Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
journey of israel through the Desert » Marked by constant murmurings and rebellions
For forty years I loathed [that] generation, and said, '[They are] a people [whose] heart wanders. And my ways they do not know.'
How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and vexed him in [the] wasteland!
Our ancestors in Egypt did not understand your wonderful works. They did not remember your many acts of loyal love, and [so] they rebelled by [the] sea at {the Red Sea}. Yet he saved them for the sake of his name, to make known his might. So he rebuked {the Red Sea}, and it dried up, and he led them through the deep as [through] a desert. read more.
Thus he saved them from [the] hand of [the] hater and redeemed them from [the] hand of [the] enemy. But waters covered their adversaries; not one of them survived. Then they believed his words; they sang his praise. They quickly forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel. And they {craved intensely} in the wilderness, and tested God in [the] desert. So he gave to them their request, but he sent leanness into their souls. And they were jealous of Moses in the camp, [and] of Aaron, the holy one of Yahweh. [The] earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and it covered over the gang of Abiram. Also fire burned in their assembly; [the] flame devoured [the] wicked. They made a calf at Horeb and bowed down to a cast image. And [so] they exchanged their glory for an image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt, wonders in the land of Ham, awesome deeds by {the Red Sea}. So he said he would exterminate them, had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him, to reverse his wrath from destroying [them]. Then they refused the desirable land; they did not believe his word, but grumbled in their tents. They did not obey the voice of Yahweh. So {he made an oath} against them, to make them drop in the wilderness, and to disperse their {descendants} among the nations and to scatter them among the lands. They also attached themselves to Baal of Peor, and they ate sacrifices offered to [the] dead. Thus they provoked to anger by their deeds, and a plague broke out among them. Then Phinehas stood up and intervened, and [so] the plague was stopped, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness {throughout all generations}. They also angered [God] at the waters of Meribah, and it went badly for Moses on account of them, because they rebelled against his Spirit, and he spoke thoughtlessly with his lips. They did not exterminate the peoples, as Yahweh had commanded them, but they mingled with the nations and learned their works, and served their idols, which became a snare to them. They even sacrificed their sons and daughters to the demons, and they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and [so] the land was defiled with the blood. And they became unclean by their works, and were unfaithful in their deeds.
Thus he saved them from [the] hand of [the] hater and redeemed them from [the] hand of [the] enemy. But waters covered their adversaries; not one of them survived. Then they believed his words; they sang his praise. They quickly forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel. And they {craved intensely} in the wilderness, and tested God in [the] desert. So he gave to them their request, but he sent leanness into their souls. And they were jealous of Moses in the camp, [and] of Aaron, the holy one of Yahweh. [The] earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and it covered over the gang of Abiram. Also fire burned in their assembly; [the] flame devoured [the] wicked. They made a calf at Horeb and bowed down to a cast image. And [so] they exchanged their glory for an image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt, wonders in the land of Ham, awesome deeds by {the Red Sea}. So he said he would exterminate them, had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him, to reverse his wrath from destroying [them]. Then they refused the desirable land; they did not believe his word, but grumbled in their tents. They did not obey the voice of Yahweh. So {he made an oath} against them, to make them drop in the wilderness, and to disperse their {descendants} among the nations and to scatter them among the lands. They also attached themselves to Baal of Peor, and they ate sacrifices offered to [the] dead. Thus they provoked to anger by their deeds, and a plague broke out among them. Then Phinehas stood up and intervened, and [so] the plague was stopped, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness {throughout all generations}. They also angered [God] at the waters of Meribah, and it went badly for Moses on account of them, because they rebelled against his Spirit, and he spoke thoughtlessly with his lips. They did not exterminate the peoples, as Yahweh had commanded them, but they mingled with the nations and learned their works, and served their idols, which became a snare to them. They even sacrificed their sons and daughters to the demons, and they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and [so] the land was defiled with the blood. And they became unclean by their works, and were unfaithful in their deeds.
Disobedience to God » Instances of » In refusing to enter the promised land
For forty years the {Israelites} traveled in the wilderness until all the nation, the warriors that left Egypt, perished, because they did not listen to the voice of Yahweh. To them Yahweh swore that they would not see the land that he swore to their ancestors to give to us, a land flowing with milk and honey.
But you were not willing to go up, and you rebelled against the {command} of Yahweh your God.
Then all the community {lifted up their voices}, and the people wept during that night. And all the {Israelites} grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and all the community said to them, "If only we had died in the land of Egypt or in this desert! Why did Yahweh bring us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little children will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return [to] Egypt?" read more.
{They said to each other}, "Let us appoint a leader, and we will return [to] Egypt." Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces {before} the assembly of the community of the {Israelites}. Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, from the explorers [of] the land, tore their garments. And they said to all the community of the {Israelites}, "The land that we went through to explore [is] an {exceptionally good land}. If Yahweh delights in us, then he will bring us into this land, and he will give it to us, a land that [is] flowing [with] milk and honey. Only do not rebel against Yahweh, and you will not fear the people of the land, because they will be our food. {Their protection} has been turned from them; Yahweh [is] with us. You should not fear them." And all the community said to stone them with stones, but the glory of Yahweh appeared in the tent of assembly among the {Israelites}.
{They said to each other}, "Let us appoint a leader, and we will return [to] Egypt." Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces {before} the assembly of the community of the {Israelites}. Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, from the explorers [of] the land, tore their garments. And they said to all the community of the {Israelites}, "The land that we went through to explore [is] an {exceptionally good land}. If Yahweh delights in us, then he will bring us into this land, and he will give it to us, a land that [is] flowing [with] milk and honey. Only do not rebel against Yahweh, and you will not fear the people of the land, because they will be our food. {Their protection} has been turned from them; Yahweh [is] with us. You should not fear them." And all the community said to stone them with stones, but the glory of Yahweh appeared in the tent of assembly among the {Israelites}.
Then they refused the desirable land; they did not believe his word, but grumbled in their tents. They did not obey the voice of Yahweh.
Murmuring » The reward for murmuring against God
As for the men whom Moses sent to explore the land, who returned and made the community grumble against him by spreading a report over the land, the men who spread the evil report of the land died by the plague {before Yahweh}.
nor grumble, just as some of them grumbled, and were destroyed by the destroyer.
Then they refused the desirable land; they did not believe his word, but grumbled in their tents. They did not obey the voice of Yahweh. So {he made an oath} against them, to make them drop in the wilderness, read more.
and to disperse their {descendants} among the nations and to scatter them among the lands.
and to disperse their {descendants} among the nations and to scatter them among the lands.
Plague » Who will be plagued
As for the men whom Moses sent to explore the land, who returned and made the community grumble against him by spreading a report over the land, the men who spread the evil report of the land died by the plague {before Yahweh}.
I [am] Yahweh, your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from being their slaves; and I broke the bars of your yoke, and I caused you to walk erectly. " 'But if you do not listen to me and you do not carry out all these commands, and if you reject my statutes and if your inner self abhors my regulations, to not carry out all my commands [by] your breaking my covenant, read more.
I {in turn} will do this to you: then I will summon onto you horror, the wasting disease, and the fever that wastes eyes and that drains away life; and you shall sow your seed {in vain}, and your enemies shall eat it. And I will set my face against you, and you shall be defeated {before} your enemies; and your haters shall rule over you, and you shall flee away, but there shall not be {anybody who is pursuing} you. " 'And if in spite of these [things] you do not listen to me, then I will continue to discipline you seven times for your sins. And I will break the pride of your strength; and I will make your heaven like iron and your land like copper. And your strength shall be consumed {in vain}; and your land shall not give its produce, and the land's trees shall not give their fruit. " 'And if you go against me [in] hostility and you are not willing to listen to me, then I will add a plague onto you seven times according to your sins. And I will send {wild animals} out among you, and they shall make you childless, and they shall cut down your domestic animals, and they shall make you fewer; and your roads shall be desolate.
I {in turn} will do this to you: then I will summon onto you horror, the wasting disease, and the fever that wastes eyes and that drains away life; and you shall sow your seed {in vain}, and your enemies shall eat it. And I will set my face against you, and you shall be defeated {before} your enemies; and your haters shall rule over you, and you shall flee away, but there shall not be {anybody who is pursuing} you. " 'And if in spite of these [things] you do not listen to me, then I will continue to discipline you seven times for your sins. And I will break the pride of your strength; and I will make your heaven like iron and your land like copper. And your strength shall be consumed {in vain}; and your land shall not give its produce, and the land's trees shall not give their fruit. " 'And if you go against me [in] hostility and you are not willing to listen to me, then I will add a plague onto you seven times according to your sins. And I will send {wild animals} out among you, and they shall make you childless, and they shall cut down your domestic animals, and they shall make you fewer; and your roads shall be desolate.
"If {you do not diligently observe} all the words of this law written in this scroll by revering this glorious and awesome name, Yahweh your God, then Yahweh shall overwhelm [you] with your plagues and the plagues of your offspring, severe plagues and lasting illnesses, grievous and enduring. And he shall bring back upon you all the diseases of Egypt [concerning] which {you were in dread} {because of them}. read more.
Also any illness and any plague that [is] not written in the scroll of this law, he shall bring them, Yahweh, upon you until you are destroyed. And you shall remain {only a few people} in place of [the fact] you were [formerly] as the stars of heaven as far as number [is concerned], because you did not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God.
Also any illness and any plague that [is] not written in the scroll of this law, he shall bring them, Yahweh, upon you until you are destroyed. And you shall remain {only a few people} in place of [the fact] you were [formerly] as the stars of heaven as far as number [is concerned], because you did not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God.
They made a calf at Horeb and bowed down to a cast image. And [so] they exchanged their glory for an image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt, read more.
wonders in the land of Ham, awesome deeds by {the Red Sea}. So he said he would exterminate them, had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him, to reverse his wrath from destroying [them]. Then they refused the desirable land; they did not believe his word, but grumbled in their tents. They did not obey the voice of Yahweh. So {he made an oath} against them, to make them drop in the wilderness, and to disperse their {descendants} among the nations and to scatter them among the lands. They also attached themselves to Baal of Peor, and they ate sacrifices offered to [the] dead. Thus they provoked to anger by their deeds, and a plague broke out among them.
wonders in the land of Ham, awesome deeds by {the Red Sea}. So he said he would exterminate them, had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him, to reverse his wrath from destroying [them]. Then they refused the desirable land; they did not believe his word, but grumbled in their tents. They did not obey the voice of Yahweh. So {he made an oath} against them, to make them drop in the wilderness, and to disperse their {descendants} among the nations and to scatter them among the lands. They also attached themselves to Baal of Peor, and they ate sacrifices offered to [the] dead. Thus they provoked to anger by their deeds, and a plague broke out among them.
After these [things] I saw another angel descending from heaven, who had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. And he cried out with a powerful voice, saying, "Fallen, fallen [is] Babylon the great, and it has become a dwelling place of demons and a haunt of every unclean spirit and a haunt of every unclean bird and a haunt of every unclean and detested animal. For all the nations have drunk from the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich from the power of her sensuality." read more.
And I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out from her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins, and so that you will not receive her plagues, because her sins have reached up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. Pay back to her as she herself also paid out, and {pay back double} according to her deeds; in the cup that she mixed, mix double for her. As much as she glorified herself and lived in luxury, give to her so much torment and mourning, because in her heart she said, 'I sit as a queen, and am not a widow, and I will never see mourning!' Because of this her plagues will come in one day-- death and mourning and famine-- and she will be burned up with fire, because the Lord God who passes judgment on her [is] powerful!"
And I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out from her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins, and so that you will not receive her plagues, because her sins have reached up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. Pay back to her as she herself also paid out, and {pay back double} according to her deeds; in the cup that she mixed, mix double for her. As much as she glorified herself and lived in luxury, give to her so much torment and mourning, because in her heart she said, 'I sit as a queen, and am not a widow, and I will never see mourning!' Because of this her plagues will come in one day-- death and mourning and famine-- and she will be burned up with fire, because the Lord God who passes judgment on her [is] powerful!"
I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues written in this book.
Rebellion against God » Exhibited in » Unbelief
Then they refused the desirable land; they did not believe his word, but grumbled in their tents. They did not obey the voice of Yahweh.
And when Yahweh sent you [out] from Kadesh Barnea, {saying}, 'Go up and take possession of the land that I have given you,' you rebelled against the command of Yahweh your God, and you did not believe him, and you did not listen to his voice.
Unbelief » The reward for not believing the lord
Then the disciples approached Jesus privately [and] said, {Why} were we not able to expel it?" And he said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly I say to you, if you have faith like a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here [to] there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you."
Yahweh warned Israel and Judah by the hand of his every prophet, [with] every seer saying, "Turn from all of your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my ordinances, according to all the law which I commanded your ancestors, which I sent to you by the hand of my servants the prophets." But they did not listen and they stiffened their necks, like the necks of their ancestors who did not believe in Yahweh their God. They rejected his statutes, his covenant which he {made} with their ancestors, and his warnings which he gave to them; and they went after the idols, became vain, and [went] after all the nations which [were] all around them, which Yahweh had commanded them not to do as they [did]. read more.
They abandoned all the commands of Yahweh their God and made for themselves two molten calf-shaped idols; they made a pole of Asherah worship and bowed down to the army of the heavens and served Baal. They made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, they practiced divination and read omens, and they sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of Yahweh to provoke him. So Yahweh was very angry with Israel and he removed them from his presence; none remained except the tribe of Judah alone. Even Judah did not keep the commands of Yahweh their God, and they walked in the customs of Israel which they introduced, so Yahweh rejected all the offspring of Israel and punished them, and he gave them into the hand of the plunderers until he banished them from his presence. For he had torn Israel from the house of David, and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king, but Jeroboam detached Israel from following Yahweh, and he made them sin a great sin. The {Israelites} walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he committed, and they did not depart from it, until Yahweh removed Israel from his presence as he had foretold by the hand of all his servants, the prophets. And so he deported Israel from upon his land to Assyria until this day.
They abandoned all the commands of Yahweh their God and made for themselves two molten calf-shaped idols; they made a pole of Asherah worship and bowed down to the army of the heavens and served Baal. They made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, they practiced divination and read omens, and they sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of Yahweh to provoke him. So Yahweh was very angry with Israel and he removed them from his presence; none remained except the tribe of Judah alone. Even Judah did not keep the commands of Yahweh their God, and they walked in the customs of Israel which they introduced, so Yahweh rejected all the offspring of Israel and punished them, and he gave them into the hand of the plunderers until he banished them from his presence. For he had torn Israel from the house of David, and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king, but Jeroboam detached Israel from following Yahweh, and he made them sin a great sin. The {Israelites} walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he committed, and they did not depart from it, until Yahweh removed Israel from his presence as he had foretold by the hand of all his servants, the prophets. And so he deported Israel from upon his land to Assyria until this day.
But they sinned still further against him by rebelling [against the] Most High in the desert. And they tested God in their heart [by] asking food {for their craving}. And they spoke against God. They said, "Is God able to prepare a table in the wilderness? read more.
Yes, he struck [the] rock and water flowed and streams gushed out, [but] can he also give food or provide meat for his people?" Therefore Yahweh heard and he was very angry, and a fire was kindled against Jacob, and [his] anger also rose up against Israel, because they did not believe God, and they did not trust his salvation. Nevertheless, he commanded [the] skies above and opened [the] doors of heaven, and rained down on them manna to eat and gave them the grain of heaven. Humankind ate [the] bread of {angels}. He sent them food [enough] to be satisfied. He caused [the] east wind to blow in the heavens and drove along [the] south wind by his strength. Then he rained meat on them like dust, even winged birds like [the] sand of [the] seas. He caused [them] to fall in the midst of his camp, all around his dwellings. So they ate and were well filled, and he brought about [what] they craved. They had not yet turned aside from their craving, [while] their food [was] still in their mouth, the anger of God rose against them, and he killed some of the stoutest of them, even the young men of Israel he caused to bow down [in death]. In spite of all this they sinned further and did not believe his wonders. And he consumed their days with futility their years with terror. When he killed [some of] them, then they sought him, and repented and earnestly sought God.
Yes, he struck [the] rock and water flowed and streams gushed out, [but] can he also give food or provide meat for his people?" Therefore Yahweh heard and he was very angry, and a fire was kindled against Jacob, and [his] anger also rose up against Israel, because they did not believe God, and they did not trust his salvation. Nevertheless, he commanded [the] skies above and opened [the] doors of heaven, and rained down on them manna to eat and gave them the grain of heaven. Humankind ate [the] bread of {angels}. He sent them food [enough] to be satisfied. He caused [the] east wind to blow in the heavens and drove along [the] south wind by his strength. Then he rained meat on them like dust, even winged birds like [the] sand of [the] seas. He caused [them] to fall in the midst of his camp, all around his dwellings. So they ate and were well filled, and he brought about [what] they craved. They had not yet turned aside from their craving, [while] their food [was] still in their mouth, the anger of God rose against them, and he killed some of the stoutest of them, even the young men of Israel he caused to bow down [in death]. In spite of all this they sinned further and did not believe his wonders. And he consumed their days with futility their years with terror. When he killed [some of] them, then they sought him, and repented and earnestly sought God.
They forgot God their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt, wonders in the land of Ham, awesome deeds by {the Red Sea}. So he said he would exterminate them, had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him, to reverse his wrath from destroying [them]. read more.
Then they refused the desirable land; they did not believe his word, but grumbled in their tents. They did not obey the voice of Yahweh. So {he made an oath} against them, to make them drop in the wilderness, and to disperse their {descendants} among the nations and to scatter them among the lands.
Then they refused the desirable land; they did not believe his word, but grumbled in their tents. They did not obey the voice of Yahweh. So {he made an oath} against them, to make them drop in the wilderness, and to disperse their {descendants} among the nations and to scatter them among the lands.
Well said! They were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand firm because of faith. Do not think arrogant [thoughts], but be afraid. For if God did not spare the {natural} branches, neither will he spare you.