Example of What Happens When We Are Impatient with God

Continuing my chronological Bible study, I begin this post in Genesis 16, with the continuing story of Abraham.

(Genesis 16:1) Now Sarai, Abram's wife, bore him no children; and she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar.

Biblical scholar Adam Clarke writes a ponderance about Hagar.  Since she is Egyptian, it is very likely that she was one of the maidservants that Pharaoh gave Abram for Sarai's sake, when they sojourned in Egypt.  The name Hagar is a Hebrew name, and it means "foreigner" or "stranger", so Abram (or someone in his household) probably gave her the name.  

(2) And Sarai said to Abram, "See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children; please go in to my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her." And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

Wow!  Here begins the trouble with impatience with respect to waiting upon the Lord, and when one gets too focused on the "thing" promised, rather than just trusting the Lord to accomplish it.  Sarai apparently believes that the Lord will give them an heir, but she fails by limiting God to the bounds of human nature.  Oh, how often we do that!  We try to put God in our little human box and try to limit Him to what we know and think best!  Adam Clarke points out that female slaves were the property of the mistress of the household, so Sarai had the absolute right to dispose of her servant as she saw fit, with her husband having no authority in this case.  Abram was just a willing participant in this crazy mixed-up scheme!  Sarai's female servant being her personal property, she also had absolute right to the possession of her servant's children.

(3) And Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan.

Talk about patience!  Sarai had waited 10 years in the land of Canaan for the fulfillment of the promise that they would have a child!  She was now 75 years old!  We know this because of a combination of scriptures that indicate Abram was 85 years old at this time, and Sarai was 10 years younger than he was.  I get tickled to think how we can be so impatient in this day and age that we think God has forsaken us if things don't happen our way in a week or a month or even a year.  My husband and I have an inside joke about his lack of patience, actually mine, too, but it started with regard to his patience.  He always says, "I've already done that", meaning he has had patience already and now looks to the fruit of that patience.  Oh, but the patience demonstrated in the Bible often meant decades!  Another word for "patience" used in the Bible is "longsuffering", meaning "LONG (emphasis on LONG) suffering"!

(4) And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

While it may be that Hagar acted scornfully insolent toward her mistress, I wonder if it may just be she despised her because she knew she had the absolute right to take her baby from her.

(5) And Sarai said to Abram, "My wrong be upon you! I have given my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes. The LORD judge between you and me."

Sarai tries to blame Abram for what has happened.  Indeed, he apparently did take Hagar willingly, but as pointed out before, it was totally Sarai's right to give her maid as she wished.  It was never Abram's right to take her.

(6) But Abram said to Sarai, "Behold, your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please." And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence.

Abram pointed out that Hagar was Sarai's property and that she could do with her what she wished.  Hagar ran away when Sarai dealt harshly with her.

(7) And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain on the way to Shur. (8) And He said, "Hagar, Sarai's maid, where have you come from, and where will you go?" And she said, "I flee from the presence of my mistress Sarai." (9) And the angel of the LORD said to her, "Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand."

God told Hagar to return to her mistress, even though she may be mistreated.  God has asked Hagar to do her part, her best, if you will, to do what she has been called to do in her life at this time, and that is to submit to her authority.  That is what we must all do.  I think about this when there is conflict between two parties, especially in the case of a husband and wife.  The wife may think that it is unfair that she has to endure certain behaviors from her husband, but she is called by God to submit to her husband, and let God deal with her husband.  Likewise with a husband who has a disrespectful and unloving wife, he is called to love her as Christ loved the church, and he must let God deal with her heart.  All we can do is what we are called to do; we have no power over the other party.  If we are obedient to God, He takes care of the rest.  When we fight for our "rights", we make a bigger mess of things. 

(10) And the angel of the LORD said to her, "I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude." (11) And the angel of the LORD said to her, "Behold, you are with child, and will bear a son, and you shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has heard your affliction."

The angel of the Lord prophesies to Hagar that she will have a son named Ishmael, and his descendants will be too numerous to count.  "Ishmael" means "God will hear".  God did hear Hagar's distress, but His answer to her is that she do her best part by going back and submitting to her mistress, and let God deal with Sarai.

(12) "And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he will dwell in the presence of all his brethren."

The angel of the Lord further prophesies that Hagar's son will be a wild man, untamed and fearing no man.  He will be a fighter, fighting against all others and them against him.  His people will be a separate people.  Indeed, the Ishmaelites were a wild and wandering people.

(13) And she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, "You God see me", for she said, "Have I also here seen Him who sees me?"

The meaning here is a little unclear.  The NKJV translators supposed that Hagar actually gave the Lord a name, "You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees", but this may mean that Hagar called upon the name of the Lord, realizing that she had just seen and heard from God Almighty, the One who sees all and saw her in her distress.

(14) Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

The name of the well literally meant “well of the Living One seeing me”.

(15) And Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called his son's name, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. (16) And Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

I find it interesting to ponder if Abram's wife's slave would dare to tell Abram what the name of the child should be according to the word of the Lord.  I don't find that likely at all.  Therefore, it was purely prophetic that Hagar should know the name of her son before Abram gave him the name.  How awesome is that?

Job Repents and the Lord Blesses His Latter Days More Than His Beginning

Continuing a Bible study of Job:

(Job 42:1) Then Job answered the LORD, and said, (2) "I know that You can do everything, and that no thought can be withheld from You. (3) Who is he who hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know."

Job acknowledges that God is all-powerful and has unlimited dominion.  "No thought can be withheld from You" could mean there are no secret thoughts from God, or it might mean that there is no thought of God's that He can't bring to pass.  Job quotes what God had asked about him, and admits that he spoke about things he did not understand.

(4) "Hear, I beseech you, and I will speak; I will demand of you, and you will declare to me."

The NKJV translators added the words "you said" to the second part of verse 4.  I'm not a fan of the newer translations of the Bible and now might be a good time to link to my article on why I trust KJV to be the most accurate:  "Which Version of the Truth Will You Use?"

Job may very well be quoting God, as he seemed to do in verse 3.  As John Wesley put it, "The words which God had uttered to Job by way of challenge, Job returns to him in way of submission."  It is also possible, if anything is being quoted, that Job is referring to his own request to speak directly to God and have Him answer him.  Maybe it's not a quote at all, but Job requesting the Lord hear his humble confession.  "I beseech you" is a humble "I beg of you".  "Demand" is probably not the best sense of the original word, "shaal".  I believe the better sense is one of the word's other definitions, "to ask (as a favor), beg".  So again, "I beg of you to hear me and then You will set me straight."

(5) "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. (6) Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."

Up to now, Job only knew God through tradition and from what he had heard and had been taught, and it was therefore imperfect information, but now having this personal contact with God, he sees his Lord much more clearly, and humbles himself before Him and repents of his sins.  There is much discussion among Biblical scholars as to whether or not Job actually saw God with his eyes.  God told Moses in Exodus 33:20, "for there shall no man see me, and live."  I believe God could take on any form He wanted and could have been visible to Job, but we really only have Job's words that now his eyes saw God, and clearly that "seeing" could mean "understanding", as when Jesus later spoke of having eyes and not seeing.  The only thing we know for fact about Job's contact with God is that God spoke to him out of a whirlwind.

(7) And so it was, that after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My wrath is kindled against you, and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. (8) Therefore take unto you now seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly, in that you have not spoken of Me what is right, like My servant Job."

It is very interesting when you think about all that Job and his three friends had said about God.  The friends had said many right things about God, and Job had said many wrong things, but God accepted Job, and not his friends.  Only through sacrifice and Job's praying for them, would God accept them.  Two things come to mind.  God judges the heart of men which He saw clearly all along, even if we didn't.  Immediately after God spoke, Job was overwhelmed by the conviction of guilt and repented.  There is no indication that his friends felt any differently after hearing the words of God.  Albert Barnes points out that if the matter had been left at verse 6 with Job abhorring himself and repenting in dust and ashes, the impression would have been that it was Job totally in error, and his friends were justified.  The second and perhaps most important point is that Job's friends judged Job himself.  It may not be that they said anything terribly wrong about God, but they presumed to judge Job's heart, and that is something we are commanded not to do.  We may judge actions, and are in fact told to judge fruit, but there were no evil actions of Job's for his friends to condemn.  They just assumed that he must have acted evilly if all these afflictions had come upon him.  It must be noted that God did not mention Elihu because he dealt more mercifully and truthfully with Job, not condemning him personally, but only rebuking his sinful expressions.

(9) So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the LORD commanded them, the LORD also accepted Job. (10) And the LORD turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends. Indeed, also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.

When they obeyed the Lord and sacrificed to Him and had Job pray for them, the Lord accepted Job's friends, as He did Job when Job also obeyed by praying over his friends and offering their sacrifice to the Lord.  The Lord then reversed Job's situation, giving him twice as much as he had before.

(11) Then all his brothers, all his sisters, and all those who had been his acquaintances before, came there to him and ate food with him in his house; and they bemoaned him and comforted him for all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him; every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold. (12) So the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning, for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand female donkeys.

The Lord blessed Job with more possessions than he had had in his former days, using all the people in Job's circle and having them bring money and gold to him.

(13) He also had seven sons and three daughters. (14) And he called the name of the first Jemima, the name of the second Kezia, and the name of the third Keren-Happuch. (15) In all the land were found no women so beautiful as the daughters of Job, and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers.

Job was also blessed with more children, and his daughters were the most beautiful women in the world.  In Job's day, it would have been uncommon for daughters to receive an inheritance when there were sons, but Job showed no partiality to his sons.  Dr. John Gill points out that this is a beautiful picture of Christ, with whom "there is neither male nor female, no difference between them, but being all children, they are heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, and equally partake of the same inheritance with the saints in light."

(16) After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his sons and his sons' sons, even four generations. (17) So Job died, old and full of days.

Job lived an additional 140 years, seeing his children's children, and even his grandchildren's children, and so it was a full and blessed life.

Where Were YOU When God Laid the Foundations of the Earth?

Continuing a Bible study of Job, we come to one of my favorite chapters in the Bible, when GOD appears on the scene!

(Job 38:1) Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, (2) "Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? (3) Gird up now your loins like a man; for I will demand of you, and you answer Me."

These words of God are said to be directed to Job, not his friends.  Job wanted his chance to take his cause directly to God; now he has it!  

(4) "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding."

This has always been one of my favorite passages in the Bible.  How quick we are to question why God would do this or that or allow this or that, as if WE would do and know better!  God really makes us feel pretty small and insignificant when He asks, "Just where were you when..."

(5) "Who has determined its measurements, if you know? Or who has stretched the line upon it? (6) Upon what are its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, (7) When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"

Who created the earth and its foundations when it appears to hang on nothing, when the angels sang praise and shouted for joy?  The morning stars might even be interpreted as the actual early stars of the universe, since it might seem redundant to be speaking of angels again.  But then again, it is poetic to speak of the angels singing and then the angels shouting for joy with two different descriptive terms.  The point is, who was there from the very beginning and created the earth?

(8) "Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke forth as if it had issued out of the womb? (9) When I made the cloud its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band; (10) And broke up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, (11) And said, 'This far you shall come, but no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed'?"

Who set the boundaries for the powerful oceans and created the clouds and set their limits?

(12) "Have you commanded the morning since your days, and caused the dayspring to know its place, (13) That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it? (14) It is turned as clay to the seal, and they stand as a garment."

God asks Job if he has been commanding dawn to break since he was born, that it might spread light from one end of the earth to the other, exposing the darkness where wickedness often takes place.  The earth is changed in appearance by daybreak as a seal makes a beautiful impression on clay, with plants and trees and the like standing as a beautiful garment on the earth.

(15) "And from the wicked their light is withheld, and the raised arm will be broken."

Because the wicked prefer darkness that hides their wickedness, "their" light is darkness, and daylight holds back their preferred "light".  Or maybe their light being withheld just means they don't enjoy the light as the righteous do because they prefer darkness.  Their upraised arms of strength will be broken when they are exposed by the light.

(16) "Have you entered into the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in the search of the depths?"

I think the point here is that if Job has never even seen the depths of the seas, how much less could he see and understand God.

(17) "Have the gates of death been opened to you? Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?"

Death is one of the great unknown mysteries to man.  Does Job understand death, when and where men go when they die?

(18) "Have you perceived the breadth of the earth? Declare if you know it all. (19) Where is the way where light dwells? And darkness, where is its place, (20) That you should take it to its bounds, and that you should know the paths to its home? (21) Do you know it, because you were born then, or because the number of your days is great?"

Does Job know the width of the entire earth?  Does he know the source of light because he was there at the beginning?  Do any of us really know?  After all, light was created BEFORE the sun and stars.  God created light (day) on the first day, but He didn't create the sun and stars until the fourth day:

And God said, "Let there be light", and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. - Genesis 1:3-5

And God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years; And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth"; and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; He made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. - Genesis 1:14-19

(22) "Have you entered into the treasures of the snow? Or have you seen the treasures of the hail, (23) Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?"

Snow and hail are pictured as things God has stored up as treasures to use when He sees fit, such as at time of war when God often used especially hailstones to overwhelm the enemy.  It's not that God truly has the stuff piled high in storehouses, but it might as well be because it is so easily at his disposal.  Does Job really understand and know how to create and use snow and hailstones to have them at his disposal?

(24) "By what way is the light parted, which scatters the east wind upon the earth? (25) Who has divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder; (26) To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is, on the wilderness wherein there is no man; (27) To satisfy the desolate and waste ground, and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?"

So Job, just how is light diffused and distributed just so?  Who created channels for overflowing water or the path of a lightning bolt?  So just who causes it to rain on parts of the earth where there is no man, to water the ground for plant life; could it possibly be a man like you, Job?

(28) "Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew? (29) Out of whose womb came the ice? And the hoary frost of heaven, who has gendered it? (30) The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen."

Is there any man who has produced rain, dew, or frost?  What man has produced solid ice that hides the water?  

(31) "Can you bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? (32) Can you bring forth Mazzaroth in its season? Or can you guide Arcturus with his sons?"

God is speaking of the constellations here.  Can Job move them at will?  Interestingly, even by early commentators, "Mazzaroth" was generally understood to mean the twelve signs of the zodiac.  This is the only place the word was ever used, so some speculation is used.  It is defined by Strong's as "apparently from 'nazar' (to set apart) in the sense of distinction; some noted constellation (only in the plural), perhaps collectively the zodiac".  In early commentaries, there are various similar meanings attributed to it, "celestial signs", "zodiac", or "morning star".  It is sometimes considered to be "Mazzaloth", which is translated as "planets" or "constellation of planets".     

(33) "Do you know the ordinances of heaven? Can you set its dominion in the earth?"

Does Job understand the laws governing the heavenly bodies and can he set up their proper places or dominions as they relate to the earth?  Perhaps this referred to the effect that some heavenly bodies have on the earth and the weather, such as the moon that affects the tides.

(34) "Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover you? (35) Can you send lightnings, that they may go, and say to you, 'Here we are!'?"

Can Job command the rain and lightning, that they answer him?

(36) "Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who has given understanding to the heart?"

I found the interpretations of this scripture amusing.  Once again more recent translators of the NIV, NLT, and even NKJV, and others, decided that wisdom must be in the "mind".  But that is not what the original text said; it said, "inward parts".  Wisdom in the inward parts is what makes them function WITHOUT our minds or conscious effort!  That is the miraculous, awesome, God-only-created point of that question.  Did Job create the various parts of the body to function on their own?  THEN God asks if Job has given understanding to the mind.  The word translated as "heart" here is not the word that is generally used as "heart"; this word, "sekviy" means "observant" or "to look at, view", denoting the thinking mind, and indeed, is generally thought to mean the mind by most early commentaries.  This is a good place to mention an earlier fascinating study I did on translations of the Bible, and which ones are to be trusted, and which ones seek to diminish the word of God:  Which Version of the Truth Will You Use?

(37) "Who can number the clouds in wisdom? Or who can stay the bottles of heaven, (38) When the dust grows into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together?"

The word translated as "clouds" here means more precisely the smaller particles that make up clouds, and in this case, the clouds being fine dust or powder clouds.  Who can number every particle of dust?  "The bottles of heaven" is an illustration of clouds as bottles holding all the smaller particles.  Who really understands how the tiny fine particles of dust become the solid ground, and the solid earth, for that matter?

(39) "Will you hunt the prey for the lion? Or fill the appetite of the young lions, (40) When they crouch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait? (41) Who provides food for the raven, when its young ones cry to God, they wander for lack of food?"

Does Job provide food and prey for all the animals and birds of the earth?

Whew!  It's already a very extensive list of things God alone does, but He is not yet finished speaking.  I'll continue the study in the next chapter in the next post.

God Cannot Continue to Bless a Hypocritical Nation

Continuing a Bible study in Job:

(Job 34:1) Furthermore Elihu answered and said, (2) "Hear my words, O you wise men; and give ear to me, you who have knowledge. (3) For the ear tests words, as the mouth tastes meat. (4) Let us choose to us judgment; let us know among ourselves what is good."

The "ear" in verse 3 is not the same original word as "ear" in verse 2. It denotes a broader sense; Elihu wants them to test the words, roll them over in their minds, and really grasp and understand them. One of the definitions put forth in The Brown-Driver-Briggs' Hebrew Definitions is "to uncover the ear to reveal; the receiver of divine revelation". Elihu believes he is speaking from divine revelation from God and he wants the men to receive what the Holy Spirit is speaking. He encourages the men to examine and explore what is true and right.

(5) "For Job has said, 'I am righteous, and God has taken away my judgment; (6) Should I lie against my right? My wound is incurable without transgression.'"

Taking away his judgment means that he feels God denied him a fair hearing. Lying against his right would be for Job to say he is wicked and deserved his affliction, even though he knew himself to be innocent. He felt his afflictions were without cause, or at least were more than he deserved.

(7) "What man is like Job, who drinks up scorning like water, (8) Who goes in company with the workers of iniquity, and walks with wicked men?"

Elihu asks what man is like Job, who indulges in scornful and reproachful speeches to God. Perhaps a foolish or wicked man would do such a thing, but to see Job, a pious man who followed God, behaving this way, is another matter.

(9) "For he has said, 'It profits a man nothing that he should delight himself with God.'"

Job never said this exactly, but he did imply it when he said that God can destroy the wicked and the righteous alike.

(10) "Therefore listen to me, you men of understanding; far be it from God to do wickedness, and from the Almighty to commit iniquity. (11) For the work of a man shall He render to him, and cause every man to find according to his ways. (12) Yes, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment."

Elihu states that it is impossible for God to do evil, sin, or pervert judgment, which he feels Job has insinuated. God will treat each man as he deserves. Elihu isn't necessarily accusing Job of doing wickedness resulting in his afflictions, but he is emphatically stating that to accuse God of perverting judgment is in error.

(13) "Who has given Him a charge over the earth? Or who has disposed the whole world?"

It's a rhetorical question, for no one has given God authority. HE IS the authority! He is the original authority and ruler over all. The word translated as "disposed" means more completely "to put, place, set, appoint, make". So who has made the whole world, appointed its place and time, and put everything into order? God, of course!

(14) "If He set his heart upon man, He will gather unto Himself his spirit and his breath; (15) All flesh will perish together, and man will return to dust."

The KJV translators assumed the second phrase after the comma should also begin with "if" and read "if He will gather unto Himself his spirit and his breath", but they did italicize the word telling us they added it to the original text. I think the meaning is right without the additional "if". If God sets His heart upon man, He will gather man's soul and spirit to Himself, and then man's flesh returns to dust.

(16) "If you now have understanding, hear this; listen to the sound of my words. (17) Will even he who hates right govern? And will you condemn Him who is most just?"

The sense is that it was impossible to believe that one who was unjust could govern the universe. Therefore God is just, and Elihu believes Job has condemned the most just Ruler of the universe.

(18) "Is it fit to say to a king, 'You are wicked?' And to princes, 'You are ungodly'? (19) How much less to Him who is not partial to princes, nor regards the rich more than the poor, for they all are the work of His hands."

Elihu's argument is that Job would never consider telling a king or prince he was wicked or ungodly, so how dare he condemn the one who made that king and that prince?
How true it is that we often indulge in language to God that we would never consider to an earthly authority!

(20) "In a moment will they die, and the people will be troubled at midnight, and pass away; and the mighty will be taken away without hand."

At a moment's notice, those kings and princes and the rich will die, and the people will be shaken. "At midnight" probably is meant to give an image of something happening suddenly and without awareness like a robber breaking in at midnight or a storm that hits in the middle of the night. Even the mighty will be taken away without a human hand. People can be removed from this earth without any help from any other person on earth. The NKJV says "the mighty will be taken away without 'a' hand", and the other newer translations pretty much agree that it means they can be taken away without a human hand. Albert Barnes points out that the original KJV says it all the way it was probably originally meant. The Almighty takes away the mighty men without "hand", but by His "Word", or His will.

(21) "For His eyes are on the ways of man, and He sees all his steps. (22) There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves."

The meaning is clear; no one can escape God's notice.

(23) "For He will not lay upon man more than right; that he should enter into judgment with God."

The KJV translators added the phrase "than right". Even without that "help", I believe the gist is that God is just and doesn't lay so much on man that He should be called into question by man.

(24) "He will break in pieces mighty men without number, and set others in their place. (25) Therefore He knows their works; and He overturns them in the night, so that they are destroyed. (26) He strikes them as wicked men in the open sight of others, (27) Because they turned back from Him, and would not consider any of His ways, (28) So that they cause the cry of the poor to come to Him, and He hears the cry of the afflicted."

Again the meaning is clear; God knows the work of wicked men and He strikes them down.

(29) "When He gives quietness, who then can make trouble? And when He hides His face, who then can behold Him, whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only? (30) That the hypocrite not reign, lest the people be ensnared."

God is the sovereign ruler. Not only does He cause destruction, but He causes peace that no man can interrupt. He can turn away from a single person or an entire nation. Wow! I think there is a more powerful meaning to verse 30 than might appear at first glance. Okay, so obviously God wouldn't want a hypocrite to reign. He wants true followers. The people can indeed be ensnared by a hypocritical ruler. But there's more. If God were to bless the hypocritical ruler and therefore the people and the nation, they could be ensnared by believing that they were doing good. This scripture so speaks to me about the situation in our country today! Our country has actually come to believe that it's okay to kill innocent babies by the millions! After all, abortion is lawful and a RIGHT, according to liberals. Laws tell us it's okay and normal for homosexuals to marry. These laws do indeed ensnare the people and cause them to sin. If God were to continue to bless our country after so much wickedness, He wouldn't be God!

2 Peter 2:6 says, "And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly." Sodom and Gomorrah were to serve as an example, but this nation and even people who call themselves Christians, think we can just ignore God's word on this, and continue on our merry blessed way. Recall also the passage in Matthew 10, verses 14 and 15, "And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. Verily I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!" Places that refuse to hear God's word are doomed to a fate worse than Sodom and Gomorrah! Then there's Paul's long passage in Romans 1 about the progressive behavior of those who reject God. I often marvel that we can be given so absolutely perfect an illustration and still not see. In a nutshell, people refuse to see God's creation as just that, GOD's creation. They don't glorify God, they aren't thankful, and become fools thinking they are wiser than the truth. They change the truth and glory of God to a man-made image, a lie, (as in New Age religions or those that say "we all worship the same god") and they worship God's creation more than Him. They dishonor their bodies and begin to lust for those of their same sex. Because they did not LIKE to retain God in their knowledge...and this point is worth emphasizing. They know better but they choose NOT to remember God, God turns them over to all sorts of their vile behaviors. The last scripture is a hugely important one for all the lukewarm Christians who try to say we shouldn't judge and should just let people live the way they want. Who cares if we stand up for the "right" of a woman to kill her child and for homosexual "marriage" by electing the very people who continue to enforce and force those evil laws on the people? After all, if we personally don't think it's right, who cares if other people do it? Who really cares if we pretend it's in the interest of a "greater good" to look past the atrocities of a leader and lift him up? Who really cares if we agree to elevate sinful behavior to rights because, after all, times have changed. Well, God cares: "Who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them." - Romans 1:32

(31) "Surely it is meet to be said unto God, 'I have borne chastisement; I will not offend any more; (32) Teach me what I do not see; if I have done iniquity, I will do no more.'"

It was difficult to find a proper (better) one-word translation of the word "meet" here, but it is part of a phrase the gist of which indicates a causal relationship, with what came before leading to the natural response of what comes next, sort of like "So therefore..." It should also be noted that the original KJV translators added the word "chastisement" to give a better understanding of the word they translated as "borne" (borne what?). However, I don't think it was necessary to add to the text as "nasah" (the word translated as "borne") can stand alone as it also means "endured", "suffered", or "been laden". Elihu seems to be suggesting to Job that he humble himself before the Lord, continue to endure, and pray for understanding so that he doesn't offend or do iniquity anymore.

(33) "Should it be according to your mind? He will recompense it, whether you refuse or whether you choose, and not I; therefore speak what you know."

Paraphrased, "Should things be as you say? Does God need to govern as you see fit? God will render reward or punishment whether you or I choose it or not. If you know better than this or can add anything in your defense, let's hear it."

(34) "Let men of understanding tell me, and let a wise man listen to me. (35) Job has spoken without knowledge, and his words were without wisdom. (36) My desire is that Job may be tried to the end, because of his answers for wicked men. (37) For he adds rebellion to his sin; he claps his hands among us, and multiplies his words against God."

So Elihu says, that Job has spoken without wisdom and knowledge, that is. Interestingly, the word translated as "desire" is "abeh" and is only used once in all of the Bible. Some scholars believe it was meant to be "abba", and Elihu is asking the Father to allow Job to be thoroughly or fully tried or examined. Other scholars point out that "abba" is used nowhere else in Job, so which lone word do we accept? Perhaps it IS Elihu's desire that Job be thoroughly examined because of his views which he has expressed, which seem to favor the wicked. Indeed, Elihu implies that Job has indeed sinned to bring on his affliction, and now he has added rebellion against God to his original sin. "Claps his hands" may be taken different ways, but obviously is intended as derogatory by Elihu. Either Job claps his hands in impatience, perhaps even as a way to silence his opposition, or as a symbol of his prideful triumph; either way Elihu sees it as disrespectful to God.

For a large part, it seemed to me that Elihu may have been truly speaking by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, but it does seem he went a little too far in his assessment of Job's general spirit and did ultimately accuse him of sinful behavior. Only God knows Job's heart. In Elihu's defense, he knows God is always just and can't stomach Job's apparent disrespect. But this seems to be a case of when man sometimes wants to take over. If Elihu were to only speak the words of the Holy Spirit and not start adding his own, his words would have been better accepted.

The Ultimate Fate of a Wicked Man

Continuing in a Bible study of Job, we resume with Job still speaking. In my past studies on Job, I usually separated blog posts between speakers, but Job was especially long-winded this time, speaking for several chapters, so I will devote a blog post to each chapter.

(Job 27:1) Moreover Job continued his parable, and said, (2) "As God lives, who has taken away my justice, and the Almighty, who has vexed my soul,"

As a child, I always thought "parable" just meant "story", but it actually has a weightier meaning. The original word, "mashal" has a primitive root that means to rule or to have or make dominion over, so the sense of the word here, quoting Strong's, is that "in some original sense of superiority in mental action; properly a pithy maxim, usually of a metaphorical nature; hence a simile (as an adage, poem, discourse): - byword, like, parable, proverb."

"As God lives" begins Job's oath, but he describes God as one who has so afflicted him that he cannot be judged fairly, and therefore has made his soul bitter, as the original word translated as "vexed" also means.

3) "All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God in my nostrils, (4) My lips will not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. (5) God forbid that I should justify you; till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. (6) My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go; my heart shall not reproach me as long as I live."

As long as Job lives, he will not speak wickedness or deceit, therefore he could never concede that his friends were correct; as he was a man of integrity, nothing could induce him to abandon his convictions. He holds fast to his integrity and uprightness, and his heart will not betray him by being false. I have to wonder if this is one of those times when God could reprimand Job. Is there a hint of self-righteousness here? I don't think it is disrespectful of Job to cling to "his righteousness", as I believe that he knew his righteousness was not his personal righteousness, but his justified righteousness before God, because he adhered to the laws of his Lord. This is the time before Jesus and men were justified by adhering to certain sacrificial laws. I think he is saying here that even though he feels he has been afflicted by God, he would never abandon God and His laws. However, I do think he threw in a self-righteous barb when he said that he, righteous Job, would never abandon his convictions even though God, the One he held to, had taken away his justice and caused the bitterness of his soul.

(7) "Let my enemy be as the wicked, and he who rises up against me like the unrighteous."

The exact meaning of this scripture is a little difficult for me. Is Job accusing his friends who reject his claim of innocence of being wicked and unrighteous? Or perhaps he is just trying to draw a distinction between himself and the wicked, the unrighteous, and the hypocrite, that he describes in the next verse. His friends have claimed that he must be a hypocrite or unrighteous because of his afflictions, so perhaps he is saying he is nothing like the wicked and considers the unrighteous enemies.

(8) "For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he has gained, when God takes away his soul? (9) Will God hear his cry when trouble comes upon him? (10) Will he delight himself in the Almighty? Will he always call on God?"

Verse 8 reminds me of what Jesus said in Matthew 16:26, "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Job points out that even though the wicked may prosper in this world, they have no hope of anything else in eternity. There is nothing left when God takes his soul; the wicked has nothing if he can't call on God.

(11) "I will teach you by the hand of God; what is with the Almighty I will not conceal."

Once again the NKJV, NIV, and just about every one of the newer translations, translated the first part of this verse as, "I will teach you about the hand of God". Fascinating subtle change there! That would make Job appear a self-righteous boastful man if he declared that HE would teach them about GOD! What can mortal man really know about the mind of Almighty God? What Job was saying was that "by the hand of God", or by the Holy Spirit of God, he would teach them everything Almighty God was revealing to him.

For some fascinating links about just how much NIV translators changed the original Greek texts of the Bible, see a previous study here.

(12) "Behold, all of you yourselves have seen it; why then are you so altogether vain?"

Although they did seem to get way off-track during the course of their conversations in the book of Job, remember that Job's friends were good righteous men, who more than likely knew God. Job is probably now appealing to the fact that they, too, have been lead by the Spirit of God before, so why now do they speak such nonsense of themselves?

(13) "This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they will receive from the Almighty."

Job now returns to the subject of describing the fate of the wicked.

(14) "If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword, and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread. (15) Those who remain of him will be buried in death, and his widows shall not weep."

Job says that even if the wicked appear blessed with large families after them, those descendants will die by the sword and by famine, and no one will lament their passing.

(16) "Though he heaps up silver like dust, and piles up clothing like clay, (17) He may pile it up, but the just will wear it, and the innocent will divide the silver."

Job says that although the wicked may have piled up riches and "things" while on earth, those things will be left behind to be used by the innocent. "You can't take it with you", and Job has already stated that the wicked's descendants will neither be there to enjoy the riches.

(18) "He builds his house like a moth, and as a hut that the keeper makes."

The obvious meaning is akin to Jesus's example of a man who builds his house on sand. It is only temporary and has no real foundation. However, the theologian Albert Barnes took it a step further. The house of a moth is made of wool from the clothing of others upon which it fed. Could that be the more complete picture Job is trying to illustrate here? The house of the wicked that was obtained at the expense of others is only temporary.

(19) "The rich man will lie down, but he will not be gathered; he opens his eyes, and he is no more."

Job means the rich that are wicked will die, and will not be honorably buried. The expression, "to be gathered to one’s fathers", is seen frequently in the Bible, and probably denotes a peaceful and respectful burial among family. Additionally, the wicked man's life is fleeting; in the twinkling of an eye he is no more.

(20) "Terrors overtake him like a flood; a tempest steals him away in the night. (21) The east wind carries him away, and he departs, and as a storm it hurls him out of his place. (22) For it will cast upon him and not spare; he would gladly flee out of its hand (if he could)."

The KJV reads this way: "For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand." The KJV translators read the pronoun "his" instead of "its" and decided the verse must be describing the hand of "God", who, of course, is the source of all that happens to the wicked. However, "God" is italicized, so the KJV translators let us know that they are the ones who added "God" to the verse. I see no reason that the verse couldn't be continuing the thought that the storm will hurl against the wicked and not spare him. Obviously, God is the one who uses the storm to hurl against the wicked, so either translation works. Old Noah Webster wrote that "fain" meant "gladly" and even used this scripture from the Bible in his old dictionary. The wicked would gladly flee, but obviously, he can't.

(23) "Men will clap their hands at him, and will hiss him out of his place."

The word translated as "hiss" also means to whistle, so I believe the context here is that men will cheer and jeer when the wicked are dead and gone.

Job's friends have tried to maintain that righteous men prosper and that the wicked fall, and that his afflictions are a good indication of which he has to be. Job previously spoke at length about how the wicked prosper in this world, and seeks to prove that sometimes they fall after this life on this earth, in ways that are not always obvious to the present human eye. He knows and agrees that ultimately the wicked do fall, but his friends' assessment of his situation as a black and white example of this does not hold water.

Job Wishes He Had Never Been Born

(Job 2:1) Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. (2) And the LORD said to Satan, "From where do you come?" And Satan answered the LORD and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down in it."

As in the last study of the first chapter of Job, once again we have a rather matter-of-fact conversation between God and Satan, as Satan has been given power over the world, and walks about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, as we see here.

(3) And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a pious and an upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you moved Me against him, to destroy him without cause."

Note here that although it was Satan who was given permission to destroy all that Job had, God takes full responsibility for it, as Satan could do nothing without the consent of God.

(4) And Satan answered the LORD, and said, "Skin for skin, yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. (5) But put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse You to Your face!"

Satan seeks to do more to Job in an effort to turn him from God, but can only do what God allows him to do.

(6) And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life."

God allows Satan to do whatever he wants to Job's body, but he cannot kill him.

(7) So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. (8) And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself and he sat down among the ashes. (9) Then his wife said to him, "Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die!" (10) But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. What? Shall we receive good from the hand of God, and shall we not accept evil?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

Note that Satan did not kill Job's wife, even though he had been allowed to. There is probably a very good reason and a very good lesson in that. Often Satan uses those who are close to us to tempt us. Job's wife was surely a good woman as Job points out she is talking like a foolish woman, indicating she probably knows better.

(11) Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, each one came from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him. (12) And when they lifted up their eyes from afar, and did not recognize him, they lifted up their voices and wept; and each one tore his robe and sprinkled dust on his head toward heaven. (13) So they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great.

There are other scriptures that indicate that seven days may have been a usual time of mourning. Job's friends sat in silent mourning with him and allowed him to be the first to speak.

(Job 3:1) After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. (2) And Job spoke, and said, (3) "Let the day perish on which I was born, and the night on which it was said, 'A male child is conceived.' (4) Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it."

"Perish the day I was born! Let that day be blotted out of history." Job laments that he was ever born.

(5) "Let darkness and the shadow of death claim it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. (6) As for that night, let darkness seize it; let it not be joined to the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months."

Job wishes the day he was born had never happened.

(7) "Lo, let that night be desolate; let no joyful voice come into it."

This is a good time to point out that I generally use just the King James Version of the Bible in my transcription notes. There is good reason for that, as I have written before in Which Version of the Truth Will You Use? I guess you could say I also use a little of the New King James version to replace some of the "thee's" and "thou's" of the 1600's Old English with more modern easier-to-understand language. However, I also make it a point to look at the original meaning of the words in the Hebrew and Greek. Sometimes, as I did above, I use a different word, based on the original meaning of the word, than either the KJV or the NKJV. My transcriptions of Bible scriptures are not meant to be a new version of the Bible; they are simply my notes of scriptures rewritten to help me best understand them, and I share these notes on this blog.

I say all that to explain that I have used the word "desolate" in verse 7. It was translated as "solitary" in the KJV, and "barren" in the NKJV. The original word "galmud" can mean sterile, desolate, or solitary. KJV translated it correctly, but that word didn't exactly express the idea well to me, and as I sometimes do, I felt the NKJV may have changed the meaning a little with their word. "Desolate" gave me a better impression of the meaning of Job's statement.

(8) "Let them curse it who curse the day, those who are ready to raise up Leviathan."

The last word was translated as "mourning" in the KJV. The original word is actually "livyathan", or our English "leviathan", and since that word is used in other places in the Bible where it is not translated as "mourning", I saw no reason to try to interpret it as that here. However, as with all the Leviathan scriptures, it's a little difficult to know exactly what Job means here. Leviathan seems to have been a big and terrible and formidable creature, so perhaps the meaning here is to equate the day with some mark of infamy.

(9) "Let the stars of its twilight be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day; (10) Because it did not shut up the doors of my mother's womb, nor hide sorrow from my eyes. (11) Why did I not die from the womb? Why did I not perish when I came out of the belly? (12) Why did the knees receive me? Or why the breasts, that I should nurse? (13) For now I should have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept; then I would have been at rest,"

Death in scripture is often called sleep. If Job had died at birth, he imagines that he would now be at rest and not suffering so.

(14) "With kings and counselors of the earth, who built desolate places for themselves;"

I believe Job means here that he would have been laid at rest with kings and counselors and people of like great distinction, in great sepulchres built for themselves. I don't think he's referring to the vanity of building things that do not last, for he seems to continue with the thought that it would be a good thing if he were at rest with all the others who would be at rest, too.

(15) "Or with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver; (16) Or why was I not hidden like a stillborn child, like infants who never saw light? (17) There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest. (18) There the prisoners rest together; they do not hear the voice of the oppressor. (19) The small and great are there, and the servant is free from his master."

Even the prisoners and the servants may rest there, small and great alike may rest, and that sounds good to Job in his misery.

(20) "Why is light given to him who is in misery, and life to the bitter of soul, (21) Who long for death, but it does not come, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures; (22) Who rejoice exceedingly, and are glad when they can find the grave? (23) Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, and whom God has hedged in?"

Why are light and life given to those in misery, those hedged in with no way of escape, those whom Job supposes just want to die?

(24) "For my sighing comes before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters. (25) For the thing which I greatly feared has come upon me, and that which I was afraid of has come upon me. (26) I was not in safety, neither had I rest, nor was I quiet; yet trouble came."

This could be a small interesting insight into the life of Job. Job was a good and pious man, but did he have an inner fear? There is a slight indication of this when he worried that his children might have sinned and therefore offered burnt offerings for them. We are told repeatedly in scripture to "fear not". Fearing not in the face of adversity is having faith in God, and even in this terrible tragedy of Job's, God is in complete control. Perhaps a better explanation for so pious a man is that this is part of the reverential fear that Job had for God. He knew that everything he had was in God's hands and could be taken away at any time: "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away."

How Evil Began

The perilous times continue. Another earthquake in Japan. It is heartbreaking to me to hear that 25,000 people lost their lives in the last one and that news seemed to be overshadowed by nuclear fears for US on the other side of the world and for what it might do to OUR economy!

While Americans were watching and wondering if the government would shut down, there began an ominous meeting of liberal "economists" who very well may be remaking the world's economy as they see fit:

Will Bretton Woods Shock U.S. Economy?

Possibly missed among congressional votes, was this one:

House Votes to Undo Net Neutrality Rules

Who wouldn't want net neutrality? "The FCC’s net neutrality rules prohibit cable, fiber and DSL broadband companies from blocking websites, allow users to use the software and devices of their choice, and require companies to be transparent if they use traffic-management software." Oh, they make it sound so good and TRANSPARENT (there's that word again that's supposed to make us feel that it is true), but in reality it means much more government control over the internet. Obama promises to veto the bill to undo net neutrality rules, so judge for yourself if that is because he wants more transparency or more control. The Word of God says we judge that by the man's fruits. What has Obama shown us so far?

Along those lines, there is interesting news that former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs may become a senior executive at Facebook managing its communications.

Will Obama Machine Take Over Facebook?

I truly believe there are no accidents in the coming and going of Obama's administrative picks, so I have to wonder what this might mean for his re-election bid. I fear we may not be able to get rid of Obama. Even though the people are sick of his out-of-control spending and his wimpy spine when it comes to making any real decisions (although I believe that is part of his plan to bring down America), just as they were able to push through Obamacare against the will of the people, I fear there are things in motion about which we haven't a clue, and the Obama machine will force its way through this time. Be careful what you wish for, as we have been told. You just might get it! All you voters of hope and change have surely gotten your wish. Now will we be stuck with four more years of it? I certainly hope not. But we must not fear, as we know Who is really in control. Obama's schemes do not take our Father by surprise. While that doesn't mean that He won't let Obama succeed for now, we know Who it is Who really provides all our needs and we must stay focused on Him.

So with that, I want to get back to a study of God's Word. Continuing with a chronologically ordered schedule of reading the Bible by Skip Andrews, I begin in Isaiah 14:4, which describes Satan's fall prior to his temptation of Eve in Genesis 3.

(Isaiah 14:4) That you will take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, "How the oppressor has ceased, the golden city ceased! (5) The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, and the scepter of the rulers. (6) He who struck the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he who ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted and no one hinders. (7) The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet; they break forth into singing. (8) Yea, the fir trees rejoice at you, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, 'Since you were cut down, no woodsman has come up against us.' (9) Hell from beneath is excited about you, to meet you at your coming; it stirs up the dead for you, all the chief ones of the earth; it has raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. (10) They all shall speak and say to you, 'Have you also become as weak as we? Have you become like us? (11) Your pomp is brought down to Hell, and the sound of your stringed instruments; the maggot is spread under you, and the worms cover you.' (12) How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! (13) For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven; I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the sides of the north; (14) I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.' (15) Yet you shall be brought down to Hell, to the sides of the pit."

While the passages begin talking about the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, the king is compared to Lucifer, who is the real ruler of the world.

(Ezekiel 28:11) Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, (12) "Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. (13) You have been in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, the ruby, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the garnet, and the emerald, and gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared in you in the day that you were created. (14) You are the anointed cherub who covers, and I have set you so; you were on the holy mountain of God; you have walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. (15) You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created, till iniquity was found in you. (16) By the multitude of your merchandise they have filled the midst of you with violence, and you have sinned; therefore I will cast you as profane out of the mountain of God; and I will destroy you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. (17) Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you have corrupted your wisdom by reason of your brightness; I will cast you to the ground, I will lay you before kings, that they may behold you. (18) You have defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your trade; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of you, it shall devour you, and I will bring you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them who behold you. (19) All they who knew you among the people shall be astonished at you; you shall be a terror, and never shall you be any more."'"

Once again a king is compared to Lucifer. The same pride and arrogance of Lucifer can be found in men. Next time, I'll begin in the third chapter of Genesis which shows just how Satan tempts men.

A note about the Bible version used above: For the most part, it is KJV, with a little NKJV to replace the "thee's" and "thou's". Occasionally, if the Old English word from the KJV doesn't make sense, and the NKJV seems to change the meaning too much, I have gone to Strong's for the original word and its meaning, and I may use that. This is not meant to be a new translation, but simply my transcribed study notes in a form I will best understand.

Creation of Man

First, the fine print: this transcription of Bible scriptures is from my personal study where I rewrite scriptures in a language I will understand best. In most cases, it is KJV, with a little NKJV sprinkled in to replace the "thee's" and the "thou's". Occasionally, when an old English word from KJV did not make sense to me, but the NKJV word seemed to change the meaning, I used Strong's to find the original meaning of the original word and used that. Please understand I do not mean for this to be another translation; these are only my study notes. Additionally, I use a chronological study guide by Skip Andrews in my study. I welcome any discussion on this or anything about which I write.

A synopsis of the first chapter of Genesis is found in Exodus 20:11:

For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

Beginning in Genesis 2:4, there is a more detailed retelling of the creation of man than that in Genesis, Chapter 1:

(Genesis 2:4) These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, (5) Before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown; for the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; (6) But a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. (7) And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (8) And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed. (9) And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (10) And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it parted and became four riverheads. (11) The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which surrounds the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. (12) And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there. (13) The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one that surrounds the whole land of Ethiopia. (14) And the name of the third river is Tigris; it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. (15) Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. (16) And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; (17) But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (18) And the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper for him." (19) And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them; and whatever Adam called every living creature, that was its name. (20) And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found a helper for him. (21) And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. (22) And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, He made into a woman, and brought her to the man. (23) And Adam said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." (24) Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and they shall be one flesh. (25) And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Jesus later referred back to this incident and quoted scripture to the Pharisees. On more than one occasion, Jesus refers to Adam and creation. I believe His reference to a historical fact negates the argument that the story of Adam is a myth or just a Biblical "story".

(Matthew 19:4) And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning made them male and female, (5) And said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and they two shall become one flesh'? (6) Therefore, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."

(Genesis 2:1) Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. (2) And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. (3) And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it, because in it He had rested from all His work which God had created and made.

In the Beginning - Thoughts on Creation As Told in Genesis 1

This is the second installment of a chronological Bible study inspired by A Chronological Bible Reading Schedule by Skip Andrews. As part of my study, I personally transcribe scriptures, using mostly KJV with a little NKJV to replace the "thee's" and "thou's". Occasionally, when a word is a hard-to-understand Old English word, but the NKJV seems to change the meaning too much, I use Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries to determine the original meaning of the word, and then may use that word. My transcription is not meant to be a new translation, but merely my own restating of the scriptures in a way that I can fully understand. Last time we had the prequel; now on to the beginning:

(Genesis 1:1) In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (2) And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (3) And God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. (4) And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. (5) And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. (6) Then God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters." (7) And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. (8) And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. (9) And God said, "Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so. (10) And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

The dictionary definition of "firmament" is "heaven", or "the vault of heaven, the expanse of the sky". The original word is "raqiya" meaning "expanse" or "visible arch of the sky". In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, but the earth was without form. That's really quite a thing to ponder. He created heaven and earth, but there was no shape or form! In the beginning it was apparently all like waters, all blended together, and God separated the "waters" and made the forms of heaven and earth.

(11) And God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so. (12) And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after its kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after its kind; and God saw that it was good. (13) And the evening and the morning were the third day. (14) And God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; (15) And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth"; and it was so. (16) And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; He made the stars also. (17) And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, (18) And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. (19) And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

Here's another great thing to ponder. On the first day God created light, and yet He didn't make the sun and moon and stars until the fourth day! Now I've heard it speculated that God was the light, but He didn't create Himself and call Himself Day. I believe it's probably just too complicated for our human minds. It's like we think we can put God in our little human box and fully explain Him and His creations. Fully explain GOD? If we could, He wouldn't be very God-like, would He? Think about this. God is outside of time. He created time itself. When we see the stars tonight, we are only seeing the light of the stars that has taken so many light years to get here, that by the time we see it, the stars are no longer in existence. According to many scientists who believe the earth is billions of years old, we should be seeing the light of stars that had to have been around since way before the Bible tells us God created the heaven and the earth and the stars. Yet they weren't. God is God; He isn't confined to our human time tables. I believe He is perfectly capable of putting stars in the heavens and having us see the lights immediately. I always have to chuckle when I hear scientists speak of their dating methods and tools. Perhaps if given millions and billions of years, *maybe* their dating methods work, but when you have a Creator God in the mix Who does not have to adhere to time or those dating rules, then how can they possibly know the real ages of things? How can they really know anything other than what has existed since man has been keeping records? They can speculate, but they can't know for certain. And yet, that is what they often try to convince us, that they can really know prehistoric events.

Back to the question about how there was light before there were the sun and stars, if God can put stars in the sky and have them instantly visible, I'm sure He could just as easily have us see the light of the sun before we could see the sun itself. But then, man wasn't there to see it yet. If light is created, but there is no one to see it, is there really light? :-) But seriously, God made the earth and it had no shape, and He made the light and it had no "shape". Then He shaped them. Isn't it awesome?

(20) And God said, "Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven." (21) And God created great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, which the waters brought forth abundantly, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind; and God saw that it was good. (22) And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." (23) And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. (24) And God said, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind, cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind"; and it was so. (25) And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind; and God saw that it was good. (26) And God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." (27) So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (28) And God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." (29) And God said, "Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food. (30) And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food"; and it was so. (31) And God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

God said to let man have dominion over all the earth and all the animals, contrary to what some pagan religious groups and animal rights activists will tell you. Amazingly, I have seen Ecclesiastes 3:19-21 used as proof that God says man and animals are equal. Sadly, I realized that if you read only the NIV or other modern versions like the NLT and others, you might actually be able to make a case for it. Yet another slaughter of the scriptures by the NIV translators I had missed! Please see my article entitled, Which Version of the Truth Will You Use? It details some of the subtle and some not-so-subtle changes in the NIV translation of the Bible that often greatly changes its original meaning. Ecclesiastes 3:19-21 in the NIV reads:

Man's fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; man has no advantage over the animal. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?"

NLT states it this way:

For humans and animals both breathe the same air, and both die. So people have no real advantage over the animals. How meaningless! Both go to the same place—the dust from which they came and to which they must return. For who can prove that the human spirit goes upward and the spirit of animals goes downward into the earth?

What the scriptures actually say in the KJV:

(19) For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all [is] vanity.

Translated: Men die just as animals die. We all have but one breath; man is not given more breaths (lives) than animals.

(20) All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

They all go to the grave when they die.

(21) Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?

Who knows the spirit of man? Who knows the spirit of the beast? Further clarifying, the scripture says who knows the spirit of man, that is, the spirit that goes upward? Who knows the spirit of the beast, that is, the spirit that goes downward to the earth?

It didn't say "Who knows?" or "Who can prove?" It said "Who knows the spirit?" and then spoke very matter-of-factly about where man's spirit goes and where animals' spirits go.

This is a great time to point out that you should never trust one scripture out of context. But there is another point I'd like to make about studying obscure, hard-to-understand scriptures. Even if you truly believed that the Ecclesiastes scriptures were insinuating that man and animals were the same (equal), that is the only place in the Bible where that is found. You will find that precepts in the scriptures are always stated at least twice. The Bible states that out of the mouths of two or three witnesses, a thing will be established:

But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.' - Matthew 18:16

This will be the third time I am coming to you. "By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established." - 2 Corinthians 13:1

One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. - Deuteronomy 19:15

Notice how that direction was given three times. When God created man to have dominion over the animals, it is first found in Genesis 1:26, and then repeated in Genesis 1:28. Then, lo and behold, found in Psalms:

You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, All sheep and oxen— Even the beasts of the field, The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas. - Psalms 8:6-8

If you find only one obscure passage about something and no other scripture to back it up, chances are pretty good that you are misinterpreting the meaning of the obscure passage.

God Planned for Our Salvation Through Jesus Christ Before Creation

I begin my chronological Bible study using A Chronological Bible Reading Schedule by Skip Andrews. I love how this schedule begins! I don't believe I have read these scriptures at the beginning of any chronological Bible I have ever read, but Mr. Andrews shows us that God had planned for salvation through Jesus Christ before the creation of the world!

Please note that in my transcription of the scriptures that follow, I have used a combination of the King James Version and the New King James Version. As I have written before in Which Version of the Truth Will You Use?, I believe the KJV is the most authentic. However, for better understanding I have replaced the "thee's" and "thou's" of the Old English of the KJV with the newer easier to understand language of the NKJV. Occasionally, when the KJV word made no sense, but the NKJV seemed to have changed the meaning, I went back to the original meaning of the word and used that. Please understand this is not intended to be my own new translation, but my own personal study notes, restating the scriptures in a way that I more fully understand. I hope you will find this study interesting in this particular order, in this particular version, and with these particular commentaries and notes, although it's just one Bible study among thousands. I would welcome and enjoy any comments. On with the study!

God planned for our salvation through Jesus Christ before creation:

(1 Peter 1:18) For you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver and gold, from your vain conduct received by tradition from your fathers; (19) But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: (20) Who indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

(Ephesians 3:10) To the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, (11) According to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(Psalm 40:6) Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; My ears You have opened. Burnt offering and sin offering You have not required. (7) Then I said, "Behold, I come; in the volume of the book it is written of me. (8) I delight to do Your will, O my God; yea, Your law is within my heart."

(Hebrews 10:5) Therefore, when He came into the world, He said, "Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. (6) In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have had no pleasure. (7) Then I said, 'Behold, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of Me) to do Your will, O God.'" (8) Above when He said, "Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them" (which are offered according to the law), (9) Then He said, "Behold, I come to do Your will, O God". He takes away the first that He may establish the second. (10) By that will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

The following scriptures show that Jesus Christ was in existence before Genesis 1:

(John 1:1) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) The same was in the beginning with God. (3) All things were made by Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made.

The Word mentioned above is clearly Jesus Christ as a few scriptures later in John 1:14, it is written: And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

(1 Corinthians 8:6) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him.

(Colossians 1:16) For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created by Him and for Him. (17) And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.

(Acts 17:24) God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. (25) Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. (26) And He has made from one blood all nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, (27) That they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from every one of us; (28) For in Him we live and move and have our being, as also certain of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.' (29) Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's device.

I love these scriptures! They are some of my memory scriptures. Imagine that each and every one of us was planned for this particular time and for this particular place! It brings to mind Esther and the words that Mordecai said to her that she had come to the kingdom for such a time as this. Have we all been born at this time and in this place "for such a time as this"? It was a question that hit me like a ton of bricks when I first wondered it about me, especially when it really seems we are nearing the end times.

The following scriptures offer a preview of the Genesis account:

(Hebrews 11:1) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (2) For by it the elders obtained a good report. (3) Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. (4) By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and by it he being dead still speaks. (5) By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, and was not found, because God had taken him; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. (6) But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (7) By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not yet seen, moved with fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. (8) By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out into a place which he would afterward receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. (9) By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; (10) For he looked for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. (11) Through faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. (12) Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore. (13) These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. (14) For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. (15) And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from which they had come out, they might have had opportunity to return. (16) But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country, where God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. (17) By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, (18) Of whom it was said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called," (19) Concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense. (20) By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. (21) By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. (22) By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.

That's it for the prequel! Next time I'll start at the beginning, Genesis 1:1.