“Then the sailors
Feared Yahweh even more.
They offered a sacrifice
To Yahweh.
They made vows
To Yahweh.”
Thus, Jonah, despite his attempt to run away, converted these sailors to the worship of Yahweh. Once the sea was calm, they were even more fearful of Jonah’s God, Yahweh. Thus, they offered a sacrifice and made vows to Yahweh, the God who calmed the seas.
“Hear the word
That Yahweh speaks to you!
O house of Israel!
Thus says Yahweh.
‘Do not learn
The ways of the nations!
Do not be dismayed
At the signs of the heavens!
The nations
Are dismayed at them.’”
Jeremiah and the house of Israel were told to listen to the word of Yahweh, God. They were not to learn the ways of other nations that followed the heavenly signs, a reference to the worship of stars, the moon, the sun, and comets. Many nations are dismayed by them, and thus worship them.
“When people could not honor monarchs
In their presence,
Since they lived at a distance,
They imagined their appearance from far away.
They made a visible image of the king,
Whom they honored.
Thus by their zeal
They might flatter the absent one as though present.
Then the ambition of the craftsman impelled
Even those who did not know the king
To intensify their worship.
Perhaps wishing to please his ruler,
They skillfully forced the likeness
To take a more beautiful form.
The multitude,
Attracted by the charm of their work,
Now regarded as an object of worship
The one whom shortly before
They had honored as a man.
This became a hidden trap for humankind.
Because men,
In bondage to misfortune
Or to royal authority,
Bestowed on objects of stone
Or wood
The name that ought not to be shared.”
How did kings and rulers become gods? Once again this author has an explanation of how this happened. First, some of the subjects never saw the king because they lived too far away. Since they wanted to know what he looked like, a visible image was created. With the passage of time, the artisans made the king look better than in real life. Thus the worship of the king’s image became a worship object to those who never met the ruler or king. Gradually these beautiful objects of stone became objects of worship because of royal authority. The similarity between the ruler and God was now complete. The ruler was a god so that his image should be worshipped. This was particularly true in the Hellenistic times.
“Those who walk blamelessly,
Those who do what is right,
Those who speak the truth from their heart,
Those who do not slander with their tongue,
Those who do no evil to their friends,
Those who do not take up a reproach against their neighbor,
Those in whose eyes the wicked are despised,
Those who honor and fear Yahweh,
Those who stand by their oath even to their hurt,
Those who do not lend money at interest,
Those who do not take a bribe against the innocent,
Those who do these things
Shall never be moved.”
Now we find out for sure who can be admitted to the worship of Yahweh. What are the moral pre-requisites? Here we have the list of those allowed into the temple of Yahweh. They walk blamelessly, doing what is right. They speak the truth from their heart. They do not slander. They do not do any evil things to their friends and neighbors. They despise the wicked. They honor and fear Yahweh. They stand by their own even in rough times. They do not lend money at interest. They do not take bribes that hurt the innocent. Doing all these things will get you entrance into the Temple of Yahweh.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 