306. Jacob married two sisters, Rachel and Leah. Through deceit on the girls' father's part, Jacob ended up being tricked on his wedding night. Jacob served Laban for seven years for Laban's younger daughter, Rachel. The morning after the wedding, Jacob found he had married Leah, Laban's older daughter, instead! Laban agreed to give him Rachel, too, in exchange for another seven years of service.
307. Eventually the two sisters and their two maids produced twelve sons, who would become the twelve tribes of Israel. They were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin. Throughout the story of Jacob's life, God was with him. As long as Jacob remained obedient to God. he was blessed. The history of Israel would go on (and on!) all the way through the New Testament and the birth of a Savior from these early roots.
308. Before leaving the place of her birth, Rachel stole her father's "household gods." These small "household gods" were idols, typical of the cults in Canaan and elsewhere in Mesopotamia. Small statues of fertility symbols, they were placed in the homes. Laban caught up to Jacob's caravan and began to search for the idols. When Laban came to search Rachel's tent, she sat on a saddlebag which held her father's gods, telling them she was menstruating and couldn't get up. This story would have been told by the Israelites with derisive mockery as Rachel sat on the idols in her time of "uncleanness."
309. The story of Joseph's "coat of many colors" remains a favorite of many people. Joseph was the gifted son, the one who had found favor with God. He was also his father's favorite son, much to the chagrin of most of the other brothers. Jacob made Joseph the heir, even though he was the second to the youngest! He was a bold young man and his brothers eventually sold him into slavery in Egypt.
310. God never forgot Joseph, however. Eventually this young man who saw visions and could interpret dreams would make himself useful to Pharaoh himself! He would become a chief minister of Egypt and would be reunited with his family in their time of need during a drought affecting the whole land.
311. Elaborate court records survive of many of the Pharaohs before and after the presumed time of Joseph. But none of them mentions a Semite slave becoming a high official who had helped save Egypt in a time of Extraordinary famine. Periodic drought and famine were not unusual in ancient times, and several were recorded, although none exactly match the Biblical scenario. So we do not know who Joseph's Pharaoh was.
312. Joseph had two sons: Manasseh and Ephraim. The brothers were born in Egypt and would eventually be blessed by Jacob. As had happened in Joseph's own experience, God blessed the younger, Ephraim, more than the older brother, Manasseh. God's blessing continued to fall on those who were not expecting the bulk of it.
313. They all remained in Egypt and lived happily there until the whole generation of Joseph and his brothers passed away. Then they were oppressed by the Egyptians and used as slaves. The Egyptians feared the great numbers of Hebrew people being born and even demanded that the midwives kill the newborn males.
314. Moses was another miracle. he should have been killed as many of the other male infants were, but he was saved by God for a special purpose. His mother floated him down the Nile in a basket made of reeds, and he was eventually taken into the palace by the royalty of Egypt. Moses would grow up to be a great man of God and the hero of the early Israelites.
315. Egyptian texts confirm that about the time Moses became angered at seeing an Egyptian overseer beating a Hebrew worker, the Hebrews were engaged in dragging stones for temples built by Pharaoh Ramses II. The Bible says Moses killed the overseer and fled into the desert wilderness of the Sinai Peninsula where he would later see the bush that "burned with fire."
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Early Israel ll
296. The sacrifice of Isaac. God called Abraham to follow him to a far land and promised to make his family a great nation. Yet when Abraham finally had a son in his old age, the Lord asked him to sacrifice the boy on Mount Moriah. Instead of a pagan practice, it was a test of faith-God intervened to stop the sacrifice and provided a ram to sacrifice in the boy's place. Then, praising Abraham's faith, God promised to bless all nations through his offspring.
297. The story of Abraham's unshakable faith while offering Isaac is a central moment in the Bible. To many people it seems an unnecessarily cruel test of faith. Abraham doesn't even make the arguments for his own son that he made for the citizens of Sodom. His wife, Sarah, is silent in this episode, and Isaac's thoughts are not available to us either.
298.When God stays Abraham's hand. The passage says that Abraham "fears" God. The "fear of God" is a commonly used expression today. The Hebrew verb for "fear" can be understood two ways. Occasionally it meant being afraid, but very often the Biblical "fear" meant awe or reverence for someone of exalted position. Abraham was not necessarily "afraid" of God as much as he held God in profound respect.
299. The Bible notes that Abraham was "very rich in cattle" (Gen. 13:2 KJV), and he is often described as having flocks and herds. In the early books of the Bible, however, the word cattle is believed to usually refer to sheep and goats rather than to cows.
300. Throughout the history of the Hebrews, even after they became a mighty nation under kings as in the glittering court of Solomon, the simple life of the shepherd was remembered and upheld as the most desirable existence.
301. After Sarah died at age 127, Abraham buried her in a cave in Hebron. He purchased the burial land from the local people, the Hittites, and the verses elaborately explain the great measures Abraham took to stake a legal claim to this land. This passage is one of the oldest recorded real estate deals, a legal confirmation of possession of land that had already been divinely promised.
302. After Sarah died, Abraham decided to marry again and took another wife, Keturah. She birthed six more of Abraham's children. These were the ancestors of other Arabic tribes including the Midianites, who play a role in the story of Moses. When Abraham died at age 175, he was buried alongside Sarah in the cave on the site he had purchased at Hebron.
303. Isaac's name meant "laughter." He was the second patriarch. Isaac married Rebekah and they had two sons, Jacob and Esau, who were twins. They were never close brothers and had few similar interests. Esau was the older of the two and was a hunter. Jacob was closer to his mother and appeared crafty and smarter of the two.
304. The classic story of how Jacob gained the birthright, the right to all the blessings of the firstborn son, is a story of true deceit, yet it was prophetic that Jacob gained the upper hand. God had said the "older will serve the younger." Both were ultimately blessed by God, but Jacob did use trickery to con his aged father into giving him the blessing by pretending to be Esau after getting Esau to sell his birthright for a bowl of stew.
305. Wrestling with God. The life of Jacob contains a number of interesting stories that make him appear more of a scoundrel than a patriarch. He cheated his brother and tricked his father. However, one of the strangest stories occurs in Genesis 32. While preparing to meet Esau, Jacob met God (appearing as a man) and wrestled with him all night. After having his hip torn from his socket, Jacob told the man that he would continue wrestling until he was blessed. With that God changed Jacob's name to Israel, which means "wrestles with God."
297. The story of Abraham's unshakable faith while offering Isaac is a central moment in the Bible. To many people it seems an unnecessarily cruel test of faith. Abraham doesn't even make the arguments for his own son that he made for the citizens of Sodom. His wife, Sarah, is silent in this episode, and Isaac's thoughts are not available to us either.
298.When God stays Abraham's hand. The passage says that Abraham "fears" God. The "fear of God" is a commonly used expression today. The Hebrew verb for "fear" can be understood two ways. Occasionally it meant being afraid, but very often the Biblical "fear" meant awe or reverence for someone of exalted position. Abraham was not necessarily "afraid" of God as much as he held God in profound respect.
299. The Bible notes that Abraham was "very rich in cattle" (Gen. 13:2 KJV), and he is often described as having flocks and herds. In the early books of the Bible, however, the word cattle is believed to usually refer to sheep and goats rather than to cows.
300. Throughout the history of the Hebrews, even after they became a mighty nation under kings as in the glittering court of Solomon, the simple life of the shepherd was remembered and upheld as the most desirable existence.
301. After Sarah died at age 127, Abraham buried her in a cave in Hebron. He purchased the burial land from the local people, the Hittites, and the verses elaborately explain the great measures Abraham took to stake a legal claim to this land. This passage is one of the oldest recorded real estate deals, a legal confirmation of possession of land that had already been divinely promised.
302. After Sarah died, Abraham decided to marry again and took another wife, Keturah. She birthed six more of Abraham's children. These were the ancestors of other Arabic tribes including the Midianites, who play a role in the story of Moses. When Abraham died at age 175, he was buried alongside Sarah in the cave on the site he had purchased at Hebron.
303. Isaac's name meant "laughter." He was the second patriarch. Isaac married Rebekah and they had two sons, Jacob and Esau, who were twins. They were never close brothers and had few similar interests. Esau was the older of the two and was a hunter. Jacob was closer to his mother and appeared crafty and smarter of the two.
304. The classic story of how Jacob gained the birthright, the right to all the blessings of the firstborn son, is a story of true deceit, yet it was prophetic that Jacob gained the upper hand. God had said the "older will serve the younger." Both were ultimately blessed by God, but Jacob did use trickery to con his aged father into giving him the blessing by pretending to be Esau after getting Esau to sell his birthright for a bowl of stew.
305. Wrestling with God. The life of Jacob contains a number of interesting stories that make him appear more of a scoundrel than a patriarch. He cheated his brother and tricked his father. However, one of the strangest stories occurs in Genesis 32. While preparing to meet Esau, Jacob met God (appearing as a man) and wrestled with him all night. After having his hip torn from his socket, Jacob told the man that he would continue wrestling until he was blessed. With that God changed Jacob's name to Israel, which means "wrestles with God."
Monday, July 20, 2015
Early Israel l
286. Abram is the earliest Biblical character who can be connected rather remotely and speculatively, to recorded world history. There is still no specific proof of this individual outside of the Bible, but these are the first clues that the Biblical world he lived in was the world as history knows it.
287. In the Biblical list of Abraham's ancestors (Gen. 11:10-26), many family names are the same as those of several towns around Haran. Abraham's relatives either took their names from the towns where they lived or were important enough to give their names to these towns. Abraham's father, Terah, who is said to have worshiped idols for several years (Josh. 24:2), moved his family from Ur to Haran. Terah lived there until he died at the age of 205.
288. Habiru (or "Hebrew") was a word of disparagement, probably meaning "the dusty ones." It did not refer to the Hebrew people in particular but rather to all the land-hungry Semites who led a nomadic life. In the Book of Genesis (14:13), Abraham is called "the Hebrew," and so this general name was finally limited to his descendants.
289. Abraham's journey southward from Haran led through the entire length of Canaan, through the Negeb Desert to Egypt, and finally northward again to the Promised Land. His caravans were not like the camel caravans seen today in the deserts of the Near East. It is possible that until he reached Egypt he traveled on foot, with no beasts of burden except perhaps a few donkeys.
290. Abram was given his new name, Abraham, when God came to him in his ninety-ninth year. At that time he had one son. The new name meant "father of many nations." Abraham must have been puzzled over how God would bring him into a full understanding of his new name with but one child when he was already quite old.
291. After Lot chose to travel to the lower Jordan Valley, he settled near the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. These cities were destroyed by what the Bible calls "brimstone and fire" (Gen. 19:24 KJV). No one knows for sure when the last volcano eruption took place in the Holy Land, but it may have been as recently as the Middle Ages. Geologists can see clear evidence that the Jordan Valley has been a center of volcanism in the past.
292. The remains of the Twin Cities of Sin have never been found, as of 2002. Myth has it that they lie buried beneath the Dead Sea. This theory may provide an explanation of why the Dead Sea area is rich in bitumen, or tar, supposedly left after the destructive "brimstone and fire." Bitumen was used in the Egyptian mummification process. Bitumen was also used for "tarring" houses and was one of the key trade items in this area.
293. The Sodom and Gomorrah story has always been useful as a moral tale of God destroying evil. But a subtext to the story has been even more influential. It is all about the sin to which the name Sodom is attached. This story has always been cited as one of the basic Biblical injunctions against homosexuality.
294. Abraham was given a covenant child as was promised to him by the three angels who visited and prophesized of the event. Sarah delivered a healthy infant son and they called him Isaac. He was a miracle-his mother was in her nineties and his father was one hundred!
295. Hagar was the servant of Sarah, Abraham's wife. She had become pregnant by Abraham and bore Ishmael. Sarah was jealous and treated her poorly and eventually Hagar was sent into the wilderness of Beer-sheba when Isaac was born. But God protected Hagar and her son and raised them up to be their own people. They were under Abraham's covenant, but Ishmael was not the promised son who would continue the lineage of the Hebrews.
287. In the Biblical list of Abraham's ancestors (Gen. 11:10-26), many family names are the same as those of several towns around Haran. Abraham's relatives either took their names from the towns where they lived or were important enough to give their names to these towns. Abraham's father, Terah, who is said to have worshiped idols for several years (Josh. 24:2), moved his family from Ur to Haran. Terah lived there until he died at the age of 205.
288. Habiru (or "Hebrew") was a word of disparagement, probably meaning "the dusty ones." It did not refer to the Hebrew people in particular but rather to all the land-hungry Semites who led a nomadic life. In the Book of Genesis (14:13), Abraham is called "the Hebrew," and so this general name was finally limited to his descendants.
289. Abraham's journey southward from Haran led through the entire length of Canaan, through the Negeb Desert to Egypt, and finally northward again to the Promised Land. His caravans were not like the camel caravans seen today in the deserts of the Near East. It is possible that until he reached Egypt he traveled on foot, with no beasts of burden except perhaps a few donkeys.
290. Abram was given his new name, Abraham, when God came to him in his ninety-ninth year. At that time he had one son. The new name meant "father of many nations." Abraham must have been puzzled over how God would bring him into a full understanding of his new name with but one child when he was already quite old.
291. After Lot chose to travel to the lower Jordan Valley, he settled near the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. These cities were destroyed by what the Bible calls "brimstone and fire" (Gen. 19:24 KJV). No one knows for sure when the last volcano eruption took place in the Holy Land, but it may have been as recently as the Middle Ages. Geologists can see clear evidence that the Jordan Valley has been a center of volcanism in the past.
292. The remains of the Twin Cities of Sin have never been found, as of 2002. Myth has it that they lie buried beneath the Dead Sea. This theory may provide an explanation of why the Dead Sea area is rich in bitumen, or tar, supposedly left after the destructive "brimstone and fire." Bitumen was used in the Egyptian mummification process. Bitumen was also used for "tarring" houses and was one of the key trade items in this area.
293. The Sodom and Gomorrah story has always been useful as a moral tale of God destroying evil. But a subtext to the story has been even more influential. It is all about the sin to which the name Sodom is attached. This story has always been cited as one of the basic Biblical injunctions against homosexuality.
294. Abraham was given a covenant child as was promised to him by the three angels who visited and prophesized of the event. Sarah delivered a healthy infant son and they called him Isaac. He was a miracle-his mother was in her nineties and his father was one hundred!
295. Hagar was the servant of Sarah, Abraham's wife. She had become pregnant by Abraham and bore Ishmael. Sarah was jealous and treated her poorly and eventually Hagar was sent into the wilderness of Beer-sheba when Isaac was born. But God protected Hagar and her son and raised them up to be their own people. They were under Abraham's covenant, but Ishmael was not the promised son who would continue the lineage of the Hebrews.
Guinness World Records "The Unbreakables"
Longest pole sit:
St. Simeon the Stylite (C. AD 386-459) spent 39 years on a pillar on the Hill of Wonders, near Aleppo, Syria. (Unbroken for 1,550 years-the longest held record in GWR archives)
Largest pandemic:
From 1347 to 1351, the pneumonic form of plague, aka the Black Death, killed around 75 million people. (Unbroken for 658 years)
Worst dance mania:
In July 1374, an outbreak of tarantism (dancing mania) in Aachen, Germany, saw thousands quite literally dancing uncontrollably in the streets. (Unbroken for 635 years)
Most prolific female murderer:
From c. 1585 to 1610, Countess Elizabeth Bathory (Hungary) allegedly killed 600 virgins. She was later locked in her castle, where she died in 1614. (Unbroken for 399 years)
Youngest doctorate:
On April 13, 1814, Carl Witte of Austria was made a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) by the University of Giessen, Germany, aged just 12. (Unbroken for 195 years)
Lightest person:
Lucia Xarate, (or Zarate, aka "The Mexican Lilliputian," Mexico, 1863-89), an emaciated ateleiotic dwarf, weighed just 4.7 lbs (2.13 kg) at the age of 17. (Unbroken for 120 years)
Loudest noise:
Have you heard that the eruption of the island-volcano Krakatoa, in the Sunda Strait, Indonesia, on August 27, 1883, was audible 3,100 miles (5,000 km) away? (Unbroken for 126 years)
Largest diamond:
No diamond has ever been found larger than the 3,106-carat Cullinan unearthed on January 26, 1905, at the Premier Diamond Mine in South Africa. (Unbroken for 104 years)
Largest audience to attend a circus:
Ladies and gentlemen, a round of applause, please, for the largest circus crowd. A total of 52,385 people attended the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, on September 14,1975. (Unbroken for 34 years)
St. Simeon the Stylite (C. AD 386-459) spent 39 years on a pillar on the Hill of Wonders, near Aleppo, Syria. (Unbroken for 1,550 years-the longest held record in GWR archives)
Largest pandemic:
From 1347 to 1351, the pneumonic form of plague, aka the Black Death, killed around 75 million people. (Unbroken for 658 years)
Worst dance mania:
In July 1374, an outbreak of tarantism (dancing mania) in Aachen, Germany, saw thousands quite literally dancing uncontrollably in the streets. (Unbroken for 635 years)
Most prolific female murderer:
From c. 1585 to 1610, Countess Elizabeth Bathory (Hungary) allegedly killed 600 virgins. She was later locked in her castle, where she died in 1614. (Unbroken for 399 years)
Youngest doctorate:
On April 13, 1814, Carl Witte of Austria was made a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) by the University of Giessen, Germany, aged just 12. (Unbroken for 195 years)
Lightest person:
Lucia Xarate, (or Zarate, aka "The Mexican Lilliputian," Mexico, 1863-89), an emaciated ateleiotic dwarf, weighed just 4.7 lbs (2.13 kg) at the age of 17. (Unbroken for 120 years)
Loudest noise:
Have you heard that the eruption of the island-volcano Krakatoa, in the Sunda Strait, Indonesia, on August 27, 1883, was audible 3,100 miles (5,000 km) away? (Unbroken for 126 years)
Largest diamond:
No diamond has ever been found larger than the 3,106-carat Cullinan unearthed on January 26, 1905, at the Premier Diamond Mine in South Africa. (Unbroken for 104 years)
Largest audience to attend a circus:
Ladies and gentlemen, a round of applause, please, for the largest circus crowd. A total of 52,385 people attended the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, on September 14,1975. (Unbroken for 34 years)
Sunday, July 19, 2015
In The Beginning lll
276. Almost every ancient culture has some sort of flood or deluge myth that shares much in common with the Biblical flood. In most of them the gods send a catastrophic flood to destroy the world, but one good man is told of the coming disaster and his family is saved to continue human existence. The one most like Noah's story comes from the Babylonian Gilgamesh epic. In this story, the hero, Utnapishtim, also survives the flood by building a boat, which comes to rest on Mount Nisir, which is in the same region as Noah's "mountains of Ararat."
277. Noah made his ark of "gopher wood" (Gen. 6:14), which probably meant the cypress tree. This wood is extremely durable. The doors of Saint Peter's in Rome are made from it and after twelve hundred years they still show no signs of decay.
278. The Bible does not list all of the animals that took refuge on the ark. However, those animals that survived the flood must have been the ones that were best known to the Hebrews and also those mentioned most often in the Bible through symbolism or otherwise.
279. The first bird Noah released was a raven, a powerful flier able to slice through the air or soar with the ease of a hawk on wings that span up to four feet. Its habitat wilderness, and so it was just the bird to scout out any crags that might have emerged from the flooded earth. The raven is noted for its remarkable memory, so this scout would not forget the location of the ark.
280. When the raven failed to give Noah any sign of land, Noah sent out a dove ("doves" and "pigeons," by the way, refer to the same birds.) The rock dove was one of the earliest of all animals to be domesticated. There are Egyptian records, dating back five thousand years, of people rearing them in captivity for food and probably also as carrier pigeons.
281. Very fast fliers, the strong wings of doves make them capable of powerful flight in a straight line, despite storms and high winds. Almost at least five thousand years of using doves and pigeons to carry messages, we are still not certain how a pigeon "homes"-finds its way back to its roost-as the Biblical dove found its way back to the ark.
282. The second time Noah sent out the dove, it returned before evening with an olive leaf. This was evidence that the waters had subsided enough to expose the valleys where olive trees grow. The olive was the most important tree cultivated in the Holy Land. It is native only to the lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea.
283. The story of Noah and the ark yields some interesting analysis as a type of Christ. The ark itself is a type of Christ! God gave Noah every detail of how it was to be built, from its dimensions to its purpose in protecting Noah and his family from the judgment that awaited the rest of the world. Likewise, God planned every minute detail of how Jesus would redeem God's people; not a single detail was left to man. As the big boat brought earthly salvation for Noah, so Christ brings eternal salvation for all who believe in Him. As the ark had but one door, so Christ is the door to God-He is the only way we can gain forgiveness for our sins and come to the Father.
284. The families of Noah's sons "had one language and a common speech" (Gen. 11:1). Babel was the original name for Babylon, which in Hebrew means "gate of God." Situated on the southern part of the flood plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Babylon was the site where builders attempted to erect a tower "that reaches to the heavens" (Gen. 11:4). The builders never completed the tower because their language became confused and they could no longer understand one another.
285. With the destruction of the tower of Babel, the Bible's story of the early history of humankind ends. Abraham, the great patriarch of the Hebrews, is a descendant of Noah's son Shem. Abraham was the man to whom God promised, "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great" (Gen. 12:2
277. Noah made his ark of "gopher wood" (Gen. 6:14), which probably meant the cypress tree. This wood is extremely durable. The doors of Saint Peter's in Rome are made from it and after twelve hundred years they still show no signs of decay.
278. The Bible does not list all of the animals that took refuge on the ark. However, those animals that survived the flood must have been the ones that were best known to the Hebrews and also those mentioned most often in the Bible through symbolism or otherwise.
279. The first bird Noah released was a raven, a powerful flier able to slice through the air or soar with the ease of a hawk on wings that span up to four feet. Its habitat wilderness, and so it was just the bird to scout out any crags that might have emerged from the flooded earth. The raven is noted for its remarkable memory, so this scout would not forget the location of the ark.
280. When the raven failed to give Noah any sign of land, Noah sent out a dove ("doves" and "pigeons," by the way, refer to the same birds.) The rock dove was one of the earliest of all animals to be domesticated. There are Egyptian records, dating back five thousand years, of people rearing them in captivity for food and probably also as carrier pigeons.
281. Very fast fliers, the strong wings of doves make them capable of powerful flight in a straight line, despite storms and high winds. Almost at least five thousand years of using doves and pigeons to carry messages, we are still not certain how a pigeon "homes"-finds its way back to its roost-as the Biblical dove found its way back to the ark.
282. The second time Noah sent out the dove, it returned before evening with an olive leaf. This was evidence that the waters had subsided enough to expose the valleys where olive trees grow. The olive was the most important tree cultivated in the Holy Land. It is native only to the lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea.
283. The story of Noah and the ark yields some interesting analysis as a type of Christ. The ark itself is a type of Christ! God gave Noah every detail of how it was to be built, from its dimensions to its purpose in protecting Noah and his family from the judgment that awaited the rest of the world. Likewise, God planned every minute detail of how Jesus would redeem God's people; not a single detail was left to man. As the big boat brought earthly salvation for Noah, so Christ brings eternal salvation for all who believe in Him. As the ark had but one door, so Christ is the door to God-He is the only way we can gain forgiveness for our sins and come to the Father.
284. The families of Noah's sons "had one language and a common speech" (Gen. 11:1). Babel was the original name for Babylon, which in Hebrew means "gate of God." Situated on the southern part of the flood plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Babylon was the site where builders attempted to erect a tower "that reaches to the heavens" (Gen. 11:4). The builders never completed the tower because their language became confused and they could no longer understand one another.
285. With the destruction of the tower of Babel, the Bible's story of the early history of humankind ends. Abraham, the great patriarch of the Hebrews, is a descendant of Noah's son Shem. Abraham was the man to whom God promised, "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great" (Gen. 12:2
Saturday, July 18, 2015
In The Beginning ll
266. "Apples of gold in settings of silver." Proverbs appears to describe the apricot in this way (25:11). Not only is this a lovely poetic description of an apricot tree, it is also remarkably accurate. Its fruit is golden and the pale undersides of the leaves look silver when they turn in the breeze.
267. Adam and Eve. The story of creation is one of continuing wonder to believers and nonbelievers alike. Humankind had to come from somewhere, and the story in Genesis 1 and 2 reveals how a creative, organized God spoke the world into existence.
268. The fall of man. Though Adam and Eve lived in a perfect world, they chose to disobey God and eat the forbidden fruit. Scripture is clear that such a choice led to our current situation-humankind is sinful and separated from God yet still desires peace with him.
269. The fig tree is the second tree named in the Bible. After eating the forbidden apricot, Adam and Eve "sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves" (Gen. 3:7). The large, tough leaves of the fig tree would certainly have made adequate clothing. Fig leaves are still sewn together in the Near East to make baskets, dishes, and even umbrellas.
270. Adam and Eve were banished from Eden into what the Bible describes as a land of thorn and thistles. Thorns and spines grow on many different kinds of plants, but they are especially common on plants of the desert and semiarid regions of the world. Many kinds of thistles grow abundantly in the Bible lands.
271. Adam and Eve's firstborn son, Cain, is remembered as the first murderer for killing his brother, Abel. When God sentenced Cain to wander the earth, Cain begged for mercy and, in fear, thought that someone would kill him. So God marked him. Widely viewed as a sign of guilt, the so-called "mark of Cain" is actually a symbol of divine mercy. Opponents of the death penalty point to this first murder and God's merciful sentence on the murderer as a Biblical rejection of capital punishment. For his crime Cain received a life sentence of hard labor.
272. Who were the Nephilim? Squeezed between the generation after Adam and the time of Noah is a curious story (Gen. 6:1-4) about the mysterious "Nephilim," briefly described as the offspring of the "sons of God." Echoing tales of Greek gods who mated with mortal women, the Biblical passage calls the offspring of the angelic-human marriages "heroes of old, men of renown." They are only mentioned once more in Hebrew Scriptures, where Nephilim literally translates as "fallen ones." Many believe they were giants possessing superhuman powers.
273. Some early theologians thought the Nephilim were fallen angels who were responsible for sin in the world. Whoever these "sons of God" and their children were, God was not happy with the situation . He limited human life spans to 120 years. People became so wicked that God was sorry he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him. "So the Lord said, 'I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth-men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground and birds of the air-for I am grieved that I have made them.' But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord" (Gen. 6:5-8).
274. Noah and the ark. Genesis chapters 6-9 tell the story of people becoming thoroughly evil and God's judgment against them by sending forty days and nights of continual rainfall. At the same time, He worked through one faithful man, Noah, to build an ark and preserve remnant so that humankind could continue. The story of judgment and mercy resonates through the ages.
275. Famous Renaissance artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was surprised to discover fossilized remains of sea creatures while walking in the Alps, and he asked how they got there. The conventional wisdom of his day simply said it was proof that a flood once covered the earth.
267. Adam and Eve. The story of creation is one of continuing wonder to believers and nonbelievers alike. Humankind had to come from somewhere, and the story in Genesis 1 and 2 reveals how a creative, organized God spoke the world into existence.
268. The fall of man. Though Adam and Eve lived in a perfect world, they chose to disobey God and eat the forbidden fruit. Scripture is clear that such a choice led to our current situation-humankind is sinful and separated from God yet still desires peace with him.
269. The fig tree is the second tree named in the Bible. After eating the forbidden apricot, Adam and Eve "sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves" (Gen. 3:7). The large, tough leaves of the fig tree would certainly have made adequate clothing. Fig leaves are still sewn together in the Near East to make baskets, dishes, and even umbrellas.
270. Adam and Eve were banished from Eden into what the Bible describes as a land of thorn and thistles. Thorns and spines grow on many different kinds of plants, but they are especially common on plants of the desert and semiarid regions of the world. Many kinds of thistles grow abundantly in the Bible lands.
271. Adam and Eve's firstborn son, Cain, is remembered as the first murderer for killing his brother, Abel. When God sentenced Cain to wander the earth, Cain begged for mercy and, in fear, thought that someone would kill him. So God marked him. Widely viewed as a sign of guilt, the so-called "mark of Cain" is actually a symbol of divine mercy. Opponents of the death penalty point to this first murder and God's merciful sentence on the murderer as a Biblical rejection of capital punishment. For his crime Cain received a life sentence of hard labor.
272. Who were the Nephilim? Squeezed between the generation after Adam and the time of Noah is a curious story (Gen. 6:1-4) about the mysterious "Nephilim," briefly described as the offspring of the "sons of God." Echoing tales of Greek gods who mated with mortal women, the Biblical passage calls the offspring of the angelic-human marriages "heroes of old, men of renown." They are only mentioned once more in Hebrew Scriptures, where Nephilim literally translates as "fallen ones." Many believe they were giants possessing superhuman powers.
273. Some early theologians thought the Nephilim were fallen angels who were responsible for sin in the world. Whoever these "sons of God" and their children were, God was not happy with the situation . He limited human life spans to 120 years. People became so wicked that God was sorry he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him. "So the Lord said, 'I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth-men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground and birds of the air-for I am grieved that I have made them.' But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord" (Gen. 6:5-8).
274. Noah and the ark. Genesis chapters 6-9 tell the story of people becoming thoroughly evil and God's judgment against them by sending forty days and nights of continual rainfall. At the same time, He worked through one faithful man, Noah, to build an ark and preserve remnant so that humankind could continue. The story of judgment and mercy resonates through the ages.
275. Famous Renaissance artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was surprised to discover fossilized remains of sea creatures while walking in the Alps, and he asked how they got there. The conventional wisdom of his day simply said it was proof that a flood once covered the earth.
Monday, July 13, 2015
In The Beginning I
257. God began it all. "In the beginning God..." is how the first verse of the first chapter of the first book of the Bible begins. The beginning of the history of the world is chronicled with those words!
258. Elohim, which originates from the Hebrews word el, is translated as "God." The Hebrew word el actually is used for reference to all general gods. Another title of God, el elyon, is also a derivation of this and means "the most high God" (Gen. 14:18).
259. Yahweh is the only name for God that is personal in nature. A Hebrew word, it is commonly translated into English versions as "Jehovah." or "the Lord" (Exod. 6:3).
260. When creation began. Relying on Biblical sources such as the chronologies and genealogies in Genesis, numerous people have attempted to pinpoint a time and date for the precise moment of creation. Ancient Hebrew scholars placed the moment as 3761 B.C. Perhaps the most famous creation date was the one produced by Irish bishop James Ussher (1581-1656). Using Genesis, Ussher dated the moment of creation to the early morning of the twenty-third of October in 4004 B.C. (Ussher actually used the Julian calendar year of 710). Ussher's calculation was widely accepted by European Christians for centuries and was included in the margins of many editions of the King James Bible, giving it nearly divine "authority."
261. Eden, which means "a place of delight," is believed by some scholars to have been located at the eastern end of the Fertile Crescent, near where the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers meet the Persian Gulf.
262. The name "Adam" is a pun on the similar Hebrew words for "soil" and for "man." The word Adam is derived from the Hebrew word for "man" in the collective sense, as in humanity or humankind. It is also related to the Hebrew word adamah, which means "ground" or "earth." The author of Genesis used a word-play. Adam, man, came from adamah, the ground.
263. Not an apple. Though legend has it that the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge that Eve was tempted by the serpent to taste was an apple, nowhere does the Bible identify it as one. In fact most scholars agree that the one fruit it definitely could not have been was the apple. Apples were not likely to have grown in the Bible ands in Old Testament times. However, apples were cultivated by the Egyptians, and the Romans at the time of Christ had more than twenty varieties.
264. The legend that the apple was the fruit on the tree of knowledge arose in the Middle Ages when artists painted pictures of Eve tasting the apple. Another source of confusion was the medieval custom of calling many different kinds of fruit "apples." Lemons were known as "Persian apples," dates as "finger apples," and pomegranates as "apples of Carthage."
265. Apples or apricots? The fruit meant by the Hebrew word commonly translated as "apple" was probably the apricot, which flourishes all over the Bible lands. A clue comes from Solomon, who used the same word to describe a tree: "I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste" (Songs of Sol. 2:3). Solomon seems to be describing the apricot, for even today nomads pitch their tents under its branches for shade, and it is the fruit with the sweetest taste in the Holy Land.
258. Elohim, which originates from the Hebrews word el, is translated as "God." The Hebrew word el actually is used for reference to all general gods. Another title of God, el elyon, is also a derivation of this and means "the most high God" (Gen. 14:18).
259. Yahweh is the only name for God that is personal in nature. A Hebrew word, it is commonly translated into English versions as "Jehovah." or "the Lord" (Exod. 6:3).
260. When creation began. Relying on Biblical sources such as the chronologies and genealogies in Genesis, numerous people have attempted to pinpoint a time and date for the precise moment of creation. Ancient Hebrew scholars placed the moment as 3761 B.C. Perhaps the most famous creation date was the one produced by Irish bishop James Ussher (1581-1656). Using Genesis, Ussher dated the moment of creation to the early morning of the twenty-third of October in 4004 B.C. (Ussher actually used the Julian calendar year of 710). Ussher's calculation was widely accepted by European Christians for centuries and was included in the margins of many editions of the King James Bible, giving it nearly divine "authority."
261. Eden, which means "a place of delight," is believed by some scholars to have been located at the eastern end of the Fertile Crescent, near where the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers meet the Persian Gulf.
262. The name "Adam" is a pun on the similar Hebrew words for "soil" and for "man." The word Adam is derived from the Hebrew word for "man" in the collective sense, as in humanity or humankind. It is also related to the Hebrew word adamah, which means "ground" or "earth." The author of Genesis used a word-play. Adam, man, came from adamah, the ground.
263. Not an apple. Though legend has it that the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge that Eve was tempted by the serpent to taste was an apple, nowhere does the Bible identify it as one. In fact most scholars agree that the one fruit it definitely could not have been was the apple. Apples were not likely to have grown in the Bible ands in Old Testament times. However, apples were cultivated by the Egyptians, and the Romans at the time of Christ had more than twenty varieties.
264. The legend that the apple was the fruit on the tree of knowledge arose in the Middle Ages when artists painted pictures of Eve tasting the apple. Another source of confusion was the medieval custom of calling many different kinds of fruit "apples." Lemons were known as "Persian apples," dates as "finger apples," and pomegranates as "apples of Carthage."
265. Apples or apricots? The fruit meant by the Hebrew word commonly translated as "apple" was probably the apricot, which flourishes all over the Bible lands. A clue comes from Solomon, who used the same word to describe a tree: "I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste" (Songs of Sol. 2:3). Solomon seems to be describing the apricot, for even today nomads pitch their tents under its branches for shade, and it is the fruit with the sweetest taste in the Holy Land.
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