Disobedience to God’s commandments always results in punishment. For Israel, their disobedience caused them to wander the wilderness for forty years. Numbers records Israel’s wanderings during this time. Although they were on the border of the Promised Land, the children of Israel instead reverted to fear and cowardice rather than faith in God and obedience to His commands. Prior to the wilderness wandering, God commanded the children of Israel to investigate the Promised Land. One man from each tribe was chosen to carry out this command (Num. 13:1-3). The purpose for doing this was to identify the strength of the Canaanite nations that inhabited the land and to verify the goodness of it (Num. 13:17-20). The spies successfully scouted the …show more content…
12:10). This was not ordinary leprosy, however. It was apparently so severe that it was causing skin decay (Num. 12:12). The reason Miriam faces this punishment is not because God is a misogynist. She was likely the instigator of the rebellion in the first place since her name is mentioned before Aaron’s (Num. 12:1). Furthermore, Miriam held a high position among the children of Israel. Moses then proceeds to implore God to heal Miriam (Num. 12:13). God’s response may seem strange to the modern reader, but what He says illustrates His point (Num. 12:14). Spitting in someone’s face is universally considered to be a sign of disgrace. Miriam’s sin not only brought severe leprosy to her but also great shame. God would allow her to return to the camp and be healed, but she had to dwell outside of it for seven days.
QUESTION 3. DISCUSS IN DETAIL THE SIGNIFICANCE OF DEUTERONOMY IN GENERAL AND OF DEUTERONOMY 1:5 IN
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In the opening chapters Moses rehearses events that occurred during the wilderness wandering, He does this to remind the new generation to avoid making the same mistakes. Moses even provides precepts regarding kings (Deut. 17:14-20). Unfortunately, though, Moses knows that the people will continue to rebel against God. He warns them that if they disobey God will punish them severely (Deut. 28:15-68). This warning was always lost on the Israelites. Although prophets such as Jeremiah earnestly tried to bring God’s people back to Him, they hardened their hearts and continued to do their own
Concerning the nature of myths, one can often find that they are built on broad generalization lacking the premises necessary to make a solid conclusion. Such was the same myths, Pier Larson sought to disprove in his essay “The Student’s ‘Ten Commandments’.” Larson discuss damaging and caustic stereotypes that have worked their way throughout history to create a narrative that often subordinates Blacks when promulgated by a more affluent European society . One myth in particular appears to be quite troubling for its contradictory nature-that being the myth: all Africans are Black. Additionally, to be African is to be Black, Africans are not culturally diverse, and that Africans share one, essentially unified culture. Not only do I find these troubling for their outright abasement of African culture, which is plain to see, but rather for the duplicitous logic that lead to the creation of such myths, and why they remain so harmful when they are continued to be spread in contemporary.
When God first approaches Moses in the form of a burning bush, God says “I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry of complaint against their slave drivers, so I know well what they are suffering. Therefore I have come down to rescue them from the hands of the Egyptians and lead them out of that land into a good and spacious land,” (Exodus 3:7). Moses however, questioned God’s judgement, saying, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11). Moses continues to question God throughout the rest of the chapter, but eventually begins his journey to rescue his
“And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening. And when Moses father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? Why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto evening? Thou will surely wear away both thou and this people that is with thee, thou are not able to perform it thyself alone” (Exodus chapter 18, 13 – 18, p. 88).
Then to dig more into the reasons for Moses’ hesitation, I will begin with Martin Nath’s commentary that claims that Moses to avoid his given charge by God comes up with a reason for his previous failure claiming that he is a poor speaker. Then I will bring Brevard Childs into the picture. He throws more light onto the issue and suggests that the reason for Moses’ previous failure was the suffering of the Israelites. He believes that they did not have any interest in Moses or God because of their situation. Ho...
God also had informed them that if they decided to break this sacred rule he would punish them by death. Despite God’s word and instructions the Hebrew people totally disregarded what they were told and became corrupt by creating many other gods to worship other than their one true God. Because of their disobedience their God became angered and wanted to kill them, however, Moses pleaded with God to not kill his people (Exodus 32:7-14). When Moses came back down from the mountain he saw how out of control his people had gotten. He had also become anger and he burnt the calf, grounded it into powder, and scattered it into water and made the people drink it as part of their punishment (Exodus 32:19-20). The next day Moses told the people how great of a sin that they had committed and he said that he would go ask the Lord for omission from their sin (Exodus 32:30). Moses even sacrificed his name in the book of life in order to spare the live of his people. He pleaded to the Lord “But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written (Exodus 32:32)”. However, God replied saying that whoever had sinned against him b worshipping the calf was to be punished. Because of their disobedience God struck the people with a plague (Exodus
The spies went during the time of the first grape harvest, and brought back a branch with "one cluster of grapes" (Numbers, Ch.13, Line 23), together with some pomegranates and figs. They tell Moses that the land is rich, and the walls of the towns are unfortified. However, while Joshua and Caleb argue that the land is abundant and is "floweth with milk and honey" (Numbers, Ch.13, Line 27), the other spies say that strong and evil men inhabit it, which causes the Israelites to want to return to Egypt. The Lord talks to Moses and says he will kill all of the Israelites. Moses pleads with God, saying that others would think badly of God for leading his people to the wilderness and abandoning them there. Herbert reveals this reference very early in the poem: "I did towards Canaan draw, but now I am/Brought back to the Red Sea, the sea of shame."
Moses is the speaker now, and he says that God made a covenant with them at Horeb. Additionally, he says that last time they would not go up the mountain because they were afraid of the fire. Then, Moses repeats the Decalogue to the Israelites, and he explains that they were written on two stone tablets. Here the third commandment differs from Exodus. Instead of Remember the Sabbath, it states “Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy as the Lord your God commanded you.” (Deut 5:12). In comparison, observe has a more commanding connotation. Furthermore, at the end of the first line of the commandment the text adds as “your God commanded you” (Deut. 5:12,). This sets a more domineering tone and implies that the Israelites will not follow unless commanded. Another key distinction occurs when the texts are describing why one must follow the Sabbath commandment. The text reminds the Israelites that they were once slaves in Egypt and that “God brought [them] out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm” (Deut 5:15). Here God is guilt-tripping the Israelites into following the Sabbath by reminding them of what God did for them in their relationship. Thus, it seems that in Deuteronomy God is attempting to invoke fear in order to convince the Israelites to follow. Nonetheless, Deuteronomy is not only based on the Israelites following God out of fear. It also states that they will change their reasoning to aspire to be similar to God, like Exodus. For instance, when asked what would they tell their children when asked why they follow the Decalogue, they should say that if we follow it “as he has commanded us, we will be in the right.” (Deut 6:25). This indicates that after they followed out of fear that they changed their reasoning to be aspirational. Moses concludes with how they should follow the commandments
As a Jewish individual, there are some accounts in history that you just remember since there are imbedded into your mind as a staple or the foundation for your religion and even as part of your culture. In the Tanakh, Deuteronomy 6:1 says that "And this is the instruction-the laws and the rules. - That the LORD your G-d has commanded [me] to impart to you, to be observed in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy…"(Deuteronomy 6:1). If you were to read this as a stand-alone statement, you cannot assert any explanation to what this means. However, if you were to use this as a complimentary statement to tie in Exodus 19-24, it would make sense. The reason why this statement makes so much contextual sense is that we are told the story of the Jewish peoples escaping from Egypt as well as their journey to the promise land in Exodus. Through this story, we begin to learn of the laws, the expectations, and the commands G-d gives his people.
Following the creation story of the book of Genesis is the book of Exodus. In Genesis, God promised Abraham a “great nation from which all nations of the earth will be blessed (Gen 12:1-3)” and in Exodus God completes this promise through the creation of the holy nation, Israel. Exodus tells the story of the God who rescued his people out of Egypt because of the promise he had made to Abraham. God calls to Moses to complete his promise. God’s call to Moses is not only important because he liberates the Israelites but also because God reveals His name(s) along with His true Nature. God calls upon Moses and tells him that He’s back to help the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and that Moses is to lead them. God then gives him full instructions on what to tell the Pharaoh and, more importantly, the Israelites, who are promised, land “flowing with milk and honey”.
The Divine Command Theory is an ethical theory that basically proposes that God is the sole distinguisher between what is right and what is wrong. The textbook describes that under this theory, God commands what is moral and forbids what is immoral. Critics of this theory state that if God is the sole decision maker of morality, immoral actions could be acceptable if He willed it, and thus, God’s authority would be subjective and arbitrary. However, proponents contend that God would not allow immoral actions because he is omnipotent and all good. To follow the Divine Command Theory, one must believe and trust that it is in God’s nature to do good, and He will not act against his nature. By believing in this, one would dispute the critics’ argument by proving that God his not making
In every society, there is conformity and nonconformity, although we may not notice it. Conformity is when someone is doing the same thing as others because they do not want to be the only one doing differently. Example, if there was a whole class raising their hands would you want to be the only one with your hand down, no so you would raise it with the rest of the class to not look like you don't know anything. This is called social pressures it when a large group is doing something and you're the only one not then you want to be doing whatever that large group is doing.
... people. It also shows the dependence of people on God. Moses was a man of courage who sought to see the face of the God. He received the laws of the lord and made sacrifices for them when they sinned. Moses acted as a mediator between Yahweh and his people (Woolfe).
The concepts of obedience and disobedience are evident from the beginning of one 's life. Young children are born with the tendency to do things that are against what they are told or what they know they should do. They don 't have to learn how to disobey; it is an innate behavior. This struggle between obedience and disobedience carries on throughout our lives. There are three major factors that can cause obedience and disobedience; authority, social pressure, and situations. Each of these vastly impact an individual 's behavior and cause them to act in ways they would normally not.
Modern society and its people have the ability to make a vast range of choice when it comes to anything in their lives. People to today have the ability and free will to choose their partners, their careers, their aspirations in life and their own religion. In the opinion of Peter L. Berger, written in his 1979 book ‘The Heretical Imperative’, modern times provide three fundamental options in relation to religion; the first being ‘The deductive option’, which reaffirms a certain religious tradition in spit of counter claims against it (e.g. Islamic fundamentalism); the second is the reductive option, which modernizes a religious tradition in term which make it sensible or understandable in todays most important modes of though. The final option is called the ‘inductive option’, which turns external forms of authority to individual experience (e.g. William James and the varieties of religious experience). By looking at these options deeper and look at opposing views to Berger’s theory and personal religious preference will give the reader a clearer view of Berger’s ‘The Heretical Imperative’.
The Greatest Commandment “to love God” is the first and greatest commandment of all. In researching this commandment I have found that to love God is truly what God really wants from all of us. The commandment is referenced in all four of the gospels of the New Testament as well as being referenced in the Old Testament through the Ten Commandments in which the New Testament was based on. This commandment is so powerful it is found in Luke 10:25-37, Mark 12:28-34, John 13:34-35 and Matthew 22:34-40. It is also found in Deuteronomy 6:5 and also based on the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:1-17. Take for instance the gospel of Matthew in where the New Testament begins with the book of Matthew revealing the fulfillment of the prophecies in Jesus Christ, the long-awaited Messiah. Matthew was a Jewish tax collector for the Roman government who was called upon by Jesus to become one of the 12 apostles which often in his gospel will give us an eye witness account. Matthew wrote the gospel while living in Antioch, Syria after following Jesus between the years of A.D. 50-70. Matthews’s gospel provides an essential link between the Old and New Testament. Matthew 22:34-40 teaches us of the greatest commandment and what God wants from us foremost. In the scripture of Matthew 22:34-40 where this commandment is told by Jesus to the religious leaders, the Sadducees and the Pharisees who were attacking him and challenging him with one of the Pharisees in particular who was a lawyer decided to test Jesus in hopes of embarrassing him by asking: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?” (NIV, Matthew 22:36) Knowing that this was a difficult question because of the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament in which all are from ...