Israel's sacred texts clearly outlined how and in what way Israel was to worship the God of the Exodus and Sinai. The process will be painful but also effective; Israel will come to repentance (Romans 11:25-29). Prophet after prophet challenged Israel even as Israel apparently kept the laws and ordinances it was given. Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols., And Hosea says simply: They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of mine offerings, and eat it; but the LORD accepteth them not., Like Isaiah, Amos and Hosea portray the LORD as more than just critiquing the act of worshipwith the Lord very clearly despising Israels feasts, refusing to accept (or even regard!) Why did the Israelites wander the desert for 40 years? Corrupt or ambivalent leadership will no longer lead Israel astray; instead, the leaders will set the example of righteousness for the people to follow. A ban on idolatry is also one of the Noahide commandments, the seven laws that Judaism teaches . The people believed them and rebelled against Moses and God. This over-the-top zealousness is not only insufficient but is, itself, a source of Gods disapproval. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? The British produced a great empire far out of proportion to their population, native wealth, and abilities. The fact remains that, long before the attacks occurred, critics of American moralityAmericans themselveshave been calling upon their fellow citizens to change their immoral ways. On Israel's part, it is a complete rejection of her marriage vows; she wants her Benefactor and HusbandGodto have no say in her life, declaring herself free of Him and to be completely and totally a nation of this world, no longer the type of God's Kingdom on earth. According to the Old Testament, God promised to punish sin at the very end of history (e.g., Isa. See what over 150,000 subscribers are already receiving each day. But though God punishes, there is always the hope of repentance and restitution: "Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord, "when the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; the mountains shall drip with sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. He had to eat disgusting bread, drink rationed water, and use cow dung for fuel. In addition to the undisputed fact of God's sovereignty over Israel, ample additional evidence exists to show that He exercises equal dominion over the other nations of the world. ThaiCCTVShop - / 8.00-17.00 / Office: 02-064-7135, 02-970-1181-2 / Mobile : 099-392-5654 Says, The clear answer to Micahs questions about whether God is pleased by the prospect of thousands of rams, ten thousands of rivers of oil, or even my firstborn is. Using the hints provided, put a T next to the sentences that are true and an F next to the ones that are false. 30 The next day Moses told the people, "This is a terrible thing you have done. This is the responsibility of those who have made a covenant with Him, whether the Old or the New Covenant. Israels sacred texts clearly outlined how and in what way Israel was to worship the God of the Exodus and Sinai. (When the act of worship becomes more important than the purpose of worship, what I have previously called, , we stray into potential idol worship, a practice many Hebrew Bible prophets condemn.) In the Hebrew Bible, justice most often points to a social obligation to protect the weak and powerless from exploitation. That is to say, that in offering sacrifices or participating in festivals, Israel was not actually worshiping God but instead simply fulfilling outward requirements without any deeper covenantal connection. We frequently gloss over the truly important part of this as we read through it. Around 1615, he dedicated his life to serving the poor. Additionally, the apostles will be resurrected and sit as judges over the twelve tribes, ensuring that proper judgment is given (Matthew 19:28; Luke 22:30). See what over 150,000 subscribers are already receiving each day. And so in Isaiah, God talks about how he built a beautiful garden vineyard. The Israelites must not allow themselves to be self-deceived. Stephen in the Bible Was the First Christian Martyr. You shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord, at the hand of Jezebel. Oracles against foreign countries' rulers. They began to worship the golden calf, and they . That the LORD is displeased with Israels adherence to the requirements of (what Latter-day Saints call) the Mosaic Law because the Mosaic Law is itself displeasing. Says Micah: Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? 40:2; Ezek. This illustration is declaring a cause-and-effect relationship, meaning, "Israel, you are already in the trap, and you, through your conduct, are just about to spring it shut on yourself. Forms of the situation described here appear frequently in the history of Israel's relationship with God. Facts about King Saul. Put briefly: Israel needed to exercise justice, righteousness, and mercy. Terms and Conditions, Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress. Deut. The Old Testament is a chronicle of Israel's repeated failure to obey God, of its refusal to keep His commandments and statutes. So they were delivered up to the consequences of trying to love both the world and the Lord at the same time. 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. 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. The people may have, worshiping God through the required performances. And the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel, afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of plunders, until He had cast them from His sight. It is as if he is saying, "Think about the practical ramifications of this." Exodus: New American Commentary by Douglas Stuart. I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. We live lives of justice, righteousness, and mercy. Here is how each of the four prophets expresses this: Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. God chose the ancient Israelites because He had promised Abraham that his descendants would become a great nation and occupy the land of Canaan ( Genesis 12:3, 7; 17:4, 7-8; 22:17 ). Covenants with God are inherently covenants with each other.The Hebrew word translated into the English mercy in the verses above is heseda word that President Russell Nelson highlighted in his recent Liahona address (which itself felt like an extension of his recent conference talk). "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. He establishes this through a series of illustrations posed as challenging questions that can logically be answered only one way. So why did God choose Israel? Israel's sad history is the consequence of peoples' faithlessness, not of their God's weakness. Like. The first thing Amos needed to do, then, was establish his authority to preach against them. (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.) In the verses above, righteousness points to ensuring that those who are on the margins of society are given what they need to prosper and flourish. Who Were the Major Prophets in the Bible? God remarks in II Kings 17:18, after providing a long list of Israel's sins, "Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them from His sight; there was none left but the tribe of Judah alone.". Choose from news (Monday), leisure (Thursday) or worship (Saturday) or get all three! Herein lies the main theme of the book of Ezekiel. Learn Religions. This is made more explicit in Judges 2:11-13: "Then the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of Yahweh, and worshipped the Baals, and they forsook Yahweh, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from the gods of the peoples who . 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 8th century BCE prophets Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, and Micah meant when they used that word. Rather, He punishes in the best way and at the best time to bring individuals to repentance. Our regard for humanity is so low that in America alone during the last three decades, an estimated 40-50 million pre-born children have been killed for the sake of convenience. What follows is a general pattern of God's operation in His people's behalf. Israel is God's prey, as it were, and He is not roaring yet. . "Earth" here represents all aspects of His creationincluding manwhich He created for man. 1. Because of their idolatry (11:8, 10b-11, 13-14, 17; 13:10b, 27) and their evil conduct (11:10a, 11, 15b-16, 19-23; 13:9), God had to punish Israel. Finally, God's people cried out to him for help. Although Moses was given consequences for his sinful actions, he still loved and obeyed God. "Introduction to the Book of Ezekiel." The people may have felt like they were worshiping God through the required performances. Given the centrality of these ideas in the Hebrew Bible, it is worth briefly exploring what these terms mean. God believed the people had properly listened to the instructions God gave them. I am angry with them, and I will command Assyria to fight against them. This scathing condemnation concludes with the L, saying, I will hide mine eyes from you I will not hear you.. His utterances are not his own words; they began with God, who sent them because the close relationship is seriously threatened. We are disgusted with this wretched food! they cried. 1. Saith the L, posed in the opening chapter of the book of Isaiah. its offerings and sacrifices, and calling its songs and music of praise noise that I will not hear.. "You shall have no other gods before me. Then God responded in Habakkuk 1:4-11 by telling the prophet that He was bringing a nation to conquer and destroy many Israelites because of their sin. The core problem of Israelaccording to Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, and Micahwas the lack of justice, righteousness, and mercy. Why A Belief Crisis Need Never Be Fatal To Faith. As early as the days of the founder of the Kingdom of Israel, Jeroboam I, God understood the direction Israel was taking. Chapter 1: "Amos" (v. 1). God's Glory Fills the Tabernacle (Exodus 33:134:35; 40:138), God Tells Israel Where to Worship (Exodus 25:1-27:21; 30:1-10, 17-21), Faith Community Church, 3755 Washington Blvd, Suite 201, Fremont, CA 94538, God Punishes Israel's Idolatry (Exodus 32:1-35). Fourth: All too often, the alarms go off, and then people take notice. So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.'". This ties what Amos would say to correct them to their responsibilities within that close relationship. Ezekiel 36 shows this clearly. hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. What is the meaning of john 8: 12? Look at the cause or spring of Israel's sin. The patriarchs were, as God attests again and again, faithful. After all, as Jesus said: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. And what was that? Email him at Email or write to Yosef Eisen, 2337 Sherbrook St., Pittsburgh PA, 15217. 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. They will be given a new heart, and will finally be able to know their God (Ezekiel 11:17-20; 36:24-29). Someone is righteous when they follow the prophet and keep the commandments; these actions indicate their inward commitment. God wanted Israel to serve as a model nation. All through the bible God gave his own people over,into the hands of their enemies and into bondage,for their sins.Judah went into captivty in babylon for 70 years.The Northern Kingdom of israel was carried off by the Assyerians.God is about to give his people over,into the hands of their enemies again and into bondage.Nazi Germany 2 is That specific sacrifices, rituals, feasts, and other religious practices were central parts of its covenant with YHWH was beyond doubt. Indeed, I think it is more likely that the people believed that they were doing things properly. His laws, which define His standards of morality, have not changed one iota. Ezek 4:1-3 "You also, son of man, take a clay tablet and lay it before you, and portray on it a city, Jerusalem. It was this underlying fear of a direct relationship with God that was responsible for the terrible course of events that culminated in the Golden Calf. The Berean: Daily Verse and Comment Sign up for the Berean: Daily Verse and Comment, and have Biblical truth delivered to your inbox. The people would repent and ask Moses to pray to God for forgiveness, which God always granted. . This occurred between 1100 and 1000 BC or roughly 350 years after the original making of the covenant. (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.) Ezekiel wrote from Babylon, but his prophecies concerned Israel, Egypt, and several of the neighboring countries. They were behaving and worshipping like Baal worshippers but doing it in the name of the Lord. God gave the people specific instructions in order to be faithful to the Lord. 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. This means, "Take heed! Historically, the punishment for idolatry was often death. Copyright 2002-2023 Got Questions Ministries. And thus the next day, when the Israelites bring sacrifices before the calf, there can hardly be any misunderstanding: they are sacrificing to YHWH. They have been flippantly careless and have no one to blame but themselves. A deeper appreciation of scripture can help us recognize that we have room to grow. did not keep the covenant of God; they refused to walk in His law, and forgot His works and His wonders that He had shown them. Mishpat, in the Hebrew Bibleand as used by Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, and Micah in the verses abovereflects the idea of ensuring that the weakest members of society are protected from exploitation. The Israelites failed because they would not put their complete trust in their one true God. July 2, 2022 . God's punishment Finally, after so many years of warnings, God brought upon the people of Judah the judgment about which Moses spoke. His contemporary was the prophetJeremiah. Hesed expresses the notion of deep love characterized by loyalty and fidelity, which pours out of one to the other. Introduction to the Book of Ezekiel. The idolatry of the northern kingdom went on for nearly two centuries. 44:29 ), and God did so in judging his son on behalf of his people. We see similar language in the book of Amos. 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). https://www.learnreligions.com/introduction-to-the-book-of-ezekiel-701131 (accessed March 4, 2023). December 30, 2018 ; By James . The sin of worshipping another god is called idolatry. As part of the punishment for Israel's persistent idolatry, God handed the northern kingdom of Israel over to the Assyrians. God will remember His covenant because He is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5). 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. Are we to produce water for you out of this rock?. While Moses was on the mountain, the Israelites chose to make an idol for themselves and worship it even after hearing the ten commandments from God, seeing His power. . Throughout the Hebrew Bible, the prophets argued that the exile happened because the people failed to follow God's instructions. In those from the north, there would be a natural resistance to such an arrangement. Wealth is being funneled into the hands of the few, and the poor and weak keep becoming poorer and weaker. The Northern 10 Tribes of Israel have disappeared, never to return. 9:1-2). Yosef Eisen, a noted historian and lecturer, tells the miraculous story and history of an eternal nation.
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