Who said that?

Sometimes in my times of reading Scriptures i will have this sort of experience like i did today. Two different Scriptures that i do not expect to line up together, do. For instance...

In Exodus 5 the scene is Moses and Aaron are pleading their case that God had spoken to them and Pharaoh was to oh-oh let their people go! HUH! Yeah yeah yeah yeah! (Sorry, i had to.) Pharaoh's response?

"Who is the LORD that i should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and moreover, I will not let Israel go." And Moses and Aaron respond with, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us..." (5:2-3)

Later on, the enslavers of the Israelite slaves state, "Thus says Pharaoh, 'i will not give you straw,'" which perfectly mimicks Moses and Aaron saying "Thus says the LORD," in verse 1 of the chapter.

Later on in John chapter 2 i read the part where Jesus forms a whip and "cleanses the temple" of the traders that are lodged in there. The people ask Jesus for a sign, a miracle, proving that He has this sort of authority. He tells them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." (verse 18) In verse 21 and 22 it says:

But He was speaking about the temple of His body. When therefore He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

Notice how they believed the Scripture and the word he had spoken.

In both passages, Old Testament and New, there is an emphasis on knowing God's voice. In Exodus since Pharaoh doesn't recognize God's voice, not only does he fail to heed it, he does not believe, and then even imitates and places himself as God to the people. That's just how far it seems one can go when they do not fear God and come to know Him intimately... a process which God initiates. In verse three of Exodus 5 Moses and Aaron said, "God met with us" not the other way around, "we met with God." The intimacy offered by God is available because of His initiation, always. Even today.

Secondly, the Scriptures are foundational. But they are the foundation to truly knowing Him, and His voice. Knowing His voice then illuminates the Scriptures. Which then, in turn causes us to better know His voice, which...

There are tons of voices trying to imitate God, just like Pharaoh's imitation. Advertising hits us from every angle with slogans that are often making sure i know that their products will offer me everything from peace to hope to the girl(s) of my dream(s) (already got that thank you very much!). Other humans voice their persuasive opinions and we fall for them out of fear. Then there are those "voices in our head," temptations, gut instincts, greeds, fears, jealousies, etc., that torment us.

Here is a blog entry of a friend that understands Christianity and advertising better than anyone i know, and quite possibly better than anyone. No lie.

Somewhere in all of that is the "still, small voice" of God. We would do well to learn how to "believe the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken" as best as we can each day, in every situation. No matter what the cost.

Sin, part I (a.k.a. God does not want us to stop listening to our wives)

Bible knowledge quiz:

In Genesis 3, God lays curses on the serpent, Eve, and Adam. What were the two reasons God gives for laying a curse on Adam?

...

Here's what Genesis 3:17 says in the NIV:

"Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you..."

We often remember that it was because Adam ate from that infamous tree but forget the "listened to your wife" part. Now, before you start assuming some sort of chauvinistic, over-patriarchal view here, let's look at the ESV of the same verse:

"Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you..." (emphasis my own)

This one little word, which is in the original Hebrew, is so huge.

For Adam, he knew what the command was, but he lost track of what God was saying in that very moment. Eve could have been the mouthpiece of the Lord, cautioning Adam that a crafty serpent was giving this advice. But instead was speaking on behalf of satan in that moment, offering up the forbidden fruit to Adam. And frankly all of us live in that constant reality as well: who do you speak for? Moving on though...

I think a major flaw in our teachings, especially to our youth, is that we often only teach them the commands, i.e. the Bible, the Ten Commandments, the Gospel (of which i think is often well undershot as well), etc. But what we need to teach is a two-fold understanding of God's words: those that are given to us in Scripture and those that continue to come out of His mouth.

Interestingly enough, when satan tempts Adam he is cursed for eating of the tree (breaking the command) and listening to the wrong voice (not adhering to God's voice, again God is NOT trying to tell you to not listen to your wives, i promise). Jesus encounters satan in a very similar way!

When Jesus is tempted by satan in Matthew 4:2-4, the encounter looks like this:

And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." But He answered and said, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'" (NASB)

Oh, after forty days he became hungry? Thank you Captain Obvious! Anyway...

Jesus quotes a command (the first part to knowing how to not sin) that points us to live on "every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." (The second part.) Not proceeded but proceeds. Obviously we need to know the commands, but we also need to realize that life comes from having a very present relationship with Him where i feed off of every word that proceeds from Him continually, every day, even right now.

And we learn this way back in Genesis 3 with Adam.

Know His commands AND gain an ear for His every-moment voice. Not only to avoid sin, but to live fully. Even to live life violently!

Coming posts on sin: how our view on our identity helps us to not sin, and why we should do all things excellently.