THE DEVOURER EARTH IN THE BIBLE

 

The Devourer Earth in the Bible

One theme throughout Scripture which I decided to follow consists of those passages in which the earth is personified as a hungry or thirsty person. Below are some of the verses I found in the order in which they appear, along with a few related comments:

Exodus 15:12

In a striking case of anthropomorphism, Moses says to God, “You thrust out your right hand, the earth gulped them down” in regard to the drowning of Pharaohs' army in the Red Sea. Durham explains that “the victory hymn of Moses and Miriam is far more than merely a hymn of Yahweh's victory over Pharaoh and his Egyptians in the sea. Its point of departure is that, without question. But the poem of Exod 15 is more a celebration of Yahweh than a celebration of one of his great victories. Indeed, it is more a celebration of Yahweh and the kind of God he is than a celebration of all that Yahweh had done at the sea and would do beyond it, in the wilderness, in Canaan, and in Jerusalem.”

Knight brings up an important point to understanding all of these references: “Here, as in Babylonian and Canaanite literature, 'the earth' may refer to the realm of the dead, viz. Sheol, since there is no definite article on the noun...God's wrath is here directed at Egypt. But if it had been directed at Israel, the latter too would have been swallowed up in the Underworld, Num. 26:10. God is no respecter of persons.”

Numbers 13:32

This verse is part of the report of the spies sent into the Promised Land. As Ashley says, “The land itself devours its inhabitants, a vivid word-picture not designed to instill confidence. Whether this phrase means that the land was infertile, or unstable, warlike, unforgiving, or even comparable to Sheol, the real point is that the phrase is designed rhetorically to frighten the people, and win them to the majority view.”

“While there are several ways to understand this phrase, it is ironic that God later causes the wilderness, not the promised land, to devour Korah and his followers as the earth literally opens up and they 'go down alive into Sheol' (16:30,33).” (Stubbs)

Wenham says, “They claim it 'eats' its inhabitants (32), that is, they tend to die due to the hostile environment (Lv. 26:38; Ezk. 36:13). For a similar personification of the land, cf. Leviticus 18:25,28.”

This last reference refers to passages in which Moses warned the people against the land vomiting them out.

Numbers 16:32-34

“First, the abhorrence of God for the sins of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram must not be missed. They are symbols of a type of religious leadership that is in stark contrast to the ways of God...they really have rejected the ways of God and instead subscribed to a style and understanding of leadership that is ultimately about power, position, and envious desire for them. It is frightening how easily disguised such intentions can be and how difficult it is for leaders, especially leaders of the people of God, to sift through even their own intentions.” (Stubbs)

Numbers 26:9-10

“The description of what happens to these rebels in v. 10 shows verbal reminiscences of 16:32, 35, but adds an important element when it claims that the deaths of Korah and his 250 men became a warning sign (wayyehilenes).” (Ashley)

Deuteronomy 11:6

In comparing this verse with vv. 4-5 and 6, Weinfeld states: “God saved Israel not only from the enemies outside [referring to the Exodus deliverance] but also from the enemies within. These were also destroyed in a miraculous way, the earth swallowed them up; cf. Num 16.”

“The contrast between the Exodus and the rebellion is striking and relevant to the address of Moses. The Exodus had been the beginning of new life for Israel; the rebellion had led to the death of many and almost to the destruction of all the Israelites (Num. 16:45). The lessons of the past, therefore, stressed both the grace of God and the judgment of God...” (Craigie)

“The lesson was, of course, that refusal to acknowledge the man whom God appointed leader was equivalent to rejection of God Himself.” (Thompson)

Psalm 106:17

“The second main stanza of the psalm's body [vv. 13-23] focuses on the people's sins during the first stage in the wilderness and at Mount Horeb (Sinai)...The psalm…recounts events familiar from the pentateuchal narrative – the people's fear of dyng of thirst/hunger and testing God (cf. Exodus 15-17; Numbers 14), the rebellion of Dathan and Abiram (cf. Numbers 16), and the casting of the golden calf at Horeb (cf. Exodus 32). As is the case with interpreting Psalm 105, the point is not to attempt to harmonize the order and description of these sins with the descriptions in the Pentateuch, but to grasp how the recounting of these failings contributes to the witness of the psalm. The history of the people's fragile fidelity is recounted in order to bear witness to the Lord's fidelity in showing mercy.” (Jacobson)

Mabie: “The image of destruction is...employed to speak of the end of those who are far from God (Ps 73:27) and even of God's people who persist in unfaithfulness (Ps 80:3-16; also Ps 106:17-18 with Num 16:30-33)...”

And as to the the image of the earth opening up, The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery explains, “The action of opening something, or something being opened, is ubiquitous in the Bible. To open is an archetypal act mentioned well over two hundred times...God opens what he wills:...the very earth itself (Num 26:10; Ps 106:17).”

Isaiah 45:8

The second half of this verse reads, “Open up, earth, and let salvation sprout, and make righteousness spring up with it.” Oswalt explains that “if the poet wants to associate God's natural creation with his creation of salvation in history, what would be more natural than to call on the heavens to let fall raindrops of righteousness, and the earth to make salvation sprout up?”

“Israel's joy is represented by symbols that are related to clothing and farming (vv. 10-11)...Her beauty symbolizes salvation and righteousness, terms that are also joined together in 45:8; 46:13; 56:1; 59:16. 'Righteousness' is mentioned again in verse 11, this time in relation to the image about the growth of seeds and plants that borrow from 45:8. Just as surely as the rain makes the ground fertile, so God will cause 'righteousness and praise' to 'spring up' (v. 16). When He delivered His people from the bondage of exile, God would set things right.” (Wolf)

And as to the historical background to this verse, Bright notes, “To the kings whom Cyrus defeats and deposes (2-3) what happens is darkness and evil; but it is the work of Yahweh, not of some power independent of him. The thought of this sovereignty leads to the exclamation of v. 8. The verse does not simply identify the conquests of Cyrus with righteousness and victory; but the conquests are the achievement of the will of Yahweh, for they lead to the restoration of Israel. They initiate a new era of Yahweh's providence.”

Isaiah 49:19

“The destroyers, those who swallowed you up, are gone, and in their place are so many inhabitants that the once empty land is overflowing. Just imagination? No, the oath of God.” (Oswalt)

I Corinthians 15:54

“In the end God will eliminate death from his world, swallowing up the great swallower once and for all (Is. 25:6-8).” (DBI)

Ciampa and Rosner discuss the use of Isaiah 25:8 in this NT verse: “In Paul's mind, the final destruction of death requires the resurrection of the dead. In citing Isaiah's eschatological vision, Paul ties God's triumph over death (and God's universal salvation) to the resurrection of the body. For Paul, resurrection is the necessary outcome of what God has done in Christ and what he intends to do for his people.”

Revelation 12:16

There continues to be some controversy among the various schools of eschatology regarding when this event will occur. Thus we have the following opinions:

Hendricksen says that Satan “directs his fury against the church because the church has brought forth the Christ...The devil cannot destroy her. This is the millennium of Rev. 20...To be sure, the evil one tries to engulf the church in a stream of lies, delusions, but the true church is not fooled.”

Mounce: “Historically the episode could refer to an attempt on the part of the authorities in Jerusalem to stamp out the early church (Acts 8:1-3). Or it could refer to the river of lies which will threaten even the elect (II Thess 2:9-11; Rev 13:14; Mt 24:24) in the last days...The opening of the earth to swallow the men of Korah (Num 16:30) may have suggested the imagery of verse 16, but sheds little light on its meaning.”

Phillips feels that the earth which comes to the aid of the woman refers to Gentiles in the last days who will come to help Israel. Similarly, Walvoord also treats the woman as the Israelites and says, “In some way God assists the Israelites so that they are not completely destroyed.”

Morris sees an allusion back to Exodus 15:12 in this verse: “In time of difficulty the Lord delivers His servants in one way on another.”

The comments of Beale and McDonough attempt to bring together several of the above OT themes in the following manner: “The swallowing of the flood by the earth is a further allusion to the exodus and Israel's wilderness experience. The 'earth swallowed' the Egyptians when they pursued Israel through the Red Sea (Exod. 15:12)...Also later in the wilderness, 'the earth opened up and swallowed' the families of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram because of their rebellion against Moses' leadership. This OT background is analogically applied to the church's wilderness sojourn in the world.”

Finally, one can see in the above review how the image of the earth opening up begins as an image of destruction for those rebelling against God's will, but by the time of Isaiah's writing it takes on a more positive meaning for God's people. And that is even though the first (Exodus 15) and last (Revelation 16) occurrences in the Bible both involve rushing water.