Study Family and Religious Studies notes on Judaism for A-Level. Useful for revision, homework, and exam preparation in Zimbabwe.
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This is the A-Level Family and Religious Studies notes. It is a free notes for revision.
LIEBENBERG HIGH FAMILY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES NOTES JUDAISM ADVNCED LEVEL COVENANTS IN JUDAISM This involves a mutual agreement entered into by two individuals, or by two groups or an individual and a group. The effect was that peace prevailed between the two parties involved. In this case the covenant was between Yahweh and Israel. Here Yahweh was understood to be actively at work with Israel to guide his people in the path of truth and fidelity to the covenant. To maintain mutual understanding between these two parties, Yahweh elected the prophets as covenant mediators. They officiated at sanctuaries. As God's representatives, prophets would admonish, reprove, denounce prevailing sins, threaten people with terror of divine judgement, call people to repentance and proclaim Yahweh's divine assurance. Prophets would advise Israelites to put away foreign gods and worship Yahweh alone. They called upon Israel to face the most severe judgement of Yahweh upon them for their sins and apostacy. Prophets never claimed to be introducing anything new, they were reformers who took their stand on the ground of Sinai. Although their contributions were moral, ethical and theological, prophets functioned as agents of social change. They were absolutely against social injustice to the extent that some scholars like K. Whitelam would want to argue that prophets were usually from the social fringes (they were poor), they were spokespersons of the deprived, the voice of the voiceless. They were calling for interrelationship between justice, order, fertility and prosperity. If the king failed to provide justice then the social, politlical and ecological structure was believed to be thrown open to the ever present powerof chaos. It is this loyalty to God which stands behind the prophet's denunciation of Israel. Elijah came on the scene when there was widespread apostacy and the majority of people becoming strongly attached to foreign gods. There was an alarming growth of social injustice, e.g. the killing of Naboth ( 1 Kings 21). The whole structure of Israelite society was threatened by the harsh economic system, hence Elijah and Elisha together with the prophetic guilds declared war on the Omrides and became instrumental in bringing about their downfall. Amos as a social reformer condemned socio- ethical practices which under the Canaanite feudal system were regarded as ethical, e.g. dishonest trade practices, luxurious lifestyle of the rich and oppression of the poor. …