The voice of Yahweh

December 23, 2017

Everyone was to obey Haggai (Hag 1:12-1:12)

“Then Zerubbabel,

The son of Shealtiel,

With Joshua,

The son of Jehozadak,

The high priest,

With all the remnant

Of the people,

Obeyed the voice

Of Yahweh

Their God.

They obeyed

The words

Of the prophet Haggai.

Yahweh,

Their God,

Had sent him.

The people feared

Yahweh.’”

The rulers and the remaining people of Jerusalem gathered to hear the voice of Yahweh, via the prophet Haggai.  This included the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel, and the high priest Joshua, as mentioned earlier.  They would obey Haggai as the voice of Yahweh, since they feared Yahweh.  Yahweh had sent them Haggai as a prophet to speak in his name.

November 30, 2017

The wickedness of the city (Mic 6:9-6:12)

“The voice of Yahweh

Cries to the city.

It is sound wisdom

To fear your name.

‘Hear!

O tribe!

Hear!

Assembly of the city!

Can I forget

The treasures of wickedness

In the house of the wicked?

Can I forget

The scant measure

That is accursed?

Can I tolerate

Wicked scales?

Can I tolerate

A bag of dishonest weights?

Your wealthy

Are full of violence!

Your inhabitants

Speak lies!

They have tongues of deceit

In their mouths!”

The voice of Yahweh would cry out to the city.  The wisdom of the city assembly should be to fear his name.  These city folks should listen to Yahweh.  How could Yahweh forget the treasures of wickedness of these wicked people?  How could he forget the accursed ones?  How could Yahweh tolerate wicked scales with dishonest weights?  The rich wealthy people were full of violence, while the common folk inhabitants of the city spoke nothing but lies, since they had deceitful tongues.

September 4, 2017

We have not followed the law (Dan 9:9-9:11)

“To the Lord!

Our God!

Belong mercy!

Belong forgiveness!

We have rebelled

Against him.

We have not obeyed

The voice of Yahweh,

Our God,

By following his laws,

That he set

Before us,

By his servants,

The prophets.

All Israel

Has transgressed

Your law.

They have turned aside

From it.

They refuse

To obey your voice.

Thus,

The curse,

With the oath written

In the law of Moses,

The servant of God,

Has been poured out

Upon us,

Because we have sinned

Against you.”

Daniel asked his Lord God to bring mercy and forgiveness because they had rebelled against him. They had not obeyed the voice of Yahweh, their God. They had not followed his laws that he set before them, through his servant prophets. All Israel had transgressed God’s law, because they turned away from it. They had refused to obey God’s voice. Thus, they ended up with the curse and the oath written in the law of Moses, the servant of God. This curse was poured out on them, because they had sinned against God.

March 6, 2017

The Moses speech (Bar 2:29-2:31)

“‘If you will not obey

My voice,

This very great multitude

Will surely turn

Into a small number

Among the nations,

Where I will scatter them.

I know that they will not

Obey me.

They are a stiff-necked people.

But in the land of their exile

They will come to themselves.

They will know

That I am

The Lord their God.

I will give them

A heart

That obeys.

I will give them

Ears that hear.’”

This is reminiscent of the end of chapter 28 in Deuteronomy. There was no explicit mention of an exile in that chapter. However in chapter 30, there was a call to return from the scattered countries. The Israelites were to obey the voice of Yahweh. Otherwise this great multitude would become a small number of people among many nations, since they were going to be scattered. Moses and Yahweh knew that the Israelites would not obey the Mosaic Law because they were a stiff-necked people. However, they would discover themselves in the land of their exile. This happens a lot. When separated from their basic culture, people tend to re-discover all the great things of their original culture that they had overlooked. The Israelites would come to realize that Yahweh was their true God. Thus Yahweh would give them an obeying heart and hearing ears so that they would be more attentive to him.

January 21, 2017

The Egyptian choice (Jer 42:13-42:14)

“But if you continue to say.

‘We will not stay

In this land.’

You are disobeying

The voice

Of Yahweh,

Your God.

If you say.

‘No!

We will go

To the land of Egypt,

Where we shall not see war.

We shall not hear

The sound of the trumpet.

We shall not be hungry

For bread.

There we will stay.’”

Jeremiah warned against those who did not want to stay in the land of Judah. Instead, they wanted to go to Egypt. Jeremiah told them that they were not obeying the voice of Yahweh, their God if they went to Egypt. They believed that they would not see any war in Egypt. There they would not hear the sound of the war trumpet. They also would not be hungry because they would have enough bread for food in Egypt. Thus they would prefer to live and stay in Egypt.

October 28, 2016

They will not listen (Jer 7:27-7:28)

“So you shall speak

All these words to them.

But they will not listen to you.

You shall call to them,

But they will not answer you.

You shall say to them.

‘This is the nation

That did not obey

The voice of Yahweh,

Their God.

They did not accept discipline.

Truth has perished.

Truth is cut off from their lips.”

Yahweh told Jeremiah what to say. However, he warned Jeremiah that the Israelites would not listen to him either. He would call to them but they would not respond to him. Yahweh told him to tell them that they were a nation that did not obey the voice of Yahweh, their God. They would not accept any kind of discipline because truth had perished and was no longer coming from their lips.

October 18, 2016

The shamed Israelites (Jer 3:24-3:25)

“But from our youth

The shameful thing has

devoured all the things

For which our ancestors had labored,

Their flocks,

Their herds,

Their sons.

Their daughters.

Let us lie down in our shame!

Let our dishonor cover us!

We have sinned

Against Yahweh

Our God,

We,

With our ancestors,

From our youth,

Even to this day.

We have not obeyed

The voice of Yahweh our God.”

Jeremiah remarks that the Israelites were ashamed. Since their youth, they and their ancestors had done shameful things. All the work they had done with their flocks, herds, sons, and daughters has led them to be ashamed. They wanted dishonor to cover them, because they had sinned against Yahweh, their God, from their youth, and even as far back as their ancestors. They have not obeyed the voice of Yahweh, their God.

September 5, 2015

The voice of Yahweh (Ps 29:3-29:4)

“The voice of Yahweh is over the waters.

The God of glory thunders.

Yahweh!

He is over mighty waters.

The voice of Yahweh is powerful.

The voice of Yahweh is full of majesty.”

The voice of Yahweh is the thunder over the various and mighty waters. This powerful voice of Yahweh is full of majesty. Thunder was considered to be the voice of Yahweh in various thunderstorms.