Difference between revisions of "Sermon for March 8th, 2015"

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Mark 1:12-13 (NRSV)

12And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

Job 40:15-24 (INL)

15Behold! Behemoth! My creation (like you)—he grazes like cattle. 
16Behold! There is strength in his loins, power in his stomach. 
17His stump hangs like cedar; sinewed stones interlock. 
18His bones? Tunnels of bronze.
His limbs? Bars of iron.
19Foremost of God's marvels! Monarch of dry lands!
20Indeed the mountains bring him tribute; all the wild beasts rejoice. 
21He lounges beneath the brambles, lies among stalks of the marsh. 
22The shade trees cover him in shadow; willows of the wadi surround him. 
23When the river breaks forth, no fear in his face;
Though Jordan comes against him; his confidence remains. 
24Can you capture Behemoth with hooks? 
Can you pierce his nose with a snare?

Job: The Monsters and the Critics - Behemoth

Unanswered questions (Grady & Job)

What is Behemoth? -Canaanite/Babylonian Land Monster -Devil Steed (Liber Floridus) -- vehicle for evil in the world -Hippopatomus? (Modern interpreters, NRSV) -Elephant? (Calvin) -Dinosaur? (Creation "Science" Museum) -Demon? (Medieval Iterps) -Lunch? (Enoch / Jewish Interp)

Behemoth is monster number one:

• If identified with Satan, then the "first of God's angels"
• If identified as dinosaur, then first in the sense of before people
• If taken as representative of all wild animals then per Genesis before Adam & Eve

Images:

• Illuminated Byzantine Ms. (Behemiathan)
• Liber Floridus (satan riding on behemoth)
• Asinou Church (John riding Behemoth, James riding Leviathan)
• Wm. Blake's Image
• Elephant demon
• Dinosaur