During the destruction of Jerusalem, God is still with the people of Israel who were exile into Babylon, which is shown through the prophet Jeremiah. While delivering the words of God, Jeremiah was put through multiples rough situations. In the time of sorrow and grief, Jeremiah cried out to God in the place of exile in Babylon. The use of harsh language to blame the wrongdoing against God is a driving factor into comparing the similarity of the predestined birth of Jeremiah and Israel yet their faith to God at the end is completely different.
First, Jeremiah’s word of choice when describing his prosecutors and God is similar yet the image of each is different. Though Jeremiah blame God for the cause of his suffering saying, “you deceived me, LORD, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed” (Jeremiah 20:7). The image of God revealed a holy warrior when “he rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked” (Jeremiah 20:13); for example when God rescues Israel from Egypt. When he was recused from the Israelites who were about to denounce him and praises to God, “the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail” (Jeremiah 20:11). The people of Israel, Jeremiah’s prosecutors, the ones that were actually causing the suffering of Jeremiah by mocking him. However, they were described in similar terms alike God: “Perhaps he will be deceived; then we will prevail over him” (Jeremiah 20:10). In this context, his prosecutors were hoping for the faith of Jeremiah toward God to fall and so that they can succeed over him. Jeremiah, however, does not realize how similar he and his prosecutors were.
Jeremiah’s harsh words was not only toward God but also toward his own predestined bir...
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... 20:10). Their faith toward God was the mere thought of making sacrifices till the very day they were sent to exile.
In conclusion, the harsh words used to describe God was a driving factor as to how similar Jeremiah and Israel were; their predestined birth and faith with God. The descriptions of God and Israel in Jeremiah’s words is quite similar yet God was describe as a warrior and Israel as his enemy. However, Jeremiah and Israel are quiet similar in many ways yet their faith toward God is completely different. Both their birth were predestined by God and led to many journeys; at this point where Jeremiah laments, he still sees the holy and good in God and continues to praise him. In contrary, Israel mocked the prophet God has chosen, Jeremiah and even threaten to denounce him; their faith toward God declines causing God to send Jerusalem into exile in Babylon.
The goodness of God is shown through the actions of Jeremiah. At the beginning of...
In this movie, one may observe the different attitudes that Americans had towards Indians. The Indians were those unconquered people to the west and the almighty brave, Mountain Man went there, “forgetting all the troubles he knew,” and away from civilization. The mountain man is going in search of adventure but as this “adventure” starts he finds that his survival skills are not helping him since he cant even fish and as he is seen by an Indian, who watches him at his attempt to fish, he start respecting them. The view that civilization had given him of the west changes and so does he. Civilization soon becomes just something that exists “down there.”
There have been many passages in the bible that are appealing to different people. What one person may find inspiring, another may view it as just another message in the bible. One of the passages in the bible that I found inspiring was that of one of the prophets, Jeremiah. The one particular passage that I would like to focus on in this paper would be that of Jeremiah's views on the subject of sin. I found that his thought on this subject made me look at how people act in a different way than I had before.
The Book of Job is one of the three books in the Hebrew bible whose genre is described as wisdom literature.1 Certainly the Book of Job satisfies the literary conventions that qualify a biblical book for such status. 2 Yet Job may be associated with wisdom in a much more literal sense. The Book of Job attempts to deal with a problematic question that confronts suffering humanity: why do bad things happen to good people? The variety and vehemence of commentators' contemporary responses to this chapter of the Bible is testament to the continued relevance of the Book of Job's wisdom thousands of years after it was written. Although the commentators examined herein arrive at differing and sometimes conflicting conclusions after reading the story of "the holy Arab"3, none are left indifferent.
In the earliest church there was little to no mention of sacrifice. The focus of the beliefs of the community was around the resurrection and good works of Jesus. Just after the death of Christ, Jewish Christians gathered in homes after the Temple service.
In the first chapter of God Behaving Badly, David Lamb argues that God is unfairly given a bad reputation. He claims these negative perceptions are fueled by pop culture and lead many to believe the lie that the God of the Old Testament is angry, sexist, racist, violent, legalistic, rigid, and distant. These negative perceptions, in turn, affect our faith. Ultimately, Lamb seeks to demonstrate that historical context disproves the presumptuous aforementioned. In addition, he defends his position by citing patterns of descriptions that characterize God throughout the Old Testament. “Our image of God will directly affect how we either pursue or avoid God. If we believe that the God of the Old Testament is really harsh, unfair and cruel, we won’t want anything to do with him” (Lamb 22). Clearly, they way Christians choose to see God will shape their relationship with Him.
Psalm 137 is one of a selection of psalms that is frequently difficult to discuss because of its content. The pericope begins with what may appear as a lament like any other in the book, but ends with horrifying imagery of a desired revenge. How does a believer give the proper respect due to the holy Scriptures among such vitriolic language? This paper will assert that proper interpretation of the following pericope involves careful attention to the historical and cultural background, structure, genre, and language of the written text.
Correspondingly, other canonical prophetic books interpret Yahweh’s will during periods of social or political crisis.4 Many minor prophets wrote during one of the three critical periods: the Assyrian Crisis, the Babylonian threat, or the postexilic readjustment.5 During the Babylonian threat of the late-seventh century, Habakkuk served as a link between God and humanity. The Assyrian kingdom, led by Shalmanasar V, forced the people of Judah into harsh conditions through a heartless deportation. In time, political drama spread throughout the region. After 612 B.C.E. when Assyria fell to Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Habakkuk wrote his prophetic book, focusing on the agony of humankind’s struggle to progress in such a wicked world. His message of faith and morality transcended the evil within society, ultimately revealing to the Israelites that justice would prevail.
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.
Psalm 89 of the Book of Psalms, advocates the message of consequentialism, foreground by man’s relationship with God, with direct lin...
Jeremiah 31:1-6 is the announcement of restoration, giving rest to Israel. Jeremiah 31:1, “At that time,” declares the LORD, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.” (NIV). “While the return from captivity is a good thing, it was a very difficult time, a time when the Jews, where threatened by those who occupied that land during the captivity and later by the Greeks and Romans. This restoration includes al the clans of Israel. Historically the Northern kingdom ceased to exist nearly 200 years prior to prophecy.” “Jeremiah’s great contribution to our understanding of messianic prophecy and how the New Testament relates to the Old Testament is that he explicitly describes a coming glorious “new” covenant (Jer. 31:31-34) that will replace the old one that Israel/Judah has shattered and annulled” (Pg. 174). “Chapters 30 and 31 contain no historical dates or ties to the reign of a king. This absence of dates or specific historical ties gives these first two chapters a certain timelessness. Also, in chapters 30-33 Jeremiah does not connect the future restoration to the downfall of Babylon. Instead, the restoration is tied theologically to the fulfillment of both the Abrahamic and the Davidic covenants-the new covenant and the associated blessings of restoration come as a fulfillment of those prior covenants (which are not broken)” (Pg. 174).
The people fell into religiously giving of their sacrifices. Not out of a heart of love and devotion but out of duty and obligation. God knew their heart and knew their sacrifices weren’t offered out of a contrite heart. They thought they could buy God’s forgiveness with their wealth, or they could offer sacrifices that weren’t acceptable in Gods sight. They just didn’t get it! God would rather have their love then have them pleased with themselves for following some religious rules or good deeds. God expresses through the Prophet Micah what pleases Him “What can we bring to the LORD? Should we bring him burnt offerings? Should we bow before God Most High with offerings of yearling calves? Should we offer him thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for our sins? No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”
The book of Lamentations is a book about the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C, Jeremiah the weeping prophet is the person that has written this book in the bible as an eyewitness of Jerusalem's fall. Jeremiah was a Prophet that was instructed by the lord to go and tell the people of Jerusalem that it will fall to the Babylonians, due to there sinful ways and the worshiping of false gods. He was to tell them to leave and go start over as there was nothing there for them anymore, and if they stayed they would be killed. Jeremiah became a prophet for this reason because of what he saw and how he saw things in the site of the lord. When he had a vision from the lord to go to the temple and here his message. Lamentations is a very important book that shows the power of good and the message that comes out of it.
The major theme of Daniel is that God is sovereign and He is always triumphant (“Book of Daniel”). God shows that He is triumphant when he saves Daniel, Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego from the burning furnace and when He saves Daniel from the lions. Daniel had faith in God and God was faithful to Daniel.
The book is an account of the past of the Jewish people. It is powerful in its ability to foretell the future. Isaiah is a book, much like Jeremiah from our previous assignment that calls out to God and questions why things are unjust. People at times wonder if God has left themor no one or nothing is in actual control—these are questions that are being asked today. The answer today is the same as yesterday—Isaiah reminds us that we are limited in our true understanding of God’s ways and