The LORD, however, said to Moses: Do not fear him; for into your hand I deliver
him with all his forces and his land. You will do to him as you did to Sihon,
king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.
This verse is referring
to Og a great and terrible giant King.
OG (Heb. ×¢ֹ×’ ,עוֹ×’), ruler of Bashan,
one of the Amorite kings in the Transjordan area during the time of Moses. The
Bible remembers Og as belonging to the race of giants "who was left of the
remaining Rephaim," and special attention is paid to the description of
his huge iron bedstead (Deut. 3:11). The kingdom of Og comprised Bashan and the
Hermon region, and extended to the Jordan river to the west (Josh. 12:4–5).
Three or four of the cities of his kingdom are mentioned in the Bible – Ashtaroth,
which was apparently his capital and known as the capital of the realm From
this it would appear that his kingdom was one of the remaining Hyksos kingdoms
whose cities at that time were scattered in Palestine. It is also possible that
this kingdom was established by Amorites who invaded the area in the time of
the Egyptian-Hittite struggle during the reign of Ramses II (13th century). Og was defeated
by the Israelites when the eastern side of the Jordan was conquered by those
who left Egypt (Num. 21:33, 35; Deut. 3:1ff.). Half of the tribe of Manasseh
took Og's land as their inheritance (Josh. 13:31). This victory greatly
strengthened the spirit of the people. "Sixty towns … fortified with high
walls, gates, and bars" were then conquered (Deut. 3:4–5). Echoes of this
victory, which was of exceptional importance, are also encountered in later
passages (Josh. 13:12; Ps. 135:11; 136:20; Neh. 9:22).[1]
Three weeks prior to Ash
Wednesday, on the day before Septuagesima Sunday, a touching ceremony is held.
A choir assembles, chants the divine office and, afterwards, sings a
bittersweet hymn bidding farewell to the word
"Alleluia": We do not now
deserve to sing the Alleluia forever; Guilt forces us to dismiss you, O
Alleluia. For the time approaches in which we must weep for our sins.
So important was Lent to
both Eastern and Western Christians that they actually had a separate season to
prepare for it. Thus, the day after Septuagesima Sunday, they would begin a
period of voluntary fasting that would grow more severe as it approached the
full and obligatory fast of Lent. The amount of food would be reduced, and the
consumption of certain items, such as butter, milk, eggs, and cheese, would
gradually be abandoned. Starting on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday, this
self-imposed asceticism would culminate in abstinence from meat. Thus the name
for this seven-day period before Ash Wednesday is "Carnival,"
from the Latin carne levarium, meaning "removal of meat." Finally,
within the week of Carnival, the last three days (the three days prior to Lent)
would be reserved for going to confession. This period was known as "Shrovetide,"
from the old English word "to shrive," or to have one's sins forgiven
through absolution.
Devout Instructions[3]
WHY is this Sunday traditionally called Septuagesima? The word
means seventy. According to the First Council of Orleans, in the year A.D. 545,
many pious ecclesiastics and lay persons of the primitive Church used to fast seventy
days before Easter, and their fast was called, therefore, Septuagesima, a name which
was afterwards retained to distinguish this Sunday from others. The same was the
case with the three following Sundays; many Christians beginning their fast
sixty days before Easter, whence the name Sexagesima; others fifty days, whence
Quinquagesima; others forty days, whence Quadragesima.
Why did the first Christians fast seventy days? Alcuin and Amakrius
say that the captivity of the Jews in Babylon first suggested it; for as the Jews
were obliged to do penance seventy years, that they might thereby merit to return
into the promised land, so Christians sought to regain the grace of God by fasting
for seventy days.
Why does the Church, from this Sunday until
Easter, omit all joyful
chants, as the Te Deum, Alleluia, Gloria in Excelsis? To remind the
sinner of the grievousness of his errors, and to exhort him to penance. To incite
us to sorrow for our sins, and to show us the necessity of repentance, the Church
at the Introit
in the name of all nations unites her prayers with David, saying, “The sorrows of death
surrounded me, the sorrows of hell encompassed me, and in my affliction I
called upon the Lord, and
He heard my voice from His holy
temple. I will love Thee! O Lord, my strength; the Lord is my firmament, my refuge,
and my deliverer.”
Lincoln's
Birthday celebrates the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, one of the most popular
presidents in United States history. It is a state holiday in some states on or
around February 12. It's also known as Abraham Lincoln's Birthday, Abraham Lincoln
Day or Lincoln Day.
Daily Devotions/Prayers
Comments
Post a Comment