Use Of Religious Ritualism In Ezekiel

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Idolatry, Social Injustice, and Religious Ritualism Name: Deanna Martin Date: 5/6/2017 In the Old Testament, Prophets are used in many cases especially when God wanted to condemn a great sin or to warn people. Among many other Prophets that were used include Ezekiel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Hosea and Micah among others who addressed issues like idolatry, social injustice, and religious ritualism. They discussed this issue and relayed the Gods intentions and meaning with respect to what people needed to know. In this paper, these sins are discussed in the way the prophets spoke about them. Idolatry is the worship of idols. The idols are images and all objects that are not God. In the Old Testament, there were many instances where the people used …show more content…

In Ezekiel 14, we can see God revealing to Ezekiel that the elders in Israel had made idols in their hearts and it was causing them to sin. As a result, God sends Ezekiel to the elders saying …show more content…

These are the three major sins that the humanity commits and God is clearly warning people against these. For example, the sin of idolatry could see God destroy the people and the idols that they have made. The sin distances people from God. This shows that Gods demands complete devotion in him. The social justice is the relationship amongst people. How the rich relate with the poor, and how the rulers relate to the subjects. In this regard, God promises to destroy those who practice injustice and will be ashamed before the poor. The social injustices include slavery, corruption, forced labor, and greed among others. The other sin is the religious ritualism. The prophets depict that obedience is better than rituals. That people should obey and not use ritual to sanctify their disobedience. In summary, God is communicating two things to people; that is a good relationship with him and a good relationship with people. This is through condemning idolatry and social injustice. In ensuring that the people abide by that, God demands obedience and say that people should not think that God will appreciate sacrifices, offerings, and other rituals at the expense of good relationship with him and with

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