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Balancing Your Business and Life!!
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Balance Your Trip through Business/Life ?
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Where does the time go?
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Copyright (c) 1999 by Duane Gilchrist, Beaverton, Oregon
Foreword to: "Balancing Your Business and Life "
What do I mean by "Balance"? For many years I've had the privilege of giving some guidance to men to get a better handle on their business, life or career etc. This effort was primarily, helping them to better focus their life's priorities. Most men have 4 main areas of serious interest in their life.
These are: Business or Career, Recreation, Family and the Spiritual.
Frequently there has been little effort to bring these interests into proper balance. Too often their interests are ranked just as they are listed here. If you give this a little thought, you might conclude that this list is somewhat "out of balance".
If one were truly "wise", wisdom might conclude that an attempt at some re-adjustment was warranted before too much more time elapsed!
Elapsed time! That's something a wise man should give some attention to! Where has the time gone?
Personally, at my advanced years, I'm really impressed with the way time rushes past. Too often, men put off attending to the most important issues, until it becomes very late, if not too late, to really address them.
There is considerable difference between intelligence and wisdom. Many very bright, intelligent businessmen, evidence a serious lack of true wisdom. The sad, disappointing, empty life outcome, experienced by many highly intelligent people demonstrates a serious lack of wisdom.
Though of average intelligence, I have noted that my personal wisdom has increased as I've read and meditated on the "book of wisdom", the Holy Scriptures. This has also been true for many businessmen of my acquaintance.
Then, with growth in wisdom, automatically, we've seen an improvement in "balance". So, I regularly encourage businessmen to get acquainted with the Bible!
Now, you may recall earlier efforts to read the Bible, with understanding, that ended in puzzlement or possibly failure.
However, consider this present encounter as a possible aid to overcome the past disappointment in "cracking the nut" of divine wisdom! Please, at least, continue through the introduction of this material to have a better grasp of the issue of "wisdom to help with your life's balance"! Numerous businessmen have told us that this has really helped them.
One basic wisdom principle is to be certain/sure of the importance of an issue one is either rejecting or setting aside.
So, what is this small collection about?
In 1988, I led a group of businessmen in a weekly, breakfast Market Place Bible study. Each week I furnished a handout that supported the 20 - 30 minute lecture. The series was a swift overview of the entire Bible that included a quick review of history since the Scriptures were completed in approximately 90 A.D.
The market place Bible study series concluded with a review of the most prominent prophecies that have been fulfilled in the recent past and those that surely will be fulfilled in the (probably) near future.
These market place Bible studies were appreciated and helpful to businessmen with varied spiritual backgrounds. Some were making their initial investigation of the "book of wisdom". Upon completion many agreed that we had covered the most important issues of life, bar none!
The writer is a layman, without weighty theological background, and presents the material with a lay person's perspective who has "been around the block a time or two".
This internet market place Bible study series is a slightly edited version of these hand-outs. They take you on a rapid trip through the most important highlights of the Bible.
As a further aid in grasping an understanding of the Bible, you might want to consider getting a copy of The New Life Bible It is very easy reading with plain English phrases substituted for many of the more complex theological terms. This was accomplished without compromising the textual meaning.
(Incidentally, the writer is personally acquainted with the translator of the New Life Bible, Mr. Gleason Ledyard. The translation is the outgrowth of his missionary work. He along with his wife, Katherine, served in the Canadian Artic among the Eskimos for many years. They developed a simplified translation allowing them to successfully communicate the Good News.
For the past 20 years they have distributed millions of The New Life Bible in English on a worldwide basis. It has been greatly appreciated and widely read. Many persons who have difficulty understanding the usual translations have become enthusiastic about this one.
You may learn more about this at ( http:www.newlifebible,org. Clicking on your browser "back" button will return you to this point).
However, it should be noted, that all the Scripture quotations within this document are taken from The New American Standard Bible.
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"Balancing Your Business and Life"
Copyright (c) 1999 Duane Gilchrist
Many years ago, the writer was able to take a Bible Survey course that covered the books of Genesis through Ruth. This was very helpful. It brought order to the various accounts of the Bible, that had been presented in random sequence, over the years in Sunday School lessons and sermons.
So, later, in teaching high school and adult Sunday School classes, the writer has frequently presented a swift overview of the Bible with apparent success. These experiences encouraged him to use this approach when conducting these weekly meetings, mentioned in the forword.
It is his hope that this material will be helpful to others in grasping a fuller understanding of this remarkable book, that communicates God's heart to us, furnishing the only solution for life after death!
The book is intended to be a guide to your Bible. At times it is left up to the reader to locate and read important Scriptures, encouraging you to become familiar with your Bible. Other times the Scriptural text is inserted.
You should know, that God has made many attempts to communicate with us!
Psm 19:1-3 "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And the firmament is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; (where) Their voice is not heard."
verse 7 "The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple."
This Scripture seems a good start for our introduction of the Men's Breakfast meetings and goals.
We find that most men are impressed with the magnificence of God's creation and as the Psalm says, it has impressed them of the existence of God.
However, a vast majority have not really discovered the truth of verse seven, or at least haven't made a serious application of it to their lives. It's our hope and goal that the meetings will increase this work of the Scriptures in all our lives.
Hopefully the meetings will introduce the value of the Scriptures into the lives of men, coming to the meetings, who have not been regularly exposed to the Bible.
Most of us have "hop-scotched" our way through any Bible studies or stories without seeing the overall "big picture" of the Bible or the place a particular story or study fits into the overall plan of God. Getting the big picture was very helpful and interesting to your speaker and it has been rewarding to see that it communicates with some success as presented to others.
So, that is where we will be going.
And we will be regularly giving evidence why the Bible is the very Word of God and from our view point the only reliable guide to life. Our enthusiasm for the Bible is based upon several facts that we will be calling to our attention as we progress through the big picture:
1. Many prophecies fulfilled in minute detail.
2. The declarations of Scripture itself.
3. The consistency and continuity of the 66 books written by approximately 40 authors over a span of 1500 years.
4. The remarkable life of Jesus Christ and His endorsement of the Bible. (You might want to take a Great Side Trip at this point to get amazing documentation on the life of Jesus. If so click here now! Clicking your browser "back" button will return you to this point).
5. The preservation of the people Israel and the re- establishment of the Nation Israel.
6. The exciting, rational plan of God, as revealed, presents the only sensible solution to life's dilemma, known to the speaker. It could never be the product of men's minds!
Taking the above into account, we consider the Bible to be the only reliable "road map" through this complex trip we know as "life".
It just seems to make sense that we get acquainted with the map before the end of the journey!
Jesus said, "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it. Beware of the false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves." Matt. 7:13-15
There is no basis whatever for the often heard platitude, "There are many roads into heaven". According to the Scriptures, there are two destinations at journey's end and it makes a bunch of difference which road one takes - - - - -. and there are a lot of persons that are giving out bad directions!
Interested - - - but?? It's possible that you are wondering if you have time to continue reading now at your computer. You can have a download to print or purchase the book.
You hear a lot about this interpretation or that one. We don't do much interpretation. We mostly camp on the Scriptures that need no interpretation, only acceptance or rejection!
For instance, Jesus also said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through me." John 14:6
How can you interpret that statement? What He is saying is crystal clear. Some just don't like to hear it and so start rambling on about different interpretations, opinions etc.
Now, you may not agree with our enthusiasm for the Scriptures, but we hope that you will maintain an interest in our "big picture" presentation to find out just what it is that you may be disagreeing with!
Lets expand on 3 of the 6 strong reasons why millions have discovered that the Bible truly is God's word.
1. Fulfilled Prophecies:
There are literally hundreds of them that have been given in great detail and have been fulfilled to the letter. Not vague, rambling as is almost always true of the supposed extra-biblical prophecies of Mother Shipton, Nostradamus and others. Rather they deal with places, people and events.
Henry M. Morris' The Bible and Modern Science, discusses a particular prophecy regarding the city of Tyre of the Phoenicians found in Ezekiel 26. It describes the coming capture of the city by Nebuchadnezzar (vv 7-11). This was quite literally fulfilled. However the judgment forecast in verses 4-5; "They shall destroy the walls of Tyrus and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea," seemed unfulfilled, at that time.
History tells us that most of the people of Tyre escaped with their valuables to an island 1/2 mile from the shore, where they built a new Tyre which was still great and powerful for 250 years.
But finally, Alexander the Great finished what Nebuchadnezzar had begun. He built a causeway from the remains of the old city, literally scraping up the dust and stones and timbers. He sacked the new island city. The mainland city against which the prophecy was directed, was never rebuilt. There are not even ruins or mounds to mark the spot! The causeway and island are now a desolate peninsula, which is used by fishermen to dry their nets!
On the other hand, Tyre's sister city of Sidon had the following prophecy uttered against her: "Behold, I am against thee, O Sidon . . . For I will send pestilence into her, and blood into her streets; and the wounded shall fall in the midst of her with the sword upon her on every side." Ezek. 28:22-23.
No fate of extinction was foretold for Sidon and even today it is a city of about 20,000. However, it has had one of the bloodiest histories any city ever had.
Two sister cities, close together and of equal importance, were subject to two very different prophecies. Each was fulfilled to the letter. That would be impossible except as directed by God, who knows the end from the beginning.
The book of Daniel foretells the rise of the great Gentile kingdoms hundreds of years in advance. From Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia to the end! Medo-Persia, Greece, Egypt, Syria and Rome are described with such wealth of detail that all who study history recognize them. Daniel wrote about 500 to 600 years before Christ
Critics try unsuccessfully to move the authorship of Daniel forward in time to negate the prophecy, saying it was written after the fact. Even if they were able to prove it was written later, it would not overcome others of his prophetic utterances that told of the exact time of the coming of the Messiah (Jesus) to Israel!
Here are a few specific prophecies regarding the coming of Christ as Savior;
Isa. 7:14 His virgin birth.
Micah 5:2 His birthplace, Bethlehem.
Zech. 9:9-10 Describes His public entry into Jerusalem on the foal of an ass.
Zech. 11:12-13 His betrayal, including even the price of 30 pieces of silver!
Psalm 22 Gives a graphic description of His crucifixion. This was written by David about 800 years before Christ at a time when offenders were stoned. The Romans invented crucifixion much later.
Isa. 53 Tells the purpose of His death,some details of His suffering and trial.
There are more than 300 prophecies in the Old Testament that were fulfilled at Christ's first coming!
2. The Declarations of Scripture Itself:
II Tim. 3:16 "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work".
I Thess. 2:13b "...you accepted it for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe".
II Pet. 1:20 "But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God".
Psalm 119:160 "The sum of Thy word is truth, and every one of Thy righteous ordinances is everlasting".
Now we know that there are objections to using internal proofs of a document's authenticity.
But think about it for a minute. By having 40 different authors over a span of 1500 years write the inspired book, by establishing "tons" of fulfilled prophecy, by sending His only begotten Son, God has gone to a lot of trouble to communicate His plan to mankind.
Having done this, why shouldn't He also have some of the different authors declare its authenticity. In fact what else could He do. If He is God, (and He is!), He should remind us with written documents that His word is really from Him. He would be negligent to do otherwise. What better place to have such declarations of it's authenticity than to embed them in the book He is determined to preserve forever!
And having declared it for what it is, we should be happy to accept His word on it! Reject this proof of His Word only after you have rejected all the other things He has done to get your attention!
3. Multiple Human Authors Wrote Over a Long Span:
If you have ever worked on a committee, you know how difficult it is for a few persons to agree on a course of action and then to record it accurately, without contradicting each other.
This is a challenge when you are working in the same room at the same exact time, conferring together!
Or, if you are a writer, pick anything you wrote about 5 years ago and tell me you are satisfied with it today! It is humbling! Writers keep editors busy and neither are satisfied. Often, the subject of the document has trouble identifying himself in the writing!
How about timeliness. What Doctor is working from a medical manual that is 50 years old. (Not mine, I hope!). As an engineer, try reading a text book that is 10 years old! Do it for chuckles! 50 years? Totally obsolete!
But the Bible continues to tell the truth after 3500 years. You hear it said that the Bible is riddled with contradictions. I've not had one real one presented to me.
Dr. Harry Rimmer, for years had a standing offer of $1000 for the person who could make one contradiction stand up in a court of law! Never claimed!
Now,
"A Quick Trip Through the Bible & Into the Future!"
Copyright (c) 1999, Duane Gilchrist
| Click here for Page 2, Series 10 through 16,
containing: |
| The Example of Joseph, The Life of Moses, The Call of Moses, The Egyptian Plagues, The Giving of God's Laws, The Period of the Judges and the Early Kingdom, David as King |
| Click here for Page 3, Series 17 through 24,
containing: |
| God is not Mocked, Old Testament Overview, The World Prepared for the Messiah, History's Climax, The First Century Church, Apostolic Succession vs. The Priesthood of the Believer, The Protestant Reformation, Multiple Denominations |
| Click here for Page 4, Series 25 through 30,
containing: |
| Introduction to Prophetic Studies, Jesus' Teaching on the Future, Paul's Teaching on the Future, Introduction to the Book of Revelation, Revelation Highlights, Three Great Wars and Appendix covering Dispensations and Covenants. |
| Click
here for
Summary to the Principle of "Life
Balance" |
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When we look at God's Big Picture plan we immediately are interested in when "things" started out. The first verse of the Bible simply states "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth". If you are reading from a King James version of the Bible, it may have a date somewhere in the heading or margin of 4004 B.C.
This is unfortunate, in a sense, as it causes the casual reader to immediately doubt the content, since we are told from science that the earth is about 5 billion years old.
The 4004 B.C. was determined by connecting all the "time" references of the Old Testament, chronologically and tracing back from the birth of Jesus. Another chronology indicates this span at about 5600 years. All such admit that there are gaps not "timed" in the Bible that cause these to be merely estimates and the estimates go back only to the "fall of man". No one knows how long man lived in innocence.
Ancient history and archaeology can push the known human occupation and beginnings of civilizations at most, back to, about 10,000 B.C. Ancient Egypt dates at about 4000 B.C.
But, this is still so far away from the sweeping declarations of science that it leaves us something to wrestle with. The first and second chapters of the Bible state that God created the heavens and the earth and all that is in the earth in six days.
Skeptics and unbelievers simply relegate the Biblical account to mythology at this point.
Believers, however have three basic, possible approaches;
1. Recreation holds that the creation was in two stages. A first creation of great antiquity, was judged in the past when Satan fell.
This accounts for the "formless and void" in verse two. The second stage, a "recreation" commences in verse 3. In this option, the great age of the earth and the heavens, and the fossil record which supposedly also indicates great age, occurred in that first creation.
2. Theistic Evolution holds that the six days of creation are really six ages of unknown length and therefore could support the same age estimates that we hear from science. These use II Pet 2:8b "...that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years is as one day", to support their conclusion.
3. Created Apparent Age holds that the creation is relatively young and the great age seen in creation, in the age attributed to minerals, light shafts from stars and planets etc. simply result as a function of the "instant" creation when God spoke things into being. As an example, the Bible in Gen 2:7 says that God "formed man of the dust from the ground". The account then describes man as an adult. No indication that he was an egg or a sperm or a babe.
The point being that Adam was created with a "created age" of about 20-30 years. Likewise the trees of the garden that God created for man to tend, the animals that man was to name and oversee all had similar age created into them.
So, logically, one can also see that the rocks that made up the ground that the man stood upon would also have "age " created into them. This age could be anything of God's choice, even 5 billion years if He desired it.
The stars and planets that shed light upon the earth, are so distant that there are, in most cases, millions of years required for the light to reach the earth, even at the speed of light, 186,000 miles per second. Since God created the star, He can just as easily also create the shaft of light from the star that is seen, and again,be "creating apparent age". Click here for extended disscussion of "speed of light" etc.
In fact, the account tells us that He created the heavens in chapter 1:1 and as a separate act, created light in 1:3.
Initial Appraisal of These Options
Your speaker grew up accepting the "recreation" approach, also known as the "gap theory", as did almost all conservative theologians of those days.
Liberal theologians, generally identify with the "Theistic Evolution" approach.
In the late 60's we were greatly encouraged to learn of the writings of Henry M. Morris along with his work with The Institute for Creation Research Society. Their websites:
Home page http://www.icr.org
40 Creation Scientists in the Biological Science http://www.icr.org/creationscientists/biologicalscientists.html
39 Creation Scientists in the Physical Sciences http://www.icr.org/creationscientists/physicalscientists.html
This is an association of "creationist scientists", over 400 in number, who hold post-graduate degrees in natural science plus another 1500 other non- voting members. This number is considerably larger in current years.
This group has advanced the "Created Apparent Age" understanding of Biblical creation.
It, in my opinion, gives the clearest explanation of the Genesis account of the creation. It also clears up our understanding of the universal flood of Genesis chapters 6-9, and it's impact on the fossil record.
We will be enlarging on the three options, their strengths and weaknesses and will be working from Henry Morris' book, The Remarkable Birth of Planet Earth. This book may be obtained from various Christian book stores.
Another website furnishing extensive background to support the "Created Apparent Age" or "Young Earth" concept:
Another reference is the article "Evolution" in The International Standard Biblical Encyclopedia.
We can move ahead on the subject of creation, with the assurance that millions of thinking "believers" accept the creation account of Genesis, and in one of three ways are comfortable with the sweeping claims of age that the scientific community generally assigns to the earth and the universe.
The point to make is that God did the creating, that it could never have happened by chance, that it reflects His power and glory, and God said "it was good".
In this study we have shared our conclusions, not expecting that we would have sufficient background or time to swing one with a strong base away from other positions. We will be encouraging you to consider the source material we have referenced earlier, repeated here for your convenience. This source will be especially helpful, later on as we discuss the impact of the worldwide flood.
Institute of Creation Research home page http://www.icr.org
40 Creation Scientists in the Biological Science http://www.icr.org/creationscientists/biologicalscientists.html
39 Creation Scientists in the Physical Sciences http://www.icr.org/creationscientists/physicalscientists.html
Answers in Genesis home page: http://www.answersingenesis.org
The creation account is launched with evidence of the Trinity of God!
Gen 1:1-2 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters."
In the very first verse of the Bible, we get a slight clue to the "Trinity" of God. It uses the Hebrew word "Elohim" which is the plural form of the word. Elohim is used 2222 times in the Old Testament as a name for God. It is used 196 time for "gods", (referring to false gods). In both usages it is plural.
Then in verse two the Holy Spirit of God is mentioned having a part in the creation.
Another strong clue is seen in verse 26 where it says,
"Then God said, Let us make man in our image- - -".
The plural form of the pronouns are for real.
There is another Old Testament allusion to the Trinity in the very verse that the Jews (who reject the concept of the Trinity) quote repeatedly;
"Hear O Israel, the Lord (Yahweh) is our God(s)(Elohim), The Lord(Yahweh) is one." Dueteronomy 6:4
One more Old Testament reference supporting the Trinity is Psm 110:1, where David speaks prophetically:
"The Lord says to my Lord: Sit at my right hand Until I make Thine enemies a footstool for thy feet." Quite obviously a statement of the Father to the Son.
Of course the bulk of the truth of the Trinity is revealed at the introduction of Christ in the New Testament, giving additional insights on creation. John 1:1 reads like an expansion of Gen.1:1!
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him; and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being."
One correctly determines, that "the Word" is another name for God and more specifically, verse 14 confirms that it is a name for God the Son, or Jesus Christ.
Then again in Col. 1:16-17 Paul writes about Christ:
"For in Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on the earth, visible and invisible - - - And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together."
So, we have a remarkable truth here. Millions have heard the Christmas story and consider a special baby was born in Bethlehem. They totally miss that the Baby Jesus was actually the Creator God! That He existed from all eternity past and came as a human baby, the God-man to be the sacrifice for our sins. But that is getting ahead of our story!
The Bible declares that all three persons of the Godhead, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit had a part in the creation. Three persons in perfect unity. as seen above in Deuteronomy 6:4, "moving over the surface of the waters."
Having introduced the subject of the Trinity, we should make a statement about it. It is a doctrine of historic Christianity, not stated expressly in Scripture, but one that Scripture leads us to.
Not three different Gods, only one God, but three Persons in one God (or Godhead).
Jesus said in John 10:30:
"I and the Father are one."
This angered the Jews who clearly understood the implications of His statement. They accused Him of blasphemy saying, "You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God."
The truth of the Trinity, cannot be fully understood. It is accepted in faith, believing what the Scriptures say about the three persons of the Godhead. We shouldn't demand to understand all about God. What a limited God He would be if we were able to understand Him entirely!
Back to the creation account! There are more things here than we can consider in an overview, but we will note a few.
It is interesting that "Light" was created in verse 3, and days were established in verse 5 ahead of the heavenly bodies of verse 14-18. This leads to some interesting thoughts regarding "light". It is a special study all through Scripture. It is used to describe Christ in John 1. In Revelation 22, it is a property of Christ Himself to such a degree that there will be no need of the sun to give light in heaven!
All through Scripture, light implies truth or goodness while darkness implies ignorance or evil. This is often referencing spiritual light or darkness, but sometimes it seems to include physical light and darkness. John 1:4-9 and 3:19-21 discuss the light that Christ brings into the darkness of the world.
So, for whatever it means, light is a separate creation in the Genesis account, from what we normally think of as our source of light, the sun.
We tend to think of the days of creation as 24 hour days even though God created the sun which we see regulating the length of the day in the 4th day of creation.
There is further support for this conclusion in Exodus 20:11 in the Ten Commandments, where He says:
"For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth - - -".
He was here addressing people who were surely thinking in 24-hour days. He was using the statement to reenforce the keeping of their Sabbath day, obviously, a 24-hour day.
The first chapter continues to itemize the days of creation with different accomplishments. The second chapter is a review of the first with more detail.
Stop and think on the Almighty God of creation!
God accomplished the greatest physical act when He created the universe! Such a One could use any method He chose to do the job.
He could have used millions or billions of "time" years to get the job done. He could have started "small" and evolved "big"!
- - - - or - - - -
He could have spoken a word and instantly have His creation! It was His choice. No problem!
The Bible, in fact tells us He chose to accomplish it over a period of 6 days by "speaking a word"!
Psalm 33:6-9 "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast."
The "secular evolutionist" chooses to leave God out of creation and considers as "fact" that the whole universe came about by chance. He does this with scanty evidence and still must look for a solution for the required "first cause" to furnish the required material, whatever he decides "chance" started with!
The "theistic evolutionist", on the other hand, yields to his more "learned" scientific fellows and twists the Scriptural account in an effort to gain "points" with the intellectuals.
When God speaks plainly, it would seem wise to take him at His word and absorb whatever barbs may come one's way from intellectuals who have wandered out of their field of expertise!
The highest order of God's creation is man. The animals have remarkable characteristics of devotion, instinct etc. which we identify as belonging to their "soul" or personality. Animals do not have the moral nature that man possesses. They are neither morally good or bad. They are animals. Neither do they worship god(s).
But man was made "in the image of God". Gen. 1:26. This means that in addition to a soul, man was made with a spirit, like God, who is a Spirit. Evidence of this spirit is seen in the moral nature that man possesses. Man was created innocent, but later came to know of good and evil.
Further evidence of this basic difference in animals compared to man is the contentedness of animals and the discontent man experiences. A well fed animal is content. A well fed man with all the comforts will soon be bored!
While the "soul" or personalityof the animal is temporary, throughout Scripture, we are taught that the spirit in man is eternal and exists forever.
God gave man dominion over the earth, the animals, birds and fish and everything that moves on the earth. Plants were given for food.
Genesis chapter two is a more detailed account of the creation. The growth of plants is described, the mist that rises from the ground that watered the plants is described.
The Garden of Eden was established.
Detail is given to the creation of man. Adam's need for a helpmate was not met in reviewing and naming all the animals. So, God created woman in a special way, taking a rib from Adam, "fashioning it into a woman". God established the special relationship between man and wife at this early point.
Where no helpmate was found in the animal kingdom, we can safely imagine that Adam was mighty excited with his first glimpse of Eve! Having created into man the sexual instinct God, in love, created the special object of the sexual love He had established. Adam accepted this gift from God with eloquence in verse 23. Someone has said that Adam probably said at first sight, "WOW! I'll call her WOWman, shortened to woman!"
In the garden, God had established the setting for a test of the "free will", moral nature He had created into man. In 2:16-17 He said:
"From any tree of the garden you may eat freely: but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die."
This is the first mention of evil in the Bible. It preexisted the fall of man. Possibly preexisted the creation of man.
To understand what follows, where man fails the moral test, we must explore the origin of evil. We will get into that later in some depth. For now it is enough to see the existence of Satan, the evil one, and his successful temptation of Eve and then her successful temptation of Adam.
Satan, here is in possession of the body of the serpent. (In Scripture, we see evil spirit's desire to enter into and possess bodies). We can be sure we are dealing with Satan, not just a serpent, from other Scripture. Rev 12:9:
"...the serpent of old who is called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world..."
Satan challenges God's word:
"You shall not surely die".
This is his basic approach. "Surely you don't believe that in the Bible?" "Those are simply myths." etc. etc. "You don't need a road map, there are many roads to heaven". He is the father of lies and he makes unbelief sound so wise and belief appear so foolish.
Man's fall immediately brought on the sense of guilt. Fellowship with God was broken and the spirit within man died in it's relationship toward God. So spiritually, man was dead instantly and physical death set in. It was only a matter of time. Just so today, at birth the aging process toward death starts. It is more noticeable as we pass the prime, but it is sure from the start.
God, in Gen. 3:15, pronounced the curse on the serpent, promised a seed to the woman who was to bruise the head of the serpent, while the serpent would bruise the heel of the seed of the woman. This is the first prophecy of the coming of the Savior!
The curse extended to creation and man would struggle for his living.
We see Paradise lost. A creation that was "good" is now diseased and flawed. The age of innocence terminated. Mankind is launched on a long struggle to attempt many ways to overcome the gulf between God and man. Man continually failing.
(When ample efforts have failed and the world is situated to best accept the Savior about 4,000 to 6000 years later, this first prophecy is fulfilled in the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ).
So, God made coverings for Adam and Eve from animal skins. This was the start of physical death.
Rom. 5:12 "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned".
It is significant that it took the shedding of blood to cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve. This is the first "type" or illustration of Christ shedding His blood to cover our sins.
Heb. 9:22 tells us, "...and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness".
Then God drove them out of the garden in a merciful act, for if left there and they had eaten of the tree of life, they would have then lived forever in their sin. He established angels to guard the entrance to the garden. Gen. 3:22-24.
A question to consider: "Are we better off or worse off because of the fall of man?" The answer depends upon your personal relationship to Jesus Christ.
Evil shows up in Genesis 3 without introduction. One must do some systematic study to identify from Scripture where sin originated. This leads us into the spiritual realm of God's creation.
One cannot read far into the Bible without seeing the obvious existence of angels and evil spirits and demons. At the end of Gen. chapter three we are told that God stationed "cherubim, and the flaming sword which turned every direction, to guard the way to the "tree of life".
Bible scholars have made systematic studies of all the references in Scripture to these various spiritual beings and from these, we can know quite a bit of them.
Since God is a Spirit, (John 4:24, "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth",)
it is reasonable that He would have spiritual beings around Him. But we don't know of them by reason, but by revelation from God's word. There are 273 references in the Bible regarding angels.
There is a hierarchy of the angelic kingdom. We know that some of the angels sinned 2 Pet. 2:4 and Jude 1:6.
Isa. 14:12-16 and Ezek.28,12-16 both give considerable detail of a powerful angel who became filled with pride and sinned. He was called the "anointed cherub who covers". He wanted to become God! Isaiah 14 says:
"How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth. You who have weakened the nations! But you have said in your heart, `I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of the assembly...I will make myself like the Most High'"
So, putting it all together, we see that the angels were created beings to serve God and to minister to men.
They were ruled by the highest of Arch Angels, Lucifer, "Son of the morning", whose position was next to God Himself! A very powerful person! Isa.14:12-16
But pride came in and he attempted to be like God. He was cast down from this position and apparently led many other angels in this rebellion. These are the evil spirits and demons of the Scripture. Lucifer's fallen name is Satan or Devil.
Satan is engaged in a massive attempt to defeat God!
The Bible tells of his defeat at the cross of Jesus Christ where his doom was sealed. His doom will be executed in the future when Christ returns to earth as King of Kings and completely defeats Satan and his forces.
In the meantime, Satan attempts to defeat God by deceiving His people. He effectively "blinds the eyes" and hides the truth. In the early chapters of the book of Job, he is seen to still have access to heaven. And in Rev. 12:7-9, we are told of a time in the future when he and his angels are cast down from heaven to earth before their final doom.
There is no redemption available to the fallen angels. Their doom is sure.
Rev. 20:10 "And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever."
The existence of evil and temptation to sin is one apparently required element of the "free will" formula. Without a valid opportunity to sin, there would be no valid free will. And God desires us to worship and honor Him with our free will, not as a mechanical gesture. He also wanted this of the angelic kingdom.
While we might wish He had created us, established as morally "good" with no opportunity to sin, we can be sure that would not have resulted in the ultimate "good" for us. Rom. 8:28 proves even this:
"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to {His} purpose."
This includes the temporary existence of evil and the opportunity for choice.
The fall of Satan and the later fall of Adam, allows God to give the greatest possible demonstration of His love, the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, for our sins!
We are told that by exercising our free will, believing on Him, accepting His free gift of salvation, eternal life and forgiveness of our sins, we also become blood brothers of Christ, joint heirs with Him! This for all eternity!
This is a much richer relationship than we would have enjoyed if we had never experienced the impact of the fall.
Rom. 8:16-18 "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us."
Eph. 2:4-7 "But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly {places}, in Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."
Further, this short stay on the earth with the influence of Satan and an evil environment gives us the opportunity to experience growth of character. Such opportunity for growth will not likely be available again after we are removed from this "trial atmosphere" infected with sin.
It is for these reasons that the Scripture is so loaded with guidance on how to navigate through this life successfully. This is all the more reason why we should reference the "road map". It is certainly a difficult journey but not an impossible one. We will reflect on our victories with our Savior, thanking Him again and again, throughout all eternity!
Earlier material has introduced the fact that there are spiritual beings, both good and bad in God's universe in addition to those persons that we see physically.
There are also truths that are spiritually discerned compared to those which are readily seen or observed. Those which are spiritually discerned usually cause us to either reflect belief and obedience or unbelief and disobedience. This is illustrated in the account of Cain and Abel, the first children of Adam and Eve.
We suspect that when Eve delivered her first, they expected this to be the promised "seed" of Gen. 3:15 that would be the deliverer from the problem of the fall into sin. Not so fast! Instead, the first was to be a murderer and the second a martyr!
What a great start for the human family after following the tempter and becoming "wise"!
We assume that God gave Adam instructions regarding his plan for blood sacrifices. He illustrated this when He clothed them with animal skins. God maintained adequate communication with early man as seen later in His conversations with Cain and His relationship with Enoch and Noah.
However, in Gen. chapter 4, Cain brought his offering to God from the "fruit of the ground". This was a perfectly natural response, since he was a tiller of the soil. But it was not a response of belief or obedience!
We have here the first of many false religions.
So God rejected Cain's offering and on the other hand accepted Abel's which was "of the firstlings of his flock".
Incidentally, giving of the best of one's flock can be a costly gift. An animal breeder thinks highly of the best of his flock's offspring and usually would want to use it to improve the breeding within the flock. So, it was not the "natural" thing to do and reflected "belief and obedience".
So, when Cain's offering was rejected, rather than correcting his action, he became very angry and killed his brother. This after the Lord talked it over with him!
When God called him on this, asking where his brother Abel was, Cain lied, adding the infamous question, "Am I my brother's keeper?"
God's response gives us the first clue to the fact of "life after death". He tells Cain that "The voice of your brother's blood is crying to Me from the ground."
Think of Cain, being only one generation away from the Garden of Eden, certainly having heard from his father Adam all the detail of the fall and the fellowship that it cost etc., having direct conversation with God, and yet being unwilling to obey or repent when corrected.
This gives us a first picture of the viciousness of sin and how quickly it spread into the race. It started with a bite of the forbidden fruit, what appears simply a "harmless" act of minor disobedience, that developed into the first murder!
Believing God is frequently a matter of faith, or a spiritual exercise, ignoring the physical or material evidence that seems so "natural" a thing or action to take.
Probably the most common contrast is the way the natural man depends upon the "works" he does rather than to depend upon the gift of God for his salvation. Much as Cain offered the fruit of the ground, "his works" rather than the animal sacrifice, God's instruction and plan.
Men today declare themselves "good enough" because of their good works while rejecting God's free gift.
On the other hand, the spiritual man has believed God, has acknowledged that he is a helpless sinner, that his works are useless for salvation and has gladly accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Quite a contrast!
Let's compare the actions of a Natural vs. Spiritual Man:
| Natural man: | Spiritual man: |
| Unbelief | Belief or Faith |
| Disobedience | Obedience |
| Offers visible works | Offers nothing |
| Defends self (pride) | Admits helpless (humility) |
| Rejects God's Precious Gift | Accepts Christ as Savior |
| Child of Satan | Child of God |
"For by grace you have been saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is a the gift of God, not as a result of works, that no one should boast". Eph. 2:8-9
Jesus speaking to the self righteous, religious of His day said:
"You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of lies". John 8:44
So, Cain was banished, to the land of Nod.
Obviously, Adam had daughters that were not mentioned in the account, since Cain took a wife with him.
Seth was born as a replacement for Abel and some measure of obedience passed on through his offspring.
When God promised that man would surely die if he disobeyed, you might have expected instant death. We did see in the last study that spiritual death was instant. Physical death was progressive. And Gen. five is called the cemetery of the Bible as it recounts the life and death of the early generations of man. "And he died. And he died etc."
These pre-flood men lived to extreme age. It is speculated that before the flood, there was no disease. That all the death of the flood, brought on the first of the diseases that shorten life. Many lived for 700-900 years and the record life span was Methuselah for 969 years!
The monotony of the deaths in the entire chapter is relieved by the simple account of Enoch. It tells that:
"Enoch walked with God and he was not, for God took him."
We are not told more of his walk with God except in the book of Jude, verse 14 where Enoch is credited with a prophecy of judgment against all ungodly sinners.
This is the first instance of the plan God has for those of this age who "walk with God". Enoch was "raptured" into God's presence rather than to go through death. A second instance was when Ezekiel was caught up in a fiery chariot. II Kings 2:10.
The third instance will be in the future as the believers of this age are "raptured" when Jesus Christ returns to fulfill the first phase of His second coming as described in detail in these passages:
I Thess. 4:13-18 "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of {the} archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words."
I Cor. 15:51-53 "Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality."
Back to the Genesis account. These generations continue to the time of Noah and the account begins to describe the extent of sin as it had progressed. It came down to one man and his family that honored the Lord!
Gen. 6:8 "But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord."
Because of the long life spans and the many years of reproduction, there was most certainly a population explosion by Noah's time. From the fall of Adam to the flood, 1656 years elapsed.
Another interesting fact is that Methuselah lived during Adam's lifetime and Noah lived during Methuselah's. Both these "links" were overlaps of 250 to 600 some years! This gave an outstanding opportunity for the history of the creation/fall etc. to be communicated forward. There are only seven such "links" in the span of approx. 2500 years from Adam to Moses, when he gave us the written account under God's inspiration.
Only one detail is furnished to describe the depths of sin that man had come to. This causes us to attach considerable importance to this one detail: Gen. 6:2 "...the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful and they took wives for themselves , whomever they chose."
This appears to be the "ultimate sin" of the times and led to giant offspring in verse four, causing God to regret ever creating man on earth! verse six
Many have explained that the "sons of God" were men of the line of Seth and "the daughters of men" were of the line of Cain and such unions must have been prohibited, resulting in such gross sin.
Another more satisfactory explanation to this writer is that the phrase "sons of God" in the Old Testament appears several times and clearly means "angels". Job 1:6 and 2:1 are the clearest references. Psm. 29:1, 89:6 also identify the phrase with angels.
II Pet.2:4-8 speaks of God not sparing angels when they sinned and did not spare the ancient world of the flood etc. This passage is primarily speaking of the sins of lust and immorality and appears to be coupling a severe judgment of the angels to the time of the flood and that for immorality.
Jude 6 "And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day."
This seems to readily fit the time of the flood and the sin of angelic beings cohabiting with women.
We know that Matt. 22:30 states that the angels in heaven do not marry as we do, but this does not rule out the immorality the above suggests.
Another indication of the possibility of such immorality is seen in the account of Sodom in Gen. 19 when the men of the town desired to have intercourse with the angels that were to deliver Lot and his family.
Thirty years back, such things seemed so implausible that few could agree with this literal interpretation of the account. In today's world with so much evidence of demonic activity, with films depicting just such activity, (Rosemary's Baby, for instance), it appears more likely to more scholars, that things can become that bizarre.
As stated before, the more common interpretation of this detailed sin is that the men from the line of Seth, (the godly line), intermarried with ungodly women.
This conclusion puzzles the writer. Throughout the Bible, God does speak against being unequally yoked in marriage. However all through the Old Testament there are many instances when His chosen people disobeyed this and God never came close to such widespread judgment for this behavior.
Both David and Solomon took many heathen wives. They suffered consequences to be sure.
Whatever, the culmination of pre-flood sin was such a reproach to God that He would have blotted out all life except for Noah!
II Pet.2:5 tells of Noah, "Noah a preacher of righteousness,". This gives support to the tradition that Noah preached for the 125 years that the ark was in the process of being built.
Certainly, he was one of the heroes of the faith. Heb.11:7 includes him:
"By faith, Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith."
We probably cannot exaggerate the ridicule he experienced over those 125 years. The people probably had never experienced rain, they were located distant from the sea. And Noah was building am ark of huge dimensions!
He and his family are examples to us in these hard days as we must take stands against popular practices and life styles that were unthinkable 30 to 50 years ago.
Taking the "simple" approach to the Scriptures causes one to accept that the flood of Noah's time was a worldwide catastrophe. There are other evidences that it was more than a local event.
Some of these are:
1. All of the ancient peoples and the primitive people of today have legends of a great flood with a few persons surviving.
2. Marine fossils found on the crests of mountains.
3. Worldwide occurrence of water laid sediments and sedimentary rocks.
4. Evidence of recent water bodies in present desert areas.
5. Universal occurrence of rivers in valleys much too large for present stream.
6. Sudden extinction of the dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals.
7. Worldwide occurrence of sedimentary fossil "graveyards" in rocks of all "ages".
These are some of 32 such non-biblical evidences of a worldwide flood that Henry M. Morris lists in The Remarkable Birth of the Planet Earth. Many of these 32 are not as easily grasped as these we've listed but they are arguments that geologists can grapple with. (Here again, in this study we have shared our conclusions, not expecting that we would have sufficient background or time to swing one with a strong base away from other positions. We will be encouraging you to consider the source material we have referenced earlier, repeated here for your convenience. This source will be especially helpful, now as we discuss the impact of the worldwide flood).
Institute of Creation Research home page http://www.icr.org
40 Creation Scientists in the Biological Science http://www.icr.org/creationscientists/biologicalscientists.html
39 Creation Scientists in the Physical Sciences http://www.icr.org/creationscientists/physicalscientists.html
Answers in Genesis home page: http://www.answersingenesis.org
Going back to Biblical evidences that the flood was worldwide, Morris lists 64.
Some of these are:
1. Gen. 6:6-7 God was sorry He had made man on the earth, would blot out from the face of the earth man, animals, creeping things and birds.
2. 6:11 The earth was "...filled with violence", 6:12 "...all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth"
3. 6:13 "I am about to destroy them with the earth"
4. 7:11 "...all the fountains of the great deep burst open"
5. 7:21 "And all flesh that moved on the earth perished...and all mankind"
We could go on and on. If language means anything at all the Scriptures are telling us that this was truly a worldwide flood.
If only a severe local flood, there would have been no need for the ark. People and animals could have moved to higher ground etc. No local flood could have covered the 17,000 foot mountains of the locale. And of course to accomplish God's purpose of complete judgment except for Noah's family, it had to be worldwide. It is entirely reasonable that mankind had migrated widely due to the extent of the population explosion accelerated by the long productive life spans of those days.
Genesis chapters 7 and 8 give much detail of the ark, the flood and the time spent in the ark awaiting the waters to subside. In all, Noah and his family were in the ark over one year.
The writings of Henry M. Morris credit the universal flood with most of the sedimentary deposits that appear to the evolutionist to have required millions of years to build up. He also insists that when "all the fountains of the great deep burst open"; Gen. 7:11, we have an adequate explanation for the great land displacements where the surfaces of the earth are turned "topsy turvey".
The fossil record that appears to require millions of years to account for the various levels of fossils in various depths of sediment are all accounted for in his opinion by the sudden death of the animals etc. They were buried in a brief time in the huge amounts of sediment caused by the flood. This action also accounts for the non-chronological order seen in many of the fossils as they are layered in the sediment.
The evolutionist highlights the order of some fossil layers where it appears that the earlier forms of life are buried deeper than the later forms. He must, however ignore many other collections of fossils which appear in either random sequence or reverse order.
This is not intended to do justice to the arguments that Morris puts forth. It is simply to say that his explanations of "created age" coupled with his treatment of the impact of the Universal Flood have the writer comfortable with the approach that the earth does not have the great age of millions or billions of years that is commonly reported. We really encourage you to read some of Morris' writings.
A couple of items: The ark was populated with 2 of each species of animal, not 2 of each variation within the species. The same language is seen in Gen. 7:14 as in the creation account, "after its kind". Additional numbers of the clean animals were included to support sacrifices.
God made an extensive covenant with Noah promising that He never again would destroy the earth with water. He set the rainbow as a sign of this covenant.
After the flood, Noah began farming and planted a vineyard. He became drunk with the wine that resulted. Since this is the first mention of wine or intoxication, it is believed that the new postflood environment caused the first fermentation to occur, catching Noah by surprise.
The sin of his son Ham, "viewing his father's nakedness and telling of it to his brothers" at that time is a puzzling account. It is further puzzling that the curse for the act fell upon Ham's son Canaan. Since the descendants of Canaan became grossly immoral we suspect that there was more to that incident than what has been revealed to us.
According to the The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, (I.S.B.E), the "dusky" complexioned, including the Jewish race comes from Shem, the "fair", Gentiles from Japheth and the "black", from Ham, the three sons of Noah.
It didn't take long following the universal flood for mankind to once again get off on the wrong foot with God. In His instructions to Noah following Noah's sacrifice, when they left the ark, He told them to "populate the earth abundantly and to multiple in it", Gen. 9:7.
However, in Gen. 11:4 we are told that men resisted scattering across the earth and determined to build a central city that included a tower:
"and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name; lest we be scattered over the face of the earth."
This response must have included overtones not fully revealed in the Scripture, for it greatly concerned God. He stated that since they all spoke the same language, they would be able to accomplish their goal and any other purpose they chose!
So, He brought this development under control by confusing their language. This accomplished His purpose and we are told that He scattered them abroad over the whole face of the earth. The construction of the tower was halted.
We can speculate what was behind the building of the tower. It may have been planned as a refuge from another flood. If so it was evidence of unbelief, since God had gone out of His way to promise that such would never again be necessary.
It could also simply represent the pride in mankind or idoltry building a huge tower for use in worshiping "heavenly" gods.,
In any event, confusing the languages was a simple but effective way for God to control the problem. Awkward communication certainly limits progress. In the past 75 or so years, we have witnessed substantial reduction in communication problems as persons from many different nationalities have studied together, learned each other's language etc. This has resulted in small progress toward better relationships.
But we have made giant steps forward in our own "Towers of Babel". Technology on all fronts is progressing at breakneck speed. Many of these developments simply encourage mankind that eventually he can get along quite well without God!
Genesis 11:26 introduces the call and life of Abraham, one of the most significant persons of the Bible. This takes place approximately 400 years after the universal flood.
The land of his people, Ur of the Chaldeans, was wealthy with impressive structures, temples etc. and grossly idolatrous. The meaning of his father's name, Terah is "idol maker". Josh.24:2 tells us that Abraham's family "served other gods".
It is an indication of the speed with which mankind deserted the Lord God following the flood, that so soon afterward, God's selection to start His chosen people had to come from such a background.
Ur was located near Bagdad, east of the Euphrates river, about 500 miles from Canaan, God's destination for Abraham.
The call of God to Abraham, Gen.12:1-3 is also the Abrahamic covenant. It promises he would be the father of a great nation in a land God would show him.
Gen. 12:1-3 "Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. "
Gen.15:18-21 sets boundaries on this land:
"...from the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates;"
(It is interesting that these boundaries have never been totally occupied by Israel, but yet to come. The current occupancy is only a fraction of this promise!)
God reaffirms and enlarges on this covenant with Abraham several times. Gen.17:1-14 establishes circumcision as the sign of the covenant. When God intervened in the sacrifice of Isaac in Gen.22:15-18 it is restated.
Highlights in Abraham's Life:
1. Diversion into Egypt. Gen.12:10-20.
2. Separation from his nephew Lot. 13:6-18.
3. Rescue of Lot from foreign kings. 14:1-24.
4. Birth of Ishmael by Hagar. 16:1-16.
5. He intercedes for Lot. Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. 18:16-19:38.
6. Birth of Isaac as promised. Hagar and Ishmael banished. 21:1-21.
7. He offers Isaac as a sacrifice. 22:1-19.
8. A wife for Isaac. 24:1-67.
9. The birthright passes to Isaac at Abraham's death. 25:5-10.
10. Ishmael lives on "in defiance of all his relatives", Gen.25:18b.
Abraham is acknowledged as a hero of faith in Hebrews 11:8-19. This account emphasizes his faithfulness in following God:
"...by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going",
His faith is seen at times of testing, especially when he offered up Isaac, believing God, that He would raise his son from the dead if necessary to fulfill His earlier promises to make of him a great nation:
"He considered that God is able to raise men even from the dead".
There are many lessons to be drawn from the life of Abraham. While he "nets out" demonstrating great faith, he did experience periods of doubt and failure when he operated in his own strength.
Twice he feared for his life to such an extent that he had his wife masquerade as his sister. In both cases God spared her from the kings that had taken her into their harems.
Since they were both old and the promised son had not arrived, Abraham wanted God to accept his steward, Eliezer as his heir. God refused and reassured him that he would have a son.
Following this, Sarah and Abraham concluded to help God by having a son by Sarah's maid, Hagar! This slip of faith has caused longterm consequences. The son, Ishmael, became the forerunner of the Arabs, the enemies of the Israelites to this day!
When Sarah finally conceived and gave birth to Isaac, fulfilling the promise of God, it became impossible for Hagar and Ishmael to live in the same household. Abraham was forced to cast Hagar and Ishmael out. Ishmael later married an Egyptian.
The animosity caused by Ishmael's dis- inheritance was further compounded when the grandson of Abraham, Jacob, tricked his twin brother Esau out of his birthright and blessing.
Esau married into Ishmael's family and fathered the people who are known as Arabs.
Four hundred years later, when Moses led the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt into Canaan, these tribes out of Esau were among their enemies. They continue to war against the Jews today!
The hatred between the Jews and the Arabs became more intense with the birth of the Islamic religion that Mohammed launched among the Arabs approximately 600 years following Christ. They trace their heritage to Abraham and capitalize on the unfairness that resulted from these two instances of lost birthrights.
There is a big lesson here for us. In spite of these failures, we recall that God told Abraham that Sarah and he would have a miraculous birth in their old age. This son would live to propagate His people, then after the miraculous birth, when tested, Abraham was obedient to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. These were two very improbable things that Abraham believed and acted upon.
"...believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness", Gen.15:6.
Later, Paul wrote of Abraham in Romans 4:18-22
"In hope against hope he believed, in order that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken, " So shall your descendants be. And without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore also it was reckoned to him as righteousness."
We too, are reckoned (or made) righteous by our belief in God and in His act of love, giving His only begotten son to die for us. Paul continues:
Rom. 4:23-25 "Now not for his sake only was it written, that it was reckoned to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be reckoned, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, He who was delivered up because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification"
This is for us, an improbable thing that many chose to not believe.
We too, will believe if we are wise.
It is very unwise to disbelieve God.
Hopefully, you will have worked your way through the sessions of this Bible Study at this point. If you have, it is appropriate for you to evaluate the study.
I introduced it with the claim that a grasp of the "book of wisdom", the Holy Bible, would automatically bring an improvement in the balance you will experience in your business and personal life. Here are a few questions that might help bring "balance" into focus:
1. Did our introductory explanation of why The Bible is truly God's inspired guide book for life, ring true for you?
2. If it did, have you concluded that there is wisdom in following God's "Guide Book" for success in this life and also for your eternity?
3. You may be in general agreement, but still unsure how to appropriate the wisdom of the Holy Scriptures. A first step would be to get the most important issue of life settled. I have a couple questions that help bring this issue into focus:
....... First, on a scale of zero to one hundred, if you were to die tonight, ......... how sure are you that you would go to heaven?
....... Second, if that were to happen, and God were to ask you, "Why ...........should I let you into my heaven". What would you say to Him?
Now, your answer to the first can be 100% IF you have made your peace with God by admitting that you can in no way be good enough to enter His heaven, but that you are willing to accept God's free gift of salvation.
My experience in asking this question gets many answers ranging from 50 to 90% sure.
A true believer in Jesus should confidently answer that he is 100% sure. Such a believer is not expressing arrogance, rather he is expressing faith and trust in the promises of God. Promises like;
"And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life." 1st John 5:11-13
I call this my written guarantee from God!
My experience in posing the second question usually gets rsponses that would tell God of the person's good works, that he is trying to be better etc.This is absolutely the wrong answer!
The only acceptable answer according to the Bible, will be something on this order: "I can enter into your heaven, only because I have accepted your son Jesus Christ as my Saviour. I believe that He has died in my place and as a result my sins are forgiven."
Jesus put it this way in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Me."
Another time in John 3:16, He said, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life".
One of the best explanations of this remarkable gift and how to appropriate it, can be found by clicking on this web sight: http://www.ccci.org/laws/index.html Clicking on your browser's "back" button will return you to this point.
When you settle this issue, you will truly have better balance in your life. It will then proceed to get better, as you apply God's wisdom to the Spiritual, Family, Business/ Career and Recreation areas of your life.
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