Monday, February 28, 2011

One God or Many

From the time of Abraham the Israelites believed in a God they could not see. Abraham called him Elshadi or God Almighty. Moses called God YHWH or I Am. For centuries it was a struggle for them to worship only YHWH whom they could not see. Often they could be found worshiping the idols of their neighbors because they wanted to see their god. Their theology was such that they believed that YAWH was the god of Israel but that the other gods were just as real so they would worship them too.


Up until the time that Babylon conquered them and took them off to exile their old theology was that YAWH was one god among many. The battle for the loyalty of the hearts of Israel was between YAWH and the other gods of the land. Then they spent 70 years in Babylon with no temple and no public worship of YHWH. When you read Isaiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel you discover that they had a revelation that YHWH was the only God there is. After that revelation Israel never again went to worship gods made with human hands.


They returned to the Holy Land with a new theology and a new dedication.

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