After reading chapter 5:
*Moses again summons all Israel and makes another speech. He tells the Israelites that it was not their fathers that he made his covenant with, but them, those who were alive at that moment. This is patently false. The Israelites who were alive at this time weren't even considered adults at that time, forty years ago. Then Moses proceeds to talk to them as if it truly was they who were present at the reception of the "Ten Commandments." He reiterates the basic commands:
You shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make and/ or worship idols.
You shall not misuse the name of Yahweh.
You shall observe the sabbath and keep it holy.
Honor your father and mother.
You shall not commit murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. (It dies not say you shall not lie.)
You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor. (Thought crime.)
* In verse 22, Moses says that God gave the Ten Commandments and added nothing more, then wrote them on stone and gave them to Moses. We are skipped over the forty days Moses spent on the mountain while God gave him hundreds of other rules and regulations, before the stone tablets were given to Moses. (Exodus chapters 20-31)
*Then Moses says a lot of baloney about how these Israelites, who had to have been minors at the time, responded to Moses and God. Supposedly, after God spoke to them from the fire and cloud on the mountain top, they were sufficiently awed and frightened to freely give all authority to converse with God personally to Moses, and they agreed to obey whatever Moses would tell them that God said. So, they better be careful to do what the lord said, if they want to live long and prosper.
*Deuteronomy refers to the place these events took place as Mount Horeb, where Exodus refers to it as Mount Sinai. It appears that no one actually knows where either of those places may have originally been located, or whether they are the same place.
Showing posts with label Mount Sinai. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mount Sinai. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Monday, September 21, 2015
Exodus chapter 24
After reading chapter 24:
*Moses told the Israelites all the laws that Yahweh had made and, with one voice, over a million people agreed to obey God. Then Moses wrote down everything God had said. What did he write it on? What did he write with? In what language did he write?
* The next morning, Moses built an altar and set up twelve stone pillars to represent the twelve tribes of Israel. Some bulls were sacrificed and blood splashed on the altar. Then Moses read the book of the covenant aloud to the people. Though how they could all hear it is a mystery. Also, is this the same thing he just wrote or something different? Again, the people all agreed to obey. Then Moses spritzed the people with blood from the sacrifice. All the people? Or was this just a symbolic flinging of blood into the crowd? While Moses was sprinkling the blood, he announced that it was the blood of the covenant. Wait a minute, where did the bulls come from? I thought the Israelites had run out of food and were complaining because they had lots of meat back in Egypt. Wasn't that the reason for the quail and manna? Had someone been holding back animals that could have been eaten?
*Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu (Aaron's sons) and seventy elders approached the mountain and saw God! This is supposedly the same God the New Testament tells us no one has ever seen. He must have looked like a person because he had feet and his feet were standing on pavement made of lapis lazuli. The people who saw God had a feast, presumably eating the meat from the bulls that had been sacrificed. Everyone else probably had to make do with manna.
*Then God asked Moses to come up the mountain and get some tablets of stone on which would be written the law and commandments. Moses took Joshua with him and told everyone to wait til he came back. Aaron and Hur would be in charge. Moses went up on the mountain and waited for six days while the cloud with God in it settled on the top of the mountain. To the people below, it looked like there was a fire on the mountain top. It sounds almost like a volcano. On the seventh day, Yahweh called Moses and Moses entered the cloud zone. He wasn't seen again for forty days and forty nights.
Edited.
*Moses told the Israelites all the laws that Yahweh had made and, with one voice, over a million people agreed to obey God. Then Moses wrote down everything God had said. What did he write it on? What did he write with? In what language did he write?
* The next morning, Moses built an altar and set up twelve stone pillars to represent the twelve tribes of Israel. Some bulls were sacrificed and blood splashed on the altar. Then Moses read the book of the covenant aloud to the people. Though how they could all hear it is a mystery. Also, is this the same thing he just wrote or something different? Again, the people all agreed to obey. Then Moses spritzed the people with blood from the sacrifice. All the people? Or was this just a symbolic flinging of blood into the crowd? While Moses was sprinkling the blood, he announced that it was the blood of the covenant. Wait a minute, where did the bulls come from? I thought the Israelites had run out of food and were complaining because they had lots of meat back in Egypt. Wasn't that the reason for the quail and manna? Had someone been holding back animals that could have been eaten?
*Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu (Aaron's sons) and seventy elders approached the mountain and saw God! This is supposedly the same God the New Testament tells us no one has ever seen. He must have looked like a person because he had feet and his feet were standing on pavement made of lapis lazuli. The people who saw God had a feast, presumably eating the meat from the bulls that had been sacrificed. Everyone else probably had to make do with manna.
*Then God asked Moses to come up the mountain and get some tablets of stone on which would be written the law and commandments. Moses took Joshua with him and told everyone to wait til he came back. Aaron and Hur would be in charge. Moses went up on the mountain and waited for six days while the cloud with God in it settled on the top of the mountain. To the people below, it looked like there was a fire on the mountain top. It sounds almost like a volcano. On the seventh day, Yahweh called Moses and Moses entered the cloud zone. He wasn't seen again for forty days and forty nights.
Edited.
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Exodus chapter 20 Part 1
After reading chapter 20:
*Then God spoke. He said he was Yahweh who brought them out of slavery in Egypt. No other gods were to be worshipped before him. (It doesn't say no other gods existed.) They were not to make any idols or bow down to any idols, because he is a jealous God. Jealousy is a human emotion. Why should an all powerful God be jealous?
*He punishes the children for the sins of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate him and rewards those who love him for a thousand generations. That certainly doesn't seem fair by human standards. Also, what if someone loves god but that person's grandchild hates God, does the love nullify the hate, or vice versa?
*No one shall misuse god's name. Is he talking about the name Yahweh or does the generic word God also count as his name? Apparently anyone who misuses the name will be guilty, but we are not told what the punishment is.
*Next, the Israelites were to keep the seventh day of the week holy. On that day, no one was to work, not even slaves and strangers. The reason given was that God worked at making everything that existed for six days, and on the seventh day he rested. That makes it a holy day. Here we encounter a small problem. Unless we know the exact date of the first day of creation, how can we know when we are currently on a day that is a true multiple of seven? Did Adam and all his descendants keep track of the days of the week? What happens if the day people call the Sabbath is really the third day if the week?
*Honor your father and mother so you will have a good long stay in Canaan. (What if you are abused?) Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. (Not even for abuse?) Do not steal. Do not be a false witness against your neighbor.
*You can't even wish you had your neighbor's house, his wife, or slaves, or animals, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor. Though how anyone would know, is a mystery. Thoughts have always been private. Uh, oh. Is this telling us our thoughts are not private to God? This a disturbing new development. If I can't even be alone in my thoughts, I'm toast.
*While God was saying these things, he was also making thunder, lightening, smoke, and trumpet sounds. This understandably scared the Israelites. They asked Moses to speak to God alone, in person, because they were afraid of dying. Moses told them not to be afraid. It was just a test to instill a fear of sinning in them. The people stayed back and Moses went toward the thick darkness where God was.
*Then God spoke. He said he was Yahweh who brought them out of slavery in Egypt. No other gods were to be worshipped before him. (It doesn't say no other gods existed.) They were not to make any idols or bow down to any idols, because he is a jealous God. Jealousy is a human emotion. Why should an all powerful God be jealous?
*He punishes the children for the sins of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate him and rewards those who love him for a thousand generations. That certainly doesn't seem fair by human standards. Also, what if someone loves god but that person's grandchild hates God, does the love nullify the hate, or vice versa?
*No one shall misuse god's name. Is he talking about the name Yahweh or does the generic word God also count as his name? Apparently anyone who misuses the name will be guilty, but we are not told what the punishment is.
*Next, the Israelites were to keep the seventh day of the week holy. On that day, no one was to work, not even slaves and strangers. The reason given was that God worked at making everything that existed for six days, and on the seventh day he rested. That makes it a holy day. Here we encounter a small problem. Unless we know the exact date of the first day of creation, how can we know when we are currently on a day that is a true multiple of seven? Did Adam and all his descendants keep track of the days of the week? What happens if the day people call the Sabbath is really the third day if the week?
*Honor your father and mother so you will have a good long stay in Canaan. (What if you are abused?) Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. (Not even for abuse?) Do not steal. Do not be a false witness against your neighbor.
*You can't even wish you had your neighbor's house, his wife, or slaves, or animals, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor. Though how anyone would know, is a mystery. Thoughts have always been private. Uh, oh. Is this telling us our thoughts are not private to God? This a disturbing new development. If I can't even be alone in my thoughts, I'm toast.
*While God was saying these things, he was also making thunder, lightening, smoke, and trumpet sounds. This understandably scared the Israelites. They asked Moses to speak to God alone, in person, because they were afraid of dying. Moses told them not to be afraid. It was just a test to instill a fear of sinning in them. The people stayed back and Moses went toward the thick darkness where God was.
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Exodus chapter 19 part 2
*On the morning of the third day, there was thunder and lightening, a thick cloud of billowing smoke, a loud trumpet blast, and the mountain trembled, very much like a volcano. The sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Moses spoke and the voice of God answered saying, " I am the great Oz, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain." Oops, wrong story. You must admit it was very theatrical.
*Yahweh descended to the top of mount Sinai from somewhere up above. He called Moses up to the top of the mountain. Moses went up, even though it was supposedly covered in billowing smoke. God warned Moses to warn the people that they would die if they tried to force their way through to see him. Who would kill them? Moses had to remind God that he had already ordered boundaries to be put around the mountain. Then Yahweh told Moses to go down and fetch Aaron, but the priests and the rest of the people were not to come up or he would " break out against them." Moses went back down again to tell the the Israelites what they already knew.
* Wait a minute. Where did those priests come from? Does it have anything to do with Yaweh's declaration in verse 6 that they would be a kingdom of priests?
*Yahweh descended to the top of mount Sinai from somewhere up above. He called Moses up to the top of the mountain. Moses went up, even though it was supposedly covered in billowing smoke. God warned Moses to warn the people that they would die if they tried to force their way through to see him. Who would kill them? Moses had to remind God that he had already ordered boundaries to be put around the mountain. Then Yahweh told Moses to go down and fetch Aaron, but the priests and the rest of the people were not to come up or he would " break out against them." Moses went back down again to tell the the Israelites what they already knew.
* Wait a minute. Where did those priests come from? Does it have anything to do with Yaweh's declaration in verse 6 that they would be a kingdom of priests?
Exodus chapter 19 part 1
After reading chapter 19:
*Now, in the third month after the Israelites left Egypt, they enter the desert of Sinai and camp there in front of the mountain. Yahweh spoke to Moses from the mountain. God told Moses to remind the Israelites that he was responsible for bringing them out of Egypt and bringing them there to himself. They are to obey him fully and they will be his treasured possession. Although the whole world belongs to him, they will be special snowflakes, a holy nation. Apparently this mountain was Yahweh's home. The Wikipedia article shows us that no one really knows for sure where this was supposed to be. There is more than one mountain in the desert of Sinai.
*Moses told the people what Yahweh had said. The people replied that they would obey the lord. Moses took that message back to God, like he didn't already know the answer. Yahweh told Moses that he would speak to Moses from a dense cloud so the Israelites would hear and trust Moses as his messenger.
*The people were to spend two days getting ready for Yahweh to come down on the mountain and address them. They were to wash their clothes. (God doesn't like dirty clothes?) I wonder where over a million people got enough water to wash their clothes in the desert. They were to stay away from the base of the mountain and not touch it. If someone touched it, that person would be stoned to death or shot with arrows. I wonder who was responsible for carrying out the executions? Even animals that touched the mountain were to be killed. Had God cared if animals touched the mountain in all the millenia that came before? The mountain could only be touched after a long blast from the ram's horn. Moses told the Israelites all this and included a command to abstain from sex. Was this command from God or Moses? How did not having sex matter? I wonder what the consequences for having sex were, and how would anyone except the people involved know? My study bible assures us that it was not because sex is sinful, but because it may leave people " ceremoniously unclean." The text does not say this. How in the world do you measure ceremonial dirtiness, exactly what is it, and why does God care about it?
Edited.
*Now, in the third month after the Israelites left Egypt, they enter the desert of Sinai and camp there in front of the mountain. Yahweh spoke to Moses from the mountain. God told Moses to remind the Israelites that he was responsible for bringing them out of Egypt and bringing them there to himself. They are to obey him fully and they will be his treasured possession. Although the whole world belongs to him, they will be special snowflakes, a holy nation. Apparently this mountain was Yahweh's home. The Wikipedia article shows us that no one really knows for sure where this was supposed to be. There is more than one mountain in the desert of Sinai.
*Moses told the people what Yahweh had said. The people replied that they would obey the lord. Moses took that message back to God, like he didn't already know the answer. Yahweh told Moses that he would speak to Moses from a dense cloud so the Israelites would hear and trust Moses as his messenger.
*The people were to spend two days getting ready for Yahweh to come down on the mountain and address them. They were to wash their clothes. (God doesn't like dirty clothes?) I wonder where over a million people got enough water to wash their clothes in the desert. They were to stay away from the base of the mountain and not touch it. If someone touched it, that person would be stoned to death or shot with arrows. I wonder who was responsible for carrying out the executions? Even animals that touched the mountain were to be killed. Had God cared if animals touched the mountain in all the millenia that came before? The mountain could only be touched after a long blast from the ram's horn. Moses told the Israelites all this and included a command to abstain from sex. Was this command from God or Moses? How did not having sex matter? I wonder what the consequences for having sex were, and how would anyone except the people involved know? My study bible assures us that it was not because sex is sinful, but because it may leave people " ceremoniously unclean." The text does not say this. How in the world do you measure ceremonial dirtiness, exactly what is it, and why does God care about it?
Edited.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)