Freedom and the Bible

I have recently been thinking about the idea of freedom and how it applies to the bible. It seems to me that the freedom God is supposed to give is not as open ended as it seems. Freedom is the right to do what you want when you want withing the bounds of common sense and basic human rights, like the right to life. In many places in the Hebrew Bible it seems like God is giving the Jews freedom but to me it seems more like God is giving the Jews conditional freedom, rather than unconditional freedom.

One of the biggest examples of this is when God frees the Jews from Egypt. At first glance it seems like God is freeing the Jews entirely and without reserve. But when you look closer you find that everything is not quite as it seems. Firstly, God waits a very long time before actually freeing the Jews. It is quite obvious, from what He has done in the past, such as destroying Sodom, and causing the great flood, that He could have just waved his hand and with very little effort, freed the Jews much sooner than He did. It seems like He waited so that the Jews would be in enough despair that they would do what he asked without questioning it at all. After He gets them out of Egypt he then starts to lay down laws that everyone has to follow. While the ten commandments do seem like just a restatement of basic human rights, the laws he puts forth after that are all about exactly how one should live. These laws effectively control the Jewish people and seems just like another form of slavery.

I do not know if this is right but with everything that is happening in the government these days it bears to keep this in mind.

The Cons of Not Showing Up

I have found, though both personal experience and observation, that if you say you are going to be somewhere at sometime, it is best if you honor your word. This applies to many things. Things like doctors appointments, sporting events, just hanging with friends, and even being in class every day class is held and being on time for it. When you keep to your word the benefits are very good. they include things like respect, influence, and not having to take finals.

 

But I am not the only one that has seen the benefits to showing up on time at the right place. There are a number of times in the Hebrew bible that God rewards those who go where He asks them to go when he asks them. the first is Abraham. God tells Abraham to take hi son, Isaac, and go to the top of a mountain and sacrifice him to God. Instead of complaining and not going or going late, he does what God asks and is rewarded by having a golden ram show up and take the place of his son.

The second person is Lot. When Lot was in the city of Sodom, he was told by God to leave. Lot listened to God and because he left when God asked him to he survived God destroying Sodom

The final person is an example of what happens when a person does not show up when asked. This person is Jonah. Jonah was asked by God to go to the city of Nineveh and warn them that they were being wicked and if they did not stop God would destroy them. Johan did not want to go. So he boarded a ship and tried to sail in the opposite direction. God punished Jonah by having him swallowed by a whale for three days and nights. If he had listened to God he would not have been punished so.

This is why it is good to show up where we have said we would and at the time we have said.