"Who Then Can Be Saved?"

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(Mark 10:1) And He arose from there and came into the coasts of Judea by the other side of the Jordan, and the people gathered to Him again, and as He was accustomed, He taught them again.  

At the end of the last chapter Jesus had been teaching His disciples in a house in Capernaum.  He then left there and went to the region of Judea by the further side of the Jordan eastward.  People began to assemble with Him, and as He had become accustomed, He taught them again.

(2) And the Pharisees came to Him and asked Him, "Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife?" tempting Him.

Once again the Pharisees came to Him, as they always did, to test Him and try to ensnare Him.  They asked if it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife, knowing full well the answer, but desiring to trip Him up, as if they ever could.

(3) And He answered and said to them, "What did Moses command you?"

As He so often did, Jesus answered the Pharisees by first asking them a question, what was it that Moses had commanded?

(4) And they said, "Moses allowed to write a bill of divorcement and to put her away."

They answered Jesus that Moses's law allowed a man to write a bill of divorcement and to divorce his wife.

(5) And Jesus answered and said to them, "For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept."

Jesus then answered the Pharisees that that particular law had only been written because of the hardness of men's hearts.  It was never intended that men should divorce their wives, but because the Jewish men were cruel and hard-hearted, divorce was allowed.  Had it not been allowed, their meanness and hard heartedness might have led to physical harm to their wives.  Divorce was only allowed to prevent further sin and harm.

(6) "But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. (7) For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife. (8) And the two shall be one flesh, so then they are no more two but one flesh. (9) What therefore God has joined together let no man put asunder."

Indeed, Jesus went on to quote Genesis about what God had intended from the beginning.  He had made a man and a woman to come together as one in marriage.  Note that God only created man and woman; He did not create 57 different genders!  A man's father and mother were one in marriage, and he was likewise to leave his father and mother and join together with his own wife to become one.  He wasn't to join together with another man, only a woman, his wife.  Those two were to become one flesh, a singular unit, a married couple, parents, Mr. and Mrs., and what God had joined together, it was originally intended that no man should separate, and in fact, spiritually and intimately, they really can never be totally separated.

(10) And in the house the disciples asked Him again about the same matter.

Later when they had all retired to a house, the disciples asked Jesus again about the same matter.

(11) And He said to them, "Whoever shall divorce his wife, and marry another, commits adultery against her."

Jesus told His disciples that if a man divorced his wife and married another, it was considered adultery to God.  Moses's law did allow for certain circumstances under which a man could divorce his wife, but in God's eyes, once that union was formed and consummated in the marriage bed, that was a union created by God, and should be honored as such.  To flippantly throw that God-honored union away is to dishonor and sin against God.  The sexual union of a man with a woman is not to be taken lightly and outside marriage.  Even though our current laws allow for no-fault divorce and same-sex marriage, it doesn't mean that it is okay in God's eyes.  However, that is not to say that either is a sin that cannot be forgiven.

(12) "And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."

Likewise, Jesus said that if a woman divorced and married another man, she was guilty of committing adultery.

(13) And they brought young children to Him that He might touch them, and His disciples rebuked those who brought them.

Then some people brought young children to Jesus so that He might touch them, putting His hands on them and praying for them, as the account in Matthew said.  His disciples rebuked the people who had brought the children, as if to say, "Don't bother Jesus."

(14) But when Jesus saw that, He was much displeased and said to them, "Permit the little children to come to Me and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of God."

When Jesus saw His disciples rebuking the people bringing children to Him, He was displeased with them and told them not to forbid the children to come to Him.  He reminded them that such was the kingdom of heaven.  He had just recently taught them that new believers were like children in their amateurish lowliness of mind and not to be discouraged.  So all should come to Him, as children, not as pompous arrogant Pharisees. 

(15) "Verily, I say to you, whoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter."

In fact, Jesus did say that if one did not approach and receive the Gospel message of the kingdom of God as a little child, he would not be able to enter it.

(16) And He took them up in His arms, put His hands upon them, and blessed them.

Jesus then took the little children in His arms, laying His hands upon them, and blessed them.  With this message, I believe Jesus tells us that an innocent child, no matter how young, is never too young to come to Him.  Perhaps he is too young to completely understand his actions, but coming to Jesus at any age is never wrong or to be discouraged.  He may come again at a more advanced age, but that coming as a small child may provide a foundation that will forever be with that child.

(17) And when He had gone forth on the road, there came one running, and kneeled to Him and asked Him, "Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"

Jesus then left the house and when He had gone forth on the road a man came running up to Him, kneeled before Him, referred to Him as Good Master, and asked what it was he must do to inherit eternal life.

(18) And Jesus said to Him, "Why do you call Me good? There is none good but One, that is God."

Jesus asked the man why he had called Him good because there was only One who was really good, and that was God.  Jesus was not rebuking the man or denying He was good; His point was to show that for Him to be called good, the man was rightfully looking upon Him as God.

(19) "You know the commandments, do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honor your father and mother."

Jesus referred to the commandments, suggesting that the man undoubtedly knew them and should keep them.  He then named the six commandments that had to do with our relationships with other people, prohibitions against adultery, killing, stealing, lying, defrauding, which is the natural expected result of one who covets, and honoring one's parents.

(20) And he answered and said to Him, "Master, all these I have observed from my youth."

The man told Jesus that he had observed all those commandments since his youth.

(21) Then Jesus beholding him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack; go your way, sell whatever you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me."

Jesus looked upon the man and loved him.  It is noteworthy that that point was emphasized.  God loves all His children, but it seems Jesus looked upon the man with a different level of love, perhaps love for his earnestness, for the good He saw in him, but I imagine a loving sadness for the huge impediment He saw standing in the man's way to eternal life.  Jesus told him that there was just one thing he lacked knowing the greatest treasure of his heart; he needed to go sell all he had, give it to the poor, and then take up his cross, bearing all things without his money, and follow Jesus.  Did he love God more than money?  His observance of the commandments was an outward show of his love for God, but did he love the Lord above all else?

(22) And he was sad at that saying and went away grieved for he had great possessions.

Jesus lovingly knew this about the man before he realized it.  He was greatly saddened by Jesus's answer because he had great possessions and knew he was not willing to give those up.

(23) And Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter into the kingdom of God!"

After the rich young man went his way, Jesus looked around at His disciples and commented on how hard it was for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.

(24) And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for them who trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!"

The disciples were taken aback by Jesus's words, but He only repeated them, declaring how very hard it was for someone who trusted in his riches to enter the kingdom of heaven.

(25) "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."

Jesus then told the disciples it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, which was impossible, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.  That certainly had to be a scary thought, as Jesus seemed to be saying that it was absolutely impossible for a rich man to ever enter heaven.

(26) And they were astonished beyond measure, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?"

The disciples were even more astonished at this, and discussed among themselves that if that were true, then how could anyone be saved?  I can't help but think that this shows a little bit of dependence on wealth to make all things right.  They didn't ask about how then a rich man could ever be saved, but the assumption seemed to be that if a rich man couldn't do it with all his wealth and assets, then how could anyone else ever do it?

(27) And Jesus, looking upon them, said, "With men, it is impossible, but not with God, for with God all things are possible."

Jesus, knowing their thoughts and what they were discussing among themselves, looked at them and told them that it was indeed impossible for men to be saved on their own, but with God, all things were possible.  With God, one could move mountains, lead a camel through the eye of a needle, and work on a rich man's heart to take his trust and confidence off worldly wealth and onto God alone.

(28) Then Peter began to say to Him, "Lo, we have left all and have followed You."

Peter, perhaps questioning if it was enough, told Jesus that he and the other disciples had left all they had, although it was very little compared to a rich man's possessions, and were following Him.

(29) And Jesus answered and said, "Verily I say to you, there is no man who has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, (30) But he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brothers, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life."

Jesus answered that assuredly any man who had left all, his house, family, and lands, for the sake of Jesus and His Gospel, would receive a hundredfold in the present time.  Jesus said a hundredfold houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and lands.  This is not necessarily to be taken completely literally in the way man's selfish hearts might interpret it, but the blessings he will receive will be a hundredfold what he left behind.  He will gain many more valued brothers and sisters in Christ.  He will gain many more children who look up to him and value him as a father figure, and many mother figures who wish to serve and minister to him.  He may not actually own a hundredfold lands, but may have the blessings of the usage in gratitude to him.  I couldn't help but notice that Jesus didn't include fathers and wives in the second part of His message.  That was probably intentional in that we all have but one true Father God in heaven, and should call no man father (Matthew 23:9) on earth, with the obvious exception of one's biological earthly father whom God recognized as one's father in His Ten Commandments.  Although it may not be a literal hundredfold possessions, the man who gives all will definitely find that the blessings he receives by giving his life to Jesus and the Gospel tremendously outweigh anything he left behind.  However, it won't be without persecutions as anyone who follows Christ will be hated and persecuted for His name's sake (Matthew 10:22-23).  However, in the end he will have eternal life with God in heaven.

(31) "But many who are first shall be last, and the last first."

There can be many interpretations of this statement by Jesus.  As often the case, I believe all can be meant, as scripture so often has multiple meanings that are all true.  As in the case of the rich man they had so recently encountered, although rich and among the first in superiority in the world, he would be last because he loved his worldly riches more than God.  Also the first saved would not necessarily be first in the kingdom of God in heaven, but according to God's will and purposes, as well as His pleasure and grace.  I see something additional now that I did not perceive when I read this account in Matthew (Matthew 19:30).  The Jews were God's chosen people; they were the ones Jesus came to save.  They were the first; however, most of them rejected Jesus, and Jesus then offered His gift of salvation to the Gentiles, who were last among men chosen by God.  In the end Jews will see the truth of Jesus Christ the Messiah.  In this case, very definitely the first called by God will be the last, and the last called became the first to accept Him.  However, this was by design of our wonderful merciful Father in heaven that we should all be given the chance to receive eternal life with Him:

"For I would not want, brethren, for you to be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own conceits, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in." - Romans 11:25

This seems a perfect place to end this post.  I will continue a study of Mark 10 in the next post.

Unclean Removed From Camp, and Law of Jealousy Regarding a Woman Accused of Adultery

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Numbers 5:1) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (2) “Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever is defiled by the dead."

In the last chapter and post, the Lord had Moses and Aaron count the Levites who were thirty to fifty years of age and able to do the service of the tabernacle, and describe the particular service each group would do.  Now the Lord spoke to Moses regarding purifying the camp.  He told Moses to command the children of Israel to put out of the camp all who were ceremonially unclean, lepers, those with discharge issues, and those who had been made unclean by the touching of the dead.

(3) "Both male and female you shall put out, outside the camp you shall put them, that they may not defile their camps in the midst of which I dwell.”

Whether male of female, any person who had been made unclean was to be put outside the camps so that he or she would not defile the camp in the midst of which the Lord dwelt.  The tabernacle was the dwelling place of the Lord and it was in the midst of the camps of the children of Israel.

(4) And the children of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the LORD spoke to Moses, so the children of Israel did.

The children of Israel did just as the Lord had commanded and put all the unclean outside their camps.

(5) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (6) “Speak to the children of Israel: ‘When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit to do a trespass against the LORD, and that person is guilty, (7) Then he shall confess the sin which he has committed; and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal and add to it one-fifth of it, and give it to the one he has wronged.'"

Now the Lord told Moses to instruct the children of Israel on what to do when a man or woman committed a sin.  I can't help but notice the Lord said when a person committed a sin, not if; the Lord knew all people would sin.  "Any sin that men commit" would be any of the sins of men that are commonly committed because of the infirmity of the flesh and the temptations of Satan.  Also noteworthy is that any sin that a person commits is a trespass against the Lord; every sin against man is a sin against the Lord as it is disobedience to His direct command.  The consensus of the commentaries I generally study suggest that the word "guilty" in verse 6 refers to the person's own admission that he is guilty, for obviously if he sinned, he is guilty.  When he was convicted in his conscience that he was guilty, he was to confess his sin, and then make restitution to the person he wronged by paying the whole of what he defrauded his neighbor of, plus one-fifth more.

(8) "‘But if the man has no kinsman to recompense the trespass to, let the trespass be recompensed to the LORD, to the priest, besides the ram of the atonement, by which an atonement is made for him.'"

If the man who was wronged had no kinsman, because evidently in this case he had been killed, then the restitution, the principal plus one-fifth, was to be given to the priest of the Lord, in addition to the ram of atonement, the trespass offering for atonement that was made law back in Leviticus 6:6.

(9) "'And every offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be his.'"

Every offering of all the holy things, which would be things given to the Lord, that was brought to the priest, was to be the priest's.  I believe the point here is that it no longer belonged to the person who brought it, and could never be taken back by him.

(10) "'And every man's hallowed things shall be his; whatever any man gives the priest, it shall be his.'"

Every man's hallowed things, those things that were made holy because they had been vowed or offered to the Lord, were to be the priest's.  Whatever thing was given to the priest was to be the priest's alone.  John Wesley, in his Explanatory Notes on the Entire Bible, reminds us that this was not to be understood of the sacrifices, where only part was offered to the Lord, and the remainder was eaten by the offerer and the priest.  This spoke of things that were devoted to God, and could not be offered in sacrifice, such as a man consecrating a house to the Lord; that would be the priest's.

(11) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (12) “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘If any man’s wife goes astray and commits a trespass against him, (13) And a man lies with her carnally, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and it is concealed, and she is defiled, and there is no witness against her, neither was she taken in the act, (14) And the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he is jealous of his wife, and she is defiled, or if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he is jealous of his wife, and she is not defiled...'"

The Lord continued speaking to Moses.  He told him to talk to the children of Israel about the circumstance of a man whose wife went astray and trespassed against him by committing adultery.  If a man lay with her carnally, and it was done in secret and concealed from her husband, and she was indeed defiled, but she was not caught in the act and there were no witnesses against her, and the spirit of jealousy came over the husband...  This seems to indicate that the husband became jealous and suspected his wife of having an adulterous affair.  There had been no witnesses, but he suspected that she had lain with another man carnally and had defiled herself.  So whether the man became jealous of his wife and she was defiled, or if he was jealous but she was not defiled, this train of thought is continued in the next verse.

(15) "'Then the man shall bring his wife to the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, one-tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil on it nor put frankincense on it, for it is an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance.'"

The man was to bring his wife whom he suspected of committing adultery to the priest.  He was also to bring an offering for her, one-tenth of an ephah of barley meal, which was an omer, said to be about the amount a man could eat in one day.  The meal was to have no oil or frankincense on it.  Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, suggested that, "The offering was to be of the cheapest and coarsest kind, barley...representing the abused condition of the suspected woman."  Additionally, he wrote, "It was, like the sin-offering...to be made without oil and frankincense, the symbols of grace and acceptableness."  This was an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial, bringing that sin to remembrance.

(16) "‘And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD.'"

The priest was to bring the woman before the Lord.

(17) "'And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel, and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water.'"

The priest was then to take holy water from the laver, putting it in an earthen vessel, and then he was to take dust from the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water.  The old commentators I study, suggest that the dust represented the baseness of the accused crime, and the fact that it came from the tabernacle floor made it holy dust, perhaps representing the vile act was a sin against the holy Lord, which adultery surely is.  Adultery is a sin against the direct commandment of the Lord, as put forth in the Ten Commandments, "Thou shall not commit adultery."

(18) "'And the priest shall set the woman before the LORD, and uncover the woman's head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is the jealousy offering; and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causes the curse.'"

The priest was to stand the woman before the Lord and uncover her head.  Uncovering her head perhaps signified her own immodesty in what she did (or was accused of doing), but it certainly was a shameful thing for her to be exposed that way to men, as suggested in other verses (1 Cor. 11:5-6).  The priest then put the offering of memorial, the jealousy offering of barley meal described above, in her hands.  The priest held in his hand the vessel of holy water with the dust in it.  This would not have caused it to be bitter tasting, but it was bitter because the holy water had been defiled by the dust representing the depraved act.  The water with the dust did not in itself cause the curse, but it symbolized and declared her to be accursed.

(19) "‘And the priest shall charge her by an oath, and say to the woman, “If no man has lain with you, and if you have not gone astray to uncleanness with another instead of your husband, be free from this bitter water that causes the curse."'"

The priest was to put the woman under oath and tell her that if no man other than her husband had lain with her, and she had not gone astray to be defiled by another man, she would be free from the curse that the dusty holy water represented.

(20) "'“But if you have gone aside to another instead of your husband, and if you are defiled, and some man has lain with you besides your husband--" (21) Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say to the woman, "The LORD make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the LORD makes your thigh rot and your belly swell; (22) And this water that causes the curse shall go into your bowels, to make your belly swell and your thigh rot." And the woman shall say, "Amen, amen."'"

However, if the woman had indeed committed adultery with another man, then the priest would "charge", originally "shaba", the woman.  "Shaba" as defined by Strong's, was a root meaning "to be complete", a root of "sheba", meaning "seven" or "seven times"; therefore "shaba" meant to "seven oneself", meaning to swear, as if repeating a declaration seven times; the priest would charge the woman with an oath of cursing, which Brown-Driver-Briggs defines more simply in one of its definitions, as "curse".  I believe the meaning is that the priest would charge the woman by her own oath, or by his, an oath that would bring a curse if she had indeed committed adultery.  The priest would then say to the woman, pronouncing the curse upon her, "The LORD make you a curse and an oath among your people..."  Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, explained this somewhat difficult language this way, "accursed according to the oath taken; or let this be the form of an oath and imprecation used by the people, saying, if I have done so and so, let me be accursed as such a woman, or let not that happen to me, as did to such a woman..."  The curse pronounced was that the Lord would make her thigh rot and her belly swell, if she was guilty.  I used to wonder about the significance of the thigh, but John Wesley explained it very convincingly that the thigh was just a modest word for the private part meant.  That does make a lot of sense.  She would rot and her belly would swell if she were guilty of adultery.  Upon drinking the holy water, the curse would come upon her, rotting her and making her swell.  The woman was to agree to this if she were found to be guilty; if she was not guilty, she had nothing to fear.

(23) "'And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter water.'"

The priest was to write these curses in a book and blot them with the dusty holy water which probably was symbolic of transferring the curses to the water.

(24) "'And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that causes the curse, and the water that causes the curse shall enter into her and become bitter.'"

The priest would then make the woman drink the water.  The water, upon entering her when she drank it, would then become bitter.  Probably it was not bitter tasting, but rather bitter because it caused the above mentioned curse if the woman was guilty.

(25) "'Then the priest shall take the jealousy offering out of the woman's hand, and shall wave the offering before the LORD, and offer it upon the altar.'"

Actually, it appears that the priest took the jealousy offering out of the woman's hand before she was forced to drink the water, as stated in the next verse.  He waved the offering back and forth before the Lord, and offered it upon the altar.

(26) "'And the priest shall take a handful of the offering, the memorial of it, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall cause the woman to drink the water.'"

The priest would take a handful of the offering, a reminder of the woman's iniquity, and burn it on the altar, and then make the woman drink the cursed water.

(27) "'And when he has made her drink the water, then it shall come to pass, if she is defiled, and has done trespass against her husband, that the water that causes the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot; and the woman shall be a curse among her people.'"

When the priest made the woman drink the water, if she was defiled and had committed adultery, then the water would become bitter and cause her belly to swell and her thigh to rot.  This scripture proves there was nothing literally bitter about the water, but rather it was supernatural that the water would cause the curse if the woman was guilty.  There were some commentaries I read that tried to suggest that the priest might have put something bitter in the water, but I see absolutely no reason to assume that.  If she was guilty, and the curse came upon her, she would be looked upon by the people as an accursed woman, probably shunned by all.

(28) "'And if the woman is not defiled, but is clean, then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed.'"

If the woman was not defiled and guilty of adultery, then she would be free from the curse and would be able to conceive.  This indicates the rotting of her "thigh" was actually the rotting of her private child-bearing parts, and the swelling of her belly indicated the disease within her.

I briefly wondered if the curse would be immediately visible or if it would come over time.  I concluded it would have to be immediately visible; how else would a woman be made known to be a curse among her people?  And imagine if a woman was not guilty, but she was unable to bear children right away or at all; people would assume she had been guilty and was cursed even though she wasn't.  To have the people witnesses to this curse, it must have been immediately visible to them.

(29) "‘This is the law of jealousy, when a wife goes astray to another instead of her husband, and is defiled; (30) Or when the spirit of jealousy comes upon him, and he is jealous over his wife, and shall set the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute upon her all this law.'"

The preceding instruction was to be considered the law of jealousy; it was to be applied when a wife committed adultery against her husband, and also when a man became jealous and suspected his wife of committing adultery.  He would bring his wife to the priest, thus bringing her before the Lord, and the priest would execute the law as described in the above verses.

(31) "'Then shall the man be guiltless from iniquity, and this woman shall bear her iniquity.'"

By bringing his wife to the priest when he knew of or suspected her of adultery, he would then be innocent of iniquity, obviously meaning he would be guilty of iniquity if he did not bring her to the priest.  This shows that the act of allowing his wife's loose living to go on, or even if only once committed, to go unpunished, would be considered a sin against God.  By bringing his wife to the priest, he was pronounced innocent, and the woman would bear the punishment of her sin, if she was indeed guilty.

This brings to my mind another scripture, Romans 1:32, "Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them."  Also Ezekiel 33:8-9:  “When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you shall surely die!’ if you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, if he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul."  Not only did God command against evil, but those who allowed, enabled, or condoned it, were also guilty of sin against the Lord.  Note the Lord commanded in verse 1 of this chapter that the people put all the unclean outside their camp.  Not only were the people to obey God's commands, but they were to turn out of the camp those others who were unclean before the Lord.  If this pertained to those people who unknowingly or even necessarily became ceremoniously unclean, how much more must it have applied to those who knowingly and willingly sinned.  The people had a responsibility to keep sin out of their camp; therefore they could not turn a blind eye to it, or they, too, would be guilty of sin.

What a lesson for us now!  Think of how much people celebrate sins against God these days.  People cheered when same-sex marriage was made lawful; Obama lit up the White House in rainbow colors in celebration of it, a symbol that our entire country condoned and celebrated that which God called an abomination.  Think of how the choice of killing a baby is celebrated; women march for the right of murder, and people celebrate and promote those demonstrations.  We are not guiltless if we condone such sins against God.  We cannot judge those who commit such sins; after all, "There but for the grace of God, go I."  We all sin and are guilty before God, and no one sin is greater than another in the eyes of the Lord, but we should not be celebrating these sins.  We should be praying for these sinners and for ourselves to be led by and to the Lord.  Jesus loved all the sinners and came to save them, but He wished them to "go and sin no more".

Do We Really Fear God Today?

Continuing my chronological Bible study:

(Genesis 28:1) And Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him, "You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan."

At the end of the last chapter, Rebekah had thought of a way to send Jacob away so that Esau would not kill him because of Jacob's deceit and trickery in stealing his blessing.  She told Isaac she just could not bear it if Jacob married a Canaanite woman.  Isaac therefore called Jacob and it appears that he willingly confirmed his blessing upon him, and told him that he was not to take a wife from among the Canaanite women.

(2) "Arise, go to Padan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother's father; and take you a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother's brother. (3) And God Almighty bless you, and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may be a multitude of people; (4) And give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your descendants with you, that you may inherit the land in which you are a stranger, which God gave to Abraham." (5) And Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Padan Aram to Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.

Isaac told Jacob to go to Padan Aram to Laban in the house of Bethuel, Rebekah's father, and marry one of the daughters of Rebekah's brother, Laban.  Isaac blessed his son Jacob with the Abrahamic promise that had been passed from Abraham to Isaac and now to Jacob, that he would be fruitful and his descendants would be many, and that they would ultimately inherit the land of Canaan, the land in which they were only sojourners then.  Then Isaac did indeed send Jacob away to Padan Aram.

(6) When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Padan Aram to take himself a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, "You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan," (7) And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Padan Aram, (8) And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan did not please his father Isaac, (9) Then Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had.

Esau saw that his father had blessed Jacob and that he had sent him away to find a wife in order that he not take a wife from among the Canaanite women.  With that he realized that his father was not pleased with the Canaanite women as wives for his sons, as Esau had previously taken, so he took another wife.  This time he married the daughter of his father's brother, Ishmael.  Ishmael was now dead, so when Esau "went to Ishmael", it was as Jacob going to the house of Bethuel.  Esau went to the house of Ishmael, probably directly to Nebajoth, who was Ishamel's oldest son, and took Mahalath, Nebajoth's sister, to be his wife.  Esau may have been trying to please his father, but daughters of Ishmael would not have been the most favorable as Ishmael had been separated from the house of Abraham and was not included in the Abrahamic promise, another indication that Esau just didn't understand the spiritual importance of his birthright and the blessing of the firstborn in the line of Abraham.

(10) And Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. (11) And he lighted upon a certain place and tarried there all night because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put it for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.

Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran.  He apparently couldn't make it in one day, and happened upon a certain place casually, and not necessarily intentionally, and decided to stay there for the night as the sun was setting.  He took a stone for a pillow as he evidently didn't have other provisions.

(12) And he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. (13) And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, "I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. (14) And your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west and to the east, and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth will be blessed. (15) And, behold, I am with you and will keep you in all places wherever you go, and will bring you again to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done that of which I have spoken to you."

Jacob dreamed of a ladder that was set up on earth and reached to heaven with angels going up and down it.  The Lord stood above it and spoke to Jacob.  He confirmed His promise to Abraham now to Jacob.  The land on which Jacob lay that may have been accidental for him, was providential in that the Lord told him this very land would be given to him and his descendants.  As God had told Abraham, Jacob's descendants would be as the dust of the earth, too numerous to count, and they would spread in all directions.  As He had told Abraham, God told Jacob that through him and his descendants would all the families of the earth be blessed, which is a reference to the Messiah who would come from this line and in Whom all may be saved.  The Lord told Jacob He was with him and would be with him wherever he went, and that He would bring him back to this land.  The line of angels going up and down the ladder in Jacob's dream was a picture of the constant ministering spirits and line of communication that would always be between God and Jacob.  More than that, it is a picture of Jesus Christ Who would become the direct line from us to God.

(16) And Jacob awoke out of his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it." (17) And he was afraid and said, "How dreadful is this place!  This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."

Once again what was a casual nondescript place in Jacob's mind was a place where the Lord showed Himself to Jacob unexpectedly.  He realized that the Lord was certainly in that place and that apparently surprised him.  I left the original KJV words "afraid" and "dreadful" in my study.  Although I usually don't think of them as "fright" and "awful" as we have come to interpret those words, sometimes I think our modern translations diminish the intended meaning of the original words.  Jacob was afraid; he had fear.  Yes, I agree with the common idea that it was a reverential fear, but it was more than that.  I don't think we today quite understand that awestruck fear of knowing that you have just come in contact with the One who literally holds your life in His Hands.  How could we when we so flippantly disregard all the things He told us in His Word?  We keep Him only in church and bring Him out only when we really need something; we pretend that He shouldn't be a part of our daily public lives and decisions.  How preposterous!  Just think of how far our country has gone in rejecting God.  We've come to accept the idea that He doesn't belong in schools or in the public square because someone might be offended.  Would we care if we really feared God and saw Him as the Master of the Universe?  We actually kill millions of babies and call it a RIGHT!  Does anyone really think that God would approve of killing the most innocent because it is not convenient to let that child be born right now?  Does anyone think that God is going to bless a country that promotes and celebrates same-sex "marriage" as equality and a RIGHT even though He called it an abomination?  Do we think a country can survive without God's blessing?  Do we think God understands that the times have changed and we are such a wiser people now?  Suppose you had to confront God and ask Him face to face if it was okay to kill your baby and "marry" your lesbian lover.  Does that strike fear in your heart?  If it doesn't, it should!  I have to wonder if some of the people out there cheering on these horrible Godless acts ever really think about what God would say, or do they just try to ignore that.  Or have they really reached a point where they don't care?  Oh, they would care if God presented Himself as the awesome terror that He is!  He IS Someone to be dreaded!  He does hold your life in His hand; He holds our country in His hand; He holds the entire planet in His hand!  And God will not be mocked!  Oh, He is patient, oh-so patient that people forget that the things of God matter, but they do!  And there will come a time when EVERYONE will know that!

For it is written, "As I live, says the LORD, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God." So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. - Romans 14:11-12

And that is a reference to Isaiah 45:23 which says:

"I have sworn by Myself, the word has gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear."

Can you imagine that?  Just by the sheer force of His majesty, everyone will be on his knees before the Lord.  EVERYONE, not just believers, not just Christians, EVERYONE!  And everyone will give an account of just why they did what they did.  That ought to strike fear in us to our very cores.  But surely God will understand a changing culture.  Surely God will understand taking a baby's life until a time when it is more convenient.  After all you don't have time to properly love that child now.  Surely God will understand that there had to be separation of church and state and that is why we fought to keep prayer out of schools and references to Him out of the public square!  Surely God understands that it is because you are so loving and tolerant that you believe you should fight for same-sex marriage even though He called it an abomination.  I'm not suggesting that any of these things can't be forgiven by God, and He did give us Jesus as our Mediator so that our sinful selves can come into His presence.  But He is still the same God and we have to realize when we are sinning against Him and repent, which means change!  Yes, Jesus gives us grace so that we don't have to fear God, but only when we see our sin, see our need for Him to cover our sin, and REPENT!  A repentant heart is one that is truly sorry and seeks to change.  We know what is right.  Isaiah 45:24 goes on to say that after we all bow before the Lord, "and all that are incensed against Him shall be ashamed".  We will know He is God; we will bow before Him; and we will be ashamed.  I'm just imagining how we would act in this country if we had to be on our knees in the presence of God before every decision we made.  Or maybe just every night to explain why we did what we did.  Do you think we'd act a lot differently?  God gives us free will; it's true.  But that doesn't change what is right and true.  And if we truly had the fear of God as we should, we wouldn't dare do what we do in this day and age. 

(18) And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil on the top of it. (19) And he called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of that city was called Luz at first.

Jacob took the stone he had used for a pillow and turned it into an upright erect position as a monument to God or as a reminder to him of the greatness of God and of his vision.  He called the place Bethel, which literally meant "house of God".  It had previously been called Luz, which was the word for a kind of nut, an almond or a hazel nut, which probably grew there. 

(20) And Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I am going, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, (21) So that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God. (22) And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God's house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You."

The wording of Jacob's vow sounds like he is making it a condition that IF God will be with him, then he Jacob will do...  I don't think that was Jacob's intention.  He has just heard from God and God has promised to be with him and keep him and bring him to this place again, so that was Jacob's way of saying that because the Lord was going to be with him, etc., so that he would come again, that the Lord was his God.  The little word translated as "if" by the KJV translators actually does also mean "when", "lo", or "verily", words all meaning Jacob was sure that God would do what He said in his vision.  This was more of a demonstrative statement rather than a conditional one.  The stone Jacob had set up would be God's house.  He may have meant that in the future he would make it God's house as later in scripture, it is said that he went to Bethel and made an altar to God (Gen. 35:3), but he may have meant that it would forever be a place where God had appeared to him and therefore was God's house, because everywhere that God is, is His house. 

Jacob did vow to give a tithe of 10% of all that the Lord gave him.  All blessings come from the Lord.  Ten represents the whole and 1/10 is given in acknowledgment of the Lord and His sovereign right to it all.  It is given in gratitude to Him and is used for the support of worship to Him, as in building an altar or church, or in providing a sacrifice, or in giving to the poor or needy, or for any need or service in which God may be glorified.  I personally believe the tithe is still relevant today, although the Apostle Paul said in the New Testament that it should be given according to how God has prospered, and as one feels led in his heart, so that he does not give begrudgingly, but cheerfully.  There is a lot of discussion today about whether or not the tithe is still required or if it is an Old Testament law that is not necessary today.  Today the law is written on our hearts, and I believe that is what Paul was saying in 1 Corinthians 16:2 and 2 Corinthians 9:7.  Since the tithe is only given as the Lord has given us, and not as a regular bill that is due whether or not we get paid, it is easy to give back.  It is all God's anyway, and by giving 1/10 back in acknowledgment and thanksgiving, I believe we are saying that we trust God with all of it.  I can say from personal experience that God can do amazing things with very little when I trust Him!  Can you imagine the good that would be done in the world today if everyone tithed only 10% to God instead of giving 20-30% to a corrupt government that forces people to give for ungodly things like abortions for the poor?

The Result of Rejection of God

I was very saddened to see celebratory comments about Obama's support of "full marriage equality" on Facebook recently.  I was equally saddened and even sickened by the excitement over Hollywood "stars" and their financial support for Obama and his endorsement of same-sex marriage.  This is just one more step in a further rejection of God and His righteous laws in this country.  There are countless reasons why it is not good for a society to promote homosexuality, but I don't even care to debate that.  When I first started this blog, I was very concerned about the social issues and the destructive direction of our country's laws.  But as time goes on, I have come to realize that we are nearing the end times and the salvation of this country is not what is important, but rather a person's salvation in Christ.  Oftentimes a person is brought to salvation because things are so bad and he is at the end of what HE can do and turns to God.  So things being bad in this country can actually bring about good things.  But to celebrate the bad?  There are people who really believe they are being loving and respectful of others by supporting homosexuality and elevating it to the status of God-ordained marriage with no regard to what God said about it.  It makes me sad for the people who do not realize what it is they do, for God made it very clear that it is nothing to be celebrated.  He called homosexuality an abomination (Lev. 18:22 and Lev. 20:13) and the Bible said that Sodom and Gomorrah were to be used as examples to those who would afterward live ungodly (2 Peter 2:6 and Jude v. 7).

The apostle Paul described at length the progression of a people who reject God in Romans 1.  They know God, but reject Him, and professing to be wise, change the truth of God into a lie and serve God's creation more than Him (verses 20-25).  When they reject God, their hearts are darkened (v. 21), and God turns them over to their unnatural same-sex affections (v. 26-27).  Then they become a people filled with all sorts of wickedness, "fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful" (v. 29-31), and even though they know the judgment of God, they do it anyway and enjoy the company of others who do it, too. (v. 32)  The book of Jude speaks of these things similarly. Growing depravity is not something to celebrate!  But for the first time, I think I am really seeing that this growing acceptance and celebration of homosexuality is the result of rejection of God and not in itself a sin that brings the wrath and punishment of God.  Homosexuality is a sin like any other sin or abomination to God.  God hates divorce; God hates pride.  There are many things that are abominations to God.  What is happening in our country is the natural progression of depravity foretold by God because we have rejected Him.

I couldn't help but notice that "debate" was among the wickedness above, and boy, does that speak to me!  I do realize that we seem to be in so much strife these days. Although it pains me to sit idly by while the country is hell-bent on destruction, I am beginning to truly see that fighting the symptoms does no good.  The reason this country accepts a president who voted to kill innocent babies born alive after botched abortions and cheers when he announces that homosexuals should marry, and can dismiss his blasphemous comments about Jesus Christ as "frivolous", is because they have first rejected God and his amazing gift of grace through Christ. It's not Obama we should be fighting.  There will always be ungodly and corrupt leaders.  It's not even the mainstream media that gives him a free pass.  It's not homosexuality itself (or abortion, or pornography, or any single immoral issue).  We won't get anywhere attacking sinners or even their sins.  We are all sinners and are only accepted by the grace of God when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and are covered by His sacrificial blood.  While I am still deeply saddened by what I see happening, I can see that merely fighting the social issues battles will never solve the problems.  Changed hearts as a result of salvation in Christ is the only thing that will change this country.  Now that's real CHANGE in which we can all have hope and real faith!  Remember that long list of progressive wickedness above?  The apostle Paul gives a similar list in 1 Corinthians, chapter 6:

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. (v. 9-11)

"And such WERE some of you", but now they have been saved by Jesus Christ!  I also love this one from Deuteronomy, chapter 4, one of my scripture memory passages from the old KJV:

But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find Him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.(v. 29-31)

If you seek the Lord your God will all your heart and soul, and turn to Him and are obedient to Him, He will not forsake you....even in the latter days.  So it's not too late!  But there is one word of caution in another scripture:

Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. (Isaiah 55:6)

"WHILE He may be found" indicates there will come a time when He will no longer be found.  So we need to call on Him now!  And we don't have to be perfect and sinless before we call on Him.  Get our hearts fixed on Him and He will show us the way!

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Meanwhile, I will try to keep my debate to a minimum, and continue with my Bible study in this blog.  The Bible is the only source for truth and wisdom in this crazy mixed up world where right is called wrong and wrong is called right.  The Bible says there is NO wisdom apart from God, only foolishness, so I'd like to continue to study truth and wisdom, and share study notes from an in-depth word study and a few insights from some of the greatest Biblical scholars.

As part of my Bible study, I am using some great free resources I have found on the internet.  First, I decided to study the Bible chronologically, and am using a time-line created by Skip Andrews.  You can view that time-line here.  In addition, I use e-Sword, a wonderful software program by Rick Meyers, which allowed me to choose what Bible translations I wanted to study, even several for comparison if I so chose; it also has Biblical dictionaries and a variety of commentaries for insight.  It has a wonderful scripture memory tool that I have immensely enjoyed as I have never been very good at remembering scripture word for word.  I highly recommend both of these resources.

I spent so long in the book of Job, that I need to be reminded that this is a chronological Bible study. According to the last chapter of Job, he lived 140 years after his trial of patience, which means Job was alive during the time of Abraham and his family.

Stephen, speaking before a religious council, gives a synopsis of the lives of Abraham and his family, in Acts, chapter 7.

(Acts 7:1) Then the high priest said, "Are these things so?" (2) And he said, "Men, brethren and fathers, listen; the God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, (3) And said to him, 'Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to the land that I will show you.' (4) Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, when his father was dead, He moved him to this land in which you now dwell. (5) And He gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on; yet He promised that He would give it to him for a possession, and to his descendants after him, when as yet he had no child.

I don't think I will do an in-depth word study on this recitation by Stephen of Abraham's life, but will wait until I begin the actual study of Abraham next time.  I would argue that Stephen talking about something that had already happened doesn't belong chronologically before it happened, but I have committed to this time-line, and wouldn't want to change now.  So far these verses are pretty self-explanatory. 

(6) And God spoke in this way: that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and that they would bring them into bondage and oppress them four hundred years. (7) 'And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage I will judge,' said God, 'and after that they shall come out and serve Me in this place.' (8) And He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs. (9) And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him,

The "patriarchs, moved with envy", almost seems like it should be an oxymoronic phrase, but it is a marvelous reminder that the Bible greats were human as we are and made many mistakes.  We'll get into details when I get back to the in-depth study of Abraham next time beginning in Genesis, chapter 12.

(10) And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. (11) Now there came a famine over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction; and our fathers found no sustenance. (12) But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. (13) And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to the Pharaoh. (14) Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him, seventy-five people. (15) So Jacob went down to Egypt, and died, he and our fathers. (16) And were carried over into Shechem and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem.

And now a word from Joshua:

(Joshua 24:1) And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God. (2) And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the river in old times, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods. (3) And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the river, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants, and gave him Isaac. (4) And to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau, and to Esau I gave mount Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.

Like a whole episode flashback from a television movie or series, here ends the present, and next time we'll go back to study Abraham.