Reading the Culture Map

Reading the Culture Map

In the English speaking world most men have a basic view of the universe that is not the same as that the Ancient Kings held. The most common is called materialism. Not the pursuit of money and things, but rather the belief that everything that is, came from, and is, matter – material.

Since something must be eternal (if anything exists at all), matter (or something else) must always have been, yes? Solomon, and most Kings of that era, believed that all matter, the universe as we know it, was created by a Person not of this creation; of another dimension – the spiritual. This One they called Yahweh and, out of respect, they usually didn’t say The Name but rather “The Lord”. So great was this respect that the scribes who copied their sacred text would perform a ceremony each time The Name came up. They would get a new pen (quill), say a prayer, write The Name, retire that pen in some way, and then pick the old pen up to continue.

The Name, roughly, means “the one who is”. They recognize, as we do, that something must be eternal. They give that attribute, aseity, exclusively to this God to whom, of course, they also attributed all power.

All this to say that, as you read the words of Solomon and the other ancient kings you’ll see a ton of references to this Yahweh. Simply remember where they are coming from, and adjust the wisdom to fit your understanding of the universe – you will find it quite worthwhile.