45. Moses was gone for 40 days and the people did not know what had become of him and they asked Aaron to make them gods to go before them
46. Aaron had the people give him their gold earrings and he made a golden calf
47. The people worshiped the calf as their gods, or god, that brought them up out of the land of Egypt
a. The people panicked when they thought they had lost Moses who had been their mediator and their connection to God
b. They reverted to the worship of a golden bull idol which was part of their cultural experience of how to connect with a god through an earthly representation (Lev 17:7, Ezek 20:6-9)
c. In the pagan thinking of their tradition it was believed a god inhabited the idol or rested upon it and it functioned as
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The reference to “gods” is the word “Elohim” and it can either be translated as a god, referring to Jehovah, or to gods, referring to false gods
e. There is scholarly debate as to whether the Israelites were seeking to worship Jehovah through the idol or to worship false gods through it
f. At best the Israelites were guilty of breaking the second commandment to not worship Jehovah through an idol, and at worst they were guilty of also breaking the first commandment to worship Jehovah only
48. Aaron built an altar and declared the next day to be a feast day to Jehovah
a. Some see in this an attempt by Aaron to turn the focus of this idolatrous event away from false gods and towards Jehovah while others see it as confirmation the idea from the beginning was to worship Jehovah
b. Either way the blending of idolatry with the worship of Jehovah was equally sinful and directly forbidden by the 2nd commandment which said to not worship Jehovah through an idol
49. The people sacrificed to it and worshiped it and began to sing, dance, and play
a. Some scholars consider this to be a description of a typical pagan feast involving sexual activity (1 Cor 10:7,8)
50. God told Moses to return to his people because they had worshiped false
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God made a significant step in restoring his original intention for humanity in the Israelite nation and the Tabernacle
e. When God created the nation of Israel, they became the people of God whom he intended to be “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex 19:6)
f. Similar to Adam and Eve, the Israelites were given their own land, unique fellowship with God, and the blessing of life if they would be faithful
g. They were to reflect God’s image in the world and be his representatives
h. In the Tabernacle God was re-establishing fellowship with his presence by setting up an area of sacred space
i. Initially heaven and earth overlapped; now, God was re-introducing a small area of heaven on earth where the fullness of his presence would reside
j. The Tabernacle represented a small version of the garden of Eden where God originally had fellowship with mankind (1 Kings 6:29-35, Ps 78:69)
1) The lampstand represented a tree - perhaps the tree of life
2) Cherubim were designed into the curtains of the ceiling and the dividing veil similar to the cherubim that surround God’s presence
3) The inner walls were carved with cherubim, palm trees, and flowers
4) The altar of incense represented people’s prayers to God (Rev
...mment is that Moses, as the group’s spiritual leader, had the right idea in mind. When our leadership help us focus upwards, to the heavens, to our best selves, we succeed in our mission, whether fighting a war or building a sanctuary. When our leaders forget that mission, and our focus turns down- towards pettiness and false pride, then we are liable to build buildings without the investment of the people who fill the seats. We are liable to create beautiful and ornate houses for broken tablets, which can never lead us in our worldly mission. Our task force and building team is inspired by their commitment to the little wooden box, the Ark that reminds us of who we are on the inside that cannot be written down in stone. In addition, of course, our new space will be beautiful, but it will also shine with a light that is brighter than gold and silver can provide. Amen
Paganism is a belief system that holds to the ideology of the existence of gods and goddesses, which the Pagans believe affect and interact with one?s daily life. Most pagans hold to a polytheistic view of theology. Some pagans choose to worship a pantheon of deities, while other seek to have a more intimate and personal relationship with only one of their gods. They hold to the view that their gods embody certain attributes such as strength, love and intellect. Some modern Pagans define their spiritual beliefs and practices as being ?Earth-based.? You will often hear the
Gods presence within the synagogue is symbolised by the Ner Tamid - the everlasting light, positioned above the Arkis never extinguished, this helps the Jews to feel God at all times and also shows respect for the holiness of the Torah scrolls. It represents the Menorah the oil light of the tabernacle. Many modern synagogues use an electric light but a few still have the traditional oil lamp. Placed near to this above the Ark, plaques made of stone or bronze are engraved with
“The altar in an open precinct preceded the temple as a place of worship and later remained an essential adjunct of the temple, being placed either inside it, or more commonly outside, facing the entrance. Generally it was ...
Paganism had three main beliefs in the Greek/Roman time periods. First, is being the sense of piety. Piety meaning the natural religious instinct to respect something greater than yourself, and that humility plays a role in order to understand man's subordinate place in the great scheme of things. Moderation and temperance went along with this. In classical civilizations, some had mottos “Nothing too much” and “Know thy self”. To man, Pagan as well as Christian, moral rules were absolute. They were unyielding and unquestionable. This ...
This totem was a symbol of both their God and their clan. In other words they were worshipping their God on a conscious level and themselves on a sub-conscious one. What he’s trying to say is that it’s not a belief in supernatural powers, but a certain admiration and respect for what that group of people considers sacred, which could be anything. This view has been criticised for being too broad, allowing anything to be sacred, eg, football. Football has become what you could call a ‘national religion’ in the UK.
How did people revere their gods differently among three civilizations? Did they worship with the same general intent? What were gods’ role(s) in people’s lives? A brief exploration into the religions of Egypt, Greece, and the Hebrew people may bring insight to these questions. Although the main idea of higher beings remains constant throughout societies’ religion, their form of presence in people’s lives varies. I will present the relationship between the leaders and the gods, as well as resemblance to monotheism and systems of government.
The worship of Yahweh was unknown. before the time of Moses. The Israelites as a whole began to realize that the God of Moses was a very “jealous God,” who would not tolerate worship of any. other gods.. As the book of Exodus opens, we find that the Israelites are slaves.
Eventually their gods became an object of worship known as polytheism. Eventually many forms of polytheism evolved to what is known as paganism. Modern Paganism Now defined as :The worship of a god or goddess whose roots are in pre-Christian Western Europe. Modern paganism is alive and well today.
Like Odysseus, Moses was at one with the gods. In Moses' case it was only
Matthew paints the scene of Jesus using a parable to describe the fact, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son” (Mt 22:2). Using a wedding banquet as the setting for this parable allows people to apply the message of God to their everyday lives. The visualization of the preparations of the oxen and fat calves for feasting depicts the nature that this was an important event, worth the sacrifice of animals, which at the time was a great personal expense. Theologically, the kingdom of heaven was represented by the wedding banquet, for those who were invited to the wedding banquet were extended an invitation to the kingdom of God, while the King was an image of God, the Father and the king’s son was a portrait of Jesus. Brown 66 5.
The Romans believed in many gods and goddesses. They believed that they would come down to earth and change anyone’s life at any time. The people felt the need to keep the gods happy at all times. The Romans believed that for every aspect of their lives a separate god or goddesses was in control of their fate, and worshipped him or her separately. For example during times of war the people would pray to Mars, the god of war, in order to win (Shuter). The Romans built large temples to their state gods, and had small shrine in their homes and so they could pray to the household gods. “They believed in two kinds of gods, the powerful gods and goddesses of the state religion and the friendly household spirits who protected their homes (Chandler)....
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
Finally, the last book of the Bible inspires hope in the lives of the worshipping church. It depicts they day when God and the Church will be united forever and face-to-face. No longer will there be a temple to go and meet God, because God himself will be the temple (Revelation 21:22). The hope for ultimate intimacy with God forever drives the focus and vision of the church to worship in the meantime. Through good or bad, easy or difficult, success or failure, pleasure or pain… the reality of intimate worship with God for eternity gives strength and eager expectation of the New Earth to come.
...e complaining, and murmuring while in the dessert. Numbers 11:1-3 says “Now the people complained about their troubles in the hearing of the Lord. When the Lord heard it, His anger burned. The fire of the Lord burned among them, and destroyed some around the outer parts of the tents. Then the people cried to Moses and he prayed to the Lord, and the fire went out. So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the Lord burned among them.” Third, Moses was a Intercessor in enforced Gods laws to children of Israel. Exodus 20:1, “And God spoke all these words; I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” God gave Moses the Ten Commandments for the Children of Israel for there disobedience, foolishness.