David, Israel, and Jerusalem
We will look at three examples of
David offering sacrifices. Certainly there are more cases, but these three
will suffice to help us see ascension dimensions of worship and sacrifice. The
first example concerns the bringing up of the Ark of the Covenant into
Jerusalem. After a time of conflict, the
death of Saul, and the war between the house of Saul and the house of David,
all the tribes of Israel expressed their unity with David, entered into covenant with him and anointed him king over
Israel (2 Sam 5:1-3). Initially, the
first attempt to bring up the ark failed after Uzzah reached out his hand to
take hold of the ark but was struck dead.
David became angry and then frightened.
He sent the ark of the Lord to the house of Obed-edom where it resided
for three months. After learning that
the Lord had blessed the house of Obed-edom because of the ark, David changed
his mind. When David and all Israel
brought up (עלה) the ark, he was dressed with a
priestly garment (אֵפֹד),[1]
rejoicing, dancing, and every six steps he sacrificed an ox and a fatling (וַיִּזְבַּ֥ח שׁ֖וֹר וּמְרִֽיא) (6:12-15). The ephod suggests David had authority to act
as a priest.[2] Then after entering the city with the ark,
They brought in the ark
of the Lord, and set it in its
place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it; and David offered (עלה)
burnt offerings (עֹלָה) and offerings
of well-being (שֶׁ֫לֶם) before the Lord. When David had
finished offering the burnt offerings and the offerings of well-being, he
blessed the people in the name of the Lord
of hosts, and distributed food among all the people, the whole multitude of
Israel, both men and women, to each a cake of bread, a [measure of wine],[3] and a cake of raisins (vv.
17-19).
A
few points are worth noting: 1) to a large degree this act of worship included
King David and all Israel, who brought up (עלה: LXX φέρουσιν)
the ark; 2) David offered (עלה; LXX ἀνήνεγκεν - ἀναφέρω) sacrifices to the Lord; 3) he
then blessed the people and distributed bread, a measure of wine, and a cake of
raisins to all Israel, both men and women.
In this context, Israel’s worship takes place in a festive gathering. There is no explicit reference to an
atonement sacrifice, though one cannot miss the unity that is expressed through
Israel’s worship of the Lord, which is found in (vv. 17-19). Finally, there are rites of sacrifice, and a kind of rite of meal.
Although there is no exact rite of ascent like Moses going up to the top
of Mount Sinai into God’s glory, we find all of Israel going up or ascending up
to Mount Zion to worship with David. We
are reminded of the Coronation Psalms (Pss 24, 47, 68, 110, 118),[4]
and the Ascent Psalms (Pss 120-134) briefly mentioned in the introduction
above.
God
later enters into a covenant with David, promising to raise up (קום)
his offspring and establish his kingdom; he would build a house for the Lord’s
name, and the Lord would firmly establish his kingdom (2 Sam 7:12). In the prayer that follows the promise, King
David acknowledges the greatness of the Lord Yahweh (vv. 22). David recognizes the promise saying, “you
have spoken also of your servant’s house
for a great while to come. May this be instruction for the people, O Lord God!” (v. 19). The Hebrew text has, תּוֹרַ֥ת הָאָדָ֖ם, literally, “Torah for the Man.”
During
Second Temple Judaism, there is an important development. The Chronicaler
has an alternative reading. The first
section is similar to 2 Sam 7:12, “O God; you have also spoken of your
servant’s house for a great while to come” (1 Chron 17:17), but what follows is
a unique rendition, which is sometimes thought to be corrupt or uncertain. The Hebrew has וּרְאִיתַ֗נִי כְת֧וֹר הָאָדָ֛ם .הַֽמַּעֲלָ֖ה יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהִֽים.[5] This difficult section has been translated
and interpreted in various ways.
NRSV
|
You
regard me as someone of high rank, O LORD God!
|
ESV
|
And have shown me future generations, O LORD God!
|
Scott
Hahn
|
You
are showing me a law for the uplifting of humankind, yhwh ʾĕlōhîm.[6]
|
Margaret
Baker
|
David
saw the Man ascending….[7]
|
My
partial translation is as follows: “You have shown me כְּת֧וֹר the ascending man, Lord God.” The Hebrew term כְּת֧וֹר can mean the following: 1) like a dove; 2)
as in turn; and 3) like mode or manner.[8]
In
4QFlorigehium, speaking of YHWH, the verse says, “he commanded to build for
himself a temple of man (מקדש אדם),
to offer him in it, before him, the works of thanksgiving” (4Q174 f1-2i:6-7).[9] The word for “offer” (קטר)
means “to cause to rise up in smoke.”[10] The term is used for both “burning incense”
and “burnt offering.”[11]
Aaron and his sons “made offerings (קטר) on the altar
of burnt offering and on the altar of incense, doing all the work of the most holy place” (1 Chr 6:34).
In
summary, we find in the above section several examples of the ascension
dimension. David and all of Israel bring
the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem and eventually ascend to Mount
Zion. They were united as one. Dressed like
a priest, David offers up whole offerings and peace offerings, blesses the
people, and gives a meal to all of them.
God promises to raise up the house of David, to give a Torah for all
mankind, and promises the coming ascending man.
Elijah and Israel
The story of the
prophet Elijah and the prophets of Baal and Asherah is fascinating in itself,
but it will fit well with the discussion on sacrifice in the Hebrew Scriptures. Following the sins of Solomon (1 Kgs
11:1-13), growing tensions within the kingdom resulted in its division into the
northern kingdom, ruled by King Jeroboam, and the southern kingdom, ruled by
King Rehoboam (12:1-19). Unfortunately,
Jeroboam set up golden calves in both Bethel and Dan in order to discourage the
people of Israel from going up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord (vv.
25-33). Things gradually declined for
Israel when King Ahab and his wife Jezebel established Baal worship in Samaria,
and Jezebel began to kill off prophets of the Lord (vv. 31-33; 18:4). Elijah predicted a coming drought
(17:1-7). In the third year of lack of
rain and shortage of water, Elijah met King Ahab and summoned all Israel to
Mount Carmel, along with the prophets of Baal and the prophets of Asherah
(18:17-19).
Assembled
at Mount Carmel, Elijah challenged all the people with the question, “How long
will you go limping with two different opinions? If the Lord
is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow
him” (18:21). Elijah then challenged the
prophets of Baal to choose a bull, cut it up into pieces, lay it on the wood,
and call on the name of their god. They
then called, limped around the altar, and even cut themselves so that blood
poured out of them; they prophesied until the offering up of the sacrifice (לַעֲל֣וֹת הַמִּנְחָ֑ה),[12]
but there was no voice, no answer, no response (vv. 25-29).
Next,
Elijah repaired the altar of the Lord; taking twelve stones, according to the
twelve tribes, he built an altar in the name of the Lord; he then built a
trench around the altar for a measure of seeds; he put the wood in place, cut
the bull into pieces and put them on the wood; he then had water poured on the
“burnt offering” (הָעֹלָ֖ה)
three times, so much water that it filled the trench (vv. 31-35). Finally, at the time of the offering of the
sacrifice, Elijah came forward and prayed,
“O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel,
let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, that I am your servant,
and that I have done all these things at your bidding. 37 Answer
me, O Lord, answer me, so that this people may know that you, O Lord, are
God, and that you have turned their
hearts back.” 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the
stones, and the dust, and even licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 When
all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord indeed is God; the Lord indeed is God” (vv. 36-39).[13]
After
this, Elijah killed all the prophets of Baal; he then told Ahab that there was
a sound of rushing rain; and Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel, where
he saw a small cloud ascending (עֹלָ֣ה) out of the
sea; then the heavens became dark with clouds and wind; and it happened that
there was a great rain (vv. 41-45).
Both
Asherah and Baal were considered to be deities by the ancient Canaanites. Asherah was referred to as a fertility
goddess, [14]
and Baal was identified as the god of thunderstorms.[15] Even during the time of the Judges, Israel is
said to have done evil in the sight of the Lord and worshiped Baals and
Asherahs (Jug 3:7). In the ancient
Ugaritic myths, Asherah is called the lady of the sea, and her name appears at
times in context with Baal.[16]
Elijah
challenged the prophets and their belief in both of these deities of
fertility. However, what the prophets
and their deities could not accomplish, Elijah and the God of Abraham, Isaac,
and Israel consummated through sending down fire to consume all the burnt
offering, including the wood, the twelve stones, the earth, and ate up the
water that was in the trench.
The
ditch that is dug around the altar for seeds is problematic. Simon DeVries argues that the interpretation
of “to hold the equivalent of two seats of seed” has produced various meanings,
but the text “conveyed a precise notion” to the original audience.[17] John Gray has argued that the seeds should be
taken literally, suggesting that the account reflects an ancient tradition
where seed corn was put into a trench and soaked with water so that the seed
might sprout.[18]
If this is so, it is implied, for the text does not explicitly state this. Marvin Sweeney remarks that the trench sets
the “sacred boundaries of the Holy altar.
And conveys blood into the ground.”[19] He also points out that water libations were
characteristic of temple worship and the Feast of Sukkoth to signify the
beginning of the rainy season; thus, Elijah’s sacrifice signifies the end of
the drought and the beginning of the change of season.[20]
Eventually,
Elijah will travel to the top of Mount Horeb where he meets with the Lord who
speaks to him in a still small voice, and not through a consuming fire, or in
the driving wind, or in an earthquake,
but in silence Elijah hears the voice of the Lord (19:11-18). Both fire and whirlwind will come later, but
not until Elijah's ascent (עלה) into heaven from the
Jordan River and when Elisha receives a double portion of the prophetic spirit
as he watches Elijah disappear into heaven (2 Kgs 2:1-12).
In summarizing this
section above, we again find ascension dimensions. Elijah offers up sacrifices to the God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God responds
by sending down a fire that consumes the offering, the wood, and the twelve
stones (which likely signifies all of Israel), the earth, and even the
water. This gives rise to a cloud that
waters the land. Eventually, Elijah
himself will ascend to heaven in a chariot with fire and whirlwind at the river
Jordan.  |
| Looking upward from Old City of Jerusalem |
 |
| Jaffa Gate, Old City of Jerusalem |
 |
| A Look to the heavens just outside Bethlehem |
 |
| Jerusalem Day 2018, Old City |
 |
| Skyview from Old City of Jerusalem |
[1] BDB 65.1. For a discussion on David’s priestly attire
and actions, see Scott W. Hahn, Kinship
by Covenant: A Canonical Approach to the Fulfillment of God’s Saving Promises
(New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2009), 180–181. *
[2] Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel (vol. 7; The New American Commentary; Nashville:
Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 331–332.
[3] See Wilhelm Gesenius and Samuel
Prideaux Tregelles, Gesenius’ Hebrew and
Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures (Bellingham, WA: Logos
Bible Software, 2003), 87;* Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament (vol. 2;
Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996), 594;* and Scott W. Hahn, Kinship
by Covenant: A Canonical Approach to the Fulfillment of God’s Saving Promises
(New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2009), 180. *
[4] Norman R. Gulley, “Ascension of Christ,” ed. David Noel Freedman, The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New
York: Doubleday, 1992), 472.
[5] Biblia
Hebraica Stuttgartensia: With Werkgroep Informatica, Vrije Universiteit Morphology;
Bible. O.T. Hebrew. Werkgroep Informatica, Vrije Universiteit. (Logos Bible
Software, 2006), 1 Ch 17:17.
[6] Scott W. Hahn, The Kingdom of God as Liturgical Empire: A Theological Commentary on
1–2 Chronicles (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2012), 78. Scott Hahn thinks the “reading kĕtôr likely represents a corruption of tôrat [torah].” See Kinship
by Covenant: A Canonical Approach to the Fulfillment of God’s Saving Promises
(New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2009), 183 n.32.
[7] Margaret Barker, Temple Mysticism: An Introduction (London: SPCK, 2011), 133.
[9] Florentino Garcı́a Martı́nez and Eibert J. C. Tigchelaar, “The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition (transcriptions)” (Leiden; New York: Brill, 1997–1998), 352: ויואמר לבנות לוא מקדש אדם להיות מקטירים בוא לוא
לפניו מעשי תודה.
[13] The
Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson
Publishers, 1989), 1 Ki 18:36–39.
[17] Simon J. DeVries, 1 Kings (vol. 12 of Word
Biblical Commentary; eds. D. A. Hubbard et. al.; Waco: Work Books, 1985),
229.
[18] John Gray, 1 & 2 Kings: A Commentary (2nd. Ed.; The Old Testament Library; eds. P.
Ackroyd; Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1970), 400.
[19] Marvin A. Sweeny, I & II Kings (The Old
Testament Library Series; Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2007),
229.
[20] Sweeny, I & II Kings, 229.
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