Ezekiel 18 and Matthew 5; Stages 2-3 pursuing goodness rather than badness to annihilate evil.
Highlights:
1.
V2 descendants feel despair due to Judaism’s bad
behavior.
2.
V5-8 good behavior means not eating sacrificial
foods, worshipping idols, being promiscuous, harming someone, not fulfilling
promises, robbing, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, charging interest,
wronging someone, or judging someone falsely.
a.
Goodness may and can be pursued by both the weak
and the strong.
b.
The code of Ur-Nammu, 4100 years ago, cautioned
elites not to take advantage of the poor, widows, and orphans.
c.
Religions and nations devised philanthropy and welfare,
in order to skim the revenues.
3.
V10-13 if a son chooses bad behavior (toward his
brother[i]),
he will die.
4.
V14-17 if a son chooses good behavior, despite
his father’s offenses, the son will live.
5.
V18-20 each person will live or die, contingent
on whether they choose goodness not badness
a.
V21-23 those who reform from badness to goodness
live
b.
V24-28 those who reformed but returned to
badness die
6.
V29- Judaism is wrong to doubt goodness.
A.
Perhaps 1700 years later, in Matthew 5, an
advanced-ancient expression of goodness is attributed to Yeshua (an ancient Judean
name yet repressed feature of Judaism).
a.
V3-10 suggests good behavior is key to both life
and mystery
b.
V22 opposes anger toward a brother.
c.
V48 suggests pursuit of perfectly good behavior.
d.
The Judeo-Christian who closes their mind
to Yeshua rejects at least 55%, perhaps 90% of humankind’s happenings. Consider
taking 14 minutes for https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na22KkydPRs.
i.
People who reject Yeshua cannot acquire his
influence to goodness.
B.
I support other civic citizen’s opportunities to
heartfelt hopes: It takes un-like-mindedness
to address mystery and chaos.
a.
I am grateful that I fell in love with a
reliable Louisiana French Catholic woman.
b.
But I never relinquished my opportunity to
discover and practice goodness.
c.
Consequently, in my 82nd year, I
overcame a 75-year hope to feel I am like-minded; thanks to Nomads, discovered
Yeshua; and more warmly pursue his influence.
d.
I perceive many people, non-believers and
believers, pursue goodness without discovering Yeshua.
C.
Yeshua-influence dominates happenings on earth because
of goodness-which-motivates good behavior.
a.
Consider, for example, Matthew 18:15-17, process
for resolving human-conflict.
i.
Forgiveness without processing V15 terminates Yeshua’s
influence.
ii.
Completion through V17 can conclude in
negotiated division on earth.
b.
A couple years later, consider Matthew 18:18:
there is no higher power.
D.
If Ralph Waldo Emerson had lived beyond age 79
and pursued civic collaboration, he might have discovered Yeshua and been more impactful
in “Divinity School Address”, 1784.
a.
Harvard banned him for 30 years, until he became
famous on other topics.
b.
Also, he did not cite Jesus’ speech and
instruction to good behavior.
|
Note: Genesis 16:11-12 erroneously suggests that it is OK
for Isaac, the second born, to regard Ishmael “a donkey of a man”. The younger
son ought-not slight the older. Perhaps Middle-East peace will lead to
retraction of Genesis 16’s harm as well as attention to goodness-which-motivates-good-behavior
to humankind. 1And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: |
[i]
Genesis 16:11-12, "Behold, you will conceive and bear a son, and you shall
name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard your affliction. And he will be a wild
donkey of a man; his hand will be upon all, and everyone's hand upon him, and
before all his brothers he will dwell."
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