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Sharp Arrows of the Mighty, with Coals of Juniper

Psalm 18 (17 LXX) (same prayer as found in 2 Samuel 22) is a beautiful synthesis of many biblical symbols and narratives, drawing and connecting them into the grand arc of God’s sustenance of the world through man. I am going to particularly focus on verses 7-16, but even just focusing on 9 verses there are countless concepts that go over my head, and I would love to hear what others learn from this poetic prayer. In Ps. 18:7-16 (2 Sam. 22:8-17) we find a synthesis of the 120th Psalm (119 LXX), Noah, the story of Jonah (particularly ch. 4), 1 Kg. 19, Is. 6, etc. Before we can establish the connecting point in this array of passages, we need to establish the sacramentality of the symbols present.

In the 120th Psalm we hear the cry of a mourning precant: 

In my distress I cried unto the Lord, and he heard me. Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue. What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue? Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper. Woe is me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar! My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace. I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war.

The calling of Isaiah in Isaiah 6 uses language very reminiscent of this Psalm --  “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lip” (Is. 6:5). In both the Psalm and in verse 6 of the Prophet’s account we are given a solution to this false tongue / unclean lip: 

Sharp arrows of the mighty with coals of Juniper / Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. 

To the Orthodox Christian these passages are evidently eucharistic -- the passage in Isaiah is referenced by the priest in the liturgy in reference to the eucharist, saying “Behold, this has touched our lips! This has washed away our iniquities!”. Further evidence for a eucharistic reading here can be seen in a holistic structure of Isaiah, with the calling of the prophet being a foreshadowing of what will happen to Israel/the world as a whole. What happens to Israel/the world as a whole? We see God’s holy mountain established in Isaiah 25:6 for all people. It is on this holy Mount that the LORD establishes a feast of wines, and He destroys the veil that is spread over all people. It is this mountain that draws the nations in, causing them to beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks (Is. 2:4) (note the eucharistic aspect of ploughshares [grain/bread] and pruning-hooks [grape/wine]). We are also told in Isaiah 66:20 that gentiles will bring a offering (minchah) unto the LORD. Minchah is the name of the tribute offering in Lev. 2 and Num. 15 and involves bread/wine (Note how in the old covenant nobody drinks the wine in the offering, but in the new covenant we must partake in the bread and wine / the body and blood of Christ). 

In Is. 6:4 we read of door posts moving/shaking at the voice of God and smoke filling the atmosphere. We find very similar language in Ps. 18:7-8.                  Sg. 5 (v. 2) describes something similar to Is. 6 (v. 4) where the bridegroom knocks on the door, and the bride reaches out to answer with her fingers dripping in myrrh (myrrh as a symbol of death/burial). The love between the Bride and the Bridegroom is what draws the bride out of her chamber to seek for her bridegroom, resulting in her unveiling by the watchmen. What is this attractive love which draws the bride out other than the flame of YAH /  שַׁלְהֶ֥בֶתְיָֽה /  šal·he·ḇeṯ·yāh (sg. 8:6) -- the same flame of the eucharist. This same flame burned the coal that purged Isaiah’s iniquities -- the same flame that fans the rough wind in the day of the east wind by which the iniquity of Jacob be purged in Isaiah 27:8-9. 

The same phrase for east wind is used in Jonah 4, describing a fierce, hot climate and is also used in Exodus 14 describing the baptism/passage of Israel from the old world into the new through the red sea. This reveals a deeper connection between the sacrament of baptism, wind, coals, fire and the eucharist. Jonah, having served in the courts of Jeroboam II knew of the wicked state of Israel -- and given Jonah’s obvious knowledge of the song of Moses he would have known idolatry and wickedness would lead God to make Israel jealous with the gentiles (Deuteronomy 32:21). This explains the mourning of the righteous and Holy Prophet under the (gourd?) plant in Jonah 4, which is reminiscent of the mourning of Moses over Israel in Exodus 32:30-34 and Numbers 11:12-15. The plant withered and the fiery wind of God raged, revealing the foundations of the world (Ps 18:15), the same wind which the Lord flies upon, bringing coals of fire and thick clouds of dark water (Ps. 18:8-11). The hebrew name Jonah, means dove and calls us back to the waters of Noah and the wind (Gen. 8:1) that caused the waters of the flood to subside, bringing Noah and the ark out of the deulge and exalting them to the Holy Mount with the help of the dove. All of these connections go to bring these different symbols and stories together sacramentally, ultimately culminating in the life and work of Christ. 

[Note that Holy baptism is the ecclesial and personal recapitulation/participation in the sign of Jonah (Mt. 12:38-41), which is, on one hand the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ; but is also the procession of the divine presence to the gentiles and the whole earth with it’s ultimate reversion to the Holy Mount Zion in Is. 66.]

 The special plant under which the Prophet prayed calls us back to the Juniper tree in 1 Kg. 19.

There are few times that Juniper trees are mentioned in scripture. Only one of these times (other than Psalm 120) are coals mentioned in the same context. 1 Kings 19, where right after speaking judgement upon Israel and demonstrating the power of God over false prophets (note connection to prophecies in Is. 1-5 and the story of Jonah) Elijah, declaring himself the only one left is called by the Angel of the LORD to anoint a threefold sword (Hazael, Jehu and Elisha) to whittle Israel down -- just as Isaiah’s prophetic calling was to make their ears heavy and shut their eyes, whittling Israel down to the one truly righteous intercessor: Christ (Note connection between Isaiah 6:8-13 and 1 Kg. 22:19-23) (also note the threefold whittling of Israel in Ezekiel 5 and the sacramental language of fire/famine/eating sword/arrow and wind/fury). Before Isaiah could participate in this calling he had to partake of the divine coal given to him by the seraph. In a similar manner: before Elijah could continue in his prophetic calling he had to eat of the Holy bread (which was cooked on coals -- interesting detail to include in the passage if there is no real significance to it) and drink the Holy water which sustained him for 40 days and nights. In Matthew 4:4, after Christ’s 40 days and nights in the wilderness, He refused demonic temptation, quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, saying: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God”. As we know from John 1, Christ is *THE* Word of God and as such it is only through Christ and through our assimilation into the divine Word that we can live, as anything outside of God’s mind is an infinite step towards non-existence (interesting to note the theme of 40 days and food throughout the scripture. See how Moses lived purely by the Word of God for 40 days [Exodus 34:28] and how after 40 days of wandering the scout of Numbers 13 returned to the camp bearing ripe fruits [vv. 21-25] as a symbol of Israel entering the promised land after 40 years of wandering). This means that, just like the manna which fed Israel for 40 years (exodus 16:35), what Elijah was given was not just bread and water but a divine foreshadowing of the true bread and the true drink, which is the body and blood of Christ (John 6). 

We can see in Isaiah 27:1 the mighty sword that slays the leviathan; and we have the sharp arrows of the mighty (Ps. 120:4) which are used alongside the coals of juniper to deal with false tongues (note how the Hebrew root for “arrow”/ “archer” / “ חָצַץ” [Strong’s 2686] literally means “to divide”. It is related phonetically to the words qatsir [harvest] and qatsar [to reap, cut down]). What are arrows of the mighty other than children of the youth (Ps. 127:4) who have been born into the spirit in baptism (John 3, 1 Peter 1, Romans 6), who have become as little children (Mt. 18:3) desiring the sincere milk of the word (1 Pt. 2:3). Just as Christ, the only begotten Son of the Father is *the* chosen arrow of God (Is. 49:2), we are made sons and arrows of God by grace (1 Jn. 3:1). These arrows are scattered (Ps. 18:14) and fill everything (Eph. 1:23) for we, the Church, are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life, (2 Cor. 2:15-17). 

[Side Note: Seraphim Hamilton, in his video on Michael Gorman’s Inhabiting The Cruciform God, explains that Christ was sent by the Father as the Word that shall not return void (Is. 55:11). I find Seraphim’s use of the language of arrows particularly interesting, as he explains that Christ’s work in the incarnation was to descend to and assume every aspect of creation into himself, in order that every arrow within every aspect of creation may point towards God through participation in the Logos. Contrast this to the wicked woman in Sirach 26 who will open her mouth as a thirsty traveller when he hath found a fountain, and drink of every water near her, by every hedge will she sit down, and open her quiver against every arrow. (v. 12). This calls back to the serpent in Genesis 3 who is cursed to eat dust (dust meaning dead men [think: ...to dust ye shall return... ]). Similar to Sir. 26:12 is the description of the whore of Babylon in Rev. 17 who is drunken with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus Christ. Eating/drinking something is the most basic means of assimilating something into your being -- this is why the eucharist is the heart of the divine liturgy, it is how we are assimilated into Christ’s very being. This also explains the texts about Ezekiel and John eating the scrolls, and why Christ spits the lukewarm church in Laodicea out of His mouth in Rev. 3:16.]

Sword and flame are the two sacrificial items/tools throughout all of scripture. This starts in Genesis 3:24 where, in order to regain access to Paradise, man must ascend through the fiery sword of the Cherubim. This explains the Levitical dividing and burning of the sacrifices. This is ultimately fulfilled universally in Christ’s total sacrifice on the cross and our sacramental recapitulation/participation in that, through the sword and fire of Holy Baptism + Chrismation and the Holy Eucharist. Christ came to bring a sword, (Mt. 10:34) that he may set fire on the earth (Lk. 12:49) and once and for all fulfill the passing through sword and flame for Man. In giving your enemy bread to eat and water to drink you heap coals of fire upon his head and the LORD shall reward thee (Prov. 25:21-22).

Let us recall the establishment of the marriage supper of Mount Zion in Isaiah 66. How is this eucharistic table on Mount Zion established? Isaiah 66:16 has the answer:

For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many.

The solution, therefore, to the Davidic cry of Psalm 120 is the sacramental and ecclesial participation in the victory of Christ over death, who sent from above, draws us out of many waters (Ps. 18:16).

We see in the story of Noah God rained upon the earth and this acted both as a curse to the wicked and a blessing to those in the ark. The possibility to reject the Christ is always present and is something we must always guard ourselves against -- lest we be divided and slain like the leviathan or burned like Nadab and Abihu in Lev. 10 -- lest the coals of fire hail (Ps. 18:13) upon us like Sodom and Gomorrah. There is huge significance that can be drawn between this, 1 Cor. 11:23-30; Hebrews 9 and Lev. 16, but that is for another time and is a much broader, and more important, topic.

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Israel, Pharaoh, The Tents of Kedar and Mary

In Deuteronomy 32:21 we are told what happens when Israel deviates from God’s hierarchical prescriptions:

“They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.”

It is in God that all things have their being/existence, it is in God’s mind that all things are sustained. This means, when man turns away from the cosmic hierarchies which God operates in creation by, they are turning towards non-being/non-existence/disintegration/exile. We can see a typological pattern throughout the Old Testament of Israel failing to fulfill the torah, tending towards non existence, being exiled and then being reunified through the gentiles. This article from James Jordan explores this concept more in-depth. What it means for Israel to move God to jealousy with that which is not God, is to turn away from divinely established meanings and names of reality and try to name/bring meaning to things on your own account (it is the attempt to make a name for oneself [gen. 11:4]). This is the fundamental sin which divides us from God/where God wants us to be. Of course there is always a redemptive aspect to this pattern. This can be seen most clearly in Christ’s redeeming the sin of Adam. 

Whenever Israel turns from God, they face exile -- they are sent to the wilderness; God then turns his attention to the wilderness and shows Israel how the wilderness/unknown aspects of reality are to be reconciled into the grand cosmic structure of things. The books of Isaiah and Jeremiah shed much light on this. For Jeremiah, as a mosaic-type prophet, Israel has become the new pharaoh. Note Israel disobeying God’s commandment to  “not . . . return the people to Egypt . . . , since the LORD has said to you, ‘You must never return that way again” (Deut 17:16) in Jer. 31, and Israel committing the sin of pharaoh in Jer. 34 (the refusal to release slaves/the presumption that man can account for all aspects of reality). Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help! (Is. 31:1). For Isaiah Israel is as a barren woman requiring a kinsman redeemer. At the end of Daniel we are told from the time of the book till redemption is 1290 days, which is 430*3. 430 years is the time from Abraham till the time of the exodus (Gal. 3:17)/ the time of sojourn in Egypt (Exodus 12:40). There is a triplet “exile” from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up (Dan. 12:11). In order these three sojourns are under: Antiochus Epiphanes -> the Maccabean dynasty -> Herodian dynasty + Jewish priesthood. The little horn of Daniel 7 corresponds with the 2-horned land beast of Revelation 12 and has a twofold operation of Herodian and corrupted priestly power structures. This two horned beast is the same beast that crucified Christ and is described in Revelation as the whore of Babylon, who “in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints” (Rev. 18:24). This is the same Jerusalem whom Jesus laments over in Mt. 23:17 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!“.

This brings light to the passage in Matthew 2:3 where God calls His Son out of Egypt -- Egypt, being Israel. It is no wonder that Ishmael, son of an Egyptian, is shown by Saint Paul to be a symbol of Israel/the law in Galatians 4.

Now that we have established the pharaonic nature of Israel at the time of Christ, we can open up a prosopological reading of Psalm 120:5. In Psalm 120:5 we see Christ sojourning in Meshech and dwelling in the tents of Kedar. Meshech is a son of Japheth and one of the surrounding nations in the battle of Gog and Magog. Kedar is a son of Ishmael and is associated with the nomadic wilderness (Ezk. 27:21; Jer. 2:10). Ps. 120:5 is Christ mourning over the apostasy of the Jews -- the giving up of their wings of holiness (Num. 15:37-41) and their taking up of wings of abominations (Dan. 9:27). “Woe is me!” cries Christ, “that my people have rejected me! Woe is me! That the temple has become desolate, like a wild desert! Woe is me! That I dwell in the temple which has been transformed to a foreign tent of nomads!” The consequence of Israel’s rejection of Christ is that he is to bring light to the nations, which, although obviously good, is not good that it needs to be done under the pretext of Israel’s disobedience. Christ’s mourning over the temple in Luke 19:41-44 (note verse 42 and Ps. 120:7) comes from the same place as Jonah’s mourning over the conversion of Nineveh under the gourd plant. The conversion of gentiles meant the disobedience and demise of Israel; thus Christ laments: “Woe is me! that I sojourneth in a foreign nation, that I have been forced out into Egypt, even unto the tents of Kedar, to find someone to share my love with!”

A mariological reading is also, in my opinion, applicable -- particularly in light of Sg. 1:5-6. Mary, like Isaiah, comes from a people of unclean lips (Is. 6:5) (note the solution to this uncleanness is sacrificial/eucharistic in nature [Is. 6:6-7 -> Ps. 120:4]). In a mariological reading of song of songs we see a Holy Bride seeking nothing but to serve and love her Bridegroom. We see that Mary desires to bring Christ into her mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived her (Sg. 3:4) and to lead Christ, and bring him into her mother’s house who would instruct her (Sg. 8:2). I believe this is fulfilled in Luke 2, in the presentation of the Lord in the temple (and continues to be fulfilled by many faithful Christians bringing Christ into the various profane institutions/structures in which they were raised. On a grander scale the Church has never failed to take profane philosophy/worldly knowledge and baptize it and consecrate it to the Lord).

[Side note: Sg. 8:3 provides an interesting insight into the Marian aspect of the Eucharist -- demonstrating her inseparability from the Church, which I would like to develop/explore further, God willing].

In my opinion, Mary’s confession of being black, but comely and being likened unto the tents of Kedar, and the curtains of Solomon is possibly twofold in its allegorical indications:

1) Mary is in a temple which is stained -- where the curtains of Solomon have become like the black tents of Kedar. Why did this happen? because Israel failed to keep their own vineyard and was subjected to enslavement under foreign rule (Sg. 1:6). Because of Mary’s identification with the temple and her people, which are of an unclean lip (Is. 6:5) she mourns over their uncleanness, but shows that there is still hope in the whittled down, comely line of David, which is a sign of God’s faithfulness. Because the Jews have become like Egypt, the children of Mary’s mother (meaning: the benefactors of second temple corruption) force Mary and her Bridegroom out unto the real tents of Kedar, where Christ transforms them into curtains of Solomon (Sg. 1:5-6). It is interesting to note Kedar’s connection to Egypt -- Kedar being a son of Ishmael and his Egyptian bride (Gen. 25:13) (Ishmael was also born of an Egyptian woman [Hagar, Gen. 16:1]). (The fact Ishmael had an Egyptian mother and an Egyptian wife further solidifies the association of bride and mother in this context. Also note the comparison of the Bride to a company of horses in Pharaoh’s chariots in Sg. 1:9).

2) This next idea is ultimately connected to the concept of original sin and the story of Adam being installed as the priest/keeper of his garden/vineyard but he failed to do so, and because of that, God had to put barriers/mediators between Adam/man and Himself in order that the sun may not burn them (sg. 1:6). Mary, although sinless, carried the burden of original sin. It is because Mary had original sin but was sinless that she perfectly fulfilled her place in the arc of salvation as new Eve. (Eve did not have original sin but still sinned -- Eve was like the curtains of Solomon but voluntarily brought upon herself exile out of the garden into the wild tents of Kedar. Mary, however, although stained by the blackness and burns of original sin remained altogether comely.) 

The antimonies of black, but comely and the tents of Kedar / the curtains of Solomon (as well as the multitude of twofold descriptions throughout the song of songs) definitely call back to the two goats in the day of atonement, in which all of reality is accounted for by God and the prescribed participation in that reality by Israel -- although, this is a concept I need to explore more in-depth. 

[The unknown/wild aspects of reality, represented by the tents of Kedar, are not inherently evil and will ultimately be reconciled within God’s total account of all things within His cosmic structure of reality. It becomes evil, however, when man attempts to structure reality and account for these wild/unknown things within his own naming/reasoning.]

Many of these ideas are drawing heavily upon concepts I’ve been introduced to by Kabane/Seraphim Hamilton, who never fails to provide inspiring, edifying and brilliant content.

This was a jumbled together mess of ideas but I hope some level of coherency was achieved and that someone can learn something from this. 😄

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Scripture and the Marian Teachings

This provides a summary of the biblical basis for the Marian teaching of the Orthodox Church.

1. New Eve

 Eve is only named Eve, “the mother of all living” after the promise of the Seed who will crush the head of the death-dealing Serpent. She is called “mother of all living” not because she is the mother of humanity in general, but specifically because she is Mother of the seed who will redeem humanity from death. Mary is the New Eve because God made a promise to Eve that was fulfilled in Mary. Moreover, the duality of Eve as mother of the seed and bride of Adam is combined in Exodus 4 and Isaiah 62. In the former, Zipporah refers to her newly circumcised son as her “bridegroom of blood” who redeems her (foreshadowing Passover) and in the latter, God speaks to Zion as a bridal city, and states that “your sons will marry you.” More particular typological resonances are used in the New Testament. John 1-2 narrates its chronology so that the wedding at Cana happens on the seventh day (this is the day of the fall, where God comes to judge). Mary is called “Woman”, an allusion to Genesis 2-3, and she requests that the Last Adam provide wine for the people- just as Eve was deceived into consuming food that was dealing death because Adam failed to guard her. Eve gave Adam the fruit which led him to sin, Mary asked Adam to provide food which grants eternal life. Finally, Pilate brings Jesus out and says “Behold the Man”, alluding to the Johannine theme of Jesus as the true man and Last Adam. Jesus’ words to St. John “Behold your Mother!” allude to that passage and sets up the duality of New Adam as Jesus and New Eve as Mary.

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Hi, Seraphim. I'm seeking a comprehensive list of typological instances scattered throughout scripture and perhaps on to more modern history. Do you have recommendations for the armchair researcher who may not have the time to look through a dozen books on the subject? My ideal situation is a website that lists all of them with brief explanations after which I can seek out further information on each of them at my leisure. Thanks!

It would be impossible to give you a comprehensive list of all typology in Scripture, because there is so much. Remember that it’s not merely that the OT typifies the NT. Instead, the OT typifies itself as well. Jacob’s exodus from Laban foreshadows in detail Israel’s exodus from Egypt. Typology accumulates in Scripture. I can recommend my article here:

http://kabane52.tumblr.com/post/108647637095/five-principles-on-reading-the-old-testament

And I would recommend three absolutely essential books for anyone interested in diving into biblical theology:

Through New Eyes by James B. Jordan. This book absolutely changed my life. Everything I have thought or written over the past two and a half years owes some influence to this man, the greatest biblical scholar in the history of the church. I am not exaggerating. I have listened to hundreds of hours of his lectures, read almost all of his articles, and still learn new things from him about the Bible.

A House for My Name by Peter J. Leithart. Leithart is a personal friend of Jordan and is also biblically brilliant. This surveys the Old Testament.

Deep Exegesis by Peter J. Leithart. This critiques modern rationalistic interpretation and calls for a typological and symbolic reading of Scripture that respects its plenary inspiration and its absolute authority.