Ammonite Deity
Sculptures
Ammonite sculpture of a deity was found at Rabbat Ammon.
8th-7th centuries B.C. M. Dayan Collection (Israel Museum)
The Ammonites
The Ammonites (sons of Ammon) according to the Bible originated because of an incestuous relationship between Lot (Abraham's nephew) and his younger daughter (Gen 19:38). Archaeology reveals that the Ammonites dwelt east of the Jordan River and settled there at the beginning of the 13th century B.C.
2 Chronicles 27:5 - He fought also with the king of the Ammonites, and prevailed against them. And the children of Ammon gave him the same year an hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand measures of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. So much did the children of Ammon pay unto him, both the second year, and the third.
The Ammonites in the Smith's Bible Dictionary
Ammon
(sons of renown, mountaineers), Am'monites, Children of Ammon, A
people descended from Ben-ammi, the son of Lot by his younger
daughter. Ge 19:38 comp Psal 83:7,8. The Ammonites are frequently
mentioned with the Moabites (descendants of Ben-ammi's
half-brother), and sometimes under the same name. Comp. Jud 10:6;
2Ch 20:1; Zep 2:8 etc. The precise position of the territory of the
Ammonites is not ascertainable. In the earliest mention of them, De
2:20 they are said to have dwelt in their place, Jabbok being their
border. Nu 21:24; De 2:37; 3:16 (i.e. Land or country is, however,
but rarely ascribed to them. Their capital city was Rabbath, called
also Rabbath Ammon on the Jabbok. We find everywhere traces of the
fierce habits of maranders in their incursions.) 1Sa 11:2; Am 1:13
and a very high degree of crafty cruelty to their toes. Jer 41:6,7;
Jud 17:11,12 Moab was the settled and civilized half of the nation
of Lot, and Ammon formed its predatory and Bedouin section. On the
west of Jordan they never obtained a footing. The hatred in which
the Ammonites were held by Israel is stated to have arisen partly
from their denial of assistance, De 23:4 to the Israelites on their
approach to Canaan. But whatever its origin the animosity continued
in force to the latest date. The tribe was governed by a king, Jud
11:12 etc.; 1Sa 12:12; 2Sa 10:1; Jer 40:14 and by "princes." 2Sa
10:3; 1Ch 19:3 The divinity of the tribe was Molech [MOLECH], and
they were gross idolaters.
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The Bible mentions a
lot regarding the Ammonites:
Jeremiah
41:10 - Then Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of
the people that [were] in Mizpah, [even] the king's daughters, and
all the people that remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain
of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam: and
Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive, and departed
to go over to the Ammonites.
2
Chronicles 27:5 - He fought also with the king of the
Ammonites, and prevailed against them. And the children of
Ammon gave him the same year an hundred talents of silver, and ten
thousand measures of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. So much did
the children of Ammon pay unto him, both the second year, and the
third.
Jeremiah
27:3 - And send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of
Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the
king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the
messengers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah;
Jeremiah
49:2 - Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD,
that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the
Ammonites; and it shall be a desolate heap, and her
daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel be heir unto
them that were his heirs, saith the LORD.
Ezekiel
21:28 - And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith
the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites, and concerning
their reproach; even say thou, The sword, the sword [is] drawn: for
the slaughter [it is] furbished, to consume because of the
glittering:
Ezra 9:1
- Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying,
The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not
separated themselves from the people of the lands, [doing] according
to their abominations, [even] of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the
Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the
Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.
Ezekiel
25:3 - And say unto the Ammonites, Hear the
word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou saidst,
Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the
land of Israel, when it was desolate; and against the house of
Judah, when they went into captivity;
Jeremiah
49:1 - Concerning the Ammonites, thus saith
the LORD; Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why [then] doth
their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in his cities?
1 Kings
11:1 - But king Solomon loved many strange women, together
with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites,
Edomites, Zidonians, [and] Hittites;
2
Chronicles 20:1 - It came to pass after this also, [that]
the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them
[other] beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat
to battle.
Deuteronomy 2:20 - (That also was accounted a land of
giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites
call them Zamzummims;
1 Samuel
11:11 - And it was [so] on the morrow, that Saul put the
people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the host
in the morning watch, and slew the Ammonites until the
heat of the day: and it came to pass, that they which remained were
scattered, so that two of them were not left together.
Jeremiah
40:11 - Likewise when all the Jews that [were] in Moab, and
among the Ammonites, and in Edom, and that [were] in
all the countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant
of Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam
the son of Shaphan;
Nehemiah
4:7 - But it came to pass, [that] when Sanballat, and Tobiah,
and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the
Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, [and]
that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth,
Jeremiah
40:14 - And said unto him, Dost thou certainly know that
Baalis the king of the Ammonites hath sent Ishmael the
son of Nethaniah to slay thee? But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam
believed them not.
2
Chronicles 26:8 - And the Ammonites gave gifts
to Uzziah: and his name spread abroad [even] to the entering in of
Egypt; for he strengthened [himself] exceedingly.
Ezekiel
25:5 - And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the
Ammonites a couchingplace for flocks: and ye shall
know that I [am] the LORD.
1 Kings
11:5 - For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the
Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
Ezekiel
21:20 - Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of
the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced.
Jeremiah
41:15 - But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from
Johanan with eight men, and went to the Ammonites.
Ezekiel
25:2 - Son of man, set thy face against the Ammonites,
and prophesy against them;
Ezekiel
25:10 - Unto the men of the east with the Ammonites,
and will give them in possession, that the Ammonites
may not be remembered among the nations.
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Heart Message
A WORD ABOUT IDOLS
"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of
Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no
other gods before me." It?s been
said, ?God made man in his own image, and then man
kindly returned the favor.? A good
working definition of an idol is anything that is loved
or feared more than God. It is a substitute or
replacement for true worship. Idols are
entreated for the protection, power, & blessing of
individuals and nations. From ancient times, and
continuing today, civilizations have been creating &
then worshipping false gods through the images, icons,
and statues. Temples, priesthoods, and elaborate systems
of worship shower them with honor. God severely condemns
this practice in scripture, since He is Creator of all
things and due all of mankind?s gratefulness for our
existence and the world He has given us to live. God
alone can give mankind the love, protection and blessing
that we desperately need. Consider
below the God?s Word through Isaiah the Prophet: "The LORD ,Not Idols "This is what the LORD says- Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come- yes, let him foretell what will come. Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one." All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Those who would speak up for them are blind; they are ignorant, to their own shame. Who shapes a god and casts an idol, which can profit him nothing? He and his kind will be put to shame; craftsmen are nothing but men. Let them all come together and take their stand; they will be brought down to terror and infamy. The blacksmith takes a tool and works with it in the coals; he shapes an idol with hammers, he forges it with the might of his arm. He gets hungry and loses his strength; he drinks no water and grows faint. The carpenter measures with a line and makes an outline with a marker; he roughs it out with chisels and marks it with compasses. He shapes it in the form of man, of man in all his glory, that it may dwell in a shrine. He cut down cedars, or perhaps took a cypress or oak. He let it grow among the trees of the forest, or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow. It is man's fuel for burning; some of it he takes and warms himself, he kindles a fire and bakes bread But he also fashions a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it. Half of the wood he burns in the fire; over it he prepares his meal, he roasts his meat and eats his fill. He also warms himself and says," Ah! I am warm; I see the fire." From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships. He prays to it and says, "Save me; you are my god." They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand. No one stops to think, no one has the knowledge or understanding to say, "Half of it I used for fuel; I even baked bread over its coals, I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?" He feeds on ashes, a deluded heart misleads him; he cannot save himself, or say, "Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?" "Remember these things, O Jacob for you are my servant, O Israel. I have made you, you are my servant; O Israel, I will not forget you. I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you." Isaiah 44:6-22
"The God who made the
world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and
earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And
he is not served by human hands, as if he needed
anything, because he himself gives all men life and
breath and everything else." Acts 17:24,25
The superstitions of idol worship
were not created without help. Scripture teaches that
idol worship is empowered by demons. The fallen spirit
world offers magic, threatens retaliation, and gives the
manifestations necessary to establish false religious
worship. Once established, shame and honor codes, ethnic
pride, and fear of family, neighbors and government are
enough to sustain the system. They must no longer offer any of their sacrifices to the goat idols or demons to whom they prostitute themselves. This is to be a lasting ordinance for them and for the generations to come.' Lev. 17:7
Do I mean then that a
sacrifice offered to an idol is anything, or that an
idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are
offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to
be participants with demons. 1Cor. 10:19,20 In the
Western world, we have our list of things that we love
or fear more than God, and we can make idols without
using a graven image. Here is a
short list of things we love or fear more than the One
True God. 1. Ourselves: Narcissism, our way, & our desires must come first. 2. The opposite sex, the pursuit of romance. The opposite sex was to be man?s second most important relationship, but it has become the first. 3. Money, and the pursuit of material blessings can keep one from a relationship God for entire lifetime. No matter how much you have, it is never enough. 4. Power & control can be an attempt to receive personal glory. 5. Material possessions, homes, cars, boats, jewelry. 6. Chemicals that synthesize the fullness and joy that God offers us. 7. Causes that we can devote and entire lifetime to, in place of a devotion to the living God and His cause. The list is endless. Any created thing can become an idol. Man?s root problem is the disconnection from his Holy and Powerful Creator. The bible tells us that the willful sin of the human race has separated us from the Lord and we are blinded to Him. As a beautiful rose picked from it?s stem, soon we wither and fade. We need to be rooted and grounded in God?s love. We are isolated, empty, angry, fearful and needy. Without a relationship to God our innate desire to worship leads us to god?s of our own making. All of our attempts to worship anything other than God turn out to be very disappointing and leave us empty, violated and addicted. Thankfully, the Lord has not left us in this desperate state, destined to spend our lives in pursuit of false gods that will never satisfy. Jesus the Messiah, has paid the ultimate price for our sin and shame. Through God?s sacrifice on our behalf, somehow, God has satisfied the demands of His own Holy Nature for perfect justice. We can come
home. We can worship the One True God. We can begin a
new life. Say ?Yes? to
God?s provision for you and come home to His love. After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. John 17:1-3
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