Searching for Israel (Part Seven): Seven Years' Punishment. During that period, Israel's sins continued to mount horribly. For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings (Hosea 6:6). and they had feared other gods, and had walked in the statutes of the nations whom the LORD had cast out from before the children of Israel. Books may be ordered directly from the author. (The Book of Amos) (Part Two), Searching for Israel (Part Seven): Seven Years' Punishment. The Israelites were given the unpleasant task of carrying out the Lord's judgment against the Canaanites.The Israelites waged war against the Canaanites because the Lord commanded them to. . He founded the Confraternity of Charity, the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians) and, with St. Louise de Marillac, the Daughters of Charity. He is the author "Hope for Hurting Singles: A Christian Guide to Overcoming Life's Challenges.". However, Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, and Micah were talking about something different when they used this word. He will show them mercy because of the promises He made, not because they deserve it. And that kind of disobedience and idolatry has consequences. The reason Moses became so concerned about the Israelites is that they have heard the Word. What is the meaning of john 8: 12? God believed the people had properly listened to the instructions God gave them. Righteousness: In modern-day usage, righteousness is often associated with personal piety. They were still "lost" in His day, not having returned to Canaan. Although Moses was Gods faithful servant, even he once sinned against God. They were to protect and bless the rich and the poor, the bonded and the free, the Israelite and the stranger. However, for the sake of what is best for Jacob, God has to show him that He is serious about what He says. M. David Huston lives and works in the Washington DC metro area. 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. 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. After Satans Temptations, What Do You Do? Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God, and did not keep His testimonies, but turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers. Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations. Or, as another example, if a member of the community had to sell their familys land or becomes subject to debt bondage a person who exercises. God wanted Israel to serve as a model nation. Yet, the naked truth is we cannot retain sovereignty to ourselves and still have what God is offering, entrance into the spiritual Kingdom of God. It is as if he is saying, "Think about the practical ramifications of this." And the reason that they were exiled was due to their sin. 17 They have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths. We've seen in Jeremiah chapter 2 that in spite of some good times in the past between the Lord and Israel, Israel rejected and forsook the Lord and attempted to exchange the living and real God for idols. 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. Corresponding to the 40 days that the spies toured the land, God decreed that the Israelites would wander in the wilderness for 40 years as a result of their unwillingness to take the land .God brought victories where needed, and his promise to Abraham was . God makes it clear that He has given the command to destroy them. "Introduction to the Book of Ezekiel." Since the people sinned by not trusting God, he made them wander the desert for 40 years before entering the land. And then verse 55, it says, but it didn't bring about fruit. Moses obeyed God, and, just as God had promised, those who were bitten and gazed upon the bronze serpent recovered. The most explicit is that Moses and the Levites kill about 3,000 men: "kill each man his brother, each man his neighbor, and each man his relative.". This in turn produced great moral corruption through self-serving idolatry, illustrated as and called "fornication" in other books. , put Israel in an uncomfortable position. Herein lies the main theme of the book of Ezekiel. I have heard some suggest that there is something wrong (or lacking) in the teachings that God gave at Sinai. See what over 150,000 subscribers are already receiving each day. Many of us do not get it! But I will go back to the Lord to see if I can do something to keep this sin from being held against you.". God Knew Israel's True Thoughts He knew that idolatry reached farther than just having an object on the mantle. Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. The prophet Ezekiel was born around 622BCand preached for about 22 years. The first thing Amos needed to do, then, was establish his authority to preach against them. . ___ Caleb was chosen to lead the people into the Promised Land. Lay siege against it, build a siege wall against it, and heap up a mound against it; set camps against it also, and place battering rams against it all around. 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. 32 But I beg you to . He is stalking you, and you are in mortal danger. Amos. 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. Themes in Ezekiel. According to the Bible, the worship of these gods was often promoted by kings and members of the royal court. ESSAY: Why is it important to trust in God? The people would repent and ask Moses to pray to God for forgiveness, which God always granted. Israelites provoked God with sin, and the Creator promised to m. Continue reading. 44:29 ), and God did so in judging his son on behalf of his people. 2. 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. Oddly enough, about 3,000 were buried around on the Western side of Mount Sinai (Jebel al Lawz) in Arabia. God will punish Israel for her failure to live up to her responsibilities within the covenant. All rights reserved. It is from God that the authority for the prophet's message emanates. So he says, and now go to I'll tell you what I will do to my vineyard. The LORD wanted the people of Israel to show all of their neighbors the same deep fidelity and covenantal love which they had received from the LORD. A deeper appreciation of scripture can help us recognize that we have room to grow. I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them," says the Lord your God. So, what is it that Israel needed to do differently? The Hebrew prophet Ezekiel was theson of Buzi and member of a priestly family. A deeper appreciation of scripture can help us recognize that we have room to grow. 15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by human hands. Learn Religions, Dec. 6, 2021, learnreligions.com/introduction-to-the-book-of-ezekiel-701131. (Ex 30:30), 3. That is to say, righteousness is an inward. Even after all of the warnings from the Prophets, after receiving curse upon curse, Israel would NOT turn . He did as God asked and led the people to the Promised Land. And yet, multiple prophets challenged Israels adherence to the very laws and ordinances that were part of this prophetically-given covenant guide. That day, the seventeenth day of Tammuz, three thousand men of the children of Israel lost their lives, in punishment for their idolatry. Amos, a Jew from the southern kingdom, was sent by God to preach against the sins of the northern ten tribes. Is that so? As part of their recognition that God owned everything, the Israelites were to set apart the seventh day for the Lord. However, the key to understanding the significance of Israel's demand in I Samuel 8 is that she desires a king just like the other nations. Ezekiel, Israel's leaders, Ezekiel's wife, and King Nebuchadnezzar. They once again complained to Moses. When they returned from exile and rebuilt the temple, they never turned away from the True God again. . Israels sacred texts clearly outlined how and in what way Israel was to worship the God of the Exodus and Sinai. "Gods," then, have a certain authority and claim over men, which men acknowledge by their worship and service. Judah Didn't Learn from Israel's Punishment In Jeremiah 3:6-10 we see that Judah did not learn from Israel's sin and subsequent punishment. We need to heed His words seriously because our cultural circumstances parallel what Amos confronted in his day. The punishment for David's sin: "The Lord sent a pestilence on Israel from that morning until the appointed time; and seventy thousand of the people died" (2 Samuel 24:15). Much of the thrust of Amos is an education for catastrophe. Amos was a prophet whose home was in Judah, the southern kingdom, yet whose message was to Israel, the northern kingdom. The title is of little importance. Those things were important but not sufficient in and of themselves. shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?. Finally, God's people cried out to him for help. Other themes include the sovereignty of God over the entire world, God's holiness, right worship, corrupt leaders, the restoration of . David makes a. naturalizer vera silver. Israel had already deviated from faithfulness, but here, she formally rejects God as her Ruler, taking a major step toward being exactly like all the nations around her. 25:1-7). The Old Testament is a chronicle of Israel's repeated failure to obey God, of its refusal to keep His commandments and statutes. Prophet after prophet challenged Israel even as Israel apparently kept the laws and ordinances it was given. After escaping his captors, he returned to France and worked in a parish outside of Paris. Choose from news (Monday), leisure (Thursday) or worship (Saturday) or get all three! This occurred between 1100 and 1000 BC or roughly 350 years after the original making of the covenant. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. (2021, December 6). GOD SEEKS REPENTANCE OR PUNISH ISRAELITES - Amos. First, Israel and Judah will have perfect leadership: Jesus Christ will be King, and David will be His prince (Ezekiel 37:24-25; Jeremiah 23:3-7; Hosea 3:5; Micah 2:12-13). Given the centrality of these ideas in the Hebrew Bible, it is worth briefly exploring what these terms mean. This is the responsibility of those who have made a covenant with Him, whether the Old or the New Covenant. To whom much is given much is required (Luke 12:48). God would now destroy Israel as a political power, saying, in effect, "enough is enough." Unless otherwise noted, all material copyright 2023, Rochester Catholic Press Association, Inc. . We could not trust God if He did not hold to His promises of blessing and cursing (Numbers 23:19; Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28). (NIV), Ezekiel 34:23-24I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. But the Israelites did not kill the enemy, or even drive them out of the land. Copyright 2022 Faith Community Church. What sort of pagan revelry did the Israelites indulge in (Exodus 32:6)? Other themes include the sovereignty of Godover the entire world, God's holiness, right worship, corrupt leaders, the restoration of Israel, and the coming of a Messiah. The covenant people, Israel, had profaned His name by their conduct among the other nations. But God certainly knew about them. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself., Contact & Submissions 3. As the Bible has recorded in great detail, mankind has shown that it wants to retain this authority to itself. 2 Bible Summary (Numbers 10-36) Departure from Sinai (10) The fire and the quail (11) Miriam's rebellion and leprosy (12) Spying out Canaan -rebellion upon report of spies (13) After all, as, an extension of his recent conference talk. Has anything else become a god to me?". Exodus 20:2-6 ESV / 899 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 2. Isaiah 10:5-7 Easy-to-Read Version God Will Punish Assyria's Pride 5 The Lord says, "I will use Assyria like a stick. Deut. 13-71shemot.doc. They began to worship the golden calf, and they . God will remember His covenant because He is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5). God responds fiercely, sending venomous snakes, which immediately kill many complaining Israelites. God punishes the Israelites for their sinfulness After he had freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, God wanted to make them a holy people with the help of his servant, Moses. Those things were important but not sufficient in and of themselves. The people realized they were sinning and begged Moses to help them. Conversely, God strongly warns that, if one does not do well, He will surely punish him. And, apparently, Israel was largely doing the things it had been asked to do. He is there by no accident. Israels sacred texts clearly outlined how and in what way Israel was to worship the God of the Exodus and Sinai. . To violate the Sabbath day was a serious sin because it denied God's sovereignty. I will send him against an ungodly nation, and against the people of My wrath I will give him charge, to seize the spoil, to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets" (Isaiah 10:5-6). For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. The sin of worshipping another god is called idolatry. This daily newsletter provides a starting point for personal study, and gives valuable insight into the verses that make up the Word of God. Speaker 3 I will take away the hedge thereof. Introduction to the Book of Job and Its Themes, Major and Minor Prophetic Books of the Bible, 13 Articles of Faith: Simple Overview of What Mormons Believe, M.A., English Composition, Illinois State University, B.S., English Literature, Illinois State University, Ezekiel's name means "God strengthens" or "may God strengthen. Prophecy and the Sixth-Century Axial Period, Prepare to Meet Your God! but He also punishes the evil. Copyright 2023 Rochester Catholic Press Association, Inc. All rights reserved. (The Book of Amos) (Part Two). Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols., says simply: They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of mine offerings, and eat it; but the L, Like Isaiah, Amos and Hosea portray the L, as more than just critiquing the act of worshipwith the Lord very clearly despising Israels feasts, refusing to accept (or even regard!) Searching for Israel (Part Eight): The Scattering of Ten-Tribed Israel. Although God did not allow Moses to cross into the land, in Deuteronomy 34 we read that he had Moses climb Mount Nebo so he could see the land before he died.