Bible Study on Genesis 26, verses 34 and 35, Esau takes wives

 

Genesis 26:34 ¶  And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite: 35  Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

When Isaac was a hundred years old (See 25:26) Esau married two Hittite girls, which upset Isaac and Rebekah terribly. Notice that I said previously in the comments on the passage that began in 10:15 that a Hittite was a descendant of Heth.

Genesis 23:10  And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying,

2Samuel 11:3  And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?

Heth was a son of Canaan, who had a curse or prophecy pronounced on him by his grandfather, Noah, after Canaan’s father’s, Ham’s, behavior after their family departed the Ark. Canaanites, the descendants of Canaan, were steeped in the worship that permeated the ancient world. Esau will eventually take more wives of the daughters of Canaan (36:2). We have no record of how long his wives lived or if any of these wives were replacing deceased ones as Judith is not mentioned again. We also know he took a second daughter to wife of Elon and we do know he had two wives with the same name; Bashemath, here, the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Bashemath, a daughter of Ishmael, later in 36:3. One would naturally assume that Elon’s Bashemath had died without leaving children as they are not mentioned but we cannot say with certainty. Just imagine, in a culture where multiple wives were not unusual, a man marrying during the course of his life two women with the same first name. Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon cult in the United States, had many wives; with multiple wives named Sarah.

Esau, a carnal man, has married from the daughters of the heathen whose religious views and sympathies would not be in keeping with how he was raised. Many young Christian men and women in the last fifty years think nothing of marrying someone outside of their faith because their faith is so weak and their commitment to God is less than the allure of emotional impulse. But, we are told specifically;

2Corinthians 6:14  Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

An unbelieving husband or wife will poison a Christian’s home and set a terrible example for children, who are your responsibility to raise with a knowledge of God.

Many a Christian parent has been much distressed by their child’s choice of an unbelieving spouse.

2Kings comments, first draft

 

2Kings 2:1 ¶  And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. 2  And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel. 3  And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. 4  And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. 5  And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. 6  And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on. 7  And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan. 8  And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground.

This is going to be a type of Rapture, a Translation in Bible terminology, moving someone from one location to another. Elisha will take Elijah’s place as God’s special prophet. With fifty disciples of these prophets of God watching, Elijah repeats the miracle of the Red Sea and of the Israelites entering the promised land and parts the Jordan, of course, by God’s special power that is granted him.

Knowing, as has been noted previously, that God has taken Elijah and moved him at will, Elisha refuses to leave his side. Let’s review the following passage from 1^st Kings.

1Kings 18:1 ¶  And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth. 2  And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore famine in Samaria. 3  And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly: 4  For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) 5  And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts. 6  So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. 7  And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Art thou that my lord Elijah? 8  And he answered him, I am: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. 9  And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? 10  As the LORD thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not. 11  And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. 12  And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the LORD shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the LORD from my youth. 13  Was it not told my lord what I did when

Jezebel slew the prophets of the LORD, how I hid an hundred men of the LORD’S prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water? 14  And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here: and he shall slay me. 15  And Elijah said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely shew myself unto him to day. 16  So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him: and Ahab went to meet Elijah.

2Kings 2:9 ¶  And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. 10  And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. 11  And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12  And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.

Elisha has the nerve to ask for twice as much of God’s power that Elijah has to be on him. This might not be from a passion for power but for his desire to glorify God in the ministry of the prophet in healing and prophecy.

 It is made clear here that it is possible for a person to be translated by God and for others not to be able to see it happen. Elijah tells Elisha, though, that if Elisha sees Elijah taken away then he will get what he asked for. He does see Elijah’s rapture, his translation, carried away by a chariot and horses of fire.

I think Elijah may have asked God to give Elisha this vision as Elisha will ask God later to give a young man the vision to see a heavenly host around Elisha.

2Kings 6:17  And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

Elijah is raptured, translated, to Heaven presumably and Elisha is grieving at the loss of this great prophet to Israel. Clearly, there are probably angels driving this chariot as verse 12 suggests.

2Kings 2:13 ¶  He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; 14  And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. 15  And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. 16  And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the Spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send. 17  And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not. 18  And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?

Evidence is seen that Elisha has the power of Elijah on him. These witnesses pressured Elisha to send men to find Elijah because, as before, it is thought that God had just translated him from one physical place to another physical place in Israel. But they couldn’t find him as Elisha told them they would not. Now, Elisha will take on the LORD’s work.

2Kings 2:19 ¶  And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground barren. 20  And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him. 21  And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. 22  So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake. 23  And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. 24  And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them. 25  And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.

In verse 4, it is said they were at or near Jericho. Here, in this passage, there is a problem with the water being poisoned or cursed. Elisha performs a miracle, actually the Lord God’s doing, of healing the waters. His using of salt shows even more so that this is a miracle from God.

What happens next is a disturbing scene for us and a possible partial fulfillment of this prophecy. I am not sure but this came to mind.

Leviticus 26:21  And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins. 22  I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate.

2Chronicles 36:16  But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy.

Jeroboam committed great sin here at Bethel and the place was steeped in idolatry.

1Kings 12:25 ¶  Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel. 26  And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: 27  If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. 28  Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 29  And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. 30  And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. 31  And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. 32  And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. 33  So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.

In the ancient world the sins of the parents were often visited upon their children.

Exodus 34:6  And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7  Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

But a new day is coming.

Jeremiah 31:27 ¶  Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. 28  And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the LORD. 29  In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge. 30  But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge. 31  Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32  Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: 33  But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34  And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

And again it was written.

Ezekiel 18:1 ¶  The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying, 2  What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge? 3  As I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel. 4  Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. 5  But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right, 6  And hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour’s wife, neither hath come near to a menstruous woman, 7  And hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment; 8  He that hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true judgment between man and man, 9  Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord GOD.

    10 ¶  If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things, 11  And that doeth not any of those duties, but even hath eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbour’s wife, 12  Hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination, 13  Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him. 14  Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father’s sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like, 15  That hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, hath not defiled his neighbour’s wife, 16  Neither hath oppressed any, hath not withholden the pledge, neither hath spoiled by violence, but hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment, 17  That hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live. 18  As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity. 19  Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live. 20  The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

    21 ¶  But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. 22  All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. 23  Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live? 24  But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die. 25  Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal? 26  When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die. 27  Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. 28  Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die. 29  Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?

Bible Study on 1John 5, verses 18 to 21, This is the true God, and eternal life

 

1John 5:18 ¶  We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. 19  And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. 20  And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. 21  Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

Context is so important here. John has already said that we sin so this is a statement that the born again Christian does not become the sin he or she might fall into at times. When I was young I knew many unsaved people who defined themselves by their sins, such as the “party animal” or the “ladies man” or the, typically feminine, “free spirit.” The Christian must keep his or herself and resist Satan and not fall into habitual sin. Preachers have pointed out that God does not see us as sinners but as the redeemed of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. But we will still sin as fallen humans in a fallen world.

James 4:7  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Christ, the living Word of God, the angel or appearance of God the Father, the Son of God is the true God and the key to eternal life. This is in keeping with the declaration in Titus.

Titus 2:13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

This was understood in the manuscripts from which the King James Bible was translated from to mean Christ was God. If you can’t accept the deity of Christ you have a problem. Not only did the Jews regard the Word of God, the angel of the LORD, as God as I pointed out in the Targums but the early Christians regarded Jesus as also God as Pliny the Younger (AD 112) reported Christians “sing hymns to Christ as to a god”.[1] The Oxyrhynchus Hymn addresses Christ in those terms. Archaeologists have uncovered 2nd-century house-church grafitti in Dura-Europos depicting believers praying to Jesus—liturgical evidence harmonizing with Titus 2:13.

Christ is the Word of God, by which all things were created and by which all things are sustained, and is also God as part of the Godhead or, as early Jewish writers noted, the powers in the heavens. There is one God composed of three parts.

Genesis 1:1  In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

From the Targums, certainly lacking the credibility and inspiration of the Bible but revealing the Jewish mindset of the time;

A source I studied said that one translation of the Targum Neofiti has two interpretations.

 

From the beginning by wisdom the son of the LORD created the heavens and the earth.

 

From the beginning by (the) wisdom the LORD created and formed the heavens and the earth.

 

Notice the phrasing of several verses in the Old Testament which while others clearly are talking about God’s words these and ones like them seem to be referring more specifically to the Godhead;

Genesis 15:1 ¶  After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

Jeremiah 1:4 ¶  Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 5  Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

Ezekiel 28:11 ¶  Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Then, from John’s gospel;

John 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

And then from Paul;

Colossians 1:15  Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: (as in the creator of all living things) 16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Look at these verses;

Genesis 1:26  And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

 

Genesis 11:7  Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.

And consider these;

Matthew 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

2Corinthians 13:14  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

1John 5:7  For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

These are just some things to consider as we try to understand what God has given us.

John finally warns them to beware of idols, and idolatry, of course, just as Paul did on several occasions which we have discussed, a grave danger in their world as it is in ours even if we don’t call them gods. Consider the warnings above regarding the world.

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[1] Pliny the Younger letter to Trajan, https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/study/module/pliny/

Bible Study on Genesis 26, verses 26 to 33, thou art now the blessed of the LORD

 

Genesis 26:26 ¶  Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army. 27  And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you? 28  And they said, We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee; 29  That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the LORD. 30  And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink. 31  And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace. 32  And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac’s servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water. 33  And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day.

Abimelech brings some back-up, a friend and the head of his army as witnesses. Earlier, in a scene when a king of the Philistines confronted Abraham and wanted an agreement between them I had noted that Phichol may have also been a title rather than the proper name of a person.

Abimelech had ordered Isaac away from him but realizing that God was definitely on his side he thought he better do one more thing. Isaac is charged to make a similar agreement with the Philistines that his father was. See chapter 21:22 and context.

The cultural ritual that followed included a feast and a verbal agreement before parting the next day. God then blessed Isaac with a well which they titled Shebah, which in the context one would think should have something to do with the oath made, as a blessing that came after that oath. Indeed, when you go to Strong’s dictionary that is what it means. God blessed Isaac with this well as a result of his making peace with his worldly enemies.

The mission is what is important, not Isaac’s ego or his feeling offended. The Bible, being the explanation and revelation of God’s plan of reconciling mankind, shows how God used men and women to move the plan of redemption forward, sometimes in fits and starts. We must always keep this in mind, especially if we wonder why Abraham and Isaac didn’t convert their wealth and large number of servants into a kingdom, carving out of their benefactors’ territories a land of their own. In God’s time this will happen, in His way, and by His will.

Back in 21:33 I noted that the name of the wilderness may have later been later named after the well and here we have the name of the town that arose around it named after the well of the sevenfold oath after the seven ewe lambs Abraham set apart for his oath with Abimelech.

Abimelech uses God’s name twice and acknowledged the importance of His blessing. This should be remembered as we look at Gentile kings and people before Christ’s resurrection and the gospel is preached to them.

Acts 10:34 ¶  Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: 35  But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

Bible Study on 1John 5, verses 14 to 17, a sin not unto death

 

1John 5:14 ¶  And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15  And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. 16  If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. 17  All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.

Here is a key to answered prayer, asking according to His will. It seems to me that God, who is all knowing, sees every event of past and future as having already happened, in keeping with our assumption of His knowledge. Therefore, all events and outcomes are known and, yes, before time began He would have known your circumstance and your prayer and what His answer to your prayer will be has already been determined. This does not deny your free will but just underscores His omniscience.

Matthew 7:7 ¶  Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8  For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 9  Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? 10  Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11  If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

But it often doesn’t go as we would like. God’s will for our lives can be painful.

2Corinthians 12:7  And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.8  For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

 

This part of John’s letter agrees with;

 

John 14:12 ¶  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. 13  And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14  If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

 

John 16:23 ¶  And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. 24  Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.

 

I have waded through many commentaries on this passage and seen many disagreements on what it means. So here is my conclusion from prayer, reflection, and study. This part of 1John 5, in context as part of John’s conclusion to his letter, is a reference to praying for the living, not the dead. Your prayer for a brother or sister in Christ or an unbeliever who has the chance to repent and turn from their sins and in the latter case turn and receive Christ is honored by God but it is pointless to pray for someone whose sin has killed them. Our fates are sealed at our death and the believer who has fallen into sin and died will face Christ at His judgment seat and the unbeliever will face God’s wrath at the Great White Throne judgment.

Romans 14:10  But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

2Corinthians 5:10  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

Hebrews 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Revelation 20:11 ¶  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

 

 

We pray for others who are physically alive and can repent of their wrongs against God, not for the dead who are facing one kind of judgment or another. I suspect from reading the Bible that the Christian will cry when he faces his sin before Christ and Christ will wipe away those tears and that the person who has refused Christ will have to shout, “Amen!” as he or she falls into a burning eternity of agony. A Bible believer does not pray for the dead although Paul references a group of Christians who are baptized for the dead in an obscure reference in 1Corinthians 15:29 which may refer to Gnostic cults already at work. Some references say that the Marcionites will practice this from the middle of the second century.

In the context of John’s letter I believe that this is part of our love for the brethren, praying that they be delivered from their sins and given a heart to repent and turn fully to God. God’s acknowledgement of our prayers of intercession can keep a brother or sister from death. I have often prayed for someone I knew was suffering emotionally that they not only be delivered of their suffering but that they not commit suicide.  We all sin but we are blessed by God to not die as a result of a sin. There are many other interpretations of this passage, as I have read.

Bible Study on Genesis 26, verses 12 to 25, I am the God of Abraham thy father

 

Genesis 26:12 ¶  Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him. 13  And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: 14  For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him. 15  For all the wells which his father’s servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth. 16  And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we. 17  And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. 18  And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them. 19  And Isaac’s servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water. 20  And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac’s herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him. 21  And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah. 22  And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land. 23  And he went up from thence to Beersheba. 24  And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake. 25  And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac’s servants digged a well.

Abimelech was wiser than the Pharaoh of Moses’ time would be. He realized (v.16) that Isaac was becoming, due to God blessing him mightily and in a short period of time, greater than Abimelech and his people. He ordered Isaac to move on.

Exodus 1:8 ¶  Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. 9  And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: 10  Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land. 11  Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12  But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel. 13  And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: 14  And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.

Isaac’s servants and Abimelech’s servants cannot get along. There is contention between them over the wells from which their cattle were watered. Esek, as the text points out, means contention. Sitnah means strife. Rehoboth, according to Strong’s dictionary, means a wide place, as God provided them enough room to not contend.

Jehovah appears to Isaac but God the Father is a Spirit and no man has ever seen Him.

John 1:18a  No man hath seen God at any time;…

Since we have already discussed the three parts of God we know which of them is seen by man, the part of God who created all things including man.

Colossians 1:15  Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

John 1:18  No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

Hebrews 1:3  Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

John 14:9  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

John 10:30  I and my Father are one.

So, if your doctrine is consistent and you do not force the Bible to contradict itself to mean something you would like it to mean it is clear that when one of these people in the Old Testament actually saw God and He spoke to them, appeared to them, what they saw was the living Word by which all things were created, the pre-incarnate Christ, the second part of the three parts of God. Here, He enters time directly and is present in front of His person. At other times it is written that He appears as the angel of the LORD which is an appearance or presence of Him and He acts on things through that appearance. In this and other cases He appears to someone in a vision or His angel or presence although at times the text does not use the phrase angel of the LORD. As God the Father cannot be seen it is clearly talking about Christ in His pre-incarnate form. To see Christ is to see the Father.

John 14:9  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

God has blessed Isaac with wealth because Isaac’s part in His ministry of reconciling man to Himself requires a temporal base from which to nurture the future persons involved in this ministry, from whence Christ will eventually enter the world. Israel will be referred to on one occasion, in Amos 7:16, as the house of Isaac. God’s plan is moving forward which I hope you can see.

Bible Study on 1John 5, verses 10 to 13, And this is the record

 

1John 5:10 ¶  He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. 11  And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12  He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 13  These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

As the Father testifies of the Son and the Son of the Father the person who does not believe in and on Christ is calling the eternal God of the universe a liar. God has given us eternal life and this life is found only through Christ. If you have the Son you have life and if you do not have the Son you do not have life.

John  3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

John says he has written these things so that we can confidently believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and have confidence that we will live with Him forever and ever through eternity. Praise God!!!

A Psalm for Sunday, Psalm 62, He only is my salvation

 

Psalm 62:1 ¶  «To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of David.» Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation. 2  He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved. 3  How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? ye shall be slain all of you: as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence. 4  They only consult to cast him down from his excellency: they delight in lies: they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah. 5  My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. 6  He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved. 7  In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.

 

In this passage of Psalm 62 David confirms that his deliverance comes only from God and that it is only in God’s power to save him from the liars, the cutthroats who plot against him. They are false friends and disloyal although they pretend to be faithful.

 

Here as in most places where salvation is used, it is a reference to temporal deliverance as the context makes clear although we may use it for our eternal salvation.

 

David has expressed his confidence many times.

 

Psalm 25:5  Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.

 

Psalm 27:14  Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

 

Psalm 33:20  Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.

 

Psalm 40:1 ¶  «To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.» I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.

 

God is our strength and refuge, our consolation times of trouble and pain. It is only in Christ, who is God in the flesh, that we can have confidence in our future. He is the Rock on which the church is built, the cornerstone of the foundation.

 

1Corinthians 10:4  And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

 

Ephesians 2:20  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

 

1Peter 2:6  Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

 

Psalm 62:8 ¶  Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah. 9  Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity. 10  Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them. 11  God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God. 12  Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy: for thou renderest to every man according to his work.

 

Here David tells the congregation, the Israelites and by extension us, to trust in God always and not to trust in dominating others, in riches, or in men regardless of their social status or power. We have been told who runs the world’s governments.

 

Daniel 4:17  This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.

 

We know who is behind the world system that rejects Christ’s rule.

 

2Corinthians 4:4  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

 

Luke 4:5  And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6  And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.

 

In continuing with the thought of this Psalm David puts his trust in God and in God alone, as should we. Verse 12 shows two things; one that the religion of the Israelites was based on works in a way that ours is not. It can also be taken to mean that we will reap what we sow, which we know is often the case if not always. Or as the cartoon, Popeye the Sailorman, muttered, “ya gets what ya pays for.”

 

David understands that God is absolute in power over all reality and it is foolish to trust in anything or anyone else.

Bible Study on 1John 5, verses 6 to 9, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost

 

1John 5:6 ¶  This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7  For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. 8  And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. 9  If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.

The heresy of Gnosticism was apparently a problem during the time of the early church as John combats it. This Gnosticism, the perfectability of man, the secret knowledge of an elite, the idea that matter was part of a fraud perpetuated by the God of the Old Testament who was evil, that God could not come in the flesh because of that, a sort of the movie Matrix played out in history where Jesus came to enlighten us and deliver us from the evil God, a type of Satan, and denying that there could be a God in the flesh who could have died on the Cross, and finally that every person was responsible for their own salvation. Now that Gnosticism has come down to us in the form of Communism/Socialism/Marxism where early philosophers talked about returning to the innocence of the Garden of Eden without God as in the Crosby, Stills, and Nash song made famous at the Woodstock music festival of the 1960s. By the way, Woodstock, NY was where the Communist Party was instituted in the early 20^th century.

Anyway, back to John’s letter, there are two interpretations of the water and the blood. One is that Jesus came to earth in the water birth, born of water, and that He ended His life by shedding His blood for us. This has justification in John’s gospel.

John 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4  Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? 5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Another, more popular interpretation, is that Christ began His ministry in Baptism and ended in shedding His blood for us, as meanings for the water and the blood.

Verse 7 is one of the most hotly disputed verses in Bible history and yet, that is odd, because it is alluded to or quoted by early church fathers in every century of the early church. In spite of that, some “bible scholars” insist it was added in the 7^th century. It is in Jerome’s Latin Vulgate from the early 5^th century and many insist that it reflects the Old Latin Bible of the second century in controversial arguments that are too long to explain here. I recommend reading In Defense of the Authenticity of 1 John 5:7  by C. H. Pappas and A History of the Debate over 1 John 5:7-8 by Michael Maynard, the latter of which I’ve read from cover to cover. If the verse is not in your Bible then you should get a different Bible.

This verse is the hinge on which the theology of God, the Godhead, swings. As I’ve noted before regarding the Targums, or the Jewish understanding of the Bible in the first century and before, in the Godhead was the living Word of God, the angel of the LORD, who appeared to men and interacted with them. It is how Adam and Eve could have walked and talked in the Garden of Eden with God. It is who appeared to Moses in the burning bush. It is, among many other incidences which you will see if you watch or read my commentaries, the preincarnate Christ.

There are three in heaven who are one. They are one God with three parts; God the Father, invisible, the Son of God, the Word by which all things exist and who interacted physically with mankind, the Holy Ghost, His very mind in action as God’s Spirit, the operative side of the Holy Ghost working within the universe and indwelling each believer. I’ve gone over this many times so I won’t belabor the point here.

See my comments on 1John 1:1-4.

John 10:30  I and my Father are one.

The Spirit of God, His very mind acting in and upon creation, the living Word of God entering into human flesh as in the water birth, the only time God was born as a human being, and the blood, His blood by which we are all saved, agree and point to the God of heaven and earth. The physical world and the physical universe all point to the invisible God and His living Word by which all things were created.

Christ’s birth, death, burial, and resurrection and the indwelling of the Holy Ghost in His believers all manifest this foundational truth of Christian belief.

Christ bears witness to the eternal God as the eternal God bears witness to the Son of God, God walking in human flesh on the earth by whom we are saved and God’s Biblical ministry of reconciling mankind to Himself is finally complete.