Continuing from the last post, Moses' staff becoming a snake meant something totally different than Aaron's staff becoming a dragon. Each miracle had an entirely different audience and meaning.
Moses' staff is the first of a triad of miracles intended to teach the children of Israel the word of YHWH. Jim Jordan suggests that the staff/snake represents Egypt. When the Israelites were faithful under Joseph, they took dominion over Egypt and used it to minister to the world. But when the Israelites began worshipping foreign gods, Egypt became a snake. The solution is to repent and grab that snake by the tail (the most dangerous part to grab). Only by trusting in God's commands can we conquer the snake and make it our staff again.
Aaron's staff, I suppose, is intended to teach Pharaoh that YHWH means business. The God who rules over dragons says, "Let my people go!"
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I'd always understood the incident with Aaron's staff to be one of the "Lord of Lords" type images; they may have small powers, demon-gods, but the God of Israel is more powerful than all of them. he can beat them on their own turf, so to speak. Which might explain why Aaron's became the same as the Egyptians -- matching them to beat them, or something.
ReplyDeleteOoh. I like that suggestion, for the most part. But keep in mind, it was the Magicians who made serpents to match Aaron's staff. Aaron did it first; he's not beating them at their own game (at least not at first). Most likely, Aaron's miracle meant something on its own regardless of the Magicians, and then these other pagan serpents came along and enriched the meaning.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think you're right to talk about demon-gods. If some angels look like dragons, and Aaron's staff became a dragon, then, well, what does that imply? (I'm not sure, but it's cool.)