The Hippopotamus

I have a certain fondness for the hippopotamus. I like their gigantic shiny bellies. I like their pointy tusks exposed with theatrical yawns. Their hairy noses, stubby legs, and red-pigmented skin are magnets for my eyes. As a child, I stared at my hippo friends through iron bars. Now, the St. Louis Zoo gives us the opportunity to see them underwater, swimming in the River’s Edge Aquarium.

We should praise the comical artistry of God who created a 3,000-6,000 pound balloon with legs that can run twice as fast as a human. What a delight!

But did you know that hippos are dangerous? When cornered or agitated, they can overturn boats, smash a car, bite an alligator in half, or crush enemies with just a step. Imagine being a farmer in the swampy land inhabited by groups of hippos. You go to the fields one morning and discover an entire acre of crops eaten or trampled. The culprit? One single hippo! Nowadays, a rifle could solve the problem, but what about in the ancient world? Sticks and stones may not break bones when a six inch layer of blubber covers the animal.

There’s a piece of art on display in the St. Louis Art Museum which is a small greenish figurine of a hippopotamus. It’s located downstairs in the room with the Egyptian mummies. Hippo figurines like this are often found by archaeologists in Egyptian tombs. What can we say about the worldview behind the artistry of this piece? Is it just an adorable object meant to amuse, or is there something more profound?

The hippo’s placement in an elaborate tomb reminds us that the Egyptians believed in life after death. The mummification process was designed to preserve the body for use in the life to come. The fact that these bodies are around 3,500 years later testifies to their cultural belief in an afterlife.

Egyptians believed physical preparation should be made for the life to come. Entire pyramids were constructed to store up provisions for the afterlife. Gold and treasure would be placed in the tomb for spending. Buried weapons and tools were for defense and industry. Slaves would be buried in the tombs in order to serve the needs of the Pharaoh. These were people who did not want to be caught empty-handed upon their death.

But what about the hippo? The Egyptians recognized a relationship between what goes on in this world and what goes on in the world to come. Before placing the hippo into the tomb, a priest would ceremonially break off two or three of the legs. It was believed that the spirit-world hippo would be rendered harmless by the actions of the priest. This reveals the Egyptian belief that there was the potential for extreme danger in the life to come. If hippos could kill a man in this world, what could they do in the realm to come?

In summary, the Egyptians believed in the existence of an afterlife with potential danger, and one that must be prepared for by performing actions in this world.

Wow! The Egyptian worldview was a lot closer to Biblical truth than the belief systems of many of our neighbors.

John Lennon “Imagined” a world without heaven or hell, but not the Egyptians. Isaac Asimov once boasted, “I don't believe in an afterlife, so I don't have to spend my whole life fearing hell, or fearing heaven even more. For whatever the tortures of hell, I think the boredom of heaven would be even worse.” The Egyptians did not think this way.

Without the true knowledge of God, the soul of a Pharaoh is in no better position than the atheist Asimov. Both men now know the error of their thinking while they were here on earth.

In sharing our Christian faith with an unbeliever, how much better it is to have a shared belief in the existence of God, an afterlife, and the need for preparation. This is at least a starting point for the discussion. When you tell someone about eternal life through Jesus Christ, do they respond back with, “I don’t believe there is anything beyond death?” If so, then Satan has blinded their eyes to a greater extent than even that of the Egyptians.

It’s true that all unbelief must be overcome through the Holy Spirit’s work of grace in changing a person’s hard heart. However, when a culture is flooded with rejection of an afterlife, the stagnant water of unbelief has far reaching consequences. No fear of eternal punishment? Live however you desire. No eternal perspective on suffering? Despair at every trial.

Dear Christians, we have been given the words of life. We must take the good news of Jesus Christ to the world. To those who have an Egyptian worldview and to those who have an Asimovian worldview – both need to come to the saving truth of God in Christ.

When we talk to people about our Lord, discern just how deep their unbelief lies, and pray accordingly. Perhaps your neighbors are piling up for themselves gold, silver, and little broken hippos. Show them from the Scriptures that there is a place where moth and rust does not corrupt, where thieves do not break in and steal, and where hippos do not kill nor destroy. Teach them the fallenness of this world, the redemption offered through Christ, and the truth of the world to come.

Most importantly, live out that truth in your own life. Do not simply reject the worldview of Asimov. Also reject the materialism of the Pharaoh. Live life in light of eternity. Let your actions give testimony to the truth that this world is not your home.

And take your children to the zoo to see the big fat hippos.

W. Scott Lamb is a pastor with Providence Baptist Church in South St. Louis County, MO. He and his wife Pearl enjoy the challenges and pleasures of raising their four sons. Feel free to contact Scott at www.pbcstlouis.com.