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Then he said to his servants: "Both of you stay here with the
donkey, while the boy and I go on over yonder. We will worship and
then come back to you." [GEN 22:5]
She answered: "I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of
Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor. There is plenty of straw and
fodder at our place," she added, "and room to spend the
night." The man then bowed down in worship to the LORD,
saying: "Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham,
who has not let his constant kindness toward my master fail. As
for myself also, the LORD has led me straight to the house of my
master's brother." [GEN 24:24-27]
When I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you?' she answered, 'The daughter of Bethuel, son of Nahor, borne to Nahor by Milcah.' So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. Then I bowed down in worship to the LORD, blessing the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road to obtain the daughter of my master's kinsman for his son.
[GEN 24:47-48]
But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of Egypt?"
He answered, "I will be with you; and this shall be your proof that it is I who have sent you: when you bring my people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this very mountain."
[EX 3:11-12]
Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the Israelites.
Aaron told them everything the LORD had said to Moses, and he performed the signs before the people.
The people believed, and when they heard that the LORD was concerned about them and had seen their affliction, they bowed down in worship.
[EX 4:29-31]
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh is obdurate in
refusing to let the people go. Tomorrow morning, when he sets out
for the water, go and present yourself by the river bank, holding
in your hand the staff that turned into a serpent. Say to him: The
LORD, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you with the message: Let
my people go to worship me in the desert. But as yet you have not
listened. The LORD now says: This is how you shall know that I am
the LORD. I will strike the water of the river with the staff I
hold, and it shall be changed into blood." [EX 7:14-17]
Seven days passed after the LORD had struck the river. Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and tell him: Thus says the LORD: Let my people go to worship me.
If you refuse to let them go, I warn you, I will send a plague of frogs over all your territory."
[EX 7:25-27]
Again the LORD told Moses, "Early tomorrow morning present yourself to Pharaoh when he goes forth to the water, and say to him: Thus says the LORD: Let my people go to worship me.
If you will not let my people go, I warn you, I will loose swarms of flies upon you and your servants and your subjects and your houses. The houses of the Egyptians and the very ground on which they stand shall be filled with swarms of flies."
[EX 8:16-17]
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and tell him:
Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews: Let my people go to
worship me." [EX 9:1]
Then the LORD told Moses, "Early tomorrow morning present yourself to Pharaoh and say to him: Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews: Let my people go to worship me, or this time I will hurl all my blows upon you and your servants and your subjects, that you may know that there is none like me anywhere on earth."
[EX 9:13-14]
So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and told him, "Thus
says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews: How long will you refuse to
submit to me? Let my people go to worship me. If you refuse to let
my people go, I warn you, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your
country. They shall cover the ground, so that the ground itself
will not be visible. They shall eat up the remnant you saved
unhurt from the hail, as well as all the foliage that has since
sprouted in your fields. They shall fill your houses and the
houses of your servants and of all the Egyptians; such a sight
your fathers or grandfathers have not seen from the day they first
settled on this soil up to the present day." With that he
turned and left Pharaoh. But Pharaoh's servants said to him,
"How long must he be a menace to us? Let the men go to
worship the LORD, their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is
being destroyed?" So Moses and Aaron were brought back to
Pharaoh, who said to them, "You may go and worship the LORD,
your God. But how many of you will go?" "Young and old
must go with us," Moses answered, "our sons and
daughters as well as our flocks and herds must accompany us. That
is what a feast of the LORD means to us." "The LORD help
you," Pharaoh replied, "if I ever let your little ones
go with you! Clearly, you have some evil in mind. No, no! Just you
men can go and worship the LORD. After all, that is what you
want." With that they were driven from Pharaoh's presence.
The LORD then said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the
land of Egypt, that locusts may swarm over it and eat up all the
vegetation and whatever the hail has left." [EX 10:3-12]
Pharaoh then summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Go and
worship the LORD. Your little ones, too, may go with you. But your
flocks and herds must remain." [EX 10:24]
"When your children ask you, 'What does this rite of yours
mean?' you shall reply, 'This is the Passover sacrifice of the
LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt; when
he struck down the Egyptians, he spared our houses.'" Then
the people bowed down in worship, and the Israelites went and did
as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron. [EX 12:26-28]
During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Leave my people at once, you and the Israelites with you! Go and worship the LORD as you said. Take your flocks, too, and your herds, as you demanded, and be gone; and you will be doing me a favor."
[EX 12:31-32]
Then God delivered all these commandments: "I, the LORD,
am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place
of slavery. You shall not have other gods besides me. You shall
not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky
above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth;
you shall not bow down before them or worship them. For I, the
LORD, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their
fathers' wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to
the third and fourth generation; but bestowing mercy down to the
thousandth generation, on the children of those who love me and
keep my commandments." [EX 20:1-6]
"See, I am sending an angel before you, to guard you on
the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. Be attentive
to him and heed his voice. Do not rebel against him, for he will
not forgive your sin. My authority resides in him. If you heed his
voice and carry out all I tell you, I will be an enemy to your
enemies and a foe to your foes. My angel will go before you and
bring you to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites,
Hivites and Jebusites; and I will wipe them out. Therefore, you
shall not bow down in worship before their gods, nor shall you
make anything like them; rather, you must demolish them and smash
their sacred pillars. The LORD, your God, you shall worship; then
I will bless your food and drink, and I will remove all sickness
from your midst; no woman in your land will be barren or miscarry;
and I will give you a full span of life." [EX 23:20-26]
"I will set your boundaries from the Red Sea to the sea of
the Philistines, and from the desert to the River; all who dwell
in this land I will hand over to you to be driven out of your way.
You shall not make a covenant with them or their gods. They must
not abide in your land, lest they make you sin against me by
ensnaring you into worshiping their gods." [EX 23:31-33]
Moses himself was told, "Come up to the LORD, you and
Aaron, with Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You
shall all worship at some distance, but Moses alone is to come
close to the LORD; the others shall not come too near, and the
people shall not come up at all with Moses." [EX 24:1-2]
With that, the LORD said to Moses, "Go down at once to your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, for they have become depraved. They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them, making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it, sacrificing to it and crying out, 'This is your God, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!'" [EX
32:7-8]
The tent, which was called the meeting tent, Moses used to
pitch at some distance away, outside the camp. Anyone who wished
to consult the LORD would go to this meeting tent outside the
camp. Whenever Moses went out to the tent, the people would all
rise and stand at the entrance of their own tents, watching Moses
until he entered the tent. As Moses entered the tent, the column
of cloud would come down and stand at its entrance while the LORD
spoke with Moses. On seeing the column of cloud stand at the
entrance of the tent, all the people would rise and worship at the
entrance of their own tents. [EX 33:7-10]
Moses then cut two stone tablets like the former, and early the
next morning he went up Mount Sinai as the LORD had commanded him,
taking along the two stone tablets. Having come down in a cloud,
the LORD stood with him there and proclaimed his name,
"LORD." Thus the LORD passed before him and cried out,
"The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God, slow to
anger and rich in kindness and fidelity, continuing his kindness
for a thousand generations, and forgiving wickedness and crime and
sin; yet not declaring the guilty guiltless, but punishing
children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation for
their fathers' wickedness!" Moses at once bowed down to the
ground in worship. [EX 34:4-8]
You shall not worship any other god, for the LORD is 'the
Jealous One'; a jealous God is he. Do not make a covenant with the
inhabitants of that land; else, when they render their wanton
worship to their gods and sacrifice to them, one of them may
invite you and you may partake of his sacrifice. Neither shall you
take their daughters as wives for your sons; otherwise, when their
daughters render their wanton worship to their gods, they will
make your sons do the same. [EX 34:14-16]
No longer shall they offer their sacrifices to the satyrs to
whom they used to render their wanton worship. This shall be an
everlasting ordinance for them and their descendants. [LEV 17:7]
I myself will turn against such a man and cut him off from the
body of his people; for in giving his offspring to Molech, he has
defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name. Even if his fellow
citizens connive at such a man's crime of giving his offspring to
Molech, and fail to put him to death, I myself will set my face
against that man and his family and will cut off from their people
both him and all who join him in his wanton worship of Molech. [LEV
20:3-5]
"Do not make false gods for yourselves. You shall not erect an idol or a sacred pillar for yourselves, nor shall you set up a stone figure for worship in your land; for I, the LORD, am your God. Keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary. I am the LORD." [LEV
26:1-2]
While Israel was living at Shittim, the people degraded
themselves by having illicit relations with the Moabite women.
These then invited the people to the sacrifices of their god, and
the people ate of the sacrifices and worshiped their god. When
Israel thus submitted to the rites of Baal of Peor, the LORD'S
anger flared up against Israel, and he said to Moses, "Gather
all the leaders of the people, and hold a public execution of the
guilty ones before the LORD, that his blazing wrath may be turned
away from Israel." [NUM 25:1-4]
'I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of
Egypt, that place of slavery. You shall not have other gods
besides me. You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape
of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the
waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or
worship them. For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God,
inflicting punishments for their fathers' wickedness on the
children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth
generation but bestowing mercy, down to the thousandth generation,
on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments. You
shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain. For the
LORD will not leave unpunished him who takes his name in vain.
Take care to keep holy the sabbath day as the LORD, your God,
commanded you. Six days you may labor and do all your work; but
the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God. No work may
be done then, whether by you, or your son or daughter... or your
ox or ass or any of your beasts...' [Taken from DEUT 5:6-14]
Remember then, it is the LORD, your God, who gives you the
power to acquire wealth, by fulfilling, as he has now done, the
covenant which he swore to your fathers. But if you forget the
LORD, your God, and follow other gods, serving and worshiping
them, I forewarn you this day that you will perish utterly. Like
the nations which the LORD destroys before you, so shall you too
perish for not heeding the voice of the LORD, your God. [DEUT 8:18-20]
"For the land which you are to enter and occupy is not
like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you would
sow your seed and then water it by hand, as in a vegetable garden.
No, the land into which you are crossing for conquest is a land of
hills and valleys that drinks in rain from the heavens, a land
which the LORD, your God, looks after; his eyes are upon it
continually from the beginning of the year to the end. If, then,
you truly heed my commandments which I enjoin on you today, loving
and serving the LORD, your God, with all your heart and all your
soul, I will give the seasonal rain to your land, the early rain
and the late rain, that you may have your grain, wine and oil to
gather in; and I will bring forth grass in your fields for your
animals. Thus you may eat your fill. But be careful lest your
heart be so lured away that you serve other gods and worship them.
For then the wrath of the LORD will flare up against you and he
will close up the heavens, so that no rain will fall, and the soil
will not yield its crops, and you will soon perish from the good
land he is giving you." [DEUT 11:10-17]
"These are the statutes and decrees which you must be
careful to observe in the land which the LORD, the God of your
fathers, has given you to occupy, as long as you live on its soil.
Destroy without fail every place on the high mountains, on the
hills, and under every leafy tree where the nations you are to
dispossess worship their gods. Tear down their altars, smash their
sacred pillars, destroy by fire their sacred poles, and shatter
the idols of their gods, that you may stamp out the remembrance of
them in any such place. That is not how you are to worship the
LORD, your God. Instead, you shall resort to the place which the
LORD, your God, chooses out of all your tribes and designates as
his dwelling" [Taken from DEUT 12:1-5]
"When the LORD, your God, removes the nations from your
way as you advance to dispossess them, be on your guard!
Otherwise, once they have been wiped out before you and you have
replaced them and are settled in their land, you will be lured
into following them. Do not inquire regarding their gods, 'How did
these nations worship their gods? I, too, would do the same.' You
shall not thus worship the LORD, your God, because they offered to
their gods every abomination that the LORD detests" [Taken from DEUT
12:29-31]
"If there is found among you, in any one of the
communities which the LORD, your God, gives you, a man or a woman
who does evil in the sight of the LORD, your God, and transgresses
his covenant, by serving other gods, or by worshiping the sun or
the moon or any of the host of the sky, against my command; and
if, on being informed of it, you find by careful investigation
that it is true and an established fact that this abomination has
been committed in Israel: you shall bring the man (or woman) who
has done the evil deed out to your city gates and [apply the
prescribed punishment]." [Taken from DEUT 17:2-5] [Note: Under Mosaic law,
capital punishment was applied in such cases.]
The LORD said to Moses, "Soon you will be at rest with your fathers, and then this people will take to rendering wanton worship to the strange gods among whom they will live in the land they are about to enter. They will forsake me and break the covenant which I have made with them.
At that time my anger will flare up against them; I will forsake them and hide my face from
them..." [Taken from DEUT 31:16-17]
While Joshua was near Jericho, he raised his eyes and saw one
who stood facing him, drawn sword in hand. Joshua went up to him
and asked, "Are you one of us or of our enemies?" He
replied, "Neither. I am the captain of the host of the LORD
and I have just arrived." Then Joshua fell prostrate to the
ground in worship, and said to him, "What has my lord to say
to his servant?" The captain of the host of the LORD replied
to Joshua, "Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place
on which you are standing is holy." And Joshua obeyed. [JOSH
5:13-15]
Many years later, after the LORD had given the Israelites rest
from all their enemies round about them, and when Joshua was old
and advanced in years, he summoned all Israel (including their
elders, leaders, judges and officers) and said to them: "I am
old and advanced in years. You have seen all that the LORD, your
God, has done for you against all these nations; for it has been
the LORD, your God, himself who fought for you. Bear in mind that
I have apportioned among your tribes as their heritage the nations
that survive (as well as those I destroyed) between the Jordan and
the Great Sea in the west. The LORD, your God, will drive them out
and dislodge them at your approach, so that you will take
possession of their land as the LORD, your God, promised you.
Therefore strive hard to observe and carry out all that is written
in the book of the law of Moses, not straying from it in any way,
or mingling with these nations while they survive among you. You
must not invoke their gods, or swear by them, or serve them, or
worship them, but you must remain loyal to the LORD, your God, as
you have been to this day." [JOSH 23:1-8]
"Today, as you see, I am going the way of all men. So now
acknowledge with your whole heart and soul that not one of all the
promises the LORD, your God, made to you has remained unfulfilled.
Every promise has been fulfilled for you, with not one single
exception. But just as every promise the LORD, your God, made to
you has been fulfilled for you, so will he fulfill every threat,
even so far as to exterminate you from this good land which the
LORD, your God, has given you. If you transgress the covenant of
the LORD, your God, which he enjoined on you, serve other gods and
worship them, the anger of the LORD will flare up against you and
you will quickly perish from the good land which he has given
you." [JOSH 23:14-16]
But once the rest of that generation were gathered to their
fathers, and a later generation arose that did not know the LORD,
or what he had done for Israel, the Israelites offended the LORD
by serving the Baals. Abandoning the LORD, the God of their
fathers, who had led them out of the land of Egypt, they followed
the other gods of the various nations around them, and by their
worship of these gods provoked the LORD. Because they had thus
abandoned him and served Baal and the Ashtaroth, the anger of the
LORD flared up against Israel, and he delivered them over to
plunderers who despoiled them. He allowed them to fall into the
power of their enemies round about whom they were no longer able
to withstand. Whatever they undertook, the LORD turned into
disaster for them, as in his warning he had sworn he would do,
till they were in great distress. Even when the LORD raised up
judges to deliver them from the power of their despoilers, they
did not listen to their judges, but abandoned themselves to the
worship of other gods. They were quick to stray from the way their
fathers had taken, and did not follow their example of obedience
to the commandments of the LORD. Whenever the LORD raised up
judges for them, he would be with the judge and save them from the
power of their enemies as long as the judge lived; it was thus the
LORD took pity on their distressful cries of affliction under
their oppressors. But when the judge died, they would relapse and
do worse than their fathers, following other gods in service and
worship, relinquishing none of their evil practices or stubborn
conduct. In his anger toward Israel the LORD said, "Inasmuch
as this nation has violated my covenant which I enjoined on their
fathers, and has disobeyed me, I for my part will not clear away
for them any more of the nations which Joshua left when he
died." Through these nations the Israelites were to be made
to prove whether or not they would keep to the way of the LORD and
continue in it as their fathers had done; therefore the LORD
allowed them to remain instead of expelling them immediately, or
delivering them into the power of Israel. [JUDG 2:10-23]
The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah,
Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was in great
distress. Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD, "We have
sinned against you; we have forsaken our God and have served the
Baals." The LORD answered the Israelites: "Did not the
Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the
Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Midianites oppress you? Yet
when you cried out to me, and I saved you from their grasp, you
still forsook me and worshiped other gods. Therefore I will save
you no more. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen; let them
save you now that you are in distress." [JUDG 10:9-14]
Early the next morning they worshiped before the LORD, and
then returned to their home in Ramah. When Elkanah had
relations with his wife Hannah, the LORD remembered her. She
conceived, and at the end of her term bore a son whom she called
Samuel, since she had asked the LORD for him. [1SAM 1:19-20]
"I prayed for this child, and the LORD granted my request.
Now I, in turn, give him to the LORD; as long as he lives, he
shall be dedicated to the LORD." She left him there; and as
she worshiped the LORD, she said: "My heart exults in the
LORD, my horn is exalted in my God. I have swallowed up
my enemies; I rejoice in my victory. There is no Holy One
like the LORD; there in no Rock like our God..."
[Taken from 1SAM 1:27-28, 2:1-2]
From the day the ark came to rest in Kiriath-jearim a long
time-twenty years-elapsed, and the whole Israelite population
turned to the LORD. Samuel said to them: "If you wish with
your whole heart to return to the LORD, put away your foreign gods
and your Ashtaroth, devote yourselves to the LORD, and worship him
alone. Then he will deliver you from the power of the
Philistines." So the Israelites put away their Baals and
Ashtaroth, and worshiped the LORD alone. [1SAM 7:2-4]
Samuel was displeased when they asked for a king to judge them.
He prayed to the LORD, however, who said in answer: "Grant
the people's every request. It is not you they reject, they are
rejecting me as their king. As they have treated me constantly
from the day I brought them up from Egypt to this day, deserting
me and worshiping strange gods, so do they treat you too. Now
grant their request; but at the same time, warn them solemnly and
inform them of the rights of the king who will rule them." [1SAM
8:6-9]
When Jacob and his sons went to Egypt and the Egyptians
oppressed them, your fathers appealed to the LORD, who sent Moses
and Aaron to bring them out of Egypt, and he gave them this place
to live in. But they forgot the LORD their God; and he allowed
them to fall into the clutches of Sisera, the captain of the army
of Jabin, king of Hazor, into the grasp of the Philistines, and
into the grip of the king of Moab, who made war against them. Each
time they appealed to the LORD and said, 'We have sinned in
forsaking the LORD and worshiping Baals and Ashtaroth; but deliver
us now from the power of our enemies, and we will worship you.'
Accordingly, the LORD sent Jerubbaal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel;
he delivered you from the power of your enemies on every side, so
that you were able to live in security. Yet, when you saw Nahash,
king of the Ammonites, advancing against you, you said to me, 'Not
so, but a king must rule us,' even though the LORD your God is
your king. "Now you have the king you want, a king the LORD
has given you. If you fear the LORD and worship him, if you are
obedient to him and do not rebel against the LORD'S command, if
both you and the king who rules you follow the LORD your God -
well and good. But if you do not obey the LORD and if you rebel
against his command, the LORD will deal severely with you and your
king, and destroy you." [1SAM 12:8-15]
Samuel then called to the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and
rain that day. As a result, all the people dreaded the LORD and
Samuel. They said to Samuel, "Pray to the LORD your God for
us, your servants, that we may not die for having added to all our
other sins the evil of asking for a king." "Do not
fear," Samuel answered them. "It is true you have
committed all this evil; still, you must not turn from the LORD,
but must worship him with your whole heart. Do not turn to
meaningless idols which can neither profit nor save; they are
nothing. For the sake of his own great name the LORD will not
abandon his people, since the LORD himself chose to make you his
people. As for me, far be it from me to sin against the LORD by
ceasing to pray for you and to teach you the good and right way.
But you must fear the LORD and worship him faithfully with your
whole heart; keep in mind the great things he has done among you.
If instead you continue to do evil, both you and your king shall
perish." [1SAM 12:18-25]
Saul replied to Samuel: "I have sinned, for I have
disobeyed the command of the LORD and your instructions. In my
fear of the people, I did what they said. Now forgive my sin, and
return with me, that I may worship the LORD." But Samuel said
to Saul, "I will not return with you, because you rejected
the command of the LORD and the LORD rejects you as king of
Israel." As Samuel turned to go, Saul seized a loose end of
his mantle, and it tore off. So Samuel said to him: "The LORD
has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day, and has given it
to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. The Glory of
Israel neither retracts nor repents, for he is not man that he
should repent." But he answered: "I have sinned, yet
honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel.
Return with me that I may worship the LORD your God." And so
Samuel returned with him, and Saul worshiped the LORD. [1SAM 15:24-31]
David besought God for the child. He kept a fast, retiring for
the night to lie on the ground clothed in sackcloth. The elders of
his house stood beside him urging him to rise from the ground; but
he would not, nor would he take food with them. On the seventh
day, the child died. David's servants, however, were afraid to
tell him that the child was dead, for they said: "When the
child was alive, we spoke to him, but he would not listen to what
we said. How can we tell him the child is dead? He may do some
harm!" But David noticed his servants whispering among
themselves and realized that the child was dead. He asked his
servants, "Is the child dead?" They replied, "Yes,
he is." Rising from the ground, David washed and anointed
himself, and changed his clothes. Then he went to the house of the
LORD and worshiped. He returned to his own house, where at his
request food was set before him, and he ate. His servants said to
him: "What is this you are doing? While the child was living,
you fasted and wept and kept vigil; now that the child is dead,
you rise and take food." He replied: "While the child
was living, I fasted and wept, thinking, 'Perhaps the LORD will
grant me the child's life.' But now he is dead. Why should I fast?
Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not
return to me." [2SAM 12:16-23]
After a period of four years, Absalom said to the king:
"Allow me to go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the
LORD. For while living in Geshur in Aram, your servant made this
vow: 'If the LORD ever brings me back to Jerusalem, I will worship
him in Hebron.'" The king wished him a safe journey, and he
went off to Hebron. Then Absalom sent spies throughout the tribes
of Israel to say, "When you hear the sound of the horn,
declare Absalom king in Hebron." Two hundred men had
accompanied Absalom from Jerusalem. They had been invited and went
in good faith, knowing nothing of the plan. [2SAM 15:7-11]
As David went up the Mount of Olives, he wept without ceasing.
His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. All those who
were with him also had their heads covered and were weeping as
they went. When David was informed that Ahithophel was among the
conspirators with Absalom, he said, "O LORD, turn the counsel
of Ahithophel to folly!" When David reached the top, where
men used to worship God, Hushai the Archite was there to meet him,
with rent garments and dirt upon his head. David said to him:
"If you come with me, you will be a burden to me. But if you
return to the city and say to Absalom, 'Let me be your servant, O
king; I was formerly your father's servant, but now I will be
yours,' you will undo for me the counsel of Ahithophel." [2SAM
15:30-34]
"Besides, Solomon took his seat on the royal throne, and
the king's servants went in and paid their respects to our lord,
King David, saying, 'May God make Solomon more famous than you and
exalt his throne more than your own!' And the king in his bed
worshiped God, and this is what he said: 'Blessed be the LORD, the
God of Israel, who has this day seated one of my sons upon my
throne, so that I see it with my own eyes.'" [1KGS 1:46-48]
After Solomon finished building the temple of the LORD, the
royal palace, and everything else that he had planned, the LORD
appeared to him a second time, as he had appeared to him in
Gibeon. The LORD said to him: "I have heard the prayer of
petition which you offered in my presence. I have consecrated this
temple which you have built; I confer my name upon it forever, and
my eyes and my heart shall be there always. As for you, if you
live in my presence as your father David lived, sincerely and
uprightly, doing just as I have commanded you, keeping my statutes
and decrees, I will establish your throne of sovereignty over
Israel forever, as I promised your father David when I said, 'You
shall always have someone from your line on the throne of Israel.'
But if you and your descendants ever withdraw from me, fail to
keep the commandments and statutes which I set before you, and
proceed to venerate and worship strange gods, I will cut off
Israel from the land I gave them and repudiate the temple I have
consecrated to my honor. Israel shall become a proverb and a
byword among all nations, and this temple shall become a heap of
ruins. Every passerby shall catch his breath in amazement, and
ask, 'Why has the LORD done this to the land and to this temple?'
Men will answer: 'They forsook the LORD, their God, who brought
their fathers out of the land of Egypt; they adopted strange gods
which they worshiped and served. That is why the LORD has brought
down upon them all this evil.'" [1KGS 9:1-9]
Ahijah took off his new cloak, tore it into twelve pieces, and
said to Jeroboam: "Take ten pieces for yourself; the LORD,
the God of Israel, says: 'I will tear away the kingdom from
Solomon's grasp and will give you ten of the tribes. One tribe
shall remain to him for the sake of David my servant, and of
Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.
The ten I will give you because he has forsaken me and has
worshiped Astarte, goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh, god of Moab,
and Milcom, god of the Ammonites; he has not followed my ways or
done what is pleasing to me according to my statutes and my
decrees, as his father David did. Yet I will not take any of the
kingdom from Solomon himself, but will keep him a prince as long
as he lives for the sake of my servant David, whom I chose, who
kept my commandments and statutes. But I will take the kingdom
from his son and will give it to you - that is, the ten
tribes.'" [1KGS 11:30-35]
Ahab, son of Omri, did evil in the sight of the LORD more than
any of his predecessors. It was not enough for him to imitate the
sins of Jeroboam, son of Nebat. He even married Jezebel, daughter
of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, and went over to the veneration
and worship of Baal. [1KGS 16:30-31]
Ahaziah, son of Ahab, began to reign over Israel in Samaria in
the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah; he reigned two
years over Israel. He did evil in the sight of the LORD, behaving
like his father, his mother, and Jeroboam, son of Nebat, who
caused Israel to sin. He served and worshiped Baal, thus provoking
the LORD, the God of Israel, just as his father had done. [1KGS
22:52-54]
"But I trust the LORD will forgive your servant this: when my
master enters the temple of Rimmon to worship there, then I, too,
as his adjutant, must bow down in the temple of Rimmon. May the
LORD forgive your servant this." [2KGS 5:18]
Jehu gathered all the people together and said to them:
"Ahab served Baal to some extent, but Jehu will serve him yet
more. Now summon for me all Baal's prophets, all his worshipers,
and all his priests. See that no one is absent, for I have a great
sacrifice for Baal. Whoever is absent shall not live." This
Jehu did as a ruse, so that he might destroy the worshipers of
Baal. Jehu said further, "Proclaim a solemn assembly in honor
of Baal." They did so, and Jehu sent word of it throughout
the land of Israel. All the worshipers of Baal without exception
came into the temple of Baal, which was filled to capacity. Then
Jehu said to the custodian of the wardrobe, "Bring out the
garments for all the worshipers of Baal." When he had brought
out the garments for them, Jehu, with Jehonadab, son of Rechab,
entered the temple of Baal and said to the worshipers of Baal,
"Search and be sure that there is no worshiper of the LORD
here with you, but only worshipers of Baal." ...The guards
and officers put them to the sword and cast them out. Afterward
they went into the inner shrine of the temple of Baal, took out
the stele of Baal, and burned the shrine. Then they smashed the
stele of Baal, tore down the building, and turned it into a
latrine, as it remains today. Thus Jehu rooted out the worship of
Baal from Israel. [Taken from 2KGS 10:18-23,25-28]
And though the LORD warned Israel and Judah by every prophet
and seer, "Give up your evil ways and keep my commandments
and statutes, in accordance with the entire law which I enjoined
on your fathers and which I sent you by my servants the
prophets," they did not listen, but were as stiff-necked as
their fathers, who had not believed in the LORD, their God. They
rejected his statutes, the covenant which he had made with their
fathers, and the warnings which he had given them. The vanity they
pursued, they themselves became: they followed the surrounding
nations whom the LORD had commanded them not to imitate. They
disregarded all the commandments of the LORD, their God, and made
for themselves two molten calves; they also made a sacred pole and
worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. [2KGS 17:13-16]
A report reached the king of Assyria: "The nations whom
you deported and settled in the cities of Samaria do not know how
to worship the God of the land, and he has sent lions among them
that are killing them, since they do not know how to worship the
God of the land." The king of Assyria gave the order,
"Send back one of the priests whom I deported, to go there
and settle, to teach them how to worship the God of the
land." So one of the priests who had been deported from
Samaria returned and settled in Bethel, and taught them how to
venerate the LORD. But these peoples began to make their own gods
in the various cities in which they were living; in the shrines on
the high places which the Samarians had made, each people set up
gods. They also venerated the LORD, choosing from their number
priests for the high places, who officiated for them in the
shrines on the high places. But, while venerating the LORD, they
served their own gods, following the worship of the nations from
among whom they had been deported. To this day they worship
according to their ancient rites. (They did not venerate the LORD
nor observe the statutes and regulations, the law and
commandments, which the LORD enjoined on the descendants of Jacob,
whom he had named Israel. When he made a covenant with them, he
commanded them: "You must not venerate other gods, nor
worship them, nor serve them, nor offer sacrifice to them. The
LORD, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power
and outstretched arm: him shall you venerate, him shall you
worship, and to him shall you sacrifice. You must be careful to
observe forever the statutes and regulations, the law and
commandment, which he wrote for you, and you must not venerate
other gods. The covenant which I made with you, you must not
forget; you must not venerate other gods. But the LORD, your God,
you must venerate; it is he who will deliver you from the power of
all your enemies." [2KGS 17:26-29,32-39]
Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he
reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was
Hephzibah. He did evil in the sight of the LORD, following the
abominable practices of the nations whom the LORD had cleared out
of the way of the Israelites. He rebuilt the high places which his
father Hezekiah had destroyed. He erected altars to Baal, and also
set up a sacred pole, as Ahab, king of Israel, had done. He
worshiped and served the whole host of heaven. He built altars in
the temple of the LORD, about which the LORD had said, "I
will establish my name in Jerusalem" - altars for the whole
host of heaven, in the two courts of the temple. [2KGS 21:1-5]
Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he
reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was
Meshullemeth, daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. He did evil in the
sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh had done. He followed
exactly the path his father had trod, serving and worshiping the
idols his father had served. He abandoned the LORD, the God of his
fathers, and did not follow the path of the LORD. [2KGS 21:19-22]
Splendor and majesty go before him; praise and joy are in
his holy place. Give to the LORD, you families of
nations, give to the LORD glory and praise; Give to the LORD
the glory due his name! Bring gifts, and enter his
presence; worship the LORD in holy attire. Tremble before
him, all the earth; he has made the world firm, not to be
moved. Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice; let
them say among the nations: The LORD is king. Let the sea and what
fills it resound; let the plains rejoice and all that is in
them! Then shall all the trees of the forest exult before the
LORD, for he comes: he comes to rule the earth. Give thanks
to the LORD, for he is good, for his kindness endures
forever; And say, "Save us, O God, our savior, gather us and
deliver us from the nations, That we may give thanks to your
holy name and glory in praising you." Blessed be the
LORD, the God of Israel, through all eternity! Let all
the people say, Amen! Alleluia. [1CHRON 16:27-36]
But David could not go there to worship God, for he was fearful
of the sword of the angel of the LORD. [1CHRON 21:30]
But the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, for the
glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD. All the
Israelites looked on while the fire came down and the glory of the
LORD was upon the house, and they fell down upon the pavement with
their faces to the earth and adored, praising the LORD, "for
he is good, for his mercy endures forever." [2CHRON 7:2-3]
The LORD appeared to Solomon during the night and said to him:
"I have heard your prayer, and I have chosen this place for
my house of sacrifice. If I close heaven so that there is no rain,
if I command the locust to devour the land, if I send pestilence
among my people, and if my people, upon whom my name has been
pronounced, humble themselves and pray, and seek my presence and
turn from their evil ways, I will hear them from heaven and pardon
their sins and revive their land. Now my eyes shall be open and my
ears attentive to the prayer of this place. And now I have chosen
and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever; my
eyes and my heart also shall be there always. As for you, if you
live in my presence as your father David did, doing all that I
have commanded you and keeping my statutes and ordinances, I will
establish your royal throne as I covenanted with your father David
when I said, 'There shall never be lacking someone of yours as
ruler in Israel.' But if you turn away and forsake my statutes and
commands which I placed before you, if you proceed to venerate and
worship strange gods, then I will uproot the people from the land
I gave them; I will cast from my sight this house which I have
consecrated to my honor, and I will make it a proverb and a byword
among all peoples. This temple which is so exalted - everyone
passing by it will be amazed and ask: 'Why has the LORD done this
to this land and to this house?' And men will answer: 'They
forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who brought them out
of the land of Egypt, and they adopted strange gods and worshiped
them and served them. That is why he has brought down upon them
all this evil.'" [2CHRON 7:12-22]
"You will not have to fight in this encounter. Take your
places, stand firm, and see how the LORD will be with you to
deliver you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or lose heart.
Tomorrow go out to meet them, and the LORD will be with you."
Then Jehoshaphat knelt down with his face to the ground, and all
Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD
in worship. Levites from among the Kohathites and Korahites rose
to sing the praises of the LORD, the God of Israel, in a
resounding chorus. [2CHRON 20:17-19]
The table was set for me, and when many different dishes were
placed before me, I said to my son Tobiah: "My son, go out
and try to find a poor man from among our kinsmen exiled here in
Nineveh. If he is a sincere worshiper of God, bring him back with
you, so that he can share this meal with me. Indeed, son, I shall
wait for you to come back." [TOBIT 2:2]
Tobit exclaimed: "Welcome! God save you, brother! Do not
be provoked with me, brother, for wanting to learn the truth about
your family. So it turns out that you are a kinsman, and from a
noble and good line! I knew Hananiah and Nathaniah, the two sons
of Shemaiah the elder; with me they used to make the pilgrimage to
Jerusalem, where we would worship together. No, they did not stray
from the right path; your kinsmen are good men. You are certainly
of good lineage, and welcome!" [TOBIT 5:14]
But God will again have mercy on them and bring them back to
the land of Israel. They shall rebuild the temple, but it will not
be like the first one, until the era when the appointed times
shall be completed. Afterward all of them shall return from their
exile, and they shall rebuild Jerusalem with splendor. In her the
temple of God shall also be rebuilt; yes, it will be rebuilt for
all generations to come, just as the prophets of Israel said of
her. All the nations of the world shall be converted and shall
offer God true worship; all shall abandon their idols which have
deceitfully led them into error, and shall bless the God of the
ages in righteousness. Because all the Israelites who are to be
saved in those days will truly be mindful of God, they shall be
gathered together and go to Jerusalem; in security shall they
dwell forever in the land of Abraham, which will be given over to
them. Those who sincerely love God shall rejoice, but those who
become guilty of sin shall completely disappear from the land. [TOBIT
14:5-7]
"These people are descendants of the Chaldeans. They
formerly dwelt in Mesopotamia, for they did not wish to follow the
gods of their forefathers who were born in the land of the
Chaldeans. Since they abandoned the way of their ancestors, and
acknowledged with divine worship the God of heaven, their
forefathers expelled them from the presence of their gods. So they
fled to Mesopotamia and dwelt there a long time. Their God bade
them leave their abode and proceed to the land of Canaan. Here
they settled, and grew very rich in gold, silver, and a great
abundance of livestock." [JDTH 5:6-9]
They then convened all the elders of the city; and all their
young men, as well as the women, gathered in haste at the place of
assembly. They placed Achior in the center of the throng, and
Uzziah questioned him about what had happened. He replied by
giving them an account of what was said in the council of
Holofernes, and of all his own words among the Assyrian officers,
and of all the boasting threats of Holofernes against the house of
Israel. At this the people fell prostrate and worshiped God; and
they cried out: "Lord, God of heaven, behold their arrogance!
Have pity on the lowliness of our people, and look with favor this
day on those who are consecrated to you." Then they reassured
Achior and praised him highly. Uzziah brought him from the
assembly to his home, where he gave a banquet for the elders. That
whole night they called upon the God of Israel for help. [JDTH 6:16-21]
It is not for you to make the Lord our God give surety for
his plans. "God is not man that he should be moved by
threats, nor human, that he may be given an ultimatum."
So while we wait for the salvation that comes from him, let us
call upon him to help us, and he will hear our cry if it is his
good pleasure. For there has not risen among us in recent
generations, nor does there exist today, any tribe, or clan, or
town, or city of ours that worships gods made by hands, as
happened in former days. It was for such conduct that our
forefathers were handed over to the sword and to pillage, and fell
with great destruction before our enemies. But since we
acknowledge no other god but the Lord, we hope that he will not
disdain us or any of our people. [JDTH 8:16-20]
"As the Lord lives, who has protected me in the path I have followed, I swear that it was my face that seduced Holofernes to his ruin, and that he did not sin with me to my defilement or disgrace." All the people were greatly astonished. They bowed down and worshiped God, saying with one accord, "Blessed are you, our God, who today have brought to nought the enemies of your people."
[JDTH 13:16-17]
As a child I was wont to hear from the people of the land of my forefathers that you, O Lord, chose Israel from among all peoples, and our fathers from among all their ancestors, as a lasting heritage, and that you fulfilled all your promises to them. But now we have sinned in your sight, and you have delivered us into the hands of our enemies, because we worshiped their gods. You are just, O Lord. But now they are not satisfied with our bitter servitude, but have undertaken
to do away with the decree you have pronounced, and to destroy your heritage; to close the mouths of those who praise you, and to extinguish the glory of your temple and your altar; to open the mouths of the heathen to acclaim their false gods, and to extol an earthly king forever. "O Lord, do not relinquish your scepter to those that are nought. Let them not gloat over our ruin, but turn their own counsel against them and make an example of our chief enemy. Be mindful of us, O Lord. Manifest yourself in the time of our distress and give me courage, King of gods and Ruler of every power. Put in my mouth persuasive words in the presence of the lion, and turn his heart to hatred for our enemy, so that he and those who are in league with him may perish. Save us by your power, and help me, who am alone and have no one but you, O Lord. You know all things."
[ESTH C:16-25]
On the anniversary of the day on which the Gentiles had defiled it, on that very day it was reconsecrated with songs, harps, flutes, and cymbals. All the people prostrated themselves and adored and praised Heaven, who had given them success. For eight days they celebrated the dedication of the altar [Taken
from 1MACC 4:54-56]
May God bless you and remember his covenant with his faithful
servants, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. May he give to all of you a
heart to worship him and to do his will readily and generously.
May he open your heart to his law and his commandments and grant
you peace. May he hear your prayers, and be reconciled to you, and
never forsake you in time of adversity. [2MACC 1:2-5]
But I can enter your house because of your great love. I
can worship in your holy temple because of my reverence for you,
LORD. [PS 5:8]
All the ends of the earth will worship and turn to the
LORD; All the families of nations will bow low before
you. For kingship belongs to the LORD, the ruler over the
nations. All who sleep in the earth will bow low before
God; All who have gone down into the dust will kneel in
homage. [PS 22:28-30]
O God, you are my God - for you I long! For you my
body yearns; for you my soul thirsts, Like a land
parched, lifeless, and without water. So I look to you in the
sanctuary to see your power and glory. For your love is
better than life; my lips offer you worship! I will bless you
as long as I live; I will lift up my hands, calling on your
name. My soul shall savor the rich banquet of praise, with
joyous lips my mouth shall honor you! [PS 63:2-6]
Shout joyfully to God, all you on earth; sing of his
glorious name; give him glorious praise. Say to God: "How
awesome your deeds! Before your great strength your enemies
cringe. All on earth fall in worship before you; they sing of
you, sing of your name!" [Taken from PS 66:2-4]
'Listen, my people, I give you warning! If only you will
obey me, Israel! There must be no foreign god among you; you
must not worship an alien god. I, the LORD, am your God, who
brought you up from the land of Egypt. Open wide your mouth
that I may fill it.' But my people did not listen to my
words; Israel did not obey me. So I gave them over to
hardness of heart; they followed their own designs. But even
now if my people would listen, if Israel would walk in my
paths, In a moment I would subdue their foes, against their
enemies unleash my hand. [PS 81:9-15]
Enter, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the
LORD who made us. For this is our God, whose people we
are, God's well-tended flock. [PS 95:6-7]
Shout joyfully to the LORD, all you lands; worship the LORD
with cries of gladness; come before him with joyful song.
Know that the LORD is God, our maker to whom we belong, whose people
we are, God's well-tended flock. Enter the temple gates with
praise, its courts with thanksgiving. Give thanks to
God, bless his name; good indeed is the LORD, Whose love
endures forever, whose faithfulness lasts through every age. [PS
100:1-5]
Let this be written for the next generation, for a people
not yet born, that they may praise the LORD: "The LORD
looked down from the holy heights, viewed the earth from
heaven, To attend to the groaning of the prisoners, to
release those doomed to die." Then the LORD'S name will be
declared on Zion, the praise of God in Jerusalem, When all
peoples and kingdoms gather to worship the LORD. [PS 102:19-23]
At Horeb they fashioned a calf, worshiped a metal statue.
They exchanged their glorious God for the image of a
grass-eating bull. They forgot the God who saved them, who
did great deeds in Egypt, Amazing deeds in the land of
Ham, fearsome deeds at the Red Sea. He would have decreed
their destruction, had not Moses, the chosen
leader, Withstood him in the breach to turn back his
destroying anger.
[PS 106:19-23]
At the waters of Meribah they angered God, and Moses
suffered because of them. They so embittered his spirit that
rash words crossed his lips. They did not destroy the
peoples as the LORD had commanded them, But mingled with the
nations and imitated their ways. They worshiped their
idols and were ensnared by them. [PS 106:32-36]
"Let us enter God's dwelling; let us worship at God's
footstool." "Arise, LORD, come to your resting
place, you and your majestic ark. Your priests will be
clothed with justice; your faithful will shout for joy."
For the sake of David your servant, do not reject your
anointed. [PS 132:7-10]
And in return for their senseless, wicked thoughts, which
misled them into worshiping dumb serpents and
worthless insects, You sent upon them swarms of dumb
creatures for vengeance; that they might recognize that a man is
punished by the very things through which he sins. [WISDOM
11:15-16]
Then, in time, the impious practice gained strength and was
observed as law, and graven things were worshiped by princely
decrees. Men who lived so far away that they could not honor him
in his presence copied the appearance of the distant
king And made a public image of him they wished to
honor, out of zeal to flatter him when absent, as though
present. And to promote this observance among those to whom it
was strange, the artisan's ambition provided a stimulus.
For he, mayhap in his determination to please the ruler, labored
over the likeness to the best of his skill; And the masses, drawn
by the charm of the workmanship, soon thought he should be
worshiped who shortly before was honored as a man. [WISDOM
14:16-20]
For the worship of infamous idols is the reason and source and
extremity of all evil. [WISDOM 14:27]
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