Exodus 17 Essay

The Old Testament clearly displays that the Israelites were the “Chosen” people of God and while there are many events that show destruction of other civilizations, conversion was certainly acceptable to Old Testament thinking. Judaism is not a conversion religion, but it is not opposed to taking in those who will obey the laws of the tradition, and worship Yahweh. The attitude of the Bible is that the Israelites had committed many sins, but would always be forgiven by God. This is evident in Isaiah 4:1 which states, “ Israel needs to be comforted and she will receive more from God” (NIV Isaiah 40:1) While Judaism and the doctrines and texts had many violent moments, there were also peaceful resolutions for many of the stories, and within

Without devotion to God, violence and death would flourish in Israel. These factors would impede God’s blessings of security and life; thus, the Mosaic covenant demonstrates the continual faithfulness of God in the Old Testament. Finally, God is faithful to Israel during the people’s complaints in the desert. Rather than abandoning the nation for its faithlessness, God provides them will nourishment and protection during their journey. These acts further reinforce the faithfulness of God, even when his followers stray. In all, the Pentateuch demonstrates the theme of God’s faithfulness.

Examine the role of sin (or transgression) in three texts that we have discussed in the latter half of this semester.

17 "And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock."

And seeing how that one specific law can be viewed differently it shows how unlike the two places were. In one place they were realizing how much God does for them, and how he provides to them if they follow his laws or commandments. Whereas in the other (around Hammurapi) location Hammurapi just talks about they are following the laws, and them getting nothing in return. In the book of Exodus, it shows how

This lead the reader question why God did not provide defined rules, or expectations, prior to the commandments? Previous covenants focused on God’s obligations: to not destroy mankind again and to provide Abraham offspring and the land of Canaan, whereas Exodus focused on Israelite responsibilities (p. 114). In the end, the reader found Exodus a “rite of passage” that displayed God’s trust in the Israelites and a formalized relationship with God.

Hebrew poetry is used to express various things in the Bible. Hebrew poetry is used to “express emotion, facilitate worship, and to instruct in wisdom” (Hindson, 2012). God uses Hebrew poetry to teach us how we can better live our lives. Within Hebrews the terms laziness, diligence, folly and wisdom are utilized. God’s plan for us to apply some of these terms and to give terminology to the way we should be living against.

ground” (Exodus 14:16). This Bible verse gives us an explanation of how Moses led the

The darkness in the beginning of the book of Helaman fits with this quote. They don’t just wake up one day and decide they what to kill someone. The Book of Mormon says it is by degrees. Earlier in the scripture, we're taught that Satan gently leads us down to hell. In the Doctrine and Covenants Christ says,

God has given us the freedom to choose between Good and Evil, Life and Death, and Blessings and Curses. These choices are to be balanced and constant within our lives. God’s intent for our destiny is to have eternal life, a life of peace and sanctification.However, whatever we decide, He will respect our choice.

as in Romans 1:17: the justifying activity of God.” In other words, justification must come from God entirely apart from human effort.

The presence of evil and suffering in the world often leads people to question the power, and sometimes even the existence, of God. If he is a loving God, why would he allow crime, death, war, pain, and evil in the world? Little do people know that suffering is actually a blessing. It offers growth and learning and can actually lead to goodness in the world. Through looking at the book of Exodus, the ideology of Thomas Aquinas, and the life and teachings of Francis Chan, suffering will be seen in a different light.

God develops many special relationships with His people throughout the Old Testament. Another word to describe the relationship between God and his people is covenant. The word covenant goes into the details of the relationship. Within the five books of the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy), Historical books, Poetical books, and the Prophet books, one may pick up on the relationships being developed between God and humanity. God has an unconditional love for His people; He is always faithful to them. On the other hand, humanity has more of a conditional relationship with God. Humanity continuously falls short, making the love seem “conditional,” but are given a choice to either follow God into a relationship and receive love and benefits of the covenant or not. “No child of the covenant who presents to Him a faithless and insincere heart shall be included in its blessings.” Going off the idea of love being unconditional and conditional, this paper focuses on how the Old Testament is about God, humanity and their relationship.

So many go through the same sin cycles; simple, repeating the same sin they struggle with. Why do we continually repeat the same sin? God explains the reasons through His word. By noticing each step we can know how to properly refrain from making the same mistake over and over again. Through His word, He explains each step and the result of sin.

This forced relocation surely put Judah’s people into an emotional tale-spin, potentially affecting those in both Judah and Babylon for generations. Families that could not find healthy ways of handling their predicament may have given rise to children who continued with unhealthy habits and actions, doomed to repeat their parent’s mistakes. Ezekiel’s main concern is the negative actions which were against God, i.e. God’s laws and the priestly traditions Ezekiel was called to uphold.