Cunningly Devised Fables

With lots of time and little to do, I tend to roam the internet for some fairytale or other, and Tuesday's gem was a whole boatload of Norse myths.

They kept me entertained for about an hour before I stumbled upon one that seemed strangely familiar.

The story was how Odin, in his search for wisdom, sacrificed himself in order to prove himself worthy of the runes.

The Runes were supposed to essentially be these ancient magical scripts which would make one wise. (that's a very rough description. If you're offended because you know all about Norse myths, forgive me)

Anyway, in order to prove himself worthy, he hung himself on a tree and stabbed himself with a spear. There he hung, teetering on the brink of death for nine days and nine nights, until at last the Runes revealed themselves to him.

I couldn't help but think of someone else who was pierced by a spear and hung on a tree.

After seeing that initial parallel, I wondered where this legend came from. Was it indeed just a story that a father once told his son, or did it actually come from somewhere else? An older story, or an actual event in history. So I did a little research.

Odin was called "the most powerful and wisest god," "the Allfather of the Norse gods and the ruler of Asgard."

There are obviously a million differences between Odin and God, (Odin was married to the goddess Frigg, had one eye, and had wolves and ravens that brought him information, to name a few) so I'm not trying to say they are the same or anything. But I do want to look at the parallels between the story of Christ's crucifixion and this story which may or may not have originated there, you can draw your own conclusions.

Some tellings of this particular story say that Odin actually died, and was revived when the Runes appeared, but in either case, he was very near death.

As he saw the Runes coming, it says he screamed.

.....And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. (Matthew 27:50)

Just sayin.'

After this sacrifice, he allegedly wrote a poem about it, which was added to a huge collection of Norse legends and poetry, called the Poetic Edda.

This is a direct quote from the Poetic Edda:

 I ween that I hung on the windy tree,
Hung there for nights full nine;
With the spear I was wounded, and offered I was
To Othin, (Odin) myself to myself,
On the tree that none may ever know
What root beneath it runs.

I LOVE to look really far into things, which may or may not have significance, so I was quite delighted to find that Odin hung on the tree, "teetering on the precipice that separates the living from the dead," (quote from Norse Mythology for Smart People: norse-mythology.org) for 3 x 3 days.

An offering of "myself to myself."

The way human sacrifices were made to Odin was exactly this way. The person was hung on a tree and stabbed with a spear, so by doing that to himself, it was like a sacrifice to himself.

Much like God sacrificed Jesus, (who was God) as a sacrifice on behalf of us, to Himself.

An offering of Himself to Himself.

"On the tree that none may ever know what root beneath it runs."

None may ever know, and none will, because He was the only one who could pay that price.

None of them can by any means redeem his brother, Nor give to God a ransom for him— For the redemption of their souls is costly, And it shall cease forever— That he should continue to live eternally, And not see the Pit. (Psalms 49:7-9)

The tree that Odin hung on was called Yggdrasil. The most common translation is "Tree of Ash," but literally translated, it means "The Ash Tree of the Horse of Yggr."

Yggr means "The Terrible One." (Yggr was also commonly used as another name for Odin, even to the point where Yggdrasil would be translated, "Odin's Horse."

Terrible doesn't necessarily mean bad. Especially in old English, it meant great, mighty, awesome.

So "Ash" and "The Terrible One," made sense to me, but the horse was confusing.

My first thoughts were to the horses in Revelation, but then I looked up more verses with horses, and had another thought.

(again, I may be looking too far, but hey, it was fun.)

And Miriam answered them: "Sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!" (Exodus 15:21)

I have always seen a parallel between the exodus from Egypt and our freedom from sin.

The Israelites were in captivity in Egypt, (we were in captivity in sin) God led them away and into the Promised Land. (God led us away and gave us salvation)

The place in the middle is what I want to talk about here, where God threw horse and rider into the sea.

The Red Sea, you can see as the way by which God brought them out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. Jesus' death was the way by which He brought us out of sin and into salvation.

So what, or who, is the horse, being thrown into the sea?

Jesus.

The Egyptians were the enemies of God's people, and it was by their sin that they and the horses they rode were sentenced to death.

The horses suffered death because of the people they carried on their backs, not because of anything they had done.

Jesus suffered death because of the sin that He carried on His back, not because of anything He had done.

So the tree, Yggdrasil.

The Ash Tree of the Horse of the Terrible One.

The Ash Tree of the Horse of God.

The Ash Tree of the Sacrifice of God.

The Death Tree of the Son of God.

As much fun as it is to explore myths and legends though, it's important to remember which copied which.

Because "We did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty." (II Peter 1:16)