ellauri119.html on line 69: Synonyms: devout, godly, pious, religious, sainted, saintly, sacred. Antonyms: antireligious, faithless, godless, impious, irreligious, ungodly, unholy.
ellauri164.html on line 877: The reading that makes more sense is to focus on the breaking of the pattern established to this point. Moses’ harsh words toward the Israelites reveal his emotions in this moment; he classifies Israel as “rebels” rather than the chosen people, and his rhetorical question seems to imply that he does not view Israel as worthy of God’s grace any longer. This is the real failure of Moses in this moment: he’s lost his faith in God to fulfill His promises to these people. Israel is a nation of rebels outside of grace, outside of God’s ability to make a great nation, outside of the promises that God has given. It seems nearly forty years of dealing with this people has finally broken Moses, and he is so overwhelmed in this moment that he has lost faith. From God’s perspective, Moses has lost faith in the Lord to overcome Israel’s faithlessness. Moses has not believed in God, and has not treated Yahweh as the Holy God who is able to overcome the weakness of His people. Indeed, this is exactly what Numbers 20:12 says was Moses’ sin! He (and Aaron!) did not believe God and did not treat Yahweh as holy in that moment. God did offer Moses the opportunity to intercede for the people (and thus broke the pattern) because He knew that Moses did not have faith in Him.
ellauri164.html on line 923: Moses’ sin occurred in the final years of his life. After faithfully leading Israel out of Egypt, and after their rebellion in the matter of the 12 spies, he also faithfully led them during the forty years of wandering in the wilderness. Yet near the very end of that wandering, in a moment of anger and a lapse of judgment, Moses sinned, and God recorded that it led Him to refuse to allow Moses to enter the promised land. It is difficult to imagine the anguish and remorse Moses must have felt when God revealed this punishment. His failure to give God the proper respect and reverence, though provoked by the wicked rebellion and faithless murmurings of Israel, was a public sin and God chose to publicly and openly punish him for it.
ellauri171.html on line 1058: But there is a greater threat to his honor (aw fuck, stop, you're killing us). Rumor relates that Tamar is pregnant and has obviously been faithless to her obligation to Judah to remain chaste. Judah, as the head of the family, acts swiftly to restore his honor, commanding that she be burnt to death. But Tamar has anticipated this danger. She sends his identifying pledge to him, urging him to recognize that its owner is the father. Realizing what has happened, Judah publicly announces Tamar’s innocence. His cryptic phrase, zadekah mimmeni, is often translated “she is more in the right than I” (Gen 38:26), a recognition not only of her innocence, but also of his wrongdoing in not freeing her or performing the levirate. Another possible translation is “she is innocent—it [the child] is from me.” Judah has now performed the levirate (despite himself) and never cohabits with Tamar again. Once she is pregnant, future sex with a late son’s wife would be incestuous.
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