Wickedness in a 6-gallon bucket

I was reading through Zechariah the other day and I found an interesting visionary incident. It is puzzling, and there is no large view interpretation for it in the scriptures, so it invites the faithful to ponder and extract important principles.

5 ¶ Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth.

6 And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth.

7 And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah.

8 And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.

9 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven.

10 Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah?

11 And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base. (Zechariah 5:5-11)

First, some clarifications of terms.

An ephah is a dry measurement for grain, with a size of about 6-7 gallons.

A talent of lead would be a round disk of metal weighing about 113-125 pounds.

Shinar is another name for Babylon.

Now, let’s get straight what Zechariah saw. He saw an ephah container with a talent weight used as a cover. The angel lifted the weighty cover to show Zechariah there was a woman (symbolizing wickedness) in the ephah, then pushed her back down in and put the cover back on. After that, two other winged women picked up the ephah container, and the wind blew them to Shinar (Babylon), where, the angel said, they would build the ephah a house and a special spot, like a shrine.

Some interesting things I notice as I think about this imagery are the following:

1)    The ephah is like a 6-gallon bucket, and to fit a woman in there would be really confining. Like squished.

2)    The weight of the talent of lead on the mouth of the ephah container makes it so the woman can’t get out. She’s trapped.

3)    The woman has no control over where she is carried.

4)    The woman in the ephah container is taken to Babylon, where she is given a place and established in what looks like pleasant conditions, but she’s still confined in the ephah container.

There are a lot of commentators that say this talks about the wicked Jews being exiled to Babylon, but I think there is more to learn from it that can warn us today.  I think it is meant to convey the long-term spiritual consequences of wickedness.

Just like a woman squished in an ephah container (or a 6-gallon bucket), God is trying to show that wickedness is confining, rather than liberating. Just like the talent of lead on the mouth of the ephah prevented the woman from escaping, to those steeped in wickedness it often seems as if it is too hard to repent and escape their sins. It seems like they’ve gone too far or the costs of escape seem too great to pay. (Satan loves to use this lie, by the way.)

Then, these two women with wings come and carry off the ephah container to Shinar (Babylon) with the woman still in it, and the woman has no choice in the matter. The wings often symbolize powers, and winds can represent societal forces or worldly doctrines that blow here or there. It shows us that if someone doesn’t repent, they will be carried about by the world’s doctrines concerning the particular sins they indulge in. They’ve already given away their choice in the matter, so they don’t have control at this point.

Where does it all lead? Where is the ephah container carried to? Babylon. All sins lead to Babylon, no matter what they are. It’s like a one-way road to a dead end.

Then it looks like things get better for the woman in the ephah. A house is built for her, and there’s a nice secure base for the ephah to be placed. Some people interpret “house” as meaning a temple is made for the ephah where it is worshipped. And in Babylon all kinds of sins are glorified and given places. That makes me think that all the sins Israel must get rid of are the very things Babylon and the world loves, worships, and establishes. It’s as though Babylon is a junk yard dressing up as an amusement park, or a cesspit trying to masquerade as a temple.  But ultimately, don’t let the appearance fool you—the woman is still stuck in the ephah.

Also, I think this vision shows how instead of liberating, sin takes away freedom and options until one is so confined they lose their agency. Satan tries to make us think the wicked are strong individuals who forge their own path in life, but here we are shown that the wicked are carried away from the church and apostatize, then swept along by outside forces no matter how they try to fight it. Even if outside the church they are hailed as great heroes, accepted, respected, and given a place, they are still confined by their sins. They are not really free, and the respect of Babylon is not worth having, since they love all the wrong things.

All if this is so we know the long-term consequences of sin and what it leads to without having to actually experience it ourselves. No doubt Zechariah (and the Lord who gave the vision) hoped that people would see the truth and choose to repent and be free.

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Isaiah on Babylon’s Delusions of Grandeur

Isaiah 47 contains prophecy of Babylon’s downfall and we are encouraged to also read it as prophecy of the downfall of the wicked world.  In part of it, Isaiah addresses Babylon’s delusions of grandeur and then punctures them. (You’ve probably read these verses recently in Sunday school.)

7 ¶And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it.

8 Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children:

9 But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments. (Isaiah 47:7-9)

Babylon (and the wicked world) doesn’t think about what she’s doing in terms of the long term consequences.  Even though there is evidence that her course leads to destruction, she ignores it and denies it pertains to her.

Isaiah notes Babylon is “given to pleasures,” as if she had given all her time and energy to pleasure as a gift.  (Contrast this with Zion, which gives timeand talents and all to build up the kingdom of God.)  If Babylon’s pleasures were innocent, then the worst that could be said of her was that she is merely a trivial entity, but Babylon’s pleasures are wicked, cruel, and corrupting.

Babylon also “dwellest carelessly.”  In modern figurative terms, Babylon is the crazy driver who drives roaring drunk, runs red lights, hops the median, drives on the wrong side, and plays chicken through crowded roads.   Babylon may occasionally look like it lives an exciting life, but there is a heavy payback waiting.

But because consequences don’t come immediately, Babylon deceives herself into thinking they won’t come at all and that it is strong enough to prevent them from ever coming.  But it would take more than godlike strength to do that, so Babylon thinks she is a god.

“[thou] sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me” – In opposition to Jehovah, who says there is no god beside Him, Babylon insists there is none like her.

Isaiah points out how Babylon insists she shall never be a widow or lose her children, but Isaiah says in response that Babylon will lose both in a moment in a day.

If Babylon is compared to a woman, what might her husband and children represent?  The husband represents protective and providing power, so he may be seen in the laws and industries and government policies that enable Babylon to continue as she does.  Who keeps Babylon from being brought to account?  Who gives Babylon what she wants?  Who sets laws that allow Bablyon to get what she wants and keep it?  Who defends her?   Also, Babylon’s children represent the results of what she does, results of which she is proud. 

Again, Isaiah says Babylon will lose husband and children in one day, which we can now see means that the powers that enabled and protected her and the results she was so proud of will both be destroyed.  The easiness and speed of that destruction should give us an idea of how weak a foundation she had.

Interestingly enough, John the Revelator confirms this prophecy in his vision of Babylon’s destruction (see Rev. 18:7-14).  In it, we read of the kings and merchants lamenting Babylon’s fall and how there is no more market for their wares because she is gone and how all the fruits she lusted after are gone.

Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the statue and the stone cut out without hands

https://www.lds.org/manual/old-testament-seminary-student-study-guide/daniel-2?lang=eng

My husband and I were reading Daniel 2 for our family scripture study, and my husband brought up an interesting question about the story of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the statue that eventually is broken in pieces by the stone cut out of the mountain without hands.  He said, “I have wondered why the Lord gave that dream to Nebuchadnezzar.”

I started to think about it and seemed to me that the dream may have been an answer to a question that Nebuchadnezzar had.  Can we get an idea of what this question might have been?

The dream essentially depicted a succession of earthly kingdoms and their relative comparison one with each other, ending with a symbolic representation of how the Lord’s kingdom would supersede them all.  This suggests Nebuchadnezzar had been pondering whether Babylon as a kingdom would be permanent or temporary, and if temporary, how long Babylon would last, and how it would compare with the other kingdoms afterward.   This would be a perfectly natural and legitimate issue for a ruler to think about, considering the effort they put into acquiring territory, creating order, and administering laws.  They would wonder how long it would last and how they would be remembered in history.

That the Lord gave Nebuchadnezzar this dream shows that the Lord knew his thoughts and questions and wanted to answer them.  It shows us that the Lord may give revelation in dreams to whomever He wishes, whether the receiver is converted or not.  We also see that this dream was directly related to Nebuchadnezzar’s stewardship as a king.  It gave him perspective about his role on the world’s stage.  He learned his kingdom was quite glorious by worldly standards in comparison with other later kingdoms, but that it still would be broken in pieces by the Lord’s kingdom and agency.  (Quite a mixed message, huh?)

Another question then arises from the first question.  Why then did Nebuchadnezzar require his wise men to tell him the dream as well as the interpretation of it?  It sounds like a petulant command of a man determined to trap his wise men.  From their complaint “There is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean,” (Daniel 2:10) they clearly think it unreasonable to expect them to read his mind.

However, we don’t know what powers these astrologers and magicians claimed for themselves.  We might suppose they claimed to speak for the Babylonian gods and to interpret omens to show the will of the gods.  If so, Nebuchadnezzar would have wondered how he might be able to tell whether they really could do as they said.  With this dream, Nebuchadnezzar realized he had been given something to know for sure about the will of the gods (or God) and he would surmise to himself, “If they claim to understand the will of the gods, then they should be able to have the gods tell them the dream and interpret it without me telling what it is, and if they can’t, then they don’t really know what they claim to know.” 

I don’t think Nebuchadnezzar was testing God here.  I don’t think he was yet to the point that he was identifying who was God among all the gods he knew of.  But I think he knew there was some source of divine intelligence out there that had communicated with him and he was trying to figure out who else had that personal connection.  I think I was testing his wise men to see who among them had a similar (or better) relationship with that divine source (who we know to be God). 

The dream also means something to Daniel, a Jew captive in Babylon.  It shows him that the power of Babylon is only temporary and eventually the Lord will triumph over all earthly powers.  It is a message of encouragement, and it is all the more powerful, coming as it does as a dream to a gentile king. 

How does this help us today?  I think it shows us that God can communicate with rulers of nations even today and answer their questions about their stewardships.  Of course, they may still make choices that aren’t the best and which bring unhappy consequences.   Nebuchadnezzar had to learn from going mad for seven years that God had power over him to exalt him or abase him.   Still, it is wonderful to know that God does not leave leaders alone to flounder.

Mother of Harlots, Revelation 17:5

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And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. (Revelation 17:5)

It struck me recently what “mother of harlots” meant.  Mothers teach by example and explanation.  Who teaches people to be prostitutes?  Pornography.  Pornography teaches men to treat women like sex objects and to hurt them, and it teaches women to act like sex objects and that they should expect to be abused.

Here are facts from the organization Morality in Media about what pornography does.   See how it fits the epithet “mother of abominations.”

·      Perpetrators and pimps often use adult pornography to instruct prostituted children, as well as act out what they view in adult pornography with the children.

·      Pornography is used as a “tool” to train young children and women so that they will “know” what to do in performing sex acts. 

·      Pornography, which portrays women deriving pleasure from physical abuse, tends to enable men to foster attitudes more forgiving of violence against women and to become more comfortable with the “idea” of rape.

·      There is an abundant amount of evidence that shows viewers of pornography often seek to find ways to perform in real life the same certain sex acts that they saw on the films, magazines, and online. 

·      Consumers almost always graduate from common to more deviant forms of pornography as their usage increases over time. This is largely because familiar material becomes unexciting as a result of habituation. These consumers move to more violent and degrading materials as they become invested more in pornography.

I don’t think that pornography is the only part of Babylon, but clearly it is a major part. 

The priorities of Babylon and lamentations for its desolation

11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her [Babylon]; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:

12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,

13 And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. (Revealtion 18:11-13)

Elsewhere I have posted about Captain Moroni’s priority list as found on the title of liberty.  It is important to note that Babylon has its own priority list that we must guard against adopting. 

We can see this priority list above in the list of goods that Babylon won’t be able to buy any more, which causes the merchants and suppliers to face total ruin.  If we look at it carefully, we see that it reads like a priority list of materialism, and notice that people come last.  And not for any actual care; remember, this is a list of merchandise.

First comes currency—gold and silver—because it is the medium of exchange.  As the devil said, “You can buy anything in this world for money..”

Next comes the jewelry—precious stones and pearls—because they are almost as liquid as currency and can be worn as status symbols.

Third comes luxury fashion—fine linen, purple, silk, scarlet—the most difficult and time-consuming and costly clothing to make.  No ordinary homespun for these people; Babylon places a high priority on status symbols you can wear to demonstrate your importance instantly.

Next comes the fancy furniture—all thyne wood—because you have to have the best décor at home to demonstrate your worth when people come to visit, and you want everything you see at home to remind you how important and special you are.

After that comes the containers to hold all your stuff—vessels of ivory, most precious wood, brass, iron, and marble—because you can’t have all your stuff in a disorganized mess and just laying around.  The best stuff deserves the best containers, you know.

Then come the sensory pleasures of smell—cinnamon, odours, ointments and frankincense—because you want to create an aura of luxury and importance wherever you go.  Plus you want to cover up any scent of harsh reality, like dirt, sweat, infection, or rotting food.

And then after that are the sensory pleasures of taste—wine, oil, fine flour, and wheat—but of course wine is more valued than wheat because wheat merely sustains life whereas wine… well you can’t have any fun without intoxication, can you? 

After that comes animal life—beasts, sheep, and horses—because they can do all this work for you, or you can eat them, and they don’t sass back, and you can buy and sell them, and if they are vicious, they can be a weapon to protect you and hurt your enemies.. And they are yet another way of displaying wealth.

Then comes transportation—horses and chariots—because heaven forbid you should stay in the same place all the time or be forced to walk everywhere or have to travel among the common rabble.  You’re too important to be kept waiting; you deserve speed.  What speed limits?

Oh, and humans.. ah.. human life isn’t that big a deal.  Slaves definitely rate higher than souls in Babylon, that’s for sure.  Slaves have to do what you tell them, but souls you have to persuade and cajole and bribe and threaten.

So what else do we notice about this list?

1.     Lifeless things are higher on the list than live things.  Babylon cares more about stuff than about life.

2.     Animal life is higher on the list than human life.

3.     Liquidity is considered higher priority than status symbols, hence the world loves those who are rich but don’t show it even more than it loves the show of wealth, and this means those without status symbols have to make sure everyone knows about their liquidity so that they still get respect from people they don’t know.

4.     Status symbols are a higher priority than the pleasures of the senses, so you will find people flocking to status symbols even if said symbols make them uncomfortable. 

5.     Babylon values superfluous pleasures of the senses much more than it values common or necessary things.  Hence, scents are a higher priority than actual food, and if you consider food, extravagance, dainties, and mind-altering substances have higher priority than good, solid, healthy nourishment.

We are specifically warned to depart from Babylon in that same chapter:

And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. (Revelation 18:4)

If we adopt any of Babylon’s priorities, we will also experience Babylon’s plagues—medical, social, and spiritual.  If we come out of Babylon and avoid her sins, then we will be spared those plagues.  Yes, trouble and affliction is a natural part of life, but then there are also consequences of sin that we can avoid by.. not sinning. 

What happens to it all?  It all disappears.  The same chapter of Revelation that gives us this list of merchandise and priorities also describes the lamentations of the kings, merchants, and shipmen devastated by the desolation of Babylon.  Their lamentations are instructive to us.

9 And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,

10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. (Revelation 18:9-10)

The kings call Babylon “that mighty city,” indicating that they derived much if not all their power to rule from Babylon’s resources and power to coerce, the military-industrial complex.  Once Babylon is gone, their power is gone as well, and they don’t see any alternative way to gain, hold, or use power.  They think Babylon was mighty, but they aren’t willing to see that the Lord is mightier.

Kings were those who dispensed judgment and they recognize that the fall of Babylon is deserved.  They should have administered judgment on Babylon themselves, but they held back, preferring to unite and partner with Babylon rather than do their judicial duty.  Perhaps they though rendering judgment would open a huge can of worms, diverting resources to catch and try criminals.. So it is notable that they marvel over the speed that judgment comes to Babylon—“in one hour is thy judgment come.” 

Who else laments over Babylon?

15 The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,

16 And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!

17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought…  (Revelation 18:15-17)

The merchants lament that once Babylon is destroyed no one buys their merchandise any more; there is no demand whatsoever.  Peoples’ priorities are completely different outside of Babylon, and it is depressing to these people to find that all the goods they worked to aggregate for sale are no longer valuable.  And since they probably measured their own worth according to what they made, they probably felt suddenly worthless.

Additionally, though the merchants had been made rich by Babylon, suddenly it didn’t matter any more. “For in one hour so great riches is come to nought,” they lament.  The riches they worked so hard to accumulate don’t matter in eternity, and suddenly they are faced with the realization that from now on, everyone is to be considered of equal worth, no matter what their wealth or status has been.  They can’t stand that idea, since they worked so hard to establish their value through wealth.  Wealtn no longer matters without Babylon, but they can’t seem to imagine any other way.  To them, it is wealth or oblivion.  They wanted riches so they could buy the corrupted delicacies of Babylon, but now there’s nothing to buy!  It’s all gone.

Another way that so great riches may come to nought for the merchants is if they can’t hold back a disaster that they felt they could avert or survive with a large enough financial cushion.

Who else laments Babylon’s demise?

…And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,

18 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!

19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate. (Revelation 18:17-19)

The shipmasters and sailors represent those in charge of transporting goods to Babylon.  They foresee that the destruction of Babylon means there won’t be nearly the amount of goods to move about, so their business is going to slump immensely.  They say, “What city is like unto this great city!” which indicates they can’t even imagine any alternative to Babylon.  The city of Zion isn’t on their radar at all.  They could always depend on finding a port in Babylon to deliver their goods, but now they are left floating with no place to go.

All the demand for what they could transport to Babylon meant they could charge exorbitant prices, become rich, and then partake of those same luxuries and vices of Babylon, but now it is all gone, their riches mean nothing, there’s nothing to their corrupted taste to buy anyway, and all their skills and cunning and equipment are superfluous. 

To them all, the judgment on Babylon seems to come “in one hour” without warning, yet we know there is always plenty of warning given.  They just chose not to listen, so there was no time for them to prepare for anything different.  (Of course, during the time the Saints were coming out of Babylon, Babylon’s prospects seemed to be getting better and better, so they deceived themselves into staying.)

They are all shocked by how totally Babylon was destroyed.  Everything they loved, everything that mattered to them, everything that made them who they were and wanted to be was gone forever. 

The kings, merchants, and shipping masters mourn for Babylon because they can’t imagine living any other way than the Babylon way.  They didn’t fit in with any other way.  They had oriented their lives totally in terms of Babylon, so without it they realize their total and complete spiritual poverty.

These verses teach me that I can’t let myself get comfortable with the worldly status quo of “you can buy anything in this world for money” and Babylon priorities.  I have to be able to imagine another way—Zion.  I have to work toward Zion, and see something different. 

When you think about Zion, how do you see it as different from the world we live in now?