Because of what the Israelites had learned in Egypt over their 400 years of captivity, Yahweh had a deconditioning project to accomplish with them. They had been in the midst of a pantheon of pagan gods and gotten used to deities whose image they could see. The verbal history of their people had probably taken…
Posts Tagged: Rephaim
Ezra’s Conundrum
The story of Ezra returning to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple has a disturbing account at the end of the book. The leaders come to Ezra and inform him in Ezra 9:1-2 (ESV) that: “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with…