Surely ordinary people are only a breath. Important people are not what they seem to be. If they were weighed on a scale, they wouldn’t amount to anything. Together they are only a breath.
When their twigs are dry, they will be broken off. Then women will come and make fires with them. The people of Jacob don’t understand the Lord. So the God who made them won’t be concerned about them. Their Creator won’t be kind to them.
You took olive oil to the god named Molek. You took a lot of perfume along with you. You sent your messengers to places far away. You even sent them down to the place of the dead.
But Lord, you know all about their plans to kill me. Don’t forgive their crimes. Don’t erase their sins from your sight. Destroy my enemies. Punish them when the time to show your anger comes.
Some people enjoy pretending they aren’t proud. They worship angels. But don’t let people like that judge you. These people tell you every little thing about what they have seen. They are proud of their useless ideas. That’s because their minds are not guided by the Holy Spirit.
It is true that these rules seem wise. Because of them, people give themselves over to their own kind of worship. They pretend they are humble. They treat their bodies very badly. But rules like these don’t help. They don’t stop people from chasing after sinful pleasures.
Joshua said to the people, “You aren’t able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He won’t forgive you when you disobey him. He won’t forgive you when you sin against him.