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GOD, THE COVENANT

“And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.” “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” [Gen 8:21-22] “And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;” “And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.” “And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.” “And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:” “I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.” “And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:” “And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.” “And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.” [Gen 9:9-16]

“Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;” [Deut 7: 9]

But God’s promises are not always reliable:

“And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people.” [Zech 11:10]

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GODS

Original name for God in Ancient Hebrew: “YHWH” (commonly taken to be "Yahweh").

The original text of the early Old Testament (Hebrew scriptures) used the singular form of god (Eloh’ah) only in reference to a specific action, otherwise, the plural forms were used: “gods” (Elo-him), and “gods of” (Elo-heh). The term “gods” was used 35 times in the account of creation alone. Many forms of Christianity mistake the Ancient Hebrew belief in one significant god, as a belief in the existence of only one god. It is typical that the subtleties of the language would be lost on the translators, and some of the other plural references remain.

“And God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness...” [Gen 1:26]

“And the lord God said, behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil...” [Gen 3:22]

“...Let us go down, and there confound their language,...” [Gen 11:7] (tower of Babel)

“Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.” [Exo 18: 11]

“For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.” [Psa 96: 4]

“For thou, Lord, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods.” [Psa 97: 9]

“God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.” [Psa 82: 1]

“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” [Exo 20: 3]

“He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the Lord only, he shall be utterly destroyed.” [Exo 22: 20]

“Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.” [Exo 22: 28]

“For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God;” [Exo 34: 14]

"For the Egyptians buried all their firstborn, which the Lord had smitten among them: upon their gods also the Lord executed judgments." [Numb 33: 4]

"Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you:" "(For the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth." [Deut 6: 14-15]

"For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly." [Deut 7: 4]

"If ye forsake the Lord, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good." [Josh 24: 20]

"Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel." [Josh 24: 23]

"...The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens." [Jere 10: 11]

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GRAVEN IMAGES

“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:” [Exo 20: 4]
“Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the Lord your God” [Lev 26: 1]
"Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female," "The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air," "The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth:" [Deut 4: 16-18]
"Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth:" [Deut 5: 8]

"And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:" "They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." "And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:" "Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation." [Exo 32: 7-10]

God does occasionally forget his commandments:

"And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died." "Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people." "And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live." "And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived." [Num 21: 6-9]

 

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"Reasoned Spirituality"