FALLING INTO A PIT OF ONE'S OWN MAKING: PART 1

One general image found an uncommon number of times throughout the Psalms and Wisdom Literature of the Bible is that of someone setting a trap and then falling into it themselves instead. The origin of this picture is the common way of hunting animals in biblical times by laying down a net, setting a snare, or digging a pit. These sayings are actually of two types, as another reminder that often a single image or symbol in the Bible is utilized in more than one way.

One class of sayings is illustrated by two passages, which read almost the same. Thus, both Proverbs 26:27 and Ecclesiastes 10:8 basically state that whoever digs a pit will fall into it. But lest one assume that this expresses the general idea of retribution for sins, look at the context of each verse. As Whybray comments on the verse in Ecclesiastes, “This saying has nothing to do with those passages in the Old Testament which speak of the wicked or malicious who themselves fall into pits which they have dug to encompass the destruction of others...Qoheleth is speaking of the [hunter or] agricultural worker who may...have an unforeseen accident at work.” Other commentators such as D. Moore agree, and J. Ellul says, “All forms of work can turn against the worker.” One of the occupational hazards for a hunter was to set out a camouflaged trap and then forget exactly where he had placed it, with obvious consequences for the hunter when he tried to find it again.

However, these two verses are a bit controversial in that Proverbs 26:27 in the Septuagint actually has an added phrase in it so that it reads according to the Greek version: “He who digs a pit for another will fall into it himself.” R.B.Y. Scott opts for that translation and then associates Ecclesiastes 10:8 with it, contra most other scholars. Similarly, Bruce Waltke states: “By his deception and extreme efforts the enemy has unknowingly set in motion an evil design that assumes a life of its own beyond his control that will destroy him.”

This same ambiguity applies to Jesus' cautionary word to Peter at His arrest: “Put your sword away, for all those who take up the sword will die by the sword.” (Matthew 26:52) While it is possible to take this as an expression of Jesus' absolute pacificism or a warning to Peter that God's will must be done, neither of those explanations is favored by most commentators. Instead, a non-ethical issue is felt to be in mind:

    “Use of the sword for this purpose was unprofitable...This proverbial saying must not be interpreted in an absolute, unqualified sense, as if use of the sword were always wrong.” (Hendricksen)

    “Jesus seems to generalize beyond the immediate situation...This statement is sometimes interpreted as a call to pacifism, but in fact it is simply an observation that violence breeds violence.” (Blomberg)

    “As a proverbial observation on the tendency of violence to recoil on those who perpetrate it, Jesus' aphorism reflects common experience, even though not every historical example conforms to this pattern.” (France)

Moving on, however, to the majority of proverbial sayings on falling into a trap of your own setting, we see a definite emphasis on what child-rearing experts used to call “natural consequences” of disobedient actions, or we could cite the title character in Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta The Mikado who sang: “My object all sublime I shall achieve in time to make the punishment fit the crime, the punishment fit the crime.”

A quick review of the remaining examples of this saying in the Wisdom Literature shows that they all refer to a form of punishment rising against those who are evil:

    Job 18:6-10 Bildad says that the wicked “are caught in a net by their own feet and a snare grabs them.” Of course, Job's friends had a way of taking a proverbial generality and particularizing it to apply to a given situation, such as to Job's dire condition.

    Psalm 7:15-16 states that the wicked dig out a pit and then fall into it. Their evil deeds turn on their own heads.

    Psalm 9:15 applies this idea to whole people groups: “The nations have sunk into the pit that they themselves made; their foot is caught in their own hidden net.”

    Psalm 35:7-8 David pronounces a curse on his enemies by saying, “Let the net they hid trip them up; let them fall into it to their destruction.” Tanner comments on this passage that the “wishes are not for their weapons to be turned against them. The wishes are for them to know shame and humiliation, to be driven away like chaff, and to be captured in their own traps.”

    Psalm 57:6 “They set a net for my feet and dug a pit in my path, but they fell into it instead.”

    Psalm 69 describes the Psalmist's enemies having a plentiful table as a snare that will close on them, using the image of a typical Mesopotamian trap in which the net is spread flat around some food as a lure.

    Proverbs 1:16-19 expresses the ironic fact that evil men “set an ambush for their own blood; they lie in wait for their own lives (AB).”

But even considering these verses all relating to the punishment on the wicked, there is one more ambiguous item – Are they referring to the Final Judgment or to some more immediate fate? The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery opts for an open mind on the question:

    “Such a theme presents two distinct ways of looking at the immoral person's inevitable punishment. It is a product of God's righteous judgment on sin and his ultimate authority to judge the earth. However, the Bible also presents it as an inevitable and entirely natural consequence of sin...It is clear that God views sin as an encumbrance that leads people to fall into the trap...”

As with many other important principles found within the Bible, this theme is not only explicitly taught but also illustrated with historical examples. Reviewing some of those real life examples will be the subject of another post.