the roadmap to national restoration 2014 apr 04
learning righteousness and wickedness from the ten commandments 2012 nov 19
1st commandment: have no other gods before God 2012 nov 20
God will do three things — hear from heaven, forgive our sin, and heal our land — after His people do three things — humble themselves and pray, seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways (2 Chr 7:14). The cooperation of atheists and the ungodly is not required. We are examining the summary of Torah, God’s definition of righteousness and wickedness, in the Ten Commandments, in order to understand what He considers wicked about our ways, from which He is waiting for us to turn.
The Ten Commandments are given in Deu 5. The 2nd commandment, You shall not make idols, is explained in Deu 11:26-14:29. Following is the summary of what Deu 11:26-14:29 teaches ‘you shall not make idols’ means. Please visit the links for the fascinating in-depth analysis. But the real reason for the in-depth analysis, is so that we can recognize any wicked way among us, in falling short, and repent of it! As His people do so, He will hear us from heaven, will forgive us these sins, and will heal our land!
The Hebrew paragraph divisions of this section are as follows:
Deu 11:26-28 {s} Blessing for obedience + curse for disobedience
Deu 11:29-12:19 {s} Israel shall worship YHVH in the way He commands
Deu 12:20-28 {s} Ditto, even when you must travel some distance to His place
Deu 12:29-32 {p} Israel shall not serve YHVH in the manner of the nations
Deu 13:1-5 {s} Death for the prophet who tries to turn Israel from YHVH
Deu 13:6-11 {s} Death for the loved one who tries to turn Israel from YHVH
Deu 13:12-18 {s} Death for the city in Israel who turns from YHVH
Deu 14:1-2 {s} Do not mourn for the dead in the manner of the nations
Deu 14:3-8 {s} Do not eat unclean animals
Deu 14:9-10 {s} Do not eat unclean sea creatures
Deu 14:11-21 {p} Do not eat unclean flying things + do not boil a kid in its mother’s milk
Deu 14:22-27 {s} The annual tithe is YHVH’s
Deu 14:28-29 {s} The tithe of the third year is YHVH’s
So how do we know the explanation for the first commandment ends where it does, and the explanation for the second begins where it does, since it doesn’t come with labels? The next paragraph following Deu 11:25 is:
“Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today; and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known. Deu 11:26-28
And until Deu 14:29, all the paragraphs and strong themes continually go back to a repetition in some manner of not turning aside to go after other gods.
When Israel entered the land, they were confronted with the cultural norm, not only of the Canaanites who inhabited the land, which they were to displace, but the same which the first generation who came out of Egypt was raised among: a multiplicity of idols, worshiped on every high place and under every evergreen tree. The idol worship was intricately connected with every animal which was killed for food and consumed in the course of daily life. This cultural norm exerted a strong pull, which God’s people, however, were to resist so that they did not turn aside after other gods.
As with all other things, true loyalty to God alone, forsaking the cultural norms, came from a heart in love with God, filled to the full with gratitude for God, recognizing the true blessings from His hand poured out on those who do things according to the wisdom of His ways. This love is best expressed by keeping YHVH’s worship as distinct and unique as He Himself is, and not mixing it with the practices the world cherishes. Carefully observing His statutes, even those we do not fully understand, cultivates the fear of the LORD which preserves His people from falling into the many traps and snares surrounding them in the idol- elevating culture.
The explanation for the 2nd commandment forms an amazing chiastic structure, which emphasizes anew that there is no such thing as a little harmless idolatry.
We are studying the roadmap to national restoration, and aren’t we are in this predicament in the first place, because we have lost the land we have been given? The land no longer responds to judeo- christian norms or biblical principles, or even common sense, in the voting booth. We have tried politics and politics alone has not healed our land. We need God to heal our land. If we would possess the land, then, children of the Almighty, let us learn from the definition of righteousness and wickedness, and worship YHVH in the way He commands!
The studies on ‘you shall not make idols’ linked in this explanation:
do not serve God in like manner (deu 11:26-12:32) 2012 dec 11
love and gratitude (deu 10:12-12:32) 2012 dec 11
distinct and unique (deu 13:1-14:21) 2012 dec 13
the fear of the Lord (deu 14:22-29) 2012 dec 17
2nd commandment chiastic structure (deu 11:26-14:29) 2012 dec 17
This series is continued:
3rd commandment: do not profane YHVH’s name (deu 11:26-14:29) 2012 dec 18
4th commandment: honor the sabbath day (deu 15:1-16:17) 2012 dec 21
5th commandment: honor your father and mother (deu 16:18-18:22) 2013 jan 07
6th commandment: do not murder (deu 19:1-21:9) 2012 jan 16
7th commandment: do not commit adultery (deu 21;10-23:14) 2013 jan 24
8th commandment: do not steal (deu 23:15-24:7) 2013 feb 13
9th commandment: do not bear false witness (deu 24:8-9) 2013 feb 25
10th commandment: do not covet (deu 24:10-26:15) 2013 feb 28
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