Thanks to the writing of C. S. Lewis in his Chronicles of Narnia, the lion has become a popular icon for Jesus – at least in Christian communities in Europe and North America. Lewis’ choice of a lion to represent Jesus was not accidental as scripture frequently aligns God in general and Jesus in particular with the characteristics of a lion. While I have long been a fan of these books, there are certain drawbacks for the use of a lion as a metaphor. What does it really mean for God to be a lion, and how well am I able to understand that?
Metaphors are only as powerful as the experience we have with the figure or vehicle of the metaphor. In the case of lions, we might find these metaphors in the modern west to be less powerful than the authors intended. Encounters with lions for most people today are very limited, and the few they have had were risk free. A lion behind glass or bars at the zoo strikes no fear in the hearts of those who watch them. I had the privilege of seeing wild lions on safari, but I perceived no danger from the safe confines of a Land Rover.
Watching nature films about lions hunting and feeding on the Serengeti plains may inform me intellectually that lions can be dangerous, but I still lack the visceral response at the sight of a lion – one I certainly would have, had I grown up with the real threat of being attacked by a lion. People travelling from town to town across the wilderness in biblical Palestine would be very prescient of this risk. When the biblical authors associated lions with the subject of their metaphors, the original readers of the text would have come away with a greater sense of terror than I ever do.
While someone who has never truly encountered a lion might not fully appreciate the lion as a metaphor, the biblical authors included other descriptors which may help the reader understand the danger represented by “lions”. Assembled together, here is a picture which various passages combined give us of lions: In great strength and confidence they crouch down lying in wait for their prey. When they attack, they strangle their prey and drag off the young. With great ferocity, lions use their sharp teeth to tear their prey to pieces – crushing bones and severing limbs. The roar of the lion is a warning to all who hear it of what awaits them if you get too close. Frightened yet?
Actual lions are seldom written of in scripture and are mostly mentioned in relation to God’s sovereign provision. Lions, who get hungry just like we do, also look to God for their food, and He supplies their need.[1] In the end, when God brings about the new heaven and new earth, lions will no longer be eating goats and lambs, but will lie down with their former prey and eat straw.[2]
Of the fifty passages referring to lions in scripture, ninety percent of them are metaphorical lions. Like Lewis’ lions of Narnia, lions are not allegorical – while Aslan is a lion, not all lions are Aslan. In scripture, many subjects – both good and bad – are identified as having lion-like attributes – in either case, it signals trouble for somebody.
The nation of Israel or various tribes of Israel are likened as lions, but not always in a good way. Israel is rebuked for being like ravenous lions who killed the prophets that warn them of consequences for their rebellious behavior.[3] Most often, the descendants of Jacob are framed as lions with great strength who rise up and destroy their enemies. It is the righteous who can move forward with the boldness of a lion.[4] Of particular note is the blessing Jacob gives to the tribe of Judah who is signified as being the line of kings, foreshadowing the messianic kingdom – the Lion of Judah.[5]
Twice as often as scripture cites the people of Israel as being a lion, it refers to the enemies of God’s people as being a lion. Repeatedly in his Psalms, King David likens those opposing him to lions.[6] The prophets emulate David’s metaphor in describing the nations who will come in and destroy the nation of Israel, carrying her off to Babylon like a lion steals off with a lamb from the flock.[7] Only one New Testament passage uses the metaphor in this way. The apostle Peter warns Christians of their great enemy, the devil, who “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour”.[8]
Just because you are powerful like a lion does not mean all goes well for you. According to scripture, the wicked who imbue the strength of a lion will meet their end if they persist in attacking the righteous. Their teeth will be broken, and they will die from hunger. They will not have access to the wisdom which belongs to God. God will rescue the righteous and “trample the great lion”. In the end, they will not be present in the eternal kingdom of God.[9]
So, the first question I need to ask myself is, “what kind of lion am I?” Everyone one has power they exercise within their own sphere of influence. Do we use our power to vigorously defend the truth and stand up for what is right, or do we suppress the truth and ignore injustice? When it comes to truth, you cannot be ambivalent. Jesus said, “Whoever is not with me is against me.” (Matthew 12:30)
The One who destroys the evil lion is the ultimate Lion – God himself. In the Old Testament, God as a Lion most often works at a national level, but there are some, like Job and Hezekiah, who experienced the disciplining work of the Lion to bring them back to righteous living and a greater understanding of himself.[10] In the geopolitical landscape, God is the Lion who attacks the evil within Israel, using the “lions” of Assyria and Babylon to accomplish his purposes, and ultimately bringing about the demise of those same nations.[11] In the culmination of history, Jesus is described as the conquering Lion who sits upon the throne, not only as the Lion of Judah, but as the Lamb of God.[12]
This wrathful depiction of God is one of which people with “modern” sensibilities do not like to think about. They reject a God who brings about destruction in a very violent fashion. This does not seem to comport well with a loving God. What the world seems to want is a God who is generous to a fault – giving us whatever we want and letting us do whatever we want to do – whatever is good in our own eyes.
What many fail to understand is that the wrath of God is a great expression of his love. If a god fails to take action against those who bring trouble against those who he says he loves, he is no loving god at all. Indifference to suffering and injustice is the opposite of love. To love is to act in the best interest of those you love and bring about restoration, redemption and justice. If you are the almighty God, then you will use your power to do just that – at least, eventually.
One of the great challenges for Christians in our current cultural milieu is to understand and trust in God as he has revealed himself in scripture – not trusting in a god fashioned by cultural mores. Dorothy Sayers provokes contemporary Christians to right thinking when she wrote,
The people who hanged Christ never, to do them justice, accused him of being a bore – on the contrary, they thought him too dynamic to be safe. It has been left for later generations to muffle up that shattering personality and surround him with an atmosphere of tedium. We have very efficiently pared the claws of the Lion of Judah, certified him “meek and mild,” and recommended him as a fitting household pet for pale curates and pious old ladies.[13]
To his credit, C. S. Lewis made every effort to avoid taming the lion, and incorporated fearful aspects of lions in the character of Aslan. In The Horse and His Boy, it was the lion Aslan who ruthlessly chased Shasta, instilling great fear in the horse he was riding, which pressed them onward so they could reach King Lune in time. It was also the lion Aslan who wounded Aravis to teach her a lesson she needed to learn. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, when the children first hear that Aslan is a lion, Susan and Lucy wonder aloud whether he is safe. In response, Mr. Beaver says, “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
A second question I need to ask myself is, “am I worshipping God as he presents himself, or a god who is safe?” In Narnia as in biblical Palestine, residents were keenly aware of the ever-present danger represented by lions. That kind of fear has generally been lost within the relatively safe and affluent world in which we live. I have no great suggestion for how one might acquire that visceral sense, but we need to muster it as best we can. Doing so enables us to worship God more fully, and gives us a greater sense of urgency to share the gospel with those who will someday have to face the Lion who is coming.
[1] Job 38:39-40, Psalms 34:10, 104:21
[2] Isaiah 11:6-7, 65:25
[3] Jeremiah 2:30, 12:8
[4] Numbers 23:24, 24:9, Deuteronomy 33:20-22, Proverbs 28:1, Micah 5:8
[5] Genesis 49:9-10
[6] Psalms 7:2; 10:9; 17:12; 22:13, 21; 35:17; 57:4
[7] Isaiah 5:29, Jeremiah 4:7, 5:6, Nahum 2:11-12
[8] 1 Peter 5:7-8
[9] Job 4:10-11, 28:1-28, Psalm 91:9-13, Isaiah 35:9
[10] Job 10:16, Isaiah 38:13
[11] Isaiah 31:4, Jeremiah 25:38, 49:19, 50:44, Lamentations 3:10-11, Hosea 11:10, 13:7-8, Amos 3: 4, 8, 12
[12] Revelation 5:5-6
[13] Dorothy Sayers, “The Greatest Drama Ever Staged” in Letters to a Diminished Church: Passionate Arguments for the Relevance of Christian Doctrine (Nashville, TN; Thomas Nelson, 2004), 4. Note: Dorothy Sayers was a friend and contemporary of C. S. Lewis. This essay was originally published in 1938.
Cicada Song 