While proofing the manuscript for my book, "Understanding The Word of God", I became aware of the length and depth that we as Christians will go to keep from acknowledging some of the obvious attributes of God. I even found myself resorting to speculations and hypotheses in an attempt to avoid admitting certain obvious facts that the scripture proclaims. Our evolving indoctrinated view of God often not scripture supported, it is based upon truisms, platitudes, and cliches, expressions that are designed to make us feel good. From the days of the garden of Eden, the concept of God has been tainted by the knowledge of the tree of good and evil rather than the knowledge of God.
Consider how an assembly can be brought to a rousing climax by simply stating, "God is good", or when we speak of the great things God is doing for us. Whereas a message based upon Deuteronomy 4:24 For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God, would be considered unacceptable. Emotional outburst and rousing "Amens" would be far apart and few. Thus the cry of, "can I get an amen" would fall on deaf ears. Try injecting the phrase "God will kill you" in your message and it would like pouring water in a fire. Our modern interpretation of the Gospel does not allow us to teach the fear of God. If we teach the fear of God we are told people would run from God. Psalms 34:9 O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.
Selective or slanted interpretation of the Word of God has allowed mankind to create a gospel and a God in its own image, based on his concept of what a God should be like. Remember the children of Israel at the base of the Holy Mountain. They created a God in the imagery of the idol gods of Egypt. This was their concept of what a God should look like and how they should act when they come before God. As they dance before their golden calf they had the audacity to proclaimed, "these are thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." Read the entire story. (Exodus 32:1-14). One of the most interesting and overlooked aspects of this story is Exodus 32:14 "And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people." After threating to destroy his people, God listened to Moses as he pleaded their case. The overlooked and unanswered question is, did God change his mind?
My first encounter with the question of God changing his mind was as a small child in Sunday School studying the fall of Adam. The learned ability to spiritualize parts of a scripture or verse to make it fit a particular narrative presents a conversation that is hard to follow. God said to Adam in Genesis 2:17, "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." To the novice, it would seem as if Adam was destined to fall dead the day he ate the forbidden fruit. The failure to acknowledge that God repented of the evil which he thought to do unto Adam and grant him a reprieve does not set well with the spiritually enlighten. Thus, we have many different scenarios of what took place in the garden and they are all based upon what point we began to spiritualize God's conversation with Adam.
Family Bible Notes interprets it as such: Surely die; in the original, dying thou shalt die. He would lose the moral image and the favor of God; become mortal and exposed to endless sinfulness and misery. Geneva Bible Footnotes defines this passage as such, by death, he means the separation of man from God, who is our life and chief happiness: and also that our disobedience is the cause of it. The Devil's interpretation is given in these verses. Genesis 3:4-5 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. It does seems as if the Devil was privy to the fact that Adam that a reprieve would be forthcoming.
The golden bullet that is often used to shoot down any speculation on the nature we are discussing is Malachi 3:6. "For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." Interpreting this scripture out of the context of which it was spoken allows one to overlook what was said, God said I am the Lord and I will always be the Lord, I am not going to change. These various interpretations of the scripture are based on the concept that God meant something else, rather the what he actually said. To acknowledge that God meant exactly what he said would be to acknowledge that God did changed his mind and gave Adam a reprieve. Due to our religious indoctrination, we are not prepared to accept a God that is capable of repenting or changing his mind. Neither are we comfortable with the concept of an angry God who is storing up his wrath.
Isaiah 38:1-5 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live. Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying, Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years. Hezekiah prayed in such a manner that God was moved.
The message that is often presented here is that if we are sick and pray to God, he will deliver us. This presentation is caused by a faulty interpretation of certain scriptures. The Devil has used this to create a false reliance upon God, that cause many to stumble. The truth is Christians get sick, Christians die, the followers of Christ get their heads chopped off. Let's take a closer look at the prayer that changed God mind. His prayer was simple and short, then he wept. All that he asked of God was to remember. If we think forward to the thief on the cross, in the face of death all he asked was for the Christ to remember. We must conclude that was enough to invoke the forgiveness of God.
Another story that bears looking into is presented in the Book of Jonah. God gave Jonah a message to deliver. Jonah 1:1-2 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
Jonah 3:4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
Jonah 3:10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
When God choose not to destroy the city Jonah became upset and he explain to God his reasoning for refusing to deliver the message when it was first given Jonah 4:2 And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore, I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
Malachi 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
In the ancient days, God enforced his Law through judgment and swift action, yet there were many event that took place in the beginning of time that cause God to repent of the damnation that he was about to bring upon mankind. Thus, we have in the Book of Revelation a full account of the vials of wrath that has been stored up.
The apostasy began soon after God created man.
It's Cause. The marriage of the sons of God and the daughters of men (Genesis 6:1-2).
It's Effect on the Human Race.
Men forgot God and became giants in wickedness (Genesis 6:3-4).
Consider how an assembly can be brought to a rousing climax by simply stating, "God is good", or when we speak of the great things God is doing for us. Whereas a message based upon Deuteronomy 4:24 For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God, would be considered unacceptable. Emotional outburst and rousing "Amens" would be far apart and few. Thus the cry of, "can I get an amen" would fall on deaf ears. Try injecting the phrase "God will kill you" in your message and it would like pouring water in a fire. Our modern interpretation of the Gospel does not allow us to teach the fear of God. If we teach the fear of God we are told people would run from God. Psalms 34:9 O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.
Selective or slanted interpretation of the Word of God has allowed mankind to create a gospel and a God in its own image, based on his concept of what a God should be like. Remember the children of Israel at the base of the Holy Mountain. They created a God in the imagery of the idol gods of Egypt. This was their concept of what a God should look like and how they should act when they come before God. As they dance before their golden calf they had the audacity to proclaimed, "these are thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." Read the entire story. (Exodus 32:1-14). One of the most interesting and overlooked aspects of this story is Exodus 32:14 "And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people." After threating to destroy his people, God listened to Moses as he pleaded their case. The overlooked and unanswered question is, did God change his mind?
My first encounter with the question of God changing his mind was as a small child in Sunday School studying the fall of Adam. The learned ability to spiritualize parts of a scripture or verse to make it fit a particular narrative presents a conversation that is hard to follow. God said to Adam in Genesis 2:17, "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." To the novice, it would seem as if Adam was destined to fall dead the day he ate the forbidden fruit. The failure to acknowledge that God repented of the evil which he thought to do unto Adam and grant him a reprieve does not set well with the spiritually enlighten. Thus, we have many different scenarios of what took place in the garden and they are all based upon what point we began to spiritualize God's conversation with Adam.
Family Bible Notes interprets it as such: Surely die; in the original, dying thou shalt die. He would lose the moral image and the favor of God; become mortal and exposed to endless sinfulness and misery. Geneva Bible Footnotes defines this passage as such, by death, he means the separation of man from God, who is our life and chief happiness: and also that our disobedience is the cause of it. The Devil's interpretation is given in these verses. Genesis 3:4-5 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. It does seems as if the Devil was privy to the fact that Adam that a reprieve would be forthcoming.
The golden bullet that is often used to shoot down any speculation on the nature we are discussing is Malachi 3:6. "For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." Interpreting this scripture out of the context of which it was spoken allows one to overlook what was said, God said I am the Lord and I will always be the Lord, I am not going to change. These various interpretations of the scripture are based on the concept that God meant something else, rather the what he actually said. To acknowledge that God meant exactly what he said would be to acknowledge that God did changed his mind and gave Adam a reprieve. Due to our religious indoctrination, we are not prepared to accept a God that is capable of repenting or changing his mind. Neither are we comfortable with the concept of an angry God who is storing up his wrath.
Isaiah 38:1-5 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live. Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying, Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years. Hezekiah prayed in such a manner that God was moved.
The message that is often presented here is that if we are sick and pray to God, he will deliver us. This presentation is caused by a faulty interpretation of certain scriptures. The Devil has used this to create a false reliance upon God, that cause many to stumble. The truth is Christians get sick, Christians die, the followers of Christ get their heads chopped off. Let's take a closer look at the prayer that changed God mind. His prayer was simple and short, then he wept. All that he asked of God was to remember. If we think forward to the thief on the cross, in the face of death all he asked was for the Christ to remember. We must conclude that was enough to invoke the forgiveness of God.
Another story that bears looking into is presented in the Book of Jonah. God gave Jonah a message to deliver. Jonah 1:1-2 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
Jonah 3:4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
Jonah 3:10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
When God choose not to destroy the city Jonah became upset and he explain to God his reasoning for refusing to deliver the message when it was first given Jonah 4:2 And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore, I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
Malachi 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
In the ancient days, God enforced his Law through judgment and swift action, yet there were many event that took place in the beginning of time that cause God to repent of the damnation that he was about to bring upon mankind. Thus, we have in the Book of Revelation a full account of the vials of wrath that has been stored up.
The apostasy began soon after God created man.
It's Cause. The marriage of the sons of God and the daughters of men (Genesis 6:1-2).
It's Effect on the Human Race.
Men forgot God and became giants in wickedness (Genesis 6:3-4).
It's Effect on the Creator.
"And the LORD repented that he had made the man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart" (Genesis 6:6). The word "repent" always describes a change in something. There is a sense in which God cannot change (Matthew 3:9; James 1:17). He is always God, omnipotent and eternal. There is a sense in which He changes His purposes toward us, otherwise, forgiveness would be impossible (Jeremiah 31:34; Hebrew 8:12). God has declared that the soul that sins shall die (Ezekiel 18:4), but the sinner who turns from his sins and obeys the Lord has the promise of salvation (2nd Peter 3:9). God, therefore, changes His purposes toward men, but He is always God!
"And the LORD repented that he had made the man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart" (Genesis 6:6). The word "repent" always describes a change in something. There is a sense in which God cannot change (Matthew 3:9; James 1:17). He is always God, omnipotent and eternal. There is a sense in which He changes His purposes toward us, otherwise, forgiveness would be impossible (Jeremiah 31:34; Hebrew 8:12). God has declared that the soul that sins shall die (Ezekiel 18:4), but the sinner who turns from his sins and obeys the Lord has the promise of salvation (2nd Peter 3:9). God, therefore, changes His purposes toward men, but He is always God!
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