Continuing a Bible study of Abraham:
(Genesis 17:1) And when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am the Almighty God; walk before Me and you be perfect. (2) And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly."
Thirteen years have passed since Hagar gave birth to Ishmael. Abram is now 99 years old and Sarai would be 89. The Lord reiterates His promise to Abram, but note the covenant is mutual. Abram is to walk before the Lord, upright and blameless, and the Lord will multiply Abram exceedingly.
(3) And Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying, (4) "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you will be a father of many nations."
Abram fell on his face before the Lord, in total reverence or perhaps overcome by the divine glory of His Lord, and God assured Abram of His covenant with him and told him he would indeed be a father of many nations. In the first verse God told Abram to walk before Him and He will make His covenant with him. In verses 3 and 4, Abram fell on his face before the Lord indicating his willingness to follow Him, actually probably to continue following Him, and God confirmed the covenant.
(5) "No more will your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations."
"Abram" meant "high or exalted father". God declared that Abram's name should now be "Abraham", meaning "father of a multitude".
(6) "And I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come out of you. (7) And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your seed after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your descendants after you. (8) And I will give to you and to your seed after you, the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."
Among Abraham's descendants will be many nations and kings. The covenant is not only established with Abraham, but also with his descendants after him. It is an everlasting covenant. God will give them all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession, and He will be their God. However, from verse 1, Abraham's (and therefore his descendants') part in the covenant was to follow God, and that is why there were times when they did not actually possess the land. When they were disobedient, they were carried captive from it, but when they returned to their Lord, they would return to the land to possess it. I cannot help but think about this everlasting covenant when I read and hear about all the fighting over Israel's borders. Many people would choose to ignore this promise of God, even some self-proclaimed Christians. They would say the covenant was spiritual and that it changed with the death of Christ. However, the more I study, the more I see that the God portrayed in the Old Testament never changed. Never was it stated in scripture that all God had said in the Old Testament didn't matter now; He just gave us a way to be forgiven when we didn't measure up to His standards:
(God said) "For I am the LORD, I do not change"... - Malachi 3:6a
(Jesus said) "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For verily I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled." - Matthew 5:17-18
Just because we are forgiven and have mercy and grace, it does not give us a pass and allow us to ignore all that God said:
"What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? God forbid. Do you not know that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, you are that one's servants whom you obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" - Romans 6:15-16
(9) And God said to Abraham: "You shall keep My covenant therefore, you and your seed after you, in their generations. (10) This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your seed after you; every male child among you shall be circumcised; (11) And you will circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it will be a token of the covenant between Me and you."
Abraham's and his descendants' sign that they intended to honor their covenant with God is that every male child be circumcised. Quoting Dr. John Gill, "...this was the first institution of circumcision, and it was an institution of God, and not of man." Apparently, some historians have claimed that the Egyptians were the first to circumcise, but from everything I have read from Biblical scholars, there is no evidence of it before the Egyptians learned it from the Jews in the time of Joseph.
(12) "And he who is eight days old will be circumcised among you, every male child in your generations, he who is born in the house or bought with money from any stranger who is not of your seed. (13) He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant will be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant."
The reason they were to be circumcised on the eighth day will be learned later in scripture when the Levitical laws are detailed. Leviticus 12:2-3 says, "...If a woman has conceived, and borne a male child, then she shall be
unclean seven days; as in the days of her customary impurity she shall
be unclean. And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised."
Dr. John Gill points out something very interesting about the servants who were to be circumcised among Abraham and his descendants. Babies born in the household were to be circumcised on the eighth day and babies and children older than eight days were to be circumcised when they were purchased and brought into the household. However, grown servants were given a choice. They did not have to be circumcised and forced to accept the true religion of Almighty God. If the servant was unwilling to submit to circumcision, the owner could keep him for up to a year, at which time the servant must be circumcised or be sent back "to the heathens". I love that even among Old Testament slaves, there was still freedom of choice. God has never forced Himself on anyone! We have always been free to choose between life or death!
(14) "And the uncircumcised male child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant."
Any who chose not to be circumcised were cut off from his people, and therefore God's blessings, because that was a sign he had broken the covenant with God. Obviously an 8-day old child could not be held responsible for such a decision. Dr. John Gill again wrote a more detailed explanation of the law: "...if a father does not circumcise his son, the sanhedrim are bound to circumcise him; and if they do not circumcise him, he is obliged when he is grown up to circumcise himself; and if he does not circumcise himself, he is guilty of cutting off."
(15) And God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. (16) And I will bless her and also give you a son of her; yes, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her."
Sarai meant "princess", thought of as "my princess", but Sarah had a stronger meaning of a princess, noblewoman, or even queen of a multitude. Incredibly, at 89 years of age, God tells Abraham that Sarah will bear a son, and as Abraham will be a father of many nations, Sarah will be a mother of nations.
(17) Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Shall a child be born to him who is a hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear?"
Verse 1 states that Abraham is 99 years old at this time, so either he is rounding up or he is indicating the age at which he will actually have the child. When Abraham laughed, it was from joy! There was no scorn or disbelief at the prophecy. Abraham fell on his face out of reverence for his Lord and possibly from overjoyed amazement of what had just been told to him. We are told in Romans 4:19-22 of this account, and Abraham was said to have never wavered in his faith in the Lord to achieve what He had promised, so we know with assurance that Abraham was not laughing disrespectfully here.
(18) And Abraham said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!"
In his joy over this news, the father Abraham remembers his other son and hopes that he, too, may live before the Lord in worship and share in His blessings.
(19) And God said, "Sarah your wife shall bear you a son indeed, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. (20) And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; he shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. (21) But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this set time next year."
God reiterates that Sarah will bear Abraham a son and it is through Isaac that the covenant will be established. By the way, Isaac means "laughter". Additionally, God indicates that He has heard Abraham's desire and will bless Ishmael and will make a great nation of him, too. Twelve princes will be named later, true to this prophecy, and the nation that stems from Ishmael is the Arab nation. It is very interesting to note that there will be twelve Arab princes as there will likewise be twelve patriarchs of the Jewish nation. Bishop Newton wrote of the Arab tribes descended from Ishmael:
"It was somewhat wonderful, and not to be foreseen by human sagacity, that a man’s whole posterity should so nearly resemble him, and retain the same inclinations, the same habits, and the same customs, throughout all ages! These are the only people besides the Jews who have subsisted as a distinct people from the beginning, and in some respects they very much resemble each other 1. The Arabs, as well as the Jews, are descended from Abraham, and both boast of their descent from the father of the faithful. 2. The Arabs, as well as the Jews, are circumcised, and both profess to have derived this ceremony from Abraham. 3. The Arabs, as well as the Jews, had originally twelve patriarchs, who were their princes or governors. 4. The Arabs, as well as the Jews, marry among themselves, and in their own tribes. 5. The Arabs, as well as the Jews, are singular in several of their customs, and are standing monuments to all ages of the exactness of the Divine predictions, and of the veracity of Scripture history. We may with more confidence believe the particulars related of Abraham and Ishmael when we see them verified in their posterity at this day. This is having, as it were, ocular demonstration for our faith.”
In addition, I can't help but think about the tension between the Arabs and the Jews to this day, that started with Sarah's impatience with the fulfillment of God's promise.
(22) And He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
God "went up" from Abraham! It sounds as if God Himself, in whatever
form He chose in which to talk to Abraham, ascended to heaven in his presence. This was no earthly messenger who talked with Abraham!
(23) And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him.
Abraham immediately complied with his part of the covenant and circumcised all the males in his household, beginning with his son, Ishmael. The scripture states that all were circumcised, so not one servant rejected this excruciatingly painful rite, as we have previously read was their right to do. Obviously, they must have been convinced by Abraham that God Himself ordained it.
(24) And Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. (25) And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
Because Ishmael was circumcised at 13, so began the Arab tradition of circumcising their males at that age.
(26) That very same day Abraham was circumcised, and Ishmael his son; (27) And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money from a stranger, were circumcised with him.
God's covenant with Abraham and his descendants was confirmed by Him, and Abraham immediately confirmed his part with the physical sign of circumcision. Circumcision was just a sign that they intended to follow God. Salvation and life are in the Lord Himself; circumcision was to be an everlasting sign in their flesh of their promise to follow God and of His great covenant with them.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Example of What Happens When We Are Impatient with God
Continuing my chronological Bible study, I begin this post in Genesis 16, with the continuing story of Abraham.
(Genesis 16:1) Now Sarai, Abram's wife, bore him no children; and she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar.
Biblical scholar Adam Clarke writes a ponderance about Hagar. Since she is Egyptian, it is very likely that she was one of the maidservants that Pharaoh gave Abram for Sarai's sake, when they sojourned in Egypt. The name Hagar is a Hebrew name, and it means "foreigner" or "stranger", so Abram (or someone in his household) probably gave her the name.
(2) And Sarai said to Abram, "See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children; please go in to my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her." And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
Wow! Here begins the trouble with impatience with respect to waiting upon the Lord, and when one gets too focused on the "thing" promised, rather than just trusting the Lord to accomplish it. Sarai apparently believes that the Lord will give them an heir, but she fails by limiting God to the bounds of human nature. Oh, how often we do that! We try to put God in our little human box and try to limit Him to what we know and think best! Adam Clarke points out that female slaves were the property of the mistress of the household, so Sarai had the absolute right to dispose of her servant as she saw fit, with her husband having no authority in this case. Abram was just a willing participant in this crazy mixed-up scheme! Sarai's female servant being her personal property, she also had absolute right to the possession of her servant's children.
(3) And Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan.
Talk about patience! Sarai had waited 10 years in the land of Canaan for the fulfillment of the promise that they would have a child! She was now 75 years old! We know this because of a combination of scriptures that indicate Abram was 85 years old at this time, and Sarai was 10 years younger than he was. I get tickled to think how we can be so impatient in this day and age that we think God has forsaken us if things don't happen our way in a week or a month or even a year. My husband and I have an inside joke about his lack of patience, actually mine, too, but it started with regard to his patience. He always says, "I've already done that", meaning he has had patience already and now looks to the fruit of that patience. Oh, but the patience demonstrated in the Bible often meant decades! Another word for "patience" used in the Bible is "longsuffering", meaning "LONG (emphasis on LONG) suffering"!
(4) And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
While it may be that Hagar acted scornfully insolent toward her mistress, I wonder if it may just be she despised her because she knew she had the absolute right to take her baby from her.
(5) And Sarai said to Abram, "My wrong be upon you! I have given my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes. The LORD judge between you and me."
Sarai tries to blame Abram for what has happened. Indeed, he apparently did take Hagar willingly, but as pointed out before, it was totally Sarai's right to give her maid as she wished. It was never Abram's right to take her.
(6) But Abram said to Sarai, "Behold, your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please." And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence.
Abram pointed out that Hagar was Sarai's property and that she could do with her what she wished. Hagar ran away when Sarai dealt harshly with her.
(7) And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain on the way to Shur. (8) And He said, "Hagar, Sarai's maid, where have you come from, and where will you go?" And she said, "I flee from the presence of my mistress Sarai." (9) And the angel of the LORD said to her, "Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand."
God told Hagar to return to her mistress, even though she may be mistreated. God has asked Hagar to do her part, her best, if you will, to do what she has been called to do in her life at this time, and that is to submit to her authority. That is what we must all do. I think about this when there is conflict between two parties, especially in the case of a husband and wife. The wife may think that it is unfair that she has to endure certain behaviors from her husband, but she is called by God to submit to her husband, and let God deal with her husband. Likewise with a husband who has a disrespectful and unloving wife, he is called to love her as Christ loved the church, and he must let God deal with her heart. All we can do is what we are called to do; we have no power over the other party. If we are obedient to God, He takes care of the rest. When we fight for our "rights", we make a bigger mess of things.
(10) And the angel of the LORD said to her, "I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude." (11) And the angel of the LORD said to her, "Behold, you are with child, and will bear a son, and you shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has heard your affliction."
The angel of the Lord prophesies to Hagar that she will have a son named Ishmael, and his descendants will be too numerous to count. "Ishmael" means "God will hear". God did hear Hagar's distress, but His answer to her is that she do her best part by going back and submitting to her mistress, and let God deal with Sarai.
(12) "And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he will dwell in the presence of all his brethren."
The angel of the Lord further prophesies that Hagar's son will be a wild man, untamed and fearing no man. He will be a fighter, fighting against all others and them against him. His people will be a separate people. Indeed, the Ishmaelites were a wild and wandering people.
(13) And she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, "You God see me", for she said, "Have I also here seen Him who sees me?"
The meaning here is a little unclear. The NKJV translators supposed that Hagar actually gave the Lord a name, "You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees", but this may mean that Hagar called upon the name of the Lord, realizing that she had just seen and heard from God Almighty, the One who sees all and saw her in her distress.
(14) Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
The name of the well literally meant “well of the Living One seeing me”.
(15) And Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called his son's name, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. (16) And Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
I find it interesting to ponder if Abram's wife's slave would dare to tell Abram what the name of the child should be according to the word of the Lord. I don't find that likely at all. Therefore, it was purely prophetic that Hagar should know the name of her son before Abram gave him the name. How awesome is that?
(Genesis 16:1) Now Sarai, Abram's wife, bore him no children; and she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar.
Biblical scholar Adam Clarke writes a ponderance about Hagar. Since she is Egyptian, it is very likely that she was one of the maidservants that Pharaoh gave Abram for Sarai's sake, when they sojourned in Egypt. The name Hagar is a Hebrew name, and it means "foreigner" or "stranger", so Abram (or someone in his household) probably gave her the name.
(2) And Sarai said to Abram, "See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children; please go in to my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her." And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
Wow! Here begins the trouble with impatience with respect to waiting upon the Lord, and when one gets too focused on the "thing" promised, rather than just trusting the Lord to accomplish it. Sarai apparently believes that the Lord will give them an heir, but she fails by limiting God to the bounds of human nature. Oh, how often we do that! We try to put God in our little human box and try to limit Him to what we know and think best! Adam Clarke points out that female slaves were the property of the mistress of the household, so Sarai had the absolute right to dispose of her servant as she saw fit, with her husband having no authority in this case. Abram was just a willing participant in this crazy mixed-up scheme! Sarai's female servant being her personal property, she also had absolute right to the possession of her servant's children.
(3) And Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan.
Talk about patience! Sarai had waited 10 years in the land of Canaan for the fulfillment of the promise that they would have a child! She was now 75 years old! We know this because of a combination of scriptures that indicate Abram was 85 years old at this time, and Sarai was 10 years younger than he was. I get tickled to think how we can be so impatient in this day and age that we think God has forsaken us if things don't happen our way in a week or a month or even a year. My husband and I have an inside joke about his lack of patience, actually mine, too, but it started with regard to his patience. He always says, "I've already done that", meaning he has had patience already and now looks to the fruit of that patience. Oh, but the patience demonstrated in the Bible often meant decades! Another word for "patience" used in the Bible is "longsuffering", meaning "LONG (emphasis on LONG) suffering"!
(4) And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
While it may be that Hagar acted scornfully insolent toward her mistress, I wonder if it may just be she despised her because she knew she had the absolute right to take her baby from her.
(5) And Sarai said to Abram, "My wrong be upon you! I have given my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes. The LORD judge between you and me."
Sarai tries to blame Abram for what has happened. Indeed, he apparently did take Hagar willingly, but as pointed out before, it was totally Sarai's right to give her maid as she wished. It was never Abram's right to take her.
(6) But Abram said to Sarai, "Behold, your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please." And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence.
Abram pointed out that Hagar was Sarai's property and that she could do with her what she wished. Hagar ran away when Sarai dealt harshly with her.
(7) And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain on the way to Shur. (8) And He said, "Hagar, Sarai's maid, where have you come from, and where will you go?" And she said, "I flee from the presence of my mistress Sarai." (9) And the angel of the LORD said to her, "Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand."
God told Hagar to return to her mistress, even though she may be mistreated. God has asked Hagar to do her part, her best, if you will, to do what she has been called to do in her life at this time, and that is to submit to her authority. That is what we must all do. I think about this when there is conflict between two parties, especially in the case of a husband and wife. The wife may think that it is unfair that she has to endure certain behaviors from her husband, but she is called by God to submit to her husband, and let God deal with her husband. Likewise with a husband who has a disrespectful and unloving wife, he is called to love her as Christ loved the church, and he must let God deal with her heart. All we can do is what we are called to do; we have no power over the other party. If we are obedient to God, He takes care of the rest. When we fight for our "rights", we make a bigger mess of things.
(10) And the angel of the LORD said to her, "I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude." (11) And the angel of the LORD said to her, "Behold, you are with child, and will bear a son, and you shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has heard your affliction."
The angel of the Lord prophesies to Hagar that she will have a son named Ishmael, and his descendants will be too numerous to count. "Ishmael" means "God will hear". God did hear Hagar's distress, but His answer to her is that she do her best part by going back and submitting to her mistress, and let God deal with Sarai.
(12) "And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he will dwell in the presence of all his brethren."
The angel of the Lord further prophesies that Hagar's son will be a wild man, untamed and fearing no man. He will be a fighter, fighting against all others and them against him. His people will be a separate people. Indeed, the Ishmaelites were a wild and wandering people.
(13) And she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, "You God see me", for she said, "Have I also here seen Him who sees me?"
The meaning here is a little unclear. The NKJV translators supposed that Hagar actually gave the Lord a name, "You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees", but this may mean that Hagar called upon the name of the Lord, realizing that she had just seen and heard from God Almighty, the One who sees all and saw her in her distress.
(14) Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
The name of the well literally meant “well of the Living One seeing me”.
(15) And Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called his son's name, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. (16) And Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
I find it interesting to ponder if Abram's wife's slave would dare to tell Abram what the name of the child should be according to the word of the Lord. I don't find that likely at all. Therefore, it was purely prophetic that Hagar should know the name of her son before Abram gave him the name. How awesome is that?
Friday, July 13, 2012
Jesus Christ in the Old Testament?
Continuing with a Bible study of Abraham:
(Genesis 15:1) After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Fear not, Abram; I am your shield, and your exceedingly great reward."
I love this! I love the message, but I also love pondering the vision itself. How does a spoken word come in a VISION, something that is visible, something that is seen? When it is the Word of the Lord, Jesus Christ! This is the same Jesus who hasn't appeared on the earth in a physical human form yet, but the One who has been in existence since the beginning, as told beautifully in John, chapter 1:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. (v. 1-5)
Are those not the same words Jesus repeated throughout the New Testament? "Fear not" anything, not even them who kill the body, because I (Jesus) am your salvation and your reward; My grace is sufficient for thee and my strength is made perfect in weakness; I am your shield. I just love seeing glimpses of Jesus Christ and God's plan from the beginning in the Old Testament!
(2) And Abram said, "Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?" (3) And Abram said, "Behold, You have given to me no seed; and, lo, one born in my house is my heir."
God had already told Abram his seed would be as the dust of the earth, too numerous to be counted. Abram's question here is, in a sense, "How will You accomplish it, seeing I go childless?" Eliezer is, as the head steward of Abram's house, Abram's heir since he had no children. How is this to be Abram's seed too numerous to count? Abram has faith in His Lord, but he cannot understand how fulfillment of the promise can happen.
(4) And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who shall come forth out of your own body shall be your heir." (5) And He brought him forth abroad, and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your seed be." (6) And he believed in the LORD, and He counted it to him for righteousness.
God reiterated His promise to Abram, and assured him that his heir would be his own child. And Abram believed "IN THE LORD", and it was counted to him for righteousness. It is probably no accident that the scripture is worded this way. We assume that Abram believed what God had told him, but it was more than that. From Abram's seed would come the Messiah, the One who would be the righteousness for all who believed in Him as Lord and Savior, the spotless sacrifice for their sins. THAT is where our faith must be! Not in the thing that is promised, as will become evident in future studies, but in the LORD.
(7) And He said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give this land to inherit it."
"I am the LORD who brought you out of"...insert any personal place or situation here. The significance here is that the Lord brought Abram out of a lost world to save him. Giving the land to him is just a part of the promise; the most important part is the salvation that will come from the seed of Abraham, in the form of Jesus Christ.
(8) And he said, "Lord GOD, how will I know that I will inherit it?"
It sounds as if Abram is asking for a sign, but I don't think that is really what is meant here. Once again, Abram just can't understand how the Lord will accomplish His promise. We are told more than once that Abram believed God, so I don't believe he is asking for a sign to prove anything. He already believes, but he also knows he is past the age (or more importantly, his wife is past the age) of bearing children, so he can't fathom it will happen in the natural way, so he wonders how he will know when it happens.
(9) And He said to him, "Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon."
Abram may have been expecting a sign from heaven, but God begins by asking for obedience. I believe this is no accident; obedience to God is paramount. It continues to play a part throughout the process of bringing God's plan to fruition. God asks for three-year-old animals. Dr. John Gill points out that the early Levitical law required creatures of only a year old to be offered for sacrifice. The significance of God's asking for three-year-old animals is that these animals were at their full growth and full strength, and nearest their greatest perfection. God must be served with the best we have.
(10) And he took all these to Him and divided them in the middle, and laid each piece against another, but the birds he did not divide.
There is a general consensus among the old commentaries that the division of the animals refers to a covenant between two parties. Adam Clarke took it a step further showing incidents in history where the separation of the animals also was symbolic of what would happen to the offending party if it broke the covenant, to submit to the punishment of being cut asunder. One such incident is when Xerxes ordered one of the sons of Pythius to be cut in two, and one half to be placed on each side of the way so that his army might pass through between them. There are scriptures that seem to suggest punishments like this, as well: The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, "The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill." (Daniel 2:5); And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 24:51); The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. (Luke 12:46).
The birds are two without being divided. There are varying ideas on what this represented with some along the lines of the fact that Abram's people would be torn asunder, but would afterward be rejoined. Some scholars suggest that the animals chosen represented idolatrous nations, as sometimes in scripture those animals are used to describe such nations, as in "Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me." (Psalms 22:12); "The two-horned ram represents the kings of Media and Persia." (Daniel 8:20); and "And the rough goat is the king of Greece". (Daniel 8:21); and the Israelites are compared to doves. I'm not sure that latter interpretation totally works for me, although there are often many truths found in prophecy, I can't deny. However, since this is a covenant between God and Abram's descendants, I believe that the animals cut in two do represent the two parties, and the Israelites are indeed often "cut asunder" when they break their part of the covenant and follow after idols, but a remnant is always preserved whole. Also one of the whole birds is a dove, which is often used to represent God's Holy Spirit. Abram's descendants will be made whole again and will live through Jesus Christ. I can't help but think of the dove descending upon Jesus after He was baptized: "When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him." (Matthew 3:16)
(11) And when the fowls came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
I love what Matthew Henry writes about this verse: "While God's appearing to own His sacrifice was deferred, Abram continued waiting, and his expectations were raised by the delay; when the fowls came down upon the carcasses to prey upon them, as common and neglected things, Abram drove them away, believing that the vision would, at the end, speak, and not lie. Note, a very watchful eye must be kept upon our spiritual sacrifices, that nothing be suffered to prey upon them and render them unfit for God's acceptance. When vain thoughts, like these fowls, come down upon our sacrifices, we must drive them away, and not suffer them to lodge within us, but attend on God without distraction." In a word - patience. We must wait upon the Lord. I love it!
(12) And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him. (13) And He said to Abram, "Know certainly that your seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. (14) And also that nation whom they will serve, I will judge; and afterward they will come out with great substance. (15) And you will go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. (16) But in the fourth generation they will come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete."
As the sun was going down and Abram fell into a deep sleep, the Lord spoke in prophecy to him. He told him that his descendants would be strangers in a land that was not theirs, and that they would have to serve and would be afflicted by that nation for four hundred years. After that time God would punish the nation that enslaved them and they would come out with great riches. But Abram would die in peace and not have to see the affliction of his descendants. His descendants would return to this land in the fourth generation (four hundredth year), for then God would judge the iniquity of the Amorites in this land his descendants were to possess.
(17) And it came to pass, that when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold (there appeared) a smoking furnace and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.
Surely the burning lamp represents God passing between those pieces cut in two, indicating He is a party to this covenant. The smoking furnace may be the afflicted descendants of Abram. John Wesley gives us a good analogy; they were in the furnace of affliction, their eyes so darkened by smoke that they could not see the end of their troubles.
(18) In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: "To your seed I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, (19) The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, (20) And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, (21) And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites."
Thus the Lord indicates this is a done deal. He has given this land to Abram's descendants. Before God had said He will give it to Abram; now He said He has given it, from the river in Egypt (probably the Nile) to the Euphrates, the land of the ten tribes named above. This covenant is sealed and delivered; the possession of the land is as sure in due time, as if it were actually delivered to Abram's descendants now.
(Genesis 15:1) After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Fear not, Abram; I am your shield, and your exceedingly great reward."
I love this! I love the message, but I also love pondering the vision itself. How does a spoken word come in a VISION, something that is visible, something that is seen? When it is the Word of the Lord, Jesus Christ! This is the same Jesus who hasn't appeared on the earth in a physical human form yet, but the One who has been in existence since the beginning, as told beautifully in John, chapter 1:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. (v. 1-5)
Are those not the same words Jesus repeated throughout the New Testament? "Fear not" anything, not even them who kill the body, because I (Jesus) am your salvation and your reward; My grace is sufficient for thee and my strength is made perfect in weakness; I am your shield. I just love seeing glimpses of Jesus Christ and God's plan from the beginning in the Old Testament!
(2) And Abram said, "Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?" (3) And Abram said, "Behold, You have given to me no seed; and, lo, one born in my house is my heir."
God had already told Abram his seed would be as the dust of the earth, too numerous to be counted. Abram's question here is, in a sense, "How will You accomplish it, seeing I go childless?" Eliezer is, as the head steward of Abram's house, Abram's heir since he had no children. How is this to be Abram's seed too numerous to count? Abram has faith in His Lord, but he cannot understand how fulfillment of the promise can happen.
(4) And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who shall come forth out of your own body shall be your heir." (5) And He brought him forth abroad, and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your seed be." (6) And he believed in the LORD, and He counted it to him for righteousness.
God reiterated His promise to Abram, and assured him that his heir would be his own child. And Abram believed "IN THE LORD", and it was counted to him for righteousness. It is probably no accident that the scripture is worded this way. We assume that Abram believed what God had told him, but it was more than that. From Abram's seed would come the Messiah, the One who would be the righteousness for all who believed in Him as Lord and Savior, the spotless sacrifice for their sins. THAT is where our faith must be! Not in the thing that is promised, as will become evident in future studies, but in the LORD.
(7) And He said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give this land to inherit it."
"I am the LORD who brought you out of"...insert any personal place or situation here. The significance here is that the Lord brought Abram out of a lost world to save him. Giving the land to him is just a part of the promise; the most important part is the salvation that will come from the seed of Abraham, in the form of Jesus Christ.
(8) And he said, "Lord GOD, how will I know that I will inherit it?"
It sounds as if Abram is asking for a sign, but I don't think that is really what is meant here. Once again, Abram just can't understand how the Lord will accomplish His promise. We are told more than once that Abram believed God, so I don't believe he is asking for a sign to prove anything. He already believes, but he also knows he is past the age (or more importantly, his wife is past the age) of bearing children, so he can't fathom it will happen in the natural way, so he wonders how he will know when it happens.
(9) And He said to him, "Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon."
Abram may have been expecting a sign from heaven, but God begins by asking for obedience. I believe this is no accident; obedience to God is paramount. It continues to play a part throughout the process of bringing God's plan to fruition. God asks for three-year-old animals. Dr. John Gill points out that the early Levitical law required creatures of only a year old to be offered for sacrifice. The significance of God's asking for three-year-old animals is that these animals were at their full growth and full strength, and nearest their greatest perfection. God must be served with the best we have.
(10) And he took all these to Him and divided them in the middle, and laid each piece against another, but the birds he did not divide.
There is a general consensus among the old commentaries that the division of the animals refers to a covenant between two parties. Adam Clarke took it a step further showing incidents in history where the separation of the animals also was symbolic of what would happen to the offending party if it broke the covenant, to submit to the punishment of being cut asunder. One such incident is when Xerxes ordered one of the sons of Pythius to be cut in two, and one half to be placed on each side of the way so that his army might pass through between them. There are scriptures that seem to suggest punishments like this, as well: The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, "The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill." (Daniel 2:5); And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 24:51); The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. (Luke 12:46).
The birds are two without being divided. There are varying ideas on what this represented with some along the lines of the fact that Abram's people would be torn asunder, but would afterward be rejoined. Some scholars suggest that the animals chosen represented idolatrous nations, as sometimes in scripture those animals are used to describe such nations, as in "Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me." (Psalms 22:12); "The two-horned ram represents the kings of Media and Persia." (Daniel 8:20); and "And the rough goat is the king of Greece". (Daniel 8:21); and the Israelites are compared to doves. I'm not sure that latter interpretation totally works for me, although there are often many truths found in prophecy, I can't deny. However, since this is a covenant between God and Abram's descendants, I believe that the animals cut in two do represent the two parties, and the Israelites are indeed often "cut asunder" when they break their part of the covenant and follow after idols, but a remnant is always preserved whole. Also one of the whole birds is a dove, which is often used to represent God's Holy Spirit. Abram's descendants will be made whole again and will live through Jesus Christ. I can't help but think of the dove descending upon Jesus after He was baptized: "When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him." (Matthew 3:16)
(11) And when the fowls came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
I love what Matthew Henry writes about this verse: "While God's appearing to own His sacrifice was deferred, Abram continued waiting, and his expectations were raised by the delay; when the fowls came down upon the carcasses to prey upon them, as common and neglected things, Abram drove them away, believing that the vision would, at the end, speak, and not lie. Note, a very watchful eye must be kept upon our spiritual sacrifices, that nothing be suffered to prey upon them and render them unfit for God's acceptance. When vain thoughts, like these fowls, come down upon our sacrifices, we must drive them away, and not suffer them to lodge within us, but attend on God without distraction." In a word - patience. We must wait upon the Lord. I love it!
(12) And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him. (13) And He said to Abram, "Know certainly that your seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. (14) And also that nation whom they will serve, I will judge; and afterward they will come out with great substance. (15) And you will go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. (16) But in the fourth generation they will come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete."
As the sun was going down and Abram fell into a deep sleep, the Lord spoke in prophecy to him. He told him that his descendants would be strangers in a land that was not theirs, and that they would have to serve and would be afflicted by that nation for four hundred years. After that time God would punish the nation that enslaved them and they would come out with great riches. But Abram would die in peace and not have to see the affliction of his descendants. His descendants would return to this land in the fourth generation (four hundredth year), for then God would judge the iniquity of the Amorites in this land his descendants were to possess.
(17) And it came to pass, that when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold (there appeared) a smoking furnace and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.
Surely the burning lamp represents God passing between those pieces cut in two, indicating He is a party to this covenant. The smoking furnace may be the afflicted descendants of Abram. John Wesley gives us a good analogy; they were in the furnace of affliction, their eyes so darkened by smoke that they could not see the end of their troubles.
(18) In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: "To your seed I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, (19) The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, (20) And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, (21) And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites."
Thus the Lord indicates this is a done deal. He has given this land to Abram's descendants. Before God had said He will give it to Abram; now He said He has given it, from the river in Egypt (probably the Nile) to the Euphrates, the land of the ten tribes named above. This covenant is sealed and delivered; the possession of the land is as sure in due time, as if it were actually delivered to Abram's descendants now.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
The First War Recorded in the Bible
Continuing a Bible study of Abraham:
(Genesis 14:1) And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations, (2) That they made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.
As best as I can understand from reading historical accounts of this, the "kings" of Sodom and Gomorrah and other adjoining cities had been tributaries to the king of Elam and had combined to throw off his yoke. The king of Elam, with the help of three allies, invaded the territories of the rebellious princes. The king "of nations" ("goy" or "goyim") may refer to the leader of various other clans, or it might actually be the name of a place called Goim, so named because there were gathered together many out of various nations and places, and they set Tidal to reign over them.
(3) All these were joined together in the valley of Siddim, which is the salt sea. (4) Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. (5) And in the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him came and attacked the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim, (6) And the Horites in their mount Seir, as far as El Paran, which is by the wilderness. (7) And they returned, and came to En Mishpat, which is Kadesh, and attacked all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who dwelt in Hazezon Tamar.
The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and the other cities served under the king of Elam for twelve years and then rebelled. A year later, Chedorlaomer and his allies attacked. We can only assume that the tribes attacked along the way were seen as allies of the five kings listed in verse 2.
(8) And the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and joined together in battle in the valley of Siddim, (9) Against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, four kings against five.
The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and the other cities, five kings in all, responded to the attack of Chedorlaomer and his three allies, in the valley of Siddim.
(10) And the valley of Siddim was full of slime pits, and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there, and they that remained fled to the mountain. (11) And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. (12) And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
The victors in this battle, Chedorlaomer and his allies, pillaged the cities of the kings they had defeated and took everything of value, including Lot and his goods.
(13) And there came one who had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner, and they were confederate with Abram.
Someone who had escaped from the battle or the pillaging, came and told Abram what had happened. Mamre and his brothers joined together with Abram.
(14) And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and pursued them as far as Dan. (15) And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and attacked them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.
Abram, his trained servants, and his allies, pursued Chedorlaomer and his allies. It appears they divided their forces and attacked by night.
(16) And he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, and also the women and the people. (17) And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's valley.
Abram and his allies were victorious and brought back all the goods that had been taken from Sodom and Gomorrah, including Lot and his goods, and also brought back the other women and people who had been taken. The king of Sodom came to meet and obviously congratulate Abram on his victory. This is probably not the same king who was defeated in the valley of Siddim. Verse 10 said that the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fell there, so this was probably a successor.
(18) And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine; and he was the priest of the most high God. (19) And he blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth; (20) And blessed be the most high God, who has delivered your enemies into your hand." And he gave him tithes of all.
So much has been written and speculated about Melchizedek and just who he is, but at this point in a chronological Bible study, I choose to accept only what has been written here. Melchizedek is said to be the king of Salem, which may be Jerusalem, because David supposedly referred to Jerusalem as Salem. However, I have also read that there was a town called Salem about this time near Scythopolis, a town that may be the same called Shalem elsewhere in the Bible. There is also a Salim referenced in the New Testament. So who really knows for certain? We do know he was king of a city, and evidently a very pious and religious man of God. He brought Abram bread and wine for refreshment after his battle, and then he blessed him. Abram is the one who gave tithes to Melchizedek, not the other way around, and we know this for certain, as this account is retold in Hebrews. Abram gave a tenth of the spoils, again knowing this as certain from the retelling in Hebrews. It can only be assumed from this account that Abram gave a tenth of the spoils in gratitude to God for the victory, and Melchizedek accepted it as he was a priest of God. Period. Like I said, there has been much to-do about Melchizedek, some even claiming he was Christ Himself, with which I do not agree, and there is nothing in this account of Melchizedek to suggest any more than what I have written. If there is more later, I'll explore it then.
(21) And the king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the persons, and take the goods to yourself." (22) And Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have lifted up my hand to the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, (23) That I will not take even a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, 'I have made Abram rich'; (24) Except only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion."
The king of Sodom, who had come to meet Abram and congratulate and thank him for the victory, told him he could take all the goods, as long as all the people were restored. However, Abram said he would not take the smallest thing from the king of Sodom, for if he did, the king could later claim that he had made Abram rich. Lifting his hand to the Lord indicates he had vowed to the Lord he would not take anything, and he didn't, except what had already been eaten by the young men who went with him to battle. However, Abram did not go so far as to deny Mamre and his brothers their portion of the goods recovered.
(Genesis 14:1) And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations, (2) That they made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.
As best as I can understand from reading historical accounts of this, the "kings" of Sodom and Gomorrah and other adjoining cities had been tributaries to the king of Elam and had combined to throw off his yoke. The king of Elam, with the help of three allies, invaded the territories of the rebellious princes. The king "of nations" ("goy" or "goyim") may refer to the leader of various other clans, or it might actually be the name of a place called Goim, so named because there were gathered together many out of various nations and places, and they set Tidal to reign over them.
(3) All these were joined together in the valley of Siddim, which is the salt sea. (4) Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. (5) And in the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him came and attacked the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim, (6) And the Horites in their mount Seir, as far as El Paran, which is by the wilderness. (7) And they returned, and came to En Mishpat, which is Kadesh, and attacked all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who dwelt in Hazezon Tamar.
The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and the other cities served under the king of Elam for twelve years and then rebelled. A year later, Chedorlaomer and his allies attacked. We can only assume that the tribes attacked along the way were seen as allies of the five kings listed in verse 2.
(8) And the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and joined together in battle in the valley of Siddim, (9) Against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, four kings against five.
The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and the other cities, five kings in all, responded to the attack of Chedorlaomer and his three allies, in the valley of Siddim.
(10) And the valley of Siddim was full of slime pits, and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there, and they that remained fled to the mountain. (11) And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. (12) And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
The victors in this battle, Chedorlaomer and his allies, pillaged the cities of the kings they had defeated and took everything of value, including Lot and his goods.
(13) And there came one who had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner, and they were confederate with Abram.
Someone who had escaped from the battle or the pillaging, came and told Abram what had happened. Mamre and his brothers joined together with Abram.
(14) And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and pursued them as far as Dan. (15) And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and attacked them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.
Abram, his trained servants, and his allies, pursued Chedorlaomer and his allies. It appears they divided their forces and attacked by night.
(16) And he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, and also the women and the people. (17) And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's valley.
Abram and his allies were victorious and brought back all the goods that had been taken from Sodom and Gomorrah, including Lot and his goods, and also brought back the other women and people who had been taken. The king of Sodom came to meet and obviously congratulate Abram on his victory. This is probably not the same king who was defeated in the valley of Siddim. Verse 10 said that the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fell there, so this was probably a successor.
(18) And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine; and he was the priest of the most high God. (19) And he blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth; (20) And blessed be the most high God, who has delivered your enemies into your hand." And he gave him tithes of all.
So much has been written and speculated about Melchizedek and just who he is, but at this point in a chronological Bible study, I choose to accept only what has been written here. Melchizedek is said to be the king of Salem, which may be Jerusalem, because David supposedly referred to Jerusalem as Salem. However, I have also read that there was a town called Salem about this time near Scythopolis, a town that may be the same called Shalem elsewhere in the Bible. There is also a Salim referenced in the New Testament. So who really knows for certain? We do know he was king of a city, and evidently a very pious and religious man of God. He brought Abram bread and wine for refreshment after his battle, and then he blessed him. Abram is the one who gave tithes to Melchizedek, not the other way around, and we know this for certain, as this account is retold in Hebrews. Abram gave a tenth of the spoils, again knowing this as certain from the retelling in Hebrews. It can only be assumed from this account that Abram gave a tenth of the spoils in gratitude to God for the victory, and Melchizedek accepted it as he was a priest of God. Period. Like I said, there has been much to-do about Melchizedek, some even claiming he was Christ Himself, with which I do not agree, and there is nothing in this account of Melchizedek to suggest any more than what I have written. If there is more later, I'll explore it then.
(21) And the king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the persons, and take the goods to yourself." (22) And Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have lifted up my hand to the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, (23) That I will not take even a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, 'I have made Abram rich'; (24) Except only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion."
The king of Sodom, who had come to meet Abram and congratulate and thank him for the victory, told him he could take all the goods, as long as all the people were restored. However, Abram said he would not take the smallest thing from the king of Sodom, for if he did, the king could later claim that he had made Abram rich. Lifting his hand to the Lord indicates he had vowed to the Lord he would not take anything, and he didn't, except what had already been eaten by the young men who went with him to battle. However, Abram did not go so far as to deny Mamre and his brothers their portion of the goods recovered.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Abram Comes to the Promised Land
Continuing a chronological Bible study, we now begin a study of Abraham:
(Genesis 12:1) Now the LORD had said to Abram, "Get out of your country, and from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you."
Stephen told us in Acts 7:2, in the preface of the story of Abraham in the last post, that the God of glory appeared to Abram to give him this call. It may also be of importance to note that the scripture says "the LORD had said...", indicating the appearance and call may have happened some time before this present time. I say this because in verse 4 it says Abram left Haran, but Stephen made it a point to say that the Lord had appeared to Abram when he was in Mesopotamia, before he was in Haran. (Aha, maybe there was wisdom in the choice to put Stephen's speech before the call of Abraham in a chronological study, after all!)
(2) "And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, and you will be a blessing. (3) And I will bless those who bless you, and curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."
Here we have God's promise to Abram, which he had to accept on faith. Of him would be made a great nation even though he had no child. Note that all the families of the earth will be blessed in Abraham. It has been God's plan since the beginning to save all the world. Abraham became the patriarch of God's people, and Jesus Christ, being a descendant of Abraham, would be the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham in that all may come to God through the Messiah.
(4) So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. (5) And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they went forth to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to the land of Canaan.
Abram, his wife, his nephew, and all their families and households, moved from Haran. Again I will note that Stephen in the New Testament made it a point to tell us that Abram had received his vision from God when he was in Mesopotamia, before he was in Haran.
(6) And Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land. (7) And the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
This is obviously another time that the Lord appeared to Abram. The first time He did not tell Abram where he should go, but that He would bring him to a land, and this is it.
(8) And he moved from there to a mountain east of Bethel, and pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. (9) And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south. (10) And there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was grievous in the land.
Abram journeyed throughout the land of Canaan, but there was a severe famine in the land, so Abram went to Egypt for awhile. Imagine the great faith it would have taken to leave his homeland where he had plenty of food and come to this land of severe famine. He could have been tempted to go back toward home because of the famine, but he actually went further from his home to Egypt to spell there.
(11) And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, "Behold now, I know that you are a beautiful woman to look upon. (12) Therefore it will come to pass, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, 'This is his wife'; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. (13) Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and my soul will live because of you."
It's very interesting to note that according to other scriptures that date Abram and Sarai at different times in their lives, Sarai would have been 65 at this time, and still considered a beautiful and desirable woman. Sarai really was a half-sister to Abram, according to Biblical scholars, but he was obviously being deceitful in desiring to hide the whole truth that he was married to Sarai because he feared for his life.
(14) And it came to pass, that, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians beheld the woman, that she was very beautiful. (15) The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her before Pharaoh; and the woman was taken to Pharaoh's house. (16) And he treated Abram well for her sake; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
And so it was as Abram thought; the Egyptians did find Sarai beautiful. Pharaoh desired to have Sarai as his wife and because he did, treated her "brother" well.
(17) But the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. (18) And Pharaoh called Abram and said, "What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? (19) Why did you say, 'She is my sister'? so that I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, behold your wife; take her and go your way." (20) And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had.
There are no details about the plagues, but it is interesting to note that through them Pharaoh seems to have figured out on his own that Sarai was Abram's wife. Pharaoh is rightly upset with Abram who deceived him and allowed him to bring plagues on his household, but obviously knowing the source of the plagues, he sends Abram and his wife away with no harm or injury.
(Genesis 13:1) And Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. (2) And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. (3) And he went on his journey from the south even to Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, (4) To the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first; and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.
So Abram and Sarai left Egypt, and with his nephew Lot, returned to the place where they had been before going to Egypt because of the severe famine. He returned to the altar he had previously made, and prayed to the Lord.
(5) And Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents. (6) And the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together. (7) And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle; and the Canaanites and the Perizzites dwelt then in the land.
We were told previously in verse 2 that Abram was very rich in gold and silver, and in cattle. It seems that Lot also possessed a lot, so much that there was not room for both households (not with the others who also dwelt in the land), at least not without a great deal of strife.
(8) And Abram said to Lot, "Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brethren. (9) Is not the whole land before you? Please separate yourself from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or if you go to the right, then I will go to the left."
Because Abram wanted peace with Lot's household, he encouraged Lot to move away to another part of the land. Even though Abram was patriarch of the family, and was the one to whom God was giving the new land, Abram gave Lot his choice of where he wanted to live, and Abram would go the opposite direction.
(10) And Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you come to Zoar. (11) Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other.
It seems that Lot had no hesitation in taking Abram up on his generous offer to allow him to take his pick of land. "The garden of the Lord" may be the garden of Eden to which the plain of Jordan was being compared, or perhaps the meaning is that the plain of Jordan IS the garden of the Lord as it was a most excellent and well watered place, and it was being compared to Egypt. "As you come to Zoar" refers to the plain of Jordan that is well watered everywhere till you come to Zoar; it does not refer to Egypt, as Zoar was not near Egypt. Dr. John Gill says in his commentary that some think the plain of Jordan was the real garden of Eden, thinking the word "as" was not to be taken as a word comparing one phrase to another, but to be understood as reality. I think that may be reading more into the verse than we can really know for certain. We do know it was a very excellent well watered area that Lot chose for himself.
(12) Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent toward Sodom. (13) But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.
Lot chose the area of the plain near the cities, especially Sodom, and we see that he may have chosen unwisely.
(14) And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him, "Lift up your eyes now and look from the place where you are, northward, southward, eastward, and westward; (15) For all the land which you see, I will give it to you and your descendants forever. (16) And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also shall be numbered. (17) Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the width of it, for I will give it to you."
After Lot had moved away from Abram, the Lord appeared to Abram again (or at least spoke to him), and had him look in all directions to see fully all the land the Lord was going to give to Abram and all his descendants that would be as numerous as the particles of dust on the earth. The Lord encouraged Abram to walk through all the land that He would be giving him.
(18) Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.
Abram moved from the "mountain east of Bethel...with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east", to the plain of Mamre. This word translated as "plain" is not the same as the word used for the plain of Jordan. This word, "elon", meaning "an oak or other strong tree, plain", probably referred to an oak grove, undoubtedly, a shady and very pleasant place in which to dwell. Once again Abram built an altar to his Lord, ever mindful of, and no doubt, thankful to, his Lord for all His blessings upon Abram.
(Genesis 12:1) Now the LORD had said to Abram, "Get out of your country, and from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you."
Stephen told us in Acts 7:2, in the preface of the story of Abraham in the last post, that the God of glory appeared to Abram to give him this call. It may also be of importance to note that the scripture says "the LORD had said...", indicating the appearance and call may have happened some time before this present time. I say this because in verse 4 it says Abram left Haran, but Stephen made it a point to say that the Lord had appeared to Abram when he was in Mesopotamia, before he was in Haran. (Aha, maybe there was wisdom in the choice to put Stephen's speech before the call of Abraham in a chronological study, after all!)
(2) "And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, and you will be a blessing. (3) And I will bless those who bless you, and curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."
Here we have God's promise to Abram, which he had to accept on faith. Of him would be made a great nation even though he had no child. Note that all the families of the earth will be blessed in Abraham. It has been God's plan since the beginning to save all the world. Abraham became the patriarch of God's people, and Jesus Christ, being a descendant of Abraham, would be the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham in that all may come to God through the Messiah.
(4) So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. (5) And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they went forth to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to the land of Canaan.
Abram, his wife, his nephew, and all their families and households, moved from Haran. Again I will note that Stephen in the New Testament made it a point to tell us that Abram had received his vision from God when he was in Mesopotamia, before he was in Haran.
(6) And Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land. (7) And the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
This is obviously another time that the Lord appeared to Abram. The first time He did not tell Abram where he should go, but that He would bring him to a land, and this is it.
(8) And he moved from there to a mountain east of Bethel, and pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. (9) And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south. (10) And there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was grievous in the land.
Abram journeyed throughout the land of Canaan, but there was a severe famine in the land, so Abram went to Egypt for awhile. Imagine the great faith it would have taken to leave his homeland where he had plenty of food and come to this land of severe famine. He could have been tempted to go back toward home because of the famine, but he actually went further from his home to Egypt to spell there.
(11) And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, "Behold now, I know that you are a beautiful woman to look upon. (12) Therefore it will come to pass, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, 'This is his wife'; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. (13) Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and my soul will live because of you."
It's very interesting to note that according to other scriptures that date Abram and Sarai at different times in their lives, Sarai would have been 65 at this time, and still considered a beautiful and desirable woman. Sarai really was a half-sister to Abram, according to Biblical scholars, but he was obviously being deceitful in desiring to hide the whole truth that he was married to Sarai because he feared for his life.
(14) And it came to pass, that, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians beheld the woman, that she was very beautiful. (15) The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her before Pharaoh; and the woman was taken to Pharaoh's house. (16) And he treated Abram well for her sake; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
And so it was as Abram thought; the Egyptians did find Sarai beautiful. Pharaoh desired to have Sarai as his wife and because he did, treated her "brother" well.
(17) But the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. (18) And Pharaoh called Abram and said, "What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? (19) Why did you say, 'She is my sister'? so that I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, behold your wife; take her and go your way." (20) And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had.
There are no details about the plagues, but it is interesting to note that through them Pharaoh seems to have figured out on his own that Sarai was Abram's wife. Pharaoh is rightly upset with Abram who deceived him and allowed him to bring plagues on his household, but obviously knowing the source of the plagues, he sends Abram and his wife away with no harm or injury.
(Genesis 13:1) And Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. (2) And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. (3) And he went on his journey from the south even to Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, (4) To the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first; and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.
So Abram and Sarai left Egypt, and with his nephew Lot, returned to the place where they had been before going to Egypt because of the severe famine. He returned to the altar he had previously made, and prayed to the Lord.
(5) And Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents. (6) And the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together. (7) And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle; and the Canaanites and the Perizzites dwelt then in the land.
We were told previously in verse 2 that Abram was very rich in gold and silver, and in cattle. It seems that Lot also possessed a lot, so much that there was not room for both households (not with the others who also dwelt in the land), at least not without a great deal of strife.
(8) And Abram said to Lot, "Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brethren. (9) Is not the whole land before you? Please separate yourself from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or if you go to the right, then I will go to the left."
Because Abram wanted peace with Lot's household, he encouraged Lot to move away to another part of the land. Even though Abram was patriarch of the family, and was the one to whom God was giving the new land, Abram gave Lot his choice of where he wanted to live, and Abram would go the opposite direction.
(10) And Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you come to Zoar. (11) Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other.
It seems that Lot had no hesitation in taking Abram up on his generous offer to allow him to take his pick of land. "The garden of the Lord" may be the garden of Eden to which the plain of Jordan was being compared, or perhaps the meaning is that the plain of Jordan IS the garden of the Lord as it was a most excellent and well watered place, and it was being compared to Egypt. "As you come to Zoar" refers to the plain of Jordan that is well watered everywhere till you come to Zoar; it does not refer to Egypt, as Zoar was not near Egypt. Dr. John Gill says in his commentary that some think the plain of Jordan was the real garden of Eden, thinking the word "as" was not to be taken as a word comparing one phrase to another, but to be understood as reality. I think that may be reading more into the verse than we can really know for certain. We do know it was a very excellent well watered area that Lot chose for himself.
(12) Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent toward Sodom. (13) But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.
Lot chose the area of the plain near the cities, especially Sodom, and we see that he may have chosen unwisely.
(14) And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him, "Lift up your eyes now and look from the place where you are, northward, southward, eastward, and westward; (15) For all the land which you see, I will give it to you and your descendants forever. (16) And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also shall be numbered. (17) Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the width of it, for I will give it to you."
After Lot had moved away from Abram, the Lord appeared to Abram again (or at least spoke to him), and had him look in all directions to see fully all the land the Lord was going to give to Abram and all his descendants that would be as numerous as the particles of dust on the earth. The Lord encouraged Abram to walk through all the land that He would be giving him.
(18) Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.
Abram moved from the "mountain east of Bethel...with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east", to the plain of Mamre. This word translated as "plain" is not the same as the word used for the plain of Jordan. This word, "elon", meaning "an oak or other strong tree, plain", probably referred to an oak grove, undoubtedly, a shady and very pleasant place in which to dwell. Once again Abram built an altar to his Lord, ever mindful of, and no doubt, thankful to, his Lord for all His blessings upon Abram.
Monday, May 14, 2012
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.
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.
Friday, May 4, 2012
Job Repents and the Lord Blesses His Latter Days More Than His Beginning
Continuing a Bible study of Job:
(Job 42:1) Then Job answered the LORD, and said, (2) "I know that You can do everything, and that no thought can be withheld from You. (3) Who is he who hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know."
Job acknowledges that God is all-powerful and has unlimited dominion. "No thought can be withheld from You" could mean there are no secret thoughts from God, or it might mean that there is no thought of God's that He can't bring to pass. Job quotes what God had asked about him, and admits that he spoke about things he did not understand.
(4) "Hear, I beseech you, and I will speak; I will demand of you, and you will declare to me."
The NKJV translators added the words "you said" to the second part of verse 4. I'm not a fan of the newer translations of the Bible and now might be a good time to link to my article on why I trust KJV to be the most accurate: "Which Version of the Truth Will You Use?"
Job may very well be quoting God, as he seemed to do in verse 3. As John Wesley put it, "The words which God had uttered to Job by way of challenge, Job returns to him in way of submission." It is also possible, if anything is being quoted, that Job is referring to his own request to speak directly to God and have Him answer him. Maybe it's not a quote at all, but Job requesting the Lord hear his humble confession. "I beseech you" is a humble "I beg of you". "Demand" is probably not the best sense of the original word, "shaal". I believe the better sense is one of the word's other definitions, "to ask (as a favor), beg". So again, "I beg of you to hear me and then You will set me straight."
(5) "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. (6) Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."
Up to now, Job only knew God through tradition and from what he had heard and had been taught, and it was therefore imperfect information, but now having this personal contact with God, he sees his Lord much more clearly, and humbles himself before Him and repents of his sins. There is much discussion among Biblical scholars as to whether or not Job actually saw God with his eyes. God told Moses in Exodus 33:20, "for there shall no man see me, and live." I believe God could take on any form He wanted and could have been visible to Job, but we really only have Job's words that now his eyes saw God, and clearly that "seeing" could mean "understanding", as when Jesus later spoke of having eyes and not seeing. The only thing we know for fact about Job's contact with God is that God spoke to him out of a whirlwind.
(7) And so it was, that after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My wrath is kindled against you, and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. (8) Therefore take unto you now seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly, in that you have not spoken of Me what is right, like My servant Job."
It is very interesting when you think about all that Job and his three friends had said about God. The friends had said many right things about God, and Job had said many wrong things, but God accepted Job, and not his friends. Only through sacrifice and Job's praying for them, would God accept them. Two things come to mind. God judges the heart of men which He saw clearly all along, even if we didn't. Immediately after God spoke, Job was overwhelmed by the conviction of guilt and repented. There is no indication that his friends felt any differently after hearing the words of God. Albert Barnes points out that if the matter had been left at verse 6 with Job abhorring himself and repenting in dust and ashes, the impression would have been that it was Job totally in error, and his friends were justified. The second and perhaps most important point is that Job's friends judged Job himself. It may not be that they said anything terribly wrong about God, but they presumed to judge Job's heart, and that is something we are commanded not to do. We may judge actions, and are in fact told to judge fruit, but there were no evil actions of Job's for his friends to condemn. They just assumed that he must have acted evilly if all these afflictions had come upon him. It must be noted that God did not mention Elihu because he dealt more mercifully and truthfully with Job, not condemning him personally, but only rebuking his sinful expressions.
(9) So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the LORD commanded them, the LORD also accepted Job. (10) And the LORD turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends. Indeed, also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.
When they obeyed the Lord and sacrificed to Him and had Job pray for them, the Lord accepted Job's friends, as He did Job when Job also obeyed by praying over his friends and offering their sacrifice to the Lord. The Lord then reversed Job's situation, giving him twice as much as he had before.
(11) Then all his brothers, all his sisters, and all those who had been his acquaintances before, came there to him and ate food with him in his house; and they bemoaned him and comforted him for all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him; every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold. (12) So the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning, for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand female donkeys.
The Lord blessed Job with more possessions than he had had in his former days, using all the people in Job's circle and having them bring money and gold to him.
(13) He also had seven sons and three daughters. (14) And he called the name of the first Jemima, the name of the second Kezia, and the name of the third Keren-Happuch. (15) In all the land were found no women so beautiful as the daughters of Job, and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers.
Job was also blessed with more children, and his daughters were the most beautiful women in the world. In Job's day, it would have been uncommon for daughters to receive an inheritance when there were sons, but Job showed no partiality to his sons. Dr. John Gill points out that this is a beautiful picture of Christ, with whom "there is neither male nor female, no difference between them, but being all children, they are heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, and equally partake of the same inheritance with the saints in light."
(16) After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his sons and his sons' sons, even four generations. (17) So Job died, old and full of days.
Job lived an additional 140 years, seeing his children's children, and even his grandchildren's children, and so it was a full and blessed life.
(Job 42:1) Then Job answered the LORD, and said, (2) "I know that You can do everything, and that no thought can be withheld from You. (3) Who is he who hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know."
Job acknowledges that God is all-powerful and has unlimited dominion. "No thought can be withheld from You" could mean there are no secret thoughts from God, or it might mean that there is no thought of God's that He can't bring to pass. Job quotes what God had asked about him, and admits that he spoke about things he did not understand.
(4) "Hear, I beseech you, and I will speak; I will demand of you, and you will declare to me."
The NKJV translators added the words "you said" to the second part of verse 4. I'm not a fan of the newer translations of the Bible and now might be a good time to link to my article on why I trust KJV to be the most accurate: "Which Version of the Truth Will You Use?"
Job may very well be quoting God, as he seemed to do in verse 3. As John Wesley put it, "The words which God had uttered to Job by way of challenge, Job returns to him in way of submission." It is also possible, if anything is being quoted, that Job is referring to his own request to speak directly to God and have Him answer him. Maybe it's not a quote at all, but Job requesting the Lord hear his humble confession. "I beseech you" is a humble "I beg of you". "Demand" is probably not the best sense of the original word, "shaal". I believe the better sense is one of the word's other definitions, "to ask (as a favor), beg". So again, "I beg of you to hear me and then You will set me straight."
(5) "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. (6) Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."
Up to now, Job only knew God through tradition and from what he had heard and had been taught, and it was therefore imperfect information, but now having this personal contact with God, he sees his Lord much more clearly, and humbles himself before Him and repents of his sins. There is much discussion among Biblical scholars as to whether or not Job actually saw God with his eyes. God told Moses in Exodus 33:20, "for there shall no man see me, and live." I believe God could take on any form He wanted and could have been visible to Job, but we really only have Job's words that now his eyes saw God, and clearly that "seeing" could mean "understanding", as when Jesus later spoke of having eyes and not seeing. The only thing we know for fact about Job's contact with God is that God spoke to him out of a whirlwind.
(7) And so it was, that after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My wrath is kindled against you, and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. (8) Therefore take unto you now seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly, in that you have not spoken of Me what is right, like My servant Job."
It is very interesting when you think about all that Job and his three friends had said about God. The friends had said many right things about God, and Job had said many wrong things, but God accepted Job, and not his friends. Only through sacrifice and Job's praying for them, would God accept them. Two things come to mind. God judges the heart of men which He saw clearly all along, even if we didn't. Immediately after God spoke, Job was overwhelmed by the conviction of guilt and repented. There is no indication that his friends felt any differently after hearing the words of God. Albert Barnes points out that if the matter had been left at verse 6 with Job abhorring himself and repenting in dust and ashes, the impression would have been that it was Job totally in error, and his friends were justified. The second and perhaps most important point is that Job's friends judged Job himself. It may not be that they said anything terribly wrong about God, but they presumed to judge Job's heart, and that is something we are commanded not to do. We may judge actions, and are in fact told to judge fruit, but there were no evil actions of Job's for his friends to condemn. They just assumed that he must have acted evilly if all these afflictions had come upon him. It must be noted that God did not mention Elihu because he dealt more mercifully and truthfully with Job, not condemning him personally, but only rebuking his sinful expressions.
(9) So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the LORD commanded them, the LORD also accepted Job. (10) And the LORD turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends. Indeed, also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.
When they obeyed the Lord and sacrificed to Him and had Job pray for them, the Lord accepted Job's friends, as He did Job when Job also obeyed by praying over his friends and offering their sacrifice to the Lord. The Lord then reversed Job's situation, giving him twice as much as he had before.
(11) Then all his brothers, all his sisters, and all those who had been his acquaintances before, came there to him and ate food with him in his house; and they bemoaned him and comforted him for all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him; every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold. (12) So the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning, for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand female donkeys.
The Lord blessed Job with more possessions than he had had in his former days, using all the people in Job's circle and having them bring money and gold to him.
(13) He also had seven sons and three daughters. (14) And he called the name of the first Jemima, the name of the second Kezia, and the name of the third Keren-Happuch. (15) In all the land were found no women so beautiful as the daughters of Job, and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers.
Job was also blessed with more children, and his daughters were the most beautiful women in the world. In Job's day, it would have been uncommon for daughters to receive an inheritance when there were sons, but Job showed no partiality to his sons. Dr. John Gill points out that this is a beautiful picture of Christ, with whom "there is neither male nor female, no difference between them, but being all children, they are heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, and equally partake of the same inheritance with the saints in light."
(16) After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his sons and his sons' sons, even four generations. (17) So Job died, old and full of days.
Job lived an additional 140 years, seeing his children's children, and even his grandchildren's children, and so it was a full and blessed life.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Dinosaurs and Dragons in the Bible?
Continuing a Bible study of Job:
(Job 40:1) Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said, (2) "Shall he who contends with the Almighty instruct Him? He who reproves God, let him answer it."
God gives Job an opportunity to answer Him.
(3) Then Job answered the LORD, and said, (4) "Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer You? I will lay my hand on my mouth. (5) Once have I spoken, but I will not answer; yes, twice, but I will proceed no further."
Job had argued boldly with his friends, and had supposed he would argue his case as boldly with God if given the chance, but when actually given the chance, he sees himself as guilty in the sight of God and will no longer attempt to justify himself.
(6) Then answered the LORD to Job out of the whirlwind, and said, (7) "Gird up your loins now like a man; I will demand of you, and you will answer Me."
Once again the Lord tells Job to prepare himself "like a man", and be prepared to answer Him. Some scholars suggest that this is an accidental duplication of the verses in Job 38:1-3, but since it is not exactly the same, I think that takes too much speculation, and I'll just go with it as it is.
(8) "Will you also annul My judgment? Will you condemn Me that you may be righteous? (9) Have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with a voice like Him? (10) Deck yourself now with majesty and excellency, and array yourself with glory and beauty."
John Wesley points out that every word in verse 8 is emphatical; the quotes are his. Will (are you purposed upon it) you (you, Job, "whom I took to be one of a better mind") also (not only vindicate yourself, but also accuse Me) annul ("not only question, but even repeal and make void, as if it were unjust") my judgment? Will Job condemn God so that he may be righteous? So does Job have power like God, or a voice like God's? The verse may refer to the actual thunder that is an expression of God's power, or as an illustration of an all-powerful creative voice that commands things out of nothing to action. Either way, can Job do it? If so, then come on and show himself as God.
(11) "Cast abroad the rage of your wrath; and behold everyone who is proud, and humble him. (12) Look on everyone who is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place. (13) Hide them in the dust together; and bind their faces in secret. (14) Then will I also confess to you that your own right hand can save you."
If Job can show himself as God, then let him show his indignation on the world and humble the proud as only God can. Taking down the wicked and bringing them to dust again sounds like killing them. Binding their faces in secret may refer to the covering of the faces of the dead or those about to be executed. If Job is able to perform these God-like actions, then God will admit that Job is as God and able to save himself. As Albert Barnes put it, "If you can do all this, it will be full proof that you can save yourself, and that you do not need the divine interposition. If he could do all this, then it might be admitted that he was qualified to pronounce a judgment on the divine counsels and dealings. He would then show that he had qualifications for conducting the affairs of the universe."
(15) "Behold now behemoth, which I made with you; he eats grass like an ox."
The original word actually is "behemoth" and has not been translated, as the meaning is not clear. Perhaps it was an animal that is now extinct. Some scholars have speculated that it could even be a dinosaur. We know that God created it "with (man)", and so far from the text we know that it was a grass-eater. The only animals in our time that might come close to the description that follows are elephants or, more probably, hippopotamuses. Whatever it was, it was a huge powerful beast.
(16) "Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly."
From this description, scholars have pointed out that "behemoth" seems more like a hippo than an elephant, as elephants are very tender in their belly region.
(17) "He moves his tail like a cedar; the sinews of his stones are wrapped together."
Wow! More speculation than you might realize has been made about this one small verse. Once again, the hippo's tail might fit this description better than the elephant's as it is short and thick and stronger. But is a short tail like that of a cedar? I am imagining the tail of a dinosaur as a true cedar-like tail. Some have speculated that the tail is not what is being described here, but the penis, and indeed, the rest of the verse complements that idea. "Stones" indeed means "testicles" here. Some scholars point out that the ancients used to call the penis the tail. I have read that the elephant's is small in proportion to the size of its body; and not in sight, and therefore can hardly be thought to be described in the verse. I am not sure about the hippo, but perhaps either animal's would be considered large and rigid and tree-like to any other species of animal. Another speculation is that it might be the elephant's trunk that is referenced here, but why talk about the "stones" in the same sentence? Of course, it could be a now extinct animal that is referenced.
(18) "His bones are as strong pieces of brass, his bones are like bars of iron. (19) He is the chief of the ways of God; He who made him can make His sword to approach him."
God is speaking about a very strong animal. Once again I have read that the elephant may not live up to this description as his bones are porous, light, and spongy. However, it could be his tusks that are referenced. The hippo may have stronger bones. The animal described is chief among the creations of God, probably because of his size and strength. The second part of verse 19 sounds like only God can kill this animal. Obviously, an elephant or a hippo could be killed by man, even if they are very large and strong. So either a larger more formidable creature is meant, or perhaps the meaning of that part of the scripture is to be understood a little differently. The KJV translators added the last word, "him"; actually it was "unto him" in the KJV text as written. So we really just have "He who made him can make his sword to approach", so perhaps this refers to the sword-like feature that God created in the animal itself. An elephant tusk might appear as a sword before the animal, or even more sword-like might be the huge teeth of the hippo. How about the rhinoceros? Now that looks like a sword!
(20) "Surely the mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play. (21) He lies under the shady trees, in the cover of the reed and fens. (22) The shady trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook surround him. (23) Behold, he drinks up a river, and does not hasten; he trusts that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth. (24) He takes it with his eyes; his nose pierces through snares."
This description surely sounds more like the hippo than the elephant as the animal is found close to the water. The picture of a hippo walking into a river with the greatest of ease and unconcern, opening his huge mouth and drinking in huge amounts of water, even going under and holding his breath for long periods of time, seems to fit very well. I believe the meaning of verse 24 is that the animal sees the water, wants it, and saunters in, letting nothing stand in his way, his nose piercing through any snags or traps. Now that sounds like the "nose" of an elephant or maybe a rhino.
It's no wonder there is so much speculation and disagreement on just what behemoth is! I think I may agree with those who think it was an animal now extinct, probably the mastodon or the mammoth.
(Job 41:1) "Can you draw out leviathan with a hook, or his tongue with a cord which you let down?"
Chapter 41 begins with God talking about another of His impressive creations, another beast hard to identify with certainty. Adam Clarke writes, "We come now to a subject...on which learned men are less agreed than on the preceding (behemoth). What is leviathan?" Leviathan is mentioned in the Bible in a few places. Strong's points out it is from the root word, "lavah", which means "to twine", so the assumption has always been that it is a type of coiling serpent. Strong's and Brown-Driver-Briggs define "leviathan" as "a wreathed animal, that is, a serpent (especially the crocodile or some other large sea monster); figuratively the constellation of the dragon; also as a symbol of Babylon: - leviathan, mourning" (Strong's), and "leviathan, sea monster, dragon, large aquatic animal, perhaps the extinct dinosaur, plesiosaurus, exact meaning unknown" (BDB). Whatever this animal is, it is apparent it is large and impressive and not likely to be caught on a fishing line by man.
(2) "Can you put an hook into his nose? Or bore his jaw through with a thorn? (3) Will he make many supplications to you? Will he speak soft words to you? (4) Will he make a covenant with you? Will you take him for a servant forever? (5) Will you play with him as with a bird, or will you bind him for your maidens?"
Putting a hook in his nose or boring a hole into his jaw might have to do with putting him on a stringer like smaller fish. Some scholars in the older commentaries believe that leviathan was a crocodile, as it is very strong with a huge fierce mouth and teeth, and is a fast swimmer and has "a coat of mail (that) cannot be pierced". However, Albert Barnes points out that that the crocodile was led about by the Egyptians as a divinity. The object of the passage above is to impress upon Job the strength and untameableness of the beast, so a crocodile doesn't fit well if it could be led around on a leash. The leviathan cannot be tamed and kept as a pet for amusement.
(6) "Will the companions make a banquet of him? Will they part him among the merchants?"
The word that is translated as "banquet" is more often used as a form of the word "dig". I believe the sense is that Job and his companions would not be able to open up the leviathan and divide it up. The KJV translators thought of digging into the leviathan as having a banquet of him. The leviathan cannot be parceled out for sale.
(7) "Can you fill his skin with barbed irons? Or his head with fish spears? (8) Lay your hand on him; remember the battle, do it no more. (9) Behold, the hope of him is in vain; will not one be cast down even at the sight of him?"
This creature's skin is thick and impenetrable, and it puts up a fight one will not soon forget. The hope of conquering this creature is in vain, and his appearance is so formidable, that courage may wane in the presence of him. Although a crocodile might fit this description as he has tough skin and is certainly a fighter, the fact that it is known that crocodiles were occasionally led around, makes me believe this has to be a larger and more ferocious creature, possibly a creature now extinct. Could it be a dinosaur of some sort? After all, God created all creatures, and there is conclusive evidence that dinosaurs were indeed on the earth, so God created them. Our biggest question is when they inhabited the earth and were they here when man was here? If you believe the creation description from Genesis is a literal six days, then it stands to reason that dinosaurs were created at the same time. Scientists believe that dinosaurs were here hundreds of thousands of years before man, but they also believe stars were here then, too, and the Bible is clear about when God created the sun and moon and stars. God is outside of time, and He is perfectly capable of creating something that appears to have been here a longer time than it has. Man has his rules and measures, but God doesn't have to adhere to those rules. People are always trying to put God into their little human box to "perfectly" explain Him, but it just doesn't work that way.
I suppose one other explanation for when dinosaurs inhabited the earth might be during a time when the earth was "void", perhaps before other creations, as described in Genesis 1:2.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
I don't really see how dinosaurs could have been here if there was no form to the earth, but then again, God is outside of time and space or any of those pesky things that confine us!
(10) "None is so fierce that dare stir him up; who then is able to stand before Me? (11) Who has prevented Me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine."
Verse 10, paraphrased, "If one of My creatures is so formidable that man dare not attack it, how then can he contend with the creature's Creator?" In verse 11, the word translated as "prevented" means "to project oneself" or "to meet, come or be in front, confront, go before", and the word translated as "repay" is "shalam", which is more often thought of as "peace"; the meaning here is "to make peace with" or "to make whole or good, restore, make compensation". Again paraphrased, "Who has come before Me with whom I am obligated to make amends?"
(12) "I will not conceal his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion."
Back to the leviathan, God begins a more detailed description of the creature. The word transcribed as "comely" is "beauty" or "beauty and grace". A crocodile certainly would never be accused of possessing beauty and grace. However, the complete phrase is "comely proportion". The word translated as "proportion" is most often translated something along the line of "estimation" or "value". However, it can also mean "things that are set in order, layer, pile, order, row", which might be descriptive of its skin.
(13) "Who can discover the face of his garment? Who can come to him with his double bridle? (14) Who can open the doors of his face; his teeth are terrible all around?"
This creature evidently has a tough outer covering, even on his head. The "doors of his face" probably refers to his mouth. Who dare open it, with his terrible teeth all around? "His double bridle" might refer to the creature's double row of terrible teeth, rather than an actual bridle brought by a man trying to rein it. The word can also mean "jaw".
(15) "His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal; (16) One is so near to another that no air can come between them. (17) They are joined one to another, they stick together that they cannot be separated."
The scales of this creature are strong and tight and impenetrable, leading many Biblical scholars to think the crocodile is what is meant here. We shall see. ;-)
(18) "By his sneezings a light does shine, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. (19) Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out. (20) Out of his nostrils goes smoke, as out of a seething pot or cauldron. (21) His breath kindles coals, and a flame goes out of his mouth."
Wow! That doesn't sound like any crocodile this Louisiana girl has ever seen! Sounds like a fire-breathing dragon to me! Some of the scholars go to great lengths to explain why this is descriptive of the crocodile, but I just don't buy it. God is describing His most powerful and formidable creations, and we've already learned that the crocodile was subdued and led around on a leash. I really believe this creature is something more impressive than a crocodile - a sea serpent or dragon, or some other such creature, now extinct. By the way, Animal Planet gives this explanation for how dragons could breathe fire: "A dragon chews on platinum with its grinding teeth. When combined with hydrogen, it combusts, producing fire."
(22) "In his neck remains strength, and sorrow is turned into joy before him."
The strength of this creature is in its neck, and nothing is painful or difficult for it.
(23) "The flakes of his flesh are joined together; they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved. (24) His heart is as firm as a stone; yes, as hard as a piece of the millstone. (25) When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid; because of breakings they purify themselves."
The creature raises itself up and frightens the mighty; again the image of a crocodile doesn't fit to me. Breaking, crashing, destruction - the terror of this creature makes men purge themselves by vomiting, urinating, or defecating, or because they so fear for their lives, they acknowledge their sins and beg for forgiveness from their Lord and Savior.
(26) "The sword of him that lays at him cannot hold; the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon."
The sword of the man who is able to get at this creature is either broken or cannot pierce it or stick in it. A habergeon is a short, sleeveless coat of mail, and doesn't seem to apply here, and some scholars believe the "javelin" is meant. Dr. John Gill writes that in the Arabic language a javelin or hand dart is expressed by the same word. I will have to take his word for it.
(27) "He esteems iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood. (28) The arrow cannot make him flee; slingstones are turned into stubble with him. (29) Darts are counted as stubble; he laughs at the shaking of a spear. (30) Sharp stones are under him; he spreads sharp pointed things upon the mire."
The creature is so strong that iron and metal seem as straw and broken wood to it. It is not afraid of arrows or spears, and darts and stones are like stubble or straw. I think the sense of verse 30 is that the creature does not regard sharp stones as anything; he makes a bed of them.
(31) "He makes the deep boil like a pot; he makes the sea like a pot of ointment. (32) He makes a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be hoary."
This is obviously a large sea creature that can make the water churn; it makes such a trail of foamy waters behind it that one would think the sea was filled with white hair.
(33) "On earth there is nothing like him, who is made without fear. (34) He beholds all high things; he is a king over all the children of pride."
There is not another creature on earth like this leviathan, and it is without fear. All the other of the greatest creatures are inferior to this one; it is chief among the boldest and proudest of animals, and people, for that matter.
God has described to Job two awesome and powerful creatures that were untouchable by man, and yet He was the Creator of them both, in order to give Job a jolt of reality as to the infinite power and sovereignty of his Lord.
(Job 40:1) Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said, (2) "Shall he who contends with the Almighty instruct Him? He who reproves God, let him answer it."
God gives Job an opportunity to answer Him.
(3) Then Job answered the LORD, and said, (4) "Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer You? I will lay my hand on my mouth. (5) Once have I spoken, but I will not answer; yes, twice, but I will proceed no further."
Job had argued boldly with his friends, and had supposed he would argue his case as boldly with God if given the chance, but when actually given the chance, he sees himself as guilty in the sight of God and will no longer attempt to justify himself.
(6) Then answered the LORD to Job out of the whirlwind, and said, (7) "Gird up your loins now like a man; I will demand of you, and you will answer Me."
Once again the Lord tells Job to prepare himself "like a man", and be prepared to answer Him. Some scholars suggest that this is an accidental duplication of the verses in Job 38:1-3, but since it is not exactly the same, I think that takes too much speculation, and I'll just go with it as it is.
(8) "Will you also annul My judgment? Will you condemn Me that you may be righteous? (9) Have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with a voice like Him? (10) Deck yourself now with majesty and excellency, and array yourself with glory and beauty."
John Wesley points out that every word in verse 8 is emphatical; the quotes are his. Will (are you purposed upon it) you (you, Job, "whom I took to be one of a better mind") also (not only vindicate yourself, but also accuse Me) annul ("not only question, but even repeal and make void, as if it were unjust") my judgment? Will Job condemn God so that he may be righteous? So does Job have power like God, or a voice like God's? The verse may refer to the actual thunder that is an expression of God's power, or as an illustration of an all-powerful creative voice that commands things out of nothing to action. Either way, can Job do it? If so, then come on and show himself as God.
(11) "Cast abroad the rage of your wrath; and behold everyone who is proud, and humble him. (12) Look on everyone who is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place. (13) Hide them in the dust together; and bind their faces in secret. (14) Then will I also confess to you that your own right hand can save you."
If Job can show himself as God, then let him show his indignation on the world and humble the proud as only God can. Taking down the wicked and bringing them to dust again sounds like killing them. Binding their faces in secret may refer to the covering of the faces of the dead or those about to be executed. If Job is able to perform these God-like actions, then God will admit that Job is as God and able to save himself. As Albert Barnes put it, "If you can do all this, it will be full proof that you can save yourself, and that you do not need the divine interposition. If he could do all this, then it might be admitted that he was qualified to pronounce a judgment on the divine counsels and dealings. He would then show that he had qualifications for conducting the affairs of the universe."
(15) "Behold now behemoth, which I made with you; he eats grass like an ox."
The original word actually is "behemoth" and has not been translated, as the meaning is not clear. Perhaps it was an animal that is now extinct. Some scholars have speculated that it could even be a dinosaur. We know that God created it "with (man)", and so far from the text we know that it was a grass-eater. The only animals in our time that might come close to the description that follows are elephants or, more probably, hippopotamuses. Whatever it was, it was a huge powerful beast.
(16) "Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly."
From this description, scholars have pointed out that "behemoth" seems more like a hippo than an elephant, as elephants are very tender in their belly region.
(17) "He moves his tail like a cedar; the sinews of his stones are wrapped together."
Wow! More speculation than you might realize has been made about this one small verse. Once again, the hippo's tail might fit this description better than the elephant's as it is short and thick and stronger. But is a short tail like that of a cedar? I am imagining the tail of a dinosaur as a true cedar-like tail. Some have speculated that the tail is not what is being described here, but the penis, and indeed, the rest of the verse complements that idea. "Stones" indeed means "testicles" here. Some scholars point out that the ancients used to call the penis the tail. I have read that the elephant's is small in proportion to the size of its body; and not in sight, and therefore can hardly be thought to be described in the verse. I am not sure about the hippo, but perhaps either animal's would be considered large and rigid and tree-like to any other species of animal. Another speculation is that it might be the elephant's trunk that is referenced here, but why talk about the "stones" in the same sentence? Of course, it could be a now extinct animal that is referenced.
(18) "His bones are as strong pieces of brass, his bones are like bars of iron. (19) He is the chief of the ways of God; He who made him can make His sword to approach him."
God is speaking about a very strong animal. Once again I have read that the elephant may not live up to this description as his bones are porous, light, and spongy. However, it could be his tusks that are referenced. The hippo may have stronger bones. The animal described is chief among the creations of God, probably because of his size and strength. The second part of verse 19 sounds like only God can kill this animal. Obviously, an elephant or a hippo could be killed by man, even if they are very large and strong. So either a larger more formidable creature is meant, or perhaps the meaning of that part of the scripture is to be understood a little differently. The KJV translators added the last word, "him"; actually it was "unto him" in the KJV text as written. So we really just have "He who made him can make his sword to approach", so perhaps this refers to the sword-like feature that God created in the animal itself. An elephant tusk might appear as a sword before the animal, or even more sword-like might be the huge teeth of the hippo. How about the rhinoceros? Now that looks like a sword!
(20) "Surely the mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play. (21) He lies under the shady trees, in the cover of the reed and fens. (22) The shady trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook surround him. (23) Behold, he drinks up a river, and does not hasten; he trusts that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth. (24) He takes it with his eyes; his nose pierces through snares."
This description surely sounds more like the hippo than the elephant as the animal is found close to the water. The picture of a hippo walking into a river with the greatest of ease and unconcern, opening his huge mouth and drinking in huge amounts of water, even going under and holding his breath for long periods of time, seems to fit very well. I believe the meaning of verse 24 is that the animal sees the water, wants it, and saunters in, letting nothing stand in his way, his nose piercing through any snags or traps. Now that sounds like the "nose" of an elephant or maybe a rhino.
It's no wonder there is so much speculation and disagreement on just what behemoth is! I think I may agree with those who think it was an animal now extinct, probably the mastodon or the mammoth.
(Job 41:1) "Can you draw out leviathan with a hook, or his tongue with a cord which you let down?"
Chapter 41 begins with God talking about another of His impressive creations, another beast hard to identify with certainty. Adam Clarke writes, "We come now to a subject...on which learned men are less agreed than on the preceding (behemoth). What is leviathan?" Leviathan is mentioned in the Bible in a few places. Strong's points out it is from the root word, "lavah", which means "to twine", so the assumption has always been that it is a type of coiling serpent. Strong's and Brown-Driver-Briggs define "leviathan" as "a wreathed animal, that is, a serpent (especially the crocodile or some other large sea monster); figuratively the constellation of the dragon; also as a symbol of Babylon: - leviathan, mourning" (Strong's), and "leviathan, sea monster, dragon, large aquatic animal, perhaps the extinct dinosaur, plesiosaurus, exact meaning unknown" (BDB). Whatever this animal is, it is apparent it is large and impressive and not likely to be caught on a fishing line by man.
(2) "Can you put an hook into his nose? Or bore his jaw through with a thorn? (3) Will he make many supplications to you? Will he speak soft words to you? (4) Will he make a covenant with you? Will you take him for a servant forever? (5) Will you play with him as with a bird, or will you bind him for your maidens?"
Putting a hook in his nose or boring a hole into his jaw might have to do with putting him on a stringer like smaller fish. Some scholars in the older commentaries believe that leviathan was a crocodile, as it is very strong with a huge fierce mouth and teeth, and is a fast swimmer and has "a coat of mail (that) cannot be pierced". However, Albert Barnes points out that that the crocodile was led about by the Egyptians as a divinity. The object of the passage above is to impress upon Job the strength and untameableness of the beast, so a crocodile doesn't fit well if it could be led around on a leash. The leviathan cannot be tamed and kept as a pet for amusement.
(6) "Will the companions make a banquet of him? Will they part him among the merchants?"
The word that is translated as "banquet" is more often used as a form of the word "dig". I believe the sense is that Job and his companions would not be able to open up the leviathan and divide it up. The KJV translators thought of digging into the leviathan as having a banquet of him. The leviathan cannot be parceled out for sale.
(7) "Can you fill his skin with barbed irons? Or his head with fish spears? (8) Lay your hand on him; remember the battle, do it no more. (9) Behold, the hope of him is in vain; will not one be cast down even at the sight of him?"
This creature's skin is thick and impenetrable, and it puts up a fight one will not soon forget. The hope of conquering this creature is in vain, and his appearance is so formidable, that courage may wane in the presence of him. Although a crocodile might fit this description as he has tough skin and is certainly a fighter, the fact that it is known that crocodiles were occasionally led around, makes me believe this has to be a larger and more ferocious creature, possibly a creature now extinct. Could it be a dinosaur of some sort? After all, God created all creatures, and there is conclusive evidence that dinosaurs were indeed on the earth, so God created them. Our biggest question is when they inhabited the earth and were they here when man was here? If you believe the creation description from Genesis is a literal six days, then it stands to reason that dinosaurs were created at the same time. Scientists believe that dinosaurs were here hundreds of thousands of years before man, but they also believe stars were here then, too, and the Bible is clear about when God created the sun and moon and stars. God is outside of time, and He is perfectly capable of creating something that appears to have been here a longer time than it has. Man has his rules and measures, but God doesn't have to adhere to those rules. People are always trying to put God into their little human box to "perfectly" explain Him, but it just doesn't work that way.
I suppose one other explanation for when dinosaurs inhabited the earth might be during a time when the earth was "void", perhaps before other creations, as described in Genesis 1:2.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
I don't really see how dinosaurs could have been here if there was no form to the earth, but then again, God is outside of time and space or any of those pesky things that confine us!
(10) "None is so fierce that dare stir him up; who then is able to stand before Me? (11) Who has prevented Me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine."
Verse 10, paraphrased, "If one of My creatures is so formidable that man dare not attack it, how then can he contend with the creature's Creator?" In verse 11, the word translated as "prevented" means "to project oneself" or "to meet, come or be in front, confront, go before", and the word translated as "repay" is "shalam", which is more often thought of as "peace"; the meaning here is "to make peace with" or "to make whole or good, restore, make compensation". Again paraphrased, "Who has come before Me with whom I am obligated to make amends?"
(12) "I will not conceal his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion."
Back to the leviathan, God begins a more detailed description of the creature. The word transcribed as "comely" is "beauty" or "beauty and grace". A crocodile certainly would never be accused of possessing beauty and grace. However, the complete phrase is "comely proportion". The word translated as "proportion" is most often translated something along the line of "estimation" or "value". However, it can also mean "things that are set in order, layer, pile, order, row", which might be descriptive of its skin.
(13) "Who can discover the face of his garment? Who can come to him with his double bridle? (14) Who can open the doors of his face; his teeth are terrible all around?"
This creature evidently has a tough outer covering, even on his head. The "doors of his face" probably refers to his mouth. Who dare open it, with his terrible teeth all around? "His double bridle" might refer to the creature's double row of terrible teeth, rather than an actual bridle brought by a man trying to rein it. The word can also mean "jaw".
(15) "His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal; (16) One is so near to another that no air can come between them. (17) They are joined one to another, they stick together that they cannot be separated."
The scales of this creature are strong and tight and impenetrable, leading many Biblical scholars to think the crocodile is what is meant here. We shall see. ;-)
(18) "By his sneezings a light does shine, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. (19) Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out. (20) Out of his nostrils goes smoke, as out of a seething pot or cauldron. (21) His breath kindles coals, and a flame goes out of his mouth."
Wow! That doesn't sound like any crocodile this Louisiana girl has ever seen! Sounds like a fire-breathing dragon to me! Some of the scholars go to great lengths to explain why this is descriptive of the crocodile, but I just don't buy it. God is describing His most powerful and formidable creations, and we've already learned that the crocodile was subdued and led around on a leash. I really believe this creature is something more impressive than a crocodile - a sea serpent or dragon, or some other such creature, now extinct. By the way, Animal Planet gives this explanation for how dragons could breathe fire: "A dragon chews on platinum with its grinding teeth. When combined with hydrogen, it combusts, producing fire."
(22) "In his neck remains strength, and sorrow is turned into joy before him."
The strength of this creature is in its neck, and nothing is painful or difficult for it.
(23) "The flakes of his flesh are joined together; they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved. (24) His heart is as firm as a stone; yes, as hard as a piece of the millstone. (25) When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid; because of breakings they purify themselves."
The creature raises itself up and frightens the mighty; again the image of a crocodile doesn't fit to me. Breaking, crashing, destruction - the terror of this creature makes men purge themselves by vomiting, urinating, or defecating, or because they so fear for their lives, they acknowledge their sins and beg for forgiveness from their Lord and Savior.
(26) "The sword of him that lays at him cannot hold; the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon."
The sword of the man who is able to get at this creature is either broken or cannot pierce it or stick in it. A habergeon is a short, sleeveless coat of mail, and doesn't seem to apply here, and some scholars believe the "javelin" is meant. Dr. John Gill writes that in the Arabic language a javelin or hand dart is expressed by the same word. I will have to take his word for it.
(27) "He esteems iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood. (28) The arrow cannot make him flee; slingstones are turned into stubble with him. (29) Darts are counted as stubble; he laughs at the shaking of a spear. (30) Sharp stones are under him; he spreads sharp pointed things upon the mire."
The creature is so strong that iron and metal seem as straw and broken wood to it. It is not afraid of arrows or spears, and darts and stones are like stubble or straw. I think the sense of verse 30 is that the creature does not regard sharp stones as anything; he makes a bed of them.
(31) "He makes the deep boil like a pot; he makes the sea like a pot of ointment. (32) He makes a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be hoary."
This is obviously a large sea creature that can make the water churn; it makes such a trail of foamy waters behind it that one would think the sea was filled with white hair.
(33) "On earth there is nothing like him, who is made without fear. (34) He beholds all high things; he is a king over all the children of pride."
There is not another creature on earth like this leviathan, and it is without fear. All the other of the greatest creatures are inferior to this one; it is chief among the boldest and proudest of animals, and people, for that matter.
God has described to Job two awesome and powerful creatures that were untouchable by man, and yet He was the Creator of them both, in order to give Job a jolt of reality as to the infinite power and sovereignty of his Lord.
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