For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings (Hosea 6:6). Copyright 2022 Faith Community Church. Therefore I was angry with that generation. Much of the thrust of Amos is an education for catastrophe. 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. First, "gods" are the object of man's worship and service. As a result, it has yet to enter into the peace, prosperity, and eternal possession of the land He promised the patriarchs. Searching for Israel (Part Seven): Seven Years' Punishment. He will show them mercy because of the promises He made, not because they deserve it. . Be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel!" Thousands of citizens of Israel, including Ezekiel and King Jehoiachin, had been captured and taken to Babylonabout 597 BC. Hesed expresses the notion of deep love characterized by loyalty and fidelity, which pours out of one to the other. The prophet Ezekiel was born around 622BCand preached for about 22 years. 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. After some time, the Israelites thought that Moses had left them. Themes in Ezekiel. its offerings and sacrifices, and calling its songs and music of praise noise that I will not hear.. naturalizer vera silver. That is to say: Israel. . Amos speaks strongly against public and private indifference toward the keeping of the second of the two great commandments (Matthew 22:37-40). 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 Reflecting on the history of the British Commonwealth and America in the last two hundred years, we see two nations quickly rising to prominence along with unparalleled accomplishments. Idolatry Punishment of Exclusion from heaven. According to the Bible, the commandment was originally given to the ancient Israelites by the Lord after they had escaped from slavery in Egypt, as described in the Book of Exodus. The Assyrian kings Pul and Shalmaneser V invaded Israel, and about 722 BC the latter "captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. keeping the commandments. Put briefly: Israel needed to exercise justice, righteousness, and mercy. Unless otherwise noted, all material copyright 2023, Rochester Catholic Press Association, Inc. He melted the gold and made a statue of a calf. Fortunately, in the same way that Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, and Micah were direct with Israel when it came to expressing the LORDs displeasure, these four prophets were similarly direct with Israel when it came to stating what Israel needed to do differently. God would be unfaithful to His own promises if He annihilated Jacob's descendantseven though, by all accounts, it is exactly what they deserve. God makes it clear that He has given the command to destroy them. (Exodus20:2-3, NIV), Today, idolatry consists of putting more importance on anything other than God, from our career to money, fame, power, material possessions, celebrities, or other distractions. The Israelites' lack of faith while Moses was on Mt. Saith the L, posed in the opening chapter of the book of Isaiah. Post-Christian Europe has transgressed even further. There were two acts of disobedience / incomplete obedience that caused God to reject Saul. As part of their recognition that God owned everything, the Israelites were to set apart the seventh day for the Lord. In the time of Moses God made a contract (the Bible calls it a "covenant") with the people or nation of Israel, and initially they agreed to abide by it. 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."-. (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.) Nadab and Abihu did not abide by God's commandments for worship, but did as they saw fit (Leviticus 10). In fact, highlighting Israels penchant for a straying focus, a central hope in Jeremiahs view of restoration is that Israel will be given a , , while all of this might be true, hypocrisy does not, problem that resulted in such strong language from Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, and Micah. Ezekiel prophesied to those exiles about why God had allowed that, while at the same time, the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the Israelites left behind in Judah. What was God's punishment to the Israelites? His aim is to awaken them from their spiritual lethargy. Ezekiel, Israel's leaders, Ezekiel's wife, and King Nebuchadnezzar. That's just one of many symbolic visions and performances of this ancient prophet, who predicted the destruction of Israel and the idolatrous nations around it. Much negative, indeed inflammatory commentary, arose in America's newspapers and radio and television programs when some suggested that we are not as innocent as we like to think we are and that we must consider the attacks of September 11 to be a judgment from God and repent. Second, Israel and Judah will both make the New Covenant, meaning that they will be given the Holy Spirit, which will enable them to keep the law in its spiritual intent (Jeremiah 31:31-34). What is the punishment for idolatry? Conversely, God strongly warns that, if one does not do well, He will surely punish him. Throughout the Hebrew Bible, the prophets argued that the exile happened because the people failed to follow God's instructions. His warning of impending calamity would not come if they were not deserving of it. His contemporary was the prophetJeremiah. The measure for measure punishment for this was that there would now be an intermediary Angel guiding them instead of their being under direct guidance from God Himself. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Oh, dread the mixed multitude. 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) 15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by human hands. 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. Learn Religions. Who Were the Major Prophets in the Bible? Such power and influence have made both nations feel they have an unlimited reservoir of natural ability and wealth. The patriarchs were, as God attests again and again, faithful. On several occasions God punished the Jews in the wilderness for their disobedience. The process will be painful but also effective; Israel will come to repentance (Romans 11:25-29). God is managing it, governing it. . Through her commercial power, the United States became the single richest nation that has ever existed. Despite these atrocious sins, God will not utterly destroy Israel as He did to Sodom and Gomorrah. However, just like the words, , this modern-day usage is not necessarily what Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, and Micah were expressing in the 8, suggest put us in a better place to understand the remarkable prophetic guidance of Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, and Micah. . 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. The punishment of Israel had not ended even in Christ's time, more than 700 years after Israel's fall. As used by Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, and Micah, tzedeq is characterized by the idea of proactively caring for those who are disadvantaged or pursuing communal flourishing, even when it comes at the expense of self-interest. The title is of little importance. David C. Grabbe God said to speak to a rock and water would flow out of it. Isaiah writes that Jerusalem, symbolizing all the tribes of Israel, will receive double for her sins because of her privileged position under the covenant (Isaiah 40:2). Idolatry is among the most serious sins in Judaism and its rejection is core to the Jewish worldview. This means, "Take heed! God will punish Israel for her failure to live up to her responsibilities within the covenant. This scathing condemnation concludes with the LORD saying, I will hide mine eyes from you I will not hear you.. And what was that? Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Because He does not want His name to be profaned in any way, He is very concerned about those who bear it (Exodus 20:7). All of these occur as punishments for sin as God exacts His vengeance on "those who destroy the earth" (Revelation 11:18). Does that not sound familiar to an informed observer of our modern, American scene? 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 book of Ezekiel was written between 593 BC and 573 BC. According to the Old Testament, God promised to punish sin at the very end of history (e.g., Isa. 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). , put Israel in an uncomfortable position. Before, they just tuned them out. He will also destroy the works of our hand (Isaiah 1:15; 59:2-3; Psalms 28:5). He may even have inspired them to occur and oversaw events so that they would. 4 Know that all lives are mine; the life of the parent as well as the life Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God, and did not keep His testimonies, but turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers. was very angry with Israel, and removed them from His sight. What sort of pagan revelry did the Israelites indulge in (Exodus 32:6)? Holiness refers to God's nature, and righteousness, to God's acts. Moses then struck the rock twice with his staff, and a huge amount of water began to flow. In the verses above, is the Hebrew word that is translated into the English word righteousness (and its derivatives). Ezekiel 14:6Therefore say to the people of Israel, This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Repent! In addition to mercy, hesed is also translated in the King James Version variously as kindness, goodness, favor, and lovingkindness. Unfortunately, as President Nelson notes, even these translations do not adequately reflect the power of the word hesed. Covenants with God are inherently covenants with each other. Download PDF. 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. God would now destroy Israel as a political power, saying, in effect, "enough is enough." He had to eat disgusting bread, drink rationed water, and use cow dung for fuel. Amos is declaring that God is involved in His creation; He has not gone way off. So they were delivered up to the consequences of trying to love both the world and the Lord at the same time. i am the light of the world. Similarly, the first six chapters of the Book of Ezrawhich chronicle Israels return from exile to the promised landare focused on the re-establishing of the sacrifices, rituals, feasts, and other religious practices that served as markers of Israels faithfulness to God. Justice: If said with just the right inflection, the word justice feels punitive. That is to say, righteousness is an inward characteristic. God appointed him to this task and "caused" him to speak. 3. At least one answer is easily pushed aside. Speaker 3 I will take away the hedge thereof. God Eventually Returning to Them and Having Compassion on Them . He died in 1660, and we honor him on Sept. 27. If said with just the right inflection, the word justice feels punitive. "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. 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. This is what we confront in decision-making. 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. Ezekiel lived during the time of the Babylonian exile. 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. 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. Even after all of the warnings from the Prophets, after receiving curse upon curse, Israel would NOT turn . . In our modern world, this message is needed now more than ever. God Knew Israel's True Thoughts He knew that idolatry reached farther than just having an object on the mantle. In carrying out judgment on Ahab, God commissioned Jehu to destroy Ahab, the king of Israel, and his family. Fifth: It is illogical to think that God would punish without first warning His people. Exile, Divorce from God, was the final punishment for a defiant Northern Kingdom of Israel (also known as Ephraim or Samaria). God's punishment Finally, after so many years of warnings, God brought upon the people of Judah the judgment about which Moses spoke. 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.So, what is Israel doing wrong? Prepare to Meet Your God! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!" (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. 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. And the reason that they were exiled was due to their sin. First: People traveling in the same direction toward exactly the same destination would hardly meet except by appointment. But the Israelites did not kill the enemy, or even drive them out of the land. 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. Moses had a pretty tough job. He founded the Confraternity of Charity, the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians) and, with St. Louise de Marillac, the Daughters of Charity. Why did God punish the Israelites for 40 years? The people would repent and ask Moses to pray to God for forgiveness, which God always granted. Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 establish that, if one does well, God will bless him. They joined because of their great respect for the God of Moses and the morality of Moses and his followers. We have sinned in complaining against the Lord and you, they said. Israel's Punishment The result was similar to Israel's, for in II Kings 24:2-4 God carried out His threats of punishment against Judah too: And the Lord sent against [Jehoiakim] raiding bands of Chaldeans, bands of Syrians, bands of Moabites, and bands of the people of Ammon; He sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord which He had spoken by His servants the prophets. It is God's authority and. Amos was a prophet whose home was in Judah, the southern kingdom, yet whose message was to Israel, the northern kingdom.