Dave Aldon

Does God Eat?

The most important question you could ever ask is…what are you going to eat today? Some people don’t know if they’ll eat today. Some have lots of options, can eat out, or can only eat what they have at home. And in times of trouble, it can be hard to find healthy options or food you’re used to. Food can be a great blessing, and it can be a great evil in your life. It can be the source of gaining unhealthy weight, gluttony, an attitude of living to eat. But it can also be the beginning of hospitality, the conversation starter, a means to something greater. But even eating to live isn’t the best attitude. So is it wrong to live to eat? Is it wrong to eat to live? Wrong questions. The real question to ask is does God eat?

Abraham said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.”
“Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.”
– Genesis 18:3-5

The average biblical commentator would say that God is spirit and therefore doesn’t eat. This example from Genesis remains true to this statement, as we understand these appearances of God to be God the Son, for the presence of the Father is always far different and not so humanly relatable. When God the Father is present, there is fire and power that is devastating. This simply isn’t happening here with Abraham:

“Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”
“You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”
“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”
– John 8:56-58

But sometimes God the Son doesn’t eat at all, refusing food entirely:

Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you.”
The angel of the Lord replied, “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the Lord.”
– Judges 13:15-16

If you’re confused as to why I’m attributing an angel of the Lord to being Jesus, check out this post.

So what does it matter? We know Jesus ate. He most certainly ate at the Passover, and he ate all the time because he was fully human. But did he eat to live? Or live to eat? What about God the Father? Jesus knew the answer to these questions. So lets look at what the Bible has to say about it:

Heavenly Food

At first glance, there is mounting evidence that God the Father eats, contrary to his “spirit” nature:

And one cake of bread mixed with oil and one wafer from the basket of unleavened bread which is set before the Lord.
Exodus 29:23

They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God, for they present the offerings by fire to the Lord, the food of their God; so they shall be holy.
– Leviticus 21:6

“Command the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be careful to present My offering, My food for My offerings by fire, of a soothing aroma to Me, at their appointed time.’”
– Numbers 28:2

“But you are profaning it, in that you say, ‘The table of the Lord is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food is to be despised.’”
– Malachi 1:12

But what the entire Bible lacks, is any mention of God actually eating any of these offerings. In fact, we find the opposite, where God outlines how he does not eat sacrifices. God spells out for us how severely he doesn’t need anything from us.

Every wild animal of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the air, and all that moves in the field is mine.
If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and all that is in it is mine. Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High. Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.
– Psalms 50:7-15

From Isaiah 1, we find that God wants us to be obedient more than he wants our sacrifices:

Hear the word of the LORD, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the instruction of our God, You people of Gomorrah.
“What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. When you come to appear before Me, who requires of you this trampling of My courts? Bring your worthless offerings no longer, incense is an abomination to Me.”

Your hands are covered with blood. Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.

Indeed, God has always desired righteousness over sacrifices. Not to say that sacrifice is worthless, but obedience a greater thing. God doesn’t eat the sacrifices, he doesn’t need them, he doesn’t need anything from us. He desires obedience, which is more pleasing than the “pleasing aroma” of sacrifice. This is because God the Father is spirit, and righteousness is a very spiritual thing.

With what shall I come to the LORD And bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, With yearling calves? Does the LORD take delight in thousands of rams, in ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?
– Micah 6:6-8

Earthly Food

So now that we see that God doesn’t eat food, let’s look at food we eat. Did you know that God knows how to cook? Funny how he doesn’t eat but still knows how to make something pretty good:

Elijah lay down under the bush and fell asleep.
All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.
– 1 Kings 19:5-6

But wait…the angel made the food, not God! But how would an angel know how to do it in the first place?

Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you.
– Exodus 16:4

The King of heaven knows how to make bread for our bodies, but more importantly he knows how to make bread for our spirit:

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
– John 6:35

God provides us with earthly food. Even today, your ability to get food is because of God’s provisions. Everything around us is from God. God doesn’t say that food is bad for us, he knows we need to eat at some point while we’re living on earth. And even spiritually we must be fed the bread of life to live forever. Food is important to God.

Summing It All Up

So what if God the Father doesn’t eat? So what if Jesus eats? So what if God knows how to make earthly food? Why does our question matter about whether we should eat to live, or live to eat? This all matters because food is something we encounter all our lives. It’s a fact of life that everyone eats food at some point. That means that God has given us a proper way to interact with it.

We’ve seen how God the Father tells us how he doesn’t need food. Jesus, who is fully human, says he doesn’t need only food to live:

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”
– Matthew 4:4

This doesn’t mean that Jesus didn’t need food, but that we do not live only because we eat. We know that living to eat is gluttony and idolatry, but Jesus has also just told us that we do not eat to live either. Food is not what’s sustaining us. Every word that proceeds from the mount of God is what sustains us. God feeds us, just like how he fed Elijah, and just like how he fed the Israelites. He feeds us with real physical food, and spiritual food through God the Son.

If you’re tired of hearing about food, or want this entire message summed up to one verse in the Bible, it’s right below. Obsessing over the meaning of food is in itself meaningless. God doesn’t need it, Jesus didn’t survive on food alone, and we shouldn’t make it the focal point of our lives. Food is provided to us by God, the God who is truly keeping us alive. He is the one we should be living for.

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
– Romans 14:17

Good Friday in the Old Testament

Easter was about a week ago, and it’s great to recognize the resurrection of Christ. But what about why it took three days for this to happen? Why did Jesus have to die to later come back to life? People usually answer these questions with the broad strokes: he had to die for our sins, he had to because he loved us, he had to because it was the will of God the Father, or he had to do it to fulfill prophecy. John 3:16 comes to mind, a commonly known verse that describes all you’ll need to know about why Jesus had to die. Or is it? God gave us his son, but why to die? If Jesus was fulfilling the law in his death, where in the Old Testament does it say he had to be dead for three days? Where is the logical answer? I believe that the living Bible provides understanding that all types of people might be looking for. It has simple answers, like John 3:16. And it has detailed answers, very detailed answers that we can explore and investigate. So we’re going to look at the reason why Jesus had to die in such a specific way, and be dead for three days.

Prophecy and Signs

Jesus points to reasons why he had to die, and stay dead for three days. He points us to signs long ago, and prophesies what will happen. But what’s missing?

Here’s a sign:

For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. – Matthew 12:40

Here’s a prophecy:

Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.” – Luke 18:31-33

What’s missing is a reason for the three days. The son of man would not be dead for three days because of Jonah, but Jonah would be a sign of something greater to come:

Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here. – Matthew 12:38-42

Jonah’s experience is a result of Jesus’ experience to come. This was not the prophecy he’s talking about fulfilling in Luke 18, it’s just a sign. So besides in Jesus’ own words, where is it prophesied that he would be dead for three days? Where in the Old Testament is it ever said that he would die for three days?

Nowhere

The Old Testament contains no prophecy that Jesus would be dead for three days. What is does contain is prophecy about him dying, and a pattern of threes. But the Bible isn’t a puzzle, it’s alive and helps hammer down concepts. Here’s one about repentance when the Jews had rejected God:

After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. – Hosea 6:2

For three days Esther was dead to fasting, awaiting revival by her king (you can read more about this in one of my older posts here):

“Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” – Esther 4:16

When God tests Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his son, for three days Abraham’s son was dead to him while they went up the mountain. His son was saved and returned to Abraham when God provided a substitute:

Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. – Genesis 22:3-4

Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death. – Hebrews 11:19

Decay in Jewish culture happens after something has been dead for three days. David says that God will not let his faithful one be dead longer than three days:

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. – Psalm 16:9-11

This adds more meaning to the resurrection of Lazarus, who was dead for four days, something no one believed Jesus could do. Anything less would be, funnily enough, plausible to everyone. This one gets close to our answer, but that still leaves one or two days as an option. We’re still not sure why it had to be specifically three days. In fact, why did the Jews believe three days was the magic number for decay?

We’re really close. The Jews were familiar with three, they were familiar with how special these number of days were. So what’s the answer? Let’s get this over with!

The Law of Moses

Putting all of these examples together, we know that three days relate to sacrifice, repentance, and deliverance. Leviticus has guidelines for exactly these things. It goes on and on about how to sacrifice properly in order to be delivered from sin. We often get lost in how seemingly repetitive or boring Leviticus is. But again, the Bible is a living book, and the boring parts aren’t so boring when the time is right. The next time you encounter a genealogy or a list of measurements, they might be trying to tell you something:

If, however, their offering is the result of a vow or is a freewill offering, the sacrifice shall be eaten on the day they offer it, but anything left over may be eaten on the next day. Any meat of the sacrifice left over till the third day must be burned up. If any meat of the fellowship offering is eaten on the third day, the one who offered it will not be accepted. It will not be reckoned to their credit, for it has become impure; the person who eats any of it will be held responsible. – Leviticus 7:16-18

Jesus gave himself freely to fulfill God’s vow to save us. He was a freewill offering. On the day his life was offered, the disciples had communion:

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” – Luke 22:19

His flesh was eaten on the day his life was offered. And what about the rest?

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. – Luke 23:43

And now if any meat is left over, the law said that it must be completely burned up, nothing left by the third day:

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. – Luke 24:1-2

It had to be three days. Jesus’ body had to be gone on the third day. Communion had to take place on the first day. This simple guideline in Leviticus reveals the reason why so many small details were absolutely necessary. It even explains why this warning exists:

Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. – 1 Corinthians 11:17

If Jesus’ body was still in the tomb by the third day, his sacrifice would have been meaningless. And partaking in communion against the guidelines of Leviticus counts against us.

So this is it, this is the exact law Jesus said he was fulfilling. The next time you think about Jesus dying on the cross, think about all the intricacies of the law he was following, all of the special guidelines he was following that went under everyone’s noses. He fulfilled EVERY law in Leviticus, this post is just scraping the surface:

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. – Matthew 5:17-18

What about the food?

Since we’re finding the answer to everything around the three days question, let’s answer another. Why did Jesus use bread to symbolize his flesh? We know that he is the bread of life, we know that God used bread (mana) to show us that we cannot live on bread alone. But where is this bread in the law? How was using bread fulfilling his Levitical obligations?

If they offer it as an expression of thankfulness, then along with this thank offering they are to offer thick loaves made without yeast and with olive oil mixed in, thin loaves made without yeast and brushed with oil, and thick loaves of the finest flour well-kneaded and with oil mixed in. Along with their fellowship offering of thanksgiving they are to present an offering with thick loaves of bread made with yeast. They are to bring one of each kind as an offering, a contribution to the Lord; it belongs to the priest who splashes the blood of the fellowship offering against the altar. The meat of their fellowship offering of thanksgiving must be eaten on the day it is offered; they must leave none of it till morning. – Leviticus 7:12-15

It is a difficult concept to wrap our heads around, that is, eating Jesus’ flesh. But don’t worry, the disciple’s had the same problem. But they learned what it meant by taking part in the symbolism, they learned by being spiritually fed. The meaning behind the three days or communion are pointless unless you partake in the law Jesus fulfilled.

It’s not too late, we didn’t miss the sacrifice. There’s still time for you to eat and never grow hungry, to drink and never go thirsty. Jesus is alive and wants us to partake in communion, to give thanks for the bread of life, and live on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God:

I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” – John 6 48:60

Working Remote in the Bible

Found yourself working remote lately, or alone, or isolated? These aren’t new experiences in humanity. The good news is that this means we have positive examples to look to in scripture, and God has a purpose for our remote work, loneliness, or isolation.

When You’re Really Alone

Working remote for many people means that they’ll end up spending more time with their family, but that’s not always the case. Not all of us are married, not all of us live with family, and not all of us have roommates. So when some of us work remote, we have to deal with long periods of being alone.

They had with them every wild animal according to its kind, all livestock according to their kinds, every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind and every bird according to its kind, everything with wings. Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark. The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut him in.
– Genesis 7:14-16

Noah is a great example of isolation with family or friends. You’re still disconnected from the world, and this relates to a lot of people’s remote work situations. But sometimes we don’t even have family or friends around us. Yet, they all have something in common.

It Won’t Last Forever

Being alone for periods of time isn’t inherently wrong. It happens to many people in the Bible. When you’re alone, this is the perfect time to return to God. In Noah’s case, it was to save him and his family. In any case, God can call you to seclusion for a reason:

David went to Nob, to Ahimelek the priest. Ahimelek trembled when he met him, and asked, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?”
“The king has given me a mission,” David replied.
– 1 Samuel 21:1-2

But the real point here is that their seclusion always came to an end. It never lasted very long. Noah wasn’t on the Ark forever. Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days, and then returned. David’s mission eventually ended.

Only Moses is allowed to come near to the LORD. The others must not come near, and none of the other people are allowed to climb up the mountain with him.
– Exodus 24:2

Moses always came back from the mountain. But he was with God the entire time. This is righteous isolation, where we’re not alone spiritually, but physically.

After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.
– Matthew 14:23-25

Jesus always returned to his disciples. But he was always praying to God when alone.

So if being secluded is okay, should we seek to be alone? Should we isolate ourselves in order to bring about blessings in life?

Seclusion is Decided by God

Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.
– Proverbs 18:1

Seclusion is only good when God calls us to participate in it, and when that happens we know it won’t last too long. We know it’s for a good reason. But when we seek seclusion as a means to bring about something good, it’s not going to work. If you seek to isolate yourself, you seek your own desire. Noah being isolated in the Ark wasn’t his own idea. Moses didn’t seek to climb the mountain alone, he was commanded to. Jesus didn’t seek to seclude himself, he was following the will of his Father; the Holy Spirit led him there. And David didn’t go on his mission alone by choice, he was following his instructions. But when God calls us to be alone, in order to bring about something good, it doesn’t mean it will be a cake-walk either:

Seclusion Can Get Painful

Isolation will hurt after a while, it doesn’t matter if you’re extroverted or introverted. It isn’t natural to be permanently alone:

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”
– Genesis 2:18

Even God himself was not alone in the beginning, before creation:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.
– John 1:1

So when we’re taken away from what is natural, it will feel different. It will hurt, but if it’s because of what God is asking you to do, it’s bringing about something good. And it’s most likely because God wants you back, something the Psalmist is praying for:

Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.
– Psalm 25:16

You cannot do this alone. And I’m not talking about people. God can isolate you from people, but you’re not truly alone if you return to him in your seclusion. Moses was never alone on the mountain, Jesus was never alone in his 40 days in the wilderness, and you don’t have to be alone working from home day after day. If God wants you back, let him take you, and you won’t be alone anymore:

For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.
– Jeremiah 29:10

If this were not true, salvation would be impossible. In order to have salvation, we have to talk to somebody, we can’t do it on our own in isolation:

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
– John 14:6

Don’t shut yourself out from family and friends, if you do, you shut yourself out from God also. And if God has placed you in seclusion, return to him because he wants you back. Just talk to him, acknowledge his presence, don’t ignore him, and you will never be alone again.

Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
– Psalm 139:7-10

Dealing with In-Law Advice

Are your spouse’s parents annoying? Meddlesome? Quick to point out your flaws? Or are they really great, but non-Christians? The mentioning of in-laws can bring a swath of emotions to someone. And when they’re strong emotions, they’re usually negative. Some people have good relationships with their in-laws, some don’t. Either way, when you find yourself interacting with them, it’s good to be prepared for their advice. What does the Bible say about this?

Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent. – Exodus 18:7

A great example in the Bible involving in-laws is Moses and Jethro. Their interaction is a positive way to engage with advice, or what we might incorrectly call meddling.

Now Jethro, the priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. – Exodus 18:1

Jethro hears about the success of Moses after the Israelites leave Egypt, and most likely believes everything is safe to come out, because earlier Moses left his family with him.

Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’ sons and wife, came to him in the wilderness, where he was camped near the mountain of God. Jethro had sent word to him, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.” – Exodus 18:5-6

They meet and the result is a testament to being a good example for in-laws who may not believe in God:

Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. He said, “Praise be to the Lord, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.” – Exodus 18:9-11

Before we talk about dealing with advice, know that following God’s plan can lead to your relatives’ salvation:

Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God. – Exodus 18:12

Now let’s get into the criticism, the drama, the meddling.

The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. – Exodus 18:13

Moses is working, doing the job God called him to do. Everything is back to normal, but then his in-law notices something and intervenes:

When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?” – Exodus 18:13

Moses seems to go on the defensive, and misses the point. Has your in-law ever criticized your work? Your life? Your choices?

Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.” – Exodus 18:14

His answer interestingly enough dodges the second question. Jethro wanted to know why Moses judges alone.

Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good.” – Exodus 18:15

Do your in-laws ever ask uncomfortable questions? Questions that don’t make sense? Surely God chose only Moses to be the mediator, right? But Moses can’t say that because he knows how Aaron has shared in the responsibility. Even if Jethro wasn’t an Israelite, he was wise:

You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you.
You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.
Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you.” – Exodus 18:18-22

Jethro gives advice, whether Moses wanted it or not. Does this happen to you ever? Getting advice you didn’t ask for? Getting criticized for something you believe is the right thing to do? By your in-laws of all people? They’re not your real parents, what do they know? Does it feel like there’s nothing you can do that’s right in their eyes? Well there’s a solution to this, and it requires a simple test that even Jethro understood:

If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.” – Exodus 18:23

If God is also asking you do follow the advice, you should do it. If he isn’t, don’t do it. But surely you might be afraid that if you don’t listen to your in-laws then they’ll be even more upset than ever! That is the choice, God or man. Who will you follow? Who knows how to take care of you? Who is the wisest of all?

For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in. – Psalm 27:10

Don’t be afraid of rejection. If they reject you for not following God’s advice:

“Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.” – Luke 10:16

But we are also to honor our parents, our in-laws, our family. There is a right way to handle advice that goes against God:

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. – Ephesians 4:29

So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. – 1 Peter 2:1

And what if their advice is what God wants? You need to swallow your pride and do it. God sends people from all over to help us, even in-laws:

Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves. – Exodus 18:24-26

Imagine if Moses didn’t do this and became overwhelmed, going against God and trying to do everything on his own? For one thing, his relationship with Jethro would be damaged severely. Jethro might have sent an “I told you so” message here and there too, which might only antagonize the situation further. But we can theorize about the bad stuff all we want, what happened in Exodus is the good example. And Jethro didn’t stick around either, which I believe is because God wasn’t going to let him micro-manage Moses:

Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country. – Exodus 18:27

If you follow your in-laws’ advice, if it coincides with God’s will, God will place them in the most appropriate spot in your life. In Moses’ case, Jethro didn’t need to be around very long. In Ruth’s case, her mother-in-law stayed with her for years:

Ruth said, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. – Ruth 1:16

None of this is bad, it’s what God decides is good for you. Your in-laws may have varying degrees of involvement with your life, and when they give that advice you’re dreading, or if you love to hear from them, always remember what Jethro said:

If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.” – Exodus 18:23

If your in-laws give you advice, and God is saying the same thing, follow it and you will stand the strain, and you will be satisfied.

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But a wise man is he who listens to counsel. – Proverbs 12:15

Dealing with Anxiety

Today I got afraid of failing, not doing good enough, or just disappointing myself. It stresses me physically and mentally, and I start worrying about everything. Everyone can feel this way, or worse for various reasons. But no matter the severity or circumstance we all have the same thing in common: what we see. What does everyone experiencing anxiety see? My father shared with me Matthew 17 which opened my eyes to the one thing I should be focusing on during this time.

Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. – Matthew 17:3

The circumstance bringing about our anxiety isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s what we see while it’s happening that matters. During the transfiguration of Jesus, there were three witnesses: Peter, James, and John. During this miraculous event, fantastic things happened that could really stress someone out, confuse them, make them anxious, or afraid to disappoint:

There, Jesus was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. – Matthew 17:2-3

Can you imagine seeing someone like that? Can you imagine seeing two of the greatest prophets and leaders in history together alongside God himself? It’s a stressful moment. Sometimes we flounder, looking for a solution to our stressful problem, we look for options, we try to come up with something to do because everything going on is overwhelming us and it’s confusing! Peter does that:

Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” – Matthew 17:4

But the things we come up with don’t matter, they’ll never matter. They won’t fix the problem, they won’t remove the stress, they won’t solve all of our fears. The options we come up with don’t work and God knows they don’t work:

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. – Proverbs 14:12

Peter’s suggestion is pointless and God speaks over him:

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” – Matthew 17:5

God is handing us the solution to anxiety, fear, confusion, and stress on a silver platter. He will talk over us while we’re bumbling around and give us his solution. How we respond is important, and we need to do exactly as the disciples did after hearing God speak over them:

When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. – Matthew 17:6

You need to stop what you’re doing right now and fall facedown to God. We see a lot of things when we experience anxiety, mostly problems, or solutions, or Moses and Elijah. But when we stop and submit, we will see one thing only:

But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.”When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. – Matthew 17:7-8

If you’re experiencing stress, anxiety, fear, confusion, or anything that makes you feel trapped or lost, remember that God is speaking right now and all you need to do is stop. Jesus will take away your anxiety, your fear, your confusion, your floundering, and your pain. You will see no one except Jesus, and you will be at peace.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:7

PTSD in the Bible

Post-traumatic stress disorder, something we often associate with war, can happen with anyone who has experienced a traumatic event. But PTSD is terminology that didn’t exist forever, but it’s real and has been experienced by people for thousands of years. How do we know this? Because people in the Bible have gone through the same difficulties, and show us how God can help. Hopelessness is our enemy, but there is an answer to PTSD that transcends medication and therapy.

What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me. I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil. – Job 3:25-26

In the Bible, trauma, which brings about PTSD, can come from two places: Your sin, or someone else. We can avoid the first one, and understand why it happens easily. But the second is a more difficult concept surrounding God’s sovereignty, because in many of those cases we are innocent. However, no matter what, there is hope for you and a reason for all of this:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11

PTSD because of our choices

Especially in combat, soldiers who experience trauma can be the aggressor, the victim, or both. In the Old Testament, Israel was in frequent wars, and its armies killed hundreds of thousands of people. In these events, they are the aggressors of trauma, and may have certainly been susceptible to having PTSD after battles. But why aren’t soldiers ever really described as having issues like this?

Then Moses said to them: “If you do this thing, if you arm yourselves before the Lord for the war, and all your armed men cross over the Jordan before the Lord until He has driven out His enemies from before Him, and the land is subdued before the Lord, then afterward you may return and be blameless before the Lord and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the Lord. – Numbers 32:20-22

God promised that if they fought in the way that he designed, they would not be sinning, and there could be no guilt haunting them. But when we are the aggressor against God, we will not be blameless, and there are great consequences such as demonic influence explained in this blog post, which can make us responsible for many more sins; or simply death:

Ahab asked Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to fight against Ramoth Gilead?”
Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, “I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “First seek the counsel of the Lord.” – 1 Kings 22:4-6

Ahab had a chance to follow God’s will, which was to not attack. As the prophet Micaiah said:

Micaiah declared, “If you ever return safely, the Lord has not spoken through me.” Then he added, “Mark my words, all you people!” – 1 Kings 22:28

But Ahab did it anyway, as the aggressor of great trauma and sin in times of war, as many people today do great evil in battle.

So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. – 1 Kings 22:29

While being the aggressor of trauma against God’s will can cause us to sin even more and go down a demonic path, sometimes God has had enough, and this story shows when time has run out:

But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the sections of his armor.
The king told his chariot driver, “Wheel around and get me out of the fighting. I’ve been wounded.”
All day long the battle raged, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans. The blood from his wound ran onto the floor of the chariot, and that evening he died. – 1 Kings 22:34-35

If you go against God in battle, in finances, in your job, in your marriage, or anything in life, you will not return home blameless. The guilt will follow you, and you will experience either pain or death, and so will those around you. So stop what you’re doing and instead arm yourself before God.

PTSD because of someone else

We can experience trauma solely as the victim. Being robbed at gunpoint, attacked, raped, cheated, or other terrible things can cause us to have PTSD. In fact, people suffer all the time because of other people’s sin:

During the reign of David, there was a famine for three successive years; so David sought the face of the LORD. The LORD said, “It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death.” – 2 Samuel 21:1

But what about when we don’t know where it’s coming from, or there’s nothing we can do about the aggressor? What about when you feel trapped, with no resolution, no way to find closure with the person who wronged you?

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. – 2 Corinthians 12:7

The secular approach to Paul’s issue might be to think positively, find a support group, or take medications to help. Perhaps even a “faith healer” might say, as in the example of Job’s friends, that Paul needs more faith to have his pain removed, or surely there is some unrepented sin in his life. But there’s something else going on, and Paul knows it. His solution is to reach out to God, and God gives us the answer to all PTSD related problems:

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.
But God said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. – 2 Corinthians 12:8-9

The grace of God is all we need when we experience trauma, and the aftermath of trauma. God’s power is made perfect in the weakness we experience.

For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. – 2 Corinthians 12:10

Truth is the answer to PTSD. God’s grace is sufficient for our trauma. If you feel alone, like no one understands what’s going on, someone does:

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses. – Hebrews 4:15

Jesus experienced trauma unlike anything we can imagine. Even God the Father rejected him in the end:

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? – Matthew 27:46

If anyone understands PTSD, or being alone, it’s Jesus, and his grace is sufficient for you. Start with Jesus, and he may very well lead you to the right support group, the right therapist, or anything. But if you start with those things first, they will not work.

Looking ahead

Understand that even Jesus still had wounds after the resurrection. He will always remember his trauma, but he is alive after all of his pain and promises us life as well. PTSD is not the end. The way, the truth, and the life is the end. Believe in the good things God will do with your life that you cannot see right now, the promises Jeremiah talked about earlier. God’s grace is sufficient for PTSD.

Thomas said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” – John 20:25-29

Remember To Thank God

In those days Israel had no king. – Judges 19:1

Thanksgiving is a time people often use to remind themselves what they’re thankful for. When I think about things I’m thankful for, I think about Judges 19. This is one of the most problematic chapters in the Bible because of how horrific, and seemingly godless the account is. And that’s the point, right at the beginning of the chapter it’s spelled out for us that Israel had no king. Neither God nor a man was ruler of Israel, for they had rejected everything good sent to them. So what does this have to do with thanksgiving? Consider it a vision of what our lives would be like had Jesus never come to seek and save the lost, because even though Judges 19 says there was no king, Jesus is still in the message as plain as day.

Make sure to read Judges 19 in its entirety in order to get the whole picture. Many commentaries make the connection between this story and the story of Sodom and Gamorrah. Both involve a wicked city (Sodom and Gibeah), travellers who stay the night (Angels and the Levite), a woman who dies (Lot’s wife and the Concubine), and the final destruction of the cities. But there’s details given that should turn your attention towards something else. Notice the similarities between the Levite and Jesus, not the Levite and Lot:

After the unfaithfulness of the woman, the Levite’s story of bringing her back begins in Bethlehem:

She left him and went back to her parents’ home in Bethlehem, Judah. – Judges 19:2

After the unfaithfulness of Israel, Jesus’ story of bringing us back begins in Bethlehem:

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. – Micah 5:2

After accomplishing his mission, the man returns to the house of the Lord as is his Levite duty:

“We are on our way from Bethlehem in Judah to a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim where I live. I have been to Bethlehem in Judah and now I am going to the house of the Lord.” – Judges 19:18

Jesus also returns to God in the wilderness to escape the Pharisees, for his appointed time to die had not yet come:

Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples. – John 11:54

The result of the Levite giving up the woman is her death, and he gives her body to the twelve tribes of Israel to remember Gibeah’s wickedness:

When he reached home, he took a knife and cut up his concubine, limb by limb, into twelve parts and sent them into all the areas of Israel. – Judges 19:29

Instead of giving up his bride to the wicked, Jesus gives himself up and sends his own body to the twelve disciples:

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. – Luke 22:19-20

Israel is betrayed, and the betrayers will be destroyed:

The tribes of Israel sent messengers throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What about this awful crime that was committed among you? Now turn those wicked men of Gibeah over to us so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel.” But the Benjamites would not listen to their fellow Israelites. From their towns they came together at Gibeah to fight against the Israelites. – Judges 20:12-14

Jesus is betrayed, and his betrayer will be destroyed:

But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!” – Luke 22:21-22

These similarities are clearly not showing that Jesus and the Levite are equals, but opposites in the same situation. For thanksgiving, remember to thank God for sending his son to die for us. We have the gift of salvation because Jesus did not send his bride out to the wicked crowd, but himself. It was his body that was broken for us, not ours. The Levite in Judges 19 gave up the woman so that he could live, which is something a groom should never do. Jesus will never give us up to the crowd, we’ll never be abandoned. But he will come for us in Bethlehem whenever we fail. For thanksgiving, as we enjoy a meal, let us do what Jesus did and give thanks to God for all that was given for us, including the life that was sacrificed so that we might live:

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” – Luke 22:19

Ascension And Pentecost In The Old Testament

Ascension day is a notable time in the bible. It’s when Jesus left us after the resurrection, and it triggered the Pentecost, whereby the Holy Spirit entered the disciples and us today. But everything Jesus did was nothing new, nothing we haven’t seen before in the Old Testament, which includes his ascension and the Pentecost. This is an important topic to discuss because the Old Testament is full of little pieces of Jesus’ life in highly relatable stories. Sometimes it can be hard to put ourselves in the disciples’ shoes, therefore if we can better relate the ascension and Pentecost to our own lives, then we can better rely on the more misunderstood person of the trinity: The Holy Spirit. The Old Testament has a very specific account of a piece of the Ascension, and a piece of the Pentecost, and after this we will have a much bigger visual of what these things meant for the disciples, and what they mean for us today.

The Ascension

Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. – Acts 1:9

We’ve seen this before in the Old Testament. You might recall the two common examples:

And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. – Genesis 5:24

Then it came about as they were going along and talking, that behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven. – 2 Kings 2:11

These examples certainly have meaning and there’s a lot going on with them, but this time we’re more interested in the less common ascension. This one comes from Judges, and you’re probably familiar with who this story is about:

A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth. The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.” – Judges 13:2-5

The Angel of the Lord

This story in Judges is all about Samson, but right here we’re interested in the interaction Samson’s parents have with what is called “the angel of the Lord.” But the Old Testament ever so frequently shows us that the angel of the Lord is, in fact, God himself in most circumstances. How do we know this is God? The same way we know “the angel of the Lord” was God in the burning bush with Moses:

There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. – Exodus 3:2

When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” – Exodus 3:4

Even Stephen makes this connection later in the new testament:

“After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to get a closer look, he heard the Lord say: ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.” – Acts 7:30-32

Jesus

After God gives the promise of a child to Samson’s parents, they have one final peculiar interaction before the great Old Testament ascension we’ve been waiting to see:

Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you.” The angel of the Lord replied, “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the Lord.” (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of the Lord.) Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?” He replied, “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding.” – Judges 13:15-18

This is the sign that the angel of the Lord, who we know is God, is even more specifically Jesus himself. Now, don’t think that Jesus showing up in the Old Testament is unheard of. We see Jesus refuse to give his name in another place:

Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there. – Genesis 32:29

Why would Jesus withhold this information? Because the name “Jesus” wasn’t given to him yet, and before his virgin birth he had another name, a name that he still has today that cannot be blasphemed, cannot be tainted, and is forever pure and holy:

His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. – Revelations 19:12

Are you still not convinced that this is Jesus? Isaiah attributes all of these types of encounters with the angel of the Lord to Jesus, our savior:

He said, “Surely they are my people, children who will be true to me.” And so he became their Savior. In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against them. – Isaiah 63:8-10

Isaiah is recounting the entire experience of Israel, and how God saved them repeatedly and fought against them in their many rebellions. But God the father is not the redeemer, Jesus is, and he was alive in the Old Testament just as he is alive today!

I know that my redeemer lives. – Job 19:25

Jesus Departs

Now that we understand where Jesus fits in this story, we can finally see the Old Testament ascension:

Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the Lord. And the Lord did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. When the angel of the Lord did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the Lord. – Judges 13:19-21

Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. – Acts 1:9

It’s pretty self explanatory at this point, isn’t it? The only difference is that there is no fire involved in the New Testament. But the significance of this is related to the difference between Old and New Testament sacrifice, which is another story in itself. But there’s one more thing to cover that is key to this whole topic: the Pentecost.

The Pentecost

On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. – Acts 2:1-4

We see this happen to Samson after Jesus ascends in fire:

When her son was born, she named him Samson. And the Lord blessed him as he grew up. And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him while he lived in Mahaneh-dan, which is located between the towns of Zorah and Eshtaol. – Judges 13:24-25

The Holy Spirit can impart a multitude of gifts to people today, and in the Old Testament. There’s a misconception that Samson was given super strength permanently as long as his hair wasn’t cut. But looking at some examples where he shows great strength illustrates that it’s the Holy Spirit that decided when to give and when to take:

Then the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. He went down to the town of Ashkelon, killed thirty men, took their belongings, and gave their clothing to the men who had solved his riddle. – Judges 14:19

As Samson arrived at Lehi, the Philistines came shouting in triumph. But the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon Samson, and he snapped the ropes on his arms as if they were burnt strands of flax, and they fell from his wrists. Then he found the jawbone of a recently killed donkey. He picked it up and killed 1,000 Philistines with it. – Judges 15:14-15

And when did the Holy Spirit leave him? We already saw Isaiah mention this earlier:

Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against them. – Isaiah 63:10

When Samson gives in to his wicked and overbearing wife, telling her his secret, he has rejected God. She then cut his hair which grieved the Holy Spirit:

When he woke up, he thought, “I will do as before and shake myself free.” But he didn’t realize the Lord had left him. – Judges 16:20

This is the Pentecost in the Old Testament. It’s an event in which the Holy Spirit enters us and gives us amazing power to do God’s will, after Jesus’ promise and ascension. In the New Testament, Jesus leaves and gives us the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament, Jesus left and left Samson the Holy Spirit.

What This Means for Us

We’ve seen the Ascension, the Pentecost, and Jesus in the Old Testament. So what if Jesus was talking to Samson’s parents? So what if the Holy Spirit became available to Samson after Jesus ascended in fire? Why does this matter? It serves as an illustration of the great things the Holy Spirit can help us do, and it’s a warning of what happens when we reject God. Samson is a highly relatable person who has access to great power provided by the Holy Spirit. His life is full of betrayal, mistakes with women, overbearing influences he gives into, and high expectations from his family raising him as a strict Nazarite. But even in his failure, even when God fought against him and took away his strength, handing him over to his enemies, we can see that God was still waiting for him to finally return and restore him. Although Samson died in the end, he died like the thief on the cross, who said:

“And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds.” – Luke 23:41

And just like the thief, Samson, resting by the pillars of the Philistine temple, blind and beaten, experiencing the ultimate consequences for his failures, finally chose God:

Then Samson prayed to the Lord, “Sovereign Lord, remember me again.” – Judges 16:28

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” – Luke 23:42

Human Sacrifice In The 21st Century

Human sacrifice is regarded as an ancient, pagan practice. Something modern society has shed, and anywhere it’s currently practiced is in the most isolated and obscure of cultures. But this is naive, because human sacrifice is going on everywhere, and you’re guaranteed to know someone who has done it, if you haven’t already done it yourself. Now, surely I’m talking about symbolic sacrifice or something more harmless, something that isn’t really wrong? No. Real human sacrifice that kills, destroys, and damages lives. Sin never changes, and human sacrifice is happening everywhere today just like it happened everywhere long ago. So if you’ve ever thought the warnings against human sacrifice in the Bible don’t apply to you, it’s time to take another look.

Man’s Ambition

The first example of human sacrifice sets the basis for why it happens: pride. For surely a family God has blessed us with can be used and abused to prove our penitence? Surely we can entice God with gifts so that he fulfills his promises? No! Let’s look at two passages in parallel to see how human sacrifice is the product of our ambition:

Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. – Judges 11:1

But you—come here, you children of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes! – Isaiah 57:3

And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: “If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.” – Judges 11:30-31

Who are you mocking? At whom do you sneer and stick out your tongue? Are you not a brood of rebels, the offspring of liars? – Isaiah 57:4

When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of timbrels! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, “Oh no, my daughter! You have brought me down and I am devastated. I have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break.” – Judges 11:34-35

You burn with lust among the oaks and under every spreading tree; you sacrifice your children in the ravines and under the overhanging crags. – Isaiah 57:5

You don’t know the damage you’re doing to your family when you put them behind your goals and desires. You want your child to be amazing at sports but forget the physical toll it’s taking on them. Your addiction set you back, and the money God gave you is gone and your kids will remember the day their parents stopped caring. Your wife died in childbirth and you blame the one who survived. You took the new job even though you hardly ever see your kids anymore. Your dad is in hospice and it’s a lot of work to help him, so you leave it to someone else.

It’s all about me and what I can give up to make myself greater, right? Doesn’t God love those who give up everything for him? Hasn’t God always desired sacrifice above all else?

No

And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. – 1 Samuel 15:22

To sacrifice your family is not obedience. To increase his influence with the pagans, Ahaz was willing to sacrifice anything:

Unlike David his father, Ahaz did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He followed the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire. – 2 Kings 16:2-3

This is the framework of how our pride can kill and destroy our family. If some of these examples haven’t been enough, we’re going to finish with the most controversial, overlooked, and accepted form of human sacrifice that is still happening everywhere today.

Unwanted Children

Adoption happens a lot across the world. It can be a blessing to a family to adopt a child. And in scripture, God is shown as the ultimate adopter:

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. – Galatians 4:4-5

And the act of adopting is fully supported in the Bible and happens a lot, it is a blessing to both the new parent and the child:

Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This young woman, who was also known as Esther, had a lovely figure and was beautiful. Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died. – Esther 2:7

But do you know what never occurs in the Bible? God endorsing the giving up of a child for adoption. All adoption is a reaction to sin and something bad happening, in order to save the child. You might be thinking of some examples in the Bible where God is pleased when someone gives up their child up for adoption. Let’s go over them, and see what’s really going on:

Moses

Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said. Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” “Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.” – Exodus 2:1-10

This is the most popular example of giving up your child for adoption because of extreme circumstances, but make no mistake, Moses was raised by his actual mother.

Samuel

When her husband Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow, Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the Lord, and he will live there always.” – 1 Samuel 1:21-22

It seems like Samuel is going to be given to the temple, or given up for adoption.

Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. – 1 Samuel 3:19

But again, make no mistake, Hannah was still his mother. God gave her a way to take care of him, though he lived in the temple. So what’s the point here? Adoption is wrong? No, not adoption. Adopting unwanted children can be what God wants for us, and it shows great love to do so. But what does God not want? Giving your child up. You’ll hear that it’s okay to give your child up if you feel you’re not a suitable parent. You’ll hear it’s okay to put them up for adoption if you didn’t mean to get pregnant, or you were raped, or you can’t afford it, or the father is gone. But who’s saying this? Not God. What does God say?

No Argument

Can you not afford to keep your child? Are you craving financial stability?

The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked. Proverbs 10:3

Are you worried that you won’t be a good parent? Do you think your child’s salvation is all up to you?

All your children will be taught by the LORD, and great will be their peace. – Isaiah 54:13

The child is not the problem. The moment you stop trusting God to take care of you and your family, you start sacrificing them. When you give that child up for adoption, they will always have that sacrifice in their heart. God may bless them and find them new parents, but your pride will separate you from God, and that sin will be passed down. Sacrificing your child is wrong and spits in the face of God and what he can do to help you:

But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. – 1 Timothy 5:8

The Last One

There’s one more example of human sacrifice going on today, and it’s literally killing people because of someone’s pride: Abortion. Like adoption, abortion is a result of not wanting the child for whatever reason you can come up. Looking for examples of abortion in the Bible? Look no further than any example of child sacrifice, which we’ve covered already:

You burn with lust among the oaks and under every spreading tree; you sacrifice your children in the ravines and under the overhanging crags. – Isaiah 57:5

As with adoption, abortion comes with a million excuses that seek to justify human sacrifice at the altar of self worship. Rape? Sacrifice your child. Not enough money? Sacrifice your child. Too young? Sacrifice your child. Genetic defect? Sacrifice your child. You burn with lust for sin, and sacrifice your children in the ravines. The pagan gods of the Old Testament never left, and are worshipped to this day. Stop thinking about the reasons for or against abortion, and instead think about the real cause of abortion and adoption: how you’re replacing God with yourself to take care of you. Because apparently you can provide life and death, wealth and poverty, salvation and punishment? Apparently you are God?

Encouragement

This isn’t a nice message, it might seem like you’re in a hopeless situation. Do you feel like you must give your child up for adoption? Do you feel like there’s no other option than abortion? Do you think you really need to take that job that cuts out time with family? There’s someone else who felt like there was no other option than to kill his own child, but he had faith that God would take care of his family, and that God would allow him to continue being a father:

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death. – Hebrews 11:17-19

God will help you afford to have a child. God will teach your children. God will feed them. God will give you strength. God will raise your dead situation to life! Don’t give up, don’t sacrifice your children or your family, but obey God and trust him.

See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. – Matthew 18:10

My Problem With The Sabbath

Sunday, Saturday, whichever. These days probably mean something to Christians or Jews. Usually it’s the day we go to church. Some call one or the other the Sabbath too. Not long ago no store would ever be open in the United States on Sundays. And even today not many are open on Saturdays in Israel. Why? Because it’s in the ten commandments. So if it’s that simple, what’s my problem with the Sabbath?

But now that you know God — or rather are known by God — how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years” – Galatians 4:9-10

Part of the Law, part of the Law’s Fulfillment

It’s easy to look at passages in the Old Testament that establish certain laws as everlasting:

The Israelites must keep the Sabbath; they must observe the Sabbath during all their generations. It is a lasting covenant. – Exodus 31:17

This surely shows that we as Christians today should follow the Sabbath, right?

For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. – Romans 6:14

But if we’re not under the law anymore, then does that mean we can murder and steal and anything else mentioned in the ten commandments? No, because there is law that is written in our hearts, and there was law given as signs of the old covenant to Jews. Here’s an example of a law given as a sign:

This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. – Genesis 17:10-11

And here is where we find that it’s physically unnecessary with the new covenant:

Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. So then, if those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? – Romans 2:25-26

And even more plainly:

Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters. – 1 Corinthians 7:19

But aren’t the ten commandments part of the commandments of God? Abraham didn’t have the ten commandments. Adam and Eve didn’t have the ten commandments. In fact, nobody followed the Sabbath law until Moses, because it was specially given for Israel:

Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them. – Ezekiel 20:12

And even more specifically:

Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day. – Deuteronomy 5:15

So if it wasn’t a law given to anyone before Moses, and if it’s not a law for us today, so what?

Worship God

Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. – Galatians 3:23-25

Why is it important to understand whether or not the Sabbath law should be followed today? What’s important is how it can be a stumbling block to yourself, and therefore how you could negatively impact other people. Jesus was constantly going against the Pharisees who misunderstood the Mosaic Sabbath law, and believed you shouldn’t do anything at all, even good things:

Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.” – John 5:8-10

Legalism is a stumbling block to us, and gets in the way of understanding what a law is really for. Legalism happens to everything, and we fall into the trap of judging others for things that simply don’t matter.

One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. – Romans 14:5-6

See how if you follow the Sabbath, or do not, all that matters is that you live for God? The passage goes on to mention stumbling blocks from legalism and judgement:

Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. – Romans 14:13

The Point

All this is not to say it’s right or wrong to follow the old Sabbath law, but instead that we’re not condemned by it anymore. Just like how a previous passage says circumcision is now meaningless:

Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters. – 1 Corinthians 7:19

What is important is loving God and keeping the law that’s written in our hearts. The Sabbath can be a tool to remember God, just like how it was originally used. But never forget that it was made for us to use and not the other way around, for Jesus said:

The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. – Mark 2:27

So in the end, my problem with the Sabbath is that it’s still used to this day as a tool to promote legalism and stumbling blocks for other Christians. It’s okay to follow it, and it’s okay to not follow it. Don’t judge others for whether they do or don’t follow the Sabbath. We’re not bound like slaves to the Mosaic laws, Jesus died so that we could be free from the law’s condemnation and consequence. Be free to worship God and do good every day of the week!

Furthermore, though you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcised state of your flesh, God made you alive together with him. He kindly forgave us all our trespasses and erased the handwritten document that consisted of decrees and was in opposition to us. He has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the cross. – Colossians 2:13-14

One last interesting verse

The land enjoyed its Sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah. – 2 Chronicles 36:21