10/05/2024
This morning, we had a Jurisdictional meeting at our church. Two of the youngest male members of the leadership team participated, one 14 years old and the speaker far younger than the 70 to the over 90 group of which I am a member. I mention this to point to the second of the three-book series, "Three Women and a Wildman" by Elder Norman Sweet, available on Amazon. God willing, book two will be available by the election time. Here is a sample.
Job’s wife points us to an important Biblical truth. His integrity was based on a Predisposition. His view of God and his relationship to God was fixed and proper, no circumstance or situation could change that. That Predisposition thinking is baked into the Jewish worldview by the law. “…Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it”. Proverbs 22:6
Proper application of the Law instills in a child proper thinking. Proper understanding of what it means to be a child comes from a proper understanding of Jewish Culture. In the Bible we see three tiers of Jewish childhood maturation in Luke chapter two.
1. “…For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger”. Luke 2:11-12 (The Babe)
2. “…And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against”; Luke 2:34 (The Child)
3. “…And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. 41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast”. Luke 2:40-42
“…And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. 49 And he said unto them, how is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business”? Luke 2:48-49 (The Son)
At the age of thirteen a child ceases to be a child proper and becomes a son or daughter. He is to undergo Bar Mitzvah, or she Bat Mitzvah. “…A bar mitzvah (masc.), or bat mitzvah (fem.) is a coming-of-age ritual in Judaism. According to Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age, they are said to "become" b'nai mitzvah, at which point they begin to be held accountable for their own actions. Traditionally, the father of a bar or bat mitzvah offers thanks to God that he is no longer punished for his child's sins.
In Orthodox communities, boys become bar mitzvah at 13 and girls become bat mitzvah at 12. In most Reform, Reconstructionist, and Conservative communities, the milestone is 13 regardless of gender.[5] After this point, children are also held responsible for knowing Jewish ritual law, tradition, and ethics, and are able to participate in all areas of Jewish community life to the same extent as adults. In some Jewish communities, men's and women's roles differ in certain respects. For example, in Orthodox Judaism, once a boy turns 13, it is permitted to count him for the purpose of determining whether there is a prayer quorum, and he may lead prayer and other religious services in the family and the community”. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
From birth to thirteen years of age a child is expected to be transformed by the renewing of their mind. He is expected to be predisposed to the mind of Christ. This transformation is expected to be cultural as well as spiritual. “…Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” 3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So, it is with everyone born of the Spirit”. John 3:1-8
The purpose of the Law is to instill in Jewish children, knowledge and respect for the things of God. Both parents are charged with this responsibility. “…Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2 Honor thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) 3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. 4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord”. Ephesians 6:1-4.
Sadly, this charge along with the true meaning of Proverb 22:6 fails to obtain proper attention and training in many of today’s churches. The conversation Jesus had with Nicodemus indicates the progressive failure of the Law to properly impact the minds of Jewish leadership in Nicodemus’s day and consequently the mind of the Church today. Compare Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 6:1-4 to these passages from the Law of Moses.
1. “…And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death”. Exodus 21:17
2. “…If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: 19 Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; 20 And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. 21 And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear”. Deuteronomy 21:18-21
A little harsh, to say the least by today’s standards, but you have to admit, it would bring about the desired end stated in the underlined section of Deuteronomy 21:18-21. Application of the Law as stated above, would have its desired effect. The hearers would fear and be afraid, but between the Law, and the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times is the Dispensation of Grace, where we are introduced to Jesus Christ. “…John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, this was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. 16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. 18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him”. (John 1:15-18) The Law magnifies the need for Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ tells the stories of two men who shared the name Lazarus. One was a friend of Jesus in life but the other sat at a rich man’s gate every day and begged, “… covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ 25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead’”. Luke 16:20-31
When Job’s wife, the person occupying the innermost circle in his life, now that his children were gone, when she failed to realize what God, in his sovereignty allowed, he compared her to the foolish women of his day. Perhaps Job suspected, nothing or no one had the power to end his life, but God himself, and he felt God owed him an explanation for the pain he suffered. It would be many years before the Psalmist would write, “Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace”. Psalms 37:37
The calamity so filled Job’s life, he could not imagine living long enough to see the end, so he cursed life itself, but he never cursed God. The Psalmist writes of another man referred to as being perfect. This man enjoys the distinction of having endured to the end, saying during the height of his suffering. “… Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done”. Luke 22:42
Job, on the other hand lamented the day of his birth, asking, why was I born, I would be better off dead? “…Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly? 16 Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light. 17 There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest. 18 There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. 19 The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master”. Job 3:11/16-19
The outer circle in Job’s life consists of his three friends. If you apply the “law of first mention”, Eliphaz the Temanite is chief among them because he is first to speak. He echoes the words of David’s 37th Psalm as well, only the 38th stanza sums up his limited world view. “…Mark the perfect man and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.
38 But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off ”. Psalms 37:37-38
Eliphaz the Temanite reminds Job of how he ministered to others as they suffered. “…Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands.
4 Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees.
5 But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.
6 Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways?
7 Remember, I pray thee, whoever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off”? Job 4:3-7
Eliphaz and Job’s other friends share a theology devoid of Christ, or else they would have known; Christ, a man who knew no sin, gave his life as propitiation for the sins of the world.
Jesus, after he instructs his disciples how to pray, says to them; “…Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. 9 “So, I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened”. (Luke 11:5-10 NIV)
Rarely, will you see me quote from the NIV translation, or others I think are superior to it. I feel the King James most accurately convey the Bible as William Tyndale and John Wycliffe intended it. I know it’s difficult, but if it was easy anybody could do it.
Job, in his suffering, cursed the day of his birth and his life as it had become. He failed to realize both were blessings direct from God. In God allowing him to experience life, he was given opportunity. Life itself is tantamount to potential.
He exercised that opportunity to help others, thereby serving God. Job, in using the opportunity given, fulfilled its potential positively. You might think that gave him the right to extract favor from God, Jesus in this parable of the unworthy Servant tells us otherwise. “…Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? 8 Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? 9 Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty”. (Luke 17:7-10 ESV)
If you are paying attention, you’re getting an idea of what God intends for us to learn from the Bible and it’s teaching. Without the law, you fail to appreciate Christ, and without Christ, you fail to obtain a relationship with God.
Elihu, the last of Job’s friends to speak, ask Job to consider the fact that he shares a limited understanding of God, as they all do.
“…Listen to this, Job; stop and consider God’s wonders.
15 Do you know how God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash?
16 Do you know how the clouds hang poised, those wonders of him who has perfect knowledge? 17 You who swelter in your clothes when the land lies hushed under the south wind, 18 can you join him in spreading out the skies, hard as a mirror of cast bronze?
19 “Tell us what we should say to him; we cannot draw up our case because of our darkness”. (Job 37:14-19 ESV) Elihu uses darkness as a metaphor for their limited understanding of God.
Following Elihu, God speaks to Job with 77 questions, covering three categories. God’s response seemingly takes forever, after Job challenges God to explain to him how he has transgressed his law.
“…Behold, I have prepared my case; I know that I shall be in the right.
19 Who is there who will contend with me?
For then I would be silent and die.
20 Only grant me two things,
then I will not hide myself from your face:
21 withdraw your hand far from me,
and let not dread of you terrify me.
22 Then call, and I will answer;
or let me speak, and you reply to me.
23 How many are my iniquities and my sins?
Make me know my transgression and my sin”. (Job 13:18-23 ESV)
God is gracious and responds to Job’s demands, though the whirlwind surrounding God, as he answers Job’s question, gives an impression as to how he feels about Job’s impertinence.
“…Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, 2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel, by words without knowledge? 3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee and answer thou me. 4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding”. Job 38:1-4
God challenges Job’s supposed right to question him in his absolute sovereignty as designer, maker, and sustainer of the creation. He takes us back to the first beginning, “…Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Declare to Me, if you have and know understanding. 5 Who determined the measures of the earth, if you know? Or who stretched the measuring line upon it? 6 Upon what were the foundations of it fastened, or who laid its cornerstone, 7 When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? 8 Or who shut up the sea with doors when it broke forth and issued out of the womb? 9 When I made the clouds the garment of it, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it, 10 And marked for it My appointed boundary and set bars and doors, 11 And said, thus far shall you come and no farther; and here shall your proud waves be stayed”? Job 38:4-11
I point you back to the passage I quoted from Ezekiel chapter 14, and the three men named, Noah, Daniel, and Job. There is considerable mystery surrounding the eight hundred years comprising the period prior to the birth of Adam’s third son, up to and before the Bible said; “…And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD”. (Genesis 4:26) I feel compelled to remind you of the words of Romans 10:13, but I won’t quote it for you, I’ll leave you to look it up on your on.
There was a period of nine-hundred and five years, when mankind was at the mercy of Satan and the fallen angels he deceived, all were cast out of heaven and condemned to walk the earth, until they were bound with everlasting chains, and shut up in a pit awaiting destruction.
My wife Earlean and I spent many evenings walking along the beach in the South Carolina moonlight. She would often comment on the waves of the ocean and how they consistently followed God’s instructions; “…thus far shall you come, and no farther;” Job 38:11
In the New Testament, Jude the brother of Jesus, shed light on this mysterious time in the history of the world. In book one, I challenged the erroneous notion that the giants were some sort of hybrid between angel and man. The truth is, they were merely men with superior knowledge because of their relationship to Satan and his fallen angels. That knowledge and its lack of wisdom brought about the flood and its accompanying devastation. “…And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. Genesis 6:5-8
As I am writing this piece, we as a nation prepare for an election where liars and fact checkers compete and do battle in the press. The Apostle Peter reminds us that we should be weary of liars and false prophets today, as the giants in Noah’s day were called ‘men of renown’, and were given over to lies, our enemy is the father of lies. “…there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; 2 Peter 2:1-5
Jude, the brother of Jesus, refers to the Giants in Noah’s day as “Twice Dead”, in keeping with their rejection of the way of salvation. “…Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward and perished in the gainsaying of Core. 12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; 13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. 14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, 15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. 16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage. 17 But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; 18 How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. 19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit”. Jude 1:11-19
Least you miss it, I’ll point it out more clearly. Jude refers to the return of Enoch when he comes again with Christ, this time to judge the world not to save it. He warns us to try the spirits and discern whether there be liars among them. “…I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death”. Revelation 21:6-8
This is book is about fundamentals of the Christan Faith. It's a history book that explores the origins of mankind from a faith perspective and crosses the line between myth and science. It exposes many of the myths that crept into church doctrine over the years.
