Deuteronomy 5:1-33 Moses said that the Lord God made a covenant with Israel at Mount Sinai, and not with the ancestors, but those living. The Lord spoke out face to face from the heart of the fire. Moses stood as an intermediary between Israel and the Lord, because of their fear. The Lord God, rescued them from the land of Egypt, the place of their slavery. Make no idol of any kind, or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. They must not bow down to them or worship them, for God is jealous and will not tolerate an affection for any other gods. God will lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject God. But God will lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. They must not misuse the name of the Lord God. The Lord will not let such go unpunished. They must observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days each week are for ordinary work. The seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord God. On that day no one may do any work, including parents, sons and daughters, male and female servants, oxen and donkeys and other livestock, and any foreigners living among the Israelites. All your male and female servants must rest. One must honor father and mother, as the Lord God commanded. Then one will live a long, full life in the land the Lord God is giving. One must not murder. One must not commit adultery. One must not steal. One must not testify falsely against a neighbor. One must not covet a neighbor’s wife, house, land, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to a neighbor. God wrote his words on two stone tablets and gave them to Moses. But when Israel heard the voice from the heart of the darkness, while the mountain was blazing with fire, all the tribal leaders and elders came to Moses.
They said, "Look, the Lord our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his voice from the heart of the fire. Today we have seen that God can speak to us humans, and yet we live! But now, why should we risk death again? If the Lord our God speaks to us again, we will certainly die and be consumed by this awesome fire. Can any living thing hear the voice of the living God from the heart of the fire as we did and yet survive? Go yourself and listen to what the Lord our God says. Then come and tell us everything he tells you, and we will listen and obey."
The Lord heard this request and he said, "I have heard what the people said to you, and they are right. Oh, that they would always have hearts like this, that they might fear me and obey all my commands! If they did, they and their descendants would prosper forever. Go and tell them, “Return to your tents.” But you stand here with me so I can give you all my commands, decrees, and regulations. You must teach them to the people so they can obey them in the land I am giving them as their possession.”
So Moses told the people that they must be careful to obey all the commands of the Lord God, following his instructions in every detail. Stay on the path that the Lord God has commanded. Then they will live long and prosperous in the land they are about to enter and occupy.
Young's Literal Translation (YLT)
1 And Moses calleth unto all Israel, and saith unto them, `Hear, Israel, the statutes and the judgments which I am speaking in your ears to-day, and ye have learned them, and have observed to do them.
2 Jehovah our God made with us a covenant in Horeb;
3 not with our fathers hath Jehovah made this covenant, but with us; we -- these -- here to-day -- all of us alive.
4 Face to face hath Jehovah spoken with you, in the mount, out of the midst of the fire;
5 I am standing between Jehovah and you, at that time, to declare to you the word of Jehovah, for ye have been afraid from the presence of the fire, and ye have not gone up into the mount; saying:
6 `I Jehovah [am] thy God, who hath brought thee out from the land of Egypt, from a house of servants.
7 `Thou hast no other gods in My presence.
8 `Thou dost not make to thee a graven image, any similitude which [is] in the heavens above, and which [is] in the earth beneath, and which [is] in the waters under the earth;
9 thou dost not bow thyself to them nor serve them, for I Jehovah thy God [am] a zealous God, charging iniquity of fathers on children, and on a third [generation], and on a fourth, to those hating Me;
10 and doing kindness to thousands, to those loving Me, and to those keeping My commands.
11 `Thou dost not take up the Name of Jehovah thy God for a vain thing, for Jehovah doth not acquit him who taketh up His Name for a vain thing.
12 `Observe the day of the sabbath -- to sanctify it, as Jehovah thy God hath commanded thee;
13 six days thou dost labour, and hast done all thy work,
14 and the seventh day [is] a sabbath to Jehovah thy God; thou dost not do any work, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and thine ox, and thine ass, and all thy cattle, and thy sojourner who [is] within thy gates; so that thy man-servant, and thy handmaid doth rest like thyself;
15 and thou hast remembered that a servant thou hast been in the land of Egypt, and Jehovah thy God is bringing thee out thence by a strong hand, and by a stretched-out arm; therefore hath Jehovah thy God commanded thee to keep the day of the sabbath.
16 `Honour thy father and thy mother, as Jehovah thy God hath commanded thee, so that thy days are prolonged, and so that it is well with thee, on the ground which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee.
17 `Thou dost not murder.
18 `Thou dost not commit adultery.
19 `Thou dost not steal.
20 `Thou dost not answer against thy neighbour -- a false testimony.
21 `Thou dost not desire thy neighbour's wife; nor dost thou covet thy neighbour's house, his field, and his man-servant, and his handmaid, his ox, and his ass, and anything which [is] thy neighbour's.
22 `These words hath Jehovah spoken unto all your assembly, in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness -- a great voice; and He hath not added, and He writeth them on two tables of stone, and giveth them unto me.
23 `And it cometh to pass as ye hear the voice out of the midst of the darkness, and of the mountain burning with fire, that ye come near unto me, all the heads of your tribes, and your elders,
24 and say, Lo, Jehovah our God hath shewed us His honour, and His greatness; and His voice we have heard out of the midst of the fire; this day we have seen that God doth speak with man -- and he hath lived.
25 `And, now, why do we die? for consume us doth this great fire -- if we add to hear the voice of Jehovah our God any more -- then we have died.
26 For who of all flesh [is] he who hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire like us -- and doth live?
27 Draw near thou, and hear all that which Jehovah our God saith, and thou, thou dost speak unto us all that which Jehovah our God speaketh unto thee, and we have hearkened, and done it.
28 `And Jehovah heareth the voice of your words, in your speaking unto me, and Jehovah saith unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken unto thee; they have done well [in] all that they have spoken.
29 O that their heart had been thus to them, to fear Me, and to keep My commands all the days, that it may be well with them, and with their sons -- to the age!
30 `Go, say to them, Turn back for yourselves, to your tents;
31 and thou here stand thou with Me, and let Me speak unto thee all the command, and the statutes, and the judgments which thou dost teach them, and they have done in the land which I am giving to them to possess it.
32 `And ye have observed to do as Jehovah your God hath commanded you, ye turn not aside -- right or left;
33 in all the way which Jehovah your God hath commanded you ye walk, so that ye live, and [it is] well with you, and ye have prolonged days in the land which ye possess.
Last edited by Guest on Wed Jul 31, 2013 3:55 pm, edited 3 times in total.
LittleNipper wrote:Actually, that is not a very Christian answer, but one I will not ask of you again. For now I know your motive. Judge not lest ye be judged.
So you tell me that you know my motive (obviously you mean I'm motivated by evil) and then you repeat the charge not to judge people. If there was ever an example of a not very Christian way to go about interacting with others, it would be just that kind of duplicity and hypocrisy.
Deuteronomy 6:1-25 These are the commands, decrees, and regulations that the Lord God commanded Moses to teach. If they obey all his decrees and commands, they will enjoy a long life, and they will have many children in the land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord promised. The Lord is God and Lord alone. And they must love the Lord God with all their heart, soul, and strength. Israel must commit wholeheartedly to these commands. Repeat them again and again to the children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
The Lord God will soon bring Israel into the land he swore to provide when he made a vow to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land with large, prosperous cities that they did not build. The houses will be richly stocked with goods they did not produce. They will draw water from cisterns they did not dig, and eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. They are not to forget the Lord, who rescued them from slavery in the land of Egypt. Fear the Lord God and serve him. When they take an oath, they must use only his name.
They must not worship any of the gods of neighboring nations. They must not test the Lord God as they did when they complained at Massah. Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, and all will go well. Then they will enter and occupy the good land that the Lord swore to give their ancestors. They will drive out all the enemies living in the land, just as the Lord said.
Young's Literal Translation (YLT)
1 `And this [is] the command, the statutes and the judgments which Jehovah your God hath commanded to teach you, to do in the land which ye are passing over thither to possess it,
2 so that thou dost fear Jehovah thy God, to keep all His statutes and His commands, which I am commanding thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all days of thy life, and so that thy days are prolonged.
3 `And thou hast heard, O Israel, and observed to do, that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest multiply exceedingly, as Jehovah, God of thy fathers, hath spoken to thee, [in] the land flowing with milk and honey.
4 `Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our God [is] one Jehovah;
5 and thou hast loved Jehovah thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might,
6 and these words which I am commanding thee to-day have been on thine heart,
7 and thou hast repeated them to thy sons, and spoken of them in thy sitting in thine house, and in thy walking in the way, and in thy lying down, and in thy rising up,
8 and hast bound them for a sign upon thy hand, and they have been for frontlets between thine eyes,
9 and thou hast written them on door-posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
10 `And it hath been, when Jehovah thy God doth bring thee in unto the land which He hath sworn to thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to thee -- cities great and good, which thou hast not built,
11 and houses full of all good things which thou hast not filled, and wells digged which thou hast not digged, vineyards and olive-yards which thou hast not planted, and thou hast eaten, and been satisfied;
12 `Take heed to thyself lest thou forget Jehovah who hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of a house of servants;
13 Jehovah thy God thou dost fear, and Him thou dost serve, and by His name thou dost swear;
14 ye do not go after other gods, of the gods of the peoples who [are] round about you;
15 for a zealous God [is] Jehovah thy God in thy midst -- lest the anger of Jehovah thy God burn against thee, and He hath destroyed thee from off the face of the ground.
16 `Ye do not try Jehovah your God as ye tried in Massah;
17 ye do diligently keep the commands of Jehovah your God, and His testimonies, and His statutes which He hath commanded thee,
18 and thou hast done that which is right and good in the eyes of Jehovah, so that it is well with thee, and thou hast gone in and possessed the good land which Jehovah hath sworn to thy fathers,
19 to drive away all thine enemies from thy presence, as Jehovah hath spoken.
20 `When thy son asketh thee hereafter, saying, What [are] the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which Jehovah our God hath commanded you?
21 then thou hast said to thy son, Servants we have been to Pharaoh in Egypt, and Jehovah bringeth us out of Egypt by a high hand;
22 and Jehovah giveth signs and wonders, great and sad, on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his house, before our eyes;
23 and us He hath brought out thence, in order to bring us in, to give to us the land which He had sworn to our fathers.
24 And Jehovah commandeth us to do all these statutes, to fear Jehovah our God, for good to ourselves all the days, to keep us alive, as [at] this day;
25 and righteousness it is for us, when we observe to do all this command before Jehovah our God, as He hath commanded us.
LittleNipper wrote:4 `Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our God [is] one Jehovah;
So did the Israelites think there were more than one Jehovah?
They understood correctly that there is but ONE GOD. The full understanding that the Messiah was indeed the Lord is a later revelation; however, when Adam, Abraham, Jacob, Moses , and others saw a "physical manifestation of God, what they actually were dealing with was Christ. Investigate the term Christophany.
TYRE In the 26th chapter of Ezekiel (592-570 BC) seven things are predicted to happen to the city of Tyre: 1) Nebuchadnezzar will destroy the mainland of Tyre (Ezekiel 26:8).
2) Many nations against Tyre (Ezekiel 26:3).
3) Make her a bare rock; flat like the top of a rock (Ezekiel 26:4).
4) Fishermen will spread their nets over the site (Ezekiel 26:5).
5) Throw the debris into the water (Ezekiel 26:12).
6) Never be rebuilt (Ezekiel 26:14).
7) Never be found again (Ezekiel 26:21)
Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to mainland Tyre three years after the prophecy and after a 13 year siege (585-573 BC) Tyre made terms and acknowledged Babylonian authority over them. When Nebuchadnezzar broke the gates down, he found the city almost empty. The majority of the people had moved by ship to an island about 1/2 miles off the coast and fortified a city there. The mainland city was destroyed in 573 BC, as predicted. The city of Tyre on the island remained a powerful city for several hundred years.
Alexander the Great, in his war on Persia, marching southward called on each city to open their gates to him, as part of his plan to deny the use to the Persian fleet. Tyre refused to do so, and Alexander laid siege to the city. Possessing no fleet, he demolished old Tyre, on the mainland, and with the debris built a causeway 200 feet wide across the straits separating the old and new towns, erecting towers and war engines at the farther end. Tyre continually raided the causeway with fire-ships greatly retarding progress, until Alexander pressured conquered subjects to make ships for his operation. After attaining a superior naval force, Alexander finished the causeway, battered the walls of Tyre down killed eight thousand of the inhabitants and sold thirty thousand into slavery.
A history book by a secular historian reads, "Alexander the Great ... reduced Tyre to ruins... The larger part of the site of the once great city is now bare as the top of a rock --- a place where fishermen now spread their nets to dry."
Another historian, John C. Beck, says, "The history of Tyre does not stop with after the conquest of Alexander. Men continue to rebuild her and armies continue to besiege her walls, until finally after sixteen hundred years, she falls never to be rebuilt again."
All the prophecies of Ezekiel about Tyre have come true: Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the mainland city of Tyre; Many nations were against Tyre; Alexander made her a bare rock and threw debris into the water to make the causeway; fishermen now spread nets over the site; (there is a city of Tyre today, but it is located down the coast from the original Tyre) the old city of Tyre has never been rebuilt, even though a great freshwater spring are located at the site, providing 10,000,000 gallons daily. It is still an excellent site today but has never been rebuilt, although many have tried. All seven of the predictions came true in the minutest detail.