A MORE COMPLETE EXPLANATION...


Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, there is a sharp contrast made between Gd on one hand, and human beings on the other. First of all, there is always a reprimand against any human being who claims to be Gd, or Divine, as we read in Ezekiel 28:2:


Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Eternal Gd; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am Gd, I sit in the seat of Gd, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not Gd, though thou set thine heart as the heart of Gd: [Ezekiel 28:2]


Then there is the verse from Hosea in which Gd specifically tells us that Gd is not a human being:


I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am Gd and not a man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city. [Hosea 11:9]


In Numbers 23:19, Gd specifically tells us that if Gd were a human being, then He would be a liar, as all human beings do lie on occasion. Furthermore, this verse tells us that if Gd were a human being, He would be in need of repentance because all human beings sin at some point in their lives. Finally, this verse also tells us that if Gd were a human being, then He would make promises, but not keep them:


Gd is not a man that he should lie; neither the Son of Man that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? [Numbers 23:19]


Gd is the same, Gd does not lie, and Gd is Gd and Human Beings are Human Beings, and Gd does not become a Human Being, and Human Beings do not become Gd.


There are three Jewish Holy Days that express this idea.


Let us take a look at Passover, first. Passover is the celebration of the Exodus of the Jews from slavery in Egypt. Gd brought the Jews out of slavery by performing miracles, which were in the form of plagues. These plagues were not against the Egyptians, as most people think. They were actually against the gods of the Egyptians, as we are explicitly told in Exodus:


For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Etrnl. [Exodus 12:12]


The Egyptians worshipped the Nile, but Moses, on behalf of Gd, struck the Nile and it bled. The Egyptians worshipped the Sun, Ra. But one of the plagues of Gd was darkness for three days. The plagues of the locusts and the hail which destroyed the crops were against the Egyptian gods of the harvest. Finally the last plague was against the first-born sons who became the priests of these Egyptian gods. Remember that the Pharaoh was held to be a god by the Egyptians. That is why the Biblical text in Exodus 11:5 tells us that the plague of the death of the firstborn went all the way to the throne of Pharaoh.


And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts. [Exodus 11:5]


The holiday of Passover has a way of saying, "Sorry, Pharaoh, you are not Gd!"


The next holiday we will look at is Chanukah. Antiochus of Syria wanted to unify his empire by making all of the inhabitants of his empire into Hellenists, followers of Zeus. But the Jews refused, of course, because they believed in only One Gd. Antiochus saw this as insurrection, and began persecuting the Jews. Antiochus called himself Antiochus Epiphanes, which means, "Antiochus who is Gd manifested." The holiday of Chanukah through commemorating the Maccabbees’ rebellion is a way of saying, "Sorry, Antiochus, you are not Gd!"


Finally, let us look at Purim, the holiday that celebrates the events of the Biblical book of Esther. In this story, there is a character named Haman (boo! hiss!). He hated the Jews because the Jewish hero, Mordechai, would not bow down to him. The holiday of Purim has a way of saying, "Sorry, Haman (boo! hiss!), you are not Gd!"


These three holidays each has as a part of its themes, the idea that Gd is Gd, humans are humans, and Gd does not become a human, and humans do not become Gd.


Perhaps the pagan idea of confusing Gd and man also explains the joining of Gd and man through the Christian belief in the Virgin Birth, that Mary became pregnant without the sex act. Numerous gods and heroes in the ancient world were the product of a human mother and a god for a father. As we have noted elsewhere in this website, Hercules’ mother was the human woman Alcmene and his father was Zeus. Dionysus’ human mother was Semele and his father was Zeus. Perseus’ human mother was Danae and his father was Zeus. As a matter of fact, Zeus made Danae pregnant without the sex act, and therefore her pregnancy was a form of a virgin birth.


Basic to the faith of the Bible and of the Jewish People is the distinction between Gd and man, a distinction which is not found in Christianity. This confusion, the mixing of Man with gods, was common in the ancient pagan world.