Two Opinions

Problem in the Text

If God is God serve Him, but if baal is follow him. It is as simple as that. A profound statement made by Elijah that has been the struggle of all those who have lived on this earth. 1 Kings is not the first time we read of a statement where a decision has to be made for one side or the other. We read in the following Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Jesus address the same issue in :24No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

If God is God serve Him, but if baal is follow him. It is as simple as that. A profound statement made by Elijah that has been the struggle of all those who have lived on this earth. 1 Kings is not the first time we read of a statement where a decision has to be made for one side or the other. We read in the following Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Jesus address the same issue in No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

The problem that we see being developed though out scripture is that people are constantly wavering in their opinion of God. Elijah was saying to the people that there is only one God. They had been favoring the worship of baal over God resulting in national and personal ruin. When Joshua address the matter with Israel he points to where they have come from. He points Isreal back to Egypt saying put away the Egyptian gods and the worship of them. The challenge that Israel was facing was that they had been surrounded by the Egyptian false worship that is had crept into their own lives so much so that most of the Israelites had lost the understanding of true worship of God. The Egyptian religious system had over 2000 gods which dealt with every aspect of life. In the exposure to the Egyptian worship system Israel was learning to depend on themselves as opposed to God. 11 Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? 12 Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”

Israel felt that is was better to be in slavery to a hard task master than to be in the wilderness under the guidance of God. There was greater trust for a sustained life in Egypt than there was trust that God would take care of them in the wilderness. Israel thought that they would die in the wilderness and felt that they had a bette chance of living under the yoke of slavery. This idea of trust is brought home in the comment that Jesus made by saying that we can not serve two masters, one can not serve God and mammon. The word mammon is commonly understood to mean riches, resources, gain. But the root of the word comes from Aramaic noun ‘mn which means “that in which one trust”. Jesus was address the same issue Moses, Joshua and Elijah addressed. Jesus was saying that people can not think to trust God and the gods of this world. Jesus was saying that eventually the love or trust in the one would supersede trust in the other. This was the issue with Moses and Elijah Israel fell back to a trust in a god that could offer no help, no comfort, no answers. No matter how devoted they were to these god, there was no hope.

Problem in the World

1. The Gk. mamōmás seems to come from an Aramaic noun which most probably derives from the root ʾmn (“that in which one trusts”).

2. The word does not occur in the OT but is used in Jewish writings in the senses a. “resources,” b. “gain” (especially dishonest), and c. “compensation” or “ransom,” but also “bribe.” In general it has an ignoble sense, is often called unrighteous, and is a target of ethical censure and admonition.

3. In the NT the word occurs only on the lips of Jesus. It denotes “earthly goods,” but always with a stress on their materialistic character. When people trust in it (.) or give their hearts to it (), they cannot love God. Believers, then, must break out of enslavement to it and learn to depend on God (). From the unjust steward they must learn to use it in the service of love for others (.). Faithfulness with even a modest amount of mammon is the presupposition of God’s entrusting the true riches to them ().1

1 Gerhard Kittel, Gerhard Friedrich, and Geoffrey William Bromiley, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 1985), 552.

The problem that we see being developed though out scripture is that people are constantly wavering in their opinion of God. Elijah was saying to the people that there is only one God. They had been favoring the worship of baal over God resulting in national and personal ruin. When Joshua address the matter with Israel he points to where they have come from. He points Israel back to Egypt saying put away the Egyptian gods and the worship of them. The challenge that Israel was facing was that they had been surrounded by the Egyptian false worship that is had crept into their own lives so much so that most of the Israelites had lost the understanding of true worship of God. The Egyptian religious system had over 2000 gods which dealt with every aspect of life. In the exposure to the Egyptian worship system Israel was learning to depend on themselves as opposed to God. 11 Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? 12 Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”

If God is God serve Him, but if baal is follow him. It is as simple as that. A profound statement made by Elijah that has been the struggle of all those who have lived on this earth. 1 Kings is not the first time we read of a statement where a decision has to be made for one side or the other. We read in the following Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Jesus address the same issue in :24No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

If God is God serve Him, but if baal is follow him. It is as simple as that. A profound statement made by Elijah that has been the struggle of all those who have lived on this earth. 1 Kings is not the first time we read of a statement where a decision has to be made for one side or the other. We read in the following Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Jesus address the same issue in No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

Israel felt that is was better to be in slavery to a hard task master than to be in the wilderness under the guidance of God. There was greater trust for a sustained life in Egypt than there was trust that God would take care of them in the wilderness. Israel thought that they would die in the wilderness and felt that they had a better chance of living under the yoke of slavery. This idea of trust is brought home in the comment that Jesus made by saying that we cannot serve two masters, one cannot serve God and mammon. The word mammon is commonly understood to mean riches, resources, gain. But the root of the word comes from Aramaic noun ‘mn which means “that in which one trust”. Jesus was addressing the same issue Moses, Joshua and Elijah addressed. Jesus was saying that people cannot think to trust God and the gods of this world. Jesus was saying that eventually the love or trust in the one would supersede trust in the other. This was the issue with Moses and Elijah Israel fell back to a trust in a god that could offer no help, no comfort, no answers. No matter how devoted they were to these gods, there was no hope. speaks to this point when it says, “who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”

Following other gods can only lead to the destruction that God does not desire.

Problem in the World

The problem that we see being developed though out scripture is that people are constantly wavering in their opinion of God. Elijah was saying to the people that there is only one God. They had been favoring the worship of baal over God resulting in national and personal ruin. When Joshua address the matter with Israel he points to where they have come from. He points Israel back to Egypt saying put away the Egyptian gods and the worship of them. The challenge that Israel was facing was that they had been surrounded by the Egyptian false worship that is had crept into their own lives so much so that most of the Israelites had lost the understanding of true worship of God. The Egyptian religious system had over 2000 gods which dealt with every aspect of life. In the exposure to the Egyptian worship system Israel was learning to depend on themselves as opposed to God. 11 Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? 12 Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”

Problem in the World

The problem that we see being developed though out scripture is that people are constantly wavering in their opinion of God. Elijah was saying to the people that there is only one God. They had been favoring the worship of baal over God resulting in national and personal ruin. When Joshua address the matter with Israel he points to where they have come from. He points Israel back to Egypt saying put away the Egyptian gods and the worship of them. The challenge that Israel was facing was that they had been surrounded by the Egyptian false worship that is had crept into their own lives so much so that most of the Israelites had lost the understanding of true worship of God. The Egyptian religious system had over 2000 gods which dealt with every aspect of life. In the exposure to the Egyptian worship system Israel was learning to depend on themselves as opposed to God. Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? 12 Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”

Problem in the Text

The world we live in is no different. People are today are in the same slavery as Israel in Egypt. People today have had the wool pulled over their eyes just like Israel was in the times of Elijah. Lead astray by the hope that the gods of the modern world will offer rest and security. Jesus brings the point home when He says that we can’t trust God and trust the things of this world. Eventually our bias toward evil will block out Jesus till we only trust in the gods of the modern world. The gods of the modern world require no less sacrifice the gods of the ancient world. The gods of the ancient world required sacrifice of appeasement, sacrifices of food, belongings, and even children. All this was done to try and get the gods to respond to their plight.

The gods of the modern world require the same. What are some of the gods of the modern world? Work, money, food, entertainment, relationships, drugs, alcohol, television, exercise and fashion. The list can go on and on and I am sure that you can add to this list. The point is, is that in all of us there are things of this world that we trust in more than God. When things start to go wrong in our life, we start to self-medicate. We look to things that take way the hardships or numb our senses so that we can just make it through the day. Some of the items in this list are good like exercise and food but when these become what we trust in then they become our god. When our medication for the challenges of life is not God then that is our gods. As we self-medicate nothing happens our challenges are still there.

Israel felt that is was better to be in slavery to a hard task master than to be in the wilderness under the guidance of God. There was greater trust for a sustained life in Egypt than there was trust that God would take care of them in the wilderness. Israel thought that they would die in the wilderness and felt that they had a better chance of living under the yoke of slavery. This idea of trust is brought home in the comment that Jesus made by saying that we cannot serve two masters, one cannot serve God and mammon. The word mammon is commonly understood to mean riches, resources, gain. But the root of the word comes from Aramaic noun ‘mn which means “that in which one trust”. Jesus was addressing the same issue Moses, Joshua and Elijah addressed. Jesus was saying that people cannot think to trust God and the gods of this world. Jesus was saying that eventually the love or trust in the one would supersede trust in the other. This was the issue with Moses and Elijah Israel fell back to a trust in a god that could offer no help, no comfort, no answers. No matter how devoted they were to these gods, there was no hope.

Israel felt that is was better to be in slavery to a hard task master than to be in the wilderness under the guidance of God. There was greater trust for a sustained life in Egypt than there was trust that God would take care of them in the wilderness. Israel thought that they would die in the wilderness and felt that they had a better chance of living under the yoke of slavery. This idea of trust is brought home in the comment that Jesus made by saying that we cannot serve two masters, one cannot serve God and mammon. The word mammon is commonly understood to mean riches, resources, gain. But the root of the word comes from Aramaic noun ‘mn which means “that in which one trust”. Jesus was addressing the same issue Moses, Joshua and Elijah addressed. Jesus was saying that people cannot think to trust God and the gods of this world. Jesus was saying that eventually the love or trust in the one would supersede trust in the other. This was the issue with Moses and Elijah Israel fell back to a trust in a god that could offer no help, no comfort, no answers. No matter how devoted they were to these gods, there was no hope. speaks to this point when it says, “who exchanged the truth of God for the lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” Following other gods can only lead to the destruction that God does not desire.

The world we live in is no different. People are today are in the same slavery as Israel in Egypt. People today have had the wool pulled over their eyes just like Israel was in the times of Elijah. Lead astray by the hope that the god’s of the modern world will offer rest and security. Jesus brings the point home when He says that we can’t trust God and trust the things of this world. Eventually our bias toward evil will block out Jesus till we only trust in the god’s of the modern world. The god’s of the modern world require no less sacrifice the the god’s of the ancient world. The gods of the ancient world required sacrifice of appeasement, sacrifices of food, belongings, and even children. All this was done to try and get the god’s to respond to their plight.

If God is God serve Him, but if baal is follow him. It is as simple as that. A profound statement made by Elijah that has been the struggle of all those who have lived on this earth. 1 Kings is not the first time we read of a statement where a decision has to be made for one side or the other. We read in the following Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Jesus address the same issue in No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

says that as the world, as we give ourselves to the gods of our lives so we will exchange the things of God which will result living a life full of wickedness.

The gods of the modern world require the same. What are some of the god’s of the modern world? Work, money, food, entertainment, relationships, drugs, alcohol, television, exercise and fashion. The list can go on and on and I am sure that you can add to this list. The point is, is that in all of us there are things of this world that we trust in more than God. When things start to go wrong in our life we start to self medicate. We look to things that take way the hardships, or numb our senses so that we can just make it though the day. Some of the items in this list are good like exercise and food but when these become what we trust in then they become our god. When our medication for the challenges of life is not God then that is our gods. As we self medicate nothing happens our challenges are still there.

Solution in the Text

Moses deals with the issue of God in the book of Genesis by establishing the position of the Israelite God. Moses uses two different names for God in the first two chapters of Genesis. In the name given to God is Elohim which is the generic name for God meaning all powerful. It describes His existence as beyond the normal physical world, as the universal, cosmic, self-existent, almighty, and infinite God. These names emphasize that the God Israel is called to worship is before and above creation and that He effortlessly creates by the Divine Word. In This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord (YHWH) God (Elohim) made the earth and the heavens. YHWH is the immanent, personal God. It is easy to understand personal but God being immanent what does that mean? Immanent means existing or operating within. The name YHWH embodies a God who is self-existing and that operates within our world or who is personally active in our lives. This idea was very different to the Egyptian gods as they were not personally involved in the lives of their subjects. Moses describes the Lord as being personal by saying that bends down as a Potter over a lifeless lump of clay to shape it and then breathes life into it through it nostrils.

Solution in the Text

Problem in the World

The problem that we see being developed though out scripture is that people are constantly wavering in their opinion of God. Elijah was saying to the people that there is only one God. They had been favoring the worship of baal over God resulting in national and personal ruin. When Joshua address the matter with Israel he points to where they have come from. He points Israel back to Egypt saying put away the Egyptian gods and the worship of them. The challenge that Israel was facing was that they had been surrounded by the Egyptian false worship that is had crept into their own lives so much so that most of the Israelites had lost the understanding of true worship of God. The Egyptian religious system had over 2000 gods which dealt with every aspect of life. In the exposure to the Egyptian worship system Israel was learning to depend on themselves as opposed to God. Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? 12 Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”

Problem in the World

This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens

the name given to God is Elohim which is the generic name for God meaning all powerful. It describes His existence as beyond the normal physical world, as the universal, cosmic, self-existent, almighty, and infinite God. These names emphasize that the God Israel is called to worship is before and above creation and that He effortlessly creates by the Divine Word. In :4This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord (YHWH) God (Elohim) made the earth and the heavens. YHWH is the immanent, personal God. It is easy to understand personal but God being immanent what does that mean? Immanent means existing or operating within. The name YHWH embodies a God who is self-existing and that operates within our world or who is personally active in our lives. This idea was very different to the Egyptian gods as they were not personally involved in the lives of their subjects. Moses describes the Lord as being personal by saying that bends down as a Potter over a lifeless lump of clay to shape it and then breathes life into it through it nostrils.

Moses does not only use the names of God to set Him above all but he also uses specific words in the creation account that address the issue of the gods Israel had been exposed to. Egypt had many mythological beliefs and Moses points out to Israel that there is no substance to them. In the description of “deep”, “tehom” in he down play the Egyptian mythology by using a masculine word instead of a feminine word “tiamat” meaning “sea monster.” He also give the names “sun” and “moon” in vv 14-19 generic names greater and lesser light which are also the names for the deities. As Moses writes this book he is specific in placing God above the other religions around Egypt. He is also saying that what ever other gods may be worshiped they owe their existence to God. Therefore they can not be gods as they are created and have no power to give assistance to the complexities of life.

Moses does not only use the names of God to set Him above all, but he also uses specific words in the creation account that address the issue of the gods Israel had been exposed to. Egypt had many mythological beliefs and Moses points out to Israel that there is no substance to them. In the description of “deep”, “tehom” in he downplays the Egyptian mythology by using a masculine word instead of a feminine word “tiamat” meaning “sea monster.” He also giving the names “sun” and “moon” in vv 14-19 generic names greater and lesser light which are also the names for the deities. As Moses writes this book, he is specific in placing God above the other religions around Egypt. He is also saying that whatever other gods may be worshiped they owe their existence to God. Therefore, they cannot be gods as they are created and have no power to give assistance to the complexities of life.

Solution in the World

Deuteronomy 30:15“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, 16 in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess

Moses address this issue with Israel in the book of Genesis through the creation story.

If you remain true to me will i not bless you beyond what you can imagine

Israel felt that is was better to be in slavery to a hard task master than to be in the wilderness under the guidance of God. There was greater trust for a sustained life in Egypt than there was trust that God would take care of them in the wilderness. Israel thought that they would die in the wilderness and felt that they had a better chance of living under the yoke of slavery. This idea of trust is brought home in the comment that Jesus made by saying that we cannot serve two masters, one cannot serve God and mammon. The word mammon is commonly understood to mean riches, resources, gain, earthly goods. But the root of the word comes from Aramaic noun ‘mn which means “that in which one trust”. Jesus was addressing the same issue Moses, Joshua and Elijah addressed. Jesus was saying that people cannot think to trust God and the gods of this world. Jesus was saying that eventually the love or trust in the one would supersede trust in the other. This was the issue with Moses and Elijah Israel fell back to a trust in a god that could offer no help, no comfort, no answers. No matter how devoted they were to these gods, there was no hope. speaks to this point when it says, “who exchanged the truth of God for the lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” Following other gods can only lead to the destruction that God does not desire.

The world we live in is no different. People are today are in the same slavery as Israel in Egypt. People today have had the wool pulled over their eyes just like Israel was in the times of Elijah. Lead astray by the hope that the gods of the modern world will offer rest and security. Jesus brings the point home when He says that we can’t trust God and trust the things of this world. Eventually our bias toward evil will block out Jesus till we only trust in the gods of the modern world. The gods of the modern world require no less sacrifice the gods of the ancient world. The gods of the ancient world required sacrifice of appeasement, sacrifices of food, belongings, and even children. All this was done to try and get the gods to respond to their plight.

Problem in the World

Solution in the World

The gods of the modern world require the same. What are some of the gods of the modern world? Work, money, food, entertainment, relationships, drugs, alcohol, television, exercise and fashion. The list can go on and on and I am sure that you can add to this list. The point is, is that in all of us there are things of this world that we trust in more than God. When things start to go wrong in our life, we start to self-medicate. We look to things that take way the hardships or numb our senses so that we can just make it through the day. Some of the items in this list are good like exercise and food but when these become what we trust in then they become our god. When our medication for the challenges of life is not God then that is our gods. As we self-medicate nothing happens our challenges are still there. says that as the world, as we give ourselves to the gods of our lives so we will exchange the things of God which will result living a life full of wickedness.

The gods of the modern world require the same. What are some of the gods of the modern world? Work, money, food, entertainment, relationships, drugs, alcohol, television, exercise and fashion. The list can go on and on and I am sure that you can add to this list. The point is, is that in all of us there are things of this world that we trust in more than God. When things start to go wrong in our life, we start to self-medicate. We look to things that take way the hardships or numb our senses so that we can just make it through the day. Some of the items in this list are good like exercise and food but when these become what we trust in then they become our god. When our medication for the challenges of life is not God then that is our gods. As we self-medicate nothing happens our challenges are still there.

The world we live in is no different. People are today are in the same slavery as Israel in Egypt. People today have had the wool pulled over their eyes just like Israel was in the times of Elijah. Lead astray by the hope that the gods of the modern world will offer rest and security. Jesus brings the point home when He says that we can’t trust God and trust the things of this world. Eventually our bias toward evil will block out Jesus till we only trust in the gods of the modern world. The gods of the modern world require no less sacrifice than the gods of the ancient world. The gods of the ancient world required sacrifice of appeasement, sacrifices of food, belongings, and even children. All this was done to try and get the gods to respond to their plight.

What is the solution to all this? “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. From the beginning of time God has set truth and life and death and evil before us. He is constantly pointing out the falseness of this world’s gods. He is constantly pointing us to rely on Him in life. He is calling us to medicate on Him. says, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. This is the promise that God give us. If we love God, walk in His ways, are obedient to Him we will be able to live, and God will bless. The solution for us today is not to rely on this world but to rely on God.

Solution in the Text

Moses deals with the issue of God in the book of Genesis by establishing the position of the Israelite God. Moses uses two different names for God in the first two chapters of Genesis. In

When the world turns us upside down as it often does our solution to that should be to seek God (1) asking consistent with God’s will. To know His will to is spend time with Him in study of His Word. Also it is important to ask for things that He as already promised, for the Holy Spirit, a Christlike attitude, for forgiveness of sin, power and wisdom to do His work, for any gift He says we can have). We also need to know and believe that He has already answered and to believe that we will receive. Lastly no matter how things turn out we are called to give thanks in all things and to look to already answered prayers and to thank God for His personal involvement and interest in our lives.

“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, 16 in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.

The gods of the modern world require the same. What are some of the gods of the modern world? Work, money, food, entertainment, relationships, drugs, alcohol, television, exercise, fashion and the list can go on and on. I am sure that you can add to this list. The point is, is that in all of us there are things of this world that we trust in more than God. When things start to go wrong in our life, we start to self-medicate. We look to things that take way the hardships or numb our senses so that we can just make it through the day. Some of the items in this list are good like exercise and food but when these become what we trust in then they become our god. When our medication for the challenges of life is not God then that is our gods. As we self-medicate nothing happens our challenges are still there. says, as we give ourselves to the gods of our lives so we will exchange the things of God which will result living a life full of wickedness.

Moses deals with the issue of God in the book of Genesis by establishing the position of the Israelite God. Moses uses two different names for God in the first two chapters of Genesis. In

As we choose this week and for the rest of our lives whom we will serve let us all remember that medicating on this world will not solve our troubles and give us joy. Our only hope and help comes from the Lord. He is the only one who can solve our problems and the only who can carry us though our darkest times. May all of us quite hovering between two opinions and choose to serve and love God.

Amen

16 in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.

the name given to God is Elohim which is the generic name for God meaning all powerful. It describes His existence as beyond the normal physical world, as the universal, cosmic, self-existent, almighty, and infinite God. These names emphasize that the God Israel is called to worship is before and above creation and that He effortlessly creates by the Divine Word. In This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord (YHWH) God (Elohim) made the earth and the heavens. YHWH is the immanent, personal God. It is easy to understand personal but God being immanent what does that mean? Immanent means existing or operating within. The name YHWH embodies a God who is self-existing and that operates within our world or who is personally active in our lives. This idea was very different to the Egyptian gods as they were not personally involved in the lives of their subjects. Moses describes the Lord as being personal by saying that bends down as a Potter over a lifeless lump of clay to shape it and then breathes life into it through it nostrils.

Solution in the Text

Prayer is the breath of the soul. Jesus lived in dependence upon God and communion with Him.

Moses deals with the issue of God in the book of Genesis by establishing the position of the Israelite God. Moses uses two different names for God in the first two chapters of Genesis. In the name given to God is Elohim which is the generic name for God meaning all powerful. It describes His existence as beyond the normal physical world, as the universal, cosmic, self-existent, almighty, and infinite God. These names emphasize that the God Israel is called to worship is before and above creation and that He effortlessly creates by the Divine Word. In This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord (YHWH) God (Elohim) made the earth and the heavens. YHWH is the immanent, personal God. It is easy to understand personal but God being immanent what does that mean? Immanent means existing or operating within. The name YHWH embodies a God who is self-existing and that operates within our world or who is personally active in our lives. This idea was very different to the Egyptian gods as they were not personally involved in the lives of their subjects. Moses describes the Lord as being personal by saying that bends down as a Potter over a lifeless lump of clay to shape it and then breathes life into it through its nostrils.

Moses does not only use the names of God to set Him above all, but he also uses specific words in the creation account that address the issue of the gods Israel had been exposed to. Egypt had many mythological beliefs and Moses points out to Israel that there is no substance to them. In the description of “deep”, “tehom” in he downplays the Egyptian mythology by using a masculine word instead of a feminine word “tiamat” meaning “sea monster.” He also giving the names “sun” and “moon” in vv 14-19 generic names greater and lesser light which are also the names for the deities. As Moses writes this book, he is specific in placing God above the other religions around Egypt. He is also saying that whatever other gods may be worshiped they owe their existence to God. Therefore, they cannot be gods as they are created and have no power to give assistance to the complexities of life.

Ellen Gould White, The Signs of the Times, n.d., 2375.

Solution in the World

the name given to God is Elohim which is the generic name for God meaning all powerful. It describes His existence as beyond the normal physical world, as the universal, cosmic, self-existent, almighty, and infinite God. These names emphasize that the God Israel is called to worship is before and above creation and that He effortlessly creates by the Divine Word. In This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord (YHWH) God (Elohim) made the earth and the heavens. YHWH is the immanent, personal God. It is easy to understand personal but God being immanent what does that mean? Immanent means existing or operating within. The name YHWH embodies a God who is self-existing and that operates within our world or who is personally active in our lives. This idea was very different to the Egyptian gods as they were not personally involved in the lives of their subjects. Moses describes the Lord as being personal by saying that bends down as a Potter over a lifeless lump of clay to shape it and then breathes life into it through its nostrils.

What is the solution to all this? “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. From the beginning of time God has set truth and life and death and evil before us. He is constantly pointing out the falseness of this world’s gods. He is constantly pointing us to rely on Him in life. He is calling us to medicate on Him. says, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. This is the promise that God give us. If we love God, walk in His ways, are obedient to Him we will be able to live, and God will bless.

Moses does not only use the names of God to set Him above all, but he also uses specific words in the creation account that address the issue of the gods Israel had been exposed to. Egypt had many mythological beliefs and Moses points out to Israel that there is no substance to them. In he gives the names “sun” and “moon” in vv 14-19 generic names greater and lesser light which are also the names for the deities. As Moses writes this book, he is specific in placing God above the other religions around Egypt. He is also saying that whatever other gods may be worshiped they owe their existence to God. Therefore, they cannot be gods as they are created and have no power to give assistance to the complexities of life.

says, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. This is the promise that God give us. If we love God, walk in His ways, are obedient to Him we will be able to live, and God will bless.

Solution in the World

What is the solution to all this in our lives? “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. From the beginning of time God has set truth and life and death and evil before us. He is constantly pointing out the falseness of this world’s gods. He is constantly pointing us to rely on Him in life. He is calling us to medicate on Him. says, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. This is the promise that God give us. If we love God, walk in His ways, are obedient to Him we will be able to live, and God will bless.

The solution for us today is not to rely on this world but to rely on God. When the world turns us upside down as it often does our solution to that should be to seek God (1) asking consistent with God’s will. To know His will to is spend time with Him in study of His Word. Also, it is important to ask for things that He as already promised, for the Holy Spirit, a Christlike attitude, for forgiveness of sin, power and wisdom to do His work, for any gift He says we can have). We also need to know and believe that He has already answered and to believe that we will receive. Lastly no matter how things turn out we are called to give thanks in all things and to look to already answered prayers and to thank God for His personal involvement and interest in our lives.

The solution for us today is not to rely on this world but to rely on God. When the world turns us upside down as it often does our solution to that should be to seek God (1) asking to be consistent with God’s will. To know His will to is spend time with Him in study of His Word. Also, it is important to ask for things that He has already promised, for the Holy Spirit, a Christlike attitude, for forgiveness of sin, power and wisdom to do His work, for any gift He says we can have). We also need to know and believe that He has already answered and to believe that we will receive. Lastly no matter how things turn out we are called to give thanks in all things and to look to already answered prayers and to thank God for His personal involvement and interest in our lives.

As we choose this week and for the rest of our lives whom we will serve let us all remember that medicating on this world will not solve our troubles and give us joy. Our only hope and help comes from the Lord. He is the only one who can solve our problems and the only who can carry us through our darkest times. May all of us quite hovering between two opinions and choose to serve and love God.

Amen