The Wickedness Of The Children Of Binyamin

19:1It happened in those days, when there was no king in Yisra'el, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the farther side of the hill-country of Efrayim, who took to him a concubine out of Beit-Lechem-Yahudah. 19:2His concubine played the prostitute against him, and went away from him to her father's house to Beit-Lechem-Yahudah, and was there the space of four months. 19:3Her husband arose, and went after her, to speak kindly to her, to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of donkeys: and she brought him into her father's house; and when the father of the young lady saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.

19:4His father-in-law, the young lady's father, retained him; and he abode with him three days: so they ate and drank, and lodged there. 19:5It happened on the fourth day, that they arose early in the morning, and he rose up to depart: and the young lady's father said to his son-in-law, Strengthen your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward you shall go your way. 19:6So they sat down, and ate and drink, both of them together: and the young lady's father said to the man, Please be pleased to stay all night, and let your heart be merry. 19:7The man rose up to depart; but his father-in-law urged him, and he lodged there again. 19:8He arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart; and the young lady's father said, Please strengthen your heart and stay until the day declines; and they ate, both of them. 19:9When the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father-in-law, the young lady's father, said to him, Behold, now the day draws toward evening, please stay all night: behold, the day grows to an end, lodge here, that your heart may be merry; and tomorrow get you early on your way, that you may go home. 19:10But the man wouldn't stay that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Yevus (the same is Yerushalayim): and there were with him a couple of donkeys saddled; his concubine also was with him.

19:11When they were by Yevus, the day was far spent; and the servant said to his master, Please come and let us turn aside into this city of the Yevusi, and lodge in it. 19:12His master said to him, We won't turn aside into the city of a foreigner, that is not of the children of Yisra'el; but we will pass over to Gevah. 19:13He said to his servant, Come and let us draw near to one of these places; and we will lodge in Gevah, or in Ramah. 19:14So they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down on them near to Gevah, which belongs to Binyamin.

19:15They turned aside there, to go in to lodge in Gevah: and he went in, and sat him down in the street of the city; for there was no man who took them into his house to lodge. 19:16Behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at even: now the man was of the hill-country of Efrayim, and he sojourned in Gevah; but the men of the place were Binyamini. 19:17He lifted up his eyes, and saw the wayfaring man in the street of the city; and the old man said, Where go you? And whence come you? 19:18He said to him, We are passing from Beit-Lechem-Yahudah to the farther side of the hill-country of Efrayim; from there am I, and I went to Beit-Lechem-Yahudah: and I am now going to the house of Yahweh; and there is no man who takes me into his house. 19:19Yet there is both straw and provender for our donkeys; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for your handmaid, and for the young man who is with your servants: there is no want of anything. 19:20The old man said, Shalom be to you; howsoever let all your wants lie on me; only don't lodge in the street. 19:21So he brought him into his house, and gave the donkeys fodder; and they washed their feet, and ate and drink.

19:22As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain base fellows, beset the house round about, beating at the door; and they spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man who came into your house, that we may know him. 19:23The man, the master of the house, went out to them, and said to them, No, my brothers, please don't act so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into my house, don't do this folly. 19:24Behold, here is my daughter a virgin, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble you them, and do with them what seems good to you: but to this man don't do any such folly. 19:25But the men wouldn't listen to him: so the man laid hold on his concubine, and brought her forth to them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go.

19:26Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man's house where her master was, until it was light. 19:27Her master rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way; and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, with her hands on the threshold. 19:28He said to her, Up, and let us be going; but none answered: then he took her up on the donkey; and the man rose up, and got him to his place. 19:29When he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the borders of Yisra'el. 19:30It was so, that all who saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Yisra'el came up out of the land of Mitzrayim to this day: consider it, take counsel, and speak.

20:1Then all the children of Yisra'el went out, and the congregation was assembled as one man, from Dan even to Be'er-Sheva, with the land of Gil`ad, to Yahweh at Mitzpah. 20:2The chiefs of all the people, even of all the tribes of Yisra'el, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of the Mighty One, four hundred thousand footmen who drew sword. 20:3(Now the children of Binyamin heard that the children of Yisra'el had gone up to Mitzpah.) The children of Yisra'el said, Tell us, how was this wickedness brought to pass?

20:4The Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered, I came into Gevah that belongs to Binyamin, I and my concubine, to lodge. 20:5The men of Gevah rose against me, and beset the house round about me by night; me they thought to have slain, and my concubine they forced, and she is dead. 20:6I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Yisra'el; for they have committed lewdness and folly in Yisra'el. 20:7Behold, you children of Yisra'el, all of you, give here your advice and counsel.

20:8All the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn to his house. 20:9But now this is the thing which we will do to Gevah: we will go up against it by lot; 20:10and we will take ten men of one hundred throughout all the tribes of Yisra'el, and one hundred of one thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to get victuals for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gevah of Binyamin, according to all the folly that they have worked in Yisra'el. 20:11So all the men of Yisra'el were gathered against the city, knit together as one man.

20:12The tribes of Yisra'el sent men through all the tribe of Binyamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is happen among you? 20:13Now therefore deliver up the men, the base fellows, who are in Gevah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Yisra'el. But Binyamin would not listen to the voice of their brothers the children of Yisra'el.

20:14The children of Binyamin gathered themselves together out of the cities to Gevah, to go out to battle against the children of Yisra'el. 20:15The children of Binyamin were numbered on that day out of the cities twenty-six thousand men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gevah, who were numbered seven hundred chosen men. 20:16Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men left-handed; everyone could sling stones at a hair-breadth, and not miss. 20:17The men of Yisra'el, besides Binyamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men who drew sword: all these were men of war.

20:18The children of Yisra'el arose, and went up to Beit-El, and asked counsel of the Mighty One; and they said, Who shall go up for us first to battle against the children of Binyamin? Yahweh said, Yahudah shall go up first.

20:19The children of Yisra'el rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gevah. 20:20The men of Yisra'el went out to battle against Binyamin; and the men of Yisra'el set the battle in array against them at Gevah. 20:21The children of Binyamin came forth out of Gevah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites on that day Twenty-two thousand men. 20:22The people, the men of Yisra'el, encouraged themselves, and set the battle again in array in the place where they set themselves in array the first day.

20:23The children of Yisra'el went up and wept before Yahweh until even; and they asked of Yahweh, saying, Shall I again draw near to battle against the children of Binyamin my brother? Yahweh said, Go up against him.

20:24The children of Yisra'el came near against the children of Binyamin the second day. 20:25Binyamin went forth against them out of Gevah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Yisra'el again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword.

20:26Then all the children of Yisra'el, and all the people, went up, and came to Beit-El, and wept, and sat there before Yahweh, and fasted that day until even; and they offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before Yahweh. 20:27The children of Yisra'el asked of Yahweh (for the ark of the covenant of the Mighty One was there in those days, 20:28and Pinechas, the son of El`azar, the son of Aharon, stood before it in those days), saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Binyamin my brother, or shall I cease? Yahweh said, Go up; for tomorrow I will deliver him into your hand.

20:29Yisra'el set liers-in-wait against Gevah round about. 20:30The children of Yisra'el went up against the children of Binyamin on the third day, and set themselves in array against Gevah, as at other times. 20:31The children of Binyamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to strike and kill of the people, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goes up to Beit-El, and the other to Gevah, in the field, about thirty men of Yisra'el. 20:32The children of Binyamin said, They are struck down before us, as at the first. But the children of Yisra'el said, Let us flee, and draw them away from the city to the highways.

20:33All the men of Yisra'el rose up out of their place, and set themselves in array at Ba`al-Tamar: and the liers-in-wait of Yisra'el broke forth out of their place, even out of Ma`areh-Geva. 20:34There came over against Gevah ten thousand chosen men out of all Yisra'el, and the battle was sore; but they didn't know that evil was close on them. 20:35Yahweh struck Binyamin before Yisra'el; and the children of Yisra'el destroyed of Binyamin that day twenty-five thousand one hundred men: all these drew the sword.

20:36So the children of Binyamin saw that they were struck; for the men of Yisra'el gave place to Binyamin, because they trusted to the liers-in-wait whom they had set against Gevah. 20:37The liers-in-wait hurried, and rushed on Gevah; and the liers-in-wait drew themselves along, and struck all the city with the edge of the sword.

20:38Now the appointed sign between the men of Yisra'el and the liers-in-wait was that they should make a great cloud of smoke rise up out of the city. 20:39The men of Yisra'el turned in the battle, and Binyamin began to strike and kill of the men of Yisra'el about thirty persons; for they said, Surely they are struck down before us, as in the first battle. 20:40But when the cloud began to arise up out of the city in a pillar of smoke, the Binyamini looked behind them; and, behold, the whole of the city went up in smoke to the sky. 20:41The men of Yisra'el turned, and the men of Binyamin were dismayed; for they saw that evil had come on them. 20:42Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Yisra'el to the way of the wilderness; but the battle followed hard after them; and those who came out of the cities destroyed them in the midst of it. 20:43They enclosed the Binyamini round about, and chased them, and trod them down at their resting-place, as far as over against Gevah toward the sunrise. 20:44There fell of Binyamin eighteen thousand men; all these were men of valor.

20:45They turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men, and followed hard after them to Gid`om, and struck of them two thousand men. 20:46So that all who fell that day of Binyamin were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword; all these were men of valor. 20:47But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and abode in the rock of Rimmon four months. 20:48The men of Yisra'el turned again on the children of Binyamin, and struck them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city, and the cattle, and all that they found: moreover all the cities which they found they set on fire.

As the people of Gevah had committed the folly of adultery and murder, in that they sexually forced themselves upon someone's wife, they deserved to die!

As their brethren the children of Binyamin sided with them in their folly, in that they refused to give up the wicked men of Gevah that they be removed from amongst Yisrael, they also deserved to die!

And die they did, in the three battles that ensued between Binyamin and the rest of Yisrael.

Evil ought to be removed from the midst of Yahweh's people, lest Yahweh's fierce wrath be turned against his people.

Shaul's Rebellion Against Yahweh

15:1Shemu'el said to Sha'ul, Yahweh sent me to anoint you to be king over his people, over Yisra'el: now therefore listen you to the voice of the words of Yahweh. 15:2Thus says Yahweh-Tzva'ot, I have marked that which `Amalek did to Yisra'el, how he set himself against him in the way, when he came up out of Mitzrayim. 15:3Now go and strike `Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and don't spare them; but kill both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.

15:4Sha'ul summoned the people, and numbered them in Tela'im, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Yahudah. 15:5Sha'ul came to the city of `Amalek, and laid wait in the valley. 15:6Sha'ul said to the Kinim, Go, depart, get you down from among the `Amaleki, lest I destroy you with them; for you showed kindness to all the children of Yisra'el, when they came up out of Mitzrayim. So the Kinim departed from among the `Amaleki.

15:7Sha'ul struck the `Amaleki, from Chavilah as you go to Shur, that is before Mitzrayim. 15:8He took Agag the king of the `Amaleki alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. 15:9But Sha'ul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and wouldn't utterly destroy them: but everything that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.

15:10Then came the word of Yahweh to Shemu'el, saying, 15:11It repents me that I have set up Sha'ul to be king; for he is turned back from following me, and has not performed my commandments. Shemu'el was angry; and he cried to Yahweh all night.

15:12Shemu'el rose early to meet Sha'ul in the morning; and it was told Shemu'el, saying, Sha'ul came to Karmel, and, behold, he set him up a monument, and turned, and passed on, and went down to Gilgal. 15:13Shemu'el came to Sha'ul; and Sha'ul said to him, Blessed be you of Yahweh: I have performed the commandment of Yahweh.

15:14Shemu'el said, What means then this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?

15:15Sha'ul said, They have brought them from the `Amaleki: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice to Yahweh your Mighty One; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.

15:16Then Shemu'el said to Sha'ul, Stay, and I will tell you what Yahweh has said to me this night. He said to him, Say on. 15:17Shemu'el said, "Though you were little in your own sight, weren't you made the head of the tribes of Yisra'el? Yahweh anointed you king over Yisra'el; 15:18and Yahweh sent you on a journey, and said, 'Go, and utterly destroy the sinners the `Amaleki, and fight against them until they are consumed.' 15:19Why then didn't you obey the voice of Yahweh, but flew on the spoil, and did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh?"

15:20Sha'ul said to Shemu'el, Yes, I have obeyed the voice of Yahweh, and have gone the way which Yahweh sent me, and have brought Agag the king of `Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the `Amaleki. 15:21But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the devoted things, to sacrifice to Yahweh your Mighty One in Gilgal.

15:22Shemu'el said, Has Yahweh as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Yahweh? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. 15:23For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and terafim. Because you have rejected the word of Yahweh, he has also rejected you from being king.

15:24Sha'ul said to Shemu'el, I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of Yahweh, and your words, because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. 15:25Now therefore, please pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship Yahweh.

15:26Shemu'el said to Sha'ul, I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of Yahweh, and Yahweh has rejected you from being king over Yisra'el.

15:27As Shemu'el turned about to go away, Sha'ul laid hold on the skirt of his robe, and it tore. 15:28Shemu'el said to him, Yahweh has torn the kingdom of Yisra'el from you this day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you. 15:29Also the Strength of Yisra'el will not lie nor repent; for he is not a man, that he should repent.

15:30Then he said, I have sinned: yet honor me now, Please, before the Zakenim of my people, and before Yisra'el, and turn again with me, that I may worship Yahweh your Mighty One. 15:31So Shemu'el turned again after Sha'ul; and Sha'ul worshipped Yahweh.

15:32Then said Shemu'el, Bring you here to me Agag the king of the `Amaleki. Agag came to him cheerfully. Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. 15:33Shemu'el said, As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women. Shemu'el hewed Agag in pieces before Yahweh in Gilgal. 15:34Then Shemu'el went to Ramah; and Sha'ul went up to his house to Gevah of Sha'ul. 15:35Shemu'el came no more to see Sha'ul until the day of his death; for Shemu'el mourned for Sha'ul: and Yahweh repented that he had made Sha'ul king over Yisra'el.

15:1-3 notes Yahweh command to Shaul.

15:8-9 notes that Shaul and the people did not fully obey Yahweh's command.

15:10-11 notes Yahweh clearly stating that Shaul has stopped following him and has not performed his commandments. In other words, there was a time when Shaul followed Yahweh and performed Yahweh's commandments. But he eventually ceased to faithfully follow after Yahweh.

15:13 shows Shaul asserting that he had indeed performed Yahweh's commandment. Yet, in truth, he performed it only selectively, doing only those portions of Yahweh's commandment that seemed good to him, and not doing the rest of Yahweh's commandment, seeing that the rest did not seem good to him. Shaul had only selectively performed Yahweh's commandment, and was justifying his selective performance as complete performance.

It should be noted that Yahweh did not consider Shaul's selective performance of his commandment as complete performance. In fact, Yahweh considered Shaul's selective performance of his commandment as Shaul not having performed his commandment! In other words, when Yahweh commands us to do a particular thing, the only manner we can say that we have done Yahweh's command is when we have fully done Yahweh's command. If we select and do only a portion of Yahweh's command, and do not do the rest of it, we have not performed Yahweh's command.

Selectively Obeying Yahweh Is Evil!

15:16-19 notes that Shaul's selective performance of Yahweh's commandment was EVIL in the sight of Yahweh! In other words, when we do not fully perform Yahweh's word, selecting only those portions that seem good to us and rejecting the rest, we do evil in the sight of Yahweh!

15:20-21 notes that even when confronted with the evidence of his misdeeds, Shaul still did not acknowledge that he had sinned before Yahweh in not performing Yahweh's command. For he was both justifying his conduct, and shifting blame upon the people under his authority.

There Is No Valid Justification For Not Fully Obeying Yahweh

15:22 notes that any justification we have for not obeying Yahweh's word is worthless, even if that justification is not bad in and of itself, such as sacrificing to Yahweh. In other words, when Yahweh gives us a command, we must avoid justifying rebellion against Yahweh's command on account of doing something else for Yahweh. What is important is that we do whatever it is that Yahweh commands us to do, and not our own different or contrary thoughts.

Classification Of The Sins Of Rebellion And Stubbornness

15:23 classifies the sins of rebellion and stubbornness with those of witchcraft, idolatry and iniquity (terafim).

Yahweh Rejects Rebels

It also notes that those who reject the word of Yahweh, Yahweh also rejects them from whatever position Yahweh had previously given them.

15:24-25 notes Shaul's apparent repentance. Nevertheless, it seems that this apparent repentance was not genuine. For Shaul did not fear Yahweh's word when previously confronted with it. Yet now, when he has learned that Yahweh has rejected him from the position that Yahweh placed him in, he hastily purports to have repented, on the hope that the judgement against him will be reversed.

15:26-29 notes that despite Shaul's apparent hasty retreat, Shemuel was not fooled. For Shemuel reiterated that Yahweh had rejected Shaul, and that Yahweh would not repent of his decision.

Do Not Fellowship With Rebels Against Yahweh

It should also be noted that we should have no business fellowshipping with those who rebel against Yahweh. For when Shaul had rebelled against Yahweh, and Yahweh had pronounced his judgement against him, Shemuel ceased to have any dealings with him. For he had ceased to be within Yahweh's embrace, Yahweh having rejected him for his rebellion and stubbornness.

Respect Those In Authority

15:30-31 notes that those in authority, even those who rebel against Yahweh and have been rejected from their official standing by Yahweh, should still be accorded due respect for the office that they still occupy. In other words, until such time as Yahweh removes these whom he has rejected, we must continue to accord them due respect on account of the office that they occupy.

Yahweh Removes Rebels From Their Place

17:6In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Ashshur took Shomron, and carried Yisra'el away to Ashshur, and placed them in Chalach, and on the Chavor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Madai. 17:7It was so, because the children of Yisra'el had sinned against Yahweh their Mighty One, who brought them up out of the land of Mitzrayim from under the hand of Par`oh king of Mitzrayim, and had feared other mighty ones, 17:8and walked in the statutes of the nations, whom Yahweh cast out from before the children of Yisra'el, and of the kings of Yisra'el, which they made. 17:9The children of Yisra'el did secretly things that were not right against Yahweh their Mighty One: and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city; 17:10and they set them up pillars and Asherim on every high hill, and under every green tree; 17:11and there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the nations whom Yahweh carried away before them; and they worked wicked things to provoke Yahweh to anger; 17:12and they served idols, whereof Yahweh had said to them, You shall not do this thing.

17:13Yet Yahweh testified to Yisra'el, and to Yahudah, by every prophet, and every seer, saying, Turn you from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets. 17:14Notwithstanding, they would not hear, but hardened their neck, like the neck of their fathers, who didn't believe in Yahweh their Mighty One. 17:15They rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified to them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the nations that were round about them, concerning whom Yahweh had charged those who they should not do like them. 17:16They forsook all the commandments of Yahweh their Mighty One, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah, and worshipped all the host of the sky, and served Ba`al. 17:17They caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, to provoke him to anger. 17:18Therefore Yahweh was very angry with Yisra'el, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Yahudah only.

17:19Also Yahudah didn't keep the commandments of Yahweh their Mighty One, but walked in the statutes of Yisra'el which they made. 17:20Yahweh rejected all the seed of Yisra'el, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight. 17:21For he tore Yisra'el from the house of David; and they made Yarov`am the son of Nevat king: and Yarov`am drove Yisra'el from following Yahweh, and made them sin a great sin. 17:22The children of Yisra'el walked in all the sins of Yarov`am which he did; they didn't depart from them; 17:23until Yahweh removed Yisra'el out of his sight, as he spoke by all his servants the prophets. So Yisra'el was carried away out of their own land to Ashshur to this day. 17:24The king of Ashshur brought men from Bavel, and from Kutah, and from Avva, and from Chamat and Sefarvayim, and placed them in the cities of Shomron instead of the children of Yisra'el; and they possessed Shomron, and lived in the cities of it.

As Yahweh dealt with Shaul for his rebellion and stubbornness, so also did Yahweh deal with Yisrael for her rebellion, stubbornness and idolatry. For Yahweh removed her from her place in her land, and replaced her with other inhabitants.

It should therefore be clear to us that if we reject Yahweh's word, Yahweh indeed rejects us from whatever standing he had placed us in. It is therefore imperative that we obey Yahweh fully and completely, doing all that he tells us to do.

Yahweh Again Removes Rebels From Their Place

21:1Menashshe was twelve years old when he began to reign; and he reigned fifty-five years in Yerushalayim: and his mother's name was Cheftzi-Bah. 21:2He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, after the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Yisra'el. 21:3For he built again the high places which Chizkiyahu his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Ba`al, and made an Asherah, as did Ach'av king of Yisra'el, and worshipped all the host of the sky, and served them. 21:4He built altars in the house of Yahweh, whereof Yahweh said, In Yerushalayim will I put my name. 21:5He built altars for all the host of the sky in the two courts of the house of Yahweh. 21:6He made his son to pass through the fire, and practiced sorcery, and used enchantments, and dealt with those who had familiar spirits, and with wizards: he worked much evil in the sight of Yahweh, to provoke him to anger.

21:7He set the engraved image of Asherah, that he had made, in the house of which Yahweh said to David and to Shelomo his son, In this house, and in Yerushalayim, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Yisra'el, will I put my name forever; 21:8neither will I cause the feet of Yisra'el to wander any more out of the land which I gave their fathers, if only they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moshe commanded them. 21:9But they didn't listen: and Menashshe seduced them to do that which is evil more than did the nations whom Yahweh destroyed before the children of Yisra'el.

21:10Yahweh spoke by his servants the prophets, saying, 21:11Because Menashshe king of Yahudah has done these abominations, and has done wickedly above all that the Amori did, who were before him, and has made Yahudah also to sin with his idols; 21:12therefore thus says Yahweh, the Mighty One of Yisra'el, Behold, I bring such evil on Yerushalayim and Yahudah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears shall tingle. 21:13I will stretch over Yerushalayim the line of Shomron, and the plummet of the house of Ach'av; and I will wipe Yerushalayim as a man wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. 21:14I will cast off the remnant of my inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies; 21:15because they have done that which is evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Mitzrayim, even to this day.

Yahweh indeed punishes those who rebel against him and turn to idolatry. He removes them from their place, and utterly destroys them.

Yahweh's Fierce Wrath Trained Firmly Against Yahudah

23:24Moreover those who had familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the terafim, and the idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Yahudah and in Yerushalayim, did Yoshiyahu put away, that he might confirm the words of the law which were written in the book that Chilkiyah the Kohen found in the house of Yahweh. 23:25Like him was there no king before him, who turned to Yahweh with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moshe; neither after him arose there any like him. 23:26Notwithstanding, Yahweh didn't turn from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled against Yahudah, because of all the provocation wherewith Menashshe had provoked him. 23:27Yahweh said, I will remove Yahudah also out of my sight, as I have removed Yisra'el, and I will cast off this city which I have chosen, even Yerushalayim, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.

23:26 notes that there are times that Yahweh does not turn aside from his fierce wrath against those who have committed abominations against him. For despite Yoshiyahu's good works, Yahweh's fierce wrath remained trained firmly upon Yahudah, for all the abominations that Yahudah had committed in previous generations.

It should therefore be clear that Yahweh punishes for idolatry.

Yahweh's Judgement On Idolaters

2:5House of Ya`akov, come, and let us walk in the light of Yahweh. 2:6For you have forsaken your people the house of Ya`akov, because they are filled with customs from the east, and are soothsayers like the Pelishtim, and they clasp hands with the children of foreigners. 2:7Their land is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land also is full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots. 2:8Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made. 2:9Man is bowed down, and mankind is humbled; therefore don't forgive them. 2:10Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, from before the terror of Yahweh, and from the glory of his majesty.

2:11The lofty looks of man shall be brought low, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and Yahweh alone shall be exalted in that day. 2:12For there shall be a day of Yahweh Tzva'ot on all that is proud and haughty, and on all that is lifted up; and it shall be brought low; 2:13and on all the cedars of Levanon, that are high and lifted up, and on all the oaks of Bashan, 2:14and on all the high mountains, and on all the hills that are lifted up, 2:15and on every lofty tower, and on every fortified wall, 2:16and on all the ships of Tarshish, and on all pleasant imagery. 2:17The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; and Yahweh alone shall be exalted in that day. 2:18The idols shall utterly pass away. 2:19Men shall go into the caves of the rocks, and into the holes of the eretz, from before the terror of Yahweh, and from the glory of his majesty, when he arises to shake mightily the eretz.

2:20In that day men shall cast away their idols of silver, and their idols of gold, which have been made for them to worship, to the moles and to the bats; 2:21to go into the caverns of the rocks, and into the clefts of the ragged rocks, from before the terror of Yahweh, and from the glory of his majesty, when he arises to shake mightily the eretz.

Adulteresses Are Prostitutes And Sorceresses

57:1The righteous perishes, and no man lays it to heart; and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. 57:2He enters into shalom; they rest in their beds, each one who walks in his uprightness. 57:3But draw near here, you sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the prostitute. 57:4Against whom do you sport yourselves? Against whom make you a wide mouth, and put out the tongue? Aren't you children of disobedience, a seed of falsehood, 57:5you who inflame yourselves among the oaks, under every green tree; who kill the children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks? 57:6Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion; they, they are your lot; even to them have you poured a drink-offering, you have offered an offering. Shall I be appeased for these things? 57:7On a high and lofty mountain have you set your bed; there also went you up to offer sacrifice. 57:8Behind the doors and the posts have you set up your memorial: for you have uncovered yourself to another than me, and are gone up; you have enlarged your bed, and made you a covenant with them: you loved their bed where you saw it. 57:9You went to the king with oil, and did increase your perfumes, and did send your ambassadors far off, and did debase yourself even to She'ol. 57:10You were wearied with the length of your way; yet you didn't say, It is in vain: you found a reviving of your strength; therefore you weren't faint. 57:11Of whom have you been afraid and in fear, that you lie, and have not remembered me, nor laid it to your heart? Haven't I held my shalom even of long time, and you don't fear me? 57:12I will declare your righteousness; and as for your works, they shall not profit you. 57:13When you cry, let those who you have gathered deliver you; but the wind shall take them, a breath shall carry them all away: but he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain.

57:3 shows that an adulteress is a prostitute. For the manner an adulterer commits adultery with a prostitute is if that prostitute is the wife of another man. Therefore adulteresses are prostitutes.

It should also be noted that Yahweh also likens adulterous prostitutes to sorceresses! In other words, Yahweh equates prostitution and adultery with sorcery!

This implies that the penalty that is effected for committing one offence is also effected on committing the other offence, for these offences are alike! Therefore where one who commits adultery is put to death, so also is one who commits sorcery! And where one who commits sorcery is removed from dwelling in the midst of Yahweh's people, so also is one who commits adultery.

57:3-9 shows that the sins of the seed of those who commit sorcery, adultery and prostitution include unruly speech, idolatry, murder and adultery (prostitution).

Rebellion Grieves The Holy Spirit

63:7I will make mention of the lovingkindnesses of Yahweh, and the praises of Yahweh, according to all that Yahweh has bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Yisra'el, which he has bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses. 63:8For he said, Surely, they are my people, children who will not deal falsely: so he was their Savior. 63:9In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bore them, and carried them all the days of old. 63:10But they rebelled, and grieved his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them.

Acts of rebellion result in the grieving of the Holy Spirit, and cause Yahweh to turn against those committing these rebellious acts. It should therefore be clear that all who serve Yahweh should remain faithful to Yahweh, and not rebel against him. For when they do so, Yahweh becomes their enemy and fights against them.

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