"The Crossing" and Israel

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I recently watched the pilot episode of ABC's new sci-fi drama "The Crossing," created by Jay Beattie and Dan Dworkin. The show definitely holds some potential, and it will be interesting to see if it ends up being binge-worthy or a flop. However, I am intrigued to continue watching how the show develops because the opening episode seems to be developing some interesting themes. In particular, it seems to be setting the stage to use the Old Testament story of the people of Israel as a motif within the show.

If you haven't seen previews for the show or the pilot episode yet, the basic premise of the show is that a rural sheriff (played by Steve Zahn) discovers hundreds of bodies that wash up his Washington beach, including a few dozen survivors. Federal agents quickly gets involved and shut out local officials. As the story unfolds, the survivors disclose that they are refugees from the future. Fleeing war and an oppressive power, they utilized a new time travel technology, but something went wrong and they ended up underwater in the ocean instead of on land. Sheriff Ellis and some federal agents have safety concerns, especially since some of the survivors warn of "others" who have special abilities, some of whom may have crossed over earlier.

In watching the first episode, I couldn't help but notice a number of similarities between the story of these refugees and the story of Israel in the Bible. For starters, the show's title appears to reference the time travel event in which the refugees "crossed" back into the past by passing through the ocean. This event itself could be seen as a powerful biblical image, a group of oppressed people passing through the waters (Pacific Ocean/Red Sea) to escape their oppressors.

Furthermore, like Israel, hope they have entered a "promised land." One refugee describes the America of the past (our present day) as a much more ideal and free place than the one the left. For these refugees, 2000's America may seem like a land full of milk and honey. However, just as in the Pentateuch, the post-oppression journey is not an easy one. Those journeying to freedom find themselves to be small and powerless compared to their neighbors. And like Israel, the refugees in the crossing appear to be entering a wilderness period as the federal government only moves them into temporary housing in the middle of the woods.

I don't know if the show's writers are aware of these similarities or not, but one final piece makes me suspect they are. Less than five minutes into the show, Sheriff Ellis has a conversation with a little girl he pulled from the water a few hours earlier. When she tells him her name is Leah, the sheriff remarks, "That's in the Bible, isn't it?" Interestingly, the girl responds with a blank stare, confused about what a "Bible" is.

It is this line that made me start to pay attention to the biblical themes in the episode. Indeed, as I listened to the names, there definitely seems to be a pattern--all the refugees have biblical names: Leah, Hannah, Rebecca, Caleb, Thomas. Even the names themselves seem to be significant. For example, in the Bible Leah is the daughter-in-law of Rebecca, whereas the show's Rebecca takes on a mother role to the girl Leah. Likewise, the one refugee who seems to be skeptical, self-interested, and perhaps "doubting" is named Thomas.

The only exception to this rule (so far) is a refugee named Reece, who incidentally is different from the others, being the only one to demonstrate special powers and the only one not rescued on the beach. So perhaps her lack of a biblical name is also significant. In contrast, Sheriff Ellis also has a biblical name as his first name is Jude. Perhaps this is an indicator that he will be an ally to the refugees.

The show is clearly poised to deal with a number of social and political issues. For instance, the first episode already has touched on our treatment and views of refugees and immigrants, something our country has been dealing with in real life. Of course, it's hard to determine what directions a show will go and what themes will develop simply from the pilot episode, but if the above allusions are intentional, this show may end up conveying some really potent messages by way of biblical imagery. Perhaps these refugees will find themselves on a similar journey as Israel--oppressed and killed because of their identity, a miraculous escape through water to safety, only to face trials and tribulations in the wilderness as they journey towards a promised land of freedom and prosperity. And with superpowers apparently to play a role, one wonders what "giants" they may find in the land along the way.

Update:
Sadly, ABC recently made the decision to cancel the show after its first season. It would have been interesting to see how the show developed over time given that a number of biblical themes seemed to persist throughout the first season. For example, the trend with biblical names continued consistently, the city where most of the plot takes place is called "Port Canaan" (an invented city name), one character is healed with the blood of another character, and there are numerous references to religion or churches both in dialogue and architecture. Who knows? Perhaps another network will pick it up one day.

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Jehoiachin in Babylon

The OT books of history end on a dark note. The northern kingdom falls in 2 Kings 17 after generations of sin. Then, the southern kingdom and Jerusalem also fall in the final chapter of 2 Kings (2 Kgs. 25). The fall of Jerusalem is an especially tragic event. King Zedekiah is captured, forced to watch the deaths of his sons, and then is blinded by the Babylonians (25:6-7). Then, the Temple is burned along with "every important building" (25:9). Finally, the holy objects of the Temple and the people of Jerusalem are carried off to Babylon.

Thus, the historical books end with chaos, darkness, and despair. All that Israel had worked for since the Exodus seems to have been undone. The land is lost, the Temple is lost, and the people are lost. However, there is perhaps a glimmer of hope at the very end.

2 Kings 25:27-30, the final verses of the book, tell the brief story of King Jehoiachin, who had been captured by the Babylonians prior to the destruction of Jerusalem. The author tells the reader that the Jehoiachin was released from prison and was even given a seat of honor at the king's table. Although this is only a small glimpse of hope, it is at least a sign that Judah has not been completely destroyed and abandoned by God.

This rhetorical move is reminiscent of the final scene of the movie "The Road." This movie tells the tale of a father and son who attempt to live and travel in a post-apocalyptic world with no sunshine that is also infested with cannibals. Although the father dies in the end, leaving the boy alone in this god-forsaken world, there is also a tiny ray of hope at the end. The boy has the good fortune of meeting up with another small family who are willing to take him in and show him kindness. Although the movie ends here and does not offer hope for the improvement of the world nor give assurances that this family will survive, there is at least a small sense of hope at the end. This short story in 2 Kings works similarly. Although there is no guarantee that Israel will make a glorious return, there is hope held up that perhaps not all is lost.

Power of Remembering- Joshua 3-4

History is important. One need look no further than church traditions to see that much. So much of what we do is done because somewhere back in the church's history people decided to do it that way. Why are the hymnals blue? Because some of us years ago wanted them that way. Why do we do the announcements before the sermon? Because someone at some point decided it was more effective that way. Yet, examining a church's history is something that many churches today seem to neglect. Many members can't tell you how their church began or how the church's ministry had progressed and changed over its history.

However, taking the time to examine this history can be very informative and inspiring. At the church I attended while in college, when our new pastor began his ministry, we took the time to examine the history of our church on one Sunday evening. It was an excellent time to see issues that had been buried for years and also to see how God had been faithful and at work in the church over the decades. Taking the time to remember and reflect on those successes and on how God had been at work was a helpful exercise in bringing back unity and focus to our church.

In Joshua 3-4, Israel also recognizes the need to remember God's acts in their history. After God's miraculous act of bringing Israel across the Jordan, Joshua orders the people to collect a stone from the Jordan for each tribe. These are then erected into an altar. The purpose: that later generations my know that "Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground" and that "all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty" (4:21-24 NASB). Such a memorial was a way of forcing Israel to remember this great act of God and continue to praise Him for His faithfulness and obey Him. Similar to war memorials today which cause citizens to remember the battles soldiers have fought for their countries, these stones stood to remind Israel of the acts that God was performing for them. In this way, not only does Josh. 3-4 remind us of a mighty act of god in history, but it also reminds us of our duty to remember the acts of God within our own history. Indeed, history is important and has great potential to impact the present.

Return of the Cousins

Within the story of Numbers we see the sins of the community in Genesis coming back to haunt Israel as they have to face their reprobate cousins while attempting to enter the land. Those peoples that were created through sinful acts or were simply not chosen by God end up being the same people who cause Israel grief. Below is a comparison of the Genesis and Numbers accounts:

Gen. 25, 27- Esau (Edom) becomes the reprobate brother under Jacob (Israel)
Num. 20:14-21- The king of Edom refuses to let Israel pass through their land

Gen. 19:30-38- Lot's daughters seduce him and bear Moab and Ammon
Num. 22-25:5- The Moabite king hires Balaam to curse Israel and the men of Israel are seduced by Moabite women

Gen. 9:20-27- Noah curses Canaan (Ham's son) for Ham's sin
Num. 21, 31- Israel defeats Canaanite nations while entering the promised land.

These stories thus serve both to justify to current actions of Israel (taking the land from reprobates), but also serve to condemn certain actions and behaviors. In this sense these stories can function similarly to some of our modern superhero stories. In the conflict between heroes and villains, the villains oftentimes are either relatives or friends of the hero. The difference, however, can be traced back to an event in the villain's past. Either a poor decision of the hero drove the villain to become evil or the evil was a result of a poor reaction to a tragedy in the villains life. In either case, the conflict becomes a stage not just for action, but also for a lesson in how to avoid behaviors that bring evil. Here is a You Tube video from The Incredibles that illustrates this point:

Mr. Incredible and Syndrome

Here, the villain was a fan of Mr. Incredible. However, Mr. Incredible's selfishness/pride, coupled with the poor decisions by Syndrome lead to repercussions for Mr. Incredible later in life as this young fan turns into a horrible villain. Thus, similar to Israel, those that are not chosen or who act sinfully within the community end up being a thorn in the side of their relatives later in the story.

YHWH as King in Num. 1-4

The first few chapters of Numbers seem to be not only preparing Israel for the conquest of Canaan but also to be placing YHWH as king over Israel. The arrangement of the tribes around the tabernacle is of course partially a military formation. In this light, it can be seen that the camp arrangement of Israel is not too different than the military camps of other kings in the ancient near east. Often such encampments would place the king at the center of the camp. This would signal the importance of the king and also provide the king with protection from enemies.

Thus, such a military camp would somewhat serve like the secret service does for the President today. Just as the Secret Service is always present and surrounding the President in public areas, likewise the armies of the ancient world would camp around their leader. Yet, it is interesting that in Numbers, at least part of the camp structure was for the protection of Israel instead of protection for God. Numbers 1:53 points out that one reason the Levites were to camp closest to the tabernacle was to help prevent God's wrath from falling on the rest of the camp.

The sense of YHWH as Israel's king is heightened in the following chapters as the book describes the various tasks of which the Levites were in charge. In describing the transportation of many of the pieces of holy furniture, Numbers reports that these holy objects were to be wrapped in blue, crimson, and purple clothes--all colors of royalty. The message is clear: the God who brought Israel out of Egypt is also to be their king who will bring them into the Promised Land and is to be worshiped as their king.

The New Testament continues with this idea of God/Jesus as king over His people. One wonders if we have lost some of this sense in our modern world. One also wonders what rituals or practices that we have in our churches today either place God and Jesus in this role as king or that strip Him of such a position.