Abraham Heschel's prophetic challenge to social justice and compassion

Prophets

Abraham Heschel passionately challenged Christians, as well as Jews to become partners with God in creating a compassionate and just world. His dedication to social justice and confidence that he spoke for God to an unwise people were the same motivations that the ancient prophets felt. As he knew God to be just and loving, so must His people be. He marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. And led in the anti-War movement during the Vietnam era. He constantly called for "spiritual audacity and social justice" in a culture that blindly followed leaders who sought war and advocated violence. His upbringing in Poland and his deportation from it by the Nazis gave him insight into the consequences of impious domination and hatred, leading him to fervently speak out against any indication of these characteristics in the land he fled to, transforming him into a prophetic figure, just as the ancient prophets had been (Kimelman 1983).

David was seen as the ideal monarch in the kingdom of Israel, which remains a prosperous and holy land even to this day, divided and torn though it may be. David ruled a nation which God had established; he was the earthly symbol of God's rule over His people. According to the Psalms (Psalm 132:1-18) and Samuel (2 Sam. 7:2), God "swore an oath to David" that he and his descendants would remain on the throne, as long as they kept His statutes, forever. David embodied five characteristics of the monarchy: (1) He took the Ark of the Covenant brought by Moses, which had been carried around under a tent since Moses' time, and set it up in the temple (built by Solomon), as the symbol of God's choosing this people and this land as His own. (2) David became the "firstborn son of God" and God promised that he and his descendants would forever be on His throne. (3) He was a priest performing priestly duties as God's representative on earth. (4) He was mortal.