“[Odysseos] dug a pit, of about a cubit in each direction, and poured it full of drink offerings for all the dead.” Homer’s Odyssey[1]

“These are my prayers.  Over them I pour libations.  And now it’s your task to wreathe them with the flowers of mourning, to sing praises of the dead” ~ Electra in Aeschylus’ Libation Bearers after praying to her father for vengeance[2]

But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. ~ Philippians 2:17

This is one verse in the midst of a multitude, and yet it describes a practice completely foreign to us.  Granted, we get the picture: Paul is being poured out for the Philippians, and he is rejoicing.  He is enduring trials, giving sacrificial service in order to bring the Philippians to faith.

Certainly, this is the case. And yet, he is saying so much more.  We understand the concept, but we miss the beauty of his reference.  Knowing what the Ancients thought about libations gives so much more depth to this concept…

Libation in the Mind of the Ancients

Many Mediterranean cultures had the tradition of pouring libations, or drink offerings, before special occasions.  Libations were generally wine, but could also be honeyed-milk,[3] and sometimes oil was added.[4]

This tradition has deep roots to the Hebrews, as Jacob poured a libation at the place where God wrestled with him and renamed him (Gen. 35:14).  This tradition was made holy and sacred when God instructed His people to pour libations over the altar before their sacrifices (Ex. 29:40, Lev. 23:13, Num. 15:5-10).

Like other cultures, the Greeks gave libations to their gods, too, but they also gave them in honor of the dead.  One of the most famous instances of libation is when Odysseos goes to the gates of Hades and calls the dead to him by pouring libations and sacrificing animals.[5] Another famous example is found in Aeschylus’ play Libation Bearers, where Agamemnon’s daughter Electra brings libations to the previously ignored grave of her father, Agamemnon.  The goal in both was to keep the dead “alive” and placated by remembering them.

In fact, the Greeks had two types of libations: choai and spondai.  A chaoi was poured out entirely, however a spondai was a small amount of liquid (generally wine) poured out, and the rest drunk by the libation giver.[6] The latter one was particularly used during symposiums, the Greeks’ after-dinner dialogue, debate, and discussion time.

Thus, when Paul mentions a drink offering, he is referring to something deeply ingrained in the culture, both Jewish and gentile.  It would be like us mentioning an Advent wreath.  Everyone would understand the reference without needing an explanation on how to use it.  Likwise, all of the Philippians, regardless of their background, would have understood the reference.

How This Applies to Us

As I said above, this concept doesn’t necessarily need explaining.  We get the picture, if not the significance behind the words, and that’s almost as good.

Almost.

The way the verse reads now, it seems as if Paul is giving all of himself in order to bolster the Philippians’ faith.  It’s tempting to read this verse in English and take away the application that we need to give all we have to others.

However, if that were the case, Paul would have used the word choai.  But he doesn’t.  He uses the word spondai.[7]

This very much changes how we should think about this verse.  Paul is being poured out for the sake of the Philippians’ faith; but he is not being entirely poured out – he is being poured out in a controlled manner in honor of God.

This, I think, is hugely important.  God requires all of our hearts, to be sure, and sometimes that leads to us being poured out unto death.  However, although God allows us to be poured out for others’ sakes, He does not give us to them entirely.  He, the libation giver, reserves us for Him and His own sake.

I know it sounds strange.  We are taught always to serve others.  That is, after all, what Christ did.  However, so often we lose sight of the Gospel as we do good works.  The work becomes the cause, not the effect.  It becomes the reason, not the by-product.

Becoming Spondai

Like Paul, our cause is the Gospel.  Our reason is the Gospel.  Giving our sacrificial service to others is the effect, the by-product, of the Gospel in our lives.

When we lose sight of the Gospel, we do indeed become choai – emptying ourselves out completely only to become exhausted.   Yes, we should give mightily of ourselves for the sake of the Gospel.  And yes, sometimes that will cause exhaustion, and even death, if God wills it.

However, if you are feeling stretched thin in ministry, as if you have nothing left to pour out, could it be that you have begun to put service to others over service to God?  Perhaps not, but it is something to consider.

It’s crucial to remember something else about libations: we are not poured out to honor the dead.  We are poured out to honor the living Christ.  Our libations of sacrificial service are not consumed by empty ground, but rather feed the fire of the Gospel wherever we take it.

God poured Paul out a little bit everywhere he went, a libation to the Living God in order to invigorate the faith of others (or, in Paul’s words, “upon the sacrifice and service of” another’s faith).  God poured Paul out to many – yes, even to us, who read his letters.  But in the end, Paul was not killed (poured out entirely) in the service of any of the churches he planted; he was poured out entirely in the service of the Gospel, in the service of God alone.

May you, also, be poured out in measures upon others’ faith as you serve the Living God.

 

Sources

[1] Homer, Odyssey (New York: Harper Perennial, 1967), 11.26, p. 169.

[2] Aeschylus, The Oresteia (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003), lines 177-179, p. 112.

[3] Odyssey, 11.27.

[4] Exodus 29:40, Numbers 15:5-10

[5] Odyssey, Book 11.

[6] Emily Bell, “Libations and the Ancient History of Pouring One Out,” Vine Pair, accessed November 26, 2017 https://vinepair.com/wine-blog/libations-and-the-ancient-history-of-pouring-one-out/

[7] “Spendo,” Blue Letter Bible, accessed November 26, 2017, https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G4689&t=NASB


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