shadowy afterlife

December 11, 2017

The righteous live by their faith (Hab 2:4-2:5)

“Look at the proud!

Their spirit is not right

In them.

But the righteous

Live by their faith.

Moreover,

Wealth is treacherous.

The arrogant

Do not endure.

They open

Their throats wide

As in Sheol.

Just like death,

They never have enough.

They gather all nations

For themselves.

They collect

All people

As their own.”

Yahweh warned that these proud people would have a hard time, because their spirit was not right.  The main theme of this simple response was that the righteous live by their faith.  This idea that the righteous live by faith was a strong part of the apostle Paul in his Christian belief.  On the other hand, wealth was treacherous for the greedy.  Thus, the arrogant ones would not endure, because they were more open to the shadowy afterlife of Sheol.  These greedy people never had enough.  Just like death itself, they were always looking for more people.  They had tried to gather all people and countries to themselves as their own, but they were never satisfied.

June 5, 2017

Wail over those who went down into the pit (Ezek 32:17-32:18)

“In the twelfth year,

In the first month,

On the fifteenth day

Of the month,

The word of Yahweh

Came to me.

‘Son of man!

Wail over the hordes

Of Egypt!

Send them down!

With Egypt,

With the daughters

Of majestic nations,

To the world below!

They will go down

To the pit.’”

Once again there is another oracle of Yahweh to Ezekiel, the son of man, with a specific date, the 15th day of the 1st month of the 12th year of King Zedekiah, 586 BCE. Ezekiel was to wail over the many people from Egypt, who were being sent down to the pit, the world below, the shadowy afterlife. Egypt, with the daughters of other majestic nations, would also go down into the pit.