Who digs pits?

I once owned a book on Biblical demonology; I never read it but the title, sitting there on my bookshelf like a little demon itself, so subtly oppressed me that I eventually had to just throw it out. The subject of digging pits is a little bit in that category— some pit stories in Bible times were really bad. For instance, Joseph was dropped into a pit before his brothers sold him as a slave, into Egypt. [Gen.37:24] Then there was Benaiah, one of David’s mighty men, who went down into a pit to kill a lion they had trapped there. [2 Sam.23:20] A third example is Jeremiah who was lowered into a muddy pit by order of King Zedekiah; the only way Ebed-Melek could get him out was to lower ropes and rags; Jeremiah put them under his arms and Ebed-Melek was able to drag him out of the muck. [Jer.38:11]

There is quite a variety of words used in Scripture for pits, some literal, but many metaphorical. Sometimes the Hebrew word means a cistern, dungeon, fountain, or well [953 and 875]. Sometimes it means corruption, destruction, ditch, or grave [7845]. Throughout the Bible there are over 70 references to pits. We don’t want to get into all the metaphorical meanings. We just want to see why anyone would be digging a pit.

There are three occasions when Jesus comments on literal pits. The first is a sheep falling into a pit [Mat.12:11]; the second is blind people leading other blind people and both falling into a pit [Mat.15:14]; the third is a

An ancient winepress

landowner who plants a vineyard and digs a pit for a winepress [Mark 12:1]. Only the latter explains why a pit would be dug, but our introduction indicates some other reasons. Pits were dug for water catchment, including cisterns—a great deal of Palestine is rainless for months on end. Pits were dug to trap game like antelope, or marauding lions (witness Benaiah’s pit). Pits were dug to catch the juice as grapes were trampled at harvest time.

The worst pits of all were dug for defensive purposes. Julius Caesar used these in Gaul 75 years earlier. In his case vicious sharpened stakes (now called punji sticks) were mounted in the pit to impale hapless attacking warriors.

Some of these pits could be inconvenient but some were deadly. A deep cistern (Jeremiah), a trapping pit (Benaiah), or a defensive pit were the worst. In fact, there was a penalty for digging an unprotected pit. Exodus 21:33 says, “If anyone uncovers a pit or digs one and fails to cover it and an ox or a donkey falls into it, the one who opened the pit must pay the owner for the loss and take the dead animal in exchange.” And Psalm 7:15 talks about someone who digs a hole but the trouble and violence they cause “comes down on their own heads.”

There were hundreds of winepresses and cisterns around the country—so the danger was real. From my own teenage days, I remember an abandoned shallow well in an abandoned field. The wooden cover was starting to rot and it could have been deadly if you came on it in the dark unawares. And this is Jesus’ main point—pits are dangerous. We must be aware and avoid them.

        Today following bad leaders and believing false doctrine is just like falling into a pit. Be careful not to fall into the pit of ‘spiritual destruction’. But Jesus can lift you out! He is the only One we can trust.