Genesis Principles Predate Moses

Several years ago I asked the Lord…How can we know which of His principles/laws apply to us today?

God impressed on me to look in His word prior to Moses to see which principles of God are evident that far back.  In the book of Genesis.  Before there was the nation of ancient Israel.  Before there was any Old Covenant (OC) or New Covenant (NC).  The name “Moses” doesn’t appear until Ex.2:10.

So I searched Genesis for (timeless) righteous principles of God…which we see carried-over into the OC in Exodus, and also apply to us Christians today and eventually to all mankind.

Predating Moses…God’s righteous standards for mankind and the Kingdom of God, and even glimpses of Christ’s gospel, are seen in the book of Genesis.  As we read between the lines of narrative, Genesis reflects examples of how to honor God and love our neighbor; how to live our lives, and how not to.  Lessons that apply to Christian living.

Reformed Church theologian Albertus Pieters’ Notes On Genesis “Whoever has learned the Genesis stories has learned all the chief things that can be known about God (apart from the incarnation of God in Christ)…of permanent institutions for the well-being of mankind; we have here the institution of the Sabbath, marriage, government, and worship.”  There’s much revealed between the lines of Genesis!

Genesis was written/compiled by Moses, inspired by the Holy Spirit (2Ti.3:16).  It tells of ancient gentiles.  Some of them applied God’s ways, while others violated principles of God and His Kingdom.

The Lord said of the gentile Abraham in Ge.26:5, “Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws”.  Also Wisdom of Sirach 44:20 KJV 1611 edition “Abraham kept the law of the Most High.”  Abraham was obedient to the Lord.  To be so consecrated in obedience, he surely had much faith/belief in God!  Jesus said to Jews who opposed Him in Jn.8:39, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham”.  Abraham the non-Jew applied God’s principles & laws, present in Genesis.  Long before Moses (400 years)!  Also ref the topic “Abraham Obeyed Which Commandments?”.

James Bruckner Implied Law in the Abraham Narrative, p.67 “Genesis is embedded with law.”

Later, God had Moses define, describe, elaborate on, and add to those godly moral principles/laws via codified injunctions.  Moses did so in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.

The Old Covenant for Israel/Jews contained God’s moral precepts & laws existing in Genesis, which Abraham obeyed.  But added for Israel were pilgrim feasts, tabernacle/temple rituals, sin & guilt offerings, etc.  (see “Added in the Old Covenant”.)  We read of no regularly recurring animal sacrifices prior to Moses/Israel.

However, in Genesis there’s no nation of Israel!  The first Jew (Judah) isn’t even born until Ge.29:35!

So the acts we read the gentiles in Genesis doing/not doing relate to principles of conduct for mankind in general (not solely for Jews)…predating by centuries the Old Covenant Law of Moses for Israel.

Doug Ward The Law of God in the Book of Genesis “This beginning portion of the Bible has quite a lot to say about legal matters. However, it often addresses these matters indirectly rather than in the form of explicit commands.”  There are laws of God present in Genesis between the lines.  cf. Ro.4:15, 5:12-13.

Here I’ll go through the book of Genesis, noting God’s principles revealed in it.  Again, Genesis reflects the Lord’s guidelines for man before there was a nation of Israel.  As we read Genesis, we’ll see actions, both good and bad, righteous and unrighteous…done by those ancient gentiles and non-Jews.

(As an exercise or for reference, you might divide a sheet of paper into two columns.  On the left side, list things/actions to AVOID.  On the right side, list things/actions that are scripturally right to DO.)

Ge.1:11-12 “Plants and trees bearing seed after their kind.”  From creation, kind is to produce kind in biogenesis (cf. v.21, 24).  Vegetation which may be eaten.  Hybrid crops weren’t authorized, nor are GMOs.  Genetically Modified Organisms pose yet unknown health risks; they may also affect allergies.

Ge.1:29 “I have given you every seed-bearing plant that is on the surface of the earth, and every tree which has fruit with seeds. It shall be food for you.”  Seed-bearing land crops are for food.  These do photosynthesis.  These aren’t funguses or algae/seaweed.  Mushrooms are a fungus e.g.; they live on rot.  Some mushrooms are carcinogenic.

Ge.1:27-28 “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion.”  God gives to man the mandate to beget children (if physically able), and maintain the environment of the earth.

Ge.2:2-3 “God ceased [or rested, shabáth Hebrew] on the 7^th day from all His work. God blessed the 7^th day and sanctified it.”  It’s the first thing God made holy!  The sabbath is created for man, Mk.2:27.  Sabbath day rest is the recurring weekly sign which identifies that God/Christ is the Creator.  see the series “Sabbath 7^th Day”.

Ge.2:17 “The tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat. For in the day you eat it you shall surely die.”  To disobey God will result in death (cf. 3:6, 24).  God is to be obeyed.  see “Life and Death – for Saints” and “Tree Symbolism in Scripture”.

Ge.2:24-25 “A man shall join to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. They were both naked, the man and his wife.”  Marriage and sex between male & female is ordained.

Ge.4:4 “Abel offered the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions.”  This righteous gentile Abel (He.11:4) didn’t eat the fat portions.  Fat (and organ meats) wasn’t authorized for human consumption (ref Le.3:3-5, 17).  Eating fat is unhealthy.  see “Unclean verses Clean Food”.

Ge.4:8 “Cain killed his brother Abel.”  Murder is a crime.  We all know that.  Here, long prior to Mt Sinai and the codified law given to Moses/Israel.  (also see “War & Killing and the Bible Christian”.)

Ge.4:14-15 “The Lord said, ‘Whoever kills Cain, will suffer vengeance sevenfold’. The Lord set a sign for Cain, lest any finding him should smite him.”  Personal vengeance isn’t allowed (legal authorities determine who executes God’s vengeance, e.g. Ge.9:6 & De.17:6-11.  see “Governmental Loyalty for Christians”.)

Ge.5:22 “Enoch walked with God.”  The faithful (non-Jew) Enoch’s life pleased God, He.11:5.

Ge.7:1-3 “Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and his mate; one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and his mate.”  The gentile Noah knew clean & unclean creatures differed.  God didn’t approve the unclean for sacrifice or as food; some are carcinogenic.  (Clean wild animals weren’t used for godly sacrifices…the six extra pairs of clean wild animals were for food!)  Ge.8:20-21 thanksgiving worship towards the Lord is done by Noah (through sacrifice).

Ge.9:3 “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you, as the green plants.”  However, as some green plants are poisonous, some moving creatures are unclean/harmful.  The only creatures for “food” are (clean) moving/live creatures, properly bled.  Not creatures which die of themselves (“strangled”, Ac.15:29 KJV), not carrion or road kill, which attract parasites.  see “Acts 15 – Four Prohibitions”.

Ge.9:4 “You shall not eat the flesh with the life, the blood.”  God forbad blood as “food” (cf. Le.3:17, Ac.15:29).  “The life of the flesh is in the blood.” (Le.17:11)  Blood transmits disease.  Drinking blood is toxic to our system.

Ge.9:5-6 “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed.”  A human justice system with governing law courts, even to include capital punishment, God authorized. (ref De.17:6-11, Ro.13:1-4.)

Ge.9:20-23 “Noah began farming and planted a vineyard. He became drunk.”  Farming and vineyards are fine.  But drunkenness/intoxication has bad consequences (cf. Pr.20:1).

Ge.9:24-26 “When Noah awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son had done to him.”  Dishonoring a parent or grandparent is wrong.

Ge.12:14-20 Pharoah.  Adultery is very wrong (cf. 20:1-18).  Adultery occurs when a married/betrothed woman has sexual relations with a man not her husband/fiancée.  see “Sexual Sins, Harlotry, Rape”.

Ge.13:13 “The men of Sodom were wicked, sinners against the Lord.”  Wicked sinners?!  Without law, there is no transgression/sin (Ro.4:15).  Evidently there was law and the transgression of it in Genesis!

Ge.14:18 “Melchisedek king of Salem brought out bread & wine; he was priest of the Most High God.”  Both king and priest.  This indicates there is no complete separation between state and church.  Here also is bread & wine, the forerunner of communion with Jesus.  (ref He.7:17 Jesus is priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.)  see “Melchisedek Order Priesthood” and “Bread and Wine in the Church”.

Ge.14:20 “Abram gave him [Melchisedek] a tenth of all.”  Tithing to God’s representative of church and state is done by the gentile Abram, the father of the faithful, Ro.4:16.  (cf. Ge.28:22 God hadn’t raised taxes in Jacob’s day; His rate is still just 10%.)  see “Tithe to Church and State”.

Ge.15:16 “The iniquity of the Amorites isn’t yet full.”  But if God didn’t have moral law in Genesis, they wouldn’t be guilty of iniquity.  Paul wrote, “Without law there’s no transgression”, Ro.5:12-13.

Ge.19:4-11 the men of Sodom said to Lot, “Where are the men [angels] who came to visit you tonight? Send them out so we can have sex with them’….Lot said to them, ‘Please don’t act so wickedly.”  Same-sex intercourse is wickedness (as is beastiality, sex with a different kind)!

Ge.20:7, 17-18 “Abraham prayed to God.”  Ge.25:21 so did Isaac.  Ge.24:63 Isaac meditated.  Prayer and meditation to God are good practices.

Ge.21:9-10, 14 Abraham sent away Hagár his wife (ref Ge.16:3) and their son Ishmaél.  Divorce may be done for just cause, as when continual disrespect/mockery or physical abuse is present. (cf. De.24:1)

Ge.25:8-10 “His sons buried him [Abraham].”  Isaac & Ishmael.  This reflects proper burial for the deceased.  Also seen in this passage is sons honoring their parents (ref Ex.20:12, Ep.6:2).

Ge.27:11-13, 19 Jacob lied to Isaac.  Lying is usually wrong; so is deception and notably false witness.  (cf. 27:34-36, 37:31-33, 39:14, 20, Ex.20:16, Col.3:9, Ac.5:1-11.)  see “Lying – Ananias & Sapphira”.

Ge.30:1-13 lists the four wives of Jacob (v.4), and their offspring.  Having plural wives simultaneously isn’t morally wrong, if they’re adequately provided for.  Jacob/Israel wasn’t an adulterer!  (see “Polygyny – Lawful in God’s Eyes?”.)

Ge.31:33 Jacob’s four wives had separate tents.  (However, having plural wives in most of today’s western world isn’t customary and isn’t recommended.)  Sexual orgies aren’t God’s way.

Ge.31:19 “Rachel stole the household idols that were her father’s.”  Stealing is wrong.  We know that.  Also, idolatry and having other gods is wrong (cf. Jsh.24:2)!

Ge.31:34-35 Labán wouldn’t search the saddlebags upon which Rachel sat during her period.  Again, blood transmits disease.  Contact with human uncleanness and sex during menstruation is to be avoided (ref Le.15:20, 20:18, Ac.21:25).  Menstrual sex can cause tubal pregnancy and cervical cancer.

Ge.31:32 “Anyone you find your gods with shall not live.”  Jacob was talking to Laban, Rachel’s father.  Speaking curses upon someone can have dire consequences…Rachel died young (Ge.35:16-19).

Ge.31:42 “The God of Abraham, the God of my father.”  The true God is noted here by Jacob.

Ge.34:1-2, 24-26, 30 Dinah.  Rape/seduction (not mutual consent or elopement) is wrong; violations may be a capital offense.  (see “Sexual Sins, Harlotry, Rape”.)  v.15-30 covenant-breaking is wrong.  (Here by Jacob’s sons; Shechemites did become physically circumcised.)

Ge.35:22 “Reuben lay with Bilháh his father’s concubine.”  She’s a secondary wife of Jacob, Ge.30:4.  Dishonoring your father is sin.  Sex with father’s wife is a wrong form of incest, Le.18:8 & 1Co.5:1.

{Sidelight: Yet lesser incest such as marrying your sister wasn’t disallowed.  Kindred endogamy was necessary for reproduction and environmental caretaking, as per Ge.1:28 & Ge.9:1.  However, it’s said that when Abrám married Sarah (his niece or half-sister), Ge.20:11-12, the gene pool was still deep and the risk of birth defects was less.  (Later, when the risk became greater, this too is prohibited, Le.18:9.)}

Ge.37:5-9 “Joseph had another dream.” (fulfilled in Ge.42:6.)  This shows that God gives valid dreams.

Ge.37:27-28 Joseph’s brothers sold him to traders.  Kidnapping is very wrong (cf. Ex.21:16).  Also, selling one into slavery against his will was evil (cf. Ge.50:20).

Ge.38:7-10 refusing to father a son for a deceased brother’s widow was a form of cruelty to women (the weaker sex).  A son would care for his mother in her old age.  Also seen here is wrong coveting.

Ge.39:7-12 adultery is a “great evil” (v.9).  Again, God’s moral laws existed in Genesis.  In this passage, a married woman tried to rape Joseph.  He knew adultery was sin (prior to the law of Moses).

Ge.45:4-15 Joseph and his brothers reconcile.  Forgiveness is seen; also respect and love of family.

Ge.48:5-6 from Jacob’s example, we see that inheritances for children/grandchildren are good.

Ge.50:21 “I will provide for you and your little ones.”  Joseph takes into account the welfare of others.

Ge.50:24-26 reflects honoring the memory of the deceased (Joseph, fulfilled in Jsh.24:32).

Even hints & prophecies of the Savior and the gospel predate Moses.  Ge.3:15 indicates the seed of the woman (not of the man) eventually would crush the serpent’s head…the future virgin birth of Christ the Lord is implied.  Also Ge.22:8, the Lord Himself to be the lamb/sacrifice.  That will be Jesus.

Also, 1Pe.3:20-21 relates baptism for Christian converts to the Genesis Flood (Ge.6–8).  By means of flood waters, Noah was saved from the evil so prevalent around him.  Peter ties this to the water of baptism saving believers, in the sense of figuratively cleansing their conscience.

Bruckner op. cit., p. 205 wrote, seen in Genesis is “…a full range of law implied and functioning from the beginning”.  Indicative of this are the three dozen godly principles I’ve noted in this topic survey.

These principles/laws are universal from Creation regarding gentiles; they predate Moses, the OC and the NC!  Since they are universal…Christians of all nations should ordinarily adhere to most today!

In Genesis we read of Godfearers who obeyed the Lord…non-Jewish men such as Abraham (Ge.22:12) and Joseph (Ge.42:18).  Job too was a Godfearer (Jb.1:8).  That was prior to the OC law for Israel, later codified in Exodus.  (also cf. Ac.10:1-2 Cornelius the gentile Godfearer.)

However, absent from Genesis (but part of the Levitical OC for Israel) were tabernacle procedures & ceremonies: e.g. sin/guilt offerings, pilgrim feasts, various washings.  Any such rituals aren’t seen or recorded by Moses in Genesis regarding righteous gentiles and non-Jews of old.

Yet God had moral laws from the beginning, in Genesis.  1Jn.3:8 “The devil sins from the beginning.”

This concludes our survey of God’s moral principles/laws seen in the book of Genesis.  The principles predate Moses’ later codification and they transcend the OC.

The topic “Ten Commandments in Genesis & Job” focuses specifically on the Decalogue/Testimony, as seen prior to Moses and the Old Covenant for Israel.

Wedding Pattern in Bible Holydays (1)

Marriage is ordained by God.  Ge.2:18 “The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make a suitable companion to help him.”  Adam & Eve were husband & wife.  A relationship between Christ & ancient Israel and Christ & the church is that of a figurative husband & wife(s).    

Christ the Lord, in type, had married His people Old Testament (OT) Israel.  Je.31:32 “I was a husband to them’, declares the Lord.”  In the New Testament (NT), Jesus referred to Himself as a Groom or bridegroom.  Mk.2:20 “Jesus said, ‘The days will come when the Groom will be taken away from them.”  Jn.3:29 Jesus’ cousin John the Baptizer called himself the “friend of the Groom/bridegroom [Jesus]”.  (I’ll capitalize the words Groom and Bride when they refer to Christ marrying His church.)

Christ, as spiritually joined to Christians, used marriage symbolism.  2Co.11:2 Paul the apostle said, he figuratively “betrothed you [the church] to one Husband, like a pure Bride chosen only for Christ”.  Jesus spiritually marries His church.  Paul wrote in Ep.5:31-32, “A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. This mystery is profound, in regards to Christ and the church.”

Ancient Israel’s wedding model for betrothal & marriage can be seen from the Lord’s OT holydays and NT writings.  This topic discusses Israel’s wedding customs, and types them to Christ and the church.

Archaeologists have found evidence of Jewish wedding customs.  My Jewish Learning: Ancient Jewish Marriage “At the beginning of the 20^th century, an actual Jewish marriage record during the period from the return of the Babylonian exile was discovered – the oldest marriage contract in Jewish history.”  The wedding pattern of Bible times adds symbolic meaning to scripture and God’s holydays.

There were seven annual God-ordained holy occasions for Israel.  Here’s a list of the Lord’s annual days and the time of year in which they occurred, from Leviticus 23:

Their sacred year began near the spring equinox of March 20.  Le.23:5 Passover was 14 days later, in early April.  v.6 Passover began the 7 Days of Unleavened Bread.  v.15-16, 21 Pentecost/Shavúot occurred 50 days later, near June 1.  v.24 the Day of Trumpets/Shouting, Rosh Hashánah (“Beginning of the [civil] Year”, Ezk.40:1a), occurs near the autumnal equinox of September 21.  v.26-28 the Day of Atonement or Yom Kíppur fast is ten days later, around October 1.  v.33-36a the 7-day Feast of Tabernacles (FOT)/Sukkót/Booths began in October, five days after Yom Kippur.  v.36b the Last Great Day 8, called Shémini Atzerét, culminated the FOT.  (also see the topics “Days Israel Observed – God-Ordained” and “Feasts of the Lord and the Jews”.)

We’ll tie the annual sequence of holydays to ancient Israel’s traditional wedding model.  In the model, the Day of Trumpets/Shouting, Yom Kippur, and the FOT are addressed in Part 2 of this topic. 

Jesus, the Son of God the Father, portrayed Himself as a Groom.  Again, the NT church is the Bride (2Co.11:2).  Ro.7:2-4 Paul showed that the church is to be “joined” or Married to the ascended Christ.            

In the ancient Near East, the father of the groom would choose or obtain a bride for his son.  The father of the groom would go to the house of the father of the bride to begin the arrangements.  Ge.24:4 father Abraham sent his servant to the old country to bring back a wife for Abraham’s son Isaac.

Ge.34:4-6 the young man Shechém wanted Jacob’s daughter Dinah.  Shechem asked his father Hamór to make arrangements for their marriage.  Hamor then went to Jacob to discuss the matter.  

Jdg.14:1-7 Samson saw a young Philistine woman in Timnáth and wanted her.  He asked his father and mother to get her as a wife for him.  The three of them went to Timnath to make the arrangements.

The father of the groom (or the groom himself) and the father of the bride were often the matchmakers.  A bride didn’t do the initial choosing, but she’d give consent to the proposed match (cf. Ge.24:58).  A mutual commitment or shíddukin between the bride & groom then led to a formal betrothal or érusin.

When the groom’s father (or the groom) went to the house of the chosen bride’s father, they arranged a binding marriage contract or ketúbah. (cf. Tobit 7:14.)  It set the conditions of the marriage covenant. 

Customarily two witnesses would sign the ketubah contract (cf. Re.11:3).  Jn.1:6-7, 32 John the Baptizer (Elijah, Mt.11:13-14) was a witness for Jesus.  Jn.1:15 “John bore witness of Him.”  Jn.3:26, 29 John, as witness for Jesus, called himself the “friend of the Groom”.  A modern counterpart may be the ‘best man’.  (For Christ’s marriage to OT Israel, Moses was traditionally the ‘friend/witness of the Bride’.  Mt.17:3 the two witnesses, Moses and Elijah, were seen in the Transfiguration.)

The prospective bride was a productive member of her father’s household.  Her marriage will result in a loss of labor/income for the household.  So a bride price or móhar was determined, and then paid to her father/family.  It could be items of gold or silver money, or service.  Ge.24:53 precious things were given to Rebekah’s family to ‘purchase’ her for Isaac.  Ge.29:20 Jacob served Rachel’s father Laban for 7 years, as her bride price.  A free wife brought a dowry into the marriage, a bond wife didn’t.  Ge.29:24, 29 some Bible interpreters view the maids Zilpah & Bilháh as the dowry of Leah & Rachel.

Shared cups of wine (or bírkat érusin) confirmed that her bride price was accepted by the groom, and sealed the betrothal, the erusin.  Commonly the betrothed groom was age 16-20, the bride age 13-16.

In this imagery, Father God is both the Father of the Groom (Jesus) and the Father of the Bride (the church).  Father God is the Father of all, of everyone, including Jesus. 

Jesus the man was Jewish, from the tribe of Judah (He.7:14).  This Groom came to earth, the home of the Bride(s).  Jesus’ heavenly Father chooses us as a Bride for His Son.  Ep.1:3-4 “The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…chose us.”  The elect (Brides) then consent to the future Marriage.  1Jn.4:19 “We love Him because He first loved us.”  Father God, as Father of the Bride, gives His elect to Jesus.

The Bride was purchased.  Ep.1:14 KJV the Bride is Jesus’ “purchased possession”.  Paul wrote of the church in 1Co.6:20, “You have been bought with a price”.  This Bride price was exceedingly costly!    

This Bride price was the Groom’s lifeblood!  1Pe.1:18-19 the price wasn’t “perishable things like silver or gold, but the precious blood of Christ”.  At Jesus’ final Passover meal, His Last Supper, Jesus took a cup of wine and said to His disciples in Lk.22:20, “This is the new covenant in My blood”.

The New Covenant (marriage) agreement was made at Passover in Jerusalem.  This was the 1^st holy occasion of the sacred year.  It occurred on 14/15 Abíb, the 1^st month.  Traditionally, the groom drank from a cup of wine.  If the chosen bride accepted His offer, she then drank from the cup.  Their action sealed the marriage covenant.  Although the Lord hadn’t commanded wine at Passover, wine was added as a traditional custom in the Roman Empire.  The Talmud Pesachim tract about Passover rituals, “They should not give [a man] less than four cups of wine”.  Jesus and His chosen disciples drank the cup.    

A betrothal was thus sealed.  Betrothal was viewed as marriage, unconsummated.  It could be annulled only if he gave her a legal certificate of divorce (De.24:1), traditionally called a “get”.  Mt.1:18-20 Joseph’s betrothed Mary became pregnant by the Holy Spirit; initially he wanted to divorce her.

After the betrothal ceremony and the mohar or bride price paid, the groom would return to his father’s house for an indefinite time (even up to two years).  At or near his father’s house, the groom would prepare an addition or home for his bride.  Some Israelites lived in cluster homes with a courtyard.  Also the groom would build there the wedding chamber, the húppah (Strongs h2646, Hebrew).  

Jn.14:1-3 was the promise commonly spoken by Jewish grooms after betrothal, “I go to prepare a place for you”!  Jesus the (resurrected) Groom then went to His Father’s house.  Jn.20:17 “I ascend to My Father and your Father.”  God is Father of the Groom and Bride both.  Jn.14:2-3 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places. I will come back and take you to be with Me.”  Jesus promised to come back for His Bride and take her to the place He’s prepared for her in the heavenlies, where His Father dwells.

The betrothed bride, now veiled, begins to purify herself.  Est.2:12 Esther’s beautification process to prepare her for the king consisted of one year of oils & fragrant spices.  Is.1:18 “Says the Lord, ‘Though your sins were as scarlet, they will be white as snow.”  SSol.4:7 “You are altogether beautiful my love, and there is no blemish in you.”  The Bride/church is portrayed as purified, clothed in pure white linen.  Re.19:7-8 the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints, those invited to the marriage.

This cleansing process of the bride is loosely typed by the Days/Feast of Unleavened Bread (which began at Passover).  Paul wrote in 1Co.5:7-8, “Cleanse out the old leaven, even as you are unleavened. For Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us. Let us therefore keep the feast, not with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with unleavened sincerity and truth.”  Sin can spread in a person’s life.  Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary: Leaven “Here, leaven symbolizes sin that defiles the believer.”  The Bride is to put out sin and pride which puffs us up, as leaven.

While betrothed, the groom and bride lived separately.  After the groom returned to his father’s house to prepare the place for his bride, he would customarily send gifts to her.  Jesus told His disciples in Jn.16:7, “It is to your advantage that I go away”.  After Jesus paid the Bride price (His lifeblood!), He ascended to His Father in heaven.  Ep.4:8 “When He ascended on high…He gave gifts to humanity.” 

The bride’s mother would teach her the wifely responsibilities.  Mother and daughter usually would become closer during this time while the groom is absent. 

Jesus, in heaven, now sends the Holy Spirit (HS) or Comforter to His betrothed Bride.  Ac.2:1, 4 at the Pentecost following Jesus’ ascension, the gift of the HS was sent to the Bride.  Ac.2:38-39 at Pentecost Peter proclaimed, “Repent and be baptized, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”.  Paul wrote of spiritual gifts to the church.  1Co.12:4 “There are various kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.”  1Co.12:7-11 Paul then lists several gifts of the HS which are distributed to the church/Bride(s).  Like a good mother, the indwelling HS teaches & leads Christians while our betrothed Lord is away in heaven.

This gift-giving was typified by Pentecost, which occurred near June 1^st, 50 days or so after Passover.

However, the groom and bride didn’t know the date of the actual wedding or nisúin.  It was for the father of the groom to decide when his son had the huppah wedding chamber & house sufficiently prepared for the bride.  Only the father knows the proper time for the son/groom to return to get his bride!  Jesus said of His return in Mk.13:26, 32 “No one knows the day or hour, but My Father only”.

The betrothed bride would wait in faith that her groom will return and take her to the place he’d prepared.  He.11:1 “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.”  Her longing and anticipation would grow.  Though he was absent, she trusted that he would come for her!  Likewise, we in the church are to keep the faith (Col.1:2-4); we continue to trust Jesus…as we wait.

The topic is continued and concluded in “Wedding Pattern in Bible Holydays (2)”.  Part 2 links ancient Israel’s wedding model to the latter four God-ordained holy occasions of the sacred year.

Rebirth to Physical Life (1)

This topic is follow-up to the two-part topic “Universal Christian Salvation”.  As background, I suggest you read/review the Bible verses referenced in “Universal Christian Salvation” before proceeding here.

In “Universal Christian Salvation”, we examined pertinent passages in the New Testament (NT) and the Old Testament Septúagint/LXX which contain the Greek term for “all”…“pas” (Strongs g3956).  This term “pas” occurs 1,240 times in the NT.  In several of those verses, all/pas pertained to all of mankind.

Universalism or Universal Christian Salvation/Reconciliation is the belief that all or most humans will ultimately be reconciled to God, saved through Jesus.  (It isn’t pluralism; since not all mans’ religions are from God.)  Two disparate beliefs of Christians are…Eternal Conscious Torment in hell-fire, held by Calvinists & Arminianists…and Annihilationism extinction.  see “Universal Christian Salvation (1)”.

A person may cite isolated Bible verses which seem to support any or all of the above three beliefs!

Yet God is love (1Jn.4:16).  Universal Christian Salvation/Reconciliation does comprehensively reflect God’s love.  God is also fair, impartial.  Ro.2:11 “There is no partiality with God.”  He’s no respecter of persons (Ac.10:34).  And God is just.  Ro.9:14 “There is no injustice with God.”  Is.61:8 the Lord loves justice.  1Jn.1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.”

But if all humans end up ‘saved’, how does such Universal Salvation also reflect God’s character as just & consistent, with the requirements for His forgiveness and mans’ salvation the same for every person?

Over the millennia, most of humanity died without believing in the name of Jesus, the only name by which we’re saved (Ac.4:12).  Many or most never even heard His name!  e.g. the multitudes of gentiles who lived in BC times, before Jesus’ incarnation.  All men are sinners (Ro.3:23).  Some die cursing God.

Yet Paul wrote in Php.2:10-11, “At the name of Jesus everyone [pas g3956] in heaven, on earth, and in the world below will bow the knee. And every [g3956] tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  That’s universality…even including those “under the earth” (KJV)!  also cf. 1Pe.3:19.  Geneva Bible Php.2:10 “All creatures will at length be subject to Christ.”  Meyer NT Commentary Php.2:10 “The bowing of the knee represents adoration.”  Cambridge Bible Php.2:10 “Created existence, in its heights and depths…being said to worship.”  Ellicott Commentary Php.2:11 “The acknowledgement of universal Lordship and majesty.”

However, many didn’t believe and repent, two requirements for salvation (Mk.16:16; Jn.3:18, 36; Lk.13:3; Ac.2:38, 16:31).  If they’re saved without belief and repenting from sin, it would seem that God has a double standard!  Yet God is just and impartial.  Mankind reaps what he sows (Ga.6:7).  How may this be reconciled?  Jesus and Paul said there were other “ages to come” (e.g. Mt.12:32, Ep.2:7).

Ge.18:20 the sin in the ancient cities of Sodom & Gomorrah was “exceedingly grave”.  Consequently, the Lord destroyed their inhabitants with fire from heaven (Ge.19:24-25, Jude 1:7)!  Therefore, we may think it would be intolerable for them in the judgment.  Condemnation.  But that’s not what Jesus said (speaking to the unrepentant who opposed Him).  Mt.11:24 “It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.”  What?!  also Mt.10:15.  Having destroyed those wicked cities with fire, for their judgment to be “more tolerable”…implied is a measure of future forgiveness.

The Lord asserted in Ezk.16:53-55, “I will restore the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria [Israel’s 10 tribes] and her daughters….Sodom with her daughters will return to their former state.”  The Jordan River plain.  Keil and Delitzsch Ezk.16:53 “What the apostle teaches [1Pe.3:19, 4:6]…is equally applicable to the Sodomites…and indeed generally to all the heathen nations who either lived before Christ or departed from this earthly life without having heard the gospel preached.”  So it’s not hopeless for those ancient Sodomites!  They would eventually be restored.  Such tolerance could also include the children of those utterly corrupt heathen nations/Canaanites who Christ commanded Israel to exterminate in De.20:16 & Jsh.6:20-21?  Those ancients may still obtain salvation!

But those individuals all died.  How can they return to their former lands and hear the saving gospel?  Furthermore, reanimation doesn’t apply only to those gentiles; it applies to the entire house of Israel too!     

The dry bones passage of Ezk.37:1-14 reflects the whole house of Israel rebirthed to physical life!  (It’s too long to quote here in full.)  Their corpses (slain, v.9) had decomposed.  v.4-5 NET “Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord, I Am about to infuse breath into you and you will live.”  Barnes Notes Ezk.37:6 “In Ezk.37:5, not ‘I will cause’, but I cause or am causing.”  It was about to start happening.  v.6 “I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you…and you will know that I Am the Lord.”  (cf. Job said in Jb.10:11, “Did you not…cloth me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones and sinews?”)  These are literal breathing physical bodies with human spirits!  Cambridge Bible Ezk.37:6 “Their becoming actual men of flesh & blood.”  At death their human spirit had returned to God who gave it (Ec.12:7).  God sends those same spirits into new flesh bodies.

Ezk.37:11-13 “These bones are the whole house of Israel. I will open your graves and bring you back to the land of Israel.”  This pertains to all Israel.  They’ll all return to the land of Israel.  Similarly, the Lord said ancient Sodom’s inhabitants would return to their land area.  Ezk.37 is a fleshly rebirth of all Israelites.  v.14 “I will put My Spirit in you.”  God’s Holy Spirit (HS) too is given to them.  God will call them to Himself, they’ll be taught the gospel (Jn.6:44-45) and receive the HS to walk in His ways.

Paul said in Ro.11:26, “All Israel shall be saved”.  (also cf. Is.45:17, Zec.8:13.)  Not just a remnant!  Not just the 100^th generation, but excluding most of the previous 99 generations (with those who went into Assyrian & Babylonian captivities) who burn forever in hell-fire!  No.  God puts His Spirit in the historical house of Israel!  All will have the opportunity to repent & believe, and be saved through King Jesus (Ezk.37:24).  God loves all who live, both BC and AD.  His will is none perish forever; that all come to repentance, 2Pe.3:9.

Hosea prophesied to the northern 10 tribes of Israel around 750 BC.  Ho.13:12-14 “The iniquity of Ephráim [the northern kingdom] is on record…I will deliver them out of the power of Hades, and will redeem them from death. O Hades, where is thy sting?”  (Paul quotes this LXX verse in 1Co.15:55.)  But when?  First…Ho.13:15-16 in 722 BC Shalmanéser V will attack from the East, since the guilty northern Israel (capital at Samaria) has rebelled against God.  Israel will be deported by Assyria into captivity.  Those Israelites will die in the attack and in captivity.  Then later…Ho.14:4-5 “I will heal their apostasy, I will love them freely, for My anger is turned away from them. I will be like the dew to Israel.”  v.8 “O Ephraim…it is I who answer and look after you.”  The Lord will care for them.

But those had all died!  Yet the Lord will bring back those apostate Israelites from Hades (the realm of the dead); the sting of death is past.  MacLaren Expositions Ho.14:5 “That promise in its depth and fullness is applicable only to Christian Israel.”  That deported generation of northern Israel will have opportunity for salvation.  Again, “All Israel shall be saved”.  Sanh 10:1 “All Israelites will have a share in the world to come.”  Including the hardened, Ro.11:15, 25.  But those individuals will have to live a right life…believe, and repent (of apostasy).  God’s standards are consistent; He is impartial (Ep.6:9).

Later the Jews of Jerusalem and the southern kingdom of Judah were killed or sent by God into captivity to Babylon (between 606-586 BC).  Lam.2:21-22 they were slaughtered!  La.1:5 God’s wrath was due to the multitude of their transgressions.  La.3:42-43 the Lord didn’t pardon them then.  La.4:6 “The iniquity of Thy people is greater than the sin of Sodom.”  Adult survivors died in captivity.

Yet Je.32:36-40, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel concerning this city [Jerusalem], ‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, famine, and pestilence. Behold I will gather them out of all the lands to which I have driven them in My wrath, and I will bring them back to this place and make them dwell in peace and safety…And I will make an everlasting covenant with them.” (cf. Ezk.37:13-14, 24).

But they’d died (elsewhere)!  JFB Commentary Je.32:37 “The ‘all’ countries implies a future restoration more universal than that from Babylon.”  Not just after the 70 years of Je.29:10.  That generation was killed in the siege, and over the decades the adult survivors from 597 BC had died in captivity.  Barnes Notes Je.32:39 “Under the new covenant they will walk with one consent in the one narrow path of right-doing.”  Ellicott Commentary Je.32:40 “The ‘new covenant”…which shall abide forever.”  Gill Exposition Je.32:40 “An everlasting covenant…which is known and made manifest at conversion.”  Cambridge Bible Je.32:40 “It is the ‘new covenant’ of Jer.31:31, etc., which is meant.”  Jesus said in Lk.22:20, “This is the new covenant in My blood”.  Yet those Jews had perished 600 years before the inauguration of the New Covenant in the 1^st century AD at Jesus’ Last Supper!

The southern kingdom of Judah, long since dead, would be restored to their land too.  Paul wrote in Ro.11:15, “What will their [the Jews] acceptance be but life from the dead”.  v.23 God is able to graft them in again.  Ro.14:9 Christ is Lord of both the dead and the living. (cf. Ezk.37:12.)  It’s not all over for those Jews who perished in the first half of the 6^th century BC!  They’re part of “all Israel”.

Alfred Edersheim The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, p.116 “In view of Isa.53 and other passages…the Messiah is represented as willingly taking upon Himself all these sufferings, on condition that all Israel – the living, the dead, and those yet unborn – should be saved.”

1Sm.2:6 “The Lord kills, and makes alive; He brings down to Sheól and raises up.”  also see De.32:39.  God, the author of life, has the right to end a life.  He may kill the wicked.  The Lord sent Israel/Judah to die in captivity.  Men reap what they sow (2Co.9:6).  But the order in the above two verses isn’t ‘He makes alive and then kills’, later…it’s vice versa.  After God kills, He then makes them alive again.

God allowed the patriarch Job to suddenly lose his wealth, children, and health in his trials.  Job was suffering, thinking God was angry over his (unknown) sin.  Jb.14:13 Job lamented, “If only you would hide me in Sheol until Your anger passes”.  He wanted to go to the realm of the dead (temporarily).  Though Job didn’t understand why this evil had come upon him, He didn’t blame God.  Instead, Job said in Jb.19:26 KJV, “Though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh I shall see God”.  Job didn’t doubt God existed.  Cambridge Bible Jb.19:26 “Before death he shall not see Him.”  Then when?

Jb.1:21 Tanakh KJV LXX, “Naked came I forth from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there.”  What?!  Job said he would later be reborn from a mother’s womb; his same spirit indwelling a human newborn!  After death, the Lord would make him alive again (1Sm.2:6).  cf. Is.26:19 “Your dead will live; their corpses will rise. You who lie in the dust. The earth will give birth to the departed spirits.”  Ellicott Commentary Is.26:19 “Like the vision of dry bones in Ezek.37:1-14.”  Physical rebirth.

Job said in Jb.29:18 Tanakh, “I shall die with my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the phoenix.”  Barnes Notes Jb.29:18 “Herder observes that the phoenix is obviously intended here…The rabbis generally understand here the Phoenix; a fabulous bird, much celebrated in ancient times…Jannai adds that ‘This bird lives 1,000 years, and in the end of the thousand years, a fire goes forth from its nest, and burns it up. But there remains an egg, from which again the members grow, and it rises to life.”

Job thought he too would experience another physical life, as the ancient phoenix bird.  Clément was a fellow-worker with Paul (Php.4:3).  1Clem.12:2-6 describes a 500-year life cycle of the very rare phoenix.  v.6 “The Lord…even by a bird shows us the greatness of His power to fulfil His promise.”  (A phoenix was exhibited in Rome during the reign of Emperor Claudius, 41–54 AD).  Tacitus Annals 6:28 (117 AD) “There is no question that the bird is occasionally seen in Egypt.”  The phoenix symbolized rebirth.  We understand that Job’s physical life did end well (Jb.42:10).  But that’s not the case for every human.

Re.20:5 “The rest of the dead lived not again until the 1,000 years were completed.”  Interestingly, an ancient Greek & Roman belief was…the spirits of the dead dwelt in Hades for 1,000 years, and then were resurrected or reincarnated to earthly life.  [Note – ref for Hades: Lk.16:23; 1Co.15:55; Re.1:18, 20:13-14.  also see the topic “Thousand (Years)’ in the Bible – (2)”.]

Re.20:8 at that time, after the 1,000 years, there are “nations in the four corners of the earth”.  Physical nations!  cf. Ec.6:6 “Though a man live 1,000 years twice told….”  May this include the men of Sodom and ancient Israelites/Jews reborn to another physical life (Ezk.16:55; Mt.11:24, 10:15)?

The Jewish apocryphal book Wisdom of Sírach, called Ecclesiásticus, was written ca 180 BC.  Its writer Yeshúa ben Síra alluded to a rebirth to physical life, for the righteous.  WisSir.46:11-12 “Whoever did not turn away from the Lord – May their memory be blessed, may their bones revive from their place, and may the name of those honored live again in their sons.”  This brings to mind the “dry bones” of Ezk.37.  Also WisSir.49:10 “May He indeed revive the bones of the twelve prophets from their place.”

The Jewish book of 2Maccabees was written ca 125 BC.  Its writer too believed in rebirth to physical life.  2Mac.12:44-46 KJV 1611 edition “If he had not hoped that the slain should have risen again, it had been superfluous and vain to pray for the dead. Whereupon he made reconciliation for the dead, that they might be delivered from sin.”  Wikipedia: Resurrection “The concept of resurrection of the physical body is found in 2 Maccabees, according to which it will happen through re-creation of the flesh.”  (also ref 2Mac.7:22-23, 28-29; Ezk.37.)  It was their custom to pray for the deceased.

Paul wrote in 1Co.15:29 Good News trans, “What about those people who are baptized for the dead? What do they hope to accomplish? If it is true, as some claim, that the dead are not raised to life, why are those people being baptized for the dead?”  In the 1^st century, it seems it was a custom to not only pray for the dead but to also be baptized by proxy for the dead.  Several interpretations have been offered for 1Co.15:29.  Expositor’s Greek Testament 1Co.15:29 “How futile Christian devotion must be, such as is ‘in those baptized for the dead’, if death ends all.”  Pulpit Commentary “Why do some of you get baptized on behalf of your dead friends?”  Cambridge Bible “The natural and obvious explanation is that the apostle [Paul] was here referring to a practice, prevalent in his day, of persons permitting themselves to be baptized on behalf of their dead relatives and friends.”  Perhaps prayers and vicarious baptism was efficacious for their comrades and loved ones who would later have a physical rebirth.

Where else in scripture do we read about belief in physical rebirth (besides Jb.1:21)?  As well, a rebirth could be great opportunity for our ancestors, children, family members, friends & loved ones who died unconverted/unsaved!  Their ultimate fate wouldn’t be eternal conscious torment in hell-fire!

{Sidelight: For our non-religious relatives/ancestors who’d lived a peaceful quiet life to suffer hell-fire forever equally with genocidal tyrants…such injustice wouldn’t reflect just retribution!  God is just.  The punishment fits the crime; the lex talionis principle of equality (e.g. Le.24:17-22).}

This topic is concluded in “Rebirth to Physical Life (2)”.  (The future for converted/saved Christians is addressed in the topic “Life and Death – for Saints”.)

Two Covenants – Heart of the Matter

The heart is used figuratively in the Bible as man’s moral, emotional and sometimes intellectual center.  Jesus said emphatically in Mt.22:37, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind”.  Jesus was quoting De.6:5 of the Old Covenant (OC).  In this topic, we’ll look at the Old Covenant and the New Covenant (NC), in relation to the heart.

Our Bible forms an integrated whole, a standard for the church.  2Ti.3:16 all scripture is given by the inspiration of God.  Yet Christians and others overlook some of God’s (enduring) principles, because they were cited in the OC.  Many speak of the OC with disdain, not considering that moral principles therein were evident in Genesis for gentiles…and that was before there ever was a nation of Israel or an OC!  see the topics, “Added in the Old Covenant” and “Genesis Principles Predate Moses”.

Most of ancient Israel didn’t like the laws of God.  Neither do some NC Christians.  In that regard, it seems these Christians somewhat resemble the mindset of OC Israelites/Jews!  They dislike, or ignore, or may even be hostile towards some of God’s written laws (purposed for the good of society)!

There is only One true Lawgiver.  Ja.4:12 “There is one Lawgiver who is able to save and to destroy.”  God the Lawgiver had His morality and justice recorded for humanity and the Kingdom of God!

But from the beginning, man opted to establish his own laws and ways, thinking that man of himself innately knows right from wrong.  But a just determination of good & evil is a prerogative solely of God the Lawgiver, not man.  If man tries to ascertain what’s good vs evil on his own, he does so from the wrong tree of the knowledge of good & evil.  ref Ge.3:3-6.  (see “Tree Symbolism in Scripture”.)

God’s theocracy of ancient Israel was given His just laws.  Moses asked the rhetorical question in De.4:7. “What great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God?”  None.  No other nation on the face of the earth!  Old Testament (OT) Israel was given God’s very own principles of morality and His commandments.  Le.22:31 “You shall keep My commandments and do them; I Am the Lord.”  God isn’t unfair.  He didn’t require the ancient nation He loved to do that which wasn’t doable!  God’s commandments are doable!  But their heart wasn’t in it.

Who specifically gave God’s divine laws to Moses/Israel?  Jesus said that no human in OT times had heard Father God’s voice or seen His form.  ref Jn.1:1, 14, 18, 5:37, 6:46.  John indicated it was Jesus the Word of God who the Jewish prophet Isaiah had seen in vision on the Throne! (cf. Is.6:1-ff with Jn.12:41-44.)  De.32:3-4 “Ascribe greatness to our God! The Rock! His work is perfect.”  The Rock of Israel, who went with them in the wilderness…“That Rock was Christ”, according to Paul (1Co.10:4)!  It was Christ who’d personally visited Abraham (Gen.18).  It was Christ who spoke to Moses, gave Israel the Decalogue (Ex.20), and then established the OC (ref Ex.24:1-8).  Moses and the elders of Israel saw the preincarnate Christ (Ex.24:9-12)!  also ref the topic “Jesus Was The Old Testament God”.

Orthodox Study Bible, p.652, quotes church historian Eusebius writing about OT saints. “It is obvious that they knew God’s Christ Himself, since He appeared to Abraham, instructed Isaac, spoke to Jacob, conversed freely with Moses and the Prophets who came later.”  Christ/the Word was the God who spoke with mankind in the OT!  And He.13:8…“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

During their OT history, Israel rebelled against Christ the Lord and His laws, and later corrupted God’s precepts with their own man-made religious traditions.  Je.17:9 “The heart of man is deceitful above all, and corrupt.”  The human heart is deceitful.  Most of ancient Israel didn’t have the Holy Spirit (HS).  So under the OC, the HS wasn’t impressing God’s principles on their hearts.  The last verse of the book of Judges sums it up.  Jg.21:25 “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”  Apart from God’s laws, man does what seems right in their own conscience or circumstances…an ancient form of humanism.

(Some Christians seem to do this too, yet may attribute their actions to the HS leading them…as if Christ or the HS isn’t consistent, and contradicts God’s written word or moral principles from the OT!)

As a result, God sent disobedient Israel and Judah into captivity…for bloodshed, idolatry, incest, usury, sabbath-breaking, oppressing the weak, etc. (ref Ezk.22:1-16).  The law of God wasn’t in their heart.

Some from the southern kingdom of Judah later returned to the Holy Land.  These Jews wrote selected OT verses in small boxes or phylácteries.  They literally strapped them to the arm & forehead.  De.6:4-9 “Hear O Israel! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind. These words shall be on your heart. And you shall bind them on your hand.”  But their literal practice became a pretense; they did it mostly to impress others.  Jesus said in Mt.23:2-5, “The scribes and Pharisees…do all their deeds to be noticed by men, for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.”  (De.6:8 a literal physical binding of scriptures in phylactery or téfillin boxes wasn’t the meaning of the verses anyway.  For example, Pr.3:3 & 7:2-3, “binding” God’s commandments on necks, fingers and hearts…was metaphorical only, not to be taken literally.  They weren’t to tie them onto the fingers!)

Jesus called them hypocrites (or stage actors) in Mk.7:6. “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.”  Most Jews who returned from captivity didn’t “write” upon their hearts the principles of God, which Christ and the HS had given Moses.  Jesus accused Jews who opposed Him in Jn.7:19. “None of you carries out the Law.”  They disliked Christ’s OT laws.  Those Jews considered God’s written commandments a burden.  But 1Jn.5:3 “This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.”  According to John, real love involves keeping God’s commandments…and they’re not a burden!  (see “Love – Godly Love”.)

However, there was a minority of OC Israelites who honored and even loved God’s written principles, and desired to obey them.  King David was such a man.  Ac.13:22 (quoting 1Sm.13:14) David is called “a man after God’s own heart”!  1Ki.11:34 “David observed My commandments and My statutes.”  Only in the matter of Bathsheba/Uriah did David turn aside from what God commanded him.  1Ki.15:5 “David did what was right in the sight of the Lord.”  David made mistakes, a few very serious, but his overall intent was to obey the Lord.  [Note: Mic.5:2 is a prophecy of Bethlehem, David’s birthplace (1Sm.20:6, 17:58) and Jesus’ birthplace.  Lk.2:4 the family ancestry was there.  Mt.9:27 Jesus is the son of David!]

David’s name appears over 1,100 times in the Bible.  Interestingly, both the first and the final name mentioned in the New Testament (NT), except for “Jesus”…is “David” (in Mt.1:1 and Re.22:16)!

In some respects, David was a forerunner of real NC Christians!  1Sm.16:13 the HS was mightily on David from that day when Samuel anointed him!  Jesus said in Mk.12:35-36, “David himself said in the Holy Spirit….”  The following two verses, written by David, reflect how he viewed Christ’s principles and laws: Ps.19:7-8 “The law of the Lord is perfect”.  Ps.40:8 “Thy law [toráh Strongs h8451, Hebrew] is within my heart.”  The HS figuratively wrote God’s laws on David’s heart.

Therefore we might call David a prototype of He.8:8-11 (prophesied in Je.31:33-34). “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel’, says the Lord. ‘I will put My laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. All shall know Me.”  In the NC, God writes His laws upon human hearts.

God made the NC with Israel and Judah…other Christians are grafted-in, according to Paul.  ref Ro.11:13, 17, 23-27 all of ‘spiritual’ Israel will be saved, via the NC (not via Judaism).  As God’s laws are being written on our hearts in the inner man, we shouldn’t habitually sin.  We should be able to say with David, “Thy law is in my heart” (Ps.40:8).

Similar to Je.31:33 (Je.38:33 LXX), is Ezk.36:26-27. “I will give you a new heart…I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and observe My ordinances.”  Real Spirit-filled Christians allow God to write His laws and principles on their hearts & minds!  The apostle Paul said in Ro.3:31 e.g., “Do we nullify the Law through faith? God forbid! We establish the Law”.

David wrote of the righteous man in Ps.37:31. “The law of God is in his heart; his steps do not slide.”  David, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Paul essentially are saying the same thing in the verses quoted.  Paul wrote in Ro.7:12-14, “The law is holy, and the commandment is holy, just and good. We know that the law is spiritual.”  Yes, the Holy Spirit had given it to Moses.  Paul goes on in v.22-25, “I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man….I myself with my mind am serving the law of God.”  According to the NC (He.8:10), God was writing His laws upon the apostles’ minds and hearts too.  2Co.3:3 Christ’s moral laws are no longer written on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts.

Other ways of describing the heart on which God can write His laws are…a new heart (Ezk.36:26), an exchanged heart, a circumcised heart.  These are interchangeable terms for that heart which is willing to obey the Lord.  De.30:6 was Moses’ prophecy of a future (non-physical) heart circumcision which God would do (to the hearts of both men and women).  Paul wrote in Ro.2:29, “Circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit”.  Not the physical circumcision operation of the foreskin done by men.  Col.2:11 “In Him you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands.”  God does it (this fulfills De.30:6).  These persons will allow God’s principles to be written on their heart by the HS.  (see the topics “Circumcision in the Bible” and “Holy Spirit-Filled”.)

Ten years ago I had the opportunity to hear a Christian speaker from Mozambique.  This man had reportedly resurrected a dozen people from the dead in the name of Jesus!  He related to us a vision he’d received.  In the vision, he was shown people with trees growing out of their heads!  He said the Lord told him the vision represented modern society (including the church) partaking of the tree of the knowledge of good & evil (Gen.3:6)!  Even the church appears humanistic, many churchgoers attaching Jesus’ Name to that wrong tree, not desiring God the Lawgiver’s definition of good & evil on His terms.

On another occasion, a pastor from Uganda was invited to speak at a church in my city.  He told of closing himself off for three days in his room to seek the Lord for the topic.  He said God told him to address Ezk.22:26. “Her priests have violated My law, they make no distinction between the holy and the profane, or between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths.”  That visiting pastor spoke courageously!  But his sermon was hard for some to hear.

Is.8:20 “To the law and to the testimony [the Decalogue, Ex.31:18]! If they don’t speak according to this word, it is because they have no light.”  Too many Christians (perhaps unknowingly) are attaching Christ’s Name to man’s laws and justice system from the wrong tree of humanism…as if man is God.

It can feel more comfortable to be religious or follow denominational traditions which may not honor God’s written word.  That’s what the majority of OC Israel/Judah did, and the Pharisees did in Jesus’ day.  Paul wrote of them in Ga.6:13. “Those who are circumcised [physically] don’t even keep the law.”  Those Jewish religious leaders who contended with Jesus weren’t keeping God’s written laws.  Mt.15:18 “The things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart.”  The scribes & Pharisees who spoke against Jesus…God’s written principles weren’t on their hearts.  (Jesus was law-abiding).

Let’s us not be pharisaic NC Christians by resembling OC Israelites/Jews that disrespected God’s laws.  Sectarian church traditions or the views of so-called church ‘fathers’ (e.g. some Roman Catholic Church tradition) shouldn’t be placed above the written word of God.  That practice can also be a cause of division in the Body of Christ.  (also see “Doctrinal Disunity Impacts Evangelism”.)

The Lord exclaimed in De.5:29, “Oh, that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me and keep My commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever”!  But such a heart wasn’t in most of those OC Israelites, and they failed to be a right example to the nations.

In conclusion…God saves the upright in heart (Ps.7:10).  We too can be real NC (grafted-in) Christians, having God’s righteous moral principles written on our hearts and minds!  And they’re not burdensome (1Jn.5:3).  And as the gospel spreads, obedient NC Christians will reflect the righteousness and true heartfelt love of God to the world!  To God be the glory!!

Paul the Apostle (1) – Law and Works

There are many Bible readers who view the apostle Paul’s epistles as unclear or controversial.  Some Christians who believe in Jesus even think Paul was a false apostle!  Did Paul mean it is necessary to maintain good works and obey God’s commandments/laws…or it isn’t necessary?

As Christians, our belief in Jesus, in salvation, in the veracity of scripture, etc., is to a large extent based upon the testimony of (eye) witnesses.  For example, the four gospels testify of Jesus.  Books of the Bible were composed by God’s servants, inspired by the Holy Spirit (HS).  2Ti.3:16 Paul wrote “All scripture is inspired by God, and is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness”.  And according to Ps.119:172, “All Thy commandments are righteousness”.

Our Bibles, both Testaments, contain numerous righteous commandments/laws of God.  Ps.119:142 “Thy law is truth.”  Yet Christians today reading Paul come to varying opinions about the continuing validity of God’s laws & commandments seen in scripture.  The true moral laws & principles God gave to ancient Israel…are they applicable today?  Should they be obeyed by Christians, by mankind?

Let’s fabricate, make believe, a trial to simulate how a court would ‘rule’ on this issue.  We’ll use the holy scriptures or their writers as the witnesses.  We won’t use the historical Roman Catholic Church or other denominations, or opinions of church ‘fathers’, theologians or other people.  A court ‘verdict’ can be delivered only after the witnesses have been heard.  Let’s now call the Bible witnesses.

Ge.26:5 “Abraham obeyed Me, kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, My laws.”  All that!  That indicates Divine laws were known by gentiles well before God’s codified law was given to Moses & Israel.  (see “Abraham Obeyed Which Commandments?” and “Genesis Principles Predate Moses”.)

Moses wrote in De.11:1, “Love the Lord your God, and always keep His charge, His statutes, His judgments, and His commandments”.  Also De.4:8 “What great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole Law?”  Israel had such just laws, blessed beyond other peoples!

Joshua wrote of the Lord’s exhortation to him in Jsh.1:7-8. “Be careful to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you. For then you will make your way prosperous and have good success.”  Obeying the laws God made known to ancient Israel would result in prosperity and success!

David was a man after God’s own heart (ref 1Ki.11:4, 34, 15:5; Ac.13:22).  David wrote in Ps.19:7-9, “The law of the Lord is perfect. His judgments are true, righteous altogether.”  That’s high acclaim!

The Preacher (Ec.12:9) taught in Ec.12:13, “The conclusion, when all has been heard: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind”.  After we’ve tried other things or other lifestyles, when all is said & done…obeying God’s commandments is the bottom line for right living!

Isaiah wrote in Is.8:20, “To the law and to the testimony! If they don’t speak according to this word, it is because they have no light.”  Anyone not speaking according to the Lord’s commandments/testimony is in some darkness, whether they realize it or not.

Josiah said in 2Ch.34:14-15, 19, 21, “Great is the wrath of the Lord because our fathers haven’t observed the word of the Lord, to do all that is written in this book”.  This king was grieved to find God’s book of the law had been disobeyed.  Josiah instituted reforms.

Jeremiah prophesied that eventually the Lord would even write His laws on peoples’ very hearts!  Je.31:31-33 “I will make a New Covenant. I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it.”  God’s living principles would thereby become internalized in man.

Ezekiel prophesied in Ezk.36:26-27, “I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and observe My judgments”.  The day would come when the HS would enable people to live according to God’s statutes & justice.  (This passage resembles Je.31:33 above, regarding the New Covenant.)

Daniel lamented in Da.9:10-11, “All Israel has transgressed Thy law and turned aside, so the curse has been poured out on us”.  Wise Daniel understood that curses can result from violating God’s laws.

Malachi wrote the Lord’s warning in Mal.4:4-6. “Remember the law of Moses My servant, the statutes and judgments I commanded him. Lest I come and smite the Land with a ban of destruction.”  In the final verses of the Old Testament, future generations are exhorted & warned to remember God’s laws.

Jesus the Lord confirmed in Jn.14:21, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me”.  God had promised Moses/Israel in Ex.20:6, “I, the Lord your God…showing mercy to thousands who love Me and keep My commandments.”  Jesus linked real love of God to obeying His commandments.  Jesus castigated those Pharisees & scribes who rejected His commandments in favor of Judaism’s oral law.  Mk.7:8-11 “You set aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.”  Jesus attacked the rules & regulations of men, but never the written commandments of God, including those which He’d spoken to Moses/Israel.  Jesus wouldn’t contradict the Lord Himself!

Peter said in Ac.5:29, 32, “We must obey God rather than men…The Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”  Rather than fearing man, obedience to God is necessary and is a key to being Spirit-filled. (see “Governmental Loyalty for Christians”.)  God commanded in Le.11:44-47 e.g., “I am the Lord your God. Be holy for I am holy. This is the law to make a distinction between the clean and the unclean.”  Peter said in Ac.10:14, “I have never eaten anything common or unclean.”  Later as an old man, Peter still advocates holiness, which pertained to the Lord’s command (Le.11:45) regarding clean/unclean, “It is written, Be holy for I am holy” (1Pe.1:16).  also see “Unclean versus Clean Food”.

James wrote in Ja.4:12, “There is One Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy”.  Jesus’ relative recognized God as the one and only genuine Lawgiver.  God’s laws & standards are intrinsically right!

John reiterated Jesus’ words about loving Him (Jn.14:21) in 1Jn.5:3. “This is the love of God, that you keep His commandments.”  The elderly apostle defined real love as keeping God’s commandments!  John wrote in Re.12:17, “The dragon was enraged and went off to make war with those who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus”.  Satan hates commandment-keepers!  And John also warned in 1Jn.2:3-4, “The one who says ‘I know Him’, and doesn’t keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him”.  Those opposed to Divine law may just pay lip-service to Jesus.

To inherit eternal life, in Lk.10:25-28 Jesus acknowledged a person should: (1) Love God…De.6:5 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul [life], with all your might.”  (2) Love your neighbor…Le.19:18 “You shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.”  (see “Love – Godly Love”.)  The Lord had told these principles to Moses many centuries earlier.  They didn’t originate with Jesus in the 1^st century!  God’s laws all generally come within these two broad headings…love God and love your neighbor.  187 chapters of the Bible are attributed to Moses, many of them containing God’s commands & precepts.

Jesus again, at the very end of our Bible, Re.22:14 KJV “Blessed are they who do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life”.  Eternal life for both Jews and gentiles (e.g. the non-Jew Abraham in Ge.26:5) who do God’s commandments.

We’ve quoted and examined the Bible testimony/evidence of 15 witnesses.  Witnesses from Genesis to Revelation attest to the laws of God!  De.19:15 “A single witness shall not rise up…on the evidence of 2 or 3 witnesses a matter shall be confirmed.”  A minimum of two witnesses is necessary.  Jn.8:16-18 Jesus confirmed, “The testimony of two men is true”.  Jesus applied De.19:15 to disputes between church brothers in Mt.18:16. “By the mouth of 2 or 3 witnesses.”  (It’s not limited to murder cases.)

1Ti.5:19 Paul instructed Timothy, “Don’t receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of 2 or 3 witnesses”.  He.10:28 “Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without pity on the testimony of 2 or 3 witnesses.”  Even God has His unique 2 witnesses!  Re.11:3 “I will grant authority to My 2 witnesses.”  So we see in both Testaments…at least 2 or 3 witnesses are necessary as evidence.

So again, we’ve read 15 witnesses who are in agreement about God’s laws, etc.  But, what if another single witness arises who disagrees or seems to disagree with the above 15 witnesses of scripture…whether he’s a Bible character, a church ‘father’, a modern ‘prophet’, whoever?  Or what if a single witness seems to agree with those 15 witnesses part of the time, and seems to disagree part of the time?

That’s how many Bible readers view the apostle Paul.  What many see in Paul’s writings is…he’s vacillating between obedience to God’s commandments/laws and indifference or laxity.

Let’s look at the question of whether or not good works (érgon Strongs g2041, Greek) are necessary for Christians.  Jesus said in Mt.5:16, “Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works [g2041]”.  Jesus says in Re.2:1-2, 18-19, 3:1, “I know your works [g2041]”.  Jesus rebuked and urged them to repent of dead works (also ref He.6:1).  James wrote in Ja.2:18, 26, “I’ll show you my faith by my works [g2041]….faith without works [g2041] is dead.”  Peter wrote in 1Pe.1:17, “The Father, who without respect of persons judges according to every man’s work [g2041]”.  Paul wrote in Ti.3:8, “Be thoughtful to be leading in good works [g2041]”.  Paul in Col.1:10, “That you might walk worthy of the Lord, being fruitful in every good work [g2041]”.  And Paul in Ro.2:5-6, “The righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his works [g2041]”.  Confirming the need to maintain good works, here we’ve read 4 ‘witnesses’…Jesus, James, Peter, and Paul himself.

But Paul in Ro.4:6 (seemingly conversely against Ro.2:5-6) wrote of “the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works [g2041]”.  Also Ep.2:8-9 “By grace you have been saved through faith, not as a result of works [g2041].”  What?!  Taking these two passages at face value, Paul contradicts not only himself…but Peter, James, and even Jesus too!  Our wayward human nature may favor the Paul of Ro.4:6 & Ep.2:8-9…and dismiss the Paul of Ti.3:8, Col.1:10 & Ro.2:5-6, and the above words of Peter, James and Jesus!  But Peter warned of lawless men who twist Paul’s writings.  2Pe.3:15-17 “Our beloved brother Paul, in all his letters are some things which are hard to understand; which the unstable distort as they do also the rest of the scriptures, carried away by the error of lawless men.”  Peter indicated the lawless dislike God’s laws/commandments, and use Paul’s epistles to excuse themselves.

The phrase “works of the law” appears 7 times in Paul’s writings.  e.g.: Ro.3:20 “By the works [ergon g2041] of the law [nómos g3551] no flesh shall be justified in His sight.”  Ro.3:28 “A man is justified by faith, apart from works of the law.”  Ga.2:16 “A man isn’t justified by the works of the law.”  Ga.3:5 “Does He who gives you the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the law or the hearing of faith?” (also Ro.9:32, Ga.3:2, 3:10.)  What was this “works of the law”?

The concept “works of the law”, which Paul was against, is found as Esséne rituals in the Dead Sea Scrolls 4QMMT.  This related to their sectarian solar calendar, purity regulations & cooking utensils & ceremony, the intermarriage of priests with commoners, etc.  (Essene law concepts weren’t continued in rabbinic Judaism.  Neither’s oral law applies to Christians…they aren’t God’s commands.)

Dr. John Bergsma Dead Sea Scrolls: Paul and Works of the Law “4QMMT is a letter from the Essenes to the Pharisees about ritual purity. In 4QMMT, it’s the only use of the phrase ‘works of the law’ in ancient literature outside of Paul. These aren’t issues of eternal, moral principles; these are all issues of cultic purity. Not a reference to good works in general.”  They were ritualistic works.

Martin Abegg 4QMMT, Paul, and Works of the Law “Works of the law’ in 4QMMT are extant precepts concerning acts which trespass the boundaries between the pure and the impure. Paul consciously reflected the term ‘works of the law’ which was used by the author of 4QMMT and, I would suggest, by Paul’s opponents in Galatians. MMT is couched in the exact language of what Paul was rebutting in his letter. It appears highly likely that Paul was reacting to the kind of theology espoused in 4QMMT, that a person was reckoned righteous by keeping ‘works of the law.”  Via purity regulations.

4QMMT C31 ending “It will be reckoned for you as righteousness, when you perform what is right and good [regulations herein] before Him, for your own good and for that of Israel.”  Ro.4:22 Paul wrote, “It was reckoned to him [Abraham] as righteousness”.  A likeness of expression to 4QMMT.

Barry F. Parker ‘Works of the Law’ and the Jewish Settlement in Asia Minor “It is not a case of Paul attacking the law in Galatians. Rather, he is attacking a particular understanding of the law. His assault is not on the law but on certain ‘works of the law’. There is no place whatsoever for a random selection of works of the law. 4QMMT’s ‘works of the law’ is the linguistic equivalent of Paul’s ‘erga nomou’ (e.g. Rom 3:20, 28; Gal 2:16; 3:2, 5, 10). Indeed, it seems to be the only extant equivalent. As such, it is crucial in the understanding of Paul’s use of the phrase ‘works of the law’. Rom.3:20-22, Paul makes the point that Christ adhered to the law in its entirety and not selectively. Paul’s opponents in Galatians have twisted the purpose of the law almost beyond recognition, and Paul has no tolerance for their view. Notably, he condemns their emphasis on ‘selective works of the law’ [MMT Miqsat Ma’ase ha-Toráh]. The more disparaging language concerning law in Galatians doesn’t refer to the Torah [written] per se, but to a perversion of it. The use of ‘works of the law’ there confirms both that Paul is in (indirect) dialogue with those familiar with Essene terminology and that selectivity is in view. Although he speaks to a different audience about a different problem regarding the law in Romans, when Paul uses the phrase ‘erga nomou’ in Romans 3, the immediate context is quite similar to what he addresses in Galatians.”  4QMMT promoted sectarian selected practices (non-scriptural).

‘Works of the law’ (ergon nomou) also related to temple sacrifices.  As per Le.6:1-7 – After confession, restitution, pay the fine, do animal sacrifice at the temple…for forgiveness, atonement, justification…only then did the offender become reconciled to God again.  This process for Old Covenant Israel was justification by works of the Torah.  And it was work!  Philo The Special Laws1, p.556 re Le.6:1-7: “Pardon shall be given to such a man, who shows the truth of his repentance, not by promises, but by works. Restoring the deposit he’d received, giving up what he’d stolen or found, paying in addition 1/5 of the value as an atonement for the evil he’d done. Also go to the temple and sacrifice a ram.”  The now obsolete system of ritually killing animals for expiation also was a “ministry of death” (2Co.3:7).

A closer look at the ‘inconsistent’ Paul of Ro.4:6 and Ep.2:8-9, Ferrar Fenton 1903 translation: Ro.4:6 “The man to whom God grants righteousness apart from rituals.”  Ep.2:8-9 “You are saved by a gift through faith, not from rituals.”  Paul here had in mind ritualistic works, not good deeds or morality.  Which makes sense, because Paul went on to say in v.10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works”.  Would Paul contradict himself in consecutive verses; that works aren’t done in v.9, and yet the same works should be done in v.10?  Rather, Christians needn’t do rituals, but should do good deeds and moral obedience.  Thus, Paul in these two passages doesn’t contradict the Paul of Ti.3:8, Col.1:10 or Ro.2:5-6…nor does Paul contradict Peter, James, or Jesus regarding works.

Sacrificial & ritualistic works were not the Decalogue/10 Commandments, nor were they God’s dietary laws for health.  Obviously it requires no work to: rest on the sabbath day, refrain from murder or theft, refrain from eating pigs, mice, bats, cats, dogs, or from drinking blood!  A person can refrain from violations of those written principles even by staying in bed…no ‘works’ are involved whatsoever!

How did Paul view the written moral laws/commandments of God?  Paul wrote in Ro.3:31, “Do we nullify the Law through faith? By no means! On the contrary, we establish the law.”  Then in Ro.7:12-14, “The Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. For we know the Law is spiritual.”  (The Holy Spirit had given the Law to Moses.)   Paul goes on to say in v.22-25, “I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man…I myself with my mind am serving the law of God.”  It seems God was writing His laws upon the heart/mind of Paul too.  As Jeremiah prophesied.  Paul told gentile converts in Ep.6:2, “Honor your father and mother”, quoting the very Law of Ex.20:12, De.5:16.

The above verses are examples of Paul’s testimony not contradicting what the HS inspired the other 15 witnesses.  That is the true Paul.  Again, 2Ti.3:16 Paul himself wrote, “All scripture is inspired by God”.  Paul even says in Ro.8:7, “The carnal mind is hostile toward God, for it doesn’t subject itself to the Law of God, it is unable to do so”.  Folks may sit in church on Sunday morning, yet are unable to subject themselves to God’s laws.  According to Paul, that’s indicative of a carnal mind, unable to really obey God’s spiritual law.  Some may call Jesus “Lord, Lord” (Lk.6:46), but not really obey the Lord.

We ‘called the witnesses’ in our simulated trial…Gentile, Israelites, Jews…Prophets, Priests, Kings.  From Genesis to the final chapter of Revelation!  Jesus had said in Jn.17:17, “Thy word is truth”.  Since our Bibles include 13 letters (87 chapters) bearing the name of Paul, we tend to overlook the fact that he is solely just one witness!  And although Paul’s epistles aren’t essential for us to inherit eternal life, Christians would prefer a clear, consistent understanding of Paul.

Would a sound-minded judge throw out the testimony of 15 separate witnesses to side with 1 whose testimony seems inconsistent?  Needless to say, a just judge would side with 15 righteous witnesses, and disregard any (supposed) contrary testimony of merely 1 witness!  And we saw where Paul too acknowledged the need for 2 or 3 witnesses; and read where he agreed with the 15 Bible witnesses.

Also we saw verses where Paul exhorted good works.  And Paul’s reference to “works of the law” related to Jewish sectarianism/Éssenism which Paul opposed, and to sacrifices.

Finally, the writer to the Hebrews quoted Jeremiah in He.8:8-10. “Behold, I make a new covenant. I will put My laws in their minds and will write them upon their hearts.”  Here a final ‘witness’ confirms that God writes His laws within New Covenant believers.  The moral principles & laws which the Lord gave ancient Israel, the people He loved (e.g. De.7:7-8), are being written on yielded hearts. (also see “Two Covenants – Heart of the Matter”.)

We’ve heard/read the ‘witnesses’ of scripture.  Ladies and gentlemen of the jury…how will you decide?  As for me, I believe the verdict is…God’s moral laws/commandments and good works are valid for Israel, gentiles, Christians, all mankind!  Praise God, our Lawgiver (Ja.4:12)!

This series about Paul is continued in “Paul the Apostle (2) – The Chameleon?”.