Saturday, December 18, 2010

Part IV. Metaphorical Use of Both the Eye Below and Above



You are to take a life for a life,
an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise.

- Exodus 21:23-25



Part IV. Metaphorical Use of Both the Eye Below and Above

Heaven + Earth = God's Creation








'I have created somethings in pairs,' says God, 'such as Heaven and Earth, the sun and the moon, Adam and Eve, male and female in all animals, this life and the future life; but I am One.' He that proclaims the absolute unity of God proclaims the kingdom of Heaven.

- Deuteronomy Rabba 2

Simple Views from Above and Below

Fangs of the Shark


A tooth for...




...a tooth. (Deuteronomy 19:21)



Love and Lust


An eye for...




...an eye.(Deuteronomy 19:21)



Don't Fall Down into the Sun or the Moon which Shines Above


And he laid hold of the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him down into...



...the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more. (Revelation 20:1-3)


The Rock of Ages


You are Peter, and upon this Rock I will build my Church and...




...the Gates of Hell will not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18)



The Building and its Foundation


According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation and...




...another is building upon it. But each one must be careful how he builds upon it for...




...no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely Rabbi Jesus.(I Corinthians 3:10-11)


Look up, Good Earthling!


If all your life is given up to the pursuit of earthly things, it is quite consistent for you to look downwards...



...But if you pursue the higher life, look upwards. - The Talmud, Midrash Psalms 32



May the LORD God bless you in the name of the Judeo-Christian Tradition.

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