"... The honor-shame dynamic continues in Yahweh’s invidious comparison of Jerusalem with the notoriously wicked Sodom and fatally rebellious Samaria, both of whom had formerly served as object lessons for Jerusalem. When Yahweh forgives Jerusalem and reestablishes the covenant, her past will continue to shame and humiliate her. The honor-shame dynamic creates both theological and anthropological problems. On the theological side, this conception of God is alien to Western Christians, who are accustomed to thinking of God as unaffected by human actions. Thus it is strange to think that Yahweh feels shamed or somehow diminished because of Jerusalem’s behavior. On the anthropological side, the idea that forgiveness requires a sense of shame is offensive to many readers. One wonders why Jerusalem must carry the baggage of her shameful past into the future ..."