When war ravages our mere existence - we want our gods to be like our leaders - the strongest and most reliable possible?
Because we know what happens when that’s not the case.
How then do we rise above the rubble, if only in our imagination?
Our ancestors lived through many tough spots when all they had to rely on was some superpower that most often did not save them from but that did not prevent them from persistent hope in better days. For many, despite the difficulty faith prevailed, with complicated excuses and continued conviction that one day we will be saved.
This kind of reliance on elusive superpowers is found in all cultures and include Thor, Zeus, Superwoman and Kali - all depictions of the same fantasy of furious and total strength to help their devotees in battle.
It was the same for the author of this Psalm who recycled ancient Canaanite depictions of a mighty god of war and even kept the old terminology, appropriating the forgotten deity as our own.
The Hebrew Bible includes multiple examples in which our officially faceless deity is depicted with physical attributes, strong emotional responses and quasi-human qualities that are most certainly based on much older models of myth.
Today’s chapter includes one of the more graphic descriptions, with smoke and fog machines as the furious deity comes to the help of the beseeching poet’s people:
עָ֘לָ֤ה עָשָׁ֨ן ׀ בְּאַפּ֗וֹ וְאֵשׁ־מִפִּ֥יו תֹּאכֵ֑ל גֶּ֝חָלִ֗ים בָּעֲר֥וּ מִמֶּֽנּוּ׃ וַיֵּ֣ט שָׁ֭מַיִם וַיֵּרַ֑ד וַ֝עֲרָפֶ֗ל תַּ֣חַת רַגְלָֽיו׃ וַיִּרְכַּ֣ב עַל־כְּ֭רוּב וַיָּעֹ֑ף וַ֝יֵּ֗דֶא עַל־כַּנְפֵי־רֽוּחַ׃ וַיַּרְעֵ֬ם בַּשָּׁמַ֨יִם ׀ יְֽהֹוָ֗ה וְ֭עֶלְיוֹן יִתֵּ֣ן קֹל֑וֹ בָּ֝רָ֗ד וְגַֽחֲלֵי־אֵֽשׁ׃
Smoke went up from God’s nostrils,
devouring fire from God’s mouth—
live coals blazing forth.
YHWH bent the sky and came down,
thick cloud beneath divine feet.
The divine mounted a cherub and flew,
gliding on the wings of the wind…
Then YHWH thundered from heaven,
the Most High gave forth voice—
hail and fiery coals—
Ps 18:9-14
Robert Alter comments on this dramatic divine description:
“The seismic imagery.. begins a powerful anthropomorphic representation of God, drawing freely on pre-Israelite mythological poetry… God is imagined as a kind of erupting volcano. ”
What stand out is also the duality of names that appears here -- the use of “Most High” is not just an adjective. The original is Elyon - which is, in fact, the name for the supreme deity of the Canaanite religion - co-opted by the monotheistic poet. We use it today in Jewish liturgy with little knowledge of its origin.
The challenge here isn’t just that we conquered Canaan and absorbed its myths, including its supreme god.
What’s more challenging is that our ancestors inherited and then further cultivated a religious system that includes disturbing notions of supremacy.
The rest of this psalm moves from praising god for being a superpower on our side, to taking on those powers ourselves. The poet moves on to detail how swift and strong the warriors are, defending us in the name of all that’s sacred - not just relying on the divine but taking matters into their own well armed hands.
While wars are awful and bring out the worst in us -- they are at times the only way to ensure self defense and stand up to evil. The use of powerful weapons mobilized to ensure one’s own safety and survival are sometimes, tragically, absolutely necessary.
But what happens when the war time attitude is that just like our god who is supreme above all others - we are also better and more worthy than the others, and therefore moved by zeal to remove all obstacles and destroy every obstacle that comes our way, whether warrior or not?
The bloody thin line between self defense and blood lust, fidelity to one’s faith and family and dangerous tropes of supremacy is drawn from this ancient war poem, with all its cultural layers -- right to the raw reality of our current lives.
One of the final verses of this chapter is chilling, even in our contemporary context of so much rage and despair:
הָאֵ֗ל הַנּוֹתֵ֣ן נְקָמ֣וֹת לִ֑י וַיַּדְבֵּ֖ר עַמִּ֣ים תַּחְתָּֽי׃
“You are the God who has given me revenge, and has subdued people under me.”
Ps 18:48
Ezra Butler, an American Jewish artist and teacher, wrote about this verse and chapter a few years ago, with a critical voice that though painful to hear - seems important to note:
“Not every psalm is worth emulating. This psalm illustrates the danger of moral superiority and what happens when people do bad things in the name of God.
In the psalm, God doesn’t just save the author in his time of distress. God grants the author the permission to destroy everyone else.
We launch holy wars and inquisitions; we create laws and excommunications; we police other people’s bodies, religious practices, and lives; we do evil in the name of God. Because we feel that we are innocent, our hands are clean, we are pure, we are loyal, and we are blameless.
And with that sense of innocence, we can vanquish those we feel who are not blameless, those who we feel are perverse. They may cry out to God, but we don’t care, because we know that he wouldn’t answer them. We turn them to dust, and walk all over them. With that sense of superiority, we make others submissive, subjugate them, and treat them poorly, because we know what God truly wants.
The cognitive dissonance in Psalm 18 is overwhelming. 18:31 says that “God is a shield to all who seek refuge in him.” but 18:42 intimates that they cried out to God, but he did not answer them, and God let them be destroyed…
But as 18:48 makes very clear, it’s all about power.”
The yearning for security can turn to power that defies justice, at times in the name of a superpower that justifies the means. This vicious cycle goes on and on. But it can and should be interrupted. It’s on us to name the power dynamics - the ones we took over, inherited, benefit from, keep using, and must adjust to meet our ever-evolving human values. What sort of powerful being do we want to imagine as our god and what sort of power do our people want to be in the world? It’s not just the concern of actual survival but also what sort of survival - what values will we pass on? How can we rise and soar above some of the stories that no longer serve our soul?
There is one more reference to this complex chapter that may help us elevate the dread into a sense of destiny.
Turned popular in recent years, a poem written by Rabbi Kook, the first chief rabbi of Palestine in the early 20th century, quotes the ‘wings of spirit’ referenced today as the chariot of the divine:
“Human being, rise up.
Rise up, for you have the strength to do so.
You have wings of the spirit, wings of powerful eagles.
Do not deny them, or they will deny you.
Seek them, and you will find them in a flash.”
Along with a rousing musical composition, this inspiring song called Ben Adam, has helped many people in Israel and around the world rise to these challenging times in recent months and years.
The ‘wings of spirit’ lift us up beyond the binaries and above the bleakness of blame, into an honest hope that every human is as holy as the next, and that each and every one of us deserves the dignity and justice, love and future that is so often but a hope. And yet we get to rise.
It is on us to rise to this challenge, recognize some of the inherited assumptions that no longer serve us well, and with respect and courage, let those go, so that we can all rise, and soar, and live, and love in peace.
Poetry can help, that’s likely why it’s here.
WHAT’S THE MOST POPULAR PSALM OF ALL?
Join me on May 9th for our monthly Zoom conversation Below the Bible Belt - and find out.
The 150 chapters of the Psalms are not just poetry but also prayer, often used at bedsides and at funerals, at births or weddings and each time we pause to honor life. Of all the psalms - somehow, there is one that has risen to to the rank of being the most popular and famous. Can you guess which one?
We’ll be linking the popular psalm from our oldest book with today’s heartbreaking front-page news as we keep finding ways to lift up our hearts and find comfort in our ancient poetry.
Whether you are new to this journey or have been on it for a while - please join us on May 9th 2024, 5pm ET and please bring your questions, comments, responses and reflections on the PSLAMS so far.
Here’s the link to the next Below the Bible Belt Zoom Live Conversation:
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We pray for healing and peace, everywhere.
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