The Divine Father’s Rebellious Children Humanity can be easily compared to a group of rebellious children. When they behave, God supports His people fiercely, just as any loving father would. But the humans tend to test the boundaries, which angers God into punishing them, but ultimately He forgives them when asked because of His unwavering love. Yahweh’s relationship with humanity constitutes a cyclical trend of faithful worship followed by selfish deviation, renewed by second chances brought on by His mercy and forgiveness. It began in Genesis with the creation and then fall of man and can be seen though out the Old Testament, in Exodus, the era of Kings and of prophets, and among Psalms as well. Yahweh’s relationship with humanity began …show more content…
They wandered in the desert on the way to the Promised Land of milk and honey. They were thankful to begin with, but soon grew weary of their travels. They whined to God of their lack of water and food, and wished to be back under their oppressors “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death” (Exodus 16:3). And because he loved them and did not want to see them suffer any longer he purified water of poor quality and brought them sources of water when they had none, and provided them with manna to eat for their years in the desert. He defended them against the people who were against them throughout their journey. Despite all that He has done for them, the Israelites turned away from God in Moses absence, and crafted a golden calf, “come, make us gods who will go before us, as for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him” (Exodus 32:1). The Lord was enraged and declared to Moses, “now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them” (Exodus 32:10). Three thousand Israelites were slain and many others died of plague. But Moses pleaded for mercy and it was given to those who remained. The people continue to complain to the Lord and …show more content…
The Lord yearns for his people’s full devotion, so he could give all he has to offer in return. He cries out “if my people would only listen to me, if Israel would only follow my ways, how quickly I would subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes” (Psalm 81:13-14)! Regrettably it is not in the nature of humanity to be fully faithful, although God had
In Exodus chapter 3, Moses is instructed by God to bring his people out of Egypt and be a key figure in God’s redemptive plan. This would require Moses to approach Pharaoh and demand the release of his people (Ex.6:10-11). God hardened the Pharaohs heart, this may not seem logical but it gave opportunity for God to show is power and glory. (Ex.10:1-2) As a result, God sent ten terrible plagues attacking Egyptian deities, economics and agriculture.
In the narrative in the book of Genesis, there are two main objectives. The first is a general goal to create a complex world designed for ideal human existence according to divinely legislated principles. The second is God's desire to establish a great nation within this world. According to the narrative, God aims to achieve these goals by constructing frameworks for his goals and then enlisting carious humans to help see them to fruition. However, as amply demonstrated in Genesis, the human variable is volatile and frequently confronts God with instances of insubordination.
Throughout Exodus, he shows his consistent love for the Israelites when he continues to help them after they have disobeyed. Because God is both eternal and good this is the best thing anyone could possibly want. Therefore anyone who doesn’t want god doesn’t really know what the good life is. His use of violence to correct those who are falling of the straight and narrow line is in no way to hurt them. But is used to remind them of how to get to the good life they desire. It seems as if god posits that if you love me and do what I tell you, everything will be fine and I 'll give you eternal life. But if you don 't, I 'll have to destroy you. However, it should be seen as I will do whatever I can do in my power to guide you to the good
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
The Book of Nahum is a prophetic book concerned with pronouncing judgment upon the Assyrian capital of Nineveh, and with detailing its coming destruction at the hands of Yahweh. In light of this concern, it is not surprising that the primary image and expression of Yahweh in this piece is one of a vengeful and wrathful deity, expressing judgment in the form of destruction and desolation. These images combine to portray the character of Yahweh within the book of Nahum as a angry and judgmental God, bent on the destruction of all those who stand against Israel, a reality that readers struggle to comprehend in light of other texts, especially among the prophets, which depict Yahweh as gracious and merciful. What this essay will argue is that it is this larger textual context of the exploration of divine character, especially among the Twelve, through which Nahum should be understood, as well as through comprehension of the mythical allusions made by the author in Yahweh’s theophany. To show this, we will focus in on Nahum 1:2-3, exploring how it describes Yahweh, especially in relation to its use of Exodus 34:6-7, as well as how this compares to other prophetic texts and Jonah in particular. We will then explore the mythic qualities of Yahweh, particularly in Nahum 1:4, and how they relate to our reading of Nahum.
...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.
We cannot have actions pleasing God. As sinners, we are dead in our transgressions. On the one hand, we do not do the things are pleasing to Him. On the other hand, we cannot stop doing the things are displeasing to Him.
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 relationship between God and his creations humans can be said to be a very complex relationship. Genesis shows us many examples of God's interaction with humans and human's interaction with each other. From the creation of Adam and Eve and all the events that follow afterwards, I shall show what the relationship tells us about the nature of God and mankind.
The Twelve Apostle are a set of limestone stacks. They are the tallest in the world limestone stacks. Some of the limestone rocks are sharper than others They are located in Victoria, Australia. They are off the shore of Port Campbell National Park, near the Great Ocean Road. There really are not 12 rocks there is only eight. But in the future there will be more rocks that will most likely form. Some say that the twelve apostles started to form up 20 million years ago. The ocean that they sit in is 20.327 million square kilometers.The 12 apostles rocks are considered to be classified as limestone rocks. Limestone is a sedimentary rock. It is composed of the minerals such as calcite and aragonite. Most of limestones are made up skeletal pieces
Make an argument about the ways in which Father Divine’s use of Christianity to empower and/or dis-empower himself as well as those who followed his teachings. Divinity during Depression At the peak of the Great Depression, many people felt lost and sought the salvation of some sort. At this time hopelessness brought many to look for help and guidance from a man who offered them food, community support, and the word of God. A man known as Father Divine founded the International Peace Mission movement, founded on ideas of racial equality and communal living. Father Divine had tens of thousands of followers, all believing him to be god on Earth.
There were literally thousands of people who needed help. Also, the Israelites were trying to survive in their early days after they were able to escape Egypt’s rule. The Sanhedrin and our church council today are very alike. “The Sanhedrin was an assembly of twenty-three to seventy-one men appointed in every city in the Land of Israel. In the Hebrew Bible, Moses and the Israelites were commanded by God to establish courts of judges, they were given full authority over the people of Israel; and the people were commanded by God to obey every word they have instructed and every law they have established.”
Throughout the beginning of Christianity, not much was known about the Holy Trinity. In early versions of the Bible, there is not a single reference to the topic. However, in later works, scholars were able to identify where in the Bible the Trinity makes appearances, such as during the baptism of Jesus Christ, when the white dove descended upon him (Matthew 3:16). The Trinity can also be seen in Luke 3:22 which states “And the Holy Spirit descended upon Him [Jesus] in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “You are my beloved Son, in you I am well-pleased.” This is talking about the birth of Jesus Christ, in which the white dove, which symbolizes the holy spirit, descends upon the stable and is shown to Jesus.
The supreme being of God exists in a trinity composed of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each member of triune has distinguishable characteristics as well as sharing common ones. In the act of salvation, these three beings contribute in different ways. “God the Father purposes redemption, Jesus, the Son, secures it, and the Holy Spirit applies it to the lives of those who receive it”(Packer 15). Just as the human body is composed of three main parts, the body, mind, and soul, but is all one person, The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three beings in one.