Waswe, Iumi Savve Worshipim God Long Eni Wei Nomoa?
“RELIGION hem big samting long olketa man.” Hem nao samting wea Professor Alister Hardy talem long disfala buk The Spiritual Nature of Man. Wanfala research wea olketa duim no longtaem go nomoa faendemaot diswan hem tru samting. Olketa faendemaot hao samting olsem 86 pipol long evri 100 pipol long world, olketa savve duim worship.
Disfala research faendemaot tu hao pipol hia insaed long 19-fala big religion long world and pipol wea sei olketa Christian insaed long samting olsem 37,000 difren grup. Taem iu tingim datwan, waswe, iu tingse God hapi long evri difren kaen wei for worship hia? Waswe, iumi savve worshipim God long eni wei nomoa?
From worship hem barava important samting, iumi mas no disaedem datwan followim tingting bilong iumiseleva. Iumi mas savve long tingting bilong God abaotem datwan. For duim olsem iumi mas lukluk long Bible. Why nao olsem? From Jesus Christ nao talem olsem abaotem Word bilong God: “Toktok bilong iu nao tru.” (John 17:17) Aposol Paul tu hem talem: “Evri scripture hem kam from God and hem gud for teachim man, for givim kaonsel, for stretem evri samting.”—2 Timothy 3:16.
Bible showimaot hao God no hapi long evri worship wea pipol duim. Sapos iumi lukluk long olketa samting wea happen bifor, bae iumi luksavve wanem kaen worship nao God hapi long hem and worship wea hem no hapi long hem. Taem iumi duim olsem, bae iumi savve wanem nao iumi mas duim and no duim for God hapi long iumi.
Samting wea Happen Bifor
Jehovah God iusim profet Moses for givim olketa Israelite olketa law wea lanem olketa hao for worshipim God and mekem hem hapi. Taem olketa followim datfala Law bilong Moses, God hem hapi long olketa and hem blessim olketa. (Exodus 19:5, 6) Nomata olketa kasem staka blessing, olketa Israelite no gohed for duim worship wea God hapi long hem. Plande taem olketa no worshipim Jehovah bat olketa followim religion bilong pipol wea stap raonem olketa.
Long taem bilong profet Ezekiel and Jeremiah, staka Israelite no obeyim Law bilong God and olketa start for fren witim pipol long olketa kantri wea stap klosap long olketa. Taem olketa Israelite followim kastom bilong pipol hia and join insaed olketa festival bilong olketa, olketa mixim nao worship bilong olketa. Staka Israelite talem olsem: “Iumi mas worshipim wood and ston mekem iumi olsem pipol long olketa nara ples.” (Ezekiel 20:32; Jeremiah 2:28) Olketa sei olketa worshipim Jehovah God, bat olketa worshipim olketa “rabis idol,” and sakrifaesim olketa pikinini bilong olketa tu.—Ezekiel 23:37-39; Jeremiah 19:3-5.
Pipol wea studyim olketa oldfala samting talem hao diskaen worship hem wei for worshipim olketa difren god long semtaem. From plande difren religion stap distaem, staka pipol tingse hem gud nomoa for acceptim evri samting, nomata olketa religion tu. Dastawe olketa tingse hem olraet nomoa for worshipim God long eni wei nomoa. Hao, kaen tingting olsem hem stret? Waswe, wei for worshipim God hem minim for acceptim enikaen wei for worship? Tingim samfala samting abaotem religion wea olketa Israelite followim taem olketa no obeyim Jehovah and samting wea kamaot from datwan.
Olketa Israelite Mixim Worship Bilong Olketa
Olketa main ples wea olketa Israelite duim kaen worship olsem, hem nao long olketa “hae ples,” wea hem nao ples wea garem olketa altar, incense, ston post, and timba post. Luk olsem olketa timba post hia stand for Asherah, wanfala woman god bilong olketa Canaanite. Staka ples olsem nao stap long Judah. Long 2 Kings 23:5, 8 hem storyim olketa “hae ples long olketa taon long Judah and olketa long Jerusalem, . . . from Geba [spialaen long north] go kasem Beer-sheba [spialaen long south].”
Long olketa hae ples hia, olketa Israelite “bonem olketa sakrifaes long Baal, long sun and moon and olketa star long zodiac and long evri army long skae.” “Insaed long haos bilong Jehovah” olketa wakem olketa haos for olketa “jury man,” and olketa bonem tu pikinini bilong olketa olsem sakrifaes “long Molech.”—2 Kings 23:4-10.
Pipol wea studyim olketa oldfala samting faendem staka handred smol idol wea olketa wakem long clay insaed olketa haos bilong pipol long Jerusalem and Judah bifor. Klosap evri idol hia hem woman wea naked wea garem bigfala susu. Olketa savveman talem hao olketa idol hia piksarem olketa woman god, Ashtoreth and Asherah. Olketa tingse olketa idol hia savve “mekem man garem staka pikinini.”
Wanem nao tingting bilong olketa Israelite abaotem olketa ples hia for duim kaen worship olsem? Wanfala savveman Ephraim Stern long Hebrew University sei luk olsem staka long olketa hae ples hia olketa “dedicatem long Yahweh [Jehovah].” Luk olsem olketa raeting wea olketa faendem showimaot datwan. Wanfala raeting hem talem olsem, “Mi blessim iu (long nem bilong) Yahweh long Samaria witim asherah bilong hem,” and nara raeting moa hem talem olsem, “Mi blessim iu (long nem bilong) Yahweh long Teman witim asherah bilong hem!”
Olketa samting olsem showimaot hao olketa Israelite mixim klinfala worship bilong olketa long Jehovah God witim olketa rabis samting bilong heathen. Datwan barava spoelem wei bilong olketa and worship bilong olketa. Wanem nao tingting bilong God abaotem kaen worship olsem?
Tingting Bilong God Abaotem Wei for Mixim Worship
God kros tumas long olketa Israelite from olketa worship olsem, and hem iusim profet Ezekiel for talem olsem: “Long evri ples wea iufala stap olketa taon bae finis and olketa hae ples tu bae emti, mekem olketa taon and olketa hae ples bae nomoa nao and olketa altar bilong iufala bae pisis and olketa rabis idol bilong iufala bae nomoa tu. And olketa bae katem daon olketa post bilong iufala for putim incense long hem and evri samting wea iufala duim bae finis nao.” (Ezekiel 6:6) Datfala toktok showimaot hao Jehovah barava les and no hapi long kaen worship olsem.
Jehovah God talem finis nogud samting wea bae kasem olketa. Hem sei: “Mi bae sendem . . . Nebuchadrezzar, king bilong Babylon, wea hem wakman bilong mi. Mi bae sendem olketa for kam faetem disfala kantri and pipol wea stap long hem. Olketa bae faetem tu olketa nation wea stap raonem olketa; and mi bae finisim olketa . . . And disfala full ples mas barava finis.” (Jeremiah 25:9-11) Long 607 B.C.E., olketa samting hia happen. Olketa long Babylon kam finisim Jerusalem and temple long there.
Datfala savveman Ephraim Stern wea iumi storyim finis, hem talem hao samting wea olketa faendem hem fitim “samting wea Bible talem (2 Kings 25:8; 2 Chronicles 36:18-19) abaotem taem wea olketa finisim datfala taon, wei wea hem bone, and olketa haos and wall foldaon.” Hem talem moa: “Olketa samting wea olketa faendem abaotem wanem hem happen long Jerusalem bifor . . . hem staka winim eni nara ples wea Bible storyim.”
Wanem Nao Iumi Lanem?
Barava important samting wea iumi lanem from diswan nao, God nating hapi long worship wea man mixim teaching long Bible witim olketa kastom, or witim teaching bilong olketa narafala religion. Diswan hem samting wea aposol Paul barava luksavve long hem. Hem smol kam olsem wanfala Jew wea followim religion bilong olketa Pharisee and hem skulim olketa law bilong datfala religion. Taem hem luksavve Jesus nao datfala Messiah, wanem nao hem duim? Hem talem olsem: “Long bifor olketa samting hia hem big samting long mi, bat mi willing for lusim olketa mekem mi followim Christ.” Hem no duim nao olketa samting wea hem duim bifor and hem strong for followim Christ.—Philippians 3:5-7
From Paul hem wanfala missionary wea savve gogo long olketa difren ples, hem savve long wei and tingting bilong pipol bilong olketa difren religion. Dastawe hem sei olsem long olketa Christian long Corinth: “Hao, laet savve stap witim darkness? And hao, Christ savve garem wan mind witim Belial? Or waswe, man wea biliv hem garem sem tingting olsem man wea no biliv? And hao, fitim temple bilong God for garem olketa idol? . . . Dastawe Jehovah hem sei: ‘Iufala mas lusim olketa, and iufala mas stap difren, and iufala mas no duim eni samting wea no klin. Sapos olsem, bae mi hapi long iufala.’”—2 Corinthians 6:14-17.
From iumi luksavve God no hapi long evri worship wea pipol duim, maet iumi ask olsem: ‘Wanem kaen worship nao God hapi long hem? Hao nao mi savve fren gud witim God? And wanem nao mi mas duim for mekem God hapi long worship bilong mi?’
Olketa Jehovah’s Witness hapi tumas for helpem iu kasem ansa long olketa kwestin hia and olketa nara kwestin wea iu garem abaotem Bible. Iu savve go lukim olketa Witness long Kingdom Hall wea klosap long iu or iu savve raet go long olketa wea pablisim disfala magasin for askem wanfala free Bible study long taem and ples wea fitim iu.
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Ples for worshipim olketa idol bifor, long Tel Arad, long Israel
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Garo Nalbandian
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Olketa Ashtoreth idol wea stap long olketa haos long Judah bifor
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Photograph © Israel Museum, Jerusalem; courtesy of Israel Antiquities Authority