(02-19-2012, 07:53 AM)Avraham Wrote: [ -> ]Mar 8:12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.
This is very important. They are simply asking for proof of his ability to perform miracles, surely it is not unreasonable to ask for a "sign"? There is no record of any impoliteness in their request.
The answer, "There will be no sign given to this generation" is both baffling and untrue. How w about all the "miracles" he supposedly has already performed? And when his disciples doubt him he has to remind them of the miracles he has already performed.
This is poorly written fiction at best.
Avraham
How would you describe in these passages ; the thousands who "fell in one day," the masses who were killed by snakes, and the others who were "destroyed of the destroyer"? These weren't Moabites, Canaanite s, Philistines or any of the other heathen surrounding Israel. these were believers - people of G-D's own choosing!
These people had witnessed incredible miracles. They'd been fed spiritual food by supernatural means. They'd drunk spiritual water from a rock . They were well taught and well taken care of. Yet, many of these same people were consumed by G-D's Wrath and destroyed by serpents.
These Israelites, so provoked G-D, He "overthrew" them in the wilderness. The Hebrew word used here means, "He cast them out of his hand, scattering them to the ground like so much dust."
So what does this mean? It was the Lord telling Israel, "I will not accept this from you! If you were innocent - if you weren't well educated, or hadn't received spiritual food from my hand, or hadn't seen evidence of My Glory - then I would deal with you. But in spite of my many blessings to you, you've chosen lusts and idols. So, now I'm going to scatter you. I'm casting you out of my hands completely!"
So you ask; Why would the Lord deal so brashly with his own people after they'd benefited so fully from him?
According to scripture, I believe 23,000 of them died as a result of their fornication and idolatry. And others were destroyed because of their murmuring and complaining. Finally, still others were killed by venomous snake bites. What did this last group do to warrant their deaths? They tempted G-D!
Can you understand why G-D would deal severely with fornicators, idolaters and murmurers. But you ask , what about this particular sin of tempting Yeshua. What does it mean to; "tempt the Lord"?
In Exodus 17. The Israelites had just experienced the miracle of manna - a white wafer containing all the nutrition they needed to sustain them. This "small, round thing" appeared on the ground in their midst every day. The people didn't earn or merit this supernatural food; the Lord fed it to them by his grace alone. All they had to do was gather it up.
But now they had no water. They had come to a place called Marah, where the water was too bitter to drink. Once again they were in a crisis, facing yet another test. G-D had met their hunger, but not their thirst!
Immediately, the people began chaffing their leader, Moses. They accused him of being a heartless liar who had led them into the wilderness to destroy them. They even spoke of stoning him.
The Israelites Didn't Know it - but They Were Being Tested!
Just as his people did under the Old Covenant, we feast on his manna, which is his word. We drink of the same Rock, which is Christ. And we enjoy better promises and a better covenant. We've been delivered out of bondage, having crossed our own Red Sea. And we've watched as G-D has destroyed the satanic powers that once held us.
Yet, like Israel, we also doubt G-D, murmuring and complaining against him, in spite of all his blessings to us. We turn to idols and lusts. And we tempt him, just as the Israelites did. In short, many Christians as well have not learned our lessons.
Jesus did not bring a different G-D , but the same G-D as Sinai .You speak almost the very same words to Jesus that the Israelites had spoken to Moses, and even the people of the day, even His own disciples spoke them as well after seeing all the miracles He performed: " ...they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us, or not?" (Exodus 17:7)
Thanks for sharing another likened unto Moses that Jesus fulfilled of Deuteronomy 18:18,19
Jesus Lives!