"Then repeat steps 3-8 for about 1500 years, getting progressively worse as you go along, until finally you get the Assyrians and the Babylonians and after that Israel finally seems to Get The Point."
[NODS VIGOROUSLY]
...Until sometime later when some D00D turns up saying, "OK, well done folks for getting the hang of this stuff at the national level. You've been a beacon to the nations, shown 'em where it's at, YHWH-wise, yadda yadda. But there's personal and internal sides to all this stuff too, remember? I see, for example, that we have a slight imbalance between the poor and lowly versus the rich and powerful... " And Israel listens happily for a bit until it starts sounding, y'know, like they all might actually have to *work* at it, whereupon for the most part they say, "Oy, give us a break already!", except for few of them plus a few (Shock! Gasp!) foreigners who say, "Hang on... this sounds interesting..."
Cue 2000-ish years (so far) of Christians following the exact same cycle (steps 3-8), individually or in small groups, and mostly out of synch with each other. =:o}
no subject
[NODS VIGOROUSLY]
...Until sometime later when some D00D turns up saying, "OK, well done folks for getting the hang of this stuff at the national level. You've been a beacon to the nations, shown 'em where it's at, YHWH-wise, yadda yadda. But there's personal and internal sides to all this stuff too, remember? I see, for example, that we have a slight imbalance between the poor and lowly versus the rich and powerful... " And Israel listens happily for a bit until it starts sounding, y'know, like they all might actually have to *work* at it, whereupon for the most part they say, "Oy, give us a break already!", except for few of them plus a few (Shock! Gasp!) foreigners who say, "Hang on... this sounds interesting..."
Cue 2000-ish years (so far) of Christians following the exact same cycle (steps 3-8), individually or in small groups, and mostly out of synch with each other. =:o}