"I will make of you a great nation…And you shall be a blessing…And all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you" (Gen. 12:2-3). Israel is a blessing to the other nations. As long as Israel succeeds in informing other peoples and proving that Yahweh is God, it will be understood to be a blessing to these nations. The very examples often employed to dispel the idea of Israel's being a blessing serve as evidence to support it. The plagues in Genesis actually prove that Yahweh is God to the Israelites and the Egyptians. In the infamous conquest of Canaan, Rahab and her family are spared because she acknowledges that Yahweh is God. Joseph gathers food to feed the Egyptians during the 7 years of famine. Throughout the Hebrew Bible, the Israelites relationship with other nations ultimately leads its peoples to benefit by the realization that Yahweh is God.
At first, Israel's relationship with the Egyptians does not seem to be a blessing; however, The Plagues result in the Egyptians ultimately perceiving Yahweh as God. God, so that the "Egyptians shall know that I am Lord" (Exodus 7:3,5), puts the Egyptians through a gauntlet, comprised of some of the worst conceivable ills that can befall man. When God states that He will bring down a hail storm, Pharaoh's courtiers, "…who feared the Lord's word brought their slaves and livestock indoors to safety" (9:20). This quotation signals a change in faith: previously, Pharoah's courtiers did not pay attention to Moses' premonitions. Gradually though, the courtiers begin to take notice of Yahweh's power. Similarly, God vows to unleash locusts all over the land. Pharaoh's courtiers become increasingly involved with Pharoah's decisions and favor allowing the Israelites to leave: ...
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...distinction of whom He rules. After Israel captures Edom, "… all the Edomites became vassals of David" (II Sam. 8:14). Initially, this is capture is not seen as a blessing. However, after examining what nations typically did after capturing another nation, Israel is truly a blessing, because not only did Israel refrain from destroying, robbing, and murdering the citizens and the city, but instead appointed them to official positions. Israel's conquests prove to be a blessing to other nations, as they allow the peoples to live by accepting Yahweh as God.
Though Israel's actions may not initially allow it to be apparent, Israel is a blessing to other nations. It is true that many people suffer, some innocently and others because they chose not to accept Yahweh as God. However, the Tanakh says it is much better to die with the truth, than it is to live in ignorance.
In this essay, I will be talking about the plagues God sent against the Egyptian for the Hebrew to be release from their hands. There was not a struggle between God and the Egyptian power, but of God and the Egyptian Gods to show who the true God was. In Exodus 9:13-14, Yahweh told Moses to tell the Pharaoh of Egypt, “Yahweh, God of the Hebrews, says this: Let my people go and worship me. For this time, I am going to inflict all my plagues on you, on your officials and your subjects, so that you will know there is no one like me in the whole world. ‘The ten plagues made Yahweh evident among the Israelites and also to the stubborn Pharaoh and his Egyptian subjects. The plagues also demonstrated Yahweh powered and how much trouble he went through to free them.
God is the creator, sustainer, judge, and redeemer. However, the most important characteristic of God is love. Love is an admirable quality. Genesis is an account of God’s magnificent creations. God saw that everything he created was good. The book of Genesis focuses on six persons and their families: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. God blessed man and all of his creations. For a moment, God’s creation was as He intended; paradise. Man sinned and God became unhappy, but he still provided for his people. God wanted man to repent. He still wanted things to be good once again. Noah was of the “few” good people on earth. Noah was obedient and honored God. God wanted to rid the earth of evil and start anew with righteous men and women. God wanted to give people a second chance and that was through Noah. God’s decision to save Noah and his family was, because He still longed for man’s obedience and faithfulness.
by God you will see that God was opposed to war, violence and any form
The excerpt from the Zohar concerning Moses and the burning bush ends with an uplifting quote, “Happy are Israel! The Blessed Holy One has separated them from all nations and called them His Children, as it is written: ‘You are children of YHVH your God!’ (Deuteronomy 14:1)” The people of Israel had endured a great deal of suffering in which most people would begin to question their faith in God. However, through this suffering, those of Israel have continued to separate themselves from others and persevered to serve their Lord.
In Judaism, God is seen as having a contractual relationship with the Jewish people where they must obey his holy laws in return for their status of the chosen people. God rewards or punishes Jewish people based on whether they obey or disobey his will. In parts of the Old Testament, however, God does show mercy or forgiveness, and in later interpretations God’s laws such as the Ten Commandments are followed
Pharaoh also expresses more and more guilt as the plagues intensify but the instant there is a reprieve in the suffering the king reverts back to his old ways. This could be teaching us how only pressing needs create enough discomfort to grab our attention and make us want to change. Another way of viewing G-d’s actions is seeing them as a method of serving justice. Pharaoh, as well as the Egyptians, had 430 years to change the Israelites position in their society. Plaguing the land compensated for the mistreatment of the Israelites by inflicting suffering upon the Egyptians while favoring the Israelites. This partiality also builds faith between the Israelites and G-d, sending the broader message that G-d is watching over them. Moses patiently obeys G-d and ultimately his trust is rewarded. It is hard to tell if Pharaoh would have given in sooner without the stiffening of his heart by G-d. However, by enhancing Pharaoh’s stubbornness, G-d made possible a true punishment for the Egyptians and created a story that clearly has endured the test of
This section of exodus focuses on Moses, an Israelite who was raised as an Egyptian, who has fled from Egypt after the Pharaoh tried to kill him for killing an Egyptian man. By Exodus 3:1 Moses is married to Zipporah daughter of Jethro who gives him a job working as a shepherd. While tending to his animals Moses arrives at Horeb also known as Mount Sinai or the Mountain of God. Here Moses has his first theophany with God in the form of a burning bush. During this passage God talks to Moses telling him what he needs to do: go to Egypt and convince the Pharaoh to let the Egyptians go by performing a series of miracles. What god is asking Moses to do is intimidating. At this time the Pharaoh was the ruler of Egypt who had a powerful army and the Israelite’s weren’t going to be easy to convince that God sent him. Despite the “signs” Moses is reluctant to take the role beca...
immense love God In Deuteronomy 7:7-9, 13 We that it is God who chose us not the other way around, and this is brought on without any help of their own accomplishments or righteousness in and of themselves. The Lord promises to fulfill his blessing towards us if we follow His Word and Law. we see that we are to In Deuteronomy 7:12 7:13
...f the divine world but the kings were in charge of vocalizing god’s wishes on earth. The most famous of these law codes was Hammurabi’s law code. The Hebrews tried to establish order by using Yahweh’s Ten Commandments and the Torah. Mesopotamian deities were hard to please and easily angered. The Mesopotamians constantly felt they were letting their gods down and usually didn’t even know the reason behind it. Hebrews had a much more forgiving god. Through texts like “The Book of Job”, it is apparent that Yahweh was a tough god but always forgiving and fair in the end. He had few demands of his people and all of them were ethical and easy to adhere to. As long as his devotees followed Yahweh’s laws, they were all capable of receiving his blessings. Through it all, it seemed that God and religion was at the center of every aspect of life in the ancient civilization.
The biblical account of Joseph perfectly encapsulated the truth of God’s sovereignty and His complete control over all circumstances. Throughout the story, Joseph found himself in many horrendous situations, but he acknowledged how they were all overseen by the Lord and were ultimately used to serve His greater purpose. Joseph was sold to slavery by his brothers and was taken away from his home to Egypt. However, he did not remain a slave. Instead, he would eventually gain prominence and become the second most powerful ruler after the pharaoh. When the Middle Eastern world suffered
The use of Mosheh was perfectly orchestrated based on the previous behavior of Mosheh fighting against injustice. Throughout the plagues Egyptians did turn there beliefs away from there traditional beliefs to worship Yahweh along with the Hebrews. Which proves first reason for the final plague was that the Egyptians may know that Yahweh is the supreme God. To set a reminder to Hebrews who have my converted to Egyptian beliefs. So we ask ourselves why wouldn't Pharaoh believe in Yahweh? Let us remember in Mitsrayim, Pharaoh was worshipped as a god. If he would have believed Yahweh was greater, he would lose his "divinity." Why did Yahweh hardened his heart continuously. Had Yahweh allowed Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go after the first plague, the Egyptians and their gods were have felt a some of superiority to Yahweh and missed out on the purpose to exult Yahweh as the most high
To begin, peace is a massive reason why countries get along very well. For example, Israel has made peace with other countries such as Egypt, and Jordan. Although Israel has made peace with some countries they haven’t made peace with every country, Israel needs to make peace with a country like Syria, or Lebanon. Also, Israel has been in many wars, for example the six day war, and the war of independence. Moving on, many people in the world care about peace, Israel has symbols with a bird carrying the olive branch that is a sign of peace. Bob Marley once said “ We need to love one another, live in peace, and in
There is more emphasis on outward blessings or material blessings in the Old Testament. The New Testament helps us to focus more on the inward or spiritual blessings of God (Elwell, Walter A., 1997). God’s promise to Abraham that all people would be blessed through him is an early example of this idea of outward blessings. In Genesis 12:2, God speaks of prosperity in Abraham’s life making his name great and enlarging his territory through his descendents and those he fathers in the spiritual sense (NKJV). There are three main themes that attach themselves to the meaning of blessi...
In the Biblical Book of Exodus, Moses was not originally supposed to be born under the Pharaoh’s rule because he was an Israelite male. Pharaoh decreed all Hebrew boys born were to be killed in the Nile River. Moses survived because Pharaoh’s servants feared God more. This law was one of Pharaoh’s ways to oppress the Hebrew people. It was a tactic to keep the majority of the population from growing as well as implementing slavery. However, that did not stop the Israelites from multiplying in size: “’And now indeed the cry of the Israelites has come to me, and I have also seen how severely the Egyptians oppress them. So now go, and I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt’” (New English Translation, Exodus 3:9-10). In this passage, God is speaking to Moses in the form of a burning bush that he has seen the hardships Pharaoh put the Israelites through, and that he will deliver them from their sufferings. M...
...ression under the Egyptians. He still cares for the oppressed even when it is not the Israelites. After entering the Promised Land, the tables will turn. The Israelites will have abundant power and wealth and could become the oppressors if they do not continue in humble submission to Yahweh. However, Yahweh expects the overflow of the Israelites’ blessings—crops and tithes—to bless the Levites, aliens, orphans, and widows. The distinctness of the pericope, as previously discussed, further highlights Yahweh’s strong heart to see all of his people cared for. Yahweh sometimes gives direct blessings, such as crops and financial wealth, and other times uses indirect blessings, such as commanding those who have received the direct blessings to share with others.