Beware of flatterers, as well as their vain reasoning!

Beware of flatterers, as well as their vain reasoning!

No matter if he be Jew or Gentile, Hebrew Scriptures depicts the accursed man as one who chooses to despise God’s commandments, in order to stubbornly follow the “self indulging flattery” (or “vain reasoning”) of his own heart. As is written:
“Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the Lord their God. And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the Lord had charged them, that they should not do like them. And they left all the commandments of the Lord their God …”- 2 Kings 17: 14-16, King James Bible;
“... turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain”- 1 Samuel 12: 21, King James Bible
“… they made Israel to sin, in provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their vanities ”- 1 Kings 16: 13, King James Bible
“O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? ”- Psalm 4: 2, King James Bible
“ Surely God will not hear vanity, neither will the Almighty regard it ”- Job 35: 13, King James Bible
“ Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompence ”- Job 15: 31, King James Bible
“ I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the Lord ”- Psalm 31: 6, King James Bible
“ The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity ”- Psalm 94: 11, King James Bible

The effect that, upon Divine truth, have large crowds and number of followers

Is God (and Divine truth) to be found in the ideas commonly shared by a large number of peoples? Is safe guidance to be found in the social tendencies of the general population? Should the believer stick to the opinion of those whom the crowds have elevated to the status of “experts”?
In other words,
-- Was Noah wrong simply because nobody else believed in a coming deluge?
-- Was Lot wrong for being the only citizen who disagree with the Sodomite lifestyle?
-- Were Moses and Aaron a pair of elderly fools, being the only Hebrew males daring to confront Pharaoh, telling him what he ought to do?
-- Were Joshua and Caleb a pair of idiots, pretending to know better than the whole Israelite assembly [of 600, 000 men! ] that wanted to turn back to Egypt?
-- Was Gideon a madman for being the only one to believe he could do with 300 men what was already impossible for 32, 000 men (conquering the immense Midianite army)?
-- Was Jonathan (King Saul’s son) wrong for being the only Israelite who believed that, when it comes to God bringing salvation and deliverance, numbers are simply irrelevant (“And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the Lord will work for us: for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few”- 1 Samuel 14: 6, King James Bible)?
-- Was Jeremiah a false prophet, for being the only one preaching that Judah would be destroyed unless it placed it’s neck under the joke of the pagan Babylonian king? (“And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the Lord, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand”- Jeremiah 27: 8).
Thus, we see that Divine truth has little to do with numbers. In fact, the more lofty and holy a particular thing is [a particular theology, a particular person, a particular lifestyle, a particular scripture, a particular tradition, etc) the fewer people will rally around it (“It’s lonely at the top, but it is worth the effort, as you will surely like the view! ”).

God’s Law states that, when a thing has become impure (unacceptable to God), it can be made pure again by water. And, if the thing is just too hard (or “metal-like”), it can be made pure instead with fire. What moral teaching is Torah trying to convey with the former allegory? That, when a man’s heart has become impure [by sin], it can be made pure again by water [the latter being a symbol of the watery tears of sincere repentance]. And, if his heart is just too hard to shed any tears, it can always be softened [and thereby purified] by the “the fire” of suffering and chastisement

Josué, el profeta que habrí a de venir

Moisé s dijo que, despué s que acabase su ministerio, Yah levantarí a (designarí a) otro profeta: «Profeta les levantaré de en medio de sus hermanos, como tú; y pondré mis palabras en su boca, y é l les hablará todo lo que Yo le mandare. Mas a cualquiera que no oyere mis palabras que é l hablare en mi nombre, yo le pediré cuenta» (Deuteronomio 18: 18-19). Note que la promesa era que el profeta serí a “como Moisé s”. Esto significa que ese profeta harí a las mismas cosas que hizo Moisé s. ¿ Cuales fueron esas cosas? Veamos,

1) Moisé s tenia dos padres bioló gicos
2) Moisé s dividió las aguas (en el mar Rojo)
3) Moisé s venció a los enemigos de Israel (Faraó n y su ejercito)
4) Moisé s fue el supremo caudillo, y lí der de los Israelitas (designando el lugar de cada tribu, con respecto al arca, durante su marcha por el desierto)
5) Dios castigo pú blicamente a quienes desobedecieron a Moisé s (por ejemplo, a Coré )
6) Moisé s escribió mandamientos y ordenanzas para Israel.

Ese profeta que habrí a de suceder a Moisé s, no era otro sino Josué, el hijo de Nun. ¿ Como estar absolutamente seguros? ¿ Hizo Josué las mismas cosas que hizo Moisé s? ¡ Por supuesto que si! Verifiqué moslas una por una:

1) Josue tenia dos padres bioló gicos
2) Josué dividió las aguas (del rí o Jordá n)- Josué 3: 7, & 14-16
3) Josué venció a los enemigos de Israel (conquistando tanto a Jericó, como a las naciones Cananeas)- Josué 6: 24
4) Josué fue el supremo caudillo y lí der de los Israelitas (al punto de ser quien le distribuyo a cada tribu la tierra que habrí an de habitar) - Josué 23: 4
5) Dios castigo pú blicamente a quienes desobedecieron a Josué (Acá n y su familia)- Josué 7: 19-26
6) Josué escribió mandamientos y ordenanzas para Israel- Josué 24: 25-26

Así, Josué fue el profeta prometido por Dios; y, al igual que sucedió con Moisé s, el libro que acompañ ó el ministerio profé tico de Josué, fue el libro de la Ley (cuyo fundamento son los diez mandamientos). Y es por eso que, el mensaje del profeta Josué, fue el siguiente: «NUNCA SE APARTARÁ DE TU BOCA ESTE LIBRO DE LA TORAH, sino que de dí a y de noche meditará s en é l, PARA QUE GUARDES Y HAGAS CONFORME A TODO LO QUE EN É L ESTÁ ESCRITO; porque entonces hará s prosperar tu camino, y todo te saldrá bien.