I was thinking about The Book of Eli again the other day and realized an interesting parallel. In the movie, Eli (as discussed in the review below) went through a period in which he was really following God's will, concerned only with his task but not the people around him. It is possible that this is the reason that Eli doesn't actually deliver the Bible he was carrying but instead has to dictate it and then apparently dies right after he is finished. In a similar way, Moses angers God in the water from the rock episode (scholars debate about exactly how Moses angered God; for myself, I subscribe to the idea that Moses was putting the focus on himself rather than on God), and as a result he never gets to enter the Promised Land, dies as he looks upon it. Eli, like Moses accomplishes the primary task they were given but neither of them get to witness the fruits of their labors. It is one final lesson in humility and trust in the Lord.
It is worth noting one other similarity, both are lawgivers. Moses transmitted the Ten Commandments and the Torah, whereas Eli carried and transmitted both the Old Law and the New Law. Both also were required to go on long arduous journeys as well as overcoming certain handicaps (stuttering for Moses and blindness for Eli). I could possibly go on, but it is already too darn late.
No comments:
Post a Comment