Bible Question:
Did the Jews of Isaiah's day realize they were sinners? I know they were sinners and I know Isaiah told them they were sinners, I think they knew they were sinners, but a pastor told me he is convinced they did not think they were sinners. Did they not have a conscience and guilt feelings about something? |
Bible Answer: From http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/417253/jewish/Jewish-Guilt.htm "Jewish guilt" entered American literature half a century ago, and dozens of Woody Allen movies and Bernard Malamud novels later, the idea evokes a caricature of neurotic self-absorption: the Jewish father who, sixty years later, still blames all his son's failings on the fact that he couldn't afford the bicycle his kid wanted for his seventh birthday; the Jewish mother who's convinced that her failure to impress the shul president's wife marked her family as social outcasts for all generations; the Jewish rabbi who believes that all the world's troubles are caused by his own sins. Quite a self-centered, dismal and pessimistic view of the universe. In truth, it is a self-centered view, but in the most positive sense of the word. And rather than dismal and pessimistic, it is the most encouraging and optimistic perspective of reality in the history of human thought. Think about it: the notion that we, as creatures of choice, are responsible for all that occurs within our domain also implies that we do have control over what happens there, that our choices and actions do make a difference. The notion that even though my choices and actions overlap only a miniscule area of another person's life, and an even smaller area of human history, what I choose and do will profoundly influence the fate of the guy dancing on my roof, the achievements of the community of which I am a part, and the course of humanity's progress through time. What I choose and do will even make the difference between death and life, between failure and success. Of course this is the modern view from this website. But from God's Word, I would go to one of the best examples, King David in his prayer of repentance... Ps 51:1 Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. 4 Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight— That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge. We can always go to the least of anyone in a given race of people and their way of reacting to God and His Word. But don't you agree, we need to visualize the best in our world as was recognized about David in... Acts 13: 22 And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’ All human beings need to have a contrite heart as did David after sinning, indicating their repentance. There's good and bad in all people throughout all time. But we do need to be understanding and compassionate toward those who are a little slow about responding to God as they should. Our job is to be responsible for our own behavior. Now there's a few other major characters of whom I can think, in the OT indicating their desire to repent: Samson, Josiah, Ezra and Nehemiah. You can look up their stories and see for yourself. Go with God in all things, Bill |