Powerful Water Creatures

The ocean is one of the most mysterious places on earth, and every culture seems to think there's something magical beneath the waves. From Leviathan to Atlantis to Mermaids...let's talk about what everyone seems to know about life in the deep blue sea.

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. Revelation 21:1 KJV

Sea Monsters

I started out thinking this episode was going to be on sea monsters like the Leviathan, so lets talk about those first.

Leviathan

The primary source for the leviathan is found in Job 41, though it is also mentioned in Job 3:8, Psalms 74:13; 104:26, and Isaiah 27:1. Using Blue Letter Bible to determine the meaning of the original Hebrew לִוְיָתָן which is translated to leviathan, I found a few interesting things. This definition acknowledges similarities to plesiosaurus and esentially defines leviathan as a serpentine sea monster, as we would expect. However, it also ties the word to the constellation of the dragon () and Babylon—which is often cited as a city that is in opposition to the Kingdom of YHWH.[1] In short, leviathan is described a fearsome sea serpent, with parallels to the dragon (Isaiah 27:1).

Jewish tradition holds more beliefs about leviathan that are not found in the Bible.[5]

Nessie (The Loch Ness Monster)

The Loch Ness Monster, often called Nessie, is also portrayed as a plesiasaurus, drawing parallels to the leviathan. Legends of Nessie are found in Scotland. While most scientist argue against a large sea creature in the Loch Ness and at least one phone has been declared a hoax, many people still flock to Ireland in hopes of catching a glimpse of the creature.[2]

Plesiasaurus

The plesiosaur or plesiosaurus is a dinosaur-era marine creature.[3][4] Many people think the legends about sea monsters stem from this creature. These massive reptiles, at one point, could grow up to 40 ft. long!

A Lost Kingdom?

So as I was trying to figure out how to make this episode more interesting and what this episode should really look like, my mind driffed from leviathan to Atlantis (mainly because Disney's Atlantis: the Lost Empire has a creature they call leviathan guarding the city of Atlantis). Of course from there my mind driffed to Atlantica, the home of Disney's The Little Mermaid—yes, I watched way too much Disney in my lifetime. Nonetheless, this got the wheels griding in my mind.

Many people know about the legend of Atlantis, but what many have never heard are Christians preaching against "the marine kingdom," a demonic kingdom of water spirits. I don't know enough about the topic to make a clear statement about it, but in the research I have done on it in the past plus what everyone seems to know about water spirits, it does make you think. plus Revelation 21:1 says that after the judgment, there will be no more sea...

Water Spirits

In the US we grew up with mermaids, and mostly mermaids like Ariel from The Little Mermaid, but around the world, the legends of mermaids or other water spirit are not so bubbly and cute.[6][9][10][11]

• Atargtis (Mesopotamia)
• Jengu (Iara)
• Mami Wata (Africa--and the African Diaspora)
• Melusine (French)
• Merrow (Ireland)
• Ningyo (Japan)
• Njuzu (Zimbabwe)
• Rusalka (Slavic)
• Sirens (Greek)
• Selkie (Celtic/Norse)

References

1. "Strong's H3882. לִוְיָתָן". Blue Letter Bible; visited September 5, 2021
2. Loch Ness Monster, Legendary Creature". Encyclopedia Britannica; visited September 2021
3. Plesiosaur". Encyclopedia Britannica; visited September 2021
4. "Plesiosaurs Pictures and Faces". The Dinosaur Database; visited September 2021
5. "Leviathan". Mythical Realm. 2012
6. "Mermaid". Wikipedia; visited September 2021
7. Emily Madriga. "12 Facts About The Ningen, The Creepiest ‘Animal’ You’ve Never Heard Of". Thought Catalog. March 2018
8. Regina Hansen. "Why We Keep Telling Legends of Sea Monsters". The Wall Street Journal. June 24, 2021
9. "Marakihau". The Journal of the Polynesian Society: Vol 66, No 1. 1957
10. Gillian Finklea. "9 Mermaid Legends From Around the World". Mental Floss. February 29, 2016
11. "Mermaid". Encyclopedia Britannica; visited September 2021

How I Almost Died...

I almost died trying to groom a horse! The biggest lesson I learned was, when the Holy Spirit says, "Move," you better MOVE! I didn't mention it in the video, but I had that horse for about 10 years. She died from colic when I was in college.

Bubbles

Big round eyes
Under long wiskers
Bouncing as you walk.
Brown and black patches
Linger between stripes
Enable expressions
Sweet and sly.

False Alarm, Real Problem

Last night my dad got a call saying someone had hit a cow near our house. Frantically, he went to check on our cows and see if any were missing. Luckily all of our cows were accounted for, but there was a problem our bull. If it hadn't been for the call, he wouldn't have found out until the morning and our pour bull would have had a very rough night. In life, we experience false alarms, but we should take each one seriously because sometimes God is using that false alarm to point out a real problem!

A Father's Love

God gives great revelation in the wee hours of the night. This weekend was one of those times. I don't know if words can relay an experience that Holy Spirit gives, but I'm gonna try to share with you the beautiful experience and message I received this weekend.

Season 1 Episode 4

³²As soon as Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and told him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died!”
³³When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, he was deeply moved[a] in his spirit and troubled. ³⁴“Where have you put him?” he asked.
“Lord,” they told him, “come and see.”
³⁵Jesus wept.John 11:32-35 CSB

00:01:19	Hey guys welcome back to the PSALMS to God podcast! So, I know that today I was planning to do another "High School Yearbook Superlatives" episode, where we talk about a particular person—and I had a kind of planned it out and decided what I was going to talk about, but one thing led to another and some things happened, and then the Holy Spirit moved me to talk about something else. So, when the Holy Spirit moves you to talk about something else, you start talking about something else.
00:01:52	This past weekend was an interesting experience, and because of that interesting experience, I ended up staying up all night Friday night with a sick cat. About, I don't know, 3:30, quarter to 4, in the morning, the Holy Spirit just kind of started giving me things to to talk about, and so I just turned on the recording software on my computer and started to record. And what was the left is I guess what I want to give you today. Unfortunately because it was 3 something in the morning and I was really just recording to get my thoughts down I didn't necessarily think that that was going to be the episode for today, so I just wanted to record what I was thinking, I didn't really hook up the mic or anything like that. So, I apologize if the sound quality is not, you know, the best quality ever. But I just felt like it wasn't worth re-recording, because I just felt like it was real in the moment that I recorded it. So this is what I had to say at a quarter to 4 in the morning, Saturday morning...
00:03:08	If you've been listening to my episodes then you probably remember in one episode there is like a weird sound—actually in a couple episodes there may sound like bells or jingling in the background or something, or like the rustling of something or just like a sudden thud. And usually it's my cat, Bubbles. I don't lock her out of the room when I record, because I know that will make her upset and then she's just going to stand at the door and whine; then you'll probably hear her whining in the background. So, I just let her come and go as I record the episodes. Sometimes she sits there quietly and sometimes she doesn't. But I've had Bubbles for 8 years—it'll be 9 years in May—and when I first got her, she was so tiny as. You guys, she weighed less than a pound. She weigh, I think, something like 9 oz—she could fit in the palm of my hand.
00:04:13	She was just so sick. I didn't know she was sick when I got her, but she was. I'm pretty sure she would have died if I had not got her when I did. Basically, if you actually go to the PSALMS to God website, I have a story about when I actually adopted her. But she was at a rescue shelter, and when I first saw her I didn't actually want her—that sounds to horrible. She was the runt of the litter. She was pretty scraggly looking, and I was actually looking at her brother. Her brother was this beautiful, long haired, white cat with like brown ears and it was like nice and fluffy and that's kind of what kind of cat I wanted.[1] But I didn't want a male cat, because just like dogs, cats are territorial, and sometimes male cats spray things. And I knew that I was going to have this cat in my house all the time, and I did not want my cat peeing on my couch and on the floor and on the walls or whereever. I've never had a male cat that was strictly an indoor cat, so I was like, I really want a female cat. And so I kind of moved on, and as I was walking away from the the cat area the kittens area, Bubbles decided to scale the little cage trying to follow me but she was too weak to actually hold herself up as she climbed the rungs of the bars. And she ended up falling into her water tray. So they had to take her out to dry her, and as they went to go get the towel, I asked could I hold her.
00:06:08	So when I took her into my hands, she, you know, dug into my shirt—not into my skin—but like into my shirt. And yeah, she wasn't letting go! So, I ended up doing the drying, and they didn't want to let her go because she was too young to adopt. I had some words with the people[2] I was like, "look I'm a farm girl; I've nursed puppies, kittens, cows—I'm going to take this cat, it's not like you can take care of it." So, they let me take her; I took her home, and within like a day or two she was wheezing. She did not play like a kitten normally plays, and she was just really sick. I took her to the vet, and y'all, I spent like $1,000 in vet bills on this cat when I first got her. And I thought I thought she was going to die, but I didn't want to watch her die without doing anything to try to save her.
00:07:17	You know, once she got better, she's been my buddy ever since. She's not the biggest fan of strangers—anybody who's ever come to my house knows. She's a normal cat: she's very testy, she's very temperamental. But, she loves me. You know, she follows me around the house. She meets me at the door when I come home. If I go take a shower, she lays shower. If I take a bath, she lays on the side of the bathtub. It doesn't matter, she follows me everywhere. She listens to me.[3] Like she's just—I don't know. She's my cat, I guess.
00:08:05	Recently, there was a day that I was very sick, and I decided to take like a hot bath to ease like the cramps and stuff. And when I got out of the bathtub, I wasn't able to drain the tub because I was sick. So, I just kind of crawled from the bathtub into my bed, and during this time, her being the curious little cat she was, she ended up falling into the tub because she didn't expect there to be water in the tub. And because I was also sick, I had a hard time trying to dry her and like, brush her and all these things. I didn't do the best job of grooming her after she fell into the tub.
00:09:00	So, after a couple of weeks passed—it's been about a month since this happened—I noticed that she started to get a lot of matting in her fur, and I think it may be be from the poor grooming job I did after she fell in the bathtub. So I've been having a lot of trouble getting the mats out of her fur the past couple of weeks. Now, you know it's to the point that she doesn't want me to brush her, because it hurts. So I called a groomer and they referred me to another groomer, and they referred me to a vet, blah blah blah...[4] Basically people kind of passed me around in circles, until I found is that who was willing to basically shaved in that out of her fur, so that it can grow back healthy and not cause problems. Just for an FYI, when cats fur mats, it mats really close to their skin and it's not good for them, because one, they will try to groom it and go into overgrooming,[5] and two, it irritates their skin. It can cause like tears in their skin and infections, and things like that. So I just really wanted her to go back to being normal. So I made a vet appointment to get this done for this past Friday, and as I was preparing for it, I had to find my records. I haven't found a vet since I moved into this new location. I'd gotten her like a three-year rabies vaccination so she didn't need to go to the vet all this time, and so I hadn't really worried about it.
00:10:43	Well it turns out, her rabies shot was actually expired. It expired last like September or November—sometime late 2018. So, when I talked to them, they said they would give her a new rabies vaccine as well, because you just don't like working on animals who don't have their vaccinations up to date. It's probably not good for the vet or whatever. So, I took her to the vet Friday afternoon, and there was a mix-up with the person at the desk. They didn't really understand the process for the grooming situation, and everything it would take. Basically they would have to sedate her, because she's not going to like it, and in order to to get her to cooperate, she needs to be calm and asleep, and not fighting. So they couldn't sedate her that late in the afternoon because they have to do blood work, they have to monitor the cat and make sure their OK; it's just a lot of things into it. So, they told me they could give me rabies the shot and that I would have to bring her back for the grooming situation. You know, and they were like we'll give you a discount and we won't charge you for the second office visit because it was their fault, yada yada yada. So I was like "OK, fine."
00:12:12	So, I got her rabies shot, and I brought her home. And within—I don't know—maybe 5 to 10 minutes of me getting her home, she threw up. And then she kept throwing up, and she threw up, I don't know, maybe five times within like 30 minutes—30 minutes to an hour—of me getting her home, and that's not normal. Like I said, I've had her for almost 9 years; I've had tests all my life. I have never ever seen an animal react like that to a rabies shot. So I was freaking out. She wasn't acting like herself, and I haven't seen her like that since she was a tiny kitten. It was very different, because when she was a tiny kitten I had never seen her personality, so there was always the chance that was just how she was as a cat. Now that I had known her for the time that I've known her, I was in a full-blown panic.
00:13:21	So I called the vet back, and the vet agreed that wasn't normal. I had to take her back. And they ended up giving her medication for an allergic reaction to the vaccine. So when I brought her home again, she had stopped throwing up and everything, but she was just not herself. She wasn't really moving around. She wasn't, you know, happy, clearly. She wasn't eating[6]—well, she couldn't eat for a while, but when I allowed—when she was allowed to eat, she didn't start eating. And I was just worried.
00:14:00	So, she curled up in a chair; I let her do that, and I fell asleep for a very short time. And then I woke up, and she was meowing and so I went to her and she was just really, really slow. You could tell that—I mean, they gave her Benadryl, which if you've ever had Benadryl, it does make you a little drowsy, but we as people know what we're taking and what happening to us. But her as a cat, she didn't understand. So she was kind of fighting sleep, and you know she was kind of woozy, and she wasn't eating. She was drinking a little bit, sometimes. She basically wet up her whole face trying to drink the water. And you could tell that she was just scared, and I was scared for her.
00:14:54	I was up all night just sitting on the floor with a cat, and just talking to her. And I was just like, "It's gonna be OK. You're gonna be OK." You know, and of course I was praying for her, because that's what I would do for a person, too. As she started to get better and I started to not have to worry about her as much, she came, she laid down like she normally does—sprawled out on her back, feet up to the sky, and she started to sleep. I still didn't go to sleep because I was watching her and make sure she's breathing and because I was just worried about her.
00:15:42	And the whole experience made me think about a lot of things. So for one, I have a friend who just had a baby. And there were some medical complications with the baby when the baby was born, and so I know that she's been going through a lot with her baby. Knowing how worried I was about my cat, and it's a cat, I just felt so much for her. And I cannot begin to fathom what it's like to have a child that is sick, or that there's nothing you can do. You can't help them and they don't know what's going on, you can't soothe them, you can't comfort them. I just—you know, that kind of broke my heart.
00:16:34	And then, I started to think about how, obviously from a parental standpoint that is how God is with us—both for physical ailments and spiritual ailments. So there are times when we are in sin, or we're just sick—we have the flu, we have the common cold, or whatever, and God is literally[7] just sitting on the floor beside us trying to comfort us. Sometimes we reach out and hug Him, and sometimes we're just sitting there struggling on our own. And it just made me think, like of all the times I may have been sick and God has been there watching over me and how he would have felt, because God has infinitely more love and infinitely more compassion than I do as a person. And so I can just imagine him looking down at all of us, at the entire race of humanity and seeing people going through things that are going through, and struggling with the things that are struggling with, and feeling like you know like "I just want to help you, let Me help you," and you know sometimes we're rejecting that help, but even when we're accepting it... That time that it takes for you to get from point A to point B; that time it takes you to kick that habit or whatever the case may be. And that joy He feels when you are better, you are well. The joy that He will feel when we were reunited in heaven. I just think that is a very, very powerful thing.
00:18:37	Alright guys. So that was me in the wee hours of the morning getting my mind absolutely blown by the Holy Spirit revealing how much God cares for us and how much He loves us. You know, just how He looks out for us and how He probably feels watching us as we struggle through life. You know, in the beginning I quoted some verses from John 11, where Jesus comes to raise Lazarus from the dead. It talks about weeping and seeing the people around Him sad made Him sad, and you know just knowing that level of—I don't know—commitment, of love,[8] of concern. It just touched me a lot, and I wanted to share it with you guys, because I think be able to feel that for other people for other life—be it a pet, or somebody else's pet, be it you know your friends, your family, a child. You know, I think that is a beautiful reflection and a beautiful reminder of who He is, and why He created us. You know seeing His image reflected in us and so yeah I had to share it with you guys.
00:20:19	For anybody who is wondering, Bubbles is doing great now. She's actually sitting in my lap as we speak, and I don't know if it was this, you know, vet visit and the affect on her health or what, but she's actually letting me pick out some of these mats, which is surprising. So that's great, because I definitely don't want to have her sedated now that I've experienced that. So hopefully she'll let me pick out all of the mats, but while I continue to try to groom this cat, which is worse than growing my own hair—
00:20:55	Yeah, so don't forget to subscribe and thank you guys for tuning in! I will see you guys next time. Hopefully I will be talking about what I planned to talk about but you never know the Holy Spirit might have something else in mind. You can find the transcript for this episode at www.pslamstogod.com/aFathersLove. See you guys next time.

Footnotes and References

1. I really just wanted a fluffy cat, but I'd had a gray tabby, an orange tabby, and a black cat before, never a white one, so I wanted something different.
2. Actually, my mom had some words with them.
3. I meant she's obedient. She almost always does what I ask her too, which isn't very cat like.
4. I actually started with a vet.
5. Overgrooming is basically developing OCD about grooming themselves. This will also increase the number of hairballs they have.
6. She believes food is life too.
7. No, not literally. Why did I say literally? *shrug* it was 4 in the morning, cut me some slack.
8. Attachment was the word I was looking for.
9. If you listen really closely, at 18:35, you can hear Bubbles purring into the mic.

Isaiah 11: the Lion and the Lamb

Introduction

Isaiah 11 brings us two major prophecies: the lineage of Jesus and a glimpse of peace in God's final kingdom. Before re-reading it, I knew these passages and referenced them often, but I never knew exactly where they were or what they said word for word. When I read them again, I realized that like always, there are several things to be taken from the passages.

A Son of Jesse

Everyone knows that Jesus had to be a descendent of David. Well, actually Jesus needed to be a descendent of Jesse, David's father, which is a little more broad. I find this interesting because I've always heard this prophecy as being doubly fulfilled by David and Jesus, giving reason for marking Jesse as the ancestor instead of David. What's strange is that when Isaiah wrote this, David would have already come and gone. So why mention Jesse?

My study Bible[3] suggests that this represents renewal. David's descendants became corrupt, but God had promised the throne to the seed of David forever (1 Kings 2:45). By referencing back to Jesse, God was indicating that this final King (the Messiah) would not follow in the decline that David's other descendants had. This is further confirmed by the fact that the original Hebrew word translated to "stem" in the KJV could actually be translated as stump. The house of David was cut down, just a tree is cut into a stump, but the Messiah was to spring up out of that stump and re-establish the throne. This is exactly what happened: Mary, a descendant of David was poor and unknown at the time of Jesus' birth.

Spirit of God

Isaiah 11:2 tells us that the Spirit of God would rest upon the Messiah. This spirit gives Him wisdom, understanding, the ability to counsel, might, and knowledge about the fear of the Lord. Does that sound familiar? It should. This is basically the same list of traits given in Isaiah 9. They also parallel the fruits of the Spirit mentioned in the New Testament (love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control). When you think about it, most of these traits go hand in hand (e.g., if you are understanding, you have to be patient and to be patient you must be understanding).

Branch vs. Rod

Something that stood out to me was the use of the words stem, branch, and rod.

Of these, a rod sounds the strongest. Rods are usually permanent and used to fix something in place or support a weaker stem. This fits David perfectly. He was a great soldier and won many battles. David strengthened the kingdom and secured their borders, much like how the people expected the Messiah to behave. David was strong and gallant.

Branches on the other hand are what you find in the highway after a hurricane. Not only do they have roots (i.e., a lineage), but they don't give off the same connotation of permanent strength that a rod does. Jesus, though eternal and immensely powerful, did not come to Earth that way. He came to be crucified so that His permanent kingdom can be established in the future. He wasn't out fighting battles like David and His time on Earth was fairly short. It seems fitting that He would be a branch symbolically.

Judgement Day

But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.Isaiah 11:4 KJV

The branch that grows out of Jesse, which we've determined to be Jesus, will ultimately judge all people. I found this passage interesting because it talks about the rod of His mouth and the breath of His lips destroying the wicked. Not coincidentally, Revelation 1:16 and 2:16 describe Jesus as having a sword come out of His mouth. As a child, I thought this was a literal sword, but now that I have studied the word more, I believe this sword is truth. Earlier in Isaiah, we see Isaiah humble Himself before the Lord at the shame of his impurity. Can you imagine how it would feel to hear Jesus tell you about yourself? The fact that Jesus has a two edged sword speaks of the fact that He died for our sins, so everything we endure, He endures as well. It definitely seems like a way to slay the wicked to me.

How Jesus Judges

Isaiah 11:3-4 tells us that Jesus won't be judging us based on His own understanding but based off righteousness. Jesus is righteousness, so when I first read this passage, I was very confused. The passage talks about physical senses such as hearing and seeing, which brought be to Jesus' time as a human. As humans, we get confused pretty easily. Has anyone heard the saying "believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see"? We misconstrue things. We lack perspective to adequately judge most situations, which can be very wrong and often harmful. Jesus isn't relying on these human senses to judge us; He is using His righteousness. We should be comforted by this, because we will get perfect understanding when we stand before Him.

Peace on Earth

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Shireah Ragnar

If you know me personally, you know I'm an animal lover. I grew up on a farm, which probably enabled my love of animals to grow even deeper. I have a tendency to talk to animals, and even apologize to them when I kill them (e.g., an ant I accidentally stepped on, or a spider in my house I purposefully killed because I'm allergic to them). I'm even vegetarian (see the full reason why here), not because I think it's morally wrong to eat animals—God did give us permission to eat clean meats—but because I know I could never kill an animal just to eat it.

I say all this to preface why Isaiah 11:6-9 would be a special passage to me and how easy it is for one interpretation to stand out to me personally. These verses contain the well known image of the lion laying beside the lamb. It describes a world where predatory animals are not hunting prey, but instead are living in perfect harmony. There is no violence between these creatures and subsequently, no fear. Sounds like paradise, right?

A Vegetarian/Vegan Kingdom

If we follow the text literally, we'll come to the interpretation that plays to my love for animals: paradise will be a vegetarian (possible vegan) society. If the animals are so peaceful and tame that they are surviving by means other than killing each other, humans probably aren't going to be killing them either. How savage would that be? Furthermore, we already have proof that God's perfect design did not include eating flesh (Genesis 1:29-30). While the Israelites were in the wilderness, God fed them manna which was a vegetarian dish. I know this because in Numbers 11 we see the Israelites complaining about not having flesh to eat. During this time, God would have been providing them with a meal that was perfectly balanced for the health, and he chose a vegetarian substance. When you think about the character of God and these examples, it makes sense that when we return to paradise we will return to this diet.

The Vegetarian Lion

There are actually a few stories about animals that should be carnivorous refusing meat to eat a vegetarian diet. The most famous is Little Tyke, a lioness.[1] I've not been able to find a reputable news article that discusses Little Tyke, but there are several YouTube videos and a book on Amazon.[2] Naturally, there are people who do not believe the claim is true. Scientifically speaking, it is impossible for a cat to survive without animal proteins. Of course, scientifically speaking, such a constraint would be linked to the cat's DNA which could contain a mutation (that is the basis of evolution after all), which might have enabled the cat to survive on such a diet.

I bring this up to remind people that nothing is impossible with God. I grew up with a cat who thought she was a dog and a horse who thinks she's a cow, a lion that doesn't eat meat doesn't sound so strange to me. I don't know if this lion simply ate less meat than it was supposed to or if it genuinely never ate meat, but I definitely believe God can "reprogram" us to such a lifestyle.

Harmony Among Nations

Because this is prophecy, we have to look at the symbolic interpretation, too. In Daniel, Acts, and Revelation, there are prophecies that include animals or beasts, as well, and in each case, those beasts represent nations. Given this information, it seems that Isaiah might be referencing nations too. Just like today, during Isaiah's time, there was a great deal of tension between Israel and the surrounding countries. For those of you living in the U.S. (like me), we may not be familiar with battles happening on our soil, but we are familiar with these tensions (think North Korea and Russia), and having to send troops to battle. It makes sense that God would be reassuring them that a time would come when all of these skirmishes would cease.

Once Jesus takes the throne, there won't be individual nations fighting for their own interests; we will all be a member of God's kingdom. This will make us all allies regardless of where we're from. Jesus will be the perfect king, so there will be no need to debate over policy or political ideology. There will be no coups or overthrowing of power. Major things that separate us (e.g., wealth, religion, etc.) won't be an issue either.

Paradise must be peaceful, after all Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Therefore it makes sense that all nations must be in harmony with one another in paradise.

A Child Could Lead Them

Before Geico came up with the slogan "so easy a caveman could do it,"[8] God told Isaiah peace was so simple a child could oversee over it. Whether we think of the animals as literal animals or as nations, it's a profound statement to say that a child can lead them. Children are the ultimate sign of innocence and peace, but they're also naïve and inexperienced. This means that for a child to be able to carry out a task, it has to be relatively straight forward.

One of my Sabbath school classmates once asked why we have so much trouble loving each other. "It's easy," he asserted. I could right a whole post on this topic, but the heart of the matter is that it should be easier to live in peace than to orchestrate wars. Love and respect should be innate and come naturally. Communicating with each other and establishing a community based on respect should be so easy a child could lead the effort. Our society doesn't look like that, but God's kingdom will.

Seeking Out the Church

We constantly read passages that talk about the Gentiles seeking the root or light that grows out of the tribe of Judah (the Messiah); Isaiah 11:10 is one of those passages. Strangely, the disciples and early church members were still taken aback when Gentiles began approaching them for the gospel. Acts 10-11 show Peter coming to grips with God's command to teach the Gentiles. This is the account of one of the first Gentile conversions to Christianity (Acts 8 gives the story of an Ethiopian eunuch who may or may not be Gentile and thus may or may not be the actual first conversion).

Remnant

We already know that a remnant was saved from the captivity in Babylon, but God says that for a second time, a remnant will be saved. This time, Assyria is mentioned. Is this in reference to the lost tribes of the northern kingdom, who were taken by Assyria? Or is this a reference to the recreation of the Jewish state after World War II?

Some time after the Israelites returned from Babylon, they ended up under Roman rule. After the destruction of the Temple in 70ad, the nation of Israel was basically dissolved and the Jews were scattered. Some ended up in Europe, some ended up in Africa, some ended up in Asia, and some ended up in America. After the atrocities of World War II, the United Nations "gave" Israel back to the Jews (well, the split it between the Palestinians and the Jews, which caused another war). This, to my knowledge, is the second time a remnant of Jews were saved and returned home.

The Four Corners of the Earth

Isaiah 11:12 says that God's people will be gathered from the four corners of the world. The Bible also talks about the four corners of the Earth in Ezekiel 7:2 and Revelation 7:1. In each case, the end of time is very close. In fact, in Revelation 7:1, the angels are sealing God's people just before destruction of the Earth begins.

These passages stir up quite the controversy, though. Most Bible scholars assert that they reference the four cardinal directions (north, south, east, and west), but some people are certain this is a reference to a flat Earth. The people who use it to argue the Bible speaks of a flat Earth fall on both sides of the fence: those who believe the Word of God and those trying to disprove the Word of God.

I don't think it refers to cardinal directions per se, but I also don't think it's a statement of a flat Earth either. The Hebrew word translated to "corner" is כָּנָף (kanaph),[4][5] which actually means extremity. The saying is a metaphor; it isn't literal. In each case the phrase is used, God is simply saying that people from all over will be gathered together. God is basically saying think of the furthest point in any direction and those people will be brought together.[6]

Healing the Rift

Isaiah 11:13 talks about healing the rift between the tribes of Israel. Once again, I find it so amazing how many layers can be pulled from such a statement. The immediate and literal meaning probably was for the literal rift that caused Israel to split into the northern and southern kingdoms during the reign of Solomon's son, Rehoboam. Since the northern tribes were lost after they were defeated by Assyria, there are two possibilities for the fulfillment: 1) something in the future will cause them to be found and reunited with the Jews of today, or 2) this is a spiritual metaphor.

Right now, there's a lot of division in the church. This makes us weak—a house divided cannot stand! Imagine how much stronger Israel would have been had they been in agreement, now imagine how much good churches could accomplish if we weren't fighting each other. As a child, I sat through a service where the adults at my church spent the entire time arguing about how many times a person should receive a gift for being admitted into the hospital within a year. What if that time had been spent figuring out how to better teach the Word? Or taking an introspective look at themselves and the church to ascertain how we are portraying God to others? When the final days come, there won't be room for arguing among God's people; we will need to be on one accord.

Destroying a Language

God says He is going to destroy the language of the Egyptians in Isaiah 11:15. This is a very powerful statement. Culture and language are very closely intertwined. There are two groups in the U.S. that had their languages "destroyed" or taken away form them and both groups have struggled subsequently. These groups are African Americans (descendants of African slaves), and Native Americans. When you destroy a language you basically destroy the culture. Furthermore, it may destroy the history of the culture. Much of Native American and African history has been lost because these groups were not given a voice.

Destroying a language is not just the literal annihlation of a language, but taking away a group of people's voice (verbally or in writing). If you have no voice, you have no rights, you have no power. This is God's plan for Egypt...

But, salvation is for everyone, right? We have to constantly remind ourselves that in prophecy, a nation may be representing a concept or behavior rather than the literal nation. Egypt, along with Babylon, Sodom, and Gommorah, are often used to depict sinful or pagan nations. God isn't necessarily saying that Egyptians won't have a language anymore—of course, Egyptians today speak Arabic which was brought to them via invasion. I think this speaks more to abolishing the culture of pagan worship. In the end, our culture won't include paganism or sinfulness so words used to describe these behaviors, actions, and concepts will naturally fade from our language.

The Path Back to God

Isaiah 11:15-16 is probably the most important verse in the chapter. Why? Because we're always in need of a path back to God. We all fail and some of us realize we need to get back to God. Lucky for us, He never leaves us stranded. In ever case, God always promises that there will be survivors. Just as He made a way for Noah and for Lot and the Israelites coming out of Egypt, He promises that there will be a path back to His promised land.

7 Streams

This time when God parts the water, He's going to split the river into 7 streams, not just 2 walls of water. Perhaps I've watched too many apocolyptic movies because I can definitely see a mass of God's people walking out a city across these dry paths interleaved with water while followers of the antichrist chase after them. In my mind, it's a scene of full of fear, but also full of beauty. The majesty of splitting a river into streams, and what a beautiful scene it must create...

Dryshod

If you're reading the KJV and came across the word dryshod, you probably weren't sure what it meant. Most other translations say something about being able to cross on foot, just the Israelites were able to cross the Red Sea during Exodus. I prefer the KJV's use of dryshod because it literally means having dry shoes or feet.[7] I know you're wondering why I prefer this antiquated word that even I had to look up over the more obvious translations. For me it's about connotation.

I hate having wet feet; I hate wet socks or shoes even more. It's a gross and icky feeling that you have to rush home to get clean. Keeping my feet dry during whatever journey God places me on is significant to me. It means I'm not walking in mud or rushing to get home to dry off. The other versions take away the aspect of cleanliness for me (which is a major theme in the Bible). But that's just my personal opinion, God speaks to us all in different ways.

References

1. "Straw-Eating Lions and Vegetarian Cats". Koinonia House. April 14, 2009
2. Georges H. Westbeau. Little Tyke: The True Story of a Gentle Vegetarian Lioness. January 1, 1986
3. Holman Bible Publishers. Holman KJV Study Bible, pg. 1145. 2014
4. "3671. Kanaph". Bible Hub; visited June 2018
5. "Isaiah 11:12". Bible Hub; visited June 2018
6. Joan Sloat Morton, Ph.D. "The Bible refers to “the four corners of the earth.” How can a spherical Earth have corners?". Christian Answers. 1997
7. "dry-shod". Merriam Webster; visited June 2018
8. "Geico Caveman Commercial, The Original". YouTube; visited June 2018

Proverbs 30: Agur's Proverbs

People aren't really sure who Agur was, but he took the time to pen a chapter of proverbs for us. He makes mention of God's son, which is definitely something to discuss! Agur's proverbs give us concrete examples of the values and concepts he's discussing, which is helpful in understanding his point.

Introduction

The proverbs found in Proverbs 30 are attributed to Agur. In the later half of his proverbs, Agur strongly utilizes comparison to make his points, listing 4 examples of certain qualities or concepts.
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Who Was Agur?

Agur is introduced as the son of Jakeh in Proverbs 30:1. However this is the only time in the entire Bible his name is mentioned. Driven by today's customs, one would think his father, Jakeh, must have been a prominent figure in Israelite history—or at least recorded in the text somewhere for us make a connection. Yet, Jaken is also only mentioned the one time in the Bible. So who were these people and how Agur's proverbs end up in a book with knowledge from Solomon the Wise?

There have been a few theories and attempts to identify Agur. The Hebrew version of the text refers to him as Ha-Massa, which is taken to mean he was a Massaite. Not only would this have made him a gentile, his origins somewhere between Palestine and Babylonia. We don't often think of gentiles in the Old Testament unless they are the villain of a narrative, so this is definitely an interesting theory.

Another theory is that Agur is not actually a name. Remember Semetic languages don't have capital letters like English, so it's probably a little more difficult to identify a name versus a regular word. Take for instance the name Hope. If I said "Hope will prevail," you might surmise I was talking about my friend hope, whereas "hope will prevail" would indicate I was referring to the concept of hope. Many of the words in Proverbs 30:1 can be translated such that the verse is a verse denoting Solomon as the author.^[1]

Whoever he is, Agur admits he has no more understanding of God than the rest of us, though that does not exclude him from being wise. Most wise people are keenly aware of how little they know in comparison to all there is to know.

Agur's Initial Proverbs

...who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?Proverbs 30:4 KJV

Agur apparently knew God had a son because he asks us for both God's name and His son's name. If Agur lived during or after the time of Hezekiah (who compiled the previous section of the book), he would have been familiar with Isaiah's prophecies of the coming Messiah. Those who follow Judaism and deny Christ suggest instead that this is a reference to Deuteronomy 14:1, in which God refers to Israel as His son.^[8] Considering the fact that many biblical passages have multiple fulfillments and meanings, I think both could be true.

Agur goes on to remind us that every word of God is pure. We view His pure Words through a tainted lens, which is important to remember as we read. We should be careful not to add or subtract from God's Word. This is told to us in several places, and Agur felt the need to say it again.

Agur required two things before he died: removal of vanity/lies, as well as, a position in life between poverty and riches. Vanity and lies is lumped together likely because when we become vain, we lie to ourselves, usually without even knowing it. Agur asked to be spared from poverty because he doesn't want to be tempted to steal, but he doesn't want to fall into the pitfalls of the rich either. This is something we should be mindful of today.

Agur also discusses a rebellious generation that curses their parents. This generation justifies themselves instead of following the way of God. Each generation has been following this trend for quiet some time. We can all relate to these statements and feel that it relates to our own generation. This descent will continue until the end.

4 Things...

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Mark Tegethoff

Agur groups his proverbs in sets of four.

4 Things Never Satisfied

The first list of four focuses on things that are never satisfied. Agur gives the following four things:

1. The grave
2. Barren womb
3. The earth not filled with water
4. Fire

An interesting observation in this list is that both the grave and fire are symbols of death and destruction whereas a womb and water signify life. In Agur's example, the earth is devoid of water and the womb is devoid of a child. Thus, all four examples point toward death and the loss of life. Each of these are consequences of sin and gloated over by the devil. The devil will never be satisfied, which is why God will have to intervene to put an end to the devil's treachery once and forever. Directly after listing these four things, Agur speaks of the punish that will come to those who do not obey their parents. Proverbs 30:17 is reminiscent of Luke 17:37.

4 Things too Wonderful

Agur continues by telling us certain things are too wonderful for him to know. Each of thing listed leave little to no trace for our eyes to see. Psalm 139:6 also uses this phrasing.

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Giovanni Calia

1. Way of an eagle in the air
2. Way of a serpent upon a rock
3. Way of a ship in the sea
4. Way of a man with a maid

For each of the above, there are many things that can be inferred—common sense tells us the eagle has been in the air and the ship has been in the sea. If we are in a rocky terrain where snakes are naive, we can assume they crawled upon the rocks. The way a man and woman exchange looks or words can be telling of a relationship as well. However, without being present at the time of event and witnessing it without our own eyes, it is hard to prove that such things have occurred. God is the same when acting in our lives. We may feel His presence, but from the outside, other will not necessarily be able to identify His presence unless they are familiar with Him.

Before moving on to another list, Agur mentions an adulterous woman, which seems to be a continuation of the description concerning a man with a maid. As I mentioned earlier, things such as rings and displays of affection in public give away a relationship. With adultery, the participants would want to eliminate suspicion and thus there would likely be no evidence of the relationship to protect both parties.

4 Things Disquiet the Earth

Some is disquieting if it causes anxiety or worry. The follow four things are meant to describe the collapse of society, highlighting people in places that they do not belong.

1. A reigning serpent
2. A fool filled with meat
3. An odious woman who is married
4. A handmaid heir to her mistress

The first is obvious: the devil and the serpent are often used interchangeably. A place where the devil is reigning supreme is definitely going to be a place of anxiety and worry. This probably also refers to crooked human leaders as well.

The second thing in the list is a bit odd, however. I'm lead to believe that meat in this verse does not mean food, but information or ammunition. A fool who has been. well fed in foolishness is dangerous. They inspire others to join their foolish thoughts and behaviors.

An odious woman is one who is unpleasant. It is definitely odd to see someone who is unpleasant married, whether the be male or female! When we stop and think about this, we must remember that in prophecy, a woman is often used to symbolize a church. Wouldn't it be concerning for an unruly church to claim unity with Christ (the husband)?

The final example speaks of a handmaid inheriting her mistress' property. My first thought upon reading this was the worry that a maid might kill her mistress before she had children. Surely a woman would leave her possessions to to any children she had, preventing anything to be left to the maid. Someone might infer it was a condemnation of servants rising above their master, but Joshua was Moses' servant before taking Moses' role as leader (Exodus 33:11 and Joshua 1:1). Scholars actually suggest that the property the maid stands to inherit is the husband of her mistress.^[2] While I'm not sure how scholars came to this conclusion, it makes sense. There was a great tension between Hagar and Sarah after Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham as a wife. Although it isn't explicitly mentioned, I'm sure there was tension between Rachel, Leah, and their maids Bilhah and Zilpah who were given to Jacob as wives. Present day there are always concerns about men leaving their wives for the nanny. Therefore I can see how this would be of concern.

4 Things Little, But Wise

Next, Agur tells us about the little but wise. He mentions four animals that are very small in stature, but we could learn a lot from.

1. Ants
2. Conies
3. Locusts
4. Spider

It is well documented that ants are extremely strong and great at working together to function as a unit. Not only can ants lift ridiculous weights in comparison to their size, they can form living bridges and boats to ensure their own survival (now you know why they never die when you try to get rid of them!).^[3]

Coney is another name for rabbit, but scholars assert that the coney mentioned in Proverbs 30:26 refers to the hyrax syriacus.^[4] Agur tells us that despite being small and weak, these animals are able to build strong homes, which is important for safety. The hyrax is know for creating their home in rocks.^[5]

Next on Agur's list of small but wise animals is the locust. Bees and ants have queens, but locusts do not have such a structure. They are able to organize the swarm without a head honcho. Although the church has a King, we must be able to organize ourselves without a physical presence, relying on the Holy Spirit for guidance.

Spiders are small and pretty much unwelcome everywhere, yet a king's palace is just as likely to have a spider building a web in it as a poor man's house.

4 Things Go Well

The final list given by Agur is of things that "go well."

1. Lion
2. Greyhound
3. He goat
4. King

Some scholars believe these examples are meant to show the art of being strong but maintaining your temper, but most interpret this list to mean things that are stately or majestic.^[6]

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Gwen Weustink

The lion is regarded as the king of beasts; Agur states that lions are also the strongest. While it is known that a tiger is actually more likely to win a fight with a lion than the lion is, we must remember that a Godly definition of strength would never be based sold on physical strength. Unlike tigers, lions live in prides with their families. Their strength comes from the fact that they stick together for offensive and defensive action. So too, there are individuals who will be stronger than us, but as the church of God, we are collectively strong. Lion's have a regal and majestic demeanor which is another reason it is likely included in the list.

The KJV and NKJV list the second animal to be a greyhound, where the NIV and ESV translate the original word to rooster. Scholars have interpreted greyhound to actually mean a war horse, as well.^[6] Interestingly, greyhounds and horses are both used for racing! Greyhounds have been recorded as far back as ancient Egypt,^[9] so it's possible that Agur really did mean a greyhound dog. Of the three options I personally find greyhounds and horses to be more majestic than roosters. However, I have a biased opinion since I have been attacked by roosters and not by horses or greyhounds. Regardless, I will concede that roosters can be beautiful from afar as well.

He-goat, is a male goat, also known as a buck.^[7] Male goats are slightly less intimidating than a ram (a male sheep), but retain the beauty and are still powerful.

The final example is a king with the support of his people. For those of us who grew up in the U.S., a president might fit the bill since we have likely never seen a king.

References

1. J. Frederic McCurdy and Louis Ginzberg. "Agur Ben Jakeh". Jewish Encyclopedia; visited August 2017
2. "Proverbs 30:23 Commentary". Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary, via Bible Hub; visited August 2017
3. Russell Mclendon. "11 Amazing Antics of Ants". Mother Nature Network. July 13, 2017
4. "Coney".Bible Hub; visited August 2017
5. The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Hyrax". Encyclopædia Britannica; visited August 2017
6. "Proverbs 30:29-31 Commentary". Bible Hub; visited August 2017
7. "Buck". Encyclopædia Britannica; visited August 2017
8. Gerald Sigal. "Is Jesus the son that is referred to in Proverbs 30:4? Who is It?". Jews for Judaism; visited August 2017
9. "Greyhound Guide". Animal Planet; visited August 2017

Rescued By Christ

What does adopting a pet have to do with salvation? Absolutely nothing, and absolutely everything. When I think about my own experience picking a pet, I'm overwhelmed with gratitude that Christ didn't stick with the purebreds (angels); He came for the beat-down, sickly, and damaged animals in the ASPCA commercials (us).

TopWhen I got ready to move into my first apartment by myself, I decided I needed a pet for a companion. I went to the animal shelter one day in early May, convinced there would be an abundance of kittens to choose from. There were about 5; all snuggled together in a single cage. The mother had abandoned them in the wild, leaving them to die. Someone had found them and dropped them at the shelter. The most spectacular of the kittens was fluffy and white with darker ears. There was a couple solid gray kittens and a red tabby. Huddled off to the corner was the runt: dark with patches of tabby, grey, and red. She had wiry looking fur and a pitiful face. Basically the poster cat for an ASPCA commercial.

I had barely thought about the kittens before the shelter worker told me they were too young to adopt and began ushering me on. As I moved away from the cage the runt came running to the door, then continued scaling the bars; it was as though she were trying to follow me. The poor thing wasn't strong enough to grip the bars, let alone scale the cage. Within seconds, I heard a great splash. She had to be removed from the cage and dried off to prevent pneumonia, so I asked if I could hold her while the employee went for a towel. He handed the wet kitten to me without argument. Once in my hands, the kitten dug into my shirt and wouldn't let go. After arguing with the shelter for a bit, they finally agreed to let me keep her.

The day I took her home with me

At home, the ugly kitten I'd just adopted began to wheeze. Curled up next to me, she lay so still, I thought she was dead. I had only had her for a few days before I had to rush her to the vet and acquired the priciest vet bill I'd ever seen before (and this is coming from a girl who grew up on a farm with horses and cows). She was diagnosed with so many things, I couldn't keep track, and each of them required medicine. I'm not sure if she was too weak to resist, or if she understood the medicine would help her, but each morning and evening she let me squirt doses of medicine into her mouth then promptly made a "yuck" face.

I could have taken the employee's no as a final answer. I probably could have had her put to sleep for cheaper than what it cost to nurse her back to health. But when I saw her motionless on the couch beside me, helpless and suffering, I was overcome with the desire to save her. I've had this cat for 7 years now. She grew up to be a beautiful cat with a soft, full mane. She meets me at the door every afternoon when I get home and follows me around the house all evening. She curls up in the bed and watches TV with me. Aside from her tantrums in the morning when she can't wait for me to start the day, she's the perfect campion...

Present day

When I look back, I imagine this parallels our relationship with Christ. We are like the animals in the shelter: caged, sick, weak, and looking for a better life. Some of us are too proud or too afraid to approach the Master when He enters. We stay in our cages or hide our ugliness behind others. However, some of us are bold enough to run toward Him uninhibited. We may not be strong enough to break our cage, but when we fall into the water (like a Baptism) He comes back to clean us up. When He scoops us out of that water, we cling to Him as though our lives depend upon it (they do) and declare that wherever He's going, we want to go to! Although He takes us home, our bodies are riddled with the diseases of sin; we are on our deathbed. Luckily, He looks upon us believing that we are worth every effort, no matter the price. The medicine He gives us for our sickness is bitter and disgusting; sometimes it's hard to swallow. Yet, we grow stronger with each dose. We begin to follow Him from corner to corner of His house, waiting by the door for His return.

Unless others adopted those kittens within the next 24 hours and were also willing to shell out the money for vet bills, it's almost certain my cat's brothers and sisters died within a few weeks (they would have had many of the same sicknesses she had). Even though the other kittens in the cage with mine were more attractive, that didn't save them. What saved my cat was her fearlessness to go after what she wanted and courage to stand out. We must be willing to seek out our Master at any cost and cling to Him with all our might. We must allow Him to heal us no matter the process. And finally, we must show our gratitude for His love and sacrifice, because ultimately, He could have left us to die.

Job 38-40: God's First Speech

In Job 38-40, Job gets his wish. God speaks to Job and gives Job the chance to speak. Of course, when the Almighty asks Job what he has to say, Job is suddenly very aware of his boldness to think he could accuse God of treating him unfairly.

Introduction

Who are we that we could approach God and question His actions? We often complain about the fairness of the world and why God let this or that happen, but as Elihu pointed out, we know nothing compared to what God knows. We are not more righteous than God, therefore we cannot judge a situation. When God speaks to Job, He opens the floor for Jon to question Him, but Job realizes at that moment that he has been foolish. The description of the scene reminds me of the times I would mumble somthing smart in response to my mother, but when she confronted me about what I said, I would clam up and hold my breath. I image Job reacting in similar fashion.
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God Speaks

God answers Job from out of a whirlwind. I want to dwell on this because previously, I always envisioned God simply speaking out of nowhere. A whirlwind could be anything from a tornado to a simple wind storm, but either way, Job would have been in the midst of such weather. Hearing God's voice seems terrifying enough, add in a whirlwind, an it's no wonder Job lost his resolve. Job realizes its in his best interest to keep his mouth shut.

God tells Job to "gird up now thy loins like a man," which is basically the predecessor to "man up." Now that God had made His presence known, Job wasn't springing forth to take advantage of the opportunity as he said he would. God says that Job has spoken without knowledge and echoes much of what Elihu has already said, reminding Job that he wasn't there when God created everything. Job can't affect change, only God can, because God created these things. Job has no wisdom of what's in the world, but God does, again, because He created everything. It is He who created and cares for everything. This is why we cannot question Him.

As God reminds us that He created everything, God mentions several types of animals—"unicorns" ostriches, peacocks, wild donkeys, horses, and hawks— that despite being unintelligent, He looks out for. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, were under the impression that only good can happen to the righteous and bad to the wicked, but these animals were neither righteous nor wicked. As animals, they don't have the ability to choose a side, yet God cares for these animals because He created them. Similarly, God cares for us because He created us.

Photocredit: Jon Taylor

Behemoth

During God's comments to Job, He brings up Behemoth. Behemoth is a reference to a legendary creature that no one can figure out, or rather agree upon. Scholars have identified the creature with well known creatures of today such as the elephant and the hippopotamus, mythological creatures, and dinosaurs. There is no consensus of which category the animal actually falls into.

Some of the descriptions seem to rule out the elephant and hippopotamus of today, however. God tells us that the animal is only approachable by God. While I wouldn't advise running up to an elephant or hippopotamus, both have been cared for by humans. People even ride on the backs of elephants. It seems unlikely that this description applies to these two creatures. Behemoth is described as follows:

1. Herbivore (eats grass like an ox)
2. Strong
3. Tail like a cedar
4. Bone like iron or brass
5. Lives in marshes
6. Chief of God's ways (Large?)
7. Can drink up an entire river
8. Only God can approach it

Based on this description, I'm not inclined to believe the creature is a hippopotamus or elephant. That leaves mythology or an extinct creature like a dinosaur. God says that He made behemoth just as He made Job; therefore it seems that God is not referencing mythology, but something real.

Naturally, scholars then assert that the animal in question must be a dinosaur, specifically, a sauropod.^[1][2] The most well known sauropod is probably the Brontosaurus. Another possibility is found in the Baluchitherium. Baluchitherium was one of the largest animals to ever walk the earth and was something like a massive, hornless rhinoceros.^[3]

God uses behemoth as an example to ask Job, if he couldn't approach an animal such as behemoth, how could he judge anything? God was able to tame the creature the way we tamed dogs and cats. The contrast is meant to remind us that we are small and helpless while God is infinite and all powerful.

Science

Once again, we find reference to science in the text of Job 38-40.^[4] Below, we discuss the relevance of these verses.

Ocean Springs

Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?Job 38:16

Topically, we can see lakes, rivers, streams, and the ocean. We know that rivers empty into the ocean, but the Bible gives more than one hint that there are other sources of water. In the details of the flood, we learn that water didn't just come from the sky, but from the earth as well. Job 38:16 tells us that there are springs in the depths of the ocean. Scientists began expecting hot springs in the ocean in the early 1970s and found the first one in 1977, 1.24 miles (2 km) below sea level. God said asked if Job had entered the springs of the sea, but until recently, we didn't possess the technology to dive that deep.^[5][6][7]

Light

Job 38 actually has quite a bit to say about light. Light is probably one of the most pervasive of God's creations and God is often compared to light Himself, so it makes sense that there is a lot more to the phenomena than meets the eye.

Light Travels

Job 38:19 asks about the way in which light dwells. The Hebrew word translated to way is "derek" which can mean way, road, distance, journey, or manner.^[9][10] Essentially, Job is telling us that light travels in a particular direction. Job may not have known the speed of light, but God informed him well ahead of schedule that light travels, which means it has speed. (The calculation of the speed of light started in 1670 with Olaus Rømer.^[11])

The Division of Light

Job 38:24 informs us that light can be parted or scattered. The scattering of white light is what creates color. This is part of the process of creating a rainbow. Snell's law, which describes the bending of light, wasn't established until the 984ad and is based on a concept that Ptolemy started in 2nd century ad, well after Job's era.^[8]

Light Waves

In Job 38:35, God brings up radio waves! Lightnings, or light, is a wave. There are several types of waves in the light spectrum, one of which is radio waves. It is through radio waves that we send messages. Although we are unable to see the waves, they are still part of the spectrum of light, thus we are sending messages through light, just as God said in Job 38.^[4][12]

Dinosaurs

We already talked about the relationship many scholars see between behemoth and dinosaurs. As such, many use the verses in Job 40 that describe behemoth (as well as the verses in Job 41 on Leviathan) to say the Bible discusses dinosaurs.

Astronomy

Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?Job 38:31 KJV

God asks Job if he is able to bind Pleiades or loose Orion. Both Pleiades and Orion are constellations that can be seen in the sky. What's interesting about this question is the fact that the stars that create Pleiades are actually bound by gravity,^[13][14] but the stars those that make up Orion are not bound by gravity and are loose.^[15]

I have seen people who try to refute the accuracy of this claim since Pleiades is not permanently bound. The fact of the matter is that they were bound at the time the words were spoken, are bound now, and honestly, the world will probably end before they come unbound (the estimate for when they won't be gravitationally bound is about 250 million years). Furthermore, the point of God's question was whether Job (mankind) could replicate this act and the answer is still no.

Animal Instincts

Job 39 concentrates on animal instinct. God informs Job that animals can function without anyone teaching them anything because He made them that way. Today, scientists explain instinct as a product of evolution. It is interesting that lower order species, spiders, are born with knowledge of building webs having little to no contact with their mothers.^[16] Turtles find their way to the ocean without their mothers.^[17] Yet, humans have to be taught everything; we don't learn to walk until almost a year into life, some of us will never learn to build anything, and navigation is hit or miss.

References

1. "Behemoth". Wikipedia; visited June 2017
2. Mart-Jan Paul. "Behemoth and leviathan in the book of Job". Creation; visited June 2017
3. Melchia. "Behemoth: Largest And Strongest Land Animal In Man’s World!". The Apple of God's Eye. February 22, 2011
4. "101 Scientific Facts & Foreknowledge". Eternal Productions; visited June 2017
5. B. Hanks. "Exploring the deep ocean floor: Hot springs and strange creatures". U.S. Geological Survey. June 24, 1999
6. Steven A. Austin, Ph.D. "Springs of the Ocean". Institute for Creation Research. 1981
7. Brian Thomas, M.S. "Scientists Describe Job's 'Springs of the Sea'". Institute for Creation Research. July 23, 2015
8. "Snell's Law". Wikipedia; visited June 2017
9. Job 38:19". Bible Hub; visited June 2017
10. "Strong's 1870. derek. Bible Hub; visited June 2017
11. Jose Wudka. "Light. University of California Riverside Physics Department. September 24, 1998
12. Thuy Mai. "Electromagnetic Spectrum. NASA. April 28, 2016
13. "Pleiades". Wikipedia; visited June 2017
14. Bruce Mclure. "Pleiades star cluster, aka Seven Sisters". Earth Sky. November 7, 2016
15. Barbara Kennedy. "Speeding star gives new clues to breakup of multi-star system". Phys.org. March 30, 2017
16. "Spiderlings". Kid Zone; visited June 2017
17. Carrie Arnold. "How Do Sea Turtles Find the Exact Beach Where They Were Born?". National Geographic. January 16, 2015

Numbers 22-24: Balak, Balam, & the Talking Donkey

We see these events from the point of view of Balak, king of Moab, and Balaam. Balaam is summoned to the king in the hopes of placing a curse on the Israelites.

Introduction

The next series of events that are recounted are extremely interesting and place the Israelites almost as secondary characters. We see these events from the point of view of Balak, king of Moab, and Balaam. Balaam is summoned to the king in the hopes of placing a curse on the Israelites.
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Balak's Decision

Balak fears Israel after he witnesses them defeat the Amorites. Since Moab was a tribal confederation to which Midian also belonged,^[1] Balak calls for elders from Midian to discus the issue. He decides to send for Balaam, with the desire for Balaam to curse the Israelites and grant favor to Moab in battle.
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Balaam Seeks God

The princes of Moab take Balak's request to Balaam, who does not rush into a decision. Instead, Balaam consults God before deciding on the matter. This is the manner in which we should make our decisions today. While, it does appear that Balaam may be pagan, he hears from the one true God when he seeks consul. I'm not sure if Balaam sought out the God of Abraham, though we do know that some of the Midianites worshipped the God of Israelite (e.g. Moses' father-in-law). Overall, Balaam reminds me of the false prophets of today. They speak of God, claim to commune with God, but at the heart of the matter, Balaam did what Balaam wanted.

Naturally, when God speaks to Balaam, He tells him not to curse Israel—Balaam doesn't have the power to strip Israel of God's love or protection. God ask Balaam who the men with him are, likely God's way of putting things in to perspective and showcase God's position of authority over all. On top of not cursing Israel, God tells Balaam not to go with the men (presumably back to Balak). The princes, who were likely afraid to take Balaam's "no" back to the king, begin to barter with him to get a "yes."

At the promise of great power, Balaam says he will check again with God. Though he reminds the princes that he can't go against God's will, this is a pointless action. Balaam isn't going to God for the sake of Balak or because he truly wants what he's asking for. When Moses interceded to "change" God's mind for the sake of Israel, he went humbly with a heart for the people he interceded on behalf of. There is nothing humble about Balaam's inquiry; he simply wanted the power promised to him by Balak's men.

In response, God comes to Balaam at night. God instructs Balaam to only go with the princes if they ask him. The next morning when Balaam wakes, he saddles his donkey leaves with princes without prompt. Angry at Balaam's disobedience, God sends the Angel of the Lord.
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A Talking Donkey

Photocredit: FreeImages.com/MARIE JEANNE Iliescu

The Angel of the Lord stands in Balaam's way, but Balaam is unable to see the angel. The donkey, on the other hand, could see the angel and knew to be afraid. She turns from the path and goes into the adjacent field. Unaware of what is occurring, Balaam strikes the donkey for leaving the path and tries to force her back in the direction he insists upon going. The angel then appears in a vineyard, presumably blocking Balaam's new direction. This time, the donkey thrusts herself into a wall, injuring Balaam's foot in the process. Again he strikes the donkey in ignorant anger. Determined to continue, Balaam forces the donkey on. When the angel appears again, the donkey lays down beneath Balaam. In anger, Balaam strikes the donkey with his staff—presumably he used his hand the first 2 times.

Perhaps feeling sorry for the donkey, or simply wanting to show Balaam the error of his ways, God grants the donkey the ability to speak. Immediately, the donkey confronts Balaam about his mistreatment of her. As the two talk, the Lord opens Balaam's eyes so that he can see the angel. Upon seeing the sword wielding angel, Balaam falls to his face (presumably in both shame and adoration). Like the donkey, the Angel questions Balaam regarding his treatment of the donkey. The angel also explains the donkey's behavior and warns Balaam that he is going against God's instruction. Admitting to his sin, Balaam offers to return home. Surprising, the angel does not agree to this, but instead sends him forward with the warning to only speak that which God commands.
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Balaam & Balak Meet

The first order of business when the two men meet, is for Balak to ask Balaam why he didn't come to him. I'm not sure if Balak is referring to the fact that Balaam initially refused or that Balaam arrived after the princes returned. We don't know if the princes were there for Balaam's encounter with the angel or not, though it seems unlikely. If they were not present, it stands to reason they arrived without Balaam and assumed he'd changed his mind. Once this situation is cleared up for Balak, the two converse and Balaam maintains that he can only do what God commands. The 2 men then journey to Kirjath-huzoth, where Balak hopes to begin the process of cursing the Israelites.
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The First Sacrifice

One of two things happens when Balaam and Balak reach their destination. Either Balak's pagan origins leads him to believes he can persuade God to change His mind by offering sacrifices, or, knowing that the sacrifices wouldn't work, Balaam extorted Balak to perform sacrifices anyway (similar to preachers today charging outrageous prices for their insight to the word of God). Balak offers sheep and oxen to Baal in hopes of gaining favor, unaware that it is God who is making the decision. Balaam instructs Balak to build 7 altars. On each altar, Balaam sacrifices 1 ox and 1 ram. Balaam either means for these to be sacrificed to God or God comes on behalf of Israel despite Balaam dabbling paganism.
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The First Prophecy

When God comes to Balaam, he gives him a prophecy. Balaam recounts the prophecy to Balak, stating that the Israelites will live in the land alone. He reiterates the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham, in which Abraham's seed would be uncountable like the dust. Balak becomes upset that not only does Balaam not curse Israel, but he done the opposite and pronounced a blessing on them. Balak still thinks he can change God's mind; it is unclear whether Balak knows he is dealing with God or still thinks he is dealing with Baal.
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The Second Sacrifice & Prophecy

The second time, Balak takes Balaam to Zophim and the top of Pisgah (Mt. Nebo). Again, they build 7 altars, offer 7 bulls, and offer 7 rams. Then, Balaam consults with God. Balaam tells Balak the words God revealed to him, which are some of the most important assertions about God's character we have. God informs Balaam (and Balak, through Balaam) that He is not a man, He doesn't lie, and He will do what He says.

¹⁹God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? ²⁰Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.Numbers 23:19-20 KJV

Balaam informs Balak that God didn't bring the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt only to fail; therefore, nothing (and no one) can stand against Israel. Balaam says that they will rise up as a great lion and lift up a young lion. The young lion is prophesied to eat the prey and drink the blood of the slain. Balak begs Balaam not to bless Israel, or even curse them, as he wants another chance to convince God to curse the Israelites.
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The Third Sacrifice & Prophecy

The third time, the pair journey to Peor to repeat the persuasion ritual of Balak's choice. Again, they build 7 altars, sacrificing 1 bull and 1 ram on each altar. God, unchanging, still means to bless Israel. Balaam heads toward the wilderness where he can see the Israelites. Here, the Spirit of God comes upon him and gives another prophecy. Balaam learns that the Israelites will be more powerful than Agag, king of the Amalekites. He is told of the land's abundance under Israel's dominion. Again, Israel is compared to a lion who will conquer and prosper.
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Balak's Anger

It is understandable that Balak was angry at Balaam; he went out of his way to summon Balaam, sacrificed 21 bulls and 21 rams (poor animals died for nothing), and was still rejected of his goal. On top of not gaining a curse for Israel, Balak watches Balaam bless the Israelites multiple times. When viewed from Balak's point of view, he was doing everything he could to make his goal a reality. The problem wasn't how hard he worked or how much effort he put it, but the fact that it simply wasn't meant to be. We must remember this as we walk through life, as well.

Lesson to Learn

Balak walked contrary to God, so he was destined to lose, just as we are when we embark on paths that do not align with God's plan. Balak could have listened the first time and chosen a different course, but he kept knocking on the same door, hoping God would change His mind. This is something we must watch for today; God will always tell us when we are taking the wrong path, just as He stood in Balaam's way and refused to grant Balak's request. It is up to us to listen.

Sent Away

Balak sends Balaam away in anger, though Balaam reminds him that from the beginning, Balaam had warned Balak that he could only do that which God commanded. Interestingly, we aren't told if Balaam was actually one of God's people or just followed God's word that one time. In any case, we are reminded that when those around us say things we do not want to hear, we have to consider whether God is speaking to us through that person or if that person is just spouting nonsense.
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The Fourth Prophecy

Balaam's final prophecy foretells of both King David and Jesus.^[1] Likely, the intent was for Jesus, since Balaam says he will see the person one day. Balaam also foretells the star of Bethlehem, a great king, and the destruction of the children of Sheth. Sheth is likely a reference to Seth, which would make the final prophecy a reference to all people.^[1][2][3] It is also possible that the word "sheth" was not a person's name but meant "tumult" thus rendering the prophecy valid for the sons of tumult.^[4] Jesus will destroy everyone at His second coming, which would definitely apply to the destruction of the children of Seth, so perhaps this is what Balaam was speaking of. David, also associated with a star, defeated Moab and Edom. Technically, he fulfilled the prophecy, but to a lesser extent than Jesus. Balaam prophesies that the one who will be given dominion will be from the progeny of Jacob. Finally, he predicts the fall of Amalek, the Kenites, Assur, and Eber.
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References

1. Holman Bible Publishers. Holman KJV Study Bible. pg. 271-275. 2014
2. Uittenbogaard, Arie. "The name Sheth in the Bible". Abiram Publications. 2016
3. "Sheth". Bible Hub. 2016
4. "Sheth". Bible Study Tools. 2016