Examining Vengeance, Essay Example

In many religious traditions, the sanctity of worship requires strict adherence to the laws of the deity.  To break these laws usually means that the god’s wrath will be incurred, and warning is given through a worthy vessel or prophet.  Surrounded by those who have forsaken the god, this prophet must take extreme measures in spreading his message, which is an accusation of the tradition’s highest priests and leaders of blasphemy.  In examining the 8^th chapter of the Hebrew Bible’s Book of Ezekiel and lines from the Nineveh Oracles, we find gods that reward the obedient with salvation while ruthlessly punishing the wicked.

In both passages, the vengeful god is represented by the ancient and powerful image of fire.  In Ezekiel, the prophet describes the Holy Spirit as “…the appearance of fire:  from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire; and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber” (verse 2). Correspondingly, the Oracle’s god “… appeared as a fiery glow from the gate of heaven” (lines 14 – 18).  Both passages reveal a deity that manifests itself in an image that will not only instill fear, but will act as a destructive or cleansing force, disposing of those who no longer choose to follow.  The fire image of the Oracle is the more assertive one, who claims “As you were standing in their midst, I removed them from your presence, drove them up the mountain and rained fire and brimstones upon them” (lines 18 – 24).   While awe-inspiring, the Hebrew god’s guides Ezekiel through the examples of sin among Jerusalem’s religious elite and foretells of the wrath to come, telling the prophet that he “… will deal in fury:  mine eye shall not see, neither will I have pity” (verse 18).   Both examples show a god that is jealous, and will tolerate no contention or replacement in the eyes of his people. These two communities are both accused of turning their back on the deity and either worshipping other gods or shunning the faithful. Ezikel was “brought …  in the visions of God” (verse 3) to see the priests of Jerusalem pay homage to an “image of jealousy” (verse 5), while the Oracle speaks of “traitors” who cast out the righteous prophet from their midst (lines 10 – 14).

Another strong piece of imagery in both texts is the use of the sky as the place of judgment.  Ezekiel’s god takes him “by a lock of [his] head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven” (verse 3), and the god of the Oracle “drove them up the mountain and rained fire and brimstone upon them” (lines 18 – 24).  It seems that the god in both examples removes himself from the physical earth to assert his dominance over man.  It is a display of power that is needed in order to remind the people that the god is all-powerful, all knowing, and jealous.

In examining their similarities, it is evident that the text of both Ezekiel and the Nineveh Oracle are meant to show that the failure to follow god’s laws is met with nothing less than the harshest punishment.  While man is free to make his own decisions through the gift of free will, the two passages display the consequences for choosing poorly.