The Bible and Heaven – Part 2 – Old Testament History and Eternity

The real problem as we look at the historical books of the Bible in relationship to heaven and eternity we only get passing comments about the subject so we are left to piece together ideas about eternal matters based in those comments.

The idea of God living in heaven is fairly established and this idea of the dwelling place of God continues throughout the Old Testament history.  Now one gets too specific about how that realm is just that it is the dwelling place for God and his angels.  Heaven in this sense is the place from which God rules, acts, hears the prayers of his people, etc.  Even though it is declared to be God’s dwelling place, however, it is also remarked that it is not big enough to contain God on several occasions.

There is an interesting statement by Hannah in her praise of God:

“The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up.

This seems to indicate a two-fold possibility for people after they die either Sheol or a place that is raised up.  It could also be taken other ways but the one thing for sure that is indicated in that God himself is the gatekeeper of sorts for both.

Sheol is also spoken of as the grave but it is unclear at time whether it is a good place or a bad one.  Whether one should welcome the grave or fear it greatly depends on how one lived life on earth.  It is interesting that some speakers when they say Sheol seem to be fearing it and others are welcoming it.  There is a difference in going down to Sheol in peace and going down to Sheol in blood for example.

There is also something else interesting when speakers in various parts talk about ‘forever’.  They use it of things and events that clearly cannot be forever unless a person is assumed to hold that position into an afterlife.  Samuel is declared that he will stand before the Lord forever. Samuel also makes the assertion about how God would have made Saul king forever.  The only way these things would be true is either to change our idea of forever or that people hold on to what they are into an afterlife.

There is also a side comment by David in relationship to his son that died as an infant that I find interesting in that it reveals something that David believed about the afterlife.  When he states that he would see his son again, it indicates that at least David believed that in the afterlife we would see people who have died again.  The afterlife then is not something one is alone in and Sheol is a place of reconnecting with others who have already died as well.

Next: The Biblical Poets and Eternity

Marriage and the Bible – Part 26 – Jezebel, Athaliah and Mixed Marriage Issues

Originally posted in Rabyd Theologian 2.0 on February 28th, 2011.

Jezebel is name that conjures up evil and sin on a large level in the Bible.  Her and Ahab ruled what has to be the most wicked time in Israels history.  Jezebel was not an Israelite and even though mixed creed marriages were forbidden by God, Ahab marries her anyway.  The results were disastrous for the nation.  Her daughter Athaliah did much the same for the southern kingdom of Judah.

This is not the first time we have seen pagan wives drawing away men further from God but it is the most pronounced as Jezebel’s name now is synonymous with wicked sin.

Her and Ahab’s marriage is one for the books, it is about mutual sinfulness and scheming to get what they want.  You see only love for destroying a common enemy and given the nature of Baal worship, I doubt sexual faithfulness was a part of it either.  This is contract relationship for mutual gain by any means.  A twisted version of marriage is what they represent.  Ahab was already a pretty wicked guy, his wife just egged him on.  This would not be the first time the values and beliefs of a married couple drew them both into sin, but it is the worst example of it.  Jezebel’s wickedness would not stop until her death; Ahab seems to have come to his senses just in time.

The mixed marriage question would dog the Israelites until the Exile and Reconstruction.

Next: Exile, Reconstruction and Putting Away Wives.

Marriage and the Bible – Part 25 – Rehoboam and the Divided Kingdom

Originally posted in Rabyd Theologian 2.0 on February 23

Rehoboam is Solomon’s eldest son and as such at the time of his father’s death becomes Israels new king.  The only real problem was despite his father’s instruction Rehoboam did not have any wisdom and the kingdom became divided between the northern ten tribes and the southern kingdom of Judah.

In regards to marriage, Rehoboam followed in his fathers footsteps and had many wives (18) and concubines (60) but it is said that he did love one above them all Maacah.  Not as many as dad, but then again he was not as prosperous.  It also indicates that he may have had one thing his father did not — a close relationship covenant with one woman although in the context of polygamy.

This is the pattern for the rest of the kingdom period, if a king is prosperous it will mention that he also had many wives/concubines.  If a king struggles, he might have one wife or there is silence.  One thing is for certain, the idea of polygamy is ingrained in society and whenever a man has means he practices it.

One advantage this rampant polygamy had was the line of David remains so large there is never a problem finding an heir to the throne.  It meant that God was fulfilling his promise to David and one of those ways was to make sure the women attached to that line were both fertile, productive and many.

Next: Jezebel and Athaliah – Mixed Marriage Issues

Hezekiah’s Extended Life

Originally posted in Open Theism on April 3rd, 2006

One of the passages that transformed my theology and my life in relation to open theism was this passage in 2nd Kings chapter 20:1-6.

1In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.'”2Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, saying, 3″Remember now, O LORD, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight ” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4Before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 5″Return and say to Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD. 6″I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.

Now I want to tell you that for the classic theist this passage has a multitude of problems.

For the determinist, you have to deal with God saying one thing and then doing another. That is issuing a decree and then changing it. If God doesn’t change his mind here and the entire event was determined to happen as your average Calvinist would say, I don’t know what you do with it. God saying one thing is true but in reality he has determined another thing to be true. He is effectively lying to Hezekiah but then Hezekiah’s actions for the determinist are difficult because God is forcing Hezekiah to pray to him to seemingly change his mind and then give Hezekiah more life to a prayer that he determined Hezekiah to pray to Him. How determinists pray with any kind of conviction and passion is beyond me? But the whole incident reveals that God is not determining anything.

For the one that says that God knows the future absolutely but didn’t determine the outcome you have another problem — When God declares that Hezekiah would die — did he not know that Hezekiah would pray and he would extend his life? If he does then the first statement no matter how you slice it is a bold faced lie. God does not lie.

Allow me, the open theist, to have a crack at it. God has created a world where possibilities are genuine to Him as well as us. His purpose is a relationship with his creation known as human beings. Hezekiah is ill and God sees that if nothing is done it will lead to death. Sorry this is not necessarily foreknowledge, but simply the Great physician making a diagnosis. If the future remains unaltered by God or man, Hezekiah is headed to Abraham’s bosom. God asks Isaiah to announce this fact to Hezekiah for Hezekiah’s benefit — ‘Put your house in order’.

Now this is where Hezekiah’s reaction to prophecy gets strange. He does not simply resign himself to his fate. He prays hoping to change the situation by calling out to God. “Remember now, O LORD, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight”. Another thing is that Hezekiah does not really ask for an extended life but he is asking God to remember Him.

This outpouring of emotion and heartfelt service genuinely moves God to action. God changes his mind about intervening in the situation (something that does not shock me as an open theist — see my earlier post on Changing God’s Mind) and catches Isaiah before he leaves the palace and tells him that he needs to speak to Hezekiah again — to tell him that He is granting him 15 more years. Now these 15 years is not foreknowledge either — it is a guarantee of an all-powerful God. This is nothing real hard for him to do.

In this story I see the folly of classical theism because in either case — no matter how much it is denied — God is a liar and/or a deceiver. He is either fabricating the whole thing and the whole plan is to extend Hezekiah’s life but we are going to go through a puppet charade for some mysterious purpose which really does not matter because God determines everything — even what each persons reaction to this story will be, or he openly lies to Hezekiah the first time. Not so if you take an open theist view of God creating and living in a genuine give and take relationships with people. Prayer genuinely moves him, if it is from a genuine heart. Hezekiah has been a great king in his reforms of the nation — God honors him by giving him more life as He remembers Hezekiah’s prayer and service.

It illustrates the need for us to be a people dedicated to God’s service and when we hear God’s voice telling us that it is over if nothing changes to pray to move his hand. He will because he is faithful — not because he has determined or known it for certain all along — but because he loves us and walks in genuine relationship with us.