God on Trial

By Amie May

 

"Behold, the days come, says Jehovah, that I will cut a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I cut with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt (which covenant of Mine they broke, although I was a husband to them, says Jehovah). But this shall be the covenant that I will cut with the house of Israel: After those days, declares Jehovah, I will put My Law in their inward parts, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they shall no longer each man teach his neighbor, and each man his brother, saying, Know Jehovah. For they shall all know Me, from the least of them even to the greatest of them, declares Jehovah. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sins no more." (Jer. 31:31-34)

Was this new promise made to someone else? Did all of the stories of old prove a wicked God who in the end would abandon his people? No!

Consider to whom Israel gave thanks after having left Egypt:

"And the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain. And the people gathered to Aaron. And they said to him, Rise up, make for us gods who may go before our face. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him. And Aaron said to them, Break off the rings of gold which are in the ears of your wives, your sons and your daughters; and bring them to me. And all the people broke off the rings of gold in their ears, and they brought to Aaron. And he took them from their hand and formed it with an engraving tool. And he made it a casted calf. And they said, These are your gods, O Israel, who made you go up from the land of Egypt." (Exodus 32:1-4)

Without any background, it may be easy to dismiss this as a people making up a god wholly from nothing to worship, because Moses wasn't delivering. That explanation would seem to make sense to us, since we could melt down some metal to make something with, and then choose to worship that something as well.

The people of that day though, were steeped in culture. Their religious beliefs ruled every part of their lives. For them, idols were not built as representations of unseen gods to whom they prayed and gave worship. Rather in their belief, gods literally became the idol and so were seen as living tangably among them.

The god Ba'al has been found to be an ancient (very old!) semetic god, dear to the Canaanites, and eventually worshipped in Egypt. "Ba'al" is a semetic word meaning "Lord, master, owner, keeper, and husband". Ba'al is historically associated with a bull form (among others) as a symbol of his strength and fertility.

The Israelites will have created an idol for Ba'al to inhabit so that he might be properly thanked for leading them out of Egypt. It will have been logical reasoning for them, and perhaps easy to understand considering their beliefs.

It is true that many translations read "make for us gods" (gods = plural) and "these are your gods" (gods = plural). However the word being translated is one that is more and more familiar to us in this day and age: "Elohim".

"Elohim" is often said to be plural because plural words often end in "im" in the Hebrew language. However, there is "myim" (water), "shamyim" (heaven), "chaiim" (life), and "panim" (face).

Either way, context is said to determine whether "Elohim" is referring to the God of Israel or false gods/god. There is no reason that the text in this Exodus story wouldn't be referring to the God of Israel, and there is no reason not to believe that in the wilderness, the people of Israel built an idol to the God of Israel so that God might inhabit that idol, and dwell among them; so that the God of Israel may be thanked for leading them out of captivity.

This is suggestive of a people projecting an image onto God that did not belong to God - a mistaken identity. At the end of the story in Exodus 32, it appears that the confusion was put to rest. However, the bible story itself is suggestive that God was not fully known for a long time to come, even by his then people. Here are some examples (parenthesis mine):

"For My servant Jacob's sake, and for Israel My elect, I entitle you. I name you, but you do not know Me. I am Jehovah, and there is none else; there is no God except Me. I will clothe you, though you do not know Me" (Isaiah 45:4, 5)

"The priests did not say, Where is Jehovah? (specifically following the exit of Israel) And they who handle the Law did not know Me. And the shepherds rebelled against Me; and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and went after things not profitable." (Jer. 2:8)

"For My people are foolish. They do not know Me. They are stupid children, and they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, but they do not know to do good." (Jer. 4:22)

"And they bend their tongues, their bow is a lie. And they are not mighty for the truth on the earth, for they go from evil to evil. They also do not know Me, says Jehovah." (Jer. 9:3)

"Your home is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know Me, says Jehovah." (Jer. 9:6)

However, they carried with them a promise given by God; a Word given many times over:

"So My people shall know My name thus in that day; for I am He speaking. Behold Me!" (Isaiah 52:6)

"And I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am Jehovah. And they shall be My people, and I will be their God. For they shall return to Me with their whole heart." (Jer. 24:7)

There was a very specific mistaken identity that would be cleared up:

"And at that day, says Jehovah, you shall call Me, My husband; and you shall no more call Me, My Baal." (Hosea 2:16)

The new promise that God had given his people, was that there would be a day when they would no longer been in need of teaching and that they would all know him from the greatest to the least. On that day, their imperfections, flaws, and sins would no longer be remembered.

Could that be because the revelation of God would give the understanding that God never kept score to begin with? Let's look at what has been made known, according to the story...

"I am able to do nothing from Myself; just as I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, for I do not seek My will, but the will of the One sending Me, the Father." (John 5:30)

"For I have not come from Myself, but that One sent Me." (John 8:42)

"I and the Father are One!" (John 10:30)

"The one seeing Me has seen the Father!" (John 14:9)

Hear the Word coming therefore, from the Father of Jesus:

"Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father; there is one accusing you, Moses, in whom you have hoped." (John 5:45)

"Love your enemies; bless those cursing you, do well to those hating you; and pray for those abusing and persecuting you" (Matthew 5:44)

Is this the "God on trial" of the video? What about this; does this match up?:

"The one who does not love has not known God, because God is love." (1 John 4:8)

At the end of the video, the man says, "When he (God) asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, Abraham should have said 'No!' We should have taught our God the justice that was in our hearts, we should have stood up to him; he is not good, he has simply been strong. He has simply been on our side. When we were brought here (Aushwitz), we were brought by train. God slapped my face. On their (Nazi) belts, they had written, "God is with us". Who is to say he is not, perhaps he is. Is there any other explanation? What do we see here? His power, his majesty, his might.. all these things but turned against us. He is still God but not our God, he has become our enemy. That's what's happened to the covenant, he has made a new covenant with someone else."

The man in the video has intuitively discovered "Ba'al", the mistaken identity of God. Ba'al is on every side, because Ba'al is just the projection of whoever you are and whatever you feel. Ba'al hates who you hate and Ba'al loves who you love. Ba'al is whoever you believe he is because Ba'al is you.

What if the man in the video, who is recognizing the truth as it was put in his heart just as it has been put in all of our hearts.. were to pose such questions to Love?

Because if I know everything there is to know, and possess faith that could move a mountain, without love I am nothing. If I behave in the most sacrificial way right down to giving up my own body, and I don't have love, then I've gained nothing from it. Love has patience. Love is kind. Love... "God is love"... God, is not envious; God is not vain, is not puffed up; God does not behave indecently or pursue his own things. God is not easily provoked, and God does not keep score. God does not celebrate our imperfections, but rejoices in the truth; God bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. God never fails. (See 1 Cor. 13:2-8)

Once upon a time, in Greek mythology, a man named Narcissus fell in love with his own reflection in a pool. Not realizing that it was an image, he wasted away to death, not being able to leave the beauty of his own reflection.

Do you see the connection? Allow me to retell it..

Once upon a time, a man named Narcissus fell in love with his own reflection (Ba'al), which he confused with God. Narcissus wasted away into nothing. Having mercy and moved with compassion, God allowed his son to take the form of Narcissus and to kneel beside Narcissus at the pool, revealing his reflection as well. Putting a finger to the water, the son of God created a ripple, distorting the light which was creating the reflection, and allowing Narcissis to see Paradise beneath the surface.. no, above the surface.. and the hand of Love cradling him.