The Making and Worshiping of the Golden Calf

Continuing with a chronological Bible study:

(Exodus 32:1) And when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”

In the last chapter, God had just finished talking to Moses on Mount Sinai, where he had been for forty days and forty nights (Exodus 24:18).  Meanwhile, the people grew restless because they didn't know what had become of Moses.  Consider that this must have been some time before the end of forty days as it would take them time to accomplish what they set out to do in Moses's absence.  The people came to Aaron who had been put in charge in while Moses was gone from the people, and asked him to make them gods to go before them.  As God in the cloud went before them on their trek to the promised land, this must be a reference for the need of "gods" to go before them so that they could continue their wilderness trek.  The phrase they used "as for this Moses" wreaks of contempt and impatience.  How soon people forget!  When you read this, it seems unfathomable, but I know it happens to us all the time.  They have the one true God of the universe in their presence vowing to be their God, and they get impatient for Moses's return and have the need for "gods", any old god?  Surely, in their minds the gods would have been representative of their one true God; they just seemed to need something physical to follow.  But had God not just told them not to make any graven images or likenesses?  He said it amongst thunder and lightning and smoke that greatly frightened the people.  How much more of an impression could He have made upon them?

(2) And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.”

To me, this is the most unbelievable, that Aaron, who had been Moses's right-hand man, and was in charge of these people in Moses's absence, should seem to go along with them.  He told them to break off the golden earrings that were in the ears of their wives and children and bring them to him (in order to make a god as they asked).  I was surprised to find that most of the early commentators gave Aaron the benefit of the doubt and supposed that he did not initially go along with this plan of theirs, and by asking for only the earrings of the wives and children, he was asking for what he thought would be the hardest for them to give up, and they would abandon their plan.  It seems to me that they are reading into the text something that was not at all expressed.  "IF" it did happen that way, the point is obviously that it did not matter, for it seems Aaron eventually gave in to the will of the people.

(3) And all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron.  (4) And he received them from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.”

The people did indeed bring Aaron the earrings, and once again, I see no hesitation in Aaron.  He appears to take them from their hands and immediately proceed with fashioning a golden calf!  Possibly the likeness was chosen because of the familiar ox worship they had been exposed to in Egypt.  Once again, some of the commentators suppose that Aaron was fashioning something he surely thought they would recognize as foolish and would regret the giving up of their precious gold they had received from their Egyptian neighbors.  And once again, I believe they have to add to the text to come up with this viewpoint.  "IF" this was his plan, it wasn't a very good plan from a man in leadership.  This appears to be a leader who doesn't lead, but follows the will of the people.  Do we not see that these days in our leaders who appear to sway as the polls determine?  The people happily accepted the golden calf and proclaimed it their God!  This is the one place where I am willing to give them a small benefit of the doubt.  Surely they did not see this inanimate golden calf as their god, but as a representative of their Lord who brought them out of the land of Egypt.  This was still a complete violation of the commandment God had given them, and inexcusable, but it brings the point to a place where we can personally identify with it.  How many times do we fudge a little on God's commandment because we "aren't really worshiping idols"?

(5) And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD.”

When Aaron saw his finished product, he went on to build an altar before it.  Then he indeed proclaimed a feast be made to "the LORD", not to the calf.  It appears they were indeed using the calf as a representation of their one true Lord, but there can be no likeness that can measure up to God, and anything in heaven above or in the earth below would only disrespect and diminish the one true God, especially a calf, the symbol of pagan worship!  Besides, it was disobedience to a direct commandment, regardless of what they thought their motives were.  God's laws are always about what is truly best for us, and I believe this one is no exception.  God wanted His people to learn to depend on Him even though they could not see Him.  They needed to feel His Spirit and presence among them and learn to follow that.  We know God in our hearts, not from something we physically see and feel.  That ultimately makes Him much bigger to us and someone we can surely trust with everything!  A god that can be contained in a box that we have created is not our one true Creator God.  It is in our best interests to better know the one true God and not be limited to what we can see and understand.

(6) And they rose up early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.

It was supposed to be their feast to the Lord, and the next day the people indeed woke up early, offered their burnt offerings and brought their peace offerings.  However, it begins to sound like a raucous party where they ate, drank, and were merry, probably to excess, as the original word for "play" was "tsachaq", most often used to mean laughing in scorn or mocking.  If this is indeed so, then not only were the people who had just recently received the thunderous ten commandments of the Lord, making likenesses of the Lord to worship them, but they were probably also taking the Lord's name in vain.  They were certainly taking Him all too lightly and commonly.

As a side note, I just read something from Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, that I had not read before, and want to mention here.  Henry was contemplating about how Aaron could have so easily fallen into such an active role in this vain idol worship, even leading by making the golden calf and proclaiming the feast day.  He wrote that the Jews have a tradition that Hur, also left in charge with Aaron, did indeed oppose what the people wanted to do, and was stoned, and that is why we never hear anything of him afterward.  This may have frightened Aaron into compliance.  It may have been a story based on presumption and assumption to explain why Aaron would do such a thing.  I would think it would have been written about in scripture if it were true.  The fact that it wasn't written, even if it was true and not written, must mean that it just doesn't matter why Aaron did what he did.  Aaron was the chief priest, Moses's right-hand man, second in command, and now in charge of the people, and there is no evidence that he even tried to dissuade the people.  If he was so frightened not to take even an initial stand against their vain idolatry, then he wasn't much of a leader, and I believe that is certainly the point here.

(7) And the LORD said to Moses, “Go, get down, for your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. (8) They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them; they have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, which has brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”

Meanwhile, the Lord had just finished His instructions to Moses, and now told him what the people were doing in his absence.  He urged him to quickly get down to them because they had corrupted themselves.  Note the Lord said "your" people whom "you" brought out of Egypt.  The people had so corrupted themselves in hearts and actions against the Lord that He did not even consider them His people anymore.  After hearing God's commandments and promising to obey them, the Lord noted they had quickly forgotten His commands and He told Moses exactly what they had been doing--making a molded calf, worshiping and sacrificing to it, and even told Moses their very words about this calf being their god which had brought them out of Egypt.

(9) And the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people. (10) Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation.”

The Lord told Moses He had seen this group of people and saw that they were a stiff-necked (from two words meaning "stubborn" and "neck") people.  It was written by Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, that this was possibly a reference to the stiff-necked ox that they worshiped.  He told Moses to leave Him alone and let Him destroy this people, and that He would make a great nation from Moses and his line alone.  I always find it interesting when God says something like, "let Me alone".  How could Moses do anything to stop the God of the universe from destroying these people if He wanted to?  He obviously couldn't, but for our own learning, He showed us an example of intercession for a people that deserved death, as will unfold in the next verses.

(11) And Moses pleaded with the LORD his God, and said: “LORD, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? (12) Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, ‘He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people.'"

Moses began pleading with God.  The word translated as "pleaded" in the NKJV and as "besought" in the KJV is "chalah" and more completely means "to become weak, sick, or grieved", and one of the lesser used definitions is to pray or beg.  I believe that means Moses was completely broken and prostrate before the Lord, begging for the people.  He pleaded with God to have mercy on this people, and seemed to indicate to God that he knew these were God's people, not his own, and gave glory to God alone as the one who brought the people out of Egypt with His great power.  He pleaded not only for the people, but for God's honor and glory, and that should always be our prayer, as well, that through the things we ask of our Lord, that glory and honor be brought to Him.  Moses begged the Lord to turn from His wrath, have mercy on this undeserving people, and turn away from His plan to destroy them.  This is a perfect illustration of Christ interceding on our behalf.  We sinful people are deserving of eternal death and separation from God, but Christ intercedes for us.  Note how God said in verse 10 that He would make a great nation of Moses alone.  Jesus Christ who sits as King at the throne of God came down to intercede for us, to save us from our deserved death.  Moses could alone have been the father of his people as was Abraham, but being unselfish and loving, pleaded for the people.

(13) “Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’”

Moses went on to plead with God to remember His original promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel.  It's not that God needs reminding, but we should always stand on God's promises.  No matter how things appear, we stand on the promises of God, and should pray to that effect.  We pray for God's will, and we pray that He have mercy, and forgive us our sins, that we may remain His forever.  Is that not what Jesus Christ did for us?  He interceded for us, and although we deserved death, He provided a way that God's will be done, but that we may by His mercy be forgiven our sins, and inherit the kingdom of God forever.

(14) And the LORD relented from the harm which He thought to do to His people.

The Lord indeed turned from His righteous and well-deserved plan to destroy His people, but this plan was probably not yet known to Moses as indicated by the following verses (esp. 30-31).

(15) And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other they were written. (16) And the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets.

Moses turned from conversing with God and started back down the mountain.  He carried the two stone tablets of God's Testimony in his hands.  The tablets were written on both sides, which appears to have been a remarkable thing in its time as in ancient times two sides of the same substance were never used.  Some of the old commentators I have read suppose that it may have been the same law written on the back as on the front so that it could be seen by the reader and the listening observers.  Some even speculate that the lettering may have been cut all the way through so as to be seen from both sides, but the back side would have been seen in reverse.  It's also possible the different laws were written on different sides of the two tablets so as to be read in book form.  We can't really know exactly how the tablets looked, but we do know that they were remarkably or perhaps even miraculously unique, and that they were the work of God, once again said to be the writing of God Himself.

(17) And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.”

When Moses ascended all the way up the mountain to converse with God, Joshua had stayed partway down the mountain, but had remained there all the while Moses was there.  Moses had been on the top of the mountain for forty days, and Joshua had waited for him patiently.  As Moses came down to where he was, he told him that he heard the shouts of the people, and supposed there was war in the camp.

(18) And he said, “It is not the voice of the shout of victory, neither the voice of the cry of defeat, but the noise of singing I hear.”

The Lord had already revealed to Moses what the people were really doing in his absence, so he understood the noise to be their singing rather than the sounds of war.

(19) And it came to pass, as soon as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing; and Moses's anger burned hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.

Although God had already told Moses that the people had made a calf and were sacrificing to it and worshiping it, I guess the sight of it was too much for Moses.  When he saw their dancing and celebrating, he threw the stone tablets out of his hands and they broke at the foot of the mountain.  In the past, I always took this as just Moses's righteous anger.  However, I always felt a twinge of guilt for Moses having thrust tablets written by the very finger of God.  Perhaps he should have shown more care and respect for those tablets than to have allowed them to be destroyed in his anger.  It was upon reading and studying some of the old commentaries that I frequently read along with this Bible study, that I found that it was thought that this action was probably inspired by the Holy Spirit of God and was symbolic.  They cite the fact that Moses was never really chastised for his actions, and he himself talked quite frankly with no regret about his actions in Deuteronomy 9:17.  There he seemed to suggest he could have done it deliberately, saying, "I took the two tablets and cast them out of my two hands and broke them before your eyes."  When Moses broke the tablets, it was symbolic of the fact that the people had broken God's laws written on those tablets. 

(20) And he took the calf which they had made, burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink of it.

Additionally, Moses took the calf they had made and burned it in fire and ground it to powder which he then scattered on the water and made the people drink.  Of course, Moses wanted to destroy the detestable thing, but also there was symbolism in showing the people that their god had been reduced to nothing but powder, something the people were able to drink.  Albert Barnes in his Notes on the Bible, said it this way, "The idol was brought to nothing and the people were made to swallow their own sin."

(21) And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?”

Moses then rightly turned to Aaron to ask how he could have let such a thing happen.  Note the way he asked it.  First, what could they have done to him that he would allow it; and second, that he, Aaron, was responsible for bringing so great a sin on the people, by allowing them to do such a thing.  For his brother to allow such an abomination, surely the people must have terribly threatened him.  He was in charge of this people in Moses's absence and responsible for this great sin brought upon them.  As leader, Aaron was in a position of higher responsibility.  I can't help but think of the times in the Old Testament that it was stated that the king "did evil in the sight of the Lord" and "made Israel to sin".  God did indeed hold the leaders to a higher standard.  It was their responsibility to righteously and morally lead the people.  My mind can't help but play the line, "Obama did evil in the sight of the Lord, and made the people to sin".  How could it possibly look to the Lord that we not only kill babies, but chop them up to use their best parts; and that we not only allow homosexual marriage, but celebrate it, something God specifically called an abomination, shining God's rainbow, His symbol of promise, on the White House, the symbol of our government and country?  People can justify these acts to their dying days, but they can never convince me that God approves.  The closest they can get to making me understand how we can allow such atrocities is that we are a secular country and we have secular laws.  This country is not a church.  The kings were leaders of Israel, God's own people.  Fine, but how on earth do people think a country without God will survive?  It won't, plain and simple.

(22) And Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn hot; you know the people, that they are set on mischief. (23) For they said to me, ‘Make us gods that shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ (24) And I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.”

Aaron's answer is remarkable in its weakness and immaturity.  It seems to be in our nature to always want to blame others for our sin, from the time Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent.  Here Aaron weakly blamed the people, suggesting that Moses knew how they were.  He even seemed to lay a little blame on Moses when he repeated the people's seemingly contemptuous remark about not knowing what had become of "this Moses".  Aaron offered no evidence of heavy-handedness on the part of the people, but described how the people asked for a god and he asked for their gold.  He merely cast the gold into the fire and out popped a calf!  Does this not sound like a child explaining the mess he made?  When there is no one else to blame, Aaron said in effect, "it just happened".  One can only assume his point was that perhaps Satan himself entered into the fire and created the calf.  I suppose that is someone else to blame--"the devil made me do it".  However, Aaron didn't bother to add that he himself had fashioned and molded the calf (verse 4 above).

(25) And when Moses saw that the people were naked (for Aaron had made them naked to their shame among their enemies), (26) Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Who is on the LORD'S side? Let him come to me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him.

This word "naked" didn't really mean stripped of their clothing, but rather exposed by their sin, and therefore abandoned by God in the face of their enemies.  Once again, it is said that Aaron caused this.  Moses then stood in the gate of the camp and asked who was on the Lord's side, obviously in opposition to the false idol and raucous sin that had developed in its presence.  Whether they had never participated in the idolatrous acts, or perhaps they did and they now turned from their sin and chose the side of their Lord, the sons of Levi, Moses and Aaron's own tribe, gathered themselves to Moses.

(27) And he said to them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Let every man put his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.’”

Wow!  This verse may make most people uncomfortable.  Moses told those Levites who had gathered before him that the Lord instructed them to go throughout the camp and kill the transgressors, not sparing their own brothers, friends, and neighbors.  Note he told them to go from gate to gate.  I believe this suggests that they were not to go into the tents of people who were not taking part of the celebration feast to the false idol, but rather the people who were still "in the streets", as it were, not ashamed and not repenting for what they had done.

(28) And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses; and there fell about three thousand men of the people that day.

Again, wow!  The children of Levi killed about 3000 men from their own brothers, friends, and neighbors.  Before we get caught up in the presumed cruelty in this verse, we must consider that this was in no way an indiscriminate massacre.  It has already been pointed out that the people killed were only the ones who persisted in their celebration to the false idol.  A choice was made to all the people when they were all asked, "Who is on the LORD'S side?"  They all had the opportunity to turn from their wickedness and come to Moses on the Lord's side.  Those who would not turn were destroyed from God's people.  There is always a consequence to sin.  People often don't want to accept responsibility for their actions; they want to pleasure in their sin with no consequences, but that is not how it works.  Sin ultimately means death, and life is only in the Lord.  He beckons us to "choose life".  In this case, 3000 men chose death.

(29) For Moses had said, “Consecrate yourselves today to the LORD, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother, that He may bestow on you a blessing this day."

Interesting that the newer translations wrote something to the effect of, "then Moses said" or "afterward Moses said", but the KJV makes the most sense to me--"For Moses had said" before they went out and "did according to the word of Moses".  The children of Levi killed 3000 of their men because Moses had told them the word of the Lord to go from gate to gate throughout the camp killing their brothers, friends, and neighbors.  Additionally, he had said that if they would devote themselves to the Lord, obeying His command to kill those who weren't on the Lord's side and had apparently remained indifferent about their worship of the golden calf, sparing not even their loved ones, that the Lord would recognize their zeal for Him and would bestow a blessing on them.

(30) And it came to pass on the next day that Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin; and now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make an atonement for your sin.”

Although the greatest offenders had been slain, Moses reminded the people the next day that they had committed a great sin and certainly were not yet free from guilt.  He told them he would now return to the Lord on the mountain and "perhaps" he would be able to get forgiveness for them.

(31) And Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold. (32) Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—and if not, blot me, I pray, out of Your book which You have written.”

Moses returned to the Lord and told Him what the Lord had already told Moses.  I have to assume that knowing the Lord already knew this, that this statement was more of a confession or lamentation that "these people" had done such a thing.  Moses pleaded with the Lord to forgive their sin, and then went as far as to offer his own life if the Lord would not forgive them.  Wow, I'm not sure I could have offered so much as to be blotted out of God's book which He Himself had written.  I don't know if this was a literal book of God's people, the names of the children of Israel, the ones who were to inherit the promised land; and Moses was referring to God's proposal in verse 10 that He destroy all the people and make a great nation from Moses alone, and he was now asking the Lord not to do that.  Then again, perhaps this was God's Book of Life and Moses was actually asking that he be blotted from the Book of Life, either alone or along with his people.  I have to assume by God's answer below that Moses was not expressing this out of greater love for his people than for His Lord, and desiring to go with them, but because of his great love for his Lord and His glory, he was willing to sacrifice himself to prevent the total destruction of His people which were an example and reminder to the world of the power and might of the Lord (v. 11-12 above).  In this, Moses would be an example of Christ who would lay down His life for His sheep (John 10:11), and as everything has appeared to be an illustration of the coming Christ, I believe this is also one.

(33) And the LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book. (34) Now therefore, go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you; behold, My Angel shall go before you; nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them."

The Lord, however, told Moses that each offender was to suffer for his own sin; Moses, as innocent of this great sin, would not die for the guilty.  He then told him to go ahead and lead the people toward the place of which He had spoken, the promised land.  However, He said His Angel would go before them.  This sounds as if the Lord Himself would no longer be with them in the cloud.  However, in His mercy, He would allow His Angel to lead the people toward the promised land, but in the day that He Himself visited, He would not forget this sin, and the people would indeed be punished for it.  In this, the Lord would punish the individuals, but would not take His blessing from the nation as a whole.

(35) And the LORD plagued the people because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made.

For the present, it appears that the Lord did send a plague to the people because they had made the calf, although there are no details of the plague.  Note that although Aaron had made the calf, scripture referred to the people having made it.  Indeed, they were the ones who desired it to worship it, and were the guilty ones.  Aaron definitely bore some guilt, surely in weakness and inability to stand up for the Lord against the people, but the people were plagued because "they made the calf".

The people, as the nation of the children of Israel, were saved from total destruction.  However, Moses was not able to totally turn away the wrath of God.  This may be in example of how the law was unable to completely reconcile men to God, and that was reserved for the coming Christ, in whom alone it is that God would so completely pardon sin that it would be remembered no more (Hebrews 10:17).

Pharaoh A Saint Compared to Us?

Continuing with a chronological Bible study:

(Exodus 9:1) Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me."'"

At the end of the last chapter, the plague of the flies had been lifted from the land of Egypt because Pharaoh had asked that Moses entreat the Lord for him, which he did.  Furthermore, Pharaoh had said he would let the Israelite people go; however, he did not.  Now the Lord told Moses to go to Pharaoh and tell him that the Lord God of the Hebrews again told him to let His people go.

(2) "'“For if you refuse to let them go, and will hold them still, (3) Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon your cattle which are in the field, upon the horses, upon the donkeys, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep; there shall be a very severe pestilence. (4) And the LORD shall separate between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt; and there shall nothing die of all that is the children's of Israel.”’”

Again Moses, through his spokesman Aaron, was to give Pharaoh a warning of what would happen if he refused to let God's people go.  The phrase "there shall be" was added by the KJV translators for clarity; it was not in the original text.  Although it does seem to be needed to correctly express the idea, I think the sense is that the Lord, with His hand on the beasts of the land, could immediately bring pestilence to them, without any stretching forth of Aaron's rod or any other fanfare.  The Lord's hand was already on them with pestilence ready to be let go at His bidding.  The beasts of the earth, all things in nature, and every person's life are held in God's hand and are at His command at any given moment.  Because they are at His command, He could easily distinguish between the beasts of Israel and the beasts of Egypt, and He would not allow any of the Israelites' animals to die.

(5) And the LORD appointed a set time, saying, “Tomorrow the LORD will do this thing in the land.”

Not only could the Lord's hand immediately bring pestilence, but it could do it at any particular appointed time, proving that it could only be the Lord who brought the pestilence.  This also gave Pharaoh time to change his mind before the Lord followed through with what He warned would happen if Pharaoh refused to let God's people go.

(6) And the LORD did that thing on the next day, and all the cattle of Egypt died; but of the cattle of the children of Israel, not one died.

The Lord did as He warned on the next day, bringing pestilence to the livestock of the Egyptians.  Regarding "all the cattle of Egypt", I believe it must be read and understood that all the cattle which died were of Egypt, because we later read of a plague affecting the cattle again.  Perhaps the plague was brought upon only the "cattle which are in the field", as stated in verse 3, and there were others not affected, or perhaps the pestilence was upon all the Egyptian livestock, but not all died, but all that did die were of Egypt; none of the livestock of the Israelites died.  Once again, it must be noted that a plague affected objects of worship by the Egyptians.  Egyptian deities proved again to be under the power of the Israelites' God.

(7) And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.

Pharaoh apparently sent messengers to inquire about the Israelite cattle, and found that none were dead of the Israelites' livestock.  It's interesting that he purposely sent messengers to see if what had been promised was indeed true, and remarkable that when he found it was true, he dug in his heels all the more and did not let the Israelites go.

(8) And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Take for yourselves handfuls of ashes from a furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. (9) And it shall become fine dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall become boils breaking forth in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.”

After Pharaoh again hardened his heart and refused to let the people go, this next plague was to come without warning.  The Lord instructed Moses and Aaron to take handfuls of ashes and scatter them toward heaven where Pharaoh could see what they were doing.  Throwing the ashes from the fiery furnace up to heaven may have been symbolic; the very furnace at which the Hebrews had been oppressed and enslaved now became the source of the plague upon the Egyptians.  The ashes would come down as a fine dust over the land of Egypt causing inflamed boils and blisters all over the Egyptian people and the animals throughout the land of Egypt.  Additionally, the symbolic act could have also been a reference to the fact that there were times that the Egyptians sacrificed men, burning them alive, and throwing their ashes up to the heavens.

(10) And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled them toward heaven; and they became boils breaking forth in sores on man and beast. (11) And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians.

Moses and Aaron did as God told them, and the ash dust became boils and blistery pustules on man and beast, so severe that Pharaoh's magicians could not even stand before Moses!

(12) And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not hearken to them, as the LORD had spoken to Moses.

Pharaoh still stood obstinate and would not let the people go, as God had told Moses he would.  For a previous discussion on the Lord hardening Pharaoh's heart, please see the post on Exodus 4, especially the notes on verse 21.

(13) And the LORD said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me, (14) For I will at this time send all My plagues on your heart, and on your servants and on your people, that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth."'"

The Lord told Moses to again rise up early in the morning to meet with Pharaoh and tell him God's words, to let His people go in order to serve Him.  God said He would at this time send all His plagues on Pharaoh's heart, etc.  This would have to be all the remaining plagues He had planned, and it appears that they all would be sent, with no chance to stop them midstream.  Either God knew that Pharaoh would not have repented and let the people go before all were accomplished, or else after all the chances Pharaoh had up to this point to repent, now there would be no further chances and God would accomplish all He had planned so that Pharaoh would know in his heart that there was none like Him in all the earth.  In the end, everyone will know the truth.  All the atheists, all those who ridicule God and the Bible and those who believe, will in the end come to know the truth, for the Bible tells us "every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God" (Romans 14:11).  They will bow and confess because they will know that truly they are in the presence of the Lord Almighty.  Likewise, Pharaoh would know in his heart that there was none like the one true almighty God of heaven and earth after He sent all His plagues.  I do believe it is possible that God would reach a point when He would give no more chances to repent because of the scripture in Isaiah, chapter 55, specifically verse 6, which says, "Seek ye the LORD while he may be found..."  "While" suggests there will be a time when He won't be found.

(15) "'"For now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. (16) And indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, to show in you My power, and that My name may be declared throughout all the earth."'"

Although the KJV translated verse 15 in the future tense, Biblical scholars say that in the Hebrew the verbs were in the past tense and not in the future, so I have used the translation above that most scholars agree is the correct one.  After all, God never struck Pharaoh and all the people with pestilence that removed them from the earth, but it is certainly something He could have done at any time with great ease.  That has to be the message to Pharaoh now, that God could have stretched out His hand and struck Pharaoh and all the Egyptians and killed them instantly, but He had a purpose in raising him up and allowing him to be in this position of power at this time.  It was to show through him God's power over him and over all his worthless gods and idols, that only the one true God would be declared as Lord of all throughout all the earth.

I have to remind myself of this fact that it is God alone who raises up leaders, when I look around at how far from God we are at this present time in our country.  A country that was founded on Christian principles, a country that sought the blessing of Almighty God, one that regularly prayed to Him and sought His guidance, now seeks to remove Him from everything.  We now have a president that regularly "quotes" from the founding documents, but leaves out all references to God in those documents.  He has actually covered up a reference to Jesus on a stage where he was to talk; he couldn't even be seen in the presence of a reference to Jesus that he didn't himself even make!  Actually, that has a very strong spiritual implication that Obama cannot stand in the presence of Jesus, but that is another topic.  His party just this last presidential election cycle decided they did not even want God as a part of their platform.  We wonder why everything is so bad in this country right now--it is because we tossed aside everything God stands for and decided we wanted Godless people to rule over us!  And GOD alone raised Obama up to bring judgment on this country.  We wanted Godlessness and God allowed us to have what we wanted.  We, as a country, that is.  I certainly never wanted a Godless man as president!  There are many good Christian people in this country who didn't want him, but as a country, we elected him.  He is the very picture of what we have become.  He is the most pro-abortion president we have ever had, voting on three occasions before becoming president to allow babies born alive after botched abortions to die on a shelf with no attempt to save their lives!  I think of that abortion doctor, Kermit Gosnell, who was found guilty of murder because he killed babies born alive that had survived botched abortions.  I remember that bewildered look he had when he was found guilty.  In his mind, he was only carrying out what he had been paid to do, end the life of a mother's baby, as was her choice.  What he did was a very picture of abortion, this woman's reproductive "right" to murder her child!  It made people uncomfortable to think he killed a baby outside of the womb, but just inside the womb is okay.  When you think about it, Dr. Gosnell was much more humane in killing the baby right away, rather than letting it slowly die on a shelf with no care as Obama proposed we do!!  In addition, Obama has done more to promote the homosexual agenda than any other president, something God called an abomination, and something He warned us against when He told us to remember Sodom and Gomorrah as an example of what would happen, "suffering the vengeance of eternal fire".  Obama is the most lawless president we have ever had, ignoring laws he does not like, changing laws at his whim, using his pen and his phone to act as our king, and our Congress seems impotent against him.  It is because God alone raised him up!  Our country chose to be ruled by a Godless man, and here we are!

(17) "'"As yet you exalt yourself against My people, that you will not let them go? (18) Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as has not been in Egypt since its foundation until now. (19) Therefore send now and gather your cattle and all that you have in the field, for the hail shall come down on every man and beast which shall be found in the field and is not brought home, and they shall die.”’”

God was still speaking to Moses, telling him to speak these words to Pharaoh, as thus said the Lord.  Still Pharaoh exalted himself above God's people and refused to let them go, but God was about to send all His remaining plagues striking the very heart of Pharaoh, and showing him His power as Lord of all the earth, as stated in verses 14-16 above.  God now warned Pharaoh that tomorrow at this time He would send a rain of hail such as had never been seen before.  However, He actually mercifully still gave Pharaoh a chance to avoid the hail, if he would just gather all the livestock in the field and bring them in, they would avoid being killed by the hail.  Any man or beast in the fields at this time tomorrow would be killed by hail, but they had about 24 hours warning to avoid what was sure to come.

(20) He who feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee to the houses. (21) And he who did not regard the word of the LORD left his servants and his cattle in the field.

I love this!  It's so simple.  Those who believed and feared God among the servants of Pharaoh heeded God's warning and brought all the servants and cattle in from the fields.  I believe this is proof that God drew out these plagues upon Egypt in order to give some of the Egyptians time to repent and be saved.  He could have swooped in, struck down or frozen Pharaoh and his servants, and allowed His people to go immediately, but He had a purpose in doing it the way He did.  He told us in verse 16 it was to show His power that His name be magnified in all the earth.  He could have shown His power immediately, but to us dense sinners, we need a much longer look for it to sink in!  Adam Clarke wrote a beautiful commentary on this, part of which can be found in my post on chapter 4, especially the notes on verse 21, linked here.  Those who believed what they had thus far seen and feared the Lord, were spared; those who did not heed the word of the Lord left their servants and livestock in the fields.

(22) And the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch forth your hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man, on beast, and on every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” (23) And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven; and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire ran along on the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.

The next day at the appointed time, the Lord told Moses to stretch forth his hand toward heaven and thus call the hailstorm onto the land of Egypt, on every man, beast, and herb in the fields.  Moses did as the Lord told him, and the Lord sent a horrific hailstorm with thunder and lightning that ran along the ground.  This must have been very frightening to the Egyptians who didn't see much rain, let alone thunderstorms, not to mention fierce thunderstorms with severe lightning and heavy hail.  This must surely have looked like the wrath of God raining down on the Egyptians, and the ones who had believed were not in the fields and were spared.

(24) So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. (25) And the hail struck throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail struck every herb of the field and broke every tree of the field. (26) Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail.

The hailstorm with fierce lightning causing hail and fire all through the land of Egypt was like nothing that had ever been seen before in the land of Egypt.  The hail struck every man and beast in the field, and struck every herb and broke every tree where it rained.  But it did not rain in Goshen where the children of Israel were.  God had given warning, and the children of Israel could have easily heeded the warning and brought their livestock and come in and avoided the hail, but God made a very dramatic point in separating His people from the Egyptians.  They and their animals, and their herbs, plants, and trees were spared.

(27) And Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “I have sinned this time; the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. (28) Entreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.”

So fierce and frightening was the plague of hail and lightning, Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron to ask them to ask the Lord to remove it.  On one hand, Pharaoh called the Lord "Jehovah", the proper name for the one true eternal God, admitted his sin, and called himself and his people wicked.  You might think he had had an epiphany and saw the light; he used some of the right words.  But I couldn't help notice that he said he sinned "this time"; now maybe he meant that this time, for the first time, he saw his sin and wickedness, but he continued on to ask that they ask the Lord to remove the hail and thundering because "it is enough".  Who is he to say that it had been enough?  Maybe it had been enough to make him see the light.  Although he tried to use the right words, I rather think his arrogance showed through.  He did not have a truly repentant heart as he could not totally admit his sin and he seemed to tell the Lord what was enough.  He did ask Moses and Aaron to entreat the Lord to end the hailstorms and he did say that he would then let the Israelite people go.

(29) And Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the LORD; and the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, that you may know that the earth is the LORD’s. (30) But as for you and your servants, I know that you will not yet fear the LORD God.”

Moses agreed to Pharaoh's request.  He said as soon as he had left the city, he would spread his hands to the Lord, and the Lord would stop the hail and thunder, so that Pharaoh would know that the earth was the Lord's and at His command.  However, Moses indeed did see that Pharaoh's admission of guilt and acknowledgment of Jehovah God were not true and heartfelt; he knew and told him so that he knew Pharaoh and his servants did not yet fear the Lord.

(31) And the flax and the barley were struck, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. (32) But the wheat and the rye were not struck, for they were not grown up.

These verses speak of the plants that were struck and destroyed by the hailstorm.  The barley had ears and the flax was in bud, so it was struck, but the wheat and rye, as later bloomers, were not yet sprouted from the ground, and so not struck by hail.  By this, the time of year can be approximated, which a consensus of the early commentaries state, must have been late February or early March.

(33) And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread out his hands to the LORD; and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured on the earth.

Moses did as he told Pharaoh he would, and went out of the city and spread his hands out to the Lord in prayer and supplication for Pharaoh.  Indeed the thunder and hailstorm ceased, just as Moses had told Pharaoh it would.

(34) And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants. (35) And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken by Moses.

Once the hailstorm ceased, Pharaoh sinned again; to begin with, we know he was not thankful to the Lord for answered prayer!  He hardened his heart, which sin does, he and his servants both.  He sinned again by not fulfilling his promise to let the Israelites go if Moses asked the Lord to remove the hailstorm.  It's funny; I started out typing "Unbelievably", etc.; but it's actually not so unbelievable.  When you read of these events just boom-boom, one immediately after another, it's hard to believe that Pharaoh could return to his ways after just witnessing such miracles.  However, imagine a person praying to God to remove a big problem and promising to change his ways, and after God answers the prayer, he returns to his former ways.  Actually, Pharaoh's actions are sadly too credible.  His heart was hardened and he would not let the children of Israel go, and this was just as Moses had said, for he knew that Pharaoh did not yet fear the Lord, as he said in verse 30. Moses spoke it, but God had said all along that Pharaoh would not let the children of Israel go until all His signs and wonders were accomplished.

Adam Clarke wrote a scathing rebuke to any self-righteous Christian who would think that it was unbelievable that Pharaoh could continue to sin and resist God after so many signs, to those who might believe the only possible explanation must be that God was controlling and hardening Pharaoh's heart against his will:

"...is not the conduct of Pharaoh and his courtiers copied and reacted by thousands who are never suspected to be under any such necessitating decree? Every sinner under heaven, who has the Bible in his hand, is acting the same part. God says to the swearer and the profane, Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; and yet common swearing and profaneness are most scandalously common among multitudes who bear the Christian name, and who presume on the mercy of God to get at last to the kingdom of heaven! He says also, Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy; thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not commit adultery; thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not bear false witness; thou shalt not covet; and sanctions all these commandments with the most awful penalties: and yet, with all these things before them, and the professed belief that they came from God, Sabbath-breakers, men-slayers, adulterers, fornicators, thieves, dishonest men, false witnesses, liars, slanderers, backbiters, covetous men, lovers of the world more than lovers of God, are found by hundreds and thousands! What were the crimes of the poor half-blind Egyptian king when compared with these! He sinned against a comparatively unknown God; these sin against the God of their fathers - against the God and Father of Him whom they call their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! They sin with the Bible in their hand, and a conviction of its Divine authority in their hearts. They sin against light and knowledge; against the checks of their consciences, the reproofs of their friends, the admonitions of the messengers of God; against Moses and Aaron in the law; against the testimony of all the prophets; against the evangelists, the apostles, the Maker of heaven and earth, the Judge of all men, and the Savior of the world! What were Pharaoh’s crimes to the crimes of these? On comparison, his atom of moral turpitude is lost in their world of iniquity. And yet who supposes these to be under any necessitating decree to sin on, and go to perdition? Nor are they; nor was Pharaoh. In all things God has proved both his justice and mercy to be clear in this point. Pharaoh, through a principle of covetousness, refused to dismiss the Israelites, whose services he found profitable to the state: these are absorbed in the love of the world, the love of pleasure, and the love of gain; nor will they let one lust go, even in the presence of the thunders of Sinai, or in sight of the agony, bloody sweat, crucifixion, and death of Jesus Christ! Alas! how many are in the habit of considering Pharaoh the worst of human beings, inevitably cut off from the possibility of being saved because of his iniquities, who outdo him so far in the viciousness of their lives, that Pharaoh, hardening his heart against ten plagues, appears a saint when compared with those who are hardening their hearts against ten millions of mercies. Reader, art thou of this number? Proceed no farther! God’s judgments linger not. Desperate as thy state is, thou mayest return; and thou, even thou, find mercy through the blood of the Lamb."

Wow!  Definitely thought-provoking words!  Bring them into present time and culture, and imagine Christians with Bible in hand who condone the murder of the most innocent as a reproductive right of the mother; those who elevate the sin of homosexuality, something God called an abomination (an act, not a person!), to the status of God-ordained unions and marriage; those who affect to be so intelligent and enlightened that they understand that while they profess to love the Lord, they "understand" that God must be separated from civil society; and all of the above vote for a political party that wants no part of God in its platform.  All this from a people who have no excuse!  The people in our country have grown up free with God's word readily available in books, on TV, on radio, in a church on every corner.  While it's true that not every church or medium that professes to be Christian, truly is the true word of God, any person who truly seeks the Lord and His truth will have no trouble finding it.  But they reject the Bible as the inspired word of God and as Mr. Clarke said above, they reject the words of God, Jesus, the prophets, the apostles, and Moses and Aaron in the Mosaic law.  This country is without excuse and just look at us!  It does make Pharaoh look like a saint in comparison!

Can God Bless America?

After the re-election of Obama, I emotionally checked out of this country.  If the majority of this country actually wants to continue down this destructive, immoral, and Godless path, then I want no part of it!  I have come to realize that all the wicked laws are not what is going to bring God's judgment on our country, but rather we accept all the wicked laws because we have rejected God.  Fighting political battles is not going to change hearts and save lives and change our country's destructive course.  There is only One Way to save this country, but this country, as a whole, has rejected Him.

I had recently changed the purpose of my blog.  Oh, my purpose was always to share the truth, but I was originally more politically based.  Then I came to realize if people just knew the real Truth, if they truly sought the Lord their God with all their hearts, He would show them the Truth and the Way, and give them wisdom.  There is absolutely no wisdom apart from God, and it is so apparent when you see the insanity of what goes on in this country.  Evil is called good, and good is evil, just as the Bible says it would be.  It is so ridiculous that it is almost laughable that we are so foolish except that it really is so incredibly sad.  For the most part, I just share the Word of God and my study of it in my blog now.  Occasionally, I can't help but note how it plays in our present culture, hoping someone might see and investigate for themselves.  That is how I came to be really saved and born-again.  It began with my soon-to-be husband scaring me with Biblical prophecy.  I remember running around the block, crying, truly scared of what I did not know.  I then decided I would read and study my Bible and find out for myself the truth.  I truly began to search God's Word; I was seeking Him with all my heart and as He said, He would be found if I did that.  So that is my wish for others, that they might seek Him in His Word, and they will come to see the Truth, too.  I guess I appear to place more importance on the Word of God first because that is tangible black and white proof of what God said.  Of course, prayer and a relationship with our Lord and Savior is essential, but without knowing exactly what God said, people can be led astray by deceiving spirits, because the Bible tells us that even Satan can appear as an angel of light.  We have to know what God said so that if some charming preacher or dream or feeling tells us something that seems right, we know if it really lines up with what God says is right.  So often people will talk about what their God would do or not do, but there is only One God and He is true only to Himself and not to what we think is right!  We know by reading Biblical prophecy, that there will come a time when the majority of the people will be deceived by the anti-Christ, and I can't help but believe that time is quickly approaching, so we must be armed with the Truth so we won't be deceived.

I came to realize I had to change the icon of the title banner of my blog.  It said, "God Bless America".  It had a vintage look, and I do believe that God has blessed America immensely since its founding.  It's because the founders looked to God to form the greatest nation in history.  However, over the years, our nation has turned from God.  We decided there was no place for Him in our schools.  We decided He might be offensive to others in the public square and we must get rid of every symbol of Him.  We've allowed ourselves to believe there must be a separation of church and state.  How else could we allow ourselves to believe it is okay to murder millions of babies, the very most innocent human life?  How else could we take something God called an abomination and hail it as "marriage equality"?  How else could we support a man who was the worst of the worst on life issues and even went so far to vote three times to kill (by intentional neglect) born alive babies who had the misfortune of surviving botched abortions?  How else could we support that same man who went further than any other president ever has to elevate homosexual "rights", to the point of ignoring our laws, the very laws he has sworn to uphold?  How else could we believe it was okay that this man had to cover up a symbol of Christ before he could speak on the same stage?  How else could we vote for the party who rejected God and Israel and wanted them out of their party platform?  How could we actually support such open and blatant Godlessness?  The only way is to ignore God and pretend that we can still be good Christians in our private lives while supporting Godless acts in our public lives. When we try to do that, we are attempting to make a little god in our own image and place him in a little box and put him in his own place, and we are following a false god, because that is not the One True God of the Bible!

I have to admit I am beginning to no longer believe that God can bless America.  I want to believe that 2 Chronicles 7:14 which says, "If my people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land," means that Christians are the only responsible parties and that if we were to change our wicked ways, God could bless this country again, with or without the Godless people.  However, I just can't see God blessing a country that kills millions of babies and celebrates such an immoral culture.  It's not that I don't believe something God said.  Perhaps a part of Christians' evil ways is that they have completely missed the boat in sharing the news of Jesus Christ and changing lives.  I know God will continue to bless His people who follow Him and He will continue to draw His lost sheep to Him, even in the midst of a fallen country, and He can heal those personal lands, but I just can't believe that He will truly bless America again until America changes her wicked ways.  Once again, it is probably the fault of Christians and churches not doing their jobs that has led to this country's state and that is what must change, but for the time being, I just can't continue to display the banner, "God Bless America".

Because this blog is now about the study of God's Word, and because I have a love for the vintage, I looked for images of studying the Bible in old paintings.  I found many beautiful old images.  The one used in my banner above is from a painting by Hermann Kaulbach (1846-1909), entitled "Reading the Bible".  The image at the top of the right column is from "The Orphans, Reading the Bible", 1845, by Hughes Merle.  Below is Vincent Van Gogh's "Still Life with Open Bible," 1885:

This is "Old Woman Reading a Bible", 1630, by Gerrit Dou:

Another painting I found while I was searching is one I will not show here, but I found it very interesting.  It was the posting of a man whose wife had found a painting on eBay called "Proof Reader", depicting the devil reading the Bible, by Todd Hamilton.  Although I have no idea what the artist's intentions were, I found what I saw depicted in the painting to be very true.  The devil knows the Bible quite well, as evident in the way he quoted scripture to Jesus when he tempted Him:

And he (Satan) brought Him (Jesus) to Jerusalem, and set Him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, cast Yourself down from here, for it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"  And Jesus answering said to him, "It is said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'". - Luke 4:9-12

We have to know the entire Word of God in context to know when Satan tries to deceive us with scripture out of context.  I realize we can never know everything about the nature of God or everything in His Word with 100% accuracy, but if we truly seek Him, He will guide us in His Word and by His Holy Spirit, and with the very Author guiding us, we will come as close as we humanly can in this world!

Intermission

I was just noticing the appearance of my blog. Lately, my blog has turned into a Bible study, and all the political links on the side bar don't seem to be related to the texts. Originally, I felt compelled to write about what was going on in this country. I was a regional chapter leader in Concerned Women for America, and I was truly concerned about the direction of our country. However, lately, it has felt that there is no hope for this country. What ails this country is too big! It's not just a wicked administration. Obama could never have been elected if people knew the truth about him going into the election. Imagine if the media investigated his life and his past associations as well as they did any conservative's. Imagine if they truly dug for the truth about all his Communist and Islamist ties, including questionable terror ties. Imagine if they gave us constant sound bites of all his numerous gaffes, flip-flops, and anti-God and anti-American comments. Not only does the mainstream media not report the truth, but they actually prop up liberals with whom they agree. They willingly report all the lies told by them. They seek to destroy anyone with whom they disagree, even throwing out accusations they know haven't been proven, and sometimes when they know they are false. A retraction can be made later, IF it is ever made, but the damage is already done. They've done their job, as they now see it. The problem of changing the direction of our country just seems too huge with no hope of competing with a lying propagandist media.

Even more than a wicked administration and a lying manipulative media, there are the people in our country: people who are too lazy to dig for the truth, Godless people who reject moral values, and phony Christians who wish to overlook immorality and wickedness. Some are phony, using the grace of Christianity as a cover for evil, but many are just misinformed by weak churches that do not teach Biblical truth. If the people were to get back to God on their knees in prayer and back to the Bible for His truth, they wouldn't be swayed by the lies of the world.

It's really not about trying to save our country anymore; it's about saving people. It's about truly saving lives! And that means saving eternal lives, lives that really matter, not just the convenience of this little dot on the timeline of eternity. I hate to see our country reject God, reject His moral laws, reject innocent life, reject Israel, and go the way of the world. Scriptures do speak of how evil leaders cause the people to sin, so the fight for our country seemed like a fight for the good of the people. But that battle seems too great now, and it seems less important as time grows short. I do believe time is short. The end times are here, and it is time to find salvation in the only place it can be found, in the Lord Jesus Christ. The government of this country is not anyone's Savior, so in the real scheme of things, nothing it does really matters, not as far as eternal life and true salvation goes.

"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 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?" - Matthew 16:25-26

Church is not the answer either. Some churches can lead people to truth, but many lukewarm churches do more harm than they do good. God HATES a lukewarm church:

"I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I would wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth." - Revelation 3:15-16

The BIBLE has the answer. In my heart, I truly feel like that is the answer for everyone, for every problem. In reality, Jesus Christ is the only answer, but I know God will lead people to Him through His word. The Bible speaks of Christians who do not have the foundation of the Word, and they will fall prey to Satan if they do not know the truth, because even Satan appears as an angel of light, meaning there are many lying spirits out there who pretend to be something they are not and will fool well-meaning Christians if they do not know the truth. It's still important to watch what is going on in our country and in the world, especially in the context of Biblical prophecy. That way we are not fooled by the lies of wicked leaders and propagandist media. We can understand that although world peace and saving the planet may sound like good goals, it's not going to happen, and we won't get snowed by a smooth-talking antichrist. So back to the Bible study next time! Back to seeking REAL truth! Meanwhile, I will be changing the look of my blog to more reflect where it has evolved. I think I will keep my "Seek Ye Truth/God Bless America" banner, as I still feel a draw on my heart to return America to her God:

"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." - 2 Chronicles 7:14

Is There Any Doubt of the Propagandization by the Media?

It's truly incredible! How stupid do they think we are?! The president is out there actually lecturing us that we cannot spend more than we take in when HE IS THE CHAMPION OF DOING JUST THAT! Surely everyone knows that by now. But a willing media uses those ridiculous sound bites to try to demonstrate a fiscally responsible president and candidate for re-election.

I cannot tolerate the mainstream media anymore. As a matter of fact, I almost missed this story, even though the reporter was from a local station to me:

The Outburst Heard 'Round the World
Nobody Interrupts POTUS

The Drudge Report was even touting this incident as the first time a reporter turned aggressive with Obama. Stories like this are very hard to come by, probably because reporters don't want to be punished, or often they are very liberal and want to prop up the prez.

Regarding Brad Watson's questions, of course the president and his administration punish those who don't go along with him or dare to question him. Just as he cannot be questioned in an interview, state governments had better not question him, either. Remember the news of federal funds being withheld from Arizona after their immigration law?

The current news is full of stories of an oppressive government that oversteps its bounds and a president who lies as easily as he talks. Don't believe for a moment that he is really for the middle class when the "bible" he uses, "Rules for Radicals" by Saul Alinsky, tells him the middle class is the enemy and instructs him on how to destroy the middle class while pretending to help it! Don't believe that his health care plan is about helping all Americans, when there are those on his staff who believe in population control through whatever means necessary, even writing about putting sterilants in the drinking water. "Death panels" are described as a natural option for these radicals. Obama reminds me of Nicholas Carpathia from the Left Behind series. There was a scene early on when he's meeting with world dignitaries and he kills two that refuse to go along with him. He then proceeds to tell the rest of the folks about what they just witnessed, the horrible tragedy of one guy killing the other and then turning the gun on himself. It's been awhile since I saw it, but it was something like that. Anyway, people start nodding and agreeing that is what they saw, at least the majority of the people led by the wrong spirit; the one man who had just accepted Christ as his savior and was being shown the truth by the Holy Spirit was not deceived. Sometimes I feel like I am in that world where Obama is destroying us while he tells us he is working for us and that it's really the other guy who is trying to destroy us, and the people nod and agree with him; "Yes, we can!" they chant.

I have always gotten comfort from 2 Chronicles 7:14 which says:

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

The scripture doesn't say "all the people"; it says "MY people", so only God's people need turn from their wicked ways and seek His face, and He will forgive us and heal our land. Let the "heathens" chant for their hope and change and let God's people return to Him on their knees! If you believe you are a Christian and support Obama, I would suggest you search your heart and decide if you can really ignore the fact that he is the most pro-abortion president in our history. Can you really support a president who promotes and supports homosexuality, an abomination to your Lord? Can you ignore the fact that he seeks to erase our country's Christian heritage and purposely deletes mentions of God from his "quotes" of our founding documents?

It is time for people to get on their knees and pray to their Lord for forgiveness, and repent and change from their wicked ways. When we seek our Lord and His will, His Holy Spirit will lead us in truth. Truth is what we need in this time of deceitful politicians and media.

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.