Window on the World - The Lion King

Excerpt: 'The lion is a familiar image from Scripture, where it is usually portrayed as a fierce and violent hunter (e.g. Num. 23:24; Ps. 22:13; Ezek. 22:25). People in biblical times feared the lion as a predator that killed their flocks and herds (e.g. Jer. 2:30; Zech. 11:3). They had also learned to respect the sound of its mighty voice (e.g. Job 4:10; Jer. 2:15). “The lion has roared,” wrote the prophet Amos, “who will not fear?” (Amos 3:8). If a lion ever attacked a person, there was no hope of escape unless God intervened. King David used this image—possibly drawing on his own experience as a shepherd—when he prayed: “O LORD my God, save me from all my pursuers and deliver me, lest like a lion they tear my soul apart, rending it in pieces, with none to deliver” (Ps. 7:1-2).'

The Window on the World is our weekly opportunity to examine our culture from the vantage point of biblical Christianity.

Many of these are now published in 'My Father's World: Meditations on Christianity and Culture', 2002, and 'He Speaks to Me Everywhere', 2004, both by Philip Graham Ryken, P&R Publishing.

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