Bible: Exodus 20:4-6

The Old Testament ends with the prophets. These teachers provided insight on realityy issues confront Jews who were desperate to know graven image. Idolatry, tender injurist and phantasmal ritualism are triad areas that are emphasized in their teachings and instilled in the minds and hearts of believers today. The prophets were great teachers who had frequently ages to avow about idol and the way hu military mans lived, friendly issues they faced, religious rituals they took part in, and their teachings are just as consequential today as they were in the past. Idolatry was a prominent issue among the Jews. divinity fudge confronted this problem separate(a) in the Bible in Exodus 204-6. It is clear that pursual idol requires complete and total attention on Him. The prophets considered this very an important issue. Consider Hosea who was commanded to marry an un confidenceful wife to repre direct Israels stipulation unfaithfulness towards god. During this conviction , Israel was un giveing to reverence deity and sought to find their consume idols to worship and bestow glory upon. Hosea taught through his marriage the extent of unfaithfulness the Jews had in their relationship with matinee idol.Hosea compared Israel to spoiled grapes, a wild vine, a dexterous heifer, and a rebellious boy and led into God to lay blast to a large portion of His mass causing the remnants to determinek contrition before Him. Hosea, through using a marriage metaphor, showed the Jews how deep Gods love for them truly was and still is. Hoseas example has upstart implications. Because man can see how deeply God cares for them, there should be no reason to place importance of early(a) things before their worship of Him. Yet, they do.If society could focus more on God today, the issues the world faces would abjure to exist. Because this is non the case, man continues to destroy themselves as their eyes and minds stray from God and their feature idols. The pr ophet Jonah put the truth about fear bluntly in his prayer to God Those who pay regard to inconstant idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. Amos was a prophet with a rush to say about social blemish. He preached of a coming thought against Israel for (among other things) oppressing their people.The Old Testament had charged the Israelites to take care of the disfavour and the poor, just there was a great disagreement between the cryptic and the poor as Israel continued to reject Gods commands. Amos compared the crocked women of Samaria to well fed cattle because they oppressed the poor while world consumed by selfish pleasures. Amos 514-15 states Seek good, not evil, that you whitethorn live. thence the master God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is. Hate evil, love good maintain justice in the courts. Perhaps the manufacturer God Almighty will pack mercy on the remnant of Joseph.The goal of Amos was to show that Israel was not care their charge to care for one another despite Gods command. This was due, in large part, to the people focusing on self interests. This survey is echoed in Micah where the wealthy conspired to steal the land of the get hold ofy. The world today mirrors Israel during the term of Amos. History has shown time again that wealth and personal selfishness blind man to the plight of the needy. In the United States, there is a huge disparity between the rich and the poor that requires personal conviction to change. art object must substantiation focused on God and care for one another to operate blessing upon them. Mans negligence of the needy has led to homelessness and sluice suicides. Micah was a prophet who fought social damage and veneration like the other prophets. However, he offered a unique insight on what God looks for in mans glorification of Him. As Micah reveals, God was not primarily interested in Israels sacrifices and offerings, no matter how extravagant they may cede been, He was in terested (and still is) in mans humble faithfulness to Him reflected through a lifestyle of mercy and justice.The other prophets spoke to religious ritualism, further Micah put the impression simply and this concept is definitely true today. Man can go to church, sing the hymns, tithe their money, and hear a sermon, nevertheless God is most concerned with what man does in their obedience to Him and their receiving of His revelation. Church rituals are practically meaningless without obedience and positive action. James 220 is very relevant in this respect But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? The Prophets of the Old Testament deliver instruction, wisdom, and warning.Man learned from them that idolatry takes the focus from God and puts the focus on self. Their teachings on social injustice show that God requires us to love and care for one another. Their teachings on ritualism show that God is more concerned with our obedience and reflection o f Him than He is with offerings. Though the teachings of the prophets occurred many years ago, they are certainly relevant today. Man can learn a great deal from the teachings and warnings presented by these men. encomium God for His patience in mans stubborn ignorance.As man began to drift away from Gods own heart they began to give rise their own religion and beliefs. Many cultures have materialistic things that became their Gods There social injustices in these cultures and many religious rituals. We all know the 10 commandments but the first commandment God said there will be no other Gods before me. A lot of people of that time were so far away of God and had so much darkness in their hearts. In Ezekiel chapter eight it talks about an idolatry temple and God took him all around the area to show him how and why Gods presence has left.Ezekiel 817-18 says He said to me, Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trial matter for the house of Judah to do the repulsive things they are doing here? Must they also fill the land with frenzy and continually provoke me to fretfulness? Look at them in anger I will not look on them with pity or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not mind to them. Obviously after claiming this you can tell how mad God was with all the Idol worshipping going along at the land.As you continue to read the loudness of Ezekiel you read that the presence of God departed from the temple. God take care so disgusted with the people and right fully so we see how man put other idols in front of God. The word of the Lord always came to the prophet Ezekiel and God exposed him to many things that the people did. When God told Ezekiel set your face toward the south preach against and prophesy against not only did God believe in Ezekiel but he had enough with these imitative Gods. Its so easy for our society to be drowned into having an Idol.In my opinion our time period has more of a temptation of having Idols because of soc ial media and its easier to compass the things you strongly desire to use as an idol, but with that we are perceive the people getting to know Jesus by the millions. It has its pros and cons but I believe that we have so many things to guide us in the right path that it would help us to draw snuggle to God. Amos statements are daring for him to make because they directly challenge the generally reliable religious practices of his time.Strong opposition to Amos developed at once when Amaziah, a priest, sent word to King Jeroboam that Amos was a dangerous character and should be expelled from the land. Although Amos insisted that he spoke only the words that Yahweh told him to proclaim, Amaziah told him to leave the country and neer to prophesy again in the land of Israel. The prophecies of Amos mark an important headway in the development of the religion of the Old Testament. The prophet was indeed a spokesman for Yahweh. That he was not speaking for himself or trying to please his listeners is make clear by the content of the message he delivered.Critics have often maintained that the Old Testament Prophets created the god of whom they spoke out of their own imaginations. However, had these prophets done so, it does not seem at all likely that God would have spoken so critically of what was being done by the prophets own people. Some of the rituals we in our time are like fast (sun rise to sun set), acts of kindness, buying your way to heaven. Honestly if you can say of it being a ritual it probably is a ritual somewhere. alone like how it is today back then you the old days (bible) they were social injustice.The book of Amos 511 it says You trample on the poor and push up him to give you grain. Therefore, though you have built stone mansions, you will not live in them though you have planted lush vineyards, you will not their wine. I wish I can just say that its only in the Old Testament that dealt with social injustice but it happen in the New Test ament as well. thinking about social in justice reminds me the time when Joseph was captured by pharaoh and he was held captive for such a long time. In our society we have so much injustice. We have the very wealthy branch of people then we have the middle and the lower.If youre not in with a group of people then you are good enough to be around them. It seems like it is something you deal with in high school but not so much. I deal with it in the military. In the book of Micah chapter six verse eight it says He has told you, O man, what is good and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? what has our society has come to that they lost the love and compassion for people. We have require complacent that we forget to love our neighbor and I fall into this subject. We need to be a people who Love not hurt others