Issachar Gazette: Common Sense in an Age of Vain Ideology
Abre mis ojos
1) There is a general law of reaping what you sow: lawlessness (sin) gives rise to judgment and expulsion / land spews you out.
2) Punishment comes when the cup of iniquity is filled. There is an understanding that when fullness is met, than something springs into action:
Then a white robe was given to each of them. And they were told to rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers and sisters--their fellow servants of Jesus who were to be martyred--had joined them. (Rev 6:11)
The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. (Gen 6:11)
And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth (6:13)
"6" is the number of man
"11" is a number denoting disorder, disorganisation, imperfection, disintegration
a) 10 + 1 (Ten is perfect divine order) - + 1 is subversion of order
b) 12 -1 (Tweleve is divine government) - falls short.
Genesis 15
12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. 14 And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
17 And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. 18 On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying:
“To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates— 19 the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”
When sin is full grown:
These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. (James 1:15)
Matthew Henry Commentary
They shall not only come out of Egypt, but they shall come hither again, hither to the land of Canaan, wherein thou now art. The discontinuance of their possession shall be no defeasance of their right: we must not reckon those comforts lost for ever that are intermitted for a time. The reason why they must not have the land of promise in possession till the fourth generation was because the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full. Israel cannot be possessed of Canaan till the Amorites be dispossessed; and they are not yet ripe for ruin.
The righteous God has determined that they shall not be cut off till they have persisted in sin so long, and arrived at such a pitch of wickedness, that there may appear some equitable proportion between their sin and their ruin; and therefore, till it come to that, the seed of Abram must be kept out of possession.
Note, (1.) The measure of sin fills gradually. Those that continue impenitent in wicked ways are treasuring up unto themselves wrath. (2.) Some people’s measure of sin fills slowly. The Sodomites, who were sinners before the Lord exceedingly, soon filled their measure; so did the Jews, who were, in profession, near to God. But the iniquity of the Amorites was long in the filling up. (3.) That this is the reason of the prosperity of wicked people; the measure of their sins is not yet full. The wicked live, become old, and are mighty in power, while God is laying up their iniquity for their children, Job 21:7, 19. See Matt. 23:32; Deut. 32:34.
Meaning of Names
3. The god Amurru. Although it would seem that the principal deity venerated by Amorites in the 18th cent. was Dagan (Dagon), and the Hurrian god Teshub was chief in the Amarna Age kingdom of Amurru (c. 1400-1200 b.c.), it is of some interest that a god who bears the name Amurru (Sumer. Mar-tu) appears in cuneiform documents from Syria, Assyria and Babylonia. This god is first attested in personal names from the third dynasty of Ur (c. 2100-2000 b.c.). Amurru-Martu was the son of the sky-god An. His consorts (wives) were Bēlet-ṩēri (“Lady of the Steppe”) and Ashratu (Asherah). Amurru shows the typical aspect of a storm god, storming over the land and wrecking cities. A Sumer. myth tells of how Amurru sought in marriage the daughter of the city god of Kazallu (a city in Middle Babylonia). The daughter’s name was Numushda. Numushda consented to the marriage despite warnings of well wishers, who told her of the rude customs of the nomad: he eats raw meat, often goes without a house, is not buried properly.
The Amorites
1. Children of Lot like Moab i.e. of incest
2. Worshipped Dagon, Molech
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What was Canaanite idolatry like? (article by Clay Jones in Philosophia Christi " We don't hate sin so we don't understand what happened to the Canaanites" (2009) Vol. 11 No.1
Deuteronomy 9:5 - the wickedness of the nations
1. Idolatry
a) Group identity
b) Polytheism that mocked Yahweh or El as a drunkard splashing around in urine and excrement.
c) Idolatry creates an environment conducive to formation of Canaanite practices - incest, adultery, child sacrifice, homosexuality, bestiality
2. Incest
a) ANE Pantheons were incestuous
b) El (Father) had70 children by Asherah including Baal and Anat. Baal and Anat had sexual relations and Baal had sex with first daughter, Pidray.
c) Early Canaanite laws prescribed death, banishment for most forms of incest but by 14th C BC, decriminalised to a fine.
d) Sodom was Canaanite city - Lot, daughters
3. Adultery
a) Canaanite religion was a fertility religion involving temple sex
b) Inanna / Ishtar (Queen of Heaven) - patron of sensuality, eroticisim, conjugal love, adultery, brides, prostitutes, transvestites and pederasts - sacred male and female prostitutes
c) naked priests - sex as part of the ceremonies; sexual orgies of fertility cult
4. Child Sacrifice
a) Lev 18:21
b) Infants - children as old as 4
c) Judges: Canaanization of Israel e.g. Samson fornicate, Gideon sets up idol , Jephtha sacrificed his daughter
5. Homosexuality
a) Priests as sacred catamite in service of Inanna
b) Babylonian Magical text - if a man has intercourse with the hindquarters of his equal (male), that man will be foremost among brothers and colleagues.
If a man has intercourse with a cult prostitute, care [troubles] will leave him.
c) Sodom: attempt to rape visitors
6. Bestiality
a) Hittite Laws 199: intercourse with pig or dog, die. With horse or mule, no punishment. Penalty for bestiality lessened at time of Exodus
b) Epic Baal cycle: Baal lies with heifer and it bears a boy
c) No prohibitions against bestiality in Ancient Near East (ANE)
d) Incantations to arouse men
e) Egyptian dream book for women: If she dreams she is married to her husband, she will be destroyed! But good things: wolf, baboon, he-goat. (Rodents and birds, bad)
f) What if an animal gets used to having sex with a human? Hittite law clarified when humans not at fault e.g. If an ox spring upon a man for intercourse, the ox shall die, but the man shall not die. If a pig spring upon a man for intercourse, there is no punishment.
Yee!
HITTITE LAW (The Code of the Nesilim) 1650-1500 BC
187. If a man have intercourse with a cow, it is a capital crime, he shall die. They shall lead him to the king's hall. But the king may kill him, the king may grant him his life. But he shall not approach the king.
188. If a man have intercourse with his own mother, it is a capital crime, he shall die. If a man have intercourse with a daughter, it is a capital crime, he shall die. If a man have intercourse with a son, it is a capital crime, he shall die. 190. If a man and a woman come willingly, as men and women, and have intercourse, there shall be no punishment. And if a man have intercourse with his stepmother, there shall be no punishment; except if his father is living, it is a capital crime, the son shall die.
191. If a free man picks up now this woman, now that one, now in this country, then in that country, there shall be no punishment if they came together sexually willingly.
194. If a free man pick up female slaves, now one, now another, there is no punishment for intercourse. If brothers sleep with a free woman, together, or one after the other, there is no punishment. If father and son sleep with a female slave or harlot, together, or one after the other, there is no punishment.
199. If anyone have intercourse with a pig or a dog, he shall die. If a man have intercourse with a horse or a mule, there is no punishment. But he shall not approach the king, and shall not become a priest. If an ox spring upon a man for intercourse, the ox shall die but the man shall not die. One sheep shall be fetched as a substitute for the man, and they shall kill it. If a pig spring upon a man for intercourse, there is no punishment. If any man have intercourse with a foreign woman and pick up this one, now that one, there is no punishment.
From: Oliver J. Thatcher, ed., The Library of Original Sources (Milwaukee: University Research Extension Co., 1901), Vol. III: The Roman World, pp. 9-11.
God's law were designed to provide moral clarity and to halt the growth of sin (which must bring judgment). Thou shalt not ---because people were sinning this way! It was the norm.
Leviticus 18
18 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘I am the Lord your God. 3 According to the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do; and according to the doings of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, you shall not do; nor shall you walk in their ordinances. 4 You shall observe My judgments and keep My ordinances, to walk in them: I am the Lord your God. 5 You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.
Prohibition: intercourse with close blood relations (father, mother, sister, grandaughter, aunt, uncle, daughter in law, brother/sister in law
6 ‘None of you shall approach anyone who is near of kin to him, to uncover his nakedness: I am the Lord. 7 The nakedness of your father or the nakedness of your mother you shall not uncover. She is your mother; you shall not uncover her nakedness. 8 The nakedness of your father’s wife you shall not uncover; it is your father’s nakedness. 9 The nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home or elsewhere, their nakedness you shall not uncover. 10 The nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, their nakedness you shall not uncover; for theirs is your own nakedness. 11 The nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, begotten by your father—she is your sister—you shall not uncover her nakedness. 12 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is near of kin to your father. 13 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is near of kin to your mother. 14 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother. You shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. 15 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law—she is your son’s wife—you shall not uncover her nakedness. 16 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness. 17 You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, nor shall you take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness. They are near of kin to her. It is wickedness. 18 Nor shall you take a woman as a rival to her sister, to uncover her nakedness while the other is alive.
Prohibition against adultery
19 ‘Also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness as long as she is in her customary impurity. 20 Moreover you shall not lie carnally with your neighbor’s wife, to defile yourself with her.
Child sacrifice, homosexuality, bestiality
21 And you shall not let any of your descendants pass through the fire to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. 22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination. 23 Nor shall you mate with any animal, to defile yourself with it. Nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it. It is perversion.
24 ‘Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; for by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you. 25 For the land is defiled; therefore I visit the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land vomits out its inhabitants. 26 You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you 27 (for all these abominations the men of the land have done, who were before you, and thus the land is defiled), 28 lest the land vomit you out also when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you. 29 For whoever commits any of these abominations, the persons who commit them shall be cut off from among their people.
30 ‘Therefore you shall keep My ordinance, so that you do not commit any of these abominable customs which were committed before you, and that you do not defile yourselves by them: I am the Lord your God.’”
The wickedness of Manasseh - 2 Kings 21
1) Idolatry
2 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; he raised up altars for Baal, and made a wooden image,[a] as Ahab king of Israel had done; and he worshiped all the host of heaven[b] and served them
2) Child Sacrifice
6 Also he made his son pass through the fire, practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft, and consulted spiritists and mediums. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. 7 He even set a carved image of Asherah[c] that he had made, in the house of which the Lord had said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever;
verse 9 Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel
2 Chronicles 33
Manassah: 709 BC - 643 BC
Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. 2 But he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; he raised up altars for the Baals, and made wooden images; and he worshiped all the host of heaven[a] and served them. 4 He also built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem shall My name be forever.” 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. 6 Also he caused his sons to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom; he practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. 7 He even set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever; 8 and I will not again remove the foot of Israel from the land which I have appointed for your fathers—only if they are careful to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.” 9 So Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel.
10 And the Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they would not listen. 11 Therefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks,[b] bound him with bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon. 12 Now when he was in affliction, he implored the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, 13 and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.
14 After this he built a wall outside the City of David on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate; and it enclosed Ophel, and he raised it to a very great height. Then he put military captains in all the fortified cities of Judah. 15 He took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem; and he cast them out of the city. 16 He also repaired the altar of the Lord, sacrificed peace offerings and thank offerings on it, and commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel. 17 Nevertheless the people still sacrificed on the high places, but only to the Lord their God. 18 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel, indeed they are written in the book[c] of the kings of Israel. 19 Also his prayer and how God received his entreaty, and all his sin and trespass, and the sites where he built high places and set up wooden images and carved images, before he was humbled, indeed they are written among the sayings of Hozai.[d] 20 So Manasseh rested with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house. Then his son Amon reigned in his place.Manasseh Restored After Repentance
Death of Manasseh