If Western civilization can be said to have a clear beginning, the ancient Hebrews are it…While tiresome and unfair complaints about Jews are also a staple of world history, Dr. Mark Kalthoff opens with a rare line of critique that turns into a compliment, saying the Hebrews’ main contributions to the West’s heritage are…in religion. While a relatively tiny minority of people now and ever have been religiously Jewish, that minority religion has had inestimably large historical effects.
As thinkers including Russell Kirk have famously noted, culture itself arises largely from religious ideas and practices. For a thing called a culture to exist, its participants must have some kind of understood social order…some transcendent truths the people hold in common. These truths are almost universally religious in nature, as they must be accepted on faith rather than demonstrated through scientific proofs…
From these abstract religious concepts have developed a variety of practical and political arrangements…The idea of God’s transcendence, for example, establishes a higher law applicable to all men equally, even those who rule. This was a particularly unusual idea among peoples at the time, whose rulers tended more toward tyranny…
“Hebrews were the first to make people more important than physical property,” Kalthoff says, comparing [contrasting] their legal code to that of Hammurabi. “Hebrews regarded all people as equal before the law. This is a fundamental notion in the Western culture, the equality of people before the law, the dignity of the human person, the applicability of God’s moral truths to all men.”
The Hebrews also held a distinctive view about agreements between God and man, and between man and man…The “social compact” language Puritans and other early American colonists used politically was consciously derived from the Hebrew covenant…
It’s pretty easy to see here the beginnings of what we nowadays call “the rule of law” and “equality before the law,” ideas crucial to not only the U.S. Constitution but undergirding an entire infrastructure of U.S. and western law. But King Saul, as a man and not a god, couldn’t keep from breaking his promises both to God and his people. Saul soon directly disobeys God’s command in battle, which ultimately leads to revolt among his own children then among his people.
The Hebrew insight from personal stories with “universal application” like this…includes that…there’s a direct connection between the private morality of the leaders and the public success of the kingdom…”
Recognizing that men are typically too weak to wield much power impartially and for others’ service is a particularly Hebraic and influential cultural insight. America’s founders, for one, incorporated this insight into our form of government in “checks and balances” that limit leaders’ power…
“If the king is a good king, life will go well for the kingdom. If the king is disordered in his soul, his family might be disordered, and the decline of his family might be mirrored in the decline of his kingdom,” Kalthoff says of the ancient Hebrews’ understanding of the world. “This possibility is ever more prevalent in modern republics, when the people are kings. If they are disordered in their private lives, the challenge of self-government itself might fail, as well.
Like Natty Bumppo and his closest friends, the last of the Mohicans, the Israelite warriors weren’t out to kill all the non-Israelite people they encountered. They were out to salvage what they could.
“When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it. And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee.”
This is absolutely standard practice for victorious nation who provided services in return such as peace and prosperity, like our own nation of America, so we can’t can’t fault the Israelites just because we don’t like their God.
“And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it: And when the LORD thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword [to cut short endless war]: Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.
There were only specific peoples whose abominations – described in a previous post as unification for the purpose of empowering their gods – poses such a threat to humanity as a whole that they needed to be utterly annihilated.
“But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth: But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee: That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the Lord your God.” (Deuteronomy 20:10-18)
“Hear, O Israel: Thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven, A people great and tall, the children of the Anakims, whom thou knowest, and of whom thou hast heard say, Who can stand before the children of Anak!
The worst of the abominations – angel-human hybrid giants.
Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land…
Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. “ (Deuteronomy 9:1-5) “And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years [beginning with Abram’s visit to Egypt]; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge…But in the fourth generation [Moses – Amram – Levi – Jacob] they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.” (Genesis 16:13-16)
“But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel…
- I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee…
Obviously these people are valued.
- I will bring…my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; Even every one that is called by MY name [accepted by God into his family]…
Let all the nations be gathered together [in one nation under God, undoing the scattering under Antichrist Nimrod]…[Isaiah 43-44]
Amazingly, despite the cruelties propagated by wicked nations, people continue to support and even replace them when they are wiped out by God. The Amalekites first appear in biblical history in the Genesis 14 War. After the Rephaims, the Zuzims, the Emims, the Horites and the Amorites were eliminated, the Amalekites managed to hold on to territory within the Promised Land and were implacable enemies of God’s people.
And yet, after Abraham’s grandson Esau had won his territory by conquering the giant Horites, Esau’s son Eliphaz named a son “Amalek”. Since names define significant attributes, we should conclude that this information is documented to alert us that Esau’s grandson manifested characteristics passed down from an Amalekite mother’s giant genes. Given the notoriety of the Amalekites at that time in history as vicious giant warriors, it is unthinkable that a child would be named Amalek for any other reason. Can you imagine anyone but a Neo-Nazi naming their child “Adolph Hitler”? In standard war strategy, Esau undoubtedly conquered the giant Horites by allying himself through marriage with the giant Amalekites.
Amalek’s prominence in the prophecy given by God through Balaam (who, by the way, was a Hebrew) alerts us to this family’s close association to Satan. Christians may skim over the name of an unfamiliar and assumedly unimportant to us since from ancient times, but when Balaam’s blessing and cursing was spoken into existence it was well understood to be a resounding challenge by the Creator’s Promised Seed to the claims of pagan sons of god / kings starting with Nimrod. The following graphics all portray and glorify these usurper kings.
“And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel…he set his face toward the wilderness. And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him.
And he took up his parable, and said: How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river’s side, as the trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters.
- HE [the Son of God / King of Israel] shall pour the water out of his buckets [water sources that are vital to life], and
- HIS seed shall be in many waters, and
- HIS king shall be higher than Agag [king of the Amalekites], and HIS kingdom shall be exalted. [And here’s the proof that this will come to pass – remember Pharoah?] God brought him [Israel] forth out of Egypt [despite Pharoah’s desperate efforts to prevent it];
HE hath as it were the strength of an unicorn
HE shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows.
HE couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee. [Notice that he knows this Abrahamic prophecy]…
I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days…
there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall:
- smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth. [They were given a chance to ally with Israel for protection but chose not to.]
- And Edom shall be a possession [of Israel, instead of the possessor of Israel],
- Seir / Hor also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly…
And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations [like the “first lady”, the most influential powerful and respected]; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever.- And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwellingplace, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock. Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted, until Asshur shall carry thee away captive.
- “And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim / Cyprus, and shall afflict Asshur / Assyria,
- and shall afflict Eber / Hebrews,
- and he [Chittim] also shall perish for ever.”
The “ships from Chittim” is likely a reference to the Sea Peoples
that appeared in the Middle East in the 12th or 11th century BC who cut a path of destruction…destroying the three dominant powers of the era: Mycenaean Greece, the Hittite Empire and the New Kingdom of Egypt….created a power vacuum that allowed the Assyrians, and later the [Neo]Babylonians, and Persians to emerge as dominant powers in the Middle East…There can be no doubt the Sea Peoples invasion changed the course of history.
When we parallel biblical with world history we discover that the actions of the Sea Peoples fulfill a promise by YHVH to support the rag-tag nomadic Israelites with the impossible takeover of the heavily fortified Canaanite cities.
“I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee. And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.” (Exodus 23:28-29)
So why don’t historians demonize the Sea Peoples like they do the fledgling nation of Israel making a small footprint in the same area at this same time in history? We can’t call Odysseus a hero for rescuing his people from the Cyclops and contrarily accuse Moses of genocide against the same monsters. The Israelites were by no means the only nation to battle giants and they did the neighboring tribes a huge favor (yes that’s a pun) when they destroyed them.
The ultimate proof that God did not simply single Israel out for favoritism among the nations, that he had a specific purpose for giving territory to Israel, is that he treated them exactly as he did the Canaanites when Israel took over the religion of the Canaanites.
God destroyed them.
“the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things…Who will render to every man according to his deeds…unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness – indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile…For there is no respect of persons with God.” (Romans 2:2-11)
“Thus saith the LORD; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, And say, Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates: Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.
But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation…Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them. Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his work…I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest…even into the hand of the Chaldeans. And I will cast thee out… (Jeremiah 22:1-29)
“Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD, like David his father: For
- he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel – ruled with an arbitrary and absolute authority, and not as a theocratic sovereign subject to the authority of the Mosaic constitution
- and made also molten images [physical objects in which evil spirits are invited to reside as a focal point for worship, blessings and cursings] for Baal-im [plural of Baal / lord / one who a vassal pledges to serve in exchange for benefits.
Reasons for Idol Worship in Hinduism.
An idol or an image is a living embodiment…not a lifeless form. Life is poured into [therefore out of someone else according to the physics law of Conservation of Energy] when it is reverentially worshipped with devotion. Devotion has such power…By overcoming the duality of the subject and the object…you can experience oneness with the divinity…In idol worship the true worshipper becomes God!… Idol worship is a transformative practice…before a devotee worships an idol…he has to ritually install it and breathe life (prana) into it…It is called establishing life breathe into the idol (prana pratishta)…It is your life energy which…at the end of the ritual…returns to you, purified and elevated. Inside your body, it purifies you further…when a devotee worships an idol, he also worships the deity who is present in him as his hidden Self…and attains immortal life through knowledge.“
- Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom,
The Purpose of Incense In meditation… consciousness turns its control over to the subconscious and provides an opportunity for Divine Spirit connection and communication. For this reason, incense can be a valuable tool for any spiritual practitoner. Incense is used to heighten an individual’s awareness, focus their thoughts, and bring about calm or healing energies during spiritual work. They are used for giving thanks and honoring spirits.
“the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things…Who will render to every man according to his deeds…unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness – indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile…For there is no respect of persons with God.” (Romans 2:2-11)
“Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the Lord which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy.
Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand. And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes; all these he brought to Babylon. And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof. And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah.” (II Chronicles 36:14-21)
Let’s make an effort to apply the same standards to the biblical account of eliminating the Canaanites from the land of Israel as we do to contemporary justice systems. We do believe that does need to happen sometimes, right?
it stands to reason that the only thing worse than murder is murder on an industrial scale.The pathological compulsion that serial killers have to repeatedly extinguish life is what sets them apart from other murderers. A serial killer’s blood lust is what drives them to kill again and again and again…
Nottingham-born ‘Dr. Death’ killed well over 200 patients in his care between 1975 and 1998, the majority of whom were elderly women…
Colombian Luis Garavito, aka ‘La Bestia’ (‘The Beast’) is currently serving 1,853 years…he continues to confess to more and more murders of vulnerable runaway boys. The total now is well over 300. Garavito would lure, tie-up, rape, torture, kill and dismember his child victims…in one devastating seven-year blitzkrieg of death (1992-1999).
Another Colombian to claim to have killed more than 300 children, Santa Isabel-born Pedro López preyed on young girls from 1969…Initially, police were sceptical of his confessions. Until that is, a flash flood uncovered some of his burial sites.
Javed Iqbal was proven to have slaughtered 100 innocent young people…on the streets of Lahore in the late 1990s. Iqbal would strangle his young victims, dismember their bodies and dissolve them in vats of hydrochloric acid…his sentencing judge [ordered] ‘You will be strangled to death in front of the parents whose children you killed,’ he said. ‘Your body will then be cut into 100 pieces and put in acid, the same way you killed the children.’ Instead, Iqbal died in custody…
Kingdom Come 