THE AGE OF EXPERIMENTATION

William Andrew Dillard

Just imagine a world in which clocks and calendars were either non-existent or largely meaningless if they did exist. This world would host men of great talent in musical arts, metal craft, animal husbandry, etc. Moreover, this imaginary world existed in an ideal climate all year long, century after century. Additionally, there were not a lot of regulatory laws, making human freedom the best humanity has ever enjoyed. Furthermore, the diseases that plague humanity today were unknown in this pristine environment. Does this sound divine; too good to be true; something that could only exist in one’s imagination? Well think again!
The world under consideration did in fact exist for a long 1656 years, from Adam to Noah. The antediluvian world though devoid of most conveniences enjoyed today, had a lot going for it including individual longevity approaching one thousand years. It could be called the age of experimentation. What will sinful mankind do, left largely to himself? Will he be grateful for his blessings, and seek after his Creator? Will he respect himself and his neighbor, and seek to make a better world for himself and his offspring?
In Genesis Chapter Six, God looked down to see what was going on in the world of men. What He saw was corruption; moral degradation, base sensuality reigning as king in an epicurean, drunken, sex crazy world. It was a world of faithlessness. Thus, it repented Him that He had made the human race, and He determined to destroy it.
Today, in spite of vaunted progress, the world is quite similar to that ancient society. It is a sign. Jesus said that when He comes again, the world will be as it was in the days of Noah. Matt 24:37-39.
But consider that it is not the absence of sin that divinity seeks in mankind. That is impossible. But it is the presence of faith. When the Son of man shall come, will He find faith on the earth? Luke 18:8. In the absence of faith, men, nations, and the world are wrong, and they degenerate into the sensual, violent quagmire of Noah’s day.
The good news is that Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Noah was a man of faith; a righteous man, perfect in his generations. It would be his lot to inherit a new world, a new beginning. Do you see a pattern here? People of faith in God and His eternal Word will inherit the universe with Christ Jesus, while those who submerge themselves in base pleasures of the flesh are destined to loss of life’s reward at best and eternal condemnation at worse. How much of your life is given to matters of faith in God and His Word? Every person is either contributing to the cause of Christ and goodness in the world or else to the cause of Satan and evil in the world. Sin cannot be eliminated from our world, but it can be repented of, and faith can find a dwelling and growing place in human hearts. The age of experimentation is history, but it bears unerring witness of an inevitable conclusion. In keeping with the pattern of the ages: in the absence of faith, no one may be right in the sight of God.

I BELIEVE GOD’S WORD

And Jesus answered Him saying, it is written, That man shall not live by bread alone; but by every Word of God. – Luke 4:4

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my Words shall not pass away. – Luke 21:33

God has made several statements about His Word. To David, God had made a promise and when Solomon ascended to the throne, He asked God to do something for Him – “1Ki_8:26  And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father.” God continues to verify His Word to us. Psalm 119:9 says “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word.” If God gave an uncertain word, could a young man be cleansed according to God’s Word. An understanding of the responsibility of parents to teach their children the Word of God. Truly to memorize the Word of God. Also we need to understand the place and position and the responsibility of the scribe. These are not illiterate men.

Let us run back to the garden for a moment. When God created Adam, he did not create a baby or infant. He created a mature man. I believe that Adam had the intelligence that we have today. Adam named every animal that God had created. His vocabulary was great enough to name them all. We struggle to think of the names that have already been given to them. The idea of cavemen is dream that man has advanced from a knuckle dragging, illiterate that attempts to make us a superior specimen.

These scribes have rules that guided them in copying the Word of God that we call the Old Testament. They were required to have the same number of letters in each line as the original they were copying from. They were required to have the same number of words in each line. When they were done copying the page, another person came and checked the word and counted letters and words. If mistakes were made, they had to destroy the page.

Notice the interplay of statements in the following passages. Psalm 119:9 “BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. Psa_119:41  VAU. Let thy mercies come also unto me, O LORD, even thy salvation, according to thy word. Psa_119:58  I intreated thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word. Psa_119:65  TETH. Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O LORD, according unto thy word. Psa_119:76  Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to thy word unto thy servant. Here is the problem, if it is “according to thy Word, That Word had to be established and unchanging. Can you imagine someone walking up to God and saying I have done all things according to your word, and God responding, “that is not what I said.” God’s Word has to established and never changing. Oh, wait, it is. It is established and never changes. Psa_119:89  LAMED. For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. If God’s word were not established and never changing, then we would have an uncertain God that would not be trust worthy. We can depend upon the truth of God’s Word. Psa_119:160  Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.

Endureth forever. Not is not the modern day statement. Today the culture dictates that men have to judge which words are God’s and which ones are not God’s. Yet the responsibility does not fall upon scholars to tell us what is God’s Word. The reason is, I will stand before God and give an answer, no scholar will answer for me. I will answer for my self. His Word endureth forever because – Psa_119:140  Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it. Words that are pure and therefore when we find it we should embrace it and hold it close.

Our understanding should come from the Word of God. Psa_119:169  TAU. Let my cry come near before thee, O LORD: give me understanding according to thy word. We are told to study the word and not trust our own understanding. Pro_3:5  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. Have you heard that God has exalted His Word above His Name? Yes that is true. Psa_138:2  I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. Do you know what that means? We better get it right.

THE WEIGHT OF HEAVEN AND EARTH

THE WEIGHT OF HEAVEN AND EARTH
William Andrew Dillard
Parson to Person

The human family began in the Garden of Eden. In that pristine environment the federal head of the race had the opportunity to partake of the Tree of Life. He would then be sealed in righteousness, and his offspring would be born in righteousness rather than in sin. But, Adam failed! Consequently, men are born with a sinful nature that forever eliminates any possibility of being in the presence of the Creator in heaven, and all that entails. But, this reality was fixed in the day of his creation: whatever happens to man will be of man’s own doing, and no force will negate his power of choice! But, the result of sin is death, and death has passed upon all men for that all have sinned. Think with me about this awful, locked-in scenario!
To redeem His creation, God in incomprehensible love and grace affixed His own eternal destiny with that of His creation by becoming one of us. Born of a virgin, the Holy Spirit His Father, He did not inherit the sinful nature, but came into the world as a man to succeed where Adam failed. But wait! Death is the result of sin. Jesus is the sinless Son of God. How then could He possibly die, knowing no sin? The answer lies in revisiting the Garden of Gethsemane on the evening of His arrest. Jesus prayed while disciples slept. He sweat as it were great drops of blood in anticipation of the awful shame in the marvelous deed that was His alone to accomplish.
Upon identifying Himself to the soldiers, they all fell involuntarily to the ground. Evil intent had come to the righteous, Creator God of heaven and earth. They could not take Him, they could not harm Him. He was sinless! It was only by the grace of God that they were allowed to arise and proceed with their evil deed. It was then and there that Jesus fulfilled the great initial process of “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.” This means that Jesus submitted to the massive load of sin. Sin was not in Him, but sin was upon Him. This is the only possibility of His being beaten and crucified. Think! Here was God in human form doing what no other man on earth could do, defeating sin, and paying the price of every person who through faith would appropriate His sacrifice as their own. Thus does every member of the human race have hope. One of us has overcome sin, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. Because He overcame, we may overcome in Him. Now, the door is open to life, to heaven, to inheritance in Him. Men may rejoice in this with all their heart because of His unspeakable GIFT to us all. There can be no higher or more noble meaning to Christmas than this! “. . . and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isa. 9:6

THE COVENANT PRINCIPLE

1. Adamic Covenant. – Unconditional

   1. The constitution of the covenant.

      1. Made with Adam in Eden, before the expulsion.

      2. It is unconditional and consists of a curse and a promise

      3. Genesis 3:14-19 To order the life of man outside Eden

         1. Cherubim – Holiness of God.

         2. Seraphim – Uncleanness of people of God.

   2. The Contents of the covenant.

      1. The curse of Satan – Genesis 3:14.

      2. The judgment on the woman – Genesis 3:16.

         1. Multiplied conception.

         2. Maternal sorrow.

         3. Subordination to man, the headship being invested in man.

      3. The judgment on the man – Genesis 3:17

         1. The ground is cursed for his sake.

         2. He must labor for his living.

      4. The curse on creation – Genesis 3:18.

         1. Caused to bring forth thorns, thistles, etc., and all things which tend to make cultivation difficult.

         2. Genesis 3:17, Sorrow – toil.

      5. The promise – Genesis 3:15.

   3. The Conclusion of the covenant. – Runs on to the renovation of the earth by fire.

   4. The Seal –

      1. Genesis 3:21

      2. Clothing

      3. Genesis 3:23,24

      4. Driven out of the garden.

HEBREW HONEYCOMB

HEBREW HONEYCOMB

William Andrew Dillard
“DYING, THOU SHALT SURELY DIE”
The phrase, “Dying. thou shalt surely die” is a literal translation of the Hebrew words revealing the penalty for eating of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The serpent capitalized on the words, assuring Mother Eve that she would not immediately fall down dead from eating of the forbidden fruit. Additionally, there was good food to be had and knowledge to be gained. Of course, he purposely did not reveal that unlike God, she would not be able to always choose the good and shun the evil. What subtlety in his lies!
So, with sin now incorporated into the basic makeup of the species, it is appointed unto men once to die. Hebrews 9:27. Is there anyone who could successfully argue against this consistent process? Every hospital testifies that men get sick and die. Every cemetery shouts that it is appointed unto men once to die. Every undertaking establishment says that it is appointed unto men once to die. Old age, and the loss of mental acumen bears witness that it is appointed unto men once to die, so death reigns on planet Earth without respect of persons. The Bible is plain in declaring that the last enemy of mankind to be destroyed will be death. 1 Cor. 15:26.
But GOOD NEWS! For those who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, death has indeed been destroyed as the enemy. Jesus soundly defeated it on the cross long, long ago. He not only defeated it, He made it to lay down at our feet and patiently wait for the nod of God to become our transport from the terrestrial to the celestial.
Consequently, there is no fear of the grim reaper in the eternally young heart of the redeemed. Neither is it waited upon with dread. Conversely, the Father of Spirits is fellowshipped in increasing intensity in the full realization that should the Lord Jesus not appear bodily in His glorious second coming, the hideous monster of death will become a limousine to carry us over into the higher dimension in style to the shout of throngs of awaiting saints constituting the grandest welcoming committee imaginable, and in their midst is the blessed Son of God by whose Word, Work, and Authority we enter that heavenly home.
But until then, sin continues to raise its ugly head and we do what we would not. Thus does the reality of its penalty exercise itself in all of us: “Dying, thou shalt surely die.”

PLANET EARTH: MY MOTHER!

By: W. A. Dillard

HEBREW HONEYCOMB
PLANET EARTH: MY MOTHER!
There is a natal bond between planet Earth and mankind. From the initial days in Eden it speaks of his prime directive or purpose. Think with me!

Adam (mankind) was the name of the first human. Add the feminine ending (ah) to that word in Hebrew and one has “Adamah” which is translated “dust, soil, dirt,” the substance of the planet. So, Earth is the mother of mankind, and God is the Creator/Father. He was made to be Adam from the same elements as the soil, and God breathed into his nostrils the breath of lives: (yes, lives, plural) physical, mental and spiritual. Thus was Adam made the lord of the life sustaining planet. Inquiring minds want to know why. 

Previously, the earth was under the care of Lucifer and the myriad of angels under his command. Lucifer coveted the position of the Son, originating opposition to the Will of God; hence, sin! It is believed Lucifer is responsible for wrecking to the point of utter chaos what was a perfect, life-sustaining planet , Gen.1:2.

Logic would indicate that a controversy over ownership of the planet ensued between God as Creator and Lucifer claiming it was given to him. There being no other super powers to settle the argument, the planet would thus speak for itself. Of course, being without brain, or mouth, that seemed impossible, but here is where the import of the bond becomes underscored. God caused the planet to give birth as it were to one like itself, but who could reason, speak and make decisions. That would put Adam into the position of being a walking, talking dirtball, which seems a little humiliating. Actually, it is an extremely exalted position. He would speak for the planet since God as Creator is not an arbitrary God.

So man must be subjected to the influences of God and of Lucifer. Eve being deceived and Adam choosing her over the word of his Creator brought sin to the species and a yielding up of the lordship of the planet to the fallen archangel.

But the story does not end there. The Creator chose to become one of His created beings and succeed where Adam failed. Since it was a decision of commitment that brought sin, it is a decision of commitment that brings life and righteousness. It is also the purpose of the Creator to bring man to a high level of spiritual maturity that will enable him to do in the millennial reign of Christ, what he should have been doing from the beginning. He will rule the earth in righteousness to the eternal glory of Jesus, and the astonishment of his unfathomable grace. Paul says in Romans 8 that the creation groans in travail, awaiting the glorious liberty of the sons of God (its offspring) in which it also will be finally freed from the power of bondage. There is good reason earth is called “Mother Earth.”

Obey

 

šāma‘

Today’s Hebrew word is one of those that permeates the OT, appearing some 1,150 times, and having equivalents in Akkadian, Aramaic, Arabic, Ugaritic, and Ethiopic. Šāma‘ (H8085) basically means “to hear with the ear” with several shades of meaning derived from it that generally denote effective hearing, that is, truly listening. Ideas conveyed by šāma‘, then, are “paying attention, regarding, and obeying.”

The first occurrence of šāma‘ well illustrates the above concepts. After they sinned, Adam and Eve “heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day” (Gen_3:8). Here was, as many expositors believe, the pre-incarnate Word, the Lord Jesus, walking in the Garden. Adam and Eve recognized Him as such and knew fully how they had disobeyed His one and only command. We find šāma‘ again in Gen_3:10 and still again in Gen_3:17, where God told Adam that he “hearkened” (listened to, obeyed, or at least followed the lead of) his wife instead of His God.

We repeatedly find this word, therefore, in reference to obeying God. We are told to “hear the word of the LORD” (e.g., Isa_66:5; Jer_22:29), “hear [His] voice” (Isa_28:23), “[hearken] unto counsel” (Pro_12:15), and obey His law and “commandments” (Isa_42:24; Neh_9:16). Two passages that sum it all up are, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Deu_6:4-5), followed by the command to keep these words in one’s heart and teach them to your children (Deu_6:6-9). Those verses actually comprise the “Shema,” the basic confession of faith of Judaism recited both morning and evening.

The challenge to us today is both clear and convicting. As šāma‘ indicates “hearing with the intent to obey,” so does the Greek akouō (G191), which is how the Septuagint renders šāma‘ here. It means not only to hear in general (e.g., Mat_2:3), to hear with attention (e.g., Mar_4:3, “hearken”), and to understand (e.g., Mar_4:33), but also to obey (e.g., Luk_16:19-31). In a day when Christ is presented as a way to salvation without Lordship, and when Christian living is viewed as not involving strict obedience to anything definitive, Scripture’s emphasis on obedience has never been more critical.

Scriptures for Study: Who hears God, according to Pro_1:5 (cf. Pro_1:7)? To what should we hearken and what is the result in Pro_1:33; Pro_8:32-35? What comes by “hearing” in Rom_10:17?

 

 

THE LIMITED AND THE LIMITLESS

AUTHOR – William Andrew Dillard

Parson to Person
There is a conceptual wall separating the mortal and the immortal. Man is finite. God is infinite. The finite simply does not comprehend to any appreciable degree the infinite. In simple terms, God put it simply this way: “As the heavens are high above the earth, so are my ways to your ways and my thoughts to your thoughts, saith the Lord.” Isa. 55. It then behooves us who are finite to accept in full the presentation of God and his work to man as recorded in Holy Writ while avoiding the temptation to sit in His chair to postulate what he knows, and by which principles He is bound.
Still, it is an apparent, favorite pastime of bible students to build tenets of faith on what they insist God does or does not know based on their finite reasoning of spiritual principles. Perhaps revisiting the book of Job would be helpful. He longed for a meeting with the Creator until he got one. There he found himself as helpless and mentally and spiritually inept as a toddler would be to run a factory.
A particular case in point is the Eden scenario. It goes something like this: God knew man would sin before He created the planet; therefore, Adam and Eve had no choice but to do what God foreknew they would do. That is fatalism, unfounded, and contrary to the whole presentation of the Bible. If such nonsense were true, God would not have given Adam and Eve the bone fide offer of eternal life in the fruit of a tree. Such would be simple mind games.
Alas! Adam and Eve did plunge themselves and their posterity into a world of sin and death by casting down that perfect order in Eden, but, Thank God, the Lord Jesus, the Christ stood as a Lamb slain from the casting down of that order. The entire interlude of sin in the world of men provides the opportunity to overcome it through the triumphant cross-work of the God-man: Jesus, and to see that perfect order restored in ages to come. Meanwhile sin is shown to have no intrinsic value by which it may claim right to continued existence other than in the hell reserved for its founder and practitioners who have rejected the grace of God. One may claim he does not understand all of this. Then welcome to the club. It is not to be understood, rather it is to be believed without reservation. By His own revelation to us, the “limited” may know and live the faith of the “Limitless.” This is only possible in Christ Jesus. This then is the emphasis of the resurrection; the meaning of Easter; the continuous first day of the week celebration of His churches through the age. Know Him then, and follow Him at all costs. The limited are on their way to becoming as the Limitless, and what a day that will be!

Eve’s Temptations

Genesis 3:1-7
“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat,” Genesis 3:6.
 
Temptations come in many forms and every one of us has a weakness or two. What are your weaknesses? Maybe you lack strength to resist the temptations of power, wealth, possessions, food or lust; whatever our weaknesses may be, it is important to remember that temptations do not come from God (James 1:13). Maybe you are thinking, Well, of course, God does not tempt me to sin! That is not too difficult to understand. The problem, however, lies in the fact that we are led astray by our desire to play the role of God in our own lives. When we sin, we decide to take control of our lives out of God’s hands because we think we know better than He knows.
Think about Eve’s temptation for a minute. What was it that led her and Adam astray in the garden? It was the idea that, somehow, God was cheating them by forbidding them to eat from one tree in the garden. There were thousands of trees from which they could eat, but only one that was forbidden, and that was the one they wanted. They were tempted by their own pride, desiring to be in control of their own destinies.
Every temptation we face begins in the same way. We think we know better than God, and, instead of humbly trusting Him, we venture down the path governed by pride, giving in to our own desires. What do we find at the end of that path? We find disappointment, discouragement and despair. Why? It is because we make terrible gods.
 
 

HEBREW – Call [and] Prayer (3)

qārā’

Besides the some one dozen words rendered prayer in the OT, another that clearly pictures prayer in a few instances is the verb qārā’ (H7121), the root of which (qr’) is found in “Old Aramaic, Canaanite, and Ugaritic, and other Semitic languages (except Ethiopic).”

Appearing more than 730 times, qārā’ has a wide range of meanings, depending upon the context and grammar, including: “to call, declare, summon, invite, read, be called, be invoked, be named.” It is used, for example, of summoning someone, as when God “called unto Adam” (Gen_3:9), when God “called unto [Moses] out of the midst of the bush” (Exo_3:4), and for Adam naming the animals (Gen_2:20) and Eve (Gen_3:20). It is also used of reading aloud from a book or scroll (Exo_24:7; Neh_13:1; Jer_36:6; Jer_36:8). It is even used for the act of preaching (Neh_6:7; Jon_3:2, March 16).

Another significant use of qārā’ is in men calling upon God, a use we see often and that graphically illustrates prayer. After the fall, some men realized the all-encompassing consequences of sin and began to call on God’s name (Gen_4:26; Gen_12:8; Gen_13:4). We are especially struck by verses such as Psa_3:4 : “I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill.” Also, Psa_18:6 : “In my distress I called [qārā’] upon the LORD, and cried [qārā’] unto my God.” Such statements, in fact, are a recurring theme in the Psalms (Psa_18:6; Psa_30:8; Psa_34:6; Psa_120:1; Psa_130:1; Psa_138:3).

Psa_119:145 is particularly striking: “I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O LORD: I will keep thy statutes.” Think of it! The psalmist’s entire being was engaged in prayer. He had written in Psa_119:10, “With my whole heart have I sought thee.” We then read in Psa_119:146 : “I cried unto thee; save me, and I shall keep thy testimonies.” Here is true, earnest prayer. And what is the goal of such earnestness? In modern teaching, the goal is ourselves, getting what we want. The psalmist’s goal was a little different, to say the least. His aim was to “keep [God’s statutes [February 19] and] testimonies [February 17].” Let us pray earnestly to that end.

Scriptures for Study: What is the admonition of Psa_116:2? What then is the promise of Psa_145:18?