how did god punish the israelites for idolatryhow did god punish the israelites for idolatry

• April 9, 2023
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(The Book of Amos) (Part Two). (Ex 15:22), 2. (From Forerunner Commentary). And then verse 55, it says, but it didn't bring about fruit. That is to say, righteousness is an inward characteristic. Download PDF. ThaiCCTVShop - / 8.00-17.00 / Office: 02-064-7135, 02-970-1181-2 / Mobile : 099-392-5654 Even after all of the warnings from the Prophets, after receiving curse upon curse, Israel would NOT turn . That is to say: Israel understood itself as keeping the commandments. Another explanation for Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, and Micahs critique, which does not seem to fully capture what was taking place, is the notion that Israel was knowingly going through the motionsthey were guilty of willful hypocrisy. He will show them mercy because of the promises He made, not because they deserve it. (Ex 30:30), 3. His contemporary was the prophetJeremiah. Angels do not punish in the Bible except under God's command because it is God who can punish. Corrupt or ambivalent leadership will no longer lead Israel astray; instead, the leaders will set the example of righteousness for the people to follow. 30 The next day Moses told the people, "This is a terrible thing you have done. ", More than 90 times, God calls Ezekiel "son of Man," a term used to highlight the prophet's humanity. Having a king was not the real issue because God had already planned for Israel to have a king. Saul was chosen by God to be Israel's first king. Charles Whitaker Like. Why did the Israelites wander the desert for 40 years? After Satans Temptations, What Do You Do? The covenant people, Israel, had profaned His name by their conduct among the other nations. (Ezekiel 36:22-24, 31-32). He sets out two things that construct a basis for what he says. Copyright 2023 Rochester Catholic Press Association, Inc. All rights reserved. Israel is God's prey, as it were, and He is not roaring yet. Israel's sin was first neglecting and then departing from God and the relationship. This daily newsletter provides a starting point for personal study, and gives valuable insight into the verses that make up the Word of God. connotes a social obligation. However, for the sake of what is best for Jacob, God has to show him that He is serious about what He says. Prophet after prophet challenged Israel even as Israel apparently kept the laws and ordinances it was given. Jeremiah 12:14-17; 25:15-32). In the Hebrew Bible, justice most often points to a social obligation to protect the weak and powerless from exploitation. This also applies on a smaller but more immediate scale: Amos has been sent by appointment, and he does not speak promiscuously. Indeed, Malachi 3:6 proclaims, "I am the Lord, I do not change," while Hebrews 13:8 says that Jesus "is the same yesterday, today, and forever.". The people realized they were sinning and begged Moses to help them. Far less known are the ten times the released Israelites put God to the test in the days following their exodus. (See, for instance, Exodus 12:14; 13:13; 20:22-23:33; Exodus 34:11-26; Deuteronomy 12-26; Leviticus 17-26 as a start.) In the book of Jeremiah, God told the people that he would exile them from the land for 70 years, because this was the amount of time that the Sabbath rest had been disobeyed (490 years total). In Judges 3, we read: So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites . In short, the people of Israel needed to live into the reality that acovenant with God isinherently connected to and reflected by how we treat each other. In fact, highlighting Israels penchant for a straying focus, a central hope in Jeremiahs view of restoration is that Israel will be given a new heart. All of that is correct. Prepare to Meet Your God! Fourth: All too often, the alarms go off, and then people take notice. Also Judah did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. "The great house" refers to the noble or wealthy family in society, and these "big names" will certainly be destroyed along with the common folk. 2. Usually, the term is used in connection with groups like widows, orphans, resident aliens, or poor, and often in contexts where there are clear power differentials. Be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel!" Linking is encouraged, but content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed including, but not limited to such means as framing or other digital copying and/or distribution method, in whole or in part without the publisher's written consent. but He also punishes the evil. This scathing condemnation concludes with the LORD saying, I will hide mine eyes from you I will not hear you.. Oddly enough, about 3,000 were buried around on the Western side of Mount Sinai (Jebel al Lawz) in Arabia. ESSAY: Why is it important to trust in God? . Amos frames it this way: I [the LORD] hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. . They have been flippantly careless and have no one to blame but themselves. Christ's death is an eschatological event, offering life to those who trust him ( John 3:16; Eph. The Sign. The first thing Amos needed to do, then, was establish his authority to preach against them. And what was that? If their moral and ethical foundation has eroded, the natural process of strong nations displacing weaker ones will take place (Leviticus 18:28; 20:22). strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water. Ezekiel's primary audience was his fellow exiles in Babylon, but he also wrote to the Israelites at home in Jerusalem and all later readers of the Bible. The Bible prophesies scores of horrific punishments: epidemics of incurable diseases; wars; fires burning fields, forests, and homes; earthquakes; famines; floods from raging seas; violent weather patterns; and infestations of insects and wild animals. The Israelites were sinking into the worship of other gods. Get our Question of the Week delivered right to your inbox! They were still "lost" in His day, not having returned to Canaan. Fifth: It is illogical to think that God would punish without first warning His people. A deeper appreciation of scripture can help us recognize that we have room to grow. And yet, multiple prophets challenged Israels adherence to the very laws and ordinances that were part of this prophetically-given covenant guide. Near the end of this time, the Israelites were getting worn out from the journey. Saul started off well and the people loved him. (Amos 9:13-15). Indeed, I think it is more likely that the people, doing things properly. And the reason that they were exiled was due to their sin. After Moses comes down from the mountain, the idol is destroyed and God punishes the people but having compassion, or caring for the Israelites, He does not destroy everyone. Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, and Micha all make clear that, despite Israels apparent devotion to the sacrifices, rituals, feasts, and other religious practices which were central parts of its covenant with YHWH, God is displeased with Israel. In fact, I think a key indication that Israel felt like its adherence to sacrifices, rituals, feasts, and other religious practices was in-line with its covenant requirements is the very fact that Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, and Micah had to use such dramatic language to get Israels attention. The book of Ezekiel is categorized with the writings of the major prophets. Exodus 12:38 indicates that many non-Jews decided to become Jews and join the blood descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the exodus from Egypt. In the modern Latter-day Saint community, that notion is broadened a little, and justice is something closer to a synonym for fair or equitable. For example, the phrase God is just for many Latter-day Saint folks means something like God gives you what you deserve (good or bad). However, both uses are worlds away from what the 8. century BCE prophets Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, and Micah meant when they used that word. 17 They have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths. The people would repent and ask Moses to pray to God for forgiveness, which God always granted. He died in 1660, and we honor him on Sept. 27. The people believed them and rebelled against Moses and God. God is angry and will destroy the Israelites but Moses begs God to have mercy and remember His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel (Jacob). Then, God allowed their enemies to gain power over them. Critics assert that Israel's history demonstrates the weakness of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in that their God could not keep His promises. Thus, the problem Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, and Micah point to is not in regard to the revealed pattern of worship. (This is the same reason why Nephi killed Laban.) . My sense, especially in light of Ezekiel and Ezras view of the importance of Israels ritual practices referenced above, is that God is not rejecting Israels method of worship, nor is God (for the most part) impugning the motivation behind Israel keeping of the required sacrifices, rituals, feasts, and other religious practices. Are we to produce water for you out of this rock?. Except for brief periods when Israel had a judge or king who did right in the eyes of God, the spiritual harlotry continued unabated until God formally divorced her, sending Israel and Judah into captivity. The L, wanted the people of Israel to show all of their neighbors the same deep fidelity and commitmentthat is to say, covenantal lovewhich they had received from the L. . . Only in, (and only in one verse) is there any indication that Israel was not focused on worshiping God. Idolatry Punishment of Exclusion from heaven. Aaron also knows which god the Israelites intended the calf to represent: "Tomorrow shall be a festival of YHWH!," ( - ) he proclaims (32:5). This can only mean that God inspires and empowers the Assyrian nation to punish the nations of Israel for their flagrant disobediences. (When the act of worship becomes more important than the purpose of worship, what I have previously called ecclesiolatry, we stray into potential idol worship, a practice many Hebrew Bible prophets condemn.) Ezekiel 14:6Therefore say to the people of Israel, This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Repent! Israelites provoked God with sin, and the Creator promised to m. Continue reading. God said to speak to a rock and water would flow out of it. Mr. Seiglie was born in Havana, Cuba, and came to the United States when he was a child. The phrase "they shall know that I am the LORD" occurs about 60 times in the book. In Latter-day Saint vernacular, the term that comes closest to expressing this ideal is probably. Unless otherwise noted, all material copyright 2023, Rochester Catholic Press Association, Inc. Once God reveals Himself through His calling, the issue of government comes to the fore. Yes, it was certainly the case that Israel was commanded to love and worship the LORD and to keep the Sinai teaching in their respective hearts, and that did not always happen. They were to protect and bless the rich and the poor, the bonded and the free, the Israelite and the stranger. The Second Exodus (Part Two). Ezekiel was ordered by God to lie on his left side 390 days and on his right side 40 days. John W. Ritenbaugh 31 Moses returned to the Lord and said, "The people have committed a terrible sin. will redeem the property that had been sold or free Israelites from their debt bondage. (The Book of Amos) (Part One). He must comprehensively know that his own nature is just like those he serves and be humbled. Then, the Lord heard and sent a judge to rescue them. Thousands of citizens of Israel, including Ezekiel and King Jehoiachin, had been captured and taken to Babylonabout 597 BC. According to the Old Testament, God promised to punish sin at the very end of history (e.g., Isa. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood., To be clear, the LORD does more than just summarily dismiss Israels worship practice; the LORD says that these practicesthe sacrifices, rituals, and feasts they are under obligation to do as part of the covenantare iniquity and an abomination, and that my soul hateth them. its offerings and sacrifices, and calling its songs and music of praise noise that I will not hear., The prophet Micah takes a different approach but delivers the same basic message as his prophetic contemporaries. But this time the peace and prosperity will last, because two factors will be different. Ezekiel was called to be a watchman for God with the chief task of warning his people about the terrible consequences of the sin of idolatry. Why wasnt Aaron punished for making the golden calf? There are two basic reasons: God was fulfilling a promise to Abraham. Brigham Young called upon modern Saints to examine their own hearts in this regard: Has anything else become a god to me?". However, the tribe of Judah was hardly better than Israel, as II Kings 17:19 states: "Also Judah did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made." God didn't. In fact, the term hesed is often used to express how God feels about Israel (for example, hesed is used throughout the Psalms to describe Gods feelings of affection for and commitment to Israel). Life will soon become a violent free-for-all (Ecclesiastes 8:11). He establishes this through a series of illustrations posed as challenging questions that can logically be answered only one way. After articulating all the things that the L, had done for Israel from Egypt onward, Micah asks Israel a series of stinging rhetorical questions that serve to undermine Israels approach to worship. Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Using the hints provided, put a T next to the sentences that are true and an F next to the ones that are false. What sort of pagan revelry did the Israelites indulge in (Exodus 32:6)? Is God to blame because He exercises His authority, punishing to maintain order and to continue the advancement of His purpose in His creation? God tacks it onto his upcoming deeds to explain the reason for the action. 1. In this sense, the modern-day usage (perhaps especially in the Latter-day Saint community) of mercy is that it is the opposite of justice. If justice is getting what you deserve, then mercy is getting what you do not deserve. Though, does a great deal to reach out and help those around us, there are always ways to improvesomething encouraged by, . But God was not pleased with what Moses had done. First, "gods" are the object of man's worship and service. He determines their rise and fall and the times of dominance of every nation. The text goes a far way to explicitly present the Levites in the favorable role . After Moses comes down from the mountain, the idol is destroyed and God punishes the people but having compassion, or caring for the Israelites, He does not destroy everyone. Wealth is being funneled into the hands of the few, and the poor and weak keep becoming poorer and weaker. Exodus: New American Commentary by Douglas Stuart. Saith the LORD. This question, posed in the opening chapter of the book of Isaiah, put Israel in an uncomfortable position. This daily newsletter provides a starting point for personal study, and gives valuable insight into the verses that make up the Word of God. Due to the corrupt sacrifices the children of Israel made unto the Lord he pronounced a cursed upon them "But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing."-. . Chapter 1: "Amos" (v. 1). The sin of worshipping another god is called idolatry. . Much of the thrust of Amos is an education for catastrophe. 25:1-7). They stuck to their own ways. In all of God's dealings with Israel and Judah, and especially regarding the Second Exodus, we see His perfect application of justice and mercy. "Introduction to the Book of Ezekiel." Put briefly: Israel needed to exercise justice, righteousness, and mercy. However, while all of this might be true, hypocrisy does not seem to be the core problem that resulted in such strong language from Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, and Micah. "Gods," then, have a certain authority and claim over men, which men acknowledge by their worship and service.

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