Knjiga Urantije
DIO III. Povijest Urantije
POGLAVLJE 97 : EVOLUCIJA POJMA BOGA MEĐU HEBREJIMA
Paper 97
Evolution of the God Concept Among the Hebrews
Evolution of the God Concept Among the Hebrews
DUHOVNI vođe Hebreja učinili su ono što nitko prije njih nije uspio učiniti — deantropomorfizirali su svoj pojam Boga, a da ga pritom nisu pretvorili u apstrakciju Božanstva razumljivu samo filozofima. Čak su i obični ljudi bili u stanju razumjeti zreli pojam Jahvea kao Oca, ako ne pojedinca, onda barem naroda.
97:0.1 (1062.1)
THE spiritual leaders of the Hebrews did what no others before them had ever succeeded in doing—they deanthropomorphized their God concept without converting it into an abstraction of Deity comprehensible only to philosophers. Even common people were able to regard the matured concept of Yahweh as a Father, if not of the individual, at least of the race.
Pojam Božje ličnosti, premda je jasno poučavan u Salemu u danima Melkizedeka, bio je neodređen i maglovit u vrijeme izlaska iz Egipta, te se tek postupno razvijao u hebrejskom umu iz naraštaja u naraštaj kao odgovor na pouke duhovnih vođa. Shvaćanje ličnosti Jahvea razvijalo se postojanije u svom postupnom razvoju nego što je to bio slučaj s mnogim drugim Božanskim atributima. Od Mojsija do Malahije dogodio se gotovo neprekinuti misaoni rast pojma Božje ličnosti u hebrejskom umu, a taj je pojam naposljetku uzdignut i proslavljen Isusovim učenjima o Ocu na nebesima.
97:0.2 (1062.2)
The concept of the personality of God, while clearly taught at Salem in the days of Melchizedek, was vague and hazy at the time of the flight from Egypt and only gradually evolved in the Hebraic mind from generation to generation in response to the teaching of the spiritual leaders. The perception of Yahweh’s personality was much more continuous in its progressive evolution than was that of many other of the Deity attributes. From Moses to Malachi there occurred an almost unbroken ideational growth of the personality of God in the Hebrew mind, and this concept was eventually heightened and glorified by the teachings of Jesus about the Father in heaven.
97:1.1 (1062.3)
Hostile pressure of the surrounding peoples in Palestine soon taught the Hebrew sheiks they could not hope to survive unless they confederated their tribal organizations into a centralized government. And this centralization of administrative authority afforded a better opportunity for Samuel to function as a teacher and reformer.
Samuel je potjecao iz dugog niza salemskih učitelja koji su ustrajali u očuvanju Melkizedekovih istina u okviru svoga bogoslužja. Taj je učitelj bio muževan i odlučan čovjek. Samo njegova velika pobožnost, udružena s izvanrednom postojanošću, omogućila mu je da se odupre gotovo sveopćem protivljenju kad je krenuo u nastojanje da sav Izrael vrati štovanju vrhovnog Jahvea iz Mojsijeva doba. A čak je i tada bio samo djelomično uspješan; službi uzvišenijeg pojma Jahvea pridobio je samo razumniju polovicu Hebreja; druga je polovica nastavila štovati plemenske bogove svoje zemlje i niži pojam Jahvea.
97:1.2 (1062.4)
Samuel sprang from a long line of the Salem teachers who had persisted in maintaining the truths of Melchizedek as a part of their worship forms. This teacher was a virile and resolute man. Only his great devotion, coupled with his extraordinary determination, enabled him to withstand the almost universal opposition which he encountered when he started out to turn all Israel back to the worship of the supreme Yahweh of Mosaic times. And even then he was only partially successful; he won back to the service of the higher concept of Yahweh only the more intelligent half of the Hebrews; the other half continued in the worship of the tribal gods of the country and in the baser conception of Yahweh.
Samuel je bio čovjek grube snage i odlučnosti, praktični reformator koji je u jednom danu sa svojim suradnicima znao srušiti desetine Baalovih svetilišta. Njegov napredak bio je postignut čistom silom; propovijedao je malo, poučavao još manje, ali je djelovao. Jednog dana ismijavao je svećenika Baala; sutradan je rezao na komade zarobljenog kralja. Predano je vjerovao u jednoga Boga i imao je jasan pojam tog Boga kao Stvoritelja neba i zemlje: "Jer Jahvini su stupovi zemlje, na njih je postavio ovaj svijet."
97:1.3 (1062.5)
Samuel was a rough-and-ready type of man, a practical reformer who could go out in one day with his associates and overthrow a score of Baal sites. The progress he made was by sheer force of compulsion; he did little preaching, less teaching, but he did act. One day he was mocking the priest of Baal; the next, chopping in pieces a captive king. He devotedly believed in the one God, and he had a clear concept of that one God as creator of heaven and earth: “The pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and he has set the world upon them.”
No najveći doprinos koji je Samuel dao razvoju pojma Božanstva bio je njegovo zvonko priopćenje da je Jahve nepromjenjiv, da je zauvijek bio jedno te isto utjelovljenje nepogrešivog savršenstva i božanstva. U tim se vremenima Jahve shvaćao kao ćudljiv Bog ljubomornih hirova, koji je uvijek žalio što je učinio ovo ili ono; ali sada su, prvi put otkako su izašli iz Egipta, čuli ove zapanjujuće riječi: "Ipak snaga Izraelova ne laže i ne kaje se, jer on nije čovjek, da bi se kajao." Tako je proglašena stabilnost u ophođenju s Božanstvom. Samuel je ponovio savez Melkizedeka s Abrahamom i objavio da je Gospod Bog Izraela izvor svake istine, stabilnosti i postojanosti. Hebreji su oduvijek gledali na svog Boga kao na čovjeka, nadčovjeka, uzvišenog duha nepoznatog porijekla; ali sada su čuli da je nekadašnji duh Horeba uzvišen u nepromjenjivog Boga stvoriteljske savršenosti. Samuel je pomogao da se pojam Boga uzdigne iznad promjenjivih ljudskih umova i nepredvidivosti smrtnog života. Pod njegovim učenjem, Bog Hebreja počinjao se uspinjati od pojma sličnog plemenskim bogovima do ideala sveznajućeg i nepromjenjivog Stvoritelja i Nadzornika svega stvorenog.
97:1.4 (1063.1)
But the great contribution which Samuel made to the development of the concept of Deity was his ringing pronouncement that Yahweh was changeless, forever the same embodiment of unerring perfection and divinity. In these times Yahweh was conceived to be a fitful God of jealous whims, always regretting that he had done thus and so; but now, for the first time since the Hebrews sallied forth from Egypt, they heard these startling words, “The Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent, for he is not a man, that he should repent.” Stability in dealing with Divinity was proclaimed. Samuel reiterated the Melchizedek covenant with Abraham and declared that the Lord God of Israel was the source of all truth, stability, and constancy. Always had the Hebrews looked upon their God as a man, a superman, an exalted spirit of unknown origin; but now they heard the onetime spirit of Horeb exalted as an unchanging God of creator perfection. Samuel was aiding the evolving God concept to ascend to heights above the changing state of men’s minds and the vicissitudes of mortal existence. Under his teaching, the God of the Hebrews was beginning the ascent from an idea on the order of the tribal gods to the ideal of an all-powerful and changeless Creator and Supervisor of all creation.
Iznova je skrenuo pažnju ljudi na priču o Božjoj iskrenosti, njegovoj pouzdanosti u čuvanju ugovora koji sklapa s čovjekom. Rekao je Samuel: „Jahve neće odbaciti svoga naroda.“ „On je učinio vječan Savez sa nama, u svemu dobro uređen i siguran.“ I tako je po cijeloj Palestini zvonio poziv na vraćanje obožavanju vrhovnog Jahvea. Uvijek je ovaj energični učitelj naviještao: „Velik si, O Gospode Bože, jer nema nijednoga poput tebe, niti postoji ikakav Bog osim tebe.“
97:1.5 (1063.2)
And he preached anew the story of God’s sincerity, his covenant-keeping reliability. Said Samuel: “The Lord will not forsake his people.” “He has made with us an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure.” And so, throughout all Palestine there sounded the call back to the worship of the supreme Yahweh. Ever this energetic teacher proclaimed, “You are great, O Lord God, for there is none like you, neither is there any God beside you.”
Do tada su Hebreji naklonost Jahvea promatrali uglavnom kroz prizmu materijalnog blagostanja. Bio je to velik šok za Izrael i gotovo je stajao Samuela života kada se usudio proglasiti: „Gospod obogaćuje i osiromašuje; ponižava i uzvisuje. Podiže siromahe iz praha i uzdiže prosjake da sjede među knezovima i naslijede tron slave.“ Nikada nakon Mojsija nitko nije dao tako utješna obećanja poniženima i unesrećenima, a tisuće očajnika među siromašnima počele su se nadati da mogu unaprijediti svoj duhovni status.
97:1.6 (1063.3)
Theretofore the Hebrews had regarded the favor of Yahweh mainly in terms of material prosperity. It was a great shock to Israel, and almost cost Samuel his life, when he dared to proclaim: “The Lord enriches and impoverishes; he debases and exalts. He raises the poor out of the dust and lifts up the beggars to set them among princes to make them inherit the throne of glory.” Not since Moses had such comforting promises for the humble and the less fortunate been proclaimed, and thousands of despairing among the poor began to take hope that they could improve their spiritual status.
Ali Samuel nije daleko napredovao od poimanja plemenskog Boga. Propovijedao je Jahvea koji je stvorio sve ljude, ali koji je bio ponajviše zaokupljen Hebrejima, svojim izabranim narodom. Ipak, kao i u Mojsijevo doba, pojam Boga ponovno je prikazivao Božanstvo koje je sveto i pravedno. „Nitko nije svet kao Gospodin. Tko se može usporediti s ovim svetim Gospodinom Bogom?”
97:1.7 (1063.4)
But Samuel did not progress very far beyond the concept of a tribal god. He proclaimed a Yahweh who made all men but was occupied chiefly with the Hebrews, his chosen people. Even so, as in the days of Moses, once more the God concept portrayed a Deity who is holy and upright. “There is none as holy as the Lord. Who can be compared to this holy Lord God?”
Kako su godine prolazile, sijedi stari vođa napredovao je u razumijevanju Boga, jer je objavio „Gospodin je Bog znanja i on važe ljudska djela. Gospodin će suditi krajevima zemlje, iskazujući milosrđe milosrdnima, a s pravednim čovjekom bit će pravedan.” I ovdje se nazire početak milosrđa, premda još uvijek ograničenog na one koji su sami milosrdni. Kasnije je otišao korak dalje kada je, u njihovoj nevolji, poticao svoj narod riječima: „Padnimo sada u ruke Gospodinove, jer su njegova milosrđa velika.” „Gospodinu nije teško spasiti mnoge ili malobrojne.”
97:1.8 (1063.5)
As the years passed, the grizzled old leader progressed in the understanding of God, for he declared: “The Lord is a God of knowledge, and actions are weighed by him. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth, showing mercy to the merciful, and with the upright man he will also be upright.” Even here is the dawn of mercy, albeit it is limited to those who are merciful. Later he went one step further when, in their adversity, he exhorted his people: “Let us fall now into the hands of the Lord, for his mercies are great.” “There is no restraint upon the Lord to save many or few.”
I ovaj postupni razvoj poimanja Jahvina karaktera nastavio se tijekom službe Samuelovih nasljednika. Nastojali su predstaviti Jahvu kao Boga koji drži savez, ali su jedva održavali korak koji je Samuel postavio; nisu uspjeli razviti ideju Božjeg milosrđa onako kako ju je Samuel kasnije shvaćao. Postupno se ponovno javljalo priznanje drugih bogova, unatoč tvrdnji da je Jahve iznad svih. „Tvoje je kraljevstvo, Gospodine, i ti si uzvišen kao poglavar nad svima.”
97:1.9 (1063.6)
And this gradual development of the concept of the character of Yahweh continued under the ministry of Samuel’s successors. They attempted to present Yahweh as a covenant-keeping God but hardly maintained the pace set by Samuel; they failed to develop the idea of the mercy of God as Samuel had later conceived it. There was a steady drift back toward the recognition of other gods, despite the maintenance that Yahweh was above all. “Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.”
Glavna nota toga razdoblja bila je božanska moć; proroci toga doba propovijedali su religiju osmišljenu da učvrsti kralja na hebrejskom prijestolju. „Tvoja je, Gospodine, veličina i sila i slava i pobjeda i veličanstvo. U tvojoj je ruci moć i snaga, i ti možeš uzvisiti i osnažiti svakoga." Takav je bio stupanj razvoja pojma o Bogu u vrijeme Samuela i njegovih neposrednih nasljednika.
97:1.10 (1064.1)
The keynote of this era was divine power; the prophets of this age preached a religion designed to foster the king upon the Hebrew throne. “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty. In your hand is power and might, and you are able to make great and to give strength to all.” And this was the status of the God concept during the time of Samuel and his immediate successors.
U desetom stoljeću prije Krista hebrejski se narod podijelio na dva kraljevstva. U objema tim političkim cjelinama mnogi su učitelji istine nastojali zaustaviti reakcionarni val duhovne dekadencije koji je već bio započeo i koji se pogubno nastavio nakon rata razdvajanja. Ali ti napori da se unaprijedi hebrejska religija nisu imali uspjeha sve dok onaj odlučni i neustrašivi borac za pravednost, Ilija, nije započeo svoje učenje. Ilija je sjevernom kraljevstvu vratio pojam o Bogu usporediv s onim koji se držao u danima Samuela. Ilija je imao malo prilika iznijeti napredniji pojam o Bogu; bio je zaokupljen, kao i Samuel prije njega, rušenjem Baalovih žrtvenika i uništavanjem idola lažnih bogova. I svoje je reforme provodio suočen s protivljenjem idolopokloničkog vladara; njegov je zadatak bio još veći i teži od onoga s kojim se Samuel morao suočiti.
97:2.1 (1064.2)
In the tenth century before Christ the Hebrew nation became divided into two kingdoms. In both of these political divisions many truth teachers endeavored to stem the reactionary tide of spiritual decadence that had set in, and which continued disastrously after the war of separation. But these efforts to advance the Hebraic religion did not prosper until that determined and fearless warrior for righteousness, Elijah, began his teaching. Elijah restored to the northern kingdom a concept of God comparable with that held in the days of Samuel. Elijah had little opportunity to present an advanced concept of God; he was kept busy, as Samuel had been before him, overthrowing the altars of Baal and demolishing the idols of false gods. And he carried forward his reforms in the face of the opposition of an idolatrous monarch; his task was even more gigantic and difficult than that which Samuel had faced.
Ali to nisu bila vremena napretka u poimanju Božanstva. Hebreji se još nisu bili uzdigli ni do Mojsijevog ideala. Razdoblje Ilije i Elizeja završilo je time što su se napredniji slojevi vratili štovanju vrhovnog Jahvea te je došlo do obnove ideje o Stvoritelju Svih otprilike na azini na kojoj ju je Samuel ostavio.
97:2.3 (1064.4)
But these were not times of progress in the concept of Deity. Not yet had the Hebrews ascended even to the Mosaic ideal. The era of Elijah and Elisha closed with the better classes returning to the worship of the supreme Yahweh and witnessed the restoration of the idea of the Universal Creator to about that place where Samuel had left it.
Stanovnici Palestine razlikovali su se u svom stavu prema privatnom vlasništvu nad zemljom. Južna ili lutajuća arapska plemena (Jahviti) smatrala su zemlju neotuđivom—darom Božanstva klanu. Držali su da se zemlja ne može prodati niti staviti pod hipoteku. „Jahve je govorio: ‘Zemlja se ne smije prodati, jer zemlja je moja.’”
97:3.2 (1064.6)
The inhabitants of Palestine differed in their attitude toward private ownership of land. The southern or wandering Arabian tribes (the Yahwehites) looked upon land as an inalienable—as a gift of Deity to the clan. They held that land could not be sold or mortgaged. “Yahweh spoke, saying, ‘The land shall not be sold, for the land is mine.’”
Sjeverni i više naseljeni Kanaanci (Baaliti) slobodno su kupovali, prodavali i stavljali pod hipoteku svoju zemlju. Riječ Baal znači vlasnik. Kult Baala bio je utemeljen na dvjema glavnim doktrinama: prvo, potvrđivanju razmjene vlasništva, ugovora i saveza—pravu na kupnju i prodaju zemlje. Drugo, smatralo se da Baal šalje kišu—bio je bog plodnosti tla. Dobra žetva ovisila je o Baalovoj naklonosti. Kult je bio uvelike usmjeren na zemlju, njezino vlasništvo i plodnost.
97:3.3 (1064.7)
The northern and more settled Canaanites (the Baalites) freely bought, sold, and mortgaged their lands. The word Baal means owner. The Baal cult was founded on two major doctrines: First, the validation of property exchange, contracts, and covenants—the right to buy and sell land. Second, Baal was supposed to send rain—he was a god of fertility of the soil. Good crops depended on the favor of Baal. The cult was largely concerned with land, its ownership and fertility.
Iz ove temeljne razlike u odnosu prema zemlji razvila su se gorka neprijateljstva društvenih, ekonomskih, moralnih i religijskih stavova koje su pokazivali Kanaanci i Hebreji. Ova socioekonomska kontroverza nije postala jasno religijsko pitanje sve do vremena Ilije. Od dana ovog agresivnog proroka pitanje se vodilo na strože religijskim linijama—Jahve protiv Baala—i završilo je trijumfom Jahvea i kasnijim usmjerenjem prema monoteizmu.
97:3.5 (1065.2)
Out of this basic difference in the regard for land, there evolved the bitter antagonisms of social, economic, moral, and religious attitudes exhibited by the Canaanites and the Hebrews. This socioeconomic controversy did not become a definite religious issue until the times of Elijah. From the days of this aggressive prophet the issue was fought out on more strictly religious lines—Yahweh vs. Baal—and it ended in the triumph of Yahweh and the subsequent drive toward monotheism.
Ilija je prebacio kontroverzu između Jahvea i Baala s pitanja zemlje na religijski aspekt hebrejskih i kanaanskih ideologija. Kada je Ahab ubio Nabota u spletkama kako bi prisvojio njihovu zemlju, Ilija je od drevnih običaja o zemlji načinio moralno pitanje i pokrenuo snažnu kampanju protiv Baalita. To je također bila borba seoskog naroda protiv dominacije gradova. Uglavnom pod Ilijinim utjecajem Jahve je postao Elohim. Prorok je započeo kao agrarni reformator, a završio uzdižući Božanstvo. Baala je bilo mnogo, Jahve je bio jedan—monoteizam je pobijedio politeizam.
97:3.6 (1065.3)
Elijah shifted the Yahweh-Baal controversy from the land issue to the religious aspect of Hebrew and Canaanite ideologies. When Ahab murdered the Naboths in the intrigue to get possession of their land, Elijah made a moral issue out of the olden land mores and launched his vigorous campaign against the Baalites. This was also a fight of the country folk against domination by the cities. It was chiefly under Elijah that Yahweh became Elohim. The prophet began as an agrarian reformer and ended up by exalting Deity. Baals were many, Yahweh was one—monotheism won over polytheism.
Velik korak u prijelazu od plemenskog boga—boga kojem se tako dugo služilo žrtvama i obredima, Jahvea ranijih Hebreja—prema Bogu koji bi kažnjavao zločin i nemoral čak i među vlastitim narodom, učinio je Amos, koji se pojavio iz južnih brda kako bi osudio kriminal, pijanstvo, ugnjetavanje i nemoral sjevernih plemena. Još od vremena Mojsija takve snažne istine nisu bile proglašene u Palestini.
97:4.1 (1065.4)
A great step in the transition of the tribal god—the god who had so long been served with sacrifices and ceremonies, the Yahweh of the earlier Hebrews—to a God who would punish crime and immorality among even his own people, was taken by Amos, who appeared from among the southern hills to denounce the criminality, drunkenness, oppression, and immorality of the northern tribes. Not since the times of Moses had such ringing truths been proclaimed in Palestine.
Amos nije bio samo obnovitelj ili reformator; bio je otkrivač novih pojmova o Božanstvu. Proglasio je mnogo toga o Bogu što su njegovi prethodnici već najavili i hrabro napao vjerovanje u Božansko Biće koje bi toleriralo grijeh među svojim takozvanim izabranim narodom. Prvi put nakon Melkizedeka ljudske uši čule su osudu dvostrukog standarda nacionalne pravde i morala. Po prvi put u svojoj povijesti hebrejske uši čule su da njihov vlastiti Bog, Jahve, više neće tolerirati zločin i grijeh u njihovim životima ništa više nego među bilo kojim drugim narodom. Amos je zamislio strogog i pravednog Boga Samuela i Ilije, ali je također vidio Boga koji nije drugačije gledao na Hebreje nego na bilo koji drugi narod kada je riječ o kažnjavanju nepravde. To je bio izravan napad na egoističnu doktrinu „izabranog naroda,” i mnogi Hebreji toga vremena gorko su to zamjerali.
97:4.2 (1065.5)
Amos was not merely a restorer or reformer; he was a discoverer of new concepts of Deity. He proclaimed much about God that had been announced by his predecessors and courageously attacked the belief in a Divine Being who would countenance sin among his so-called chosen people. For the first time since the days of Melchizedek the ears of man heard the denunciation of the double standard of national justice and morality. For the first time in their history Hebrew ears heard that their own God, Yahweh, would no more tolerate crime and sin in their lives than he would among any other people. Amos envisioned the stern and just God of Samuel and Elijah, but he also saw a God who thought no differently of the Hebrews than of any other nation when it came to the punishment of wrongdoing. This was a direct attack on the egoistic doctrine of the “chosen people,” and many Hebrews of those days bitterly resented it.
Amos je rekao: „Tražite onoga koji tvori gore i stvara vjetar, koji je sazdao sedam zvijezda i Oriona, koji sjenu smrti pretvara u zoru, a dan u tamu.” I dok je osuđivao svoje polureligiozne, oportunističke i ponekad nemoralne sunarodnjake, nastojao je prikazati neumoljivu pravdu nepromjenjivog Jahvea kada je o zločincima rekao: „Ako se i u podzemlje zakopaju, moja će ih ruka odande uzeti; ako se i na nebo popnu, odande ću ih skinuti.” „Iako odu u sužanjstvo pred svojim neprijateljima, odande ću uputiti mač pravde, i on će ih usmrtiti.” Amos je dodatno zaprepastio svoje slušatelje kada je, upirući u njih prst prijekora i optužbe, izjavio u ime Jahvea: „Zasigurno nikada neću zaboraviti nijedno vaše djelo.” „I prosijat ću dom Izraelov među svim narodima kao što se sito trese”.
97:4.3 (1065.6)
Said Amos: “He who formed the mountains and created the wind, seek him who formed the seven stars and Orion, who turns the shadow of death into the morning and makes the day dark as night.” And in denouncing his half-religious, timeserving, and sometimes immoral fellows, he sought to portray the inexorable justice of an unchanging Yahweh when he said of the evildoers: “Though they dig into hell, thence shall I take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down.” “And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I direct the sword of justice, and it shall slay them.” Amos further startled his hearers when, pointing a reproving and accusing finger at them, he declared in the name of Yahweh: “Surely I will never forget any of your works.” “And I will sift the house of Israel among all nations as wheat is sifted in a sieve.”
97:4.4 (1066.1)
Amos proclaimed Yahweh the “God of all nations” and warned the Israelites that ritual must not take the place of righteousness. And before this courageous teacher was stoned to death, he had spread enough leaven of truth to save the doctrine of the supreme Yahweh; he had insured the further evolution of the Melchizedek revelation.
Hošea je slijedio Amosa i njegovu doktrinu o univerzalnom Bogu pravde oživljavanjem Mojsijevog koncepta Boga ljubavi. Hošea je propovijedao oprost kroz pokajanje, a ne kroz prinošenje žrtava. Proglasio je evanđelje ljubazne dobrote i božanske milosti, govoreći: „Zaručit ću te sebi zauvijek; da, zaručit ću te sebi u pravednosti i pravu, u ljubaznoj dobroti i u milosrđu. Zaručit ću te sebi i u vjernosti.” "Od svega ću ih srca bezuvjetno ljubiti, jer gnjev se moj odvratio od njih."
97:4.5 (1066.2)
Hosea followed Amos and his doctrine of a universal God of justice by the resurrection of the Mosaic concept of a God of love. Hosea preached forgiveness through repentance, not by sacrifice. He proclaimed a gospel of loving-kindness and divine mercy, saying: “I will betroth you to me forever; yes, I will betroth you to me in righteousness and judgment and in loving-kindness and in mercies. I will even betroth you to me in faithfulness.” “I will love them freely, for my anger is turned away.”
Hošea je vjerno nastavio moralna upozorenja Amosa, govoreći o Bogu: „Moja je želja da ih ukorim.” Ali Izraelci su to smatrali okrutnošću koja graniči s izdajom kada je rekao: „Reći ću ne-narodu-mome: ‘vi ste moj narod’; i oni će reći: ‘ti si naš Bog.’” Nastavio je propovijedati pokajanje i oprost, govoreći: „Izliječit ću njihovo otpadništvo; voljet ću ih bezuvjetno, jer se moj gnjev odvratio od njih.” Hošea je uvijek naviještao nadu i oprost. Teret njegove poruke uvijek je bio: „Smilovat ću se svome narodu. Oni neće poznavati drugog Boga osim mene, jer nema drugog spasitelja osim mene.”
97:4.6 (1066.3)
Hosea faithfully continued the moral warnings of Amos, saying of God, “It is my desire that I chastise them.” But the Israelites regarded it as cruelty bordering on treason when he said: “I will say to those who were not my people, ‘you are my people’; and they will say, ‘you are our God.’” He continued to preach repentance and forgiveness, saying, “I will heal their backsliding; I will love them freely, for my anger is turned away.” Always Hosea proclaimed hope and forgiveness. The burden of his message ever was: “I will have mercy upon my people. They shall know no God but me, for there is no savior beside me.”
Amos je probudio nacionalnu savjest Hebreja prema spoznaji da Jahve neće tolerirati zločin i grijeh među njima samo zato što su navodno izabrani narod, dok je Hošea udario početne tonove kasnijih milosrdnih akorda božanskog suosjećanja i ljubazne dobrote koje su tako uzvišeno pjevali Izaija i njegovi suradnici.
97:4.7 (1066.4)
Amos quickened the national conscience of the Hebrews to the recognition that Yahweh would not condone crime and sin among them because they were supposedly the chosen people, while Hosea struck the opening notes in the later merciful chords of divine compassion and loving-kindness which were so exquisitely sung by Isaiah and his associates.
97:5.1 (1066.5)
These were the times when some were proclaiming threatenings of punishment against personal sins and national crime among the northern clans while others predicted calamity in retribution for the transgressions of the southern kingdom. It was in the wake of this arousal of conscience and consciousness in the Hebrew nations that the first Isaiah made his appearance.
Izaija je nastavio propovijedati vječnu prirodu Boga, njegovu beskonačnu mudrost i nepromjenjivo savršenstvo njegove pouzdanosti. Prikazao je Boga Izraela kako govori: „Pravdu ću učiniti mjerilom, a pravednost viskom.” „Gospod će ti dati počinak od tvoje tuge i od tvoga straha i od teškog ropstva u kojem je čovjek bio prisiljen služiti.” „I vaše će uši čuti riječ iza vas koja govori: ‘Ovo je put, njime idite.’” „Gle, Bog je moje spasenje; uzdat ću se i neću se bojati, jer Gospod je moja snaga i moja pjesma.” „‘Dođite sada i raspravimo zajedno,’ kaže Gospod, ‘ako su vaši grijesi kao skerlet, postat će bijeli kao snijeg; ako su crveni poput grimiza, postat će kao vuna.’”
97:5.2 (1066.6)
Isaiah went on to preach the eternal nature of God, his infinite wisdom, his unchanging perfection of reliability. He represented the God of Israel as saying: “Judgment also will I lay to the line and righteousness to the plummet.” “The Lord will give you rest from your sorrow and from your fear and from the hard bondage wherein man has been made to serve.” “And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘this is the way, walk in it.’” “Behold God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid, for the Lord is my strength and my song.” “‘Come now and let us reason together,’ says the Lord, ‘though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like the crimson, they shall be as wool.’”
Obraćajući se Hebrejima ispunjenima strahom i gladnih duša, ovaj prorok je rekao: „Ustani, zasini, jer došla je tvoja svjetlost i slava Gospodnja uzdigla se nad tobom.” „Duh Gospodnji je na meni jer me pomazao da propovijedam radosne vijesti krotkima; poslao me da povijem slomljena srca, da proglasim slobodu zarobljenima i otvaranje tamnice sužnjevima.” „Silno ću se radovati u Gospodu, moja će se duša veseliti u mojem Bogu, jer me zaodjenuo haljinama spasenja i ogrnuo me plaštem pravednosti.” „U svim njihovim nevoljama i on je bio u nevolji, i anđeo njegove prisutnosti ih je spasio. U svojoj ljubavi i u svojem milosrđu otkupio ih je.”
97:5.3 (1066.7)
Speaking to the fear-ridden and soul-hungry Hebrews, this prophet said: “Arise and shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.” “The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach good tidings to the meek; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.” “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation and has covered me with his robe of righteousness.” “In all their afflictions he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and in his pity he redeemed them.”
Mihej je osudio „glavare koji sude za mito, svećenike koji poučavaju za plaću i proroke koji proriču za novac.” Učio je o danu oslobođenja od praznovjerja i svećeničke vlasti, govoreći: „No, svaki će čovjek sjediti pod svojom lozom, i nitko ga neće plašiti, jer će svi ljudi živjeti, svaki prema svojem razumijevanju Boga.”
97:5.5 (1067.2)
Micah denounced “the rulers who judge for reward and the priests who teach for hire and the prophets who divine for money.” He taught of a day of freedom from superstition and priestcraft, saying: “But every man shall sit under his own vine, and no one shall make him afraid, for all people will live, each one according to his understanding of God.”
Uvijek je teret Mihejeve poruke bio: „Hoću li doći pred Boga s paljenicama? Hoće li Gospod biti zadovoljan s tisuću ovnova ili s deset tisuća rijeka ulja? Hoću li dati svoga prvorođenca za svoj prijestup, plod svoga tijela za grijeh svoje duše? Pokazao mi je, o čovječe, što je dobro; i što Gospod traži od tebe osim da činiš pravedno i ljubiš milosrđe i ponizno hodiš sa svojim Bogom?” I bilo je to veliko doba; bila su to doista potresna vremena kada je smrtni čovjek slušao, a neki čak i vjerovali, takvim oslobađajućim porukama prije više od dvije i pol tisuće godina. A da nije bilo tvrdokornog otpora svećenika, ovi bi učitelji iskorijenili cijeli krvavi sustav obreda iz hebrejskog bogoslužja.
97:5.6 (1067.3)
Ever the burden of Micah’s message was: “Shall I come before God with burnt offerings? Will the Lord be pleased with a thousand rams or with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown me, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God?” And it was a great age; these were indeed stirring times when mortal man heard, and some even believed, such emancipating messages more than two and a half millenniums ago. And but for the stubborn resistance of the priests, these teachers would have overthrown the whole bloody ceremonial of the Hebrew ritual of worship.
Jeremija je neustrašivo izjavio da Jahve nije na strani Hebreja u njihovim vojnim sukobima s drugim narodima. Tvrdio je da je Jahve Bog cijele zemlje, svih naroda i svih ljudi. Jeremijino učenje bilo je vrhunac uzdižućeg vala internacionalizacije Boga Izraela; konačno i zauvijek ovaj je neustrašivi propovjednik proglasio da je Jahve Bog svih naroda i da nema Ozirisa za Egipćane, Bela za Babilonce, Ašura za Asirce ili Dagona za Filistejce. Tako je religija Hebreja sudjelovala u toj obnovi monoteizma diljem svijeta u to vrijeme i nakon njega; naposljetku se koncept Jahvea uzdigao na razinu Božanstva planetarnog pa čak i kozmičkog dostojanstva. Ali mnogim Jeremijinim suvremenicima bilo je teško zamisliti Jahvea odvojeno od hebrejskog naroda.
97:6.2 (1067.5)
Jeremiah fearlessly declared that Yahweh was not on the side of the Hebrews in their military struggles with other nations. He asserted that Yahweh was God of all the earth, of all nations and of all peoples. Jeremiah’s teaching was the crescendo of the rising wave of the internationalization of the God of Israel; finally and forever did this intrepid preacher proclaim that Yahweh was God of all nations, and that there was no Osiris for the Egyptians, Bel for the Babylonians, Ashur for the Assyrians, or Dagon for the Philistines. And thus did the religion of the Hebrews share in that renaissance of monotheism throughout the world at about and following this time; at last the concept of Yahweh had ascended to a Deity level of planetary and even cosmic dignity. But many of Jeremiah’s associates found it difficult to conceive of Yahweh apart from the Hebrew nation.
Ovaj neustrašivi prorok je rekao: „Pravedan je naš Gospod, velik u savjetu i moćan u djelu. Njegove su oči otvorene nad svim putovima svih sinova ljudi, da svakome dade prema njegovim putovima i prema plodu njegovih djela.” Ali smatralo se bogohulnom izdajom kada je, tijekom opsade Jeruzalema, rekao: „I sada sam dao ove zemlje u ruku Nabukodonozora, kralja Babilona, svojega sluge.” A kada je Jeremija savjetovao predaju grada, svećenici i građanski vladari bacili su ga u blatnu jamu sumorne tamnice.
97:6.4 (1067.7)
Said this fearless prophet: “Righteous is our Lord, great in counsel and mighty in work. His eyes are open upon all the ways of all the sons of men, to give every one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings.” But it was considered blasphemous treason when, during the siege of Jerusalem, he said: “And now have I given these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant.” And when Jeremiah counseled the surrender of the city, the priests and civil rulers cast him into the miry pit of a dismal dungeon.
Uništenje hebrejskog naroda i njihovo sužanjstvo u Mezopotamiji bilo bi od velike koristi za razvoj njihove teologije da nije bilo odlučnog djelovanja njihova svećenstva. Njihov je narod pao pred vojskama Babilona, a njihov nacionalistički Jahve bio je potisnut internacionalnim propovijedanjem duhovnih vođa. Upravo je ogorčenost zbog gubitka njihova nacionalnog Boga navela židovske svećenike da odu tako daleko u izmišljanju bajki i umnažanju čudesnih događaja u hebrejskoj povijesti, nastojeći obnoviti Židove kao izabrani narod čak i unutar novog i proširenog poimanja internacionaliziranog Boga svih naroda.
97:7.1 (1068.1)
The destruction of the Hebrew nation and their captivity in Mesopotamia would have proved of great benefit to their expanding theology had it not been for the determined action of their priesthood. Their nation had fallen before the armies of Babylon, and their nationalistic Yahweh had suffered from the international preachments of the spiritual leaders. It was resentment of the loss of their national god that led the Jewish priests to go to such lengths in the invention of fables and the multiplication of miraculous appearing events in Hebrew history in an effort to restore the Jews as the chosen people of even the new and expanded idea of an internationalized God of all nations.
Tijekom sužanjstva Židovi su bili snažno pod utjecajem babilonskih predaja i legendi, iako treba primijetiti da su uvijek unaprijedili moralni ton i duhovno značenje kaldejskih priča koje su usvojili, premda su te legende redovito preoblikovali kako bi odražavale čast i slavu porijekla i povijesti Izraela.
97:7.2 (1068.2)
During the captivity the Jews were much influenced by Babylonian traditions and legends, although it should be noted that they unfailingly improved the moral tone and spiritual significance of the Chaldean stories which they adopted, notwithstanding that they invariably distorted these legends to reflect honor and glory upon the ancestry and history of Israel.
Ovi hebrejski svećenici i pisari imali su na umu jednu jedinu ideju, a to je bila obnova židovskog naroda, veličanje hebrejskih tradicija i uzdizanje njihove rasne povijesti. Ako postoji ogorčenost zbog činjenice da su ovi svećenici učvrstili svoje pogrešne ideje nad tako velikim dijelom zapadnog svijeta, treba imati na umu da to nisu učinili namjerno; nisu tvrdili da pišu po nadahnuću; nisu polagali pravo da pišu svetu knjigu. Oni su samo pripremali udžbenik osmišljen za jačanje sve slabijeg samopouzdanja svojih sunarodnjaka u sužanjstvu. Njihova je jasna namjera bila unaprijediti nacionalni duh i moral svojih sunarodnjaka. Ostalo je na kasnijim ljudima da prikupe ove i druge spise u priručnik navodno nepogrešivih učenja.
97:7.3 (1068.3)
These Hebrew priests and scribes had a single idea in their minds, and that was the rehabilitation of the Jewish nation, the glorification of Hebrew traditions, and the exaltation of their racial history. If there is resentment of the fact that these priests have fastened their erroneous ideas upon such a large part of the Occidental world, it should be remembered that they did not intentionally do this; they did not claim to be writing by inspiration; they made no profession to be writing a sacred book. They were merely preparing a textbook designed to bolster up the dwindling courage of their fellows in captivity. They were definitely aiming at improving the national spirit and morale of their compatriots. It remained for later-day men to assemble these and other writings into a guide book of supposedly infallible teachings.
Židovsko svećenstvo uvelike se služilo ovim spisima nakon sužanjstva, ali je njihov utjecaj na njihove sunarodnjake u sužanjstvu bio znatno ograničen učenjima mladog i neustrašivog proroka, drugog Izaije, koji je bio veliki vjernik u evanđelje starijeg Izaije koji je uveo ideju o Bogu pravde, ljubavi, pravednosti i milosrđa. On se također pridružio Jeremiji u vjerovanju da je Jahve bio Bog svih naroda. Propovijedao je ove teorije o Božjoj prirodi s takvom uvjerljivom snagom da je pridobio sljedbenike i među Židovima i među njihovim porobljivačima. I ovaj je mladi propovjednik ostavio zapis o svojim učenjima, koja su neprijateljski i neumoljivi svećenici nastojali odvojiti od svake povezanosti s njim, premda je čisto poštovanje prema njihovoj ljepoti i veličanstvu dovelo do njihova uključivanja među spise ranijeg Izaije. Tako se spisi ovog drugog Izaije nalaze u knjizi koja nosi to ime, obuhvaćajući poglavlja četrdeset do pedeset i pet uključivo.
97:7.4 (1068.4)
The Jewish priesthood made liberal use of these writings subsequent to the captivity, but they were greatly hindered in their influence over their fellow captives by the presence of a young and indomitable prophet, Isaiah the second, who was a full convert to the elder Isaiah’s God of justice, love, righteousness, and mercy. He also believed with Jeremiah that Yahweh had become the God of all nations. He preached these theories of the nature of God with such telling effect that he made converts equally among the Jews and their captors. And this young preacher left on record his teachings, which the hostile and unforgiving priests sought to divorce from all association with him, although sheer respect for their beauty and grandeur led to their incorporation among the writings of the earlier Isaiah. And thus may be found the writings of this second Isaiah in the book of that name, embracing chapters forty to fifty-five inclusive.
Nijedan prorok ni religijski učitelj od vremena Makivente do Isusova doba nije dosegnuo tako uzvišeni pojam Boga kao ovaj drugi Izaija tijekom sužanjstva. Ovaj duhovni vođa nije naviještao neku malu, antropomorfnu koncepciju Boga koja je bila djelo čovjeka. „Gle, on podiže otoke kao zrnce prašine.” „Jer kako je nebo visoko nad zemljom, tako su puti moji iznad vaših putova i misli moje iznad vaših misli.”
97:7.5 (1068.5)
No prophet or religious teacher from Machiventa to the time of Jesus attained the high concept of God that Isaiah the second proclaimed during these days of the captivity. It was no small, anthropomorphic, man-made God that this spiritual leader proclaimed. “Behold he takes up the isles as a very little thing.” “And as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”
Napokon je Makiventa Melkizedek imao priliku vidjeti kako ljudski učitelji smrtnom čovjeku naviještaju stvarnog Boga. Poput prvog Izaije, ovaj je vođa propovijedao Boga univerzalnog stvaranja i održavanja. „Ja sam stvorio zemlju i postavio čovjeka na nju. Nisam je stvorio uzalud; oblikovao sam je da bude nastanjena.” „Ja sam prvi i posljednji; osim mene nema Boga.” Govoreći u ime Gospoda Boga Izraela, ovaj je novi prorok rekao: „Nebesa mogu iščeznuti i zemlja ostarjeti, ali moja će pravednost trajati zauvijek i moje spasenje od naraštaja do naraštaja.” „Ne boj se, jer ja sam s tobom; ne plaši se, jer ja sam tvoj Bog.” „Nema Boga osim mene—pravednog Boga i Spasitelja.”
97:7.6 (1069.1)
At last Machiventa Melchizedek beheld human teachers proclaiming a real God to mortal man. Like Isaiah the first, this leader preached a God of universal creation and upholding. “I have made the earth and put man upon it. I have created it not in vain; I formed it to be inhabited.” “I am the first and the last; there is no God beside me.” Speaking for the Lord God of Israel, this new prophet said: “The heavens may vanish and the earth wax old, but my righteousness shall endure forever and my salvation from generation to generation.” “Fear you not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God.” “There is no God beside me—a just God and a Savior.”
I tješilo je židovske sužnjeve, kao što je tješilo tisuće i tisuće od tada pa sve do danas, čuti takve riječi kao što su ove: „Ovako govori Gospod: ‘Stvorio sam te, otkupio sam te, imenom sam te zazvao; ti si moj.’” „Kad budeš prolazio kroz vode, bit ću s tobom, jer dragocjen si u mojim očima.” „Može li žena zaboraviti svoje dojenče i ne smilovati se sinu svoje utrobe? Da, ona može zaboraviti, ali ja neću zaboraviti svoju djecu, jer gle, urezao sam ih u dlanove svojih ruku; zaklonio sam ih čak i sjenom svojih ruku.” „Neka bezbožnik put svoj ostavi, a zlikovac naume svoje; neka se vrati Gospodu koji će mu se smilovati, k Bogu našemu jer velikodušno prašta.”
97:7.7 (1069.2)
And it comforted the Jewish captives, as it has thousands upon thousands ever since, to hear such words as: “Thus says the Lord, ‘I have created you, I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name; you are mine.’” “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you since you are precious in my sight.” “Can a woman forget her suckling child that she should not have compassion on her son? Yes, she may forget, yet will I not forget my children, for behold I have graven them upon the palms of my hands; I have even covered them with the shadow of my hands.” “Let the wicked forsake his ways and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
Poslušajte ponovno evanđelje ovog novog otkrivenja Boga Salema: „Kao pastir pase stado svoje, rukama ga svojim sabire, jaganjce nosi u naručju. Umornome snagu vraća, a onima koji nemaju moći umnaža snagu. A onima što se uzdaju u Jahvu snaga se obnavlja, krila im rastu kao orlovima; trče i ne sustaju, hode i ne more se.”
97:7.8 (1069.3)
Listen again to the gospel of this new revelation of the God of Salem: “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; he shall gather the lambs in his arms and carry them in his bosom. He gives power to the faint, and to those who have no might he increases strength. Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
Ovaj je Izaija provodio dalekosežnu objavu evanđelja proširujućeg poimanja vrhovnog Jahvea. Natjecao se s Mojsijem u rječitosti kojom je prikazivao Gospoda Boga Izraela kao Stvoritelja Svih. Bio je pjesnički nadahnut u svojem prikazu beskonačnih svojstava Oca Svih. Nikada nisu izrečene ljepše objave o nebeskom Ocu. Poput Psalama, Izaijini spisi spadaju među najuzvišenije i najistinitije prikaze duhovnog poimanja Boga koji su ikada doprli do ušiju smrtnog čovjeka prije dolaska Mihaela na Urantiju. Poslušajte njegov prikaz Božanstva: „Ja sam Uzvišeni i Uzneseni koji prebiva u vječnosti.” „Ja sam prvi i posljednji, i osim mene nema drugoga Boga.” „Nije ruka Gospodnja prekratka da ne može spasiti, niti mu je uho otvrdlo da ne može čuti.” I bila je to nova doktrina u židovstvu kada je ovaj dobrostivi, ali autoritativni prorok ustrajao u propovijedanju božanske postojanosti, Božje vjernosti. Izjavio je da „Bog neće zaboraviti, neće napustiti.”
97:7.9 (1069.4)
This Isaiah conducted a far-flung propaganda of the gospel of the enlarging concept of a supreme Yahweh. He vied with Moses in the eloquence with which he portrayed the Lord God of Israel as the Universal Creator. He was poetic in his portrayal of the infinite attributes of the Universal Father. No more beautiful pronouncements about the heavenly Father have ever been made. Like the Psalms, the writings of Isaiah are among the most sublime and true presentations of the spiritual concept of God ever to greet the ears of mortal man prior to the arrival of Michael on Urantia. Listen to his portrayal of Deity: “I am the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity.” “I am the first and the last, and beside me there is no other God.” “And the Lord’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save, neither his ear heavy that it cannot hear.” And it was a new doctrine in Jewry when this benign but commanding prophet persisted in the preachment of divine constancy, God’s faithfulness. He declared that “God would not forget, would not forsake.”
97:7.10 (1069.5)
This daring teacher proclaimed that man was very closely related to God, saying: “Every one who is called by my name I have created for my glory, and they shall show forth my praise. I, even I, am he who blots out their transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember their sins.”
Poslušajte ovog velikog Hebreja kako ruši pojam nacionalnog Boga dok u slavi proglašava božanstvenost Oca Svih, o kojem kaže: „Nebo je moje prijestolje, a zemlja podnožje mojim nogama.” Izaijin Bog nije bio ništa manje svet, veličanstven, pravedan i nedokučiv. Koncept gnjevnog, osvetoljubivog i ljubomornog Jahvea pustinjskih Beduina gotovo je nestao. Novi pojam vrhovnog i univerzalnog Jahvea pojavio se u umu smrtnog čovjeka, da nikada više ne bude izgubljen iz ljudskog vidokruga. Spoznaja božanske pravde započela je razaranje primitivne magije i biološkog straha. Napokon je čovjek uveden u svemir zakona i reda i u univerzalnog Boga pouzdanih i konačnih svojstava.
97:7.11 (1069.6)
Hear this great Hebrew demolish the concept of a national God while in glory he proclaims the divinity of the Universal Father, of whom he says, “The heavens are my throne, and the earth is my footstool.” And Isaiah’s God was none the less holy, majestic, just, and unsearchable. The concept of the angry, vengeful, and jealous Yahweh of the desert Bedouins has almost vanished. A new concept of the supreme and universal Yahweh has appeared in the mind of mortal man, never to be lost to human view. The realization of divine justice has begun the destruction of primitive magic and biologic fear. At last, man is introduced to a universe of law and order and to a universal God of dependable and final attributes.
I ovaj propovjednik uzvišenog Boga nikada nije prestao naviještati ovog Boga ljubavi. „Prebivam na visini i u svetosti, ali i s onim koji je skrušena i ponizna duha.” I još je riječi utjehe ovaj veliki učitelj govorio svojim suvremenicima: „Gospod će te voditi bez prestanka, krijepit će ti dušu tvoju. Bit ćeš kao dobro zaliven vrt i kao izvor kojemu voda nikada ne presušuje. I ako neprijatelj navali kao bujica, duh Gospodnji podignut će obranu protiv njega.” I još jednom su evanđelje Melkizedeka, koje uklanja strah, i religija Salema, koja donosi pouzdanje, zasjali na blagoslov čovječanstva.
97:7.12 (1070.1)
And this preacher of a supernal God never ceased to proclaim this God of love. “I dwell in the high and holy place, also with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit.” And still further words of comfort did this great teacher speak to his contemporaries: “And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your soul. You shall be like a watered garden and like a spring whose waters fail not. And if the enemy shall come in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord will lift up a defense against him.” And once again did the fear-destroying gospel of Melchizedek and the trust-breeding religion of Salem shine forth for the blessing of mankind.
Dalekovidni i hrabri Izaija djelotvorno je zasjenio nacionalističkog Jahvea svojim uzvišenim prikazom veličanstva i univerzalne svemoći vrhovnog Jahvea, Boga ljubavi, vladara svemira i brižnog Oca cijelog čovječanstva. Od tih sudbonosnih dana najuzvišeniji pojam Boga na Zapadu obuhvaća univerzalnu pravdu, božansko milosrđe i vječnu pravednost. Uzvišenim jezikom i nenadmašnom milinom ovaj je veliki učitelj prikazao svemoćnog Stvoritelja kao Oca punog ljubavi.
97:7.13 (1070.2)
The farseeing and courageous Isaiah effectively eclipsed the nationalistic Yahweh by his sublime portraiture of the majesty and universal omnipotence of the supreme Yahweh, God of love, ruler of the universe, and affectionate Father of all mankind. Ever since those eventful days the highest God concept in the Occident has embraced universal justice, divine mercy, and eternal righteousness. In superb language and with matchless grace this great teacher portrayed the all-powerful Creator as the all-loving Father.
Ovaj prorok sužanjstva propovijedao je svome narodu i narodima mnogih zemalja dok su ga slušali uz rijeku u Babilonu. I ovaj drugi Izaija učinio je mnogo da ispravi brojne pogrešne i rasno egoistične predodžbe o poslanju obećanog Mesije. Ali u tom nastojanju nije bio potpuno uspješan. Da se svećenici nisu posvetili izgradnji pogrešno shvaćenog nacionalizma, učenja dvojice Izaija pripremila bi put za prepoznavanje i prihvaćanje obećanog Mesije.
97:7.14 (1070.3)
This prophet of the captivity preached to his people and to those of many nations as they listened by the river in Babylon. And this second Isaiah did much to counteract the many wrong and racially egoistic concepts of the mission of the promised Messiah. But in this effort he was not wholly successful. Had the priests not dedicated themselves to the work of building up a misconceived nationalism, the teachings of the two Isaiahs would have prepared the way for the recognition and reception of the promised Messiah.
Običaj promatranja zapisa hebrejskog života kao svete povijesti, a događaja ostatka svijeta kao svjetovne povijesti, odgovoran je za velik dio zbrke koja postoji u ljudskom umu u vezi s tumačenjem povijesti. Ova poteškoća nastaje zato što ne postoji svjetovna povijest Židova. Nakon što su svećenici prilikom babilonskog sužanjstva uredili ovaj novi zapis o navodno čudesnom Božjem odnosu prema Hebrejima - svetu povijest Izraela kako je prikazana u Starom zavjetu - pažljivo su i potpuno uništili postojeće zapise o hebrejskim poslovima - takve knjige kao što su "Djela izraelskih kraljeva" i "Djela kraljeva Jude ", zajedno s nekoliko drugih više ili manje točnih zapisa hebrejske povijesti.
97:8.1 (1070.4)
The custom of looking upon the record of the experiences of the Hebrews as sacred history and upon the transactions of the rest of the world as profane history is responsible for much of the confusion existing in the human mind as to the interpretation of history. And this difficulty arises because there is no secular history of the Jews. After the priests of the Babylonian exile had prepared their new record of God’s supposedly miraculous dealings with the Hebrews, the sacred history of Israel as portrayed in the Old Testament, they carefully and completely destroyed the existing records of Hebrew affairs—such books as “The Doings of the Kings of Israel” and “The Doings of the Kings of Judah,” together with several other more or less accurate records of Hebrew history.
Kako bismo razumjeli kako su razorni pritisak i neizbježna prisila svjetovne povijesti tako prestravili potlačene Židove pod tuđinskom vlašću, da su ih naveli na pokušaj kompletnog prepisa i preoblikovanja njihove povijesti, valja ukratko razmotriti detalje njihove zbunjujuće nacionalne prošlosti. Treba imati na umu da Židovi nisu uspjeli razviti odgovarajuću neteološku filozofiju života. Borili su se sa svojim izvornim i egipatskim poimanjem božanskih nagrada za pravednost, povezanih s teškim kaznama za grijeh. Drama o Jobu bila je svojevrsni prosvjed protiv ove pogrešne filozofije. Otvoreni pesimizam Propovjednika bio je svjetovno mudra reakcija na ova pretjerano optimistična vjerovanja u Providnost.
97:8.2 (1070.5)
In order to understand how the devastating pressure and the inescapable coercion of secular history so terrorized the captive and alien-ruled Jews that they attempted the complete rewriting and recasting of their history, we should briefly survey the record of their perplexing national experience. It must be remembered that the Jews failed to evolve an adequate nontheologic philosophy of life. They struggled with their original and Egyptian concept of divine rewards for righteousness coupled with dire punishments for sin. The drama of Job was something of a protest against this erroneous philosophy. The frank pessimism of Ecclesiastes was a worldly wise reaction to these overoptimistic beliefs in Providence.
Ali pet stotina godina pod vlašću stranih vladara bilo je previše čak i za strpljive i dugotrpeće Židove. Proroci i svećenici počeli su vapiti: „Dokle, Gospode, dokle?” Dok je iskreni Židov pretraživao Sveta pisma, njegova je zbunjenost postajala još veća. Jedan drevni vidjelac obećao je da će Bog zaštititi i izbaviti svoj „izabrani narod.” Amos je zaprijetio da će Bog napustiti Izrael ako ponovno ne uspostave svoje standarde nacionalne pravednosti. Pisac Ponovljenog zakona prikazao je Veliki izbor—između dobra i zla, blagoslova i prokletstva. Prvi Izaija propovijedao je dobrostivog kralja-izbavitelja. Jeremija je proglasio doba unutarnje pravednosti—savez zapisan na pločama srca. Drugi Izaija govorio je o spasenju kroz žrtvu i otkupljenje. Ezekiel je naviještao izbavljenje kroz služenje u odanosti, a Ezra je obećao blagostanje kroz pridržavanje Zakona. Ali unatoč svemu tome, ostali su u sužanjstvu, a izbavljenje nije bilo na vidiku. Tada je Daniel prikazao dramu nadolazeće „krize”—razbijanje velikog kipa i neposredno uspostavljanje vječnog kraljevstva pravednosti, Mesijanskog kraljevstva.
97:8.3 (1071.1)
But five hundred years of the overlordship of alien rulers was too much for even the patient and long-suffering Jews. The prophets and priests began to cry: “How long, O Lord, how long?” As the honest Jew searched the Scriptures, his confusion became worse confounded. An olden seer promised that God would protect and deliver his “chosen people.” Amos had threatened that God would abandon Israel unless they re-established their standards of national righteousness. The scribe of Deuteronomy had portrayed the Great Choice—as between the good and the evil, the blessing and the curse. Isaiah the first had preached a beneficent king-deliverer. Jeremiah had proclaimed an era of inner righteousness—the covenant written on the tablets of the heart. The second Isaiah talked about salvation by sacrifice and redemption. Ezekiel proclaimed deliverance through the service of devotion, and Ezra promised prosperity by adherence to the law. But in spite of all this they lingered on in bondage, and deliverance was deferred. Then Daniel presented the drama of the impending “crisis”—the smiting of the great image and the immediate establishment of the everlasting reign of righteousness, the Messianic kingdom.
97:8.4 (1071.2)
And all of this false hope led to such a degree of racial disappointment and frustration that the leaders of the Jews were so confused they failed to recognize and accept the mission and ministry of a divine Son of Paradise when he presently came to them in the likeness of mortal flesh—incarnated as the Son of Man.
Sve moderne religije ozbiljno su pogriješile u pokušaju da određenim razdobljima ljudske povijesti daju čudesno tumačenje. Iako je istina da je Bog mnogo puta pružio Očevu ruku providnosti kako bi intervenirao u tijeku ljudskih zbivanja, pogrešno je smatrati teološke dogme i religijska praznovjerja nadnaravnim talogom koji se čudesnim djelovanjem pojavljuje u tom tijeku ljudske povijesti. Činjenica da „Svevišnji vladaju kraljevstvima ljudi” ne pretvara svjetovnu povijest u takozvanu svetu povijest.
97:8.5 (1071.3)
All modern religions have seriously blundered in the attempt to put a miraculous interpretation on certain epochs of human history. While it is true that God has many times thrust a Father’s hand of providential intervention into the stream of human affairs, it is a mistake to regard theologic dogmas and religious superstition as a supernatural sedimentation appearing by miraculous action in this stream of human history. The fact that the “Most Highs rule in the kingdoms of men” does not convert secular history into so-called sacred history.
Autori Novog zavjeta i kasniji kršćanski pisci dodatno su zakomplicirali iskrivljenje hebrejske povijesti svojim dobronamjernim pokušajima da uzdignu židovske proroke na transcendentalnu razinu. Tako su hebrejsku povijest pogubno iskoristili i židovski i kršćanski pisci. Svjetovna hebrejska povijest temeljito je dogmatizirana. Pretvorena je u fikciju svete povijesti i postala je nerazdvojivo povezana s moralnim konceptima i religijskim učenjima takozvanih kršćanskih naroda.
97:8.6 (1071.4)
New Testament authors and later Christian writers further complicated the distortion of Hebrew history by their well-meant attempts to transcendentalize the Jewish prophets. Thus has Hebrew history been disastrously exploited by both Jewish and Christian writers. Secular Hebrew history has been thoroughly dogmatized. It has been converted into a fiction of sacred history and has become inextricably bound up with the moral concepts and religious teachings of the so-called Christian nations.
Nikada nije postojalo dvanaest plemena Izraelaca—samo su se tri ili četiri plemena nastanila u Palestini. Hebrejski narod nastao je kao rezultat ujedinjenja takozvanih Izraelaca i Kanaanca. „I sinovi Izraelovi živjeli su među Kanaancima. I uzimali su njihove kćeri za svoje žene i davali svoje kćeri sinovima Kanaanca.” Hebreji nikada nisu protjerali Kanaance iz Palestine, premda je svećenički zapis o tim događajima bez oklijevanja tvrdio suprotno.
97:9.1 (1071.6)
There never were twelve tribes of the Israelites—only three or four tribes settled in Palestine. The Hebrew nation came into being as the result of the union of the so-called Israelites and the Canaanites. “And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites. And they took their daughters to be their wives and gave their daughters to the sons of the Canaanites.” The Hebrews never drove the Canaanites out of Palestine, notwithstanding that the priests’ record of these things unhesitatingly declared that they did.
Razmetljiva hebrejska povijest započinje kada je Šaul okupio sjeverna plemena kako bi se oduprla napadu Amonaca na njihovu braću—Gileadce—istočno od Jordana. S vojskom od nešto više od tri tisuće ljudi porazio je neprijatelja, i taj je pothvat naveo brdska plemena da ga proglase kraljem. Kada su prognani svećenici prepisivali ovu priču, povećali su Šaulovu vojsku na 330.000 ljudi i dodali „Judu” na popis plemena koja su sudjelovala u bitci.
97:9.3 (1072.1)
Pretentious Hebrew history begins with Saul’s rallying the northern clans to withstand an attack by the Ammonites upon their fellow tribesmen—the Gileadites—east of the Jordan. With an army of a little more than three thousand he defeated the enemy, and it was this exploit that led the hill tribes to make him king. When the exiled priests rewrote this story, they raised Saul’s army to 330,000 and added “Judah” to the list of tribes participating in the battle.
Odmah nakon poraza Amonaca, Šaul je bio proglašen kraljem narodnim izborom svojih vojnika. Nijedan svećenik ni prorok nije sudjelovao u tom događaju. Ali su svećenici kasnije unijeli u zapis da je prorok Samuel okrunio Šaula za kralja u skladu s božanskim uputama. To su učinili kako bi uspostavili „božansku lozu” za judejsko kraljevstvo Davidove dinastije.
97:9.4 (1072.2)
Immediately following the defeat of the Ammonites, Saul was made king by popular election by his troops. No priest or prophet participated in this affair. But the priests later on put it in the record that Saul was crowned king by the prophet Samuel in accordance with divine directions. This they did in order to establish a “divine line of descent” for David’s Judahite kingship.
Najveće od svih iskrivljenja židovske povijesti odnosilo se na Davida. Nakon Šaulove pobjede nad Amoncima (koju je pripisao Jahveu), Filistejci su se uznemirili i počeli napadati sjeverna plemena. David i Šaul nikada se nisu mogli složiti. David je sa šest stotina ljudi stupio u savez s Filistejcima i krenuo duž obale prema Esdraelonu. U Gatu su Filistejci naredili Davidu da napusti bojno polje; bojali su se da bi mogao prijeći na Šaulovu stranu. David se povukao; Filistejci su napali i porazili Šaula. To ne bi mogli učiniti da je David bio odan Izraelu. Davidova vojska bila je raznolika skupina nezadovoljnika, sastavljena uglavnom od društvenih izopćenika i bjegunaca od pravde.
97:9.5 (1072.3)
The greatest of all distortions of Jewish history had to do with David. After Saul’s victory over the Ammonites (which he ascribed to Yahweh) the Philistines became alarmed and began attacks on the northern clans. David and Saul never could agree. David with six hundred men entered into a Philistine alliance and marched up the coast to Esdraelon. At Gath the Philistines ordered David off the field; they feared he might go over to Saul. David retired; the Philistines attacked and defeated Saul. They could not have done this had David been loyal to Israel. David’s army was a polyglot assortment of malcontents, being for the most part made up of social misfits and fugitives from justice.
Šaulov tragični poraz kod Gilboe od strane Filistejaca doveo je Jahvea na nizak položaj među bogovima u očima okolnih Kanaanca. Obično bi se Šaulov poraz pripisao otpadništvu od Jahvea, ali su ga u ovom slučaju judejski urednici pripisali obrednim pogreškama. Trebala im je tradicija o Šaulu i Samuelu kao pozadina za Davidovo kraljevstvo.
97:9.6 (1072.4)
Saul’s tragic defeat at Gilboa by the Philistines brought Yahweh to a low point among the gods in the eyes of the surrounding Canaanites. Ordinarily, Saul’s defeat would have been ascribed to apostasy from Yahweh, but this time the Judahite editors attributed it to ritual errors. They required the tradition of Saul and Samuel as a background for the kingship of David.
David je sa svojom malom vojskom uspostavio svoje sjedište u nehebrejskom gradu Hebronu. Ubrzo su ga njegovi sunarodnjaci proglasili kraljem novog kraljevstva Jude. Juda je bio sastavljen uglavnom od nehebrejskih elemenata—Kenita, Kalebita, Jebusejaca i drugih Kanaanca. Bili su nomadi—stočari—i stoga su bili odani hebrejskoj ideji vlasništva nad zemljom. Zastupali su ideologije pustinjskih plemena.
97:9.7 (1072.5)
David with his small army made his headquarters at the non-Hebrew city of Hebron. Presently his compatriots proclaimed him king of the new kingdom of Judah. Judah was made up mostly of non-Hebrew elements—Kenites, Calebites, Jebusites, and other Canaanites. They were nomads—herders—and so were devoted to the Hebrew idea of land ownership. They held the ideologies of the desert clans.
Razlika između svete i svjetovne povijesti jasno je prikazana u dvjema različitim pričama o tome kako je David postao kralj, koje se mogu naći u Starom zavjetu. Dio svjetovne priče o tome kako su ga njegovi neposredni sljedbenici (njegova vojska) proglasili kraljem nenamjerno su ostavili u zapisu svećenici koji su kasnije pripremili opsežan i razvučen prikaz svete povijesti, u kojem je prikazano kako je prorok Samuel, prema božanskom nalogu, izabrao Davida među njegovom braćom te ga potom formalno, uz složene i svečane obrede, pomazao za kralja nad Hebrejima i zatim ga proglasio Šaulovim nasljednikom.
97:9.8 (1072.6)
The difference between sacred and profane history is well illustrated by the two differing stories concerning making David king as they are found in the Old Testament. A part of the secular story of how his immediate followers (his army) made him king was inadvertently left in the record by the priests who subsequently prepared the lengthy and prosaic account of the sacred history wherein is depicted how the prophet Samuel, by divine direction, selected David from among his brethren and proceeded formally and by elaborate and solemn ceremonies to anoint him king over the Hebrews and then to proclaim him Saul’s successor.
I takvim metodama i od takvog naroda David je izgradio fikciju božanskog kraljevstva Jude kao nasljednika baštine i tradicija nestajućeg sjevernog kraljevstva Efrajimskog Izraela. Davidovo kozmopolitsko pleme Jude bilo je više pogansko nego židovsko; ipak su potlačene starješine Efrajima došle i „pomazale ga za kralja Izraela.” Nakon vojne prijetnje, David je sklopio savez s Jebusejcima i uspostavio svoju prijestolnicu ujedinjenog kraljevstva u Jebusu (Jeruzalemu), gradu s čvrstim zidinama smještenom između Jude i Izraela. Filistejci su se uznemirili i ubrzo napali Davida. Nakon žestoke bitke bili su poraženi, i Jahve je ponovno bio uzdignut kao „Gospod Bog nad vojskama.”
97:9.11 (1073.1)
And it was by such methods and out of such people that David built up the fiction of a divine kingdom of Judah as the successor of the heritage and traditions of the vanishing northern kingdom of Ephraimite Israel. David’s cosmopolitan tribe of Judah was more gentile than Jewish; nevertheless the oppressed elders of Ephraim came down and “anointed him king of Israel.” After a military threat, David then made a compact with the Jebusites and established his capital of the united kingdom at Jebus (Jerusalem), which was a strong-walled city midway between Judah and Israel. The Philistines were aroused and soon attacked David. After a fierce battle they were defeated, and once more Yahweh was established as “The Lord God of Hosts.”
Ali Jahve je morao, htio ne htio, podijeliti dio ove slave s kanaanskim bogovima, jer je većina Davidove vojske bila nehebrejska. I tako se u vašem zapisu (koji su judejski urednici previdjeli) pojavljuje ova znakovita izjava: „Jahve je razbio moje neprijatelje preda mnom. Zato je to mjesto nazvano Baal-Perazim.” I to su učinili jer su osamdeset posto Davidovih vojnika bili Baaliti.
97:9.12 (1073.2)
But Yahweh must, perforce, share some of this glory with the Canaanite gods, for the bulk of David’s army was non-Hebrew. And so there appears in your record (overlooked by the Judahite editors) this telltale statement: “Yahweh has broken my enemies before me. Therefore he called the name of the place Baal-Perazim.” And they did this because eighty per cent of David’s soldiers were Baalites.
David je objasnio Šaulov poraz kod Gilboe time što je Šaul napao kanaanski grad Gibeon, čiji su stanovnici imali mirovni savez s Efrajimcima. Zbog toga ga je Jahve napustio. Još u Šaulovo vrijeme David je branio kanaanski grad Keilu od Filistejaca, a zatim je svoju prijestolnicu smjestio u kanaanski grad. U skladu s politikom kompromisa s Kanaancima, David je predao sedam Šaulovih potomaka Gibeoncima da budu obješeni.
97:9.13 (1073.3)
David explained Saul’s defeat at Gilboa by pointing out that Saul had attacked a Canaanite city, Gibeon, whose people had a peace treaty with the Ephraimites. Because of this, Yahweh forsook him. Even in Saul’s time David had defended the Canaanite city of Keilah against the Philistines, and then he located his capital in a Canaanite city. In keeping with the policy of compromise with the Canaanites, David turned seven of Saul’s descendants over to the Gibeonites to be hanged.
Davidov korumpirani politički sustav počeo je osobno prisvajati zemlju na sjeveru, kršeći hebrejske običaje, i ubrzo je preuzeo nadzor nad karavanskim pristojbama koje su ranije ubirali Filistejci. Uslijedio je niz zločina koji su kulminirali ubojstvom Urije. Sve sudske žalbe rješavale su se u Jeruzalemu; „starješine” više nisu mogle dijeliti pravdu. Nije čudo što je izbila pobuna. Danas bi se Abšalom mogao nazvati demagogom; njegova je majka bila Kanaanka. Bilo je pola tuceta pretendenata na prijestolje, osim Bat-Šebina sina—Salomona.
97:9.15 (1073.5)
David’s corrupt political machine began to get personal possession of land in the north in violation of the Hebrew mores and presently gained control of the caravan tariffs formerly collected by the Philistines. And then came a series of atrocities climaxed by the murder of Uriah. All judicial appeals were adjudicated at Jerusalem; no longer could “the elders” mete out justice. No wonder rebellion broke out. Today, Absalom might be called a demagogue; his mother was a Canaanite. There were a half dozen contenders for the throne besides the son of Bathsheba—Solomon.
Nakon Davidove smrti, Salomon je očistio politički sustav od svih sjevernih utjecaja, ali je nastavio svu tiraniju i oporezivanje režima svojega oca. Salomon je doveo narod do bankrota svojim raskošnim dvorom i opsežnim građevinskim programom: tu su bili Dom libanonske šume, palača faraonove kćeri, hram Jahvin, kraljevska palača te obnova zidina mnogih gradova. Salomon je stvorio veliku hebrejsku mornaricu, kojom su upravljali sirijski mornari i koja je trgovala sa cijelim svijetom. Njegov je harem brojao gotovo tisuću žena.
97:9.16 (1073.6)
After David’s death Solomon purged the political machine of all northern influences but continued all of the tyranny and taxation of his father’s regime. Solomon bankrupted the nation by his lavish court and by his elaborate building program: There was the house of Lebanon, the palace of Pharaoh’s daughter, the temple of Yahweh, the king’s palace, and the restoration of the walls of many cities. Solomon created a vast Hebrew navy, operated by Syrian sailors and trading with all the world. His harem numbered almost one thousand.
Do tada je Jahvin hram u Šilu bio diskreditiran, i cjelokupno je bogoslužje naroda bilo usredotočeno u Jebusu, u veličanstvenoj kraljevskoj kapeli. Sjeverno kraljevstvo vratilo se više štovanju Elohima. Uživali su naklonost faraona, koji su kasnije porobili Judu, stavljajući južno kraljevstvo pod danak.
97:9.17 (1073.7)
By this time Yahweh’s temple at Shiloh was discredited, and all the worship of the nation was centered at Jebus in the gorgeous royal chapel. The northern kingdom returned more to the worship of Elohim. They enjoyed the favor of the Pharaohs, who later enslaved Judah, putting the southern kingdom under tribute.
Bilo je uspona i padova—ratova između Izraela i Jude. Nakon četiri godine građanskog rata i tri dinastije, Izrael je pao pod vlast gradskih despota koji su počeli trgovati zemljom. Čak je i kralj Omri pokušao kupiti imanje Šemera. Ali kraj se brzo približavao kada je Šalmaneser III odlučio uspostaviti nadzor nad sredozemnom obalom. Kralj Ahab iz Efrajima okupio je još deset skupina i pružio otpor kod Karkara; bitka je završila neriješeno. Asirac je bio zaustavljen, ali su saveznici bili desetkovani. Ova velika bitka uopće se ne spominje u Starom zavjetu.
97:9.18 (1073.8)
There were ups and downs—wars between Israel and Judah. After four years of civil war and three dynasties, Israel fell under the rule of city despots who began to trade in land. Even King Omri attempted to buy Shemer’s estate. But the end drew on apace when Shalmaneser III decided to control the Mediterranean coast. King Ahab of Ephraim gathered ten other groups and resisted at Karkar; the battle was a draw. The Assyrian was stopped but the allies were decimated. This great fight is not even mentioned in the Old Testament.
Novi problemi započeli su kada je kralj Ahab pokušao kupiti zemlju od Nabota. Njegova fenička žena krivotvorila je Ahabovo ime na dokumentima kojima se naređivalo oduzimanje Nabotove zemlje pod optužbom da je hulio na imena „Elohima i kralja.” On i njegovi sinovi bili su odmah pogubljeni. Snažni Ilija pojavio se na sceni osuđujući Ahaba zbog ubojstva Nabota. Tako je Ilija, jedan od najvećih proroka, započeo svoje učenje kao branitelj drevnih zemljišnih običaja protiv stava Baalita koji su prodavali zemlju, protiv pokušaja gradova da zagospodare selom. Ali reforma nije uspjela sve dok se seoski zemljoposjednik Jehu nije udružio s nomadskim poglavicom Jonadabom kako bi uništio proroke (posrednike u prometu zemljištem) Baala u Samariji.
97:9.19 (1074.1)
New trouble started when King Ahab tried to buy land from Naboth. His Phoenician wife forged Ahab’s name to papers directing that Naboth’s land be confiscated on the charge that he had blasphemed the names of “Elohim and the king.” He and his sons were promptly executed. The vigorous Elijah appeared on the scene denouncing Ahab for the murder of the Naboths. Thus Elijah, one of the greatest of the prophets, began his teaching as a defender of the old land mores as against the land-selling attitude of the Baalim, against the attempt of the cities to dominate the country. But the reform did not succeed until the country landlord Jehu joined forces with the gypsy chieftain Jehonadab to destroy the prophets (real estate agents) of Baal at Samaria.
Novi život pojavio se kada su Jehoaš i njegov sin Jeroboam oslobodili Izrael od njegovih neprijatelja. Ali u to je vrijeme u Samariji vladalo gangstersko plemstvo čija su pustošenja bila ravna onima Davidove dinastije iz ranijih dana. Država i crkva djelovale su ruku pod ruku. Pokušaj gušenja slobode govora naveo je Iliju, Amosa i Hošeu da započnu svoje tajno pisanje, i to je bio stvarni početak židovske i kršćanske Biblije.
97:9.20 (1074.2)
New life appeared as Jehoash and his son Jeroboam delivered Israel from its enemies. But by this time there ruled in Samaria a gangster-nobility whose depredations rivaled those of the Davidic dynasty of olden days. State and church went along hand in hand. The attempt to suppress freedom of speech led Elijah, Amos, and Hosea to begin their secret writing, and this was the real beginning of the Jewish and Christian Bibles.
Ali sjeverno kraljevstvo nije nestalo iz povijesti sve dok se kralj Izraela nije urotio s kraljem Egipta i odbio dalje plaćati danak Asiriji. Tada je započela trogodišnja opsada, nakon koje je uslijedilo potpuno raspršenje sjevernog kraljevstva. Efrajim (Izrael) tako je nestao. Juda—Židovi, „ostatak Izraela”—počeli su koncentrirati zemlju u rukama malobrojnih, kao što je rekao Izaija, „dodajući kuću kući i polje polju.” Uskoro je u Jeruzalemu postojao Baalov hram uz Jahvin hram. Ova vladavina terora završila je monoteističkom pobunom koju je predvodio dječak-kralj Joaš, koji je trideset i pet godina vodio borbu za Jahvea.
97:9.21 (1074.3)
But the northern kingdom did not vanish from history until the king of Israel conspired with the king of Egypt and refused to pay further tribute to Assyria. Then began the three years’ siege followed by the total dispersion of the northern kingdom. Ephraim (Israel) thus vanished. Judah—the Jews, the “remnant of Israel”—had begun the concentration of land in the hands of the few, as Isaiah said, “Adding house to house and field to field.” Presently there was in Jerusalem a temple of Baal alongside the temple of Yahweh. This reign of terror was ended by a monotheistic revolt led by the boy king Joash, who crusaded for Yahweh for thirty-five years.
Sljedeći kralj, Amazja, imao je problema s pobunjenim Edomcima koji su plaćali danak i njihovim susjedima. Nakon odlučne pobjede okrenuo se napadu na svoje sjeverne susjede, ali je doživio jednako odlučan poraz. Tada se seoski narod pobunio; ubili su kralja i postavili njegova šesnaestogodišnjeg sina na prijestolje. Bio je to Azarja, kojeg je Izaija nazivao Uzija. Nakon Uzije stvari su išle iz lošeg u gore, i Juda je stotinu godina opstajala plaćajući danak kraljevima Asirije. Prvi Izaija govorio im je da Jeruzalem, kao Jahvin grad, nikada neće pasti. Ali Jeremija nije oklijevao navijestiti njegov pad.
97:9.22 (1074.4)
The next king, Amaziah, had trouble with the revolting tax-paying Edomites and their neighbors. After a signal victory he turned to attack his northern neighbors and was just as signally defeated. Then the rural folk revolted; they assassinated the king and put his sixteen-year-old son on the throne. This was Azariah, called Uzziah by Isaiah. After Uzziah, things went from bad to worse, and Judah existed for a hundred years by paying tribute to the kings of Assyria. Isaiah the first told them that Jerusalem, being the city of Yahweh, would never fall. But Jeremiah did not hesitate to proclaim its downfall.
Stvarni pad Jude uzrokovala je korumpirana i bogata skupina političara koja je djelovala pod vlašću dječaka-kralja Manašea. Promjene u gospodarstvu pogodovale su povratku štovanja Baala, čiji su privatni zemljišni poslovi bili u suprotnosti s ideologijom Jahvea. Pad Asirije i uspon Egipta donijeli su Judi privremeno oslobođenje, i seoski je narod preuzeo vlast. Pod Jošijom su uništili jeruzalemsku skupinu korumpiranih političara.
97:9.23 (1074.5)
The real undoing of Judah was effected by a corrupt and rich ring of politicians operating under the rule of a boy king, Manasseh. The changing economy favored the return of the worship of Baal, whose private land dealings were against the ideology of Yahweh. The fall of Assyria and the ascendancy of Egypt brought deliverance to Judah for a time, and the country folk took over. Under Josiah they destroyed the Jerusalem ring of corrupt politicians.
Ali ovo je razdoblje završilo tragično kada je Jošija odlučio presresti moćnu vojsku Nehoa dok se kretala uz obalu iz Egipta kako bi pomogla Asiriji protiv Babilona. Bio je potpuno poražen, i Juda je došla pod danak Egiptu. Baalitska politička stranka ponovno je došla na vlast u Jeruzalemu, i tako je započelo pravo egipatsko ropstvo. Uslijedilo je razdoblje u kojem su baalitski političari nadzirali i sudove i svećenstvo. Štovanje Baala bilo je gospodarski i društveni sustav koji se bavio pravima vlasništva, kao i plodnošću tla.
97:9.24 (1074.6)
But this era came to a tragic end when Josiah presumed to go out to intercept Necho’s mighty army as it moved up the coast from Egypt for the aid of Assyria against Babylon. He was wiped out, and Judah went under tribute to Egypt. The Baal political party returned to power in Jerusalem, and thus began the real Egyptian bondage. Then ensued a period in which the Baalim politicians controlled both the courts and the priesthood. Baal worship was an economic and social system dealing with property rights as well as having to do with soil fertility.
Nakon što je Nabukodonozor porazio Nehoa, Juda je pala pod vlast Babilona i dobila deset godina milosti, ali se ubrzo pobunila. Kada je Nabukodonozor krenuo protiv njih, Judejci su započeli društvene reforme, poput oslobađanja robova, kako bi pridobili Jahvinu naklonost. Kada se babilonska vojska privremeno povukla, Hebreji su se radovali misleći da ih je njihova magija reformi izbavila. Upravo je u tom razdoblju Jeremija upozorio na nadolazeću propast, i ubrzo se Nabukodonozor vratio.
97:9.25 (1075.1)
With the overthrow of Necho by Nebuchadnezzar, Judah fell under the rule of Babylon and was given ten years of grace, but soon rebelled. When Nebuchadnezzar came against them, the Judahites started social reforms, such as releasing slaves, to influence Yahweh. When the Babylonian army temporarily withdrew, the Hebrews rejoiced that their magic of reform had delivered them. It was during this period that Jeremiah told them of the impending doom, and presently Nebuchadnezzar returned.
U Babilonu su Židovi došli do zaključka da ne mogu opstati kao mala skupina u Palestini, zadržavajući svoje posebne društvene i gospodarske običaje, te da, ako njihove ideologije žele prevladati, moraju obratiti pogane. Tako je nastao njihov novi pojam sudbine—ideja da Židovi moraju postati izabrani služitelji Jahvea. Židovska religija Starog zavjeta zapravo se razvila u Babilonu tijekom sužanjstva.
97:9.27 (1075.3)
In Babylon the Jews arrived at the conclusion that they could not exist as a small group in Palestine, having their own peculiar social and economic customs, and that, if their ideologies were to prevail, they must convert the gentiles. Thus originated their new concept of destiny—the idea that the Jews must become the chosen servants of Yahweh. The Jewish religion of the Old Testament really evolved in Babylon during the captivity.
Doktrina besmrtnosti također je poprimila svoj oblik u Babilonu. Židovi su smatrali da ideja budućeg života umanjuje naglasak njihova evanđelja društvene pravde. Sada je po prvi put teologija potisnula sociologiju i ekonomiju. Religija je poprimala oblik kao sustav ljudske misli i ponašanja, sve više odvojen od politike, sociologije i ekonomije.
97:9.28 (1075.4)
The doctrine of immortality also took form at Babylon. The Jews had thought that the idea of the future life detracted from the emphasis of their gospel of social justice. Now for the first time theology displaced sociology and economics. Religion was taking shape as a system of human thought and conduct more and more to be separated from politics, sociology, and economics.
Njihovi su vođe učili Izraelce da su izabrani narod, ne radi posebnih povlastica ili monopola nad božanskom naklonošću, nego radi posebne službe prenošenja istine o jednom Bogu svim narodima. I obećali su Židovima da će, ako ispune ovu sudbinu, postati duhovni vođe svih naroda, i da će nadolazeći Mesija vladati nad njima i nad cijelim svijetom kao Knez Mira.
97:10.1 (1075.6)
Their leaders had taught the Israelites that they were a chosen people, not for special indulgence and monopoly of divine favor, but for the special service of carrying the truth of the one God over all to every nation. And they had promised the Jews that, if they would fulfill this destiny, they would become the spiritual leaders of all peoples, and that the coming Messiah would reign over them and all the world as the Prince of Peace.
Kada su Židovi bili oslobođeni od strane Perzijanaca, vratili su se u Palestinu samo da bi pali u ropstvo vlastitog sustava zakona, žrtava i obreda kojim je upravljalo svećenstvo. I kao što su hebrejska plemena odbacila veličanstvenu priču o Bogu predstavljenu u Mojsijevom oproštajnom govoru u korist obreda žrtve i pokore, tako su i ovi ostaci hebrejskog naroda odbacili uzvišeni pojam drugog Izaije u korist pravila, propisa i obreda svojega rastućeg svećenstva.
97:10.2 (1075.7)
When the Jews had been freed by the Persians, they returned to Palestine only to fall into bondage to their own priest-ridden code of laws, sacrifices, and rituals. And as the Hebrew clans rejected the wonderful story of God presented in the farewell oration of Moses for the rituals of sacrifice and penance, so did these remnants of the Hebrew nation reject the magnificent concept of the second Isaiah for the rules, regulations, and rituals of their growing priesthood.
Nacionalni egoizam, lažna vjera u pogrešno shvaćenog obećanog Mesiju te sve veće ropstvo i tiranija svećenstva zauvijek su utišali glasove duhovnih vođa (izuzev Daniela, Ezekiela, Hagaja i Malahije); i od toga dana pa sve do vremena Ivana Krstitelja cijeli je Izrael doživljavao sve veće duhovno nazadovanje. Ali Židovi nikada nisu izgubili pojam Oca Svih; čak su i u dvadesetom stoljeću nakon Krista nastavili slijediti ovo poimanje Božanstva.
97:10.3 (1075.8)
National egotism, false faith in a misconceived promised Messiah, and the increasing bondage and tyranny of the priesthood forever silenced the voices of the spiritual leaders (excepting Daniel, Ezekiel, Haggai, and Malachi); and from that day to the time of John the Baptist all Israel experienced an increasing spiritual retrogression. But the Jews never lost the concept of the Universal Father; even to the twentieth century after Christ they have continued to follow this Deity conception.
Od Mojsija do Ivana Krstitelja protezao se neprekinuti niz vjernih učitelja koji su prenosili monoteističku baklju svjetla s jednog naraštaja na drugi, dok su neprestano ukoravali nesavjesne vladare, osuđivali svećenike koji su komercijalizirali religiju i uvijek poticali narod da ostane vjeran štovanju vrhovnog Jahvea, Gospoda Boga Izraela.
97:10.4 (1076.1)
From Moses to John the Baptist there extended an unbroken line of faithful teachers who passed the monotheistic torch of light from one generation to another while they unceasingly rebuked unscrupulous rulers, denounced commercializing priests, and ever exhorted the people to adhere to the worship of the supreme Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel.
Kao narod, Židovi su naposljetku izgubili svoj politički identitet, ali hebrejska religija iskrene vjere u jednog Boga svih ljudi nastavlja živjeti u srcima raspršenih prognanika. I ova religija opstaje jer je učinkovito služila očuvanju najviših vrijednosti svojih sljedbenika. Židovska religija doista je očuvala ideale jednoga naroda, ali nije uspjela potaknuti napredak ni ohrabriti filozofska i kreativna otkrića u područjima istine. Židovska religija imala je mnogo nedostataka—bila je manjkava u filozofiji i gotovo lišena estetskih kvaliteta—ali je očuvala moralne vrijednosti; stoga je opstala. Vrhovni Jahve, u usporedbi s drugim poimanjima Božanstva, bio je jasno određen, živopisan, osoban i moralan.
97:10.5 (1076.2)
As a nation the Jews eventually lost their political identity, but the Hebrew religion of sincere belief in the one and universal God continues to live in the hearts of the scattered exiles. And this religion survives because it has effectively functioned to conserve the highest values of its followers. The Jewish religion did preserve the ideals of a people, but it failed to foster progress and encourage philosophic creative discovery in the realms of truth. The Jewish religion had many faults—it was deficient in philosophy and almost devoid of aesthetic qualities—but it did conserve moral values; therefore it persisted. The supreme Yahweh, as compared with other concepts of Deity, was clear-cut, vivid, personal, and moral.
Židovi su voljeli pravdu, mudrost, istinu i pravednost kao rijetko koji narod, ali su najmanje od svih naroda doprinijeli intelektualnom razumijevanju i duhovnom shvaćanju ovih božanskih kvaliteta. Iako je hebrejska teologija poći stazom proširenja, odigrala je važnu ulogu u razvoju dviju drugih svjetskih religija, kršćanstva i islama.
97:10.6 (1076.3)
The Jews loved justice, wisdom, truth, and righteousness as have few peoples, but they contributed least of all peoples to the intellectual comprehension and to the spiritual understanding of these divine qualities. Though Hebrew theology refused to expand, it played an important part in the development of two other world religions, Christianity and Mohammedanism.
Židovska religija opstala je i zahvaljujući svojim institucijama. Religiji je teško opstati kao privatna praksa izoliranih pojedinaca. To je oduvijek bila pogreška religijskih vođa: videći zla institucionalizirane religije, nastoje uništiti način zajedničkog djelovanja. Umjesto da unište svaki oblik obreda, bilo bi bolje da ga reformiraju. U tom je pogledu Ezekiel bio mudriji od svojih suvremenika; premda je zajedno s njima inzistirao na osobnoj moralnoj odgovornosti, također je radio na uspostavljanju vjernog pridržavanja uzvišenijeg i pročišćenog oblika obreda.
97:10.7 (1076.4)
The Jewish religion persisted also because of its institutions. It is difficult for religion to survive as the private practice of isolated individuals. This has ever been the error of the religious leaders: Seeing the evils of institutionalized religion, they seek to destroy the technique of group functioning. In place of destroying all ritual, they would do better to reform it. In this respect Ezekiel was wiser than his contemporaries; though he joined with them in insisting on personal moral responsibility, he also set about to establish the faithful observance of a superior and purified ritual.
Tako su uzastopni učitelji Izraela ostvarili najveći pothvat u razvoju religije ikada postignut na Urantiji: postupnu, ali stalnu preobrazbu barbarskog poimanja divljačkog demonskog Jahvea, ljubomornog i okrutnog boga-duha gromovitog sinajskog vulkana, u kasniji uzvišeni i nadnaravni pojam vrhovnog Jahvea, stvoritelja svega i Oca punog ljubavi i milosrđa za cijelo čovječanstvo. Taj je hebrejski pojam Boga bio najviša ljudska predodžba Oca Svih do toga vremena, a zatim je dalje proširen i izvanredno produbljen osobnim učenjima i životnim primjerom njegova Sina, Mihaela od Nebadona.
97:10.8 (1076.5)
And thus the successive teachers of Israel accomplished the greatest feat in the evolution of religion ever to be effected on Urantia: the gradual but continuous transformation of the barbaric concept of the savage demon Yahweh, the jealous and cruel spirit god of the fulminating Sinai volcano, to the later exalted and supernal concept of the supreme Yahweh, creator of all things and the loving and merciful Father of all mankind. And this Hebraic concept of God was the highest human visualization of the Universal Father up to that time when it was further enlarged and so exquisitely amplified by the personal teachings and life example of his Son, Michael of Nebadon.