Results 1 - 13 of 13
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Results from: Answers On or After: Thu 12/31/70 Author: Sandman Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | why was pharoh's heart hardened? | Exodus | Sandman | 15310 | ||
Dear Fefala: Pharoah's heart was hardened after nine out of the ten plagues (7:22, 8:15, 8:19, 8:32, 9:7, 9:12, 9:34-35, 10:20, 10:27). However, it is interesting to note that as the plagues progressed, events happened that cannot be merely summed up as "Pharoah's heart was hardened." First, he resorted to his palace and did not give the matter another thought (7:23). Second, he made a false promise to let the people worship if the frogs left (8:8). Next, he ignored the words of his magicians when they acknowledged the presence of God in the plagues (8:19). Then, he asked Moses to pray for him while he allowed the Israelites some freedom to go into the desert and worship (8:28). Pharoah also investigated the dead livestock (9:7). He twice acknowledged his sin to Moses and promised to let the people go (9:27-28, 10:16-17). He angrily commanded the Moses to never return to his presence (10:28). And finally, as a broken man he submissively released the Israelites into freedom (12:31-32). Why do I mention all that? Why was his heart so hard? There are two main reasons, I believe. The first is the display of the power of God, and the second is the reliquishing of Pharoah over to his sinful desires. First, in Exodus 6:1, 7:5, 8:22-23, 9:14-16, 10:1-2, and 11:9, you can readily get a good grasp on the whole purpose of God in the exodus of his people. He sent the plagues to "perform these miraculous signs of mine among them that you may tell your children and grandchildren." This type of event parallels God's command to keep his laws that he would give to his people in their promised land (Deut. 6). God was setting a precedent, he was manipulating events that would serve as a constant reminder to the Israelites that he was the Almighty Lord. Thus, the hardening of Pharoah's hard was part of the plan. Also check out 1 Samuel 16:14, where God sends an evil spirit to torment Saul so that His ultimate purpose might be accomplished. Second, Pharaoh was perpetually resisting God. He ignored God, he confessed his sins but never repent of them, he allowed only the men to leave, and he made promises to set God's people free that he renigged on at the last minute. As background info, Egypt was a land full of various types of gods (Pharoah himself was even considered a god). With such a plethora of paganism, Pharaoh probably gave little credit to the power of God due to the fact that such a God was the Lord of Hebrew slaves. Pharoah was stubbornly disobedient and willing to partially compromise (8:15, 8:25). What is one alternative that God has with someone who has utterly rejected Him? To let him has his way, as Paul says, "hand him over to Satan" (1 Cor. 5:5). Pharoah's constant rejection of God coupled with God's desire to carry out his perfect plan meant that Pharoah's heart would be completely unyielding. God did not merely hardened Pharoah's heart and punish him unjustly. He used a sinful man's heart to orchestrate the single greatest event of the Old Testament. Sandman |
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2 | Is God's forgiveness conditional? | Matt 6:15 | Sandman | 15201 | ||
Hey Bill, "In Matthew 6:14-15, Jeus gives a startling warning about forgiveness: if we refuse to forgive others, God will also refuse to forgive us. Why? Because when we don't forgive others, we are denying our common ground as sinners in need of God's forgiveness. God's forgiveness of sin is NOT a direct result of us forgiving others, but it IS based on our realizing what forgiveness means (check out Ephesians 4:32). Also, withholding forgiveness sets a person outside and above Christ's law of love." I paraphrased this from my NIV Life App. Study Bible. To answer your questions, YES, I believe Matthew 6:15 applies to Christians. And instead of spelling out whether forgiveness is conditional or unconditional, I believe the true meaning of the verse is to show the WRONG attitude or mindset to have about forgiveness. Sandman |
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3 | Where did Jacob get the game? | Gen 27:7 | Sandman | 14783 | ||
Dear Steve, Tell me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like you've interpreted "game" to mean something along the lines of Monopoly. Verse 5 spells out that Esau had left to hunt for game. And the story goes on that Jacob went out, hunted and killed some game, put on some goatskins to "feel" like Esau, and stole his older brother's blessing. In the meantime, Esau WAS out getting game. He would bring it back, prepare it, and then learn that his blessing had been unjustly given away. So the point is: "game" means wild animals fit for hunting. Sandman |
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4 | Why didn't he say Jews and Gentiles? | Rom 1:14 | Sandman | 14782 | ||
Dear Steve, For the meaning of the word "barbarian," check out Acts 28:2, where Paul talks about his hospitality while ashore on Malta. The NASB uses the word "natives" which literally means "barbarians." The islanders on Malta were of Phoenician ancestry. The term "barbarian" is used in the sense of "one who is not Greek." Now, why did Paul choose the categories "Greek" and "non-Greek"? The answer lies in the background information to Romans. Paul wrote Romans at the end of his 3rd missionary journey just before returning to Jerusalem (Acts 20:3, Romans 15:25). His missionary journeys found him all over parts of Macedonia, Galatia, Achaia, Lycia, etc. (Acts 13-28). At the present time, these were predominantly Greek cultures. So up until this point, Paul had been dealing with the Greek culture. Now Romans 1:14 - "I am obligated both to Greeks and to non-Greeks..." The Romans would culturally associate themselves with the "non-Greek" group. After all, their civilization (which was peaking at the time of the New Testament) had replaced the Greek Civilization as the premier civilization in the world. And that is why in verse 15 Paul continues by saying, "That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to those of you who are at Rome." Because, up until now, he had dealt with Greeks. The "wise and the foolish" refers to the educated and the uneducated. Up until Christ, the Pharisees and Saducees had implicitely forced a silent rule that only the educated could truly know God's law and therefore could truly know God (Matthew 23:1-6). Christ changed this perception, by ministering to the uneducated "sinners" (Mark 2:17) and criticizing the educated (Luke 11:42-52). Paul no doubt encountered this same discrimination based on knowledge when he ministered to people. Also, in the height of their civilization, the Romans might have the notion to consider themselves very wise, and Paul could be using the term foolish to set up his later argument that the Romans, in their culture of knowledge and intellect, were unbelievably uneducated (Romans 3:11). Sandman |
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5 | Your kingdom come...what does this mean | NT general Archive 1 | Sandman | 14657 | ||
Dear Jen, For usages of the "kingdom of heaven" and the "kingdom of God", read Matthew 3:2, 4:17, and 5:3; and also Luke 4:43, 6:20, and 7:28. There is no difference in the meaning. Matthew uses the words "kingdom of heaven," because he is writing to a Jewish audience, where the name of God (Yahweh) is sacred and not often spoken. Luke uses the phrase "kingdom of God" because he wrote to a Gentile audience that had no education of the God that the Jews knew. With that in mind, "You kingdom come" is a reference to the impending spiritual reign of God. It does NOT refer to Israel's freedom from Rome. The kingdom was announced in the covenant with Abraham (Matthew 8:11, Luke 13:28), is present in Christ's reign in believers' hearts (Luke 17:21), and will be complete when all evil is destroyed and God establishes the new heaven and earth (Revelation 21:1). "Your will be done" is the submissive prayer of a believer that the will of God might prevail in his/her own life (earth), just as the will of God prevails in the realm of God (heaven). Hopefully this helps. Sandman |
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6 | Who is the we in John4:20 | John 15:1 | Sandman | 14654 | ||
Dear Kindness, I couldn't find a "we" in any translation, and I'm going to proceed based on the assumption that the "we" you had in mind refers to the "you Jews" contained in the entire verse: "Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem." If that's what you meant, then yes you are correct, the woman referred to the contrast between the Jews and the Samaritans. The woman's point was that the cultural literacy of the Jews and the Samaritans was different when it came to where one should worship. The Samaritans had worshipped on a mountain, the Jews had done so in Jerusalem. And more than make a distinction between the two ethnic groups, Jesus pointed out that the location of worship is not as important as the attitude of the worshipper. He says we ought to worship in spirit and in truth. Sandman |
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7 | Are we do pray to Jesus? - II | Matt 6:9 | Sandman | 14345 | ||
Steve, SirPent touched on the answer to this question in his response regarding Nolan's post, and I will just add a little something to his response. Jesus is our intercessor to the Father, as SirPent mentioned, and you can read about that in Romans 8:34. Imagine that someone came by your office, dropped a report on your desk, and said "Give that to your boss, will you?" This provides somewhat of an insight into praying to Christ. Let me now claim that it is not a perfect example, just one that makes the mud a bit clearer. Also, something that helped me when I was pondering this question, is to understand the three-personal God. It's not part of the question, but it's a little extra bonus. The best explanation (and the most clear) is given by C.S. Lewis: "You know that in space you can move in three ways - to the left or right, up or down, forward or backwards. These are called the Three Dimensions. Now notice this. If you are using one dimension, you could daw only a straight line. If you are using two, you could draw a figure: say, a square. And a square is made up of four straight lines. Now a step further. If you have 3 dimensions, you can then build what we call a solid body: say, a cube. And a cube is made up of sixe sqaures.... Now the Christian account of God involves just the same principle. The human level is a simple and rather empty level. On the human level one person is one being. On the Divine level you still find personalities; but up there you find them combined in new ways which we, who do not live on that level, cannot imagine. In God's dimension, so to speak, you find a Being who is three Persons while remaining one Being, just as a cube is six squares while remaining one cube." Again, not a flawless example, but one that clears the haze. The separation of the Deity of God as to which one you should pray to is a point that can be argued many times. The important thing of the issue is to realize that we pray to a three-personal God who hears our prayers and answers them. Shaun |
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8 | Would like comment on Matt. 10:16 | Matt 10:16 | Sandman | 13258 | ||
As far as WHERE to offer you a commentary, I can only point to what I'm about to write: Jesus had just sent his disciples out into the world. He promised them that the road ahead of them would not be a smooth one ["I Am sending you out like sheep among wolves (10:16a, NIV)]. He then gives them a apparent paradox that dictates their mindset. A serpent is the craftiest of all creations (Genesis 3:1). Jesus commanded the disciples to be shrewd, which is the exact opposite of gullible. We are commanded to test the spirits (1 John 4:1), to test everything and hold to the good (1 Thes. 5:21), and not to conform to the world so that our minds might be renewed (Romans 12:2). Peter best sums it up in 1 Peter 3:15: "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." On the other end of the stick, Jesus called us to be as innocent as doves. The first thing that comes to mind about doves is "peace." God is a God of peace (Romans 15:33, 1 Cor 14:33, Hebrews 13:20). We are commanded to not be angry with our brothers (Matt 5:22), to resist retaliation (Matt 5:39, 44), and not to worry (Matt 6:25). There are hundreds of other examples of peaceful lessons in the Gospel, but basically we are to edify the church and live a life pleasing to God (1 Cor 4:12, Romans 12:1). Another verse that points to the mindset that Christians should have is 1 Cor 14:20: "Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults." Hopefully this sheds a little light. Shaun |
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9 | What does it mean to take up your cross? | Mark 8:34 | Sandman | 12562 | ||
Mark's main audience was the Romans. The Romans knew what it meant to carry a cross. It was in the same boat as when a conquering army made the conquered army submissively marched past its own cities, revealing how defeated and deflated they were. When a condemned man carried his cross, he basically made known publicly that he fully submitted to Roman authority. The condemned man knew the death that awaited him. His act showed ultimate submission and humility. Jesus uses this image of carrying one's cross to show the level of submission we should have to Christ. Note that Jesus was NOT against pleasure, NOR was he saying that we should seek pain needlessly. Jesus was talking about the heroic effort needed to follow him moment by moment, step by step, as if a huge cross lay on our shoulders and men stood around mocking and jeering at us. We as Christians are called into the ultimate submission to Jesus Christ our Lord. Shaun |
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10 | Was it reasonable to curse the tree? | Mark 11:14 | Sandman | 12561 | ||
The curse of the fig tree is intertwined with Jesus' clearing of the temple. These stories are told in Mark 11:12-25 and Matthew 21:12-22. An interesting difference is that Matthew records Jesus cursing the fig tree AFTER clearing the temple and Mark records Jesus cursing the fig tree BEFORE clearing the temple. In either case, the meaning is the same. In either gospel, the cursing of the fig tree was a acted-out parable to show Jesus' contempt for religion without substance. Just as the fig tree looked good from a distance and even had leaves on it (Mark 11:13, figs often grew as the leaves grew), it was barren in terms of figs. The temple had also seemed appealing from a distance, but inside were merchants and money changers who cheated and swindled and did everything but worship, which is what God's house is intended for. Also, the words applied to the nation of Israel: fruitful in appearance with Pharisees and Saducees, but spiritually barren on the inside. In terms of the reasonability of Jesus' action, he had the authority to do it. And he did it to prove a point; to tell a story. At first glance, cursing a fig tree that's out of season seems a bit unfair. But as is often the case, a comprehensive reading of God's word shows God's incredibly glorious purpose for all things. Shaun |
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11 | Why did Jesus call Peter, Satan? | Mark 8:33 | Sandman | 12560 | ||
First, you need to read how Jesus was tempted in the desert by Satan (Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13). Pay special attention to Matthew 4:10, "Jesus said to him, 'Away from me Satan!..." Satan had just offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if only Jesus would bow to him. But Jesus rebuked Satan, telling him that God alone was to be served. Jesus understood that he came to earth to die, and to "give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45)" This was God's will for the salvation of the world, and because Satan had promised Jesus something that was contrary to God's plan, Jesus sternly rebuked him. Now, to Matthew 16:15-23. I start in 15 because Peter has just made the awesome, eloquent assertion that Jesus is "Christ, the Son of the Living God." Jesus then commended Peter by saying that he would build his church through him (Matthew 16:18). However, Peter's brilliance (his profession of faith) was immediately followed by pure bone-headedness (his selfish desires). Jesus explains in verse 21 that he must die (in accordance with God's will). Peter then rebukes Jesus by saying, "Never Lord. This shall never happen to you!" It's almost as if Peter was saying "I won't allow it." Jesus then sternly rebuked Peter because he did the same exact thing that Satan did: offered him something other than the death he must go through. Peter was ready to receive Christ as King (the glory that comes with Christ), but he was not ready for Christ as a suffering servant (the persecution that comes with Christ). This is why Jesus begins the next verse with the cost of following him, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (Mark 8:34)" It is also interesting to read in John 13:31-38 how again Peter stakes a bold claim that Jesus shreds. Peter claims that he would die for Jesus (verse 37), but Jesus corrects him by saying that he would deny him 3 times (verse 38). In both cases, Peter had the mindset of human interests, and Jesus saw this. He rebuked Peter harshly the first time ("Get behind me Satan"), and astounded Peter the second time ("You will deny me 3 times"). Jesus' words are often kind and encouraging, but his rebukes and corrections sear right to the heart. Shaun |
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12 | An evil spirit come from the Lord? | 1 Sam 16:14 | Sandman | 12526 | ||
This spirit sent from the Lord is described differently in separate versions of the Bible: - "an evil spirit" (NIV and most others) - "a spirit of sadness" (Young's Literal Trans.) - "an injurious spirit" (NIV footnote) - "a tormenting spirit" (New Living Trans.) With that in mind, here's my answer: God also sent an evil spirit in Judges 9:23. Why? Verse 24: "God did this in order that the crime against Jerub-Baal's seventy sons, the shedding of their blood, might be avenged on their brother Abimelech and on the citizens of Shechem, who had helped him murder his brothers." You can read further down the chapter to see God's vengeance on Abimelech and the people of Shechem (vs. 52-57) God has the authority and the ability to control evil spirits (Mark 1:27, Luke 4:36). Evil spirits and demons also understand the authority wielded by God (Mark 5:10, 12; James 2:19). So why does God send spirits to men? In Saul's case, it was to avenge his disobedience in the seige of the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15). God had even rejected Saul as king at this point (1 Sam. 15:7). This spirit would come upon Saul and cause him to sin against David (1 Samuel 18:10). Saul became angry(18:8); jealous (18:9); afraid (18:15, 29); and finally plotted to murder David (19:1). In 1 Samuel 16, just as in Judges 9, the Lord had sent an evil spirit to a man as vengeance for deeds done in direct defiance of God's will. These evil spirits tormented their hosts, bringing out the worst sins in Saul and bringing about the death of Abimelech. In these 2 passages, an evil spirit is a tool of revenge. The evil spirits are commanded by God in their course of vengeance, much like the armies that God sent against his foes. Shaun |
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13 | Is God promoting genocide? Why? | 1 Sam 15:18 | Sandman | 12511 | ||
The theme of vengeance runs throughout the Old Testament. In Numbers 31:2-3, God commanded Moses to "Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites" and Moses then commanded his people to "carry out the LORD's vengeance on them." Ecclesiastes 3 comfirms that there is indeed "a time to kill" (vs 3) and "a time for war." (vs 8) But Jeremiah and Paul help us to see when those times arise. Jeremiah 46:10 says, "But that day belongs to the Lord, the LORD Almighty-- a day of vengeance, for vengeance on his foes," and Paul says in Romans 12:19, "Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord." God is the only one who is capable of vengeance. He judges the heart, He judges fairly, and He alone has authority to judge (Psalm 7:11, Psalm 51:4, Psalm 75:7, Nahum 1:2-3). When we take vengeance into our own hands, we execute our own judgment and seek to fulfill our own desires, which are often sinful. So to answer your question, yes God commanded Saul to destroy the enemies of the Lord (God authorized the "genocide"), to take vengeance on the foes of the Lord. This is not the promotion of genocide but rather the execution of the will of God. The important thing in the verse is that the Amalekites were "sinners," and God had judged them and the result of this judgment was God's command for Saul to destroy them. (You can read on to see how Saul didn't obey this command and he too found himself under the wrath of God. [1 Samuel 15:7-26]) Shaun |
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