the religious doctrines and rites of the Jews, the descendants
of Abraham. With Abraham Judaism may be said, in some sense, to have
begun; but it was not till the promulgation of the law upon Mount Sinai,
that the Jewish economy was established, and that to his posterity was
committed a dispensation which was to distinguish them ever after from
every other people on earth. The Mosaic dispensation consisted of three
parts; the religious faith and worship of the Jews, their civil polity,
and precepts for the regulation of their moral conduct. Their civil
government, as well as their sacred polity, was of divine institution;
and, on all important occasions, their public affairs were conducted by
the Deity himself, or by persons bearing his commission. The laws of the
Jews, religious and moral, civil, political, and ritual, that is, a
complete system of pure Judaism, are contained in the books of the Old
Testament, and chiefly in the five books of Moses. See GOVERNMENT OF THE
HEBREWS.
The religion of the ancestors of the Jews, before the time of Moses,
consisted in the worship of the one living and true God, under whose
immediate direction they were; in the hope of a Redeemer; in a firm
reliance on his promises under all difficulties and dangers; and in a
thankful acknowledgment for all his blessings and deliverances. In that
early age, we read of altars, pillars, and monuments raised, and
sacrifices offered to God. They used circumcision as a seal of the
covenant which God had made with Abraham. As to the mode and
circumstances of divine worship, they were much at liberty till the time
of Moses; but that legislator, by the direction and appointment of God
himself, prescribed an instituted form of religion, and regulated
ceremonies, feasts, days, priests, and sacrifices, with the utmost
exactness. The rites and observances of their religion under the law
were numerous, and its sanctions severe. Notwithstanding God’s prophets,
and oracles, and ordinances, and the symbol of his presence, were among
them, the Jews were ever very prone to idolatry, till the Babylonish
furnace served to purify them from that corruption. After their seventy
years’ captivity, many among them gave too much place to the Greek
idolatries, but as a nation they were never again guilty of the crime.
Their religious worship and character in our Saviour’s time had become
formal and superstitious; and such it still continues to be, in a
greater or less degree, at the present day. Ancient Judaism, compared
with all religions except the Christian, was distinguished for its
superior purity and spirituality; and the whole Mosaic ritual was of a
typical nature. See JEWS.
of Abraham. With Abraham Judaism may be said, in some sense, to have
begun; but it was not till the promulgation of the law upon Mount Sinai,
that the Jewish economy was established, and that to his posterity was
committed a dispensation which was to distinguish them ever after from
every other people on earth. The Mosaic dispensation consisted of three
parts; the religious faith and worship of the Jews, their civil polity,
and precepts for the regulation of their moral conduct. Their civil
government, as well as their sacred polity, was of divine institution;
and, on all important occasions, their public affairs were conducted by
the Deity himself, or by persons bearing his commission. The laws of the
Jews, religious and moral, civil, political, and ritual, that is, a
complete system of pure Judaism, are contained in the books of the Old
Testament, and chiefly in the five books of Moses. See GOVERNMENT OF THE
HEBREWS.
The religion of the ancestors of the Jews, before the time of Moses,
consisted in the worship of the one living and true God, under whose
immediate direction they were; in the hope of a Redeemer; in a firm
reliance on his promises under all difficulties and dangers; and in a
thankful acknowledgment for all his blessings and deliverances. In that
early age, we read of altars, pillars, and monuments raised, and
sacrifices offered to God. They used circumcision as a seal of the
covenant which God had made with Abraham. As to the mode and
circumstances of divine worship, they were much at liberty till the time
of Moses; but that legislator, by the direction and appointment of God
himself, prescribed an instituted form of religion, and regulated
ceremonies, feasts, days, priests, and sacrifices, with the utmost
exactness. The rites and observances of their religion under the law
were numerous, and its sanctions severe. Notwithstanding God’s prophets,
and oracles, and ordinances, and the symbol of his presence, were among
them, the Jews were ever very prone to idolatry, till the Babylonish
furnace served to purify them from that corruption. After their seventy
years’ captivity, many among them gave too much place to the Greek
idolatries, but as a nation they were never again guilty of the crime.
Their religious worship and character in our Saviour’s time had become
formal and superstitious; and such it still continues to be, in a
greater or less degree, at the present day. Ancient Judaism, compared
with all religions except the Christian, was distinguished for its
superior purity and spirituality; and the whole Mosaic ritual was of a
typical nature. See JEWS.