![]() Yesterday, a facebook acquaintance asked me for help understanding a common misconception about the Bible. He said that one of his friends wanted to know how anyone could believe the Bible when it contains such outrageous claims like the claim that the earth is resting on pillars instead of being a globe suspended in space. Here is the answer that I gave: The Bible does not say that the earth rests on pillars. There are only three verses which speak of the pillars of the earth, and all three are using figurative language to refer to leaders among men. This is the same figure of speech that Paul used in Galatians 2:9 where he spoke of Peter, James and John being pillars in the church. The first verse that mentions the pillars of the earth is I Samuel 2:8.
"He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, and he hath set the world upon them." The first part of this verse tells us that it is God who lifts people into positions of leadership. This is a familiar theme that is repeated all throughout Scripture. The second part of the verse explains why it is God who makes this determination. God determines who will be in leadership because the positions of leadership all belong to Him. He is the One who created those roles, and He is the One who determines who will fill those roles. The positions of leadership in the earth, the pillars of the earth, are the Lord's. The second reference to the pillars of the earth is a little more difficult to understand. It is found in Job 9:6, but let's add verses 4 and 5 to our consideration as well. "He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered? Which removeth the mountains, and they know not: which overturneth them in his anger. Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble." To understand the reference to the pillars of the earth in verse 6, we have to first ask who verse 5 is speaking of when it says "they know not." Obviously, this verse is not talking about the mountains because mountains cannot know anything in the first place. This verse can only be speaking of the people mentioned in verse 4 who had hardened themselves against God. These people will never prosper. God moves entire mountains, and these people know not what to do. God shakes the earth and the leaders thereof tremble in fear. The book of Job is a revelation of the character of God in opposition to the mischaracterizations that Job's friends had of God, and Job understanding the pillars of 9:6 to be leaders fits perfectly with the purpose of the book. The final reference to the pillars of the earth is found in Psalm 75:3, but let's include verses 2 and 4 to get the sense of the context. "When I shall receive the congregation I will judge uprightly. The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I bear up the pillars of it. Selah. I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly: and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn:" This passage is obviously referring to a judgement of people. The judge here promises to judge uprightly, and he says that before his judgement all the inhabitants of the earth will be dissolved. He will tell the fools to stop being foolish, and he will tell the wicked to stop bragging about themselves. And in the middle of this passage we see that the judge can do this because he is the one who bears up the pillars of the earth. This should cause us to think back to I Samuel 2:8 where we noticed that God is the One who both creates and fills the roles of leadership in the earth. Here in Psalm 75, we find that He is also the One who holds those leaders in their position, and when He decides to remove them from leadership, their societies are dissolved away. There is nothing that anyone can do to prevent His judgement. These are the only three verses that mention the pillars of the earth, and when we take the time to understand them, we can see that all three are using the term "pillars" as a figure of speech for human leaders.
16 Comments
Bill Giordano
2/6/2018 08:28:20 am
Thanks for a thoughtful and sound discussion of the matter. Kudos!!
Reply
James Raines
1/2/2019 05:40:31 pm
You conveniently left out Genesis 1:9 which says that the Earth sits on the pillars
Reply
Bledi
12/4/2019 12:51:44 pm
There are different meanings in all scriptures you mentioned
Reply
Bledi
12/4/2019 12:53:10 pm
There are different words in Hebrew and Greek for the world pillar you mentioned
Reply
K.G. Powderly
2/6/2018 12:55:38 pm
Excellent observation!
Reply
brad
9/25/2018 08:41:53 am
really hepled to understand the verses and what the pillars are.
Reply
Mdub
12/1/2018 04:22:41 pm
Explained quite well. What are the 4 corners of the earth about?
Reply
Tony Robinson
12/23/2018 06:07:22 am
Pillars are used the same a trees. Kings in the ancient world were associated with trees and pillars. Thrones sometimes had trees as their backdrop. The usage of both can also be found in Scripture. The association can be attributed to the Tree of Knowledge, but is often mistaken for the Tree of Life (and even called that in places), where what we think bears life actually bears the law and death.
Reply
Joann Bruso
1/11/2019 07:39:12 am
I can't thank you enough for shedding light on these verses! You never once mentioned Flat Earth and yet this is the Biblcial answer to their silly assumptions. Blessings!
Reply
Michael parsona
6/27/2019 04:50:26 pm
So you're saying that God speaks figuratively? Not a chance buddy God speaks facts not figuratively you need to believe everything he says as fact not figurative. You probably believe in The Big Bang Theory too don't you?
Reply
Michael parsona
6/27/2019 04:52:03 pm
I'm sorry but you can't believe in science and in God the two don't mix it's either one or the other
Reply
Jer
8/5/2019 01:08:23 am
There are 29 verses about the pillars. NOT 3. What Bible is everyone reading?
Reply
Bledi
12/4/2019 12:54:49 pm
For word pillar there are different words in Hebrew and Greek
Reply
Bledi
12/4/2019 12:57:00 pm
Job 9:6. H5975
Reply
Gabriel
3/5/2020 12:04:12 pm
The creation account in Genesis was not meant to be a scientific account of the world being brought to physical existence. The biblical authors had a different conception of the structure of the world. Which included pillars supporting the earth, among other things. Trying to bring our modern conceptions and expectations into these texts is a disservice to what the biblical authors where trying to express.
Reply
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Bill Fortenberry is a Christian philosopher and historian in Birmingham, AL. Bill's work has been cited in several legal journals, and he has appeared as a guest on shows including The Dr. Gina Show, The Michael Hart Show, and Real Science Radio.
Contact Us if you would like to schedule Bill to speak to your church, group, or club. "Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning." (Proverbs 9:9)
Search
Topics
All
Archives
August 2020
|