Ezekiel 5-8
Oct. 8th, 2010 09:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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God gives hair dressing tips (cut with a sword, ouch!) with specific instructions for how to dispose of the cut strands. It sounds like a magical ritual to me.
It goes without saying that this is another book filled with grisly predictions about the fates that will befall the sinful people of Israel.
It is an abomination to God that a group of women were observing a ritual that involves mourning the end of summer as less crops will grow and some men are worshipping the sun. I've always thought that worship, or at least dedicated observation, of the seasons and the movement of the sun is a pretty logical religion for a farming community, it certainly isn't abominable.
It goes without saying that this is another book filled with grisly predictions about the fates that will befall the sinful people of Israel.
It is an abomination to God that a group of women were observing a ritual that involves mourning the end of summer as less crops will grow and some men are worshipping the sun. I've always thought that worship, or at least dedicated observation, of the seasons and the movement of the sun is a pretty logical religion for a farming community, it certainly isn't abominable.
no subject
Date: 2010-10-09 04:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-09 09:48 am (UTC)I serve this same God...
Date: 2010-10-10 04:37 am (UTC)Romans 2:1 NIV
"You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things."
Ezekial is simply a messenger for the one true Judge. It saddens my heart that the actions a few have jaded your perception of Christians, but this is nothing new. About those that unfairly judged, Paul wrote:
Romans 2:1, 24 NIV
"24 As it is written: “God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”"
I'm happy that you have decided to read the bible for yourself, and I pray that you do it with an open mind and heart. God has put you on my heart, and so I will pray for you tonight and every night that He does so. Although you may have forgotten God, He will never forget you.
-Your friend, Adam
no subject
Date: 2010-10-13 12:15 am (UTC)Again, since the Jews living in Babylonia wouldn't be getting Jeremiah's prophecies (no Internet, TV, etc.) they needed a prophet in Babylonia to tell them what was going on and what would be happening. The prophecy comes about 4-5 years before the fall of Jerusalem, both as prophecy and as a lesson to those living in Babylonia that God wasn't limited to just Israel/Judah.
In those times, people would often worship the idols of whatever region they lived in. If they moved to a different area, they would start worshiping the idols of that area. The belief was that idols were dominant in their home regions, so if one moved from Babylon to Egypt, one would typically stop worshiping Babylonian idols and would worship Egyptian ones instead. God has Ezekiel give a warning to all of the people in the region that all of their idols were meaningless and that God would destroy those idols. This proclaims God's power over all of these 'regional gods'.
God shows Ezekiel the sins of the people of Jerusalem. The idolatry of these people was the real sin. They knew of God, they knew his power and they knew their history. They knew the covenant and the benefits of the covenant, however they intentionally turned away from it. They chose instead to worship idols (carved rocks), the sun, etc. I would agree that a typical agrarian culture, who didn't know any better, would have some justification in worshiping the sun, perhaps a god of rain, etc. That wasn't the case here. These people were knowingly violating their own laws and their covenant. Further they were given many warnings and many opportunities to return to the covenant along with examples (both positive and negative) of God's power.
no subject
Date: 2011-02-22 03:00 am (UTC)