerusalem. Dealing with this filth is a daily exercise, because our worst evil comes from within us. | Paul said that “when I would do good, evil is present with me”. Evil belongs with us just like the dung pile belonged to Jerusalem. Dealing with this filth is a daily exercise, because our worst evil comes from within us. | ||
==The Unclean Bread== | ==The Unclean Bread== | ||
[[Image:Brown_bread.JPG|right|thumb|150px|God told Ezekiel to take brown bread, and make it even browner...]] | [[Image:Brown_bread.JPG|right|thumb|150px|God told Ezekiel to take brown bread, and make it even browner...]] | ||
God told the prophet Ezekiel to make bread, and he gave him a recipe | God told the prophet Ezekiel to make bread, and he gave him a specific recipe. In the scriptures, bread often represents the body of Jesus Christ. This parallel seems to work until God tells Ezekiel to take his own dung, and add it to the bread. This is too disgusting for Ezekiel, and he tells God that won’t do it, because he has never eaten anything “unclean”. So God relents and lets Ezekiel add cow manure to the recipe instead. | ||
Paul said that our own efforts are “dung”. When we try to secure our own salvation (eternal health) by adding our own works to Jesus’ sacrifice, we are only adding human dung to a perfectly good recipe. Every person has the potential to really mess things up with self-righteousness. | Paul said that our own efforts are “dung”. When we try to secure our own salvation (eternal health) by adding our own works to Jesus’ sacrifice, we are only adding human dung to a perfectly good recipe. Every person has the potential to really mess things up with self-righteousness. | ||
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Let’s step aside, and gaze afresh at the breadth of Jesus’ sacrifice, and his complete power to save and heal our bodies and our souls. By removing ourselves from the equation, we give God the glory he deserves, for he will not share his glory with another. | Let’s step aside, and gaze afresh at the breadth of Jesus’ sacrifice, and his complete power to save and heal our bodies and our souls. By removing ourselves from the equation, we give God the glory he deserves, for he will not share his glory with another. | ||
===References=== | |||
#The Dung Gate: Nehemiah 3:14 | |||
#Child Sacrifices in the Hinnom Valley: Jeremiah 7:31 | |||
#Romans 7:21, "...when I would do good, evil is present with me." | |||
#Gehenna is a type of hell: [http://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=gehenna&qs_version=YLT] | |||
#Ezekiel's receipe: Ezekiel 4:9 | |||
#Ezekiel's argument with God about eating human dung: Ezekiel 4:14-15. | |||
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