Orthodox Bible Study

40: The Number of Preparation

orthodoxbiblestudy — Mon, 25 Jul 2022 06:01:00 GMT

"Then the Lord God said to Noah, "Enter the ark, you and all your family, because I have seen you righteous before Me in this generation. You shall also bring with you into the ark the clean cattle by sevens, male and female; and the unclean cattle by twos, male and female; and the clean birds of heaven by twos, male and female, to keep seed alive on the face of all the earth. For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will blot out from the face of the earth every living thing I made." (Genesis 7:1-4)

In reading the above verses we learn that the Lord God caused the flood on the earth to last for 40 days and 40 nights. There are several numbers in the bible having specific meanings of spiritual significance. The number 40 is one of these meaningful numbers. This number in particular is repeated several times in the Holy scripture signifying various meanings such as: a period of test or trial, a period of punishment for discipline (not punishment for judgement), or a period of preparation. In this article we will list a few examples where the number 40 points to a period of preparation.

We'll see that God gives us the chance, the aid, and the grace for preparation. It is however up to us to respond and utilize this preparation period, respond to God's grace, and put in our struggle for a successful preparation. This is the economy of God, in the understanding of the Orthodox Church, for how God's grace and man's struggle work together.

Examples of people who utilized God's preparation period successfully:
One of the examples of a successful preparation is Elijah the prophet. After fleeing from Jezebel, King Ahab's wife, he rested under a juniper tree in the wilderness. The angel of the Lord came to him and gave him a cake to eat made of wheat and a jar of water a couple of times. Elijah then arose, and "… went with the strength of that food forty days and forty nights, as far as Mount Horeb. There he went into a cave and rested." (1 Kings 19:8-9) Here we see Elijah fasting 40 days before receiving instructions from the Lord God. Elijah then proceeded and aided with God's help, and his life ended up by being caught up to heaven by a whirlwind in a chariot of fire.

Another example of preparation in the new Testament we learn of is from Christ Himself, where He fasted 40 days and 40 nights before starting His ministry on earth (Matthew 4:2, Mark 1:13). Additionally, after the Lord's resurrection, He spent 40 days before ascension preparing His apostles and teaching them from the scriptures. (Acts 1:3).

For this reason, in the Orthodox Church traditions, the newly ordained priest spends 40 days in a monastery in preparation for his parish services.

Examples of people who did not utilize God's preparation period successfully:
On the other hand, the Bible also provides us some unsuccessful periods of preparations. In the Old Testament, the children of Israel ate the manna for 40 years. They saw God's wonders in how He led them from the Egyptian's captivity with multiple signs, caring for their every need in the wilderness. Their garments did not wear out on them, nor did their feet become callused. In spite of all this however, they still complained and tested God (see Deuteronomy 2:7, 8:2).

Another example the Bible shows us is Eli the priest. He was given 40 years to lead Israel, however in his time he honored his sons more than God, even though the bible says "…Eli's sons were corrupt, they did not know the Lord." (1 Samuel 2:12). We see later in the same chapter the prophecy against his sons and his house, which was fulfilled in 1 Samuel 4.

Examples of people who utilized the same preparation period with different outcomes:
Interestingly enough, there are other examples of periods of preparation where the same incident was received by some successful and proved fruitful, while others were unsuccessful in their preparation and fell short. One of these examples is when Moses spent 40 days on the mountain preparing to receive instructions from the Lord God about the ark of the covenant, the priestly garments, and tablets of stone. During that same time is when the people of Israel made the golden calf saying "…This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!" (Exodus 32:4) The Lord then said to Moses about them "I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people!" (Exodus 32:10).

Another such example of the same preparation period received differently is when God ordered Moses to send men to spy out the land of Canaan. These men spent 40 days scouting the land in preparation for God to give the land to the Children of Israel (Numbers 13:25). Most of the men failed in this period and were afraid of the Amalekites that dwelled in the land. The Bible says "There we saw the giants; and we seemed like grasshoppers to them…" (Numbers 13:33). Only Joshua and Caleb were the ones that said to Moses that they were able to overcome them. In this case we see that Joshua and Caleb were the only ones from these people who inherited the land. As for everyone else, we read that the Lord punished them 40 years; one for each day they spied (Numbers 14:34).

Lastly, when Goliath was taunting the army of God. "…the Philistine drew near and presented himself forty days, morning and evening." (1 Samuel 17:16). No soldier was able to stand against him, yet David was not afraid and was prepared to face him saying "You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied." (1 Samuel 17:45).

In closing:
From the above examples we see that God offers his people a period of preparation, represented by the number 40. Some of us will use it and work with God through His plan, while others will not. We also see examples of the same preparation and conditions offered to a set of people. Some of us will be prepared and others will not, and the difference is whether we put in the effort or not.

Why does God Allow Evil?

orthodoxbiblestudy — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 01:25:00 GMT

If God is all powerful, all knowing, just and loving, and if He's all goodness and graciousness then why is there such evil in the world?! Where is God's love then? Where is His justice? If He's all powerful, why can't He stop the injustice? If He's all loving, then why does He not protect His children from evil? Why do we always hear about these terrorists and their heinous acts of evil? Why does God allow such evil?

This is a question that comes to everyone's mind at some point in their lives and the answer to it might surprise you... It is because of God's love, mercy and justice that He allows evil in the world! Perhaps this might sound very strange at first, but allow me to explain and I hope that by the end of this article you might thank God for allowing evil for so long!

There's Evil in the World Because God is Merciful

God is merciful upon all His creation. Some of His children have strayed from His way and inflict evil upon the world. God however is a "gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm." (Jonah 4:2) God is patient because He has "no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live." (Ezekiel 33:11) This is why St. Peter says "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)

So because God is merciful, He's being very patient with His children not wanting any of them to perish. Before Jonah was sent to the people of Nineveh, they were very evil. This extent of evil doesn't happen overnight either. This means that God allowed evil to seemingly reign free in Nineveh for a long time till it reached this level! All this because there was hope of their repentance. Such love! Such patience! If God wasn't merciful and patient with the people of Nineveh, then He wouldn't have sent them Jonah for their repentance and they would have all perished very early on. However only because of His love and mercy is why He allowed evil for that long.

God could've taken St. Paul away from the face of the earth a long time ago when he was still Saul because of all the persecutions to the Christians. Yet God allowed Saul to continue persecuting them because there was hope for him to repent and indeed he did. If God wasn't merciful and patient with Saul, he wouldn't have been converted and come to be St. Paul, whose many writings we have now in the New Testament.

If God wasn't merciful and patient with King David, he would have perished before he got the chance to repent and write one of the greatest examples of repentance Psalms in the history of mankind, Psalm 50. It is such a great example that the Orthodox Church uses it in its prayers every day.

If God wasn't merciful and patient with Adam then the entire human race would not have continued. If God wasn't merciful and patient with you and me then at the first sin we would have been judged, condemned and punished or uprooted without a chance to repent. And how many sins did we commit and continue to commit while God allows this evil to happen?

Therefore, it is because of God's mercy that he allows evil to continue for that long in order to provide the chance for repentance.

There's Evil in the World Because God is Just

God is just. And justice calls for everyone to be treated fairly with the same standard. Because of this justice, "He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." (Matthew 5:45) If we had any say in it, we would have eradicated all the evil doers from the face of the earth. However, in doing so we would have also brought this same judgment on our own heads because of God's justice. If we want God to punish evil and not delay, then we should also expect the same treatment towards us. God's mercy and justice calls for Him to be patient with everyone. We should instead thank God for being patient and allowing evil for that long because in doing so, we would thank Him for being patient with us as well.

What about the victims who have done nothing wrong? What did they do to deserve this? Where's God's justice in that? Doesn't St. Paul say that God "will render to each one according to his deeds" (Romans 2:6)?

Yes indeed, God will render to each one according to his deeds. However, the answer is in the verses that directly follow: God "will render to each one according to his deeds: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness--indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." (Romans 2:6-10)

If we were to look at this life only, then I would agree that this is not fair. However, this would be a short-sighted view at best. What is our life here on earth? "It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away" (James 4:14). It is nothing compared to eternal life. If you consider justice during this lifetime only then yes it is not fair for these victims to suffer and die for doing nothing wrong and that would be the end of their story. However, if you consider the eternal glory that they will gain for suffering in the Name of Christ, then the suffering would seem very insignificant compared to what "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him." (1 Corinthians 2:9)

There's Evil in the World Because God is a Loving Father

God as a loving father, wants to reward all His children with His goodness. He always wants to give us more. He allows evil and injustice here on earth in order to reward those who endure with everlasting glory in heaven. "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne." (Revelations 3:21) So it is out of His love that He allows evil during this short period, which is our life on earth, in order to grant us the glories in the everlasting life.

How Should We Respond to Evil?

So then if God allows evil out of His mercy and His love, then how should we respond to such evil? We could use this evil in this world to our advantage. When responded appropriately, this evil in the world would be a great chance for our own forgiveness of sins! We should respond to evil by forgiving "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." (Matthew 6:14) We should respond to evil by loving our enemies "for love will cover a multitude of sins." (1 Peter 4:8) Lastly, we should pray that God would show the evil doers the err of their ways and that they would return and live. In doing so, you would have the same desire as your Heavenly Father.

Still Not Convinced?

If you're still not convinced then think of Jesus on the cross, where having done nothing wrong, He was crucified to cover your sins and the sins of the whole world.

Introduction to the Top Ten Old Testament Stories

CarefulCoptic — Sun, 21 Sep 2014 05:18:00 GMT

Question 1: Why have a top ten?

I'm guessing that a majority of us do not sit down and read the Old Testament in a structured fashion. Why is that? One of the reasons may be that we find it unmanageable: "it's too long", "there's too many funny names", "it has too many irrelevant rules", "it's just too much" ... or is it? I think the Old Testament is in many ways much simpler and much more straightforward than the New Testament. "Yes, but what about all the Levitical laws and the lists of names and ..." - I say that studying them has its spiritual benefit, but you can skip some things for now and focus on the more accessible parts. You can't swallow the ocean in our gulp, so you have to take it one sip at a time. "But how do I know where to start?" Excellent question, now we're getting somewhere!

Answer: To give you a good place to start and give you a foundation before reading the rest of the Old Testament.

Question 2: Who is in the top ten?

If you have attended Sunday School for any length of time then you should have some familiarity with most of the cast of characters that you will find in the top ten. The reason to read them again now is that they are organized in order for you in chronological order so that you understand where they fit in the big picture. You may know that Adam came way before Elijah, but where do you fit in Abraham, Noah, and Moses into that picture? This list will be like ten pieces of wood that you could previously identify individually but have now come together to frame a house. Eventually, we can add more stories that are equally interesting and beneficial, which we will then have more meaning if we understand the context of the stories by knowing how they fit into the bigger picture.

Answer: Mostly people you already know, but only as individuals rather than understanding their big picture relationship to each other.

Is the Bible a Science Book?

orthodoxbiblestudy — Fri, 21 Mar 2014 19:17:00 GMT

Recently there has been much talk and debates around "Creationism vs. Evolution". The argument at its very core is "God vs. Science" or "The Bible vs. Science" as if they contradict. What is right and what is wrong? What is proven and what cannot be proven? And if something cannot be proven then how do we know it's true? If the theory of evolution proves true does that nullify Christianity? Can I be a Christian and believe in evolution at the same time?

God is the Author of Science

The fact is that God and science do not contradict. God is the author of nature and the rules of nature. He's also the creator of humans and their brains which allow them to observe, measure and theorize the rules of nature in a scientific way. If God is the author of science then how can they be at odds? As a matter of fact, God even taught man science! When God created Adam He "took the man He formed and put him in the garden to tend and keep it." (Genesis 2:15) How did Adam know to water the plants unless God taught him how to tend and keep the Garden? "Also, God formed out of the ground all the wild animals of the field and all the birds of heaven, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them..." (Genesis 2:19) Adam gave the animals names according to their nature. It other words Adam would observe a lion and after observing its nature and studying it he would "discover" its name and call it a lion. Isn't that science? Thus God taught man the basics of science so how can they be at odds? And regarding the Bible vs. Science, there's also one author to both, and that is God. So how can they ever contradict?

When the Bible says that the earth was formed in 6 days, how can that be true when science proves that the earth took millions of years to form? That brings us back to the original question: Is the Bible a science book?

What About the Contradictions?

The Bible is not a science book. Its purpose is not to teach science. The Bible is God's word for every human, male or female, adult or child, educated or not educated. It's a story of God's dealings with His people. It was written for all to understand and live by regardless of age, education and level of comprehension. If it was a scientific book, then nobody would understand it except for a few scientists and even then they wouldn't understand all the concepts it in. If it was written in the 20th century's scientific language, then it would become obsolete in the 21st century. This doesn't mean that it contains information that contradicts science. It's just not written in a scientific language using scientific vocabulary and equations. Moreover, when God speaks He doesn't err or contradict science. When men speaks and the Bible records what they say, then they might make some scientific mistakes. Bible records men's mistakes, both scientific and moral mistakes towards God. And God forgives out of His love because he loves man. In short, it is a book that declares God's love for man, not a scientific book.

For example, if I were to say "I watched the sunrise today and it was beautiful" a scientist would tell me that I'm wrong and that the sun doesn't rise, but it's the earth that rotates around its axis causing it to appear that the sun is rising from the frame of reference of any point on the earth. In this case the scientist is right, but completely missed the point I was trying to say! Yes I understand this concept, but I wasn't talking about planetary movement, my point is that it was beautiful! The scientist in this case misunderstood my phrase, focused on the wrong thing, picked on my language and most importantly completely missed the point I was trying to communicate!

Missing the Point

Similarly with the Bible, when it says that God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh, what is the Bible trying to tell us? The six days weren't obviously 24 hours because the sun was created on the 4th day. Also, we know from fossils that the earth took billions of years to form. So then what is the Bible trying to tell us? Does the Bible tell us that the earth was created in 6 days exactly? That's not what it's saying, just like I wasn't saying that the sun rises. The reader in this case would be completely missing the point.

Is it Literal?

Another group of people quote the verse "... with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." (II Peter 3:8) and say Aha, with this verse we can calculate that the earth took six thousand years to form! Again, they're missing the point. The bible doesn't contain equations. All it's trying to say in this verse is that God is above time. When God says He's coming quickly, that could be a day, or a thousand, or more. St. Peter even goes on to clarify saying "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." (II Peter 3:9). This wasn't a biblical equation or a hidden constant to be used as a multiplier. The Bible is not a science book.

What is the Bible Saying?

So then, does the bible contradict science? Of course not! They both coincide but speaking in different languages. For example, the Bible says that on the first day God made light and darkness, day and night, then the second day God made the firmament, divided the waters, then on other days he gathered the waters into seas, separated them from land, then caused the earth to bring forth grass, herbs, fruits, trees, then He made the sun and the moon and the stars, then the animals and birds and after every act of creation He saw that it was good. Then God made man. The question is: What is the Bible saying? What is God trying to tell you? Simply the Bible is narrarating a love story between God and His beloved human! Simply that God spent billions of years to create the earth and make for man a PARADISE! (see Care from the Beginning). As a matter of fact, the very first verse in the Bible "In the Begining God created..." (Genesis 1:1) that's a declaration of the love of God and His goodness and that He wants to have man live in joy. Moreover, it doesn't make sense that God would spend billions of years to form the earth just for Adam to live in it for only a few years and die! Therefore, death is an intruder in this equation and will soon pass away. Now what is science saying? Science says that the earth took billions of years before humans even existed. Isn't science also saying the same thing then? God made the earth and it took billions of years before he formed man! Thus the Bible and science agree that God cares very much about us that He prepared all this for us!

So is it All Symbolic?

We then dealt with one extreme saying that everything in the Bible is literal and that 1 day = 1000 years and we saw that this was wrong. Another extreme is that the whole Bible is fictional stories and nothing ever happened. This is also another incorrect extreme. The Bible has real literal stories with lots of symbolism. We can't simply explain away everything saying that it's symbolic. This is why it is very important to use the Church Fathers and the Holy Tradition as reference. Otherwise, how can we know what is literal and what is not unless guided by the Holy Spirit that is actively working in the Church?

Dear Christian Scientist, if there is a scientific theory that contradicts with the Bible then either science is wrong (yes, scientific theories have gone through many changes and contradictions before settling), or our understanding of the Bible is wrong. Do not hang your faith on a scientific theory extracted from the Bible. That's not the goal of the Bible. Instead, you should hang your faith on God and His Word. Just like the Bible doesn't communicate scientific theories and formulas, science cannot measure eternity. Science is a study of the physical world. It cannot prove or disprove God. You can't have a litmus test to see if a person is going to heaven or not. You can't put God in a measuring tube to study Him or see how He reacts to different stimuli. There is no apparatus that detects the presence of angels. Science is just not designed or well suited for anything else other than the physical world. It just doesn't have the means to prove or disprove this.

Dear Seeker of Christianity, while the methods of how to approach science vs. how to approach God are vastly different, there are still some similarities. For example, before engaging in a study of a natural reality you would first read about it and read its famous books and references as well as reading the works of famous scientists and others who have contributed. Similarly when approaching God you would first start by reading about God, His famous books such as the Bible and some Bible references. You'd also want to read the works of famous theologians who have contributed to our understanding of God. When you want to study in depth a certain natural material, after reading about it you'd want to try it out for yourself by setting up the same controlled environment to do your expieriments (for example follow the rules of physics, control all external stimuli, narrow the degrees of variances, etc...) and see if you can reach the same conclusions that others have reached before you. Similarly with God as well, if you want to experience God for yourself then you'd have to setup the same controlled environment to do you experiments (for example in order to see God you'd have to follow His rules, the ten commandments, be humble, pure in heart, not holding any malice towards anyone, approach Him in prayer, etc..) and see if you would come to the same conclusions as other Christians who have done this before you. However this is just the first step. Now that you know about God, you need to make the most important step which is to go from knowing about God to knowing God. That takes a personal experience with Him.

Noah's Ark Covered with Pitch

orthodoxbiblestudy — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 19:23:00 GMT

In Genesis we read "Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. And this is how you shall make it..." (Genesis 6:14-15)

The ark is a symbol of the Church. Everyone outside the ark perished, whereas everyone inside the ark was saved. Similarly the Orthodox Church teaches us that the Church is essential for our salvation, through which we receive the Mysteries which God gave us. Many church buildings are designed to be shaped like Noah's ark for this reason.

God instructed Noah to cover the ark with pitch from the inside and the outside. The pitch here is used to protect the ark from the water so that it wouldn't leak through inside the ark. Notice here that the pitch is to be on the inside and the outside, not just the outside. Similarly the Church should be protected from attacks on the inside and the outside. Also note that God instructed Noah to cover the ark with pitch from the inside first. The attacks that target the Church from the inside are usually more detrimental than the attacks from the outside.

Protecting the Church from the inside:
Attacks on the Church from the inside could come in many forms. One form would be attacks of heresies. For example a heresy that says that Christ is not fully divine, or Christ is not fully human. Some might not think much of this and say that as long as we have our hearts with God and are doing good, then all the rest doesn't matter. The fact however is that it matters and it matters a lot. Our Church Fathers fought hard and sometimes even gave their lives defending the true faith because they were defending their own salvation as well as ours! If the Church were to succumb to every flawed thought then the Church would end up losing the true relationship with her One True Bridegroom, Jesus Christ. It is as if a wife would say that it's not essential to learn more about her husband as long as she's faithful to him. It's impossible to stay faithful to the husband without knowing who he is, how he behaves and what he likes. Otherwise, any action the wife takes could be against her husband's will.

Aside from heresies, another form of attack from within the Church could be from sins in general. In a previous article we talked about how the sin of an individual person affects the whole Body of the Church. Protecting the Church from the inside is important for the stability of the Church, the Body of Christ.

Protecting the Church from the outside:
One of the most obvious ways the Church could be attacked from the outside is by physical harm to the buildings or people from non-believers. These attacks however are usually futile and result in the opposite effect where the Church ends up stronger than before it was attacked. We've heard many stories of youth that start to come and pray in the church after it was burned down to the ground. Liturgies that are prayed on the rubbles of burnt down churches might be more full than when its walls were still up!

A more dangerous attack from the outside however is from other churches. Our youth would attend a service at another non-Orthodox Church and say "Their service is more fun" or "Our Liturgies are not entertaining", etc... While we must engage our youth with activities, we must not lose focus from the fact that the Church is not for entertainment. Noah didn't gather all the animals in the ark to start a circus! Rather he gathered them all to save them. Similarly, the Liturgies are not for our entertainment, but for our salvation. Just as God gave specific measurements of the ark to Noah down to the very details, Christ also gave us specific instructions for our Church down to the very details. If Noah were to change anything in the specifications of the ark he could have risked his own salvation and the salvation of the people with him in the ark. Not only that, but if the people in the ark didn't survive, then he would have also risked the salvation of their descendants also.

God tells us to "Hold fast what you have..." (Revelation 3:11) St. Paul tells his disciple "Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. " (2 Timothy 1:13-14) We are to hold fast to the Church as it was handed down to us by Christ. Not in a close minded or a fanatical way, but in "spirit and truth" (John 4:24)

Saved for a new Beginning:
Finally we note that "the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights" (Genesis 7:12) The number 40 in the bible resembles preparation before a new beginning. Noah and his family were in the ark for 40 days then they had a new beginning after the destruction of the earth. We too are here on earth for a period of preparation, before we go to heaven, the new Jerusalem, where we have our new beginning and live forever with our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ.

The Effects of My Sins

orthodoxbiblestudy — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 16:07:00 GMT

Quite often we hear arguments that sound like the following:

"I can do whatever I want even if it's wrong as long as I'm not bothering anybody", or
"It's my body, I can smoke or do drugs as long as I'm not affecting anyone", or
"Me and her are in agreement, if we sleep together, what's it to you?!", or
"Why do you care if I pray or not, go to church or not, etc... I'm only impacting my spiritual life"... etc.

Basically an argument that follows a pattern like "I can do ______ (a negative action) as long as I'm not bothering anybody or affecting anybody". Sound familiar? The answer to this argument comes in Genesis in the following verses:

"The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth." (Genesis 6:11-12)

At a first glance the second sentence might seem redundant. However, after carefully reading it we see that it adds a new concept. The first verse simply says that the earth was corrupt and filled with violence. This could be understood as "the people on the earth" were corrupt and filled with violence. Then comes the second verse to clarify and make the point that "the earth" was corrupt because "all flesh" corrupted their way. As in, the earth and the nature were corrupt because the people on the earth were corrupt. My sin doesn't just affect me. It affects everything and everyone around me.

We saw this before in Adam's sin, where the ground was cursed because of Adam's sin. "Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you..." (Genesis 3:17-18) Not only was the ground cursed because of sin, but the sin also affected its nature. Thorns and thistles sprang forth after the sin. We can't say that the sin affected the person only.

Another dimension of the impact of sin is on people too. While in appearance the sin doesn't hurt anyone, doesn't bother anyone or doesn't impact anyone, in reality however it affects everyone! The Holy Spirit teaches us through St. Paul's writings that we are all members in the Body of Christ. That's what the Church is. "Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually" (1 Corinthians 12:27) If we are all members in the Body of Christ, how can a suffering member not affect the rest of the Body? If you have a wound in your arm, your whole body is affected. If you have a stomach virus, your whole body ails. "And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it." (1 Corinthians 12:26) We cannot say that our individual sins do not affect anyone. In fact it's quite the opposite. Our sins affect everyone and everything around us. These sins affect the spiritual soundness of the whole body of Christ, i.e. The Church. My individual sins that I do behind closed doors affects the whole cosmos.

Also just like wickedness corrupts the earth, the opposite is also true where righteousness blesses the earth. A righteous man blesses the people and the place around him. It was said that Abba Paul, the first hermit used to get his daily provisions by a raven. We see in his story that the raven brought half a loaf of bread daily instead of snatching any food from him by its nature. Moreover, when St. Anthony, the Father of Monasticism visited the St. Abba Paul, the raven brought them a full loaf of bread. The next time St. Anthony visited St. Paul he found that St. Paul had already departed and wanted to bury his body. At this point two lions approached St. Anthony in submission and dug a grave for St. Paul. We see here that the lions lost their beastly nature due to a righteous man.

Our behavior affects everything and everyone around us no matter how secret or how harmless they may seem. In fact the Church Fathers teach us that one of the reasons behind the incarnation of the Logos is to bless the earth. Man's wickedness corrupted the earth, while Christ being the source of righteousness blessed it again.

The Ark Took How Long to Build?

orthodoxbiblestudy — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 16:23:00 GMT

In Genesis chapter 6 we read about Noah building the ark according to God's commandment. We can estimate the length of time it took Noah to build the ark from a few verses. Genesis 5:32 and Genesis 6:10 mention that Noah was 500 years old. Genesis 7:6 reads "Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth." This tell us that the ark took about 100 years to build.

A question that comes to mind is why did it take that long? Obviously it's a very large vessel built by a 500 year old man, but why did God allow this to take 100 years to build? Remember at that time the earth was filled with corruption and unrighteousness but God didn't destroy it yet. The Bible reads "The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth." (Genesis 6:11-12) Yet God tolerated man's atrocities for over 100 years while the ark was being built! How can God let evil flourish for that long? Even today we might find ourselves asking the same question. We're living in a time where innocent people are being murdered, Churches being burnt, Christians' homes and shops being destroyed, and yet God is letting it all happen. It might seem to us that God is looking the other way while evil does its work. By human standards, this does not seem right. There are some laws called "Abandonment of Persons" where one could be imprisoned for abandoning a person that must be cared for. Yet God seems to abandon His own. According to our human laws, God could get Himself imprisoned!

But God says "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways..." (Isaiah 55:8) God knows and sees all this evil, but because of His great mercy He waits on the evil doers to give them a chance to repent. God mercifully waited 100 years for Noah's generation to repent. Some say the ark took 120 years to build, the same time He granted mankind to repent as mentioned in Genesis 6:3. The building of the ark was right before the eyes of everyone serving as a warning that destruction is coming if they don't consider their ways. It was out of God's mercy that the ark took that long to build. Even today, God is mercifully waiting for the people to offer repentance and God would gladly and happily accept them (Luke 10:15).

If God gave us authority today over all the evil that is happening around us in the world, we would say "ENOUGH! This ends NOW! No more chances to repent from your sins." But then God would look at our sins and tell us the very same words "ENOUGH! This ends NOW! No more chances to repent from your sins" reminding us that "...with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you" (Matthew 7:2)

We thank you Lord God for being a just and merciful judge. We gladly surrender all judgment to You. We pray that you delay your judgment even more that they may get another chance to repent, and we ask You O Lord to deal the same way with us. Let it be according to Your mercy O Lord, and not according to our sins.

Did Mary the Mother of Jesus Christ Have Other Children?

orthodoxbiblestudy — Thu, 05 Sep 2013 09:09:00 GMT

I recently received the following question in email: Did Mary the mother of Jesus Christ have other children? Since the answer to this question might be useful to others, I decided to post it on the website.

To answer the question: Of course St. Mary had other children. She's the mother of all saints, and the mother of us all. She will also become the mother of many other children.

But of course the question is asking if she physically gave birth to other children than the Word of God. The short answer is no. We believe in her perpetual virginity. She was a virgin before giving birth to God and she remained a virgin after the fact.

The long answer is through prophecies, her life, tradition and through logic as well. Let me explain…

Old Testament Prophecies
There are many prophecies in the Old Testament about the Theotokos (Mother of God) St. Mary. Some of them address her perpetual virginity. A couple of them jump to mind. The first one is in the book of Ezekiel where he saw the outer gate of the sanctuary which was shut. "And the Lord said to me, ‘This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut.'" (Ezekiel 44:2) Here we see that the Gate is a symbol of Saint Mary through which our Lord entered, and it's also a symbol of her virginity where the door was shut. Moreover, the door remains shut for the Lord God of Israel has entered by it. In the NIV translation it reads "...It is to remain shut because the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered through it."

Also, King Solomon in the Song of Songs describes St. Mary saying "A garden enclosed Is my sister, my spouse, A spring shut up, A fountain sealed." (Song of Solomon 4:12). The church fathers have seen this as a prophecy about St. Mary which specifically speaks to her virginity describing her as enclosed, shut up and sealed.

So from the Old Testament prophecies we see that it talked about St. Mary's perpetual virginity. She's described as the Tabernacle of the Lord and the Throne of God. What other person could ever dwell in the Lord's Tabernacle or ever sit in the Throne of God?!

St. Mary's Vow
Besides the prophecies, we also know about St. Mary that she dedicated her life to God and to serve the temple. She chose to keep herself unmarried in order to offer this gift back to her creator. We know of many other virgin saints (males and females) who also chose to give the gift of their virginity back to God as a sign of their love to Him. So through the virtues of her life and her choice of celibacy we know that she remained a virgin.

In Luke 1:31,34, St. Mary's response to Archangel Gabriel when he tells her that she will conceive is "How shall this be?" This response demonstrates that she had taken a vow of lifelong virginity. The Archangel Gabriel announced to St. Mary that she "will conceive" in the future. St. Mary's response was "How shall this be?" If St. Mary had not taken such a vow, her question would not make sense for it was not a question on how a child is conceived, but it was because she was consecrated to the temple as a virgin.

This vow of celibacy that St. Mary made to God binds her to it, and we know that "When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you." (Deuteronomy 23:21) This means that it's a sin to vow and not fulfill. If St. Mary had other children and didn't fulfill her vow then this would have been accounted as a grave sin. Not that marriage is a sin, but making a vow and not fulfilling it is a great sin. "Better not vow than to vow and not pay." (Ecclesiastes 5:5) Not only is it a sin, but it's also foolish to do such a thing. "When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed-" (Ecclesiastes 5:4). If St. Mary had other children and broke her vow that she willingly offered to God, then she would be considered a sinner and a foolish person in which God takes no pleasure in. This alone would disqualify her from being the Mother of God because God in His foreknowledge would have just chosen a better person who would keep their vows. However, God chose the pure and the holy Ever Virgin St. Mary.

The Parents Searching for Jesus, and no Other Siblings
In Luke 2:41-51 St. Joseph and St. Mary were looking for Christ and they searched for Him everywhere. They finally found Him in the temple. In this narrative we don't hear about any other siblings in the story. Specifically "Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously" (Luke 2:48). The verse here doesn't mention the parents looking for other siblings. Also it doesn't mention any of the siblings looking for Jesus with His parents.

Taking Care of St. Mary After Christ's Death
So from the prophecies and from her life we know that St. Mary has to be a Virgin and remain that way. Moreover, there's another event that took place that if we were to consider logically we would know for certain that St. Mary didn't have any other children. On the cross, "When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!' Then He said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother!' And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home." (John 19:26-27) If St. Mary had any other children he would not have had the need to entrust St. Mary to St. John the Beloved to take care of His mother. It would be assumed that one of St. Mary's children would naturally take care of His mother and that St. Mary would live with them. So if St. Mary had other children, where were they at this point?!

Who Can Ever Take the Position of the Brother of Christ?
If Christ had a brother, would he be able to do the salvific work in place of Christ if Christ hadn't fulfilled it? We know from Deuteronomy the following: ""If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the widow of the dead man shall not be married to a stranger outside the family; her husband's brother shall go in to her, take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her. And it shall be that the firstborn son which she bears will succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel. But if the man does not want to take his brother's wife, then let his brother's wife go up to the gate to the elders, and say, 'My husband's brother refuses to raise up a name to his brother in Israel; he will not perform the duty of my husband's brother.' Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him. But if he stands firm and says, 'I do not want to take her,' then his brother's wife shall come to him in the presence of the elders, remove his sandal from his foot, spit in his face, and answer and say, 'So shall it be done to the man who will not build up his brother's house.'" (Deuteronomy 25:5-9)

Christ's bride is the Church, and His duty to the church is the salvation for he laid His life for her. This is the act through which Christ builds up His house. Nobody else can ever perform this work except for our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ alone. What brother can ever be ready to perform Christ's duty towards the church? Even St. John the Baptist witnessed saying "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose." (Mark 1:7) That is to say, St. John the Baptist is not worthy to take up Christ's duty. This comes from St. John the baptism whom Christ witnessed to him saying "Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist..." (Matthew 11:11) So if the greatest of those born of women is not worthy of performing this duty, who is?

At this point we can discuss some of the arguments that could be made against her perpetual virginity.

Arguments: Brothers of Christ
Some argue saying that the Holy Bible itself mentions the brothers of Christ at least in two different places. "While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. Then one said to Him, ‘Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You." (Matthew 12:46-47) This verse clearly mentions our Lord's brothers. Not only that, but there's also another verse that mentions Christ's brothers' name. "Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?" And they were offended at Him?" (Mark 6:3) So from the previous verses, how can we still say that St. Mary remained a virgin if the Bible mentions that Christ had brothers and mentioned them by name?!

The fact is however, that the use of the word "brother" in the old Jewish tradition, and certainly in the Holy Bible could mean an actual brother but it could also mean a cousin or a nephew. For example, When Lot, Abraham's Nephew, was taken captive the Bible described Lot as Abraham's brother. "Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan." (Genesis 14:14) Also after Abraham saved his brother's son Lot, the bible says again "So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people." (Genesis 14:16) From the previous two verses we clearly see that the use of the word "brother" in the Holy Bible does not necessarily mean a biological brother.

So now the question is: who is James the brother of Christ that was mentioned in Mark 6:3? In order to answer this question we need to take a closer look at Christ's family and close relatives.

There's the Holy Virgin St. Mary, the mother of our Lord. Salome is the wife of Zebedee and mother of James and John. Salome is the daughter of Matata, of the house of Levi, of the house of Melki, of the house of Aaron the priest. Matata had three daughters; the name of the oldest was "Mary," and the second was called "Sofia," and the third was "Hanna." Mary brought forth Salome, and Sofia brought forth Elizabeth, and Hanna brought forth our holy lady, the Virgin Mary. Salome is the one that approached our Lord asking Him to place her sons one on his Left and one on His right (Matthew 20:20-23). This makes Salome to be Christ's aunt. This also means that James and John were Christ's cousins.

As a side note, traditionally Salome is said to have been brought up in the house of St. Joseph with our lady the Virgin Mary and she ministered unto her as a midwife and "witnessed" St. Mary's virginity. Even ancient icons have her depicted in the Flight to Egypt as she accompanied them on this trip.

There's also Mary the wife of Cleopas the mother of James the less, Joses, Judas and Simon. (Mark 15:40). From tradition, Cleopas is thought to be the brother of St. Joseph who is the Holy Virgin's fiancé. This also makes James the less, Joses, Judas and Simon to be Christ's cousins.

Arguments: The word "Till"
There's also the following verse saying "Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus." (Matthew 1:24-25) This verse says that she remained a virgin till Our Lord's birth, implying that she knew St. Joseph after this event. Specifically the word "till" implies that St. Mary didn't know St. Joseph up to the point of giving birth to Christ, then the situation has changed.

Correct understanding of the word "till" must be applied here. The word "till" in the original Greek "ἕως" ("heos") does not mean "did not… until after". The Greek word "heos" references the past only, not the future. There are many other examples of this term used this way, to mention a few:

St. Paul the Apostle wrote to the Corinthians saying "For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet." (1 Corinthians 15:25). Will the Lord reign only till all enemies are under His feet and once they are under His feet will he cease to reign? Certainly not for Christ will reign forever.
Also in Acts: "But when the time of the promise drew near which God has sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt till another king arose who did not know Joseph." (Acts 7:17-18). Did the people stop multiplying after this new king came? Certainly not, for we know that they kept multiplying even after the king gave orders to the midwives to kill all the male newborns (Exodus 1)
"The Lord said to my Lord ‘Sit at my right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool." (Matthew 22:24)
In Acts 8:40 Philip was found at Azotus and passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.
"Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine" (1 Timothy 4:12-13)
Many other verses such as Genesis 8:7, Deuteronomy 34:6, II Samuel 6:23, Matthew 28:20, Luke 1:80, I Corinthians 15:25, Ephesians 4:12-13, I Timothy 6:14, Revelations 2:25-26

Conclusion
If Christ had a brother, then who is he? And why don't we know anything about him? Wouldn't God have made His own brother known to us so that we could ask for his intercessions/prayers just like we ask for St. Mary's intercessions?

We see from the prophecies from St. Mary's vow and from logic that St. Mary remained a virgin. Also through correct understanding of the Holy Bible we see that the verses that might allude to Jesus having brothers show that they were cousins. We therefore can conclude that St. Mary was a virgin all her life.

May the intercessions of the Most Holy Theotokos, the Mother of God, the Mother of Christ, and the ever virgin St. Mary be with us all. Amen.

Noah - An Example of Righteousness

orthodoxbiblestudy — Mon, 24 Jun 2013 02:08:00 GMT

"... Noah was a righteous man, who was perfect in his generation and well-pleasing to God." (Genesis 6:9)

Continuing on with the Story of Noah, this verse raised many questions. In a previous article we talked about The Righteousness of Noah. In describing his righteousness, the above verse adds "in his generation". Why did the bible need to say "perfect in his generation"? Does this mean that perfection is relative? Is perfection in Noah's generation different than todays?

Certainly not! Perfection is from God, and perfection is God. Our Lord Jesus Christ in His sermon on the Mount teaches us saying "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:48). Also, from St. Paul we know that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." (Hebrews 13:8). If God is Perfect, and we know that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, then it must be the case that perfection is the same as well. So now the question still remains, why did the verse add "perfect in his generation". Also why did the verse need to add "well-pleasing to God" since it already said that he was a righteous and perfect man?

The verse starts by saying that "Noah was a righteous man", then it goes on to explain this righteousness in two parts: The first being "Perfect in his generation", and the second is "well-pleasing to God". This doesn't mean that Noah was perfect in comparison to his generation, but it's saying that in the eyes of his generation he was a perfect man. Not only in the eyes of his generation, but in God's eyes as well. This reminds us of Zacharias the priest and his wife Elizabeth, where the bible attests to them saying that "...they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless" (Luke 1:6). They were also blameless before men, and righteous before God. This is perhaps why the verse in question adds "well-pleasing to God" to say that Noah was perfect before God and men. Another person who was described the same way is our Lord Jesus Christ Himself the source of perfection. "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." (Luke 2:52)

So now the next question that arises from this verse is "How?" How did Noah reach this perfection? Note that Noah was before Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He was even before Moses and the law itself. How did he reach perfection without the law since he was before the law?

The fact is that the law doesn't show perfection, it shows transgression. St. Paul says "What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions..." (Galatians 3:19) The law shows what's wrong. However, doing what's right is by faith. Just like it was said that "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness" (Galatians 3:6) and Abraham was also before the law. It is only with faith that we can be well pleasing to God, for "without faith it is impossible to please Him" (Hebrews 11:6). The law was only a tutor as St. Paul says in Galatians 3, until the new law of Jesus Christ is established, which is faith, hope and love. Faith in Jesus Christ gives us the hope that if we walk in love we will be pleasing to God.

Lastly, another question that comes up is the following: Why did the verse mention that Noah was righteous before God and men? It is obvious why a Godly person should be righteous before God, but why is it important for a person to also be righteous before men? Isn't one's righteousness for God alone since He's the only Just Judge?

The answer to the above question is simply this: For the glory of God's name. This is why our Lord also teaches us in His sermon on the mount "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16) In our pursuit of perfection, it's never about us. It's always about God and God only. Every word we say and every action we take is to glorify God. This is also why in the Lord's prayer we say "Hallowed be Your name" meaning let Your name be Holy in our lives.

Thus "Noah was a righteous man" through his faith in God as we continue to see throughout Noah's story. He was perfect before God and men. "... Noah was a righteous man, who was perfect in his generation and well-pleasing to God." (Genesis 6:9)

A Name Above Every Name

orthodoxbiblestudy — Wed, 29 May 2013 00:01:00 GMT

Last Article, we talked about Names and what their significance is as well as the significance of knowing someone's name. In this article we would like to meditate on the Name of God.

In the Old Testament the people didn't know God's name. They addressed Him with various terms such as "Elohim" (Hebrew: אלהים) which means "God", or "El Shaddai" (Hebrew: אל שדי‎) which means "God Almighty", or "Adonai" (Hebrew: אֲדֹנָי) which means "The Lord", etc...

It is worthy to note that the term "Elohim" (God) was used when God was dealing with the whole creation, and the term "Adonai Elohim" (Lord God) was used when God was dealing with someone on a personal level. For example Genesis Chapter 1 talks about the relationship of God with the world and the creation of the heavens and the earth. Thus in this chapter the term "Elohim" is used to signify that God is the Almighty and All Powerful creator "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1). Genesis Chapter 2 however talks about the relationship of God with man which is why the term "Lord God" was repeatedly used to signify God's love for mankind "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being" (Genesis 2:7)

Since mankind didn't know God's name, they weren't able to form a real relationship with Him. However, man yearned for this relationship. We see then some examples of people in the Old Testament asking God what His name is.

The first person to ask God for His name was Jacob when he wrestled with God (Genesis 32), but God didn't give Him the answer. "Jacob said, 'Please tell me your name.' But he replied, 'Why do you ask my name?' Then he blessed him there" (Genesis 32:29)

It wasn't till later on when Moses asked the Lord God what His name is when God appeared to Moses in the Burning Bush (Exodus 3). God first identified Himself as "the God of your father--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" (Exodus 3:6) But that wasn't enough for Moses, so he asked God what His name is, at which point God answered him saying "Ehyeh asher ehyeh" (Hebrew: אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה) which means "I AM WHO I AM", or "I cause to be who I cause to be" (Exodus 3:14)

It's also worthy to note that Jacob and Moses weren't the only ones who asked God for His name. Samson's parents also asked the same questions, but they also didn't get an answer. Instead the answer was "Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?" (Judges 13:17)

So when Moses asked God for His name, the answer was "YHVH" or "I AM". This answer still seems incomplete, and rightly so. It wasn't completed till the New Testament, when our Lord Jesus Christ completed it by saying "I AM the bread of life" (John 6:48) and "I AM the light of the world" (John 8:12) and "I AM the door of the sheep" (John 10:7), and "I AM the good shepherd" (John 10:14), and "I AM the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25), and "I AM the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6) etc...

The name "YHVH" became so Holy to the people of Israel that they never pronounced it fearing that they would break the commandment in Exodus 20:7 "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain". The Jewish people went to great lengths to protect themselves from breaking this commandment by replacing the pronunciation of "YHVH" with "Adonai". So in Genesis 2 whenever it says "The Lord God", it was replaced with "Adonai Elohim". Jewish people started referring to this name as "The Ineffable Name" or the "Unutterable Name of the God of Israel". Even till this day it's referred to as the "Tetragrammaton" which simply means "the four letters". Moreover, they also replaced "Adonai" with "'haShem" which means "the name" in an effort to build a fence around a fence to protect themselves from uttering the name.

Not only was the name of God so Holy, but it also has some extra powers associated with it. For example in the Book of Joel it says "And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the Lord has said, Among the remnant whom the Lord calls." (Joel 2:32). Also in Malachi it says "But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings..." (Malachi 4:2)

This is perhaps also why so many people in the Old Testament venerated and glorified the name of God. Solomon said "The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." (Proverbs 18:10). Isaiah also said "O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago" (Isaiah 25:1), and again "... but your name alone do we honor." (Isaiah 26:13). Jeremiah added saying "Inasmuch as there is none like You, O Lord (You are great, and Your name is great in might)" (Jeremiah 10:6). Daniel also proclaimed saying "Blessed by the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His." (Daniel 2:20). But perhaps nobody has ever sang, meditated, chanted, glorified and venerated the name of God as much as David. It would be too long for this article to list out all the references only for such verses, but here are a few from the book of the Psalms: 7:17; 8:1,9; 9:2; 20:1; 22:22; 25:11; 29:2; 30:4; 31:3; 33:21; 34:3; 44:5,8; 45:17; 48:10; 52:9; 54:1,6; 61:5,8; 63:4; 66:2,4; 68:4; 69:30,36; 72:17,19; 74:21; 75:1; 76:1; 79:6,9; 80:18; 83:16,18; 86:9, and much more.

Even in the New Testament, there's a special power associated by just invoking the name of the Lord. Consider the following:

Invoking the Name of the Lord grants us His presence: "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." (Matthew 18:20).
Hundredfold Rewards in Leaving for His Name: "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother of wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life." (Matthew 19:29).
Anything we ask in Jesus' name will be granted: "If you ask anything in My name, I will do it." (John 14:14)
Baptisim in His name grants us the remission of sins: "Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38)
His name grants us healing: "Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." (Acts 3:6) as well as "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord." (James 5:14)
Salvation is in His name alone: "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12) and "For 'whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.'" (Romans 10:13)

It is truly a grace that we have been given to know His name. Not only that, he has set His name upon us. Yes, we are called by His name! We are Christians, for we are Christ's. His Name is truly above all names. His name alone is a meditation and prayer for us all. Many Christians recite the "Name Prayer" or the "Jesus Prayer" which is "My Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner", or "My Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me". Others just use the name "Jesus" as their whole prayer. Not only does he provide us with all these wonderful things, but he also gives us full credit for all these things. He allows us to serve in His name, and even though without Him we can do nothing, yet He does everything but leaves us in the picture to take all the credit. Meanwhile He humbly stays hidden from all spotlights ascribing all glory to His Children.

God is our all in all. Without Him we can do nothing. For in Him we live and move and have our being, Glory be to His name forever. Amen.

What's in a Name?

orthodoxbiblestudy — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 23:41:00 GMT

There's a special connection between a person and his name. It's a connection that is very personal. Not only does it identify a person, but it also carries a part of the person's personality. In any training for a customer service type jobs, they advice the employees to use the customer's name often just for that very reason. Also, how many times have you been embarrassed by not remembering your friend's name on the spot? It's ok for not remembering their age, their profession, etc... but there's something special about a person's name.

When someone works hard they say that they're trying to make a name for themselves. When another person departs leaving nothing behind it is said that their name is wiped out from the earth. When someone loves another person dearly, they call them with a special name, a term of endearment, or a nickname that nobody else uses. When another person wants to insult someone they call them names. When you label a student as a "lazy student", that label/name somehow turns out to be true. On the other hand, when you label the same student as a "clever student", even if that student didn't do so good on a test it would be considered an exception and the student will continue to live up to his/her "name".

Thus, there's a special connection, and special power to names. The Bible tells us that the Lord God, the true shepherd, "calls his own sheep by name" (John 10:3). This means that The Lord God not only loves the whole world, but he loves each one of us in a very individual and intimate way. "He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name" (Psalm 147:4). He knows His creation and knows how to deal with each one of us to bring us home to His heavenly kingdom.

In our study of the Bible we find many names. Some names are of people and other names are of places. Learning these names, their meanings and who names these names reveals these special connections.

Meanings of Names:

The meaning of names in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, have a direct correlation with the story of the named person or place. Below are a few of these examples:

People:

Adam = Earthly man
Eve = Mother of all Living
Abraham (Gen 17:5) = Father of Many
Isaac (Gen 17:18, 18:15) = Son of Laughter
Edom (Gen 25:30) = Red, or hairy
Nabal (I Samuel 25:25) = Fool

Places:

Garden of Eden (Gen 2:8) = Joy: God created man to be in Joy
Nod (Gen 4:16) = Lost or Disturbed. This is the land that Cain lived in after killing his brother.

The Name Giver:

The name giver has authority on the named. For example, God created Adam and named him. God also created the Sun, the Moon and all the stars and called them all with their names. This is because all these submit to God's will. God however let Adam to name all the animals because God gave Adam the authority over all the creatures. Also Adam named Eve which is a prefigure of the Orthodox Marriage where the wife submits to her husband (Ephesians 5:22, Colossians 3:18). We note here that submission doesn't belittle the state of the woman. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself submitted to the will of His Good Father without being any less than the Father. Saying that Jesus is any less than the Father falls under Arianism. The submission here is a submission of love and respect, which is the same as that between a husband and wife.

Lastly in Revelations, our Lord puts His Father's name on His followers' forehead. As for Satan, his followers get the mark of his name (Revelations 14:1). This too shows the authority of the name giver over the person, and the submission and loyalty of the person to the name giver.

Name Changes:

In certain cases a person's name changes. The name change usually indicates a new purpose of life assigned by the person giving the name. Below are a few of the examples:

God changed Abram and Sarai's name to Abraham and Sarah to fulfill God's new purpose in becoming the father of many fathers (Gen 17).
God changed Jacob's name to Israel, assigning him the new purpose in his life of being a person that depends on God rather than his own cunningness (Gen 32)
Pharaoh changes Joseph's name to "Zaphenath-paneah" (Gen 41:45)
King Nebuchadnezzar changed the names of Daniel to "Belteshazzar," Hananiah to "Shadrach," to Mishael "Meshach," and Azariah to "Abednego." (Daniel 1)
Our Lord Jesus Christ called Simon "Peter" (Matthew 16:18)
God Changed Saul's name to Paul to signify his new Christian mission (Acts 9)
During Baptisms and clergy ordinations, the Orthodox Church usually gives the person a new name by which they person should carry out their new mission in life.

Your Name:

Now we come to your name. We're not talking about your earthly name by which your parents call you. We're talking about your heavenly name that the Lord God calls you with. In the book of Revelations we read "...To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it." (Revelations 2:17) This is your heavenly name given to you by your Heavenly Father. Remember, the meaning of your name is closely tied to who you are, or who you'll end up being.

If your earthly life were to end today, what do you think God would call you? What would your name be at this point? Are you satisfied with this name?

What about if your life didn't end today and you still have a chance to be named something else, what would you like your name to be? What would you like your Heavenly Father to call you? David "The Beloved"? Michael "Who is Like God"? Raphael "The Mercy of God"? What is your name?

Grace in the Presence of the Lord God

orthodoxbiblestudy — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 09:23:00 GMT

Genesis is the book of beginnings. In Chapter 6 is the first mention of the word "Grace" in the following verse:

"But Noah found grace in the presence of the Lord God." (Genesis 6:8)

This leads us to a series of more questions. For example, What is grace? What does it do for us? How do we obtain it? Once obtained, can we lose it? etc... To attempt to answer these questions we did a Topical Bible Study on "Grace" to attempt to gain more understanding and insight. In doing so, we believe all the above questions are answered and more. Having said that, we do not believe that this is an exhaustive study about grace. This study does not include many sayings of the fathers about Grace, and it does not include any personal experiences about the topic either. These will be left as an exercise to the readers to research and experience the Grace of God.

First we start with 'What is Grace?' Grace is a divine gift from God that is freely given. "...much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many." (Romans 15:5)

So it's a free gift, but why would we want the Grace of God? In other words, what does His Grace do for us? From Our topical study, we find the following:

The Grace of God cleanses us:
"Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more," (Romans 5:20)
The Grace of God enables us to conduct ourselves in godliness:
"For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you." (2 Corinthians 1:12)
The Grace of God builds us as spiritual beings
"So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified." (Acts 20:32)
The Grace of God Justifies us:
"being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus," (Romans 3:24), and
"that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life." (Titus 3:7)
The Grace of God Gives us Rejoicing and Hope:
"through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." (Romans 5:2)
The Grace of God provides us with various gifts:
"Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith;" (Romans 12:6)
The Grace of God Calls us:
"But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through His grace," (Galatians 1:15)
The Grace of God enables us to walk according to His calling:
"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." (1 Corinthians 15:10), and
"who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began," (2 Timothy 1:9)
The Grace of God gives us strength:
"And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." (2 Corinthians 12:9)
The Grace of God makes our service acceptable:
"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear." (Hebrews 12:28)
The Grace of God enables us to thank God:
"For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God." (2 Corinthians 4:15)
The Grace of God makes us sufficient:
"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work." (2 Corinthians 9:8)

From the above verses, we see that the Grace of God cleanses us and enables us to conduct ourselves in godliness. Having done so, it builds us up as spiritual beings and thus we are justified by the Grace of God. Therefore we rejoice and have hope in the eternal life. However because "everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded" (Luke 12:48) then the Grace of God will call us to a specific purpose but God will not leave us alone. He will enable us to walk according to his calling by His Grace, will give us strength in our service and make our service acceptable. Thus we will thank God for His Grace and by His grace for He has made us sufficient in everything.

Note however that even though God's Grace alone is able to do all things, however God requires us to work with His grace and not sit idle. God is doing His part, and so should we. This is what the fathers always talk about with "Grace and struggle". Even the above verses say that His Grace is "able" (Acts 20:32) to do all things, however we should "use these gifts" (Romans 12:6). Moreover, we also read "For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." (John 1:17). This verse shows our role and God's role. Our role is to walk according to His laws that were given to mankind through Moses, and God's role is to provide His grace.

Now the next logical question we must ask is 'How do we obtain the Grace of God?' There are certain means by which the Grace of God would enter into our lives. These are called by the fathers "Windows of Grace". Let us look at a few of these "Windows of Grace":

Through Prayers: After all Noah found grace "in the Presence of the Lord God" (Genesis 6:8) Also we read "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16)
Through Humility:
"Surely He scorns the scornful, But gives grace to the humble" (Proverbs 3:34)
Through Walking in His Ordinances:
"So they will be life to your soul And grace to your neck." (Proverbs 3:22)
Through Purity of Heart:
"He who loves purity of heart And has grace on his lips, The king will be his friend." (Proverbs 22:11)
Through being in the Church:
"'Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone With shouts of "Grace, grace to it!" ' " (Zechariah 4:7)
Through Witnessing to God:
"And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all." (Acts 4:33)
Through Faith:
"through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." (Romans 5:2)

We must note however that once we obtain the Grace, it is possible that we fall from it. Below are examples of how we could fall from the Grace of God:

By justifying ourselves with our works:
"You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace." (Galatians 5:4)
By Bitterness:
"looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled" (Hebrews 12:15)
By Unbelief:
"For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ." (Jude 1:4)

From the above Topical Bible study we learn about Grace, it's work, how to obtain it and how to fall from it. We also learn that we have to do our part and God will do His by providing us with His Grace.

We finally pray that we "...grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen." (2 Peter 3:18)

Waiting on God's Promises

orthodoxbiblestudy — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 17:40:00 GMT

In the first article we talked about God's Toil With His Creation and how virtues take time to blossom. We would also like to note that sometimes God calls someone for a certain task or gives another a certain promise, only to be followed by a long period of waiting.

For example, God promised Abraham that his seed shall be as many as "the dust of the earth" (Genesis 13:16) and as the "stars of the sky" (Genesis 15:5). However it wasn't until years later when Isaac was born to Abraham from Sarah. Abraham has waited so long that Sarah laughed at the idea that she can still have children since Abraham and Sarah were now "old and well advanced in years" (Genesis 18:11).

Another example we see is Joseph. He waited many years for his dreams to be fulfilled. However, it wasn't until after he was betrayed by his brothers, thrown into a well, imprisoned in Egypt, remained faithful to God and rose to glory again.

Moses waited many years as well before God would use him to deliver his people from the hands of Pharaoh. It wasn't until he fled to the desert and lived many years there that God appeared to him in the burning bush and told him how he was to deliver his people.

Even when he delivered Israel from Egypt, Israel waited 40 years wandering in the desert before they entered into the promised land. It wasn't until they saw God's wonders and miracles such as the pillar of cloud in the morning, and fire in the evening, the parting of the sea, the manna, the quail, the bronze serpent, the water from the rock, etc...

Hannah the wife of Elkanah also waited a long time for God to provide her with a child. However it wasn't until she prayed fervently to God and vowed the child to God, that God granted her Samuel the prophet.

King David as well waited for years after being anointed a king by Samuel the prophet. He didn't assume the throne right away, but he had to flee from Saul and live a fugitive life and lead a group of misfits first before he can take his throne.

Zacharias the priest and Elizabeth waited a long time till they were also well advanced in years for a child to be born, even though "They were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless" (Luke 1:6). God however had someone great prepared for them who will be called "great in the sight of the Lord..." (Luke 1:15).

Joachim and Anna waited for years for God to provide them with a child. It wasn't until Anna had questioned her purpose in this world and prayed to God fervently and with a contrite heart and vowed to devote the child to the temple. That's when God answered her prayers and provided her with St. Mary who is to be the Theotokos (Mother of God).

St. John the Apostle saw all the rest of the Apostles martyred before he died. His brother James was the first to be martyred. However God kept him waiting to be the last Apostle to die in order to reveal to him His secrets on the island of Patmos.

Lastly, God waited thousands of years before being incarnated in order to save all of mankind. God kept his people waiting, but during that time He kept visiting His people with many prophets and led His people through many events that would prepare them for the coming of The Messiah, in the fullness of time.

Just like we read in Psalm 1, that the righteous "shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water" (Psalm 1:3). A tree takes a long time to grow, and there is no other way than to wait.

We are all waiting "for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the coming ages." (The Nicene Creed). Let us therefore wait on God's promises, trusting that there is wisdom in His timing, and looking for the great reward that God has planned for us, saying with King David who started Psalm 12 with "How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?" but ended with "But I have trusted in Your mercy; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, Because He has dealt bountifully with me."

The Righteousness of Noah

orthodoxbiblestudy — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 07:59:00 GMT

It is often said that it is impossible to live according to God's commandments in this Generation. It is also said that God's laws may apply to the earlier days, but now however it would be impractical what with all the sin that is all around us. Sometimes sin presents itself and is almost forced upon us. People in the old days must not have had it this hard... Or have they?

In Genesis chapter 6 we read about Noah. The Holy Scripture attests to him by saying that "Noah was a righteous man, who was perfect in his generation and well-pleasing to God." (Genesis 6:9). So far nothing special since there were many good people a long time ago. However, Noah did not live in any ordinary times. Just a couple of verses later, the Bible tells us why Noah was special by describing the circumstances as follows:

"Now the earth was corrupt before God and filled with unrighteousness. Thus the Lord God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh corrupted their way on the earth." (Genesis 6:11,12)

Noah wasn't just righteous. He was "perfect". Not only that, he was perfect while everybody else were extremely wicked. The environment that surrounded Noah was much worse than anything we're seeing today.

We can only imagine what Noah must have gone through. How much pressure to do evil Noah must have been subjected to throughout his whole life, yet he kept himself perfect. We imagine also that he would be alienated by these evil doers for not obliging with them. He might have even gotten many threats from them to conform to their ways, yet he continued to be a righteous man. Noah was a perfect man, not only because he was righteous, but because he was righteous in the worst generation of mankind.

Noah's senses must have been tortured by seeing and hearing evil day in and day out. There's no doubt that his circumstances are far worse than anything that we could be subjected to today. Moreover, imagine having Noah try to teach his kids to walk according to God's commandments in this generation. This must have been a very tough task. No wonder he waited 500 years before he had any kids!

Noah was a perfect and righteous man during the worst times of mankind here on earth. He is truly an example that we should put in front of our eyes at all times when we think to ourselves that it is hard to follow God's commandments when everybody else is not. Noah will judge us in the last day, not by saying any words at all, but by the example of his life we would have no excuse. We ask for the righteous Noah's prayers before God the Almighty that He may have mercy on us, forgive us our sins and help us do God's will here on earth.

The Love of God, the Father

orthodoxbiblestudy — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 16:31:00 GMT

There's a very interesting expression that was used in Genesis 6:6:

"So God was grieved that He had made man on the earth, and He thought this over." (Genesis 6:6)

What does it mean for God to think this over? This expression implies that God had made a mistake for Him to reconsider. It implies that God erred and He needs to correct it. It also implies that God is not all-knowing. Moreover it strips God from His perfection in His plan and diminishes His wisdom. This verse renders God prone to error which in turn would destroy our trust in Him. What then? Was it just poor choice of word from the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit knowingly and intentionally chose these words and there's a reason behind them. God uses human expressions to relate to us what's in His heart. A father explaining a complex situation to his 2 year old son or daughter would have to revert to terms familiar to his 2 year old, otherwise the message would be misunderstood or completely lost. So too our heavenly Father trying to relate to us this situation He uses human terms. The father of the 2 year old could chose to use adult terms in the explanation leaving his child completely lost, but that wouldn't be a loving thing to do. Here however out of His Love, God used terms we can relate to in order to express the situation. The father of the 2 year old also could simply just not explain anything to the child, but this too wouldn't be very loving. In this case God could also just do what He was about to do without any explanation since He doesn't owe us anything. However out of His love he involves us and reveals to us what's in His heart so that we could get to know Him better.

The verse above in Genesis is not the only verse that ascribes these human terms to God. Here are other examples:

"And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As he was destroying, the Lord looked and relented of the disaster, and said to the angel who was destroying, 'It is enough; now restrain your hand.'" (I Chronicles 21:15)
"Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for He is merciful and compassionate. He is longsuffering and plenteous in mercy and repents of evils." (Joel 2:13)
"So the Lord relented concerning this. 'This also shall not be,' said the Lord God." (Amos 7:6)
"How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, and grieved Him in the desert!" (Psalm 78:40)
"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." (Ephesians 4:26)

So all these expressions such as relenting, provoking, grieving, and thinking it over are all human terms. But God out of His Love and humility chose to apply these expressions to Himself as well to relate to us and involve us in His thoughts. He does this to make Himself approachable by us for He seeks a relation with us. Just as a loving Father who wishes to share with His children everything that He does.

Noah, and the Extent of Man's Wickedness

orthodoxbiblestudy — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 14:25:00 GMT

In Genesis 6, in the story of Noah, we read "Then God said, 'I will blot out man whom I created from the face of the earth, from man to cattle, and from the creeping things to the birds of heaven, for I am grieved I made them." (Genesis 6:7)

But why would God destroy the creation which His hands have made? Shouldn't God give them another chance to repent and live? Where's God's mercy? This seems too harsh at the first glance. However, after careful examination, we discover the extent of man's wickedness and understand the amount of grief man caused God.

Earlier in the chapter the Holy Scripture offers the explanation in the following verse "Then the Lord God saw man's wickedness, that it was great in the earth, and every intent of the thoughts within his heart was only evil continually." (Genesis 6:5) Man's wickedness was great. It wasn't simple offenses. But even great offenses could be forgiven if man were to repent. The scripture however adds that evil was in "every intent of man". Not just some or most, but man reached a state where every intent of his heart was displeasing to God. Not only that, but each intent was also "only evil". It wasn't partially good and partially evil. It wasn't good towards some and evil towards others. It wasn't good in certain situations and evil in others. No, it was only and wholly evil. But even to this point God would have still been patient with man and draw him to repent. However, man's evil intent was continuous. Not just some days it was evil and others it was not. Not just around certain people of bad influences were man's intent was evil. It was evil "continually". Thus the scripture says that man's wickedness was great, every intent was evil, only evil, and continually evil.

The Orthodox Church defines blasphemy against the Holy Spirit as renouncing the work of the Holy Spirit till the last breath. And since the Holy Spirit is the one Who leads us to repent, our Lord told us that "he who blasphemes against the Holy spirit, it will not be forgiven." (Luke 12:10) It seems like this was the case here. This is why the Holy Scripture said earlier in the same chapter "Then the Lord God said, 'My Spirit shall not remain with these people forever, for they are flesh.'" (Genesis 6:3)

However, even here we see God's mercy. For it took all of mankind to be evil for God to blot out the cattle, the creeping things and the birds of heaven, but it took only one man, Noah, and his family to save all the human race as well as the creation.

His Will and Free Will

orthodoxbiblestudy — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 06:24:00 GMT

In Genesis Chapter 5 we read the following:

"This is the book of the genesis of mankind in the day God made Adam, whom He made in God's image. He made them male and female, and blessed them; and the day He made them He called his name Adam. Now Adam lived two hundred and thirty years, and begot a son according to his form and image, and named him Seth. After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were seven hundred years; and he begot sons and daughters. So all the days Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died." (Genesis 5:1-5)

In verse 5 we read that Adam died. However, it was not the will of God for His creation to experience death. But if it's not the will of God, then how did it come to pass? Can anything happen against God's will? Isn't God the Almighty?

God created mankind, and blessed them. This is God's will. God also gave Adam the free will to choose. This is also God's will to grant man the free will. However, it was through the will of man and due to the envy of the devil that death has entered into the world. God's will was to create man and bless them. His will was that man would live in Harmony with Him and with His creation. God's will was for man to live forever in perfect union and communion with God. Man, however, abused the gift of free will and chose for himself death instead of life. It wasn't God's will, but God allowed it because he values the free will of man.

So instead of living in perfect harmony with God, man now experiences death just like how Adam died. He experiences murder just as Cain killed his brother Abel. Man experiences toil since the earth was cursed due to man's ill choices. Sicknesses spread in the world as a consequence to man's choices. This was never God's will, but he allowed it because he values the free will of man.

But at what lengths would God go to protect the free will of man? God allowed Adam to stretch his hand and eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil and disobey God's direct commandment, knowing very well that this will cause God to sacrifice His Only Begotten Son in order to save man and restore him to his original condition. This is the length that God will go to protect our free will.

God's will leads to a life of blessings. Man's will leads to death and misery. Yet man continues on a daily basis to choose against God's will, and God continues to allow it because He values it. If God values man's free will that much, then we have just discovered the best gift we can give back to God, which is our own free will. We are to surrender our free will to Him and tell Him, let my will be your will and let my ways be your ways. We should follow our Lord's example in saying "... not as I will, but as You will." (Matthew 26:39) We should tell Him "Thy will be done" (Luke 11:2) knowing and trusting that this is the best choice that we can ever make in our lives.

Out of the Presence of the Lord

orthodoxbiblestudy — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 20:12:00 GMT

Genesis 4 talks about how Cain kills his brother Abel. Verse 16 describes Cain's condition after his sin by saying:

"Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod opposite Eden." (Genesis 4:16)

Cain could have and should have repented to God, like King David when he sinned, and say "Do not cast me away from Your presence..." (Psalm 50:13) However, not only did Cain not repent, he also chose to live away from the presence of God. Notice that it was Cain's choice to live in this state. The bible says that "Cain went out from the presence of the Lord..." not that the Lord cast him out of his presence. Never! "'Do I ever will the death of a lawless man,' says the Lord, 'since My will is for him to turn from the evil way and live?'" (Ezekiel 18:23) The Holy Scripture also says "Who desires all men to be saved..." (I Timothy 2:4)

But what does it mean to live "out from the presence of the Lord"? Living out from the presence of the Lord means living without the following:

Love: for "God is love" (I John 4:16) and "love is of God" (I John 4:7)
Protection: "But You, O Lord, are a shield for me" (Psalm 3:3)
Also, "The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace." (Exodus 14:14)
And "I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." (Psalm 4:8)
The Lord of Hosts also says "he who touches you touches the apple of His eye." (Zechariah 2:8)
The Lord also said "'Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you. 16 See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;'" (Isaiah 49:15,16)
Grace: for "grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17)
Forgiveness: for "To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness" (Daniel 9:9)
The Lord also says "I will forgive their sins and I will no longer remember their wrongs" (Jeremiah 31:34)
Also "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9)
Guidance: for the Holy Spirit "He will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13)
Teaching: for false teachers could arise and spread false doctrines, but the Holy Spirit "will teach you all things" (John 12:26)
Comfort: "For the Lord will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places" (Isaiah 51:3),
for He is the "God of all comfort" (II Corinthians 1:3)
Joy: for "In Your presence is fullness of joy" (Psalm 16:11)
Peace: for "The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace." (Numbers 6:26)
And "The Lord will bless His people with peace." (Psalm 29:11)
Also when God was incarnate the Angels proclaimed "on earth peace" (Luke 2:14)
Goodness: for "The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord" (Psalm 33:5)
And "You crown the year with Your goodness" (Psalm 65:11)
Order: for he made the sun to rule the day and the moon by night (Genesis 1:16). He also made the seasons, the days and the years. Also "He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name." (Psalm 147:4)
Goal: for the aim of our lives is to be well pleasing to him (II Corinthians 5:9) but without Him there would be no purpose for our lives
Hope: "For You are my hope, O Lord God; You are my trust from my youth." (Psalm 71:5)
And "If in this life only we have hope in Christ..." (I Corinthians 15:19)
Knowledge of Oneself: for the Lord is the one who searches our hearts and knows ourselves more that we do as King David says in Psalm 139:23.
Also "You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off" (Psalm 139:2)
Beauty: for "Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary" (Psalm 96:6)
Eternal Life: for our Lord Jesus Christ said "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:40)
Light: for our Lord said "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12)
Help: for "He is our help and our shield." (Psalm 33:20)
And "...For the help of man is useless." (Psalm 60:11)
Also King David says "Those who trust in the Lord Are like Mount Zion, Which cannot be moved, but abides forever." (Psalm 125:1)
Glory and Honor: for the Lord is mindful of man and "...have crowned him with glory and honor" (Psalm 8:5)
Spiritual Growth: for the Holy Spirit grants us His fruit as mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23
Also "every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit." (John 15:2)
Healing: for "The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings" (Malachi 4:2)
Freedom: for our Lord said "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed." (John 8:36)
Sustenance: for our Lord commanded us not to worry about food or drink for the "Father knows that you need all these things" (Matthew 6:32)
Also "He gives to the beast its food, And to the young ravens that cry." (Psalm 147:9)
Strength: for "The Lord is my strength and song" (Exodus 15:2)
Also "It is God who arms me with strength, And makes my way perfect." (Psalm 18:32)
And "The Lord will give strength to His people; The Lord will bless His people with peace." (Psalm 29:11)
Moreover, "...those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31)
Success: for "The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man" (Genesis 39:2)
Salvation: for "Salvation belongs to the Lord" (Psalm 3:8)
Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge: For the Lord is the one who gave Bezalel the son of Uri and "...filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge" (Exodus 31:3)
Also it was God who gave Solomon "...wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore." (I Kings 4:29)
Also "All wisdom comes from the Lord And is with Him forever." (Wisdom of Sirach 1:1)
Blessings: for it was God that blessed Abraham saying "blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore..." (Genesis 22:17)
Also the man with a pure heart "...shall receive blessing from the Lord, And righteousness from the God of his salvation" (Psalm 24:5)
And "The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it." (Proverbs 10:22)
Holiness: for Moses along with all the children sang to the Lord saying "Who is like You, glorious in holiness" (Exodus 15:11)
Also King David says "Holiness adorns Your house, O Lord, forever" (Psalm 93:5)
Mercy: for God is "...showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments." (Exodus 20:6)
Also "Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; But he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him." (Psalm 32:10)
And "For His mercy endures forever." (Psalm 118)
Truth: for God is "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6)
Reward: for God told Abraham "I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward" (Genesis 15:1)
And just as Isaiah prophesied saying "Indeed the Lord has proclaimed To the end of the world: "Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Surely your salvation is coming; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him.'" (Isaiah 62:11)
Victory: Just as King David through the Holy Spirit proclaimed saying "Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty..." (I Chronicles 29:11)
Also St. Paul the Apostle says "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Corinthians 15:57)

A life outside the Presence of the Lord is no life at all for "for in Him we live and move and have our being." (Acts 17:28) It is no wonder that our Lord Jesus Christ said "...for without Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5)

How to Gain God's Respect

orthodoxbiblestudy — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:20:00 GMT

In Genesis 4 verses 4 and 5 we read the following:

"...The Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his sacrifices."

The question is: How did Abel gain God's respect? What did he do differently than Cain?

"Now Abel was a shepherd of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. Now in the process of time Cain brought a sacrifice to the Lord from the fruits of the ground. Abel also brought a sacrifice from the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. The Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his sacrifices..." (Genesis 4:3-5)

Abel had faith and through his faith he understood the proper sacrifice. In Hebrews we read "By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain..." (Hebrews 11:4) Abel by faith learned that a blood sacrifice had to be offered. Perhaps he observed the garments of skin that the Lord God made for Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:21. The skin garments had to have come from a blood sacrifice. Perhaps also he learned from his parents that they tried first to sew fig leaves together and that wasn't sufficient (Genesis 3:7). Abel's faith was one of the factors that caused him to gain God's respect. In Hebrews we also read that "...without faith it is impossible to please Him..." (Hebrews 11:6). Abel had a discerning heart through faith to offer a more excellent sacrifice.

Another factor that caused Abel to gain God's respect are his righteous works. In first John it says "Not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. Any why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother's righteous." (I John 3:12) Abel's righteous works led to God's respect to him and his offering.

It was not only Abel's faith and righteous works and caused him to gain God's respect, but also Abel's heart was in the right place. Abel had a heart that seeks after what God seeks. Whenever someone offers a gift to another he should look for a gift that's according to the receiver's liking, not his own. Abel had a pure heart to discern what God was seeking. He spent a little more effort to learn God's will and what God seeks. Cain's inward state of his heart however was wicked. His wickedness is described in Jude 11 as "the way of Cain." Thus in order to Gain God's respect we must have faith, do righteous works and have a pure heart.

Lastly, the way that Abel offered the sacrifice to God gained God's respect to him. "Abel also brought a sacrifice from the firstborn of his flock and of their fat." (Genesis 4:4) The scripture was careful enough to mention that he also offered the fat of the flock. It wasn't until later on in Leviticus that God taught Moses, Aaron and his sons about the sacrifices and the very particular way they should offer it. God instructed Moses saying "... all the fat is the Lord's" (Leviticus 3:16). Abel offered his sacrifice exactly the way God wanted it before God even asked for it. The way Abel offered his sacrifice also caused him to Gain God's respect. Perhaps God gave this particular instruction to Moses regarding the fat of the sacrifices as a remembrance of Abel's sacrifice. Either way, we know that Abel offered his sacrifice the way God wanted it.

Thus the Holy Scripture reveals to us in Genesis 4 how we can gain God's respect. Through faith, righteous works, a pure heart we gain His respect. We must also worship God the way he wants to be worshipped and the way He instructed us to worship Him. We must obey the cannons of our Church established by God Himself which teaches us the way we ought to worship Him. We should follow the Church which is esablished by God Himself and inspired by the Holy Spirit. Individual worship is well and essential, but Church worship is also required by God. It's the way God wants us to relate to him.