Many years ago while attending parochial school one of the nuns teaching class decided to put the fear of God in us as they so often do. In a discussion about leprosy or personal hygiene and the lack there of, she said as we get older the body shows signs of decomposition. She further went on to say one of the first signs of this decay can be seen around the extremities, in and between the toes. From there she said it travels upward.
As one could imagine being very young and impressionable this imagery never left me. In fact I have been looking for the signs of putrefaction all my life. So it should come as no surprise through the course of growing up, aging if you will, I have been looking for the symptoms as proof to her haunting declaration or anything analogous that might reinforce those words heard many years ago.
Especially I have been fixated on my feet because over the years the comment about “the extremities, in and between the toes”, this one example stuck out in my mind. So when I came across a remote reference taken from the Old Testament, The Book of Daniel the matter took on a new heighten, prophetic meaning. No longer was it just a haunting memory now there was some basis in scripture to go along with it.
The biblical reference has to do with Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon and the prophet Daniel who he named Belteshazzar. So the story goes Nebuchadnezzar had conquered the land of Judah and Daniel and a host of the intelligentsia at the insistence of the king were brought to Babylon to educate those in the royal family.
It was said that God blessed Daniel with the ability to interpret visions and dreams. As in so many instances God’s prophet the protagonist is pitted against antagonists, the enemy king’s magicians. Who were also called conjurers or sorcerers.
Now at the time the story unfolds king Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. It perplexed him so bad that he insisted the meaning be made known to him. The word went out that if the wise men of Babylon were unable to reveal the true meaning they would be dismembered and their family holdings would be sold at public auction, (See Daniel 2:5).
There was a not so small caveat to this decree. In order that the king not be flimflammed the dream was kept secrete. So not only would the soothsayer have to interpret the dream they would first have to expose what the dream was. Further to demonstrate to all the so called wise men of the day that he, Nebuchadnezzar meant business, no one was exempt from punishment even if they did not make an attempt to interpret the dream.
Daniel hearing this and fearing that his brethren being considered among the wise men of Babylon might fall under this decree volunteered to interpret the king’s dream. Of course Daniel took this opportunity to bare witness that it was his God the one true God that gave him the ability to do what no other astrologer, magician, practitioner or conjurer of Babylon was able to do.
Daniels and his fellow believers prayed to Jehovah to make known king Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Subsequently God revealed the kings dream to Daniel while he was a sleep. After this revelation Daniel requested a stay on any and all executions, in so doing, he also sought an audience with the king.
While addressing the king Daniel tied Nebuchadnezzar to the one true God. He said God had revealed this prophecy through the king to enlighten the people. This of course made Nebuchadnezzar feel very good, (See Daniel 2:28).
Also since according to the scripture Nebuchadnezzar did not tell anyone the contents of his dream the king believed Daniel’s God had given the prophet extraordinary insight. Daniels was not only able to describe the dream in great detail because of the secret stipulation and his clear description the truth of his interpretation was beyond reproach.
So it is the content of this dream that I have connected to my nun’s story and have mused around in my head many times over and over. Through the years have come to think of it as a way to gauge my general health and to a greater extent the aging process. The dream went something like this.
Daniel told the king. In his dream he saw an image. It was immense, dreadful and extraordinary. Its head was gold. Its breast and arms were silver. Its belly and thighs were copper. Its legs were iron. Its feet were partly iron and partly clay. (See Daniel 2:31-33). The story goes on to say that a stone perhaps a metaphorical stone was cut out, not by hand.
This stone struck the image on its feet. As a result the iron, the copper, the silver and the gold were crushed and became like chaff carried away on the wind. (See Daniel 2:34-35).
Then Daniel told the king he was the head of gold, the noblest part of the image. A number of other complimentary analogies are made in this regard. He went on to say that after Nebuchadnezzar other kingdoms would follow. Thus dividing the body into four parts, excluding the head, each represented a kingdom. All were to ensue the great king and the forth kingdom of iron and clay would be divided. He goes on to say that toes and feet because the kingdom is made of iron and clay it will be partly strong and partly fragile. (See Daniel 2:42)
In any event the story ends with king Nebuchadnezzar prostrate before Daniel paying homage to him and his God. The king humbles himself before the prophet for two reasons. The first is for knowing the contents of the dream and the second is for giving a reading which is very plausible if not accurate.
But in my case it is this reference to toes and feet that called to mind the words of my grammar school nun. Consequently it made me think of another possible way to interpret this scripture. First it is important to draw some kind of analogy regarding the reference to the four kingdoms.
Another point worth noting is nuances. How one reads in between the lines as a practical perspective. There is a sensible side to the analysis of the imagery. Nebuchadnezzar is a king who has shown some wisdom. After all one of his decisions in conquering Judah was to bring the wise men of that land back with him to Babylon.
This act alone suggests a certain level of sophistication. It is not that much of a stretch from Daniel’s interpretation of the dream depicting Nebuchadnezzar as the metaphorical (Golden) head of the image, the king in fact would understand and assume as head of state he would automatically or anatomically also have need of a body.
It is further reasonable to conclude that the imagery in the dream with respect to the body although there is some reference to its generative nature, metaphorically speaking the body in the dream is attached to the head which is Nebuchadnezzar so therefore the body in fact is his body as well.
To follow this line of thinking, the weakness is referred to as a transition that happens over time. First kingdom to the forth kingdom referring to stages or phase the body is destine to go through as history unfolds. In essence this is equivalent to the aging or maturation process.
It has always been my contention that the body and mind are inseparable. It is preposterous to think while one is undergoing maturation the other is stagnant. So it is safe to say as time goes on you are what you eat as well as you are what you think. This brought to mind that the body is a temple. The reference more explicitly is “The Body is the Temple of God”.
In the same scripture there is a reference where Daniel ask the guardian rather than bring him food from the king’s table, such things as wine and delicacies he would prefer to have vegetables, (See Daniel 1:14-1:16). The obvious 21 century thinking is one regarding nutritional values. Why this one reference was placed here is not so obvious. One can speculate the two versus might so be placed to draw attention metaphorical to the nutritional needs of the body and or the kingdoms. It further suggests the practice of eating healthy was at least remotely understood over 4000 years ago.
The transition here is that nutrients are carried to parts of the body via the blood stream. There is some indication that the corporeal aging process as it relates to the physical body starts with the feet first and moves it way up the system culminating with finality when it reaches the head. This is not atypical of most diseases. Notably in the case of diabetics who see the effects of age and the degenerative process in the feet first then the legs and so on.
The aging of the circulatory system is also analogous with the symbolism regarding Daniel’s interpretation of the dream. With respect to blood flow, a person can live with poor blood flow to most parts of the body but when blood stops flowing to the brain life is over.
Further, the reference to kingdoms, “the kingdom of heaven” or “the kingdom of God” can be a reflection of a state of mind.
The questions becomes how does this also relate to health and the aging process. The answer is taken from another perspective. First we had the progression of the body as in the above examples. Now second we can look at the aging or maturation of the mind or the soul.
Again the focus is on the four parts of the body. There relative weakness and the metaphorical liking them to kingdoms in the context as they relate to the dream and its interpretation by Daniel.
One example, with respect to the transference of any mental signals, the obvious problems is the tendency as the body ages there is a decrease in the minds ability to filter or send information. In this sense it would stand to reason the problem may originate at the top but the lower extremities are the first to be cutoff from getting the proper signals from the brain.
Alzheimer patients for example show classic systems of not being able to filter information. Generally, the disease is manifest where the individual has a problem with ciphering and a lost of memory. Although the author is by far not qualified to give medical opinions such illnesses are often characterize as a second infancy. This is due to the case were those stricken; many are unable to take care of themselves. It may often lead to the inability to control the body as a whole.
Our final comparison of the four kingdoms can be likened to four spiritual stages. The first two can be identified as generally taking place before the age of forty while the other two are best thought of as after the age of forty. With the final stage according to the scripture is the most profound.
They can be further characterized or broken down into areas best described as infancy, adolescence, physical maturity and spiritual maturity. Infancy and adolescence speak for themselves. It is the two categories of adulthood, physical and spiritual maturity that could use some further explanation.
First period of physical maturity numerically is best estimated between the ages of 21 and 40 years. It is in this time, the formative years where the emphasis is on fine tuning the development of the soul. This is a time period where the spirit is given some leeway. It is allowed to make mistakes some of which might seem catastrophic. Yet there are many second chances.
These are the formative years of the spirit and a time for character building. As is always the case actions have consequences. However punitive responses generally are still looked upon as a molding process. The attitude of the individual is the key and not the process. Here change is still a focal point and a person being fixed in their ways can be played down.
The final kingdom is the last phase, spiritual maturity. The scripture equates it as the most rigid thus the most profound. “And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin.” (See Daniel 2:44). “It will crush and put an end to all other kingdoms, and it will stand to times indefinite.” (See Daniel 2:44).
The idea here, this is in essence the individual fully matured body and spirit fixed in their way for better or for worst, in sickness or in health. Yes people are still able to change but the problem is the modicum of the resolve. The key is that this stage is so powerful it overcomes any of the previous phases and dominates from this point forward.
