In God’s Design chapter 13 and 14, the temple bore witness to the honour of God, in a double sense. Nevertheless, the temple was a way of preserving the importance as well as the awe and wonder of God revealing himself to man. Ezekiel 36 is pertinent to the issue of the knowledge of God in the wider world. The divine act which is calculated to reverse the assessment of the nations is the return of Israel to her land. As for the nations, it is especially the return of Israel to her land which is to lead to the recognition of God, God declared that he would bring out his people, the sons of Israel, from the land of Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. The promise to plant and build Israel in the land evoked feelings of warmth,
of hope, of security. One of the reasons for return is threaded back in the discussion to the nature of Yahweh. More could be said about the way in which the theology of Yahwism functions as the reason why Israel is to return to the land. A careful check of the numerous announcements of the return to the land in Jeremiah and Ezekiel shows that despite the many motivational clauses introduced, nowhere is the gift of land a reason for the return. God would rejoice over his people to do them good and Israel would be radiant over the bounty of Yahweh, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd. Martens points out the experience of God includes prayer, temple, judgement and salvation. He also describes the ways in which the glory of the God leaves the temple prior to the destruction of the city. While the mention of land as a gift is an integral symbol which serves not only as a guarantee to continue to possess but also to testify of what God has done in the beginning.
...hooses to overlook the fact that Abraham tried to rape Temple and simply honor the ties of his family. And although under sinful conditions, these bonds are not corrupt. They are true and powerful. The names Abraham and Moses are blatant allusions to the figures of the Old Testament. In the Bible, these two men plant the seeds of civilization. And in a sense, Moses and Abraham are doing the same. Every family in the novel is. The world did not end. Temple comments on this progress saying, “As long as you’re movin, it don’t matter much where you’re goin or what’s chasin you. That’s why they call it progress. It keeps goin of its own accord” (85). The fate of the world is in the hands of the people who remain. Strengthened by the resilient bonds between who is left, the American family becomes the singular hope for progress to continue amongst the surrounding chaos.
God appeared first to Ezekiel in a storm cloud; God was seated on a throne surrounded by cherubim. He commanded Ezekiel to go to an “impudent children and stiffhearted” and He gave Ezekiel a scroll to eat, showing Ezekiel complete identification with God’s Word. After Ezekiel returned to the people in Tel-Abib, God spoke to Ezekiel again, telling Ezekiel to be a “watchma...
In the beginning, the Hebrew civilization, which was politically insignificant compared to other empires such as Egypt, produced a new form of religion that was based on a monotheistic all-powering god that created and controlled everything that they called Yahweh (47). The Hebrew people did not believe in what the Egyptians forced them to believe in and decided to rebel and protest against the unorthodox pharaoh and the Egyptian people who instilled all trust and life into this god-king. The Hebrew decided to leave Egypt, who was led by a profit by the name of Moses throughout many treacherous and tantalizing events. Once the Hebrew crossed the Nile River and the Red Sea, these followers of Yahweh decided to write and record all of their religious ideas, traditions, laws, advice literature, prayers, hymns, history, and prophecies in a series of books. These books are still in existence today and are known now as the Hebrew Bible, which ...
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 Temple was a very complex structure, and because of its destruction there is no abundance of information upon its exact design. Therefore, most of the information that we have today is taken from the books of Kings and also from the books of Chronicles in the Holy Bible. In this paper, the Biblical references come from a New King James Version of the Holy Bible. In this paper we will examine the history behind Solomon's Temple, its structure, and its downfall.
Surveying the Old Testament reveals the theme of God’s faithfulness to his people. In light of this understanding, the restoration of the Israelites prophesized in the Old Testament is essentially the fulfillment of every covenant with God. This perspective relates to the work of Christ and encourages any follower of God to trust in his faithfulness.
...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.
Even though God saw people as evil, he wanted to show his grace. He wanted to separate certain people in the world as His chosen people. “He wanted a chosen people: 1. To whom He might entrust the Holy Scriptures. 2. To be His witness to the other nations. 3. Through whom the promised Messiah could come” (Mears 47). This covenant is made between God and Abram. This covenant marks the beginning history of Israel, God’s chosen people.
The people priority was in question in verse 1:4, then, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in you paneled houses while this house lies desolate?” The people were failing to recognize the authority of the Lord, which had been given to the prophet Haggai. Nevertheless, God continue to speak and instruct the people to not only rebuild the temple, but rebuild it in a way that was pleasing in His sight and that brought glory to His name. After the fear of God finally rested upon the people and the leadership of Zerubbabel and Joshua, their spirit was stirred to do as God and his prophet Haggai commanded. As people became encourage, they were once again reminded of the importance of rebuilding the temple to the glory of the Lord. This temple was not to be a replica of the first temple built by Solomon. For Solomon’s preparation and used of material was soon destroyed 66 years after its building. Hence forth, God repeatedly expounded on the expectancy of Haggai leadership toward the people in their efforts to rebuild the temple as expected with right spirit and by clean hands. As God continued to show his mighty hand at work through the destruction of the earth, Zerubbabel being to question whether or not he would ever obtain the approval
Around 1400 B.C. Exodus was written in Hebrew. The Exodus, which is one of the books in the Old Testament, are rules, similar to Hammurabi Code placed by God for the descendants of Abram. This literature gives insight into the structure of the Jewish community, which includes the hierarchy of their community as well as the roles important in this community. Scholars can further understand the Hebrew community by reading Genesis. Genesis consists of religious stories that talks about how farming, slavery, and the world came into being. But overall, scholars can see a society very much center on religion.
They had structure and a set guideline of who would rule and keep their people in order. This kept the nation from being chaotic and having no design, thus resulting in a purpose for God to watch so closely over them. The “Holy City” is what Israel is consistently referred to
The biblical narrative is one that is still going on to this day. The biblical narrative tells the story of God and how he reveals himself to us. Rhodes points out that “God comes to each through a historical event or series of events” (2). It is in this way that God reveals himself to us and this maintains the relevance of the biblical narrative in our lives. God reveals himself through formative stories in the bible such as Creation, Adam and Eve, the Fall of Man, The Flood, God’s Covenant with Noah, and the Tower of Babel. From the very beginning of the biblical narrative we see that God relates to us on a personal level. He created us, he formed us, he created the world in which we live, and he has been an active participant in the narrative since before it began.
Exodus 6:5-8, “Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.“Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD’” (NIV).
As the confrontation grew over the future of Israel, and the Pharaoh’s anger and dissatisfaction becomes more apparent, God’s frustration was seen. Moses spoke to the Pharaoh, but with no success God began to send plagues like Moses had warned. The Pharaoh did not budge, but instead his heart hardened as a type of punishment by God for the Pharaoh not heeding God’s warnings . Since the Pharaoh did not listen to God, he would have to suffer through all the plagues by his own demise. As a result, ten plagues were sanctioned on Egypt due to the Pharaoh’s disobedience to God, which resulted in the release of the Hebrews. The Pharaoh released the Hebrews from bondage, and Moses began to lead the people to the Promise Land, sanctioned by God with the ancestors. The journey to freedom began in Exodus 12:37-39, but Israel wasn’t free yet. The Pharaoh began to chase after the Hebrews, not because of willfulness, but as the act of YHWH’s hardening of his heart . YHWH has purposely set this up for the reason, as said by YHWH, “I will get glory over Pharaoh!” (Ex. 14:1-4) . The Egyptians, through the departing of the Red Sea for the Hebrews with the closing on top of them, will see YHWH’s glory. The outcome of this power struggle will put the Pharaoh down, and the people shall come to know “I am Yahweh.” (Ex. 14:1-4) signifying that YHWH is king
The redeemed Israelites exodus from Egypt, has brought them to Mont Siani, where they struggle with obedience. Jehovah teaches the chosen children of Israel His character of holiness, sovereignty, healer and provider, the who blesses and makes His children fruitful, as He is the keeper of the covenant and everything is brought under Him. God sets up His earthly throne with his people reveal Himself as holy, as in Leviticus 20:26, “You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own,” God also builds his people to be holy.