enticed

July 24, 2015

Job maintains that he has not committed adultery (Job 31:9-31:12)

“If my heart has been enticed by a woman,

If I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door,

Then let my wife grind for another!

Let other men kneel over her.

That would be a heinous crime.

That would be a criminal offense.

That would be a fire consuming down to Abaddon.

It would burn to the root all my harvest.”

If Job had been enticed by another woman, he would have to give up his wife. If he laid in wait until his neighbor came home, that would be a terrible crime. His wife should then grind for another person. Grind referred to the idea that she should have sex with another man. Other men would then kneel over her. This would be a criminal act leading to the consuming fire of Abaddon, Sheol, or hell. His harvest should be burned at its roots. Job seemed to take adultery very seriously. He should lose his wife and crops if he committed such a thing.

June 1, 2015

Jeremiah hides the cult material (2 Macc 2:4-2:8)

“It was also in the same document

Writing that the prophet,

Having received an oracle,

Ordered that the tent and the ark should follow with him.

He went out to the mountain

Where Moses had gone up.

He had seen the inheritance of God.

Jeremiah came and found a cave-dwelling.

He brought the tent there

With the ark and the altar of incense.

Then he sealed up the entrance.

Some of those who followed him

Came up intending to mark the way,

But they could not find it.

When Jeremiah learned of it,

He rebuked them and declared.

‘The place shall be unknown

Until God gathers his people together again

Until God shows his mercy.

Then the Lord will disclose these things.

The glory of the Lord

And the cloud will appear.

As they were shown in the case of Moses,

And as Solomon asked

That the place should be specially consecrated.’”

Once again, this letter refers to the Epistle of Jeremiah. However, this reference to Jeremiah is more about not being enticed by the idols of the gods that they will see in captivity. This implies that Jeremiah went to Mount Sinai to get the tent of Moses. He then hid it with the Ark of the Covenant and the altar of incense in some cave that was sealed. No one would know about this cave until the end of time when God would gather all his people. Here then is a hint of eschatology, the end times. People tried to find this cave but were unable to do so. King Solomon also had the Ark of the Covenant passed around. The glory and the cloud are how God appeared to Moses.