This is probably the most famous cylinder seal and it is scheduled to tour the US in 2013.
(courtesy Artdaily)
I tried to re-blog Ferrell Jenkins’ post about the US tour but could not. Jenkins posted this news at the end of Nov. 2012, here is the link: http://ferrelljenkins.wordpress.com/2012/11/30/cyrus-cylinder-scheduled-for-a-u-s-a-tour/
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
This verse is a curse on the serpent for deceiving the woman into eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thereby causing her to become a sinner. Many theologians think that when Adam took the fruit from Eve and also ate it that they died spiritually. Initially the first pair were innocent but without eternal life which presumably would have been theirs had they passed this test. Now however, their sin nature was evident since they hid from God when He visited them in the evening.
All Adam’s and Eve’s offspring also subsequently share their progenitors’ fallen nature:
“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.” (Eph. 2.1-3 TNIV)
God in His grace clothed Adam’s and Eve’s nakedness and cursed the serpent (not snakes per se but the entity behind this particular serpent: the devil). The curse formula is given in somewhat cryptic terms but Satan was aware that his head would someday be crushed by a human supernaturally born of a woman. Satan, it is thought, searched out aspects of this divine human in the scriptures so to thwart the Messiah in some way. during Christ’s temptation, the devil quoted from Psalm 91: Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
(Courtesy British Museum)
Here is a seal (on the right) with the impression in clay. This one features Adam, Eve, the tree of forbidden fruit, and the serpent.
It is significant to note that all these cylinder seals were produced by Gentiles and appropriate also since the Gentiles share in the promise of the deliverer who would crush the serpent’s head given in Gen.3.15. This impression in clay seems to portray the serpent coiled somewhat under Adam’s chair. Notice Adam reaching his hand in a receptive manner.
The shape and size of cylinders seals, the type of material used and the designs carved into the surface varied according to period and area. Many ancient clay seal impressions have survived on tablets, envelopes and sealings: small pieces of clay applied to doors and containers, including jars, baskets, sacks, leather bags and wooden boxes. However, these are often incomplete. The designs on the many thousands of surviving cylinder seals are best studied from modern impressions or rollings of the seals on clay or some other soft material. It is these modern impressions which are here shown alongside the ancient cylinder seals.
(courtesy of The British Museum)
This impression has all the elements of the Genesis story: A king treading a horned dragon with limbs, a woman picking fruit from a tree, an additional lesser figure who may depict Adam.
This seal is truly amazing and undoubtedly refers to the Promised Seed of the woman from Gen.3.15.
Please notice the elements in this personal photo: A man standing on a serpent (ironically his head is cross), other snakes (some appear dismembered), scorpions, and a turtle.
Much Christian advice either instructs us to “not” do certain things such as “don’t steal” or “don’t covet (lust after something).” Other instructions tell us to practice certain things such as “taking our cross daily and following me (Christ).” Most things in our daily life (our “walk” in the Bible) though needs to be lived out by degrees.
Reading in Ecclesiastes 9 we find this section that tells us to enjoy life:
Here the sun illumines the tops of some hills above Hau’ula. Winter in Hawaii often features rainy or overcast skies, not the best for lighting purposes when highlighting landscapes. This picture though presents a nice scene I think.
We are still getting settled into our new place and won’t be fully functioning until summer 2013 I feel. Being the cabinet tinkerer that I am, buying furniture is not an option. Our last place had all our study nooks, shelving, bird spaces, built for the unit’s layout. This new residence requires purpose-built bookcases and desks and other constructions in order to maximize the usable space it contains. The new place needs many other improvements and modifications to suit our living requirements. Also, we had to rent storage space to put all our accumulated stuff until the new place is ready to receive it.
So during construction I am not able to hike and photograph as much as I want. Life goes on too. One good thing is that I am closer to different trails that I am unfamiliar with and now are easier for me to explore and find interesting vistas to photograph. As stated in my “about page”, the photoblog’s purpose is to present natural scenes of God’s handiwork. Eventually I would like to organize my blog differently as a daily devotional corresponding to the days of the month. For now though I will put more pictures up and organize them later.
