The sacrificed children (Ezek 16:20-16:22)

“You took your sons.

You took your daughters.

You had borne them

To me.

You sacrificed them

To be devoured.

As if being a whore

Was not enough?

You slaughtered

My children.

You delivered them up

As an offering

To them.

In all your abominations,

In all your acts

Of prostitution,

You did not remember

The days of your youth,

When you were naked,

When you were bare,

Flailing about

In your blood.”

There is little doubt that this young girl Jerusalem and Yahweh bore children together. Yahweh clearly says that their mutual sons and daughters had been sacrificed to these false gods. This woman Jerusalem had slaughtered their children. Was it not bad enough that she was a prostitute? Did she have to sacrifice their children too? They were delivered to these strange gods as a death offering. In all her abominations and various prostitute ways, she never remembered her youth when she was naked, lying in blood. She was not grateful for all that Yahweh had done for her.

There is no other God (Isa 43:10-43:13)

“‘You are my witnesses!’

Says Yahweh.

‘You are my servant

Whom I have chosen.

Thus you may know me.

You may believe in me.

You may understand

That I am he.

Before me

No god was formed.

There shall be none after me.

I!

I am Yahweh.

Besides me

There is no savior.

I declared.

I saved.

I proclaimed.

There was no strange god among you.

You are my witnesses!’

Says Yahweh.

‘I am God!

Henceforth I am he.

There is none

Who can deliver you

From my hand.

I work.

Who can hinder it?’”

In the strongest possible personal terms, first person singular, Yahweh proclaims that he alone is God. There is no other god. Yahweh claims that the Israelites are his witnesses, since they are his servant that he has chosen. Clearly, this servant is the Israelites. They know and believe in the Lord. They understand who he is. There was no other god before Yahweh and there will be none after him. There is no other savior who can deliver the Israelites, so that no one can hinder him. There were no strange gods among the Israelites. Once again, the Israelites are the witnesses for Yahweh. Yahweh is truly God.

Listen to the voice of Yahweh (Ps 81:8-81:10)

“Hear!

O my people!,

I will admonish you!

O Israel!

If you would but listen to me!

There shall be no strange god among you.

You shall not bow down to a foreign god.

I am Yahweh!

Your God!

I brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

Open your mouth wide!

Then I will fill it.”

Yahweh speaks, probably through the Temple prophet. He wanted to admonish his people, Israel. If only they would listen to him. Very clearly he says that there should not be any strange gods among them. They were not to bow down to foreign gods. He was Yahweh, their God. He brought them out of Egypt. He wanted them to open their mouths wide so that he could fill them.

We have done nothing wrong (Ps 44:20-44:22)

“If we had forgotten the name of our God,

If we have spread out our hands to a strange god,

Would not God discover this?

He knows the secrets of the heart.

Because of you,

We are being killed all day long.

We are accounted

As sheep for the slaughter.”

Once again there is a lament. They have not forgotten the name of God. They have not worshipped strange gods. God would know this if they had done it. They were being killed all day long like sheep going to the slaughter, a repetition of what was just said earlier.