Deuteronomy 32:39

From Errancy Wiki
Jump to navigationJump to search

Previous Verse < Deuteronomy 32 > Next Verse

See now that I, even I, am he, And there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal; And there is none that can deliver out of my hand. (ASV)

Pro

Con

Greater context for this verse will help in understanding what is happening. Moses is addressing the nation of Israel immediately before his death and just before Joshua leads them across the Jordan River and into the promised land after 40 years in the wilderness.

Deuteronomy 32
15 “But [Israel] grew fat and kicked; You grew fat, you grew thick, You are obese! Then he forsook God
who made him, And scornfully esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
16 They provoked Him to jealousy with foreign gods; With abominations they provoked Him to anger.
17 They sacrificed to demons, not to God, To gods they did not know, To new gods, new arrivals
That your fathers did not fear...
36 “For the LORD will judge His people And have compassion on His servants, When He sees that their power is gone,
And there is no one remaining, bond or free.
37 He will say: ‘Where are their gods, The rock in which they sought refuge?
38 Who ate the fat of their sacrifices, And drank the wine of their drink offering? Let them rise and help you,
And be your refuge.
39 ‘Now see that I, even I, am He, And there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal;
Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.

PRO, not understanding the context argues that "Contrary to this...the Hebrews formerly believed in the existence of many gods." So what is it that PRO argues against. It is true that the Hebrews believed in many gods when they were in Egypt.

Now, Israel has been led out of Egypt and Moses tells the Jews that they are to follow the one true God. Contrary to the Scriptural view of God, the Jews believed in (or at least worshiped) many gods both before leaving Egypt and after entering the promised land. The erroneous Jewish beliefs involve no error in the Scriptures which accurately point out that the Jews were exhorted to believe in the one true God but freely choose to believe in other gods.

Neutral

Edit this section to note miscellaneous facts.

JW:

The following has been moved from Pro to Neutral because it provides no reason as to why it should be considered an error:

"Contrary to this (and contrary to the belief of many Christian and Jewish apologists), the Hebrews formerly believed in the existence of many gods. See the Deuteronomy 32:8 article for more on this."

--JoeWallack 08:56, 7 Mar 2008 (CST)

External links