March 17, 2016

From Gary... Cones, toothpicks and today


Yesterday, I awoke to find that my dog, Buddy, had a sore on his hind leg that was bleeding.  I took him to the vet, who promptly gave him antibiotics and when I came home, I had high hopes he would soon be better! But, after a short while, he began biting his "hot spot" again.  I was about to make a trip to a pet store for a cone, when my wife discovered one in the shed.  Buddy didn't like it at first, but now has accepted it as "normal" and everything should be fine in a week or two.

And that cone reminded me of toothpicks. This may sound strange, but in 1971 they helped me quit smoking, by providing an alternative to putting a cigarette in my mouth all the time.

Quitting smoking was the hardest thing I have ever done, but I think it prolonged my life by decades.  You know, sometimes you just have to face your problems head-on; realize what you need to do and just "do it"

But not everyone can...

Acts, Chapter 24 (WEB)
 22  But Felix, having more exact knowledge concerning the Way, deferred them, saying, “When Lysias, the commanding officer, comes down, I will decide your case.”  23 He ordered the centurion that Paul should be kept in custody, and should have some privileges, and not to forbid any of his friends to serve him or to visit him.  24 But after some days, Felix came with Drusilla, his wife, who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ Jesus.  25 As he reasoned about righteousnessself-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was terrified, and answered, “Go your way for this time, and when it is convenient for me, I will summon you.” 

The man in the photo had a phone addiction, Buddy had a licking addition, I had a nicotine problem. In all three instances the problem was solved by doing something, not putting it off. Felix put his spiritual problems off to another time, are you?  

Hint: Neither toothpicks or cones will help- only Jesus!!!

Matthew, Chapter 7 (WEB)

 21  Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.   22  Many will tell me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?’   23 Then I will tell them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity.’ 

  24  “Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, who built his house on a rock.   25 The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it didn’t fall, for it was founded on the rock.   26 Everyone who hears these words of mine, and doesn’t do them will be like a foolish man, who built his house on the sand.   27  The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.” 

Humm... What are you going to do today (and not put off until tomorrow)???

From Gary... Bible Reading March 17


Bible Reading  

March 17

The World English Bible

Mar. 17
Exodus 28, 29

Exo 28:1 "Bring Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, near to you from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons.
Exo 28:2 You shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.
Exo 28:3 You shall speak to all who are wise-hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron's garments to sanctify him, that he may minister to me in the priest's office.
Exo 28:4 These are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a coat of checker work, a turban, and a sash: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, and his sons, that he may minister to me in the priest's office.
Exo 28:5 They shall take the gold, and the blue, and the purple, and the scarlet, and the fine linen.
Exo 28:6 "They shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the skillful workman.
Exo 28:7 It shall have two shoulder straps joined to the two ends of it, that it may be joined together.
Exo 28:8 The skillfully woven band, which is on it, that is on him, shall be like its work and of the same piece; of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.
Exo 28:9 You shall take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the children of Israel:
Exo 28:10 six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the six that remain on the other stone, in the order of their birth.
Exo 28:11 With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, you shall engrave the two stones, according to the names of the children of Israel: you shall make them to be enclosed in settings of gold.
Exo 28:12 You shall put the two stones on the shoulder straps of the ephod, to be stones of memorial for the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before Yahweh on his two shoulders for a memorial.
Exo 28:13 You shall make settings of gold,
Exo 28:14 and two chains of pure gold; you shall make them like cords of braided work: and you shall put the braided chains on the settings.
Exo 28:15 "You shall make a breastplate of judgment, the work of the skillful workman; like the work of the ephod you shall make it; of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, you shall make it.
Exo 28:16 It shall be square and folded double; a span shall be its length of it, and a span its breadth.
Exo 28:17 You shall set in it settings of stones, four rows of stones: a row of ruby, topaz, and beryl shall be the first row;
Exo 28:18 and the second row a turquoise, a sapphire, and an emerald;
Exo 28:19 and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;
Exo 28:20 and the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be enclosed in gold in their settings.
Exo 28:21 The stones shall be according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names; like the engravings of a signet, everyone according to his name, they shall be for the twelve tribes.
Exo 28:22 You shall make on the breastplate chains like cords, of braided work of pure gold.
Exo 28:23 You shall make on the breastplate two rings of gold, and shall put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.
Exo 28:24 You shall put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings at the ends of the breastplate.
Exo 28:25 The other two ends of the two braided chains you shall put on the two settings, and put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod in its forepart.
Exo 28:26 You shall make two rings of gold, and you shall put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on its edge, which is toward the side of the ephod inward.
Exo 28:27 You shall make two rings of gold, and shall put them on the two shoulder straps of the ephod underneath, in its forepart, close by its coupling, above the skillfully woven band of the ephod.
Exo 28:28 They shall bind the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastplate may not swing out from the ephod.
Exo 28:29 Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment on his heart, when he goes in to the holy place, for a memorial before Yahweh continually.
Exo 28:30 You shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be on Aaron's heart, when he goes in before Yahweh: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel on his heart before Yahweh continually.
Exo 28:31 "You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue.
Exo 28:32 It shall have a hole for the head in its midst: it shall have a binding of woven work around its hole, as it were the hole of a coat of mail, that it not be torn.
Exo 28:33 On its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, around its hem; and bells of gold between and around them:
Exo 28:34 a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, around the hem of the robe.
Exo 28:35 It shall be on Aaron to minister: and its sound shall be heard when he goes in to the holy place before Yahweh, and when he comes out, that he not die.
Exo 28:36 "You shall make a plate of pure gold, and engrave on it, like the engravings of a signet, 'HOLY TO YAHWEH.'
Exo 28:37 You shall put it on a lace of blue, and it shall be on the sash; on the front of the sash it shall be.
Exo 28:38 It shall be on Aaron's forehead, and Aaron shall bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall make holy in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always on his forehead, that they may be accepted before Yahweh.
Exo 28:39 You shall weave the coat in checker work of fine linen, and you shall make a turban of fine linen, and you shall make a sash, the work of the embroiderer.
Exo 28:40 "You shall make coats for Aaron's sons, and you shall make sashes for them and you shall make headbands for them, for glory and for beauty.
Exo 28:41 You shall put them on Aaron your brother, and on his sons with him, and shall anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister to me in the priest's office.
Exo 28:42 You shall make them linen breeches to cover the flesh of their nakedness; from the waist even to the thighs they shall reach:
Exo 28:43 They shall be on Aaron, and on his sons, when they go in to the Tent of Meeting, or when they come near to the altar to minister in the holy place; that they don't bear iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute forever to him and to his descendants after him.

Exo 29:1 "This is the thing that you shall do to them to make them holy, to minister to me in the priest's office: take one young bull and two rams without blemish,
Exo 29:2 unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil: you shall make them of fine wheat flour.
Exo 29:3 You shall put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bull and the two rams.
Exo 29:4 You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and shall wash them with water.
Exo 29:5 You shall take the garments, and put on Aaron the coat, the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breastplate, and dress him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod;
Exo 29:6 and you shall set the turban on his head, and put the holy crown on the turban.
Exo 29:7 Then you shall take the anointing oil, and pour it on his head, and anoint him.
Exo 29:8 You shall bring his sons, and put coats on them.
Exo 29:9 You shall dress them with belts, Aaron and his sons, and bind headbands on them: and they shall have the priesthood by a perpetual statute: and you shall consecrate Aaron and his sons.
Exo 29:10 "You shall bring the bull before the Tent of Meeting: and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull.
Exo 29:11 You shall kill the bull before Yahweh, at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
Exo 29:12 You shall take of the blood of the bull, and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger; and you shall pour out all the blood at the base of the altar.
Exo 29:13 You shall take all the fat that covers the innards, the cover of the liver, the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar.
Exo 29:14 But the flesh of the bull, and its skin, and its dung, you shall burn with fire outside of the camp: it is a sin offering.
Exo 29:15 "You shall also take the one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram.
Exo 29:16 You shall kill the ram, and you shall take its blood, and sprinkle it around on the altar.
Exo 29:17 You shall cut the ram into its pieces, and wash its innards, and its legs, and put them with its pieces, and with its head.
Exo 29:18 You shall burn the whole ram on the altar: it is a burnt offering to Yahweh; it is a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
Exo 29:19 "You shall take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram.
Exo 29:20 Then you shall kill the ram, and take some of its blood, and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the big toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood around on the altar.
Exo 29:21 You shall take of the blood that is on the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron, and on his garments, and on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be made holy, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him.
Exo 29:22 Also you shall take some of the ram's fat, the fat tail, the fat that covers the innards, the cover of the liver, the two kidneys, the fat that is on them, and the right thigh (for it is a ram of consecration),
Exo 29:23 and one loaf of bread, one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of unleavened bread that is before Yahweh.
Exo 29:24 You shall put all of this in Aaron's hands, and in his sons' hands, and shall wave them for a wave offering before Yahweh.
Exo 29:25 You shall take them from their hands, and burn them on the altar on the burnt offering, for a pleasant aroma before Yahweh: it is an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
Exo 29:26 "You shall take the breast of Aaron's ram of consecration, and wave it for a wave offering before Yahweh: and it shall be your portion.
Exo 29:27 You shall sanctify the breast of the wave offering, and the thigh of the wave offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons:
Exo 29:28 and it shall be for Aaron and his sons as their portion forever from the children of Israel; for it is a wave offering: and it shall be a wave offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifices of their peace offerings, even their wave offering to Yahweh.
Exo 29:29 "The holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him, to be anointed in them, and to be consecrated in them.
Exo 29:30 Seven days shall the son who is priest in his place put them on, when he comes into the Tent of Meeting to minister in the holy place.
Exo 29:31 "You shall take the ram of consecration, and boil its flesh in a holy place.
Exo 29:32 Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
Exo 29:33 They shall eat those things with which atonement was made, to consecrate and sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat of it, because they are holy.
Exo 29:34 If anything of the flesh of the consecration, or of the bread, remains to the morning, then you shall burn the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, because it is holy.
Exo 29:35 "You shall do so to Aaron, and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded you. You shall consecrate them seven days.
Exo 29:36 Every day you shall offer the bull of sin offering for atonement: and you shall cleanse the altar, when you make atonement for it; and you shall anoint it, to sanctify it.
Exo 29:37 Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar, and sanctify it: and the altar shall be most holy; whatever touches the altar shall be holy.
Exo 29:38 "Now this is that which you shall offer on the altar: two lambs a year old day by day continually.
Exo 29:39 The one lamb you shall offer in the morning; and the other lamb you shall offer at evening:
Exo 29:40 and with the one lamb a tenth part of an ephah of fine flour mixed with the fourth part of a hin of beaten oil, and the fourth part of a hin of wine for a drink offering.
Exo 29:41 The other lamb you shall offer at evening, and shall do to it according to the meal offering of the morning, and according to its drink offering, for a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
Exo 29:42 It shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the Tent of Meeting before Yahweh, where I will meet with you, to speak there to you.
Exo 29:43 There I will meet with the children of Israel; and the place shall be sanctified by my glory.
Exo 29:44 I will sanctify the Tent of Meeting and the altar: Aaron also and his sons I will sanctify, to minister to me in the priest's office.
Exo 29:45 I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.
Exo 29:46 They shall know that I am Yahweh their God, who brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them: I am Yahweh their God.

Mar. 17, 18
Mark 11

Mar 11:1 When they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethsphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples,
Mar 11:2 and said to them, "Go your way into the village that is opposite you. Immediately as you enter into it, you will find a young donkey tied, on which no one has sat. Untie him, and bring him.
Mar 11:3 If anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord needs him;' and immediately he will send him back here."
Mar 11:4 They went away, and found a young donkey tied at the door outside in the open street, and they untied him.
Mar 11:5 Some of those who stood there asked them, "What are you doing, untying the young donkey?"
Mar 11:6 They said to them just as Jesus had said, and they let them go.
Mar 11:7 They brought the young donkey to Jesus, and threw their garments on it, and Jesus sat on it.
Mar 11:8 Many spread their garments on the way, and others were cutting down branches from the trees, and spreading them on the road.
Mar 11:9 Those who went in front, and those who followed, cried out, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Mar 11:10 Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is coming in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"
Mar 11:11 Jesus entered into the temple in Jerusalem. When he had looked around at everything, it being now evening, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
Mar 11:12 The next day, when they had come out from Bethany, he was hungry.
Mar 11:13 Seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came to see if perhaps he might find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.
Mar 11:14 Jesus told it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again!" and his disciples heard it.
Mar 11:15 They came to Jerusalem, and Jesus entered into the temple, and began to throw out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money changers, and the seats of those who sold the doves.
Mar 11:16 He would not allow anyone to carry a container through the temple.
Mar 11:17 He taught, saying to them, "Isn't it written, 'My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations?' But you have made it a den of robbers!"
Mar 11:18 The chief priests and the scribes heard it, and sought how they might destroy him. For they feared him, because all the multitude was astonished at his teaching.
Mar 11:19 When evening came, he went out of the city.
Mar 11:20 As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away from the roots.
Mar 11:21 Peter, remembering, said to him, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree which you cursed has withered away."
Mar 11:22 Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God.
Mar 11:23 For most certainly I tell you, whoever may tell this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and doesn't doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is happening; he shall have whatever he says.
Mar 11:24 Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them.
Mar 11:25 Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father, who is in heaven, may also forgive you your transgressions.
Mar 11:26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your transgressions."
Mar 11:27 They came again to Jerusalem, and as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders came to him,
Mar 11:28 and they began saying to him, "By what authority do you do these things? Or who gave you this authority to do these things?"
Mar 11:29 Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.
Mar 11:30 The baptism of John-was it from heaven, or from men? Answer me."
Mar 11:31 They reasoned with themselves, saying, "If we should say, 'From heaven;' he will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'
Mar 11:32 If we should say, 'From men' "-they feared the people, for all held John to really be a prophet.
Mar 11:33 They answered Jesus, "We don't know." Jesus said to them, "Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things." 

From T. Pierce Brown... The Appearance of Evil



http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Brown/T/Pierce/1923/appear.html

The Appearance of Evil

Since I was a small child, I have heard my mother and all sorts of other wonderful persons admonish, "Abstain from the very appearance of evil." In a good number of those occasions, if it were a preacher who gave the admonition, he would usually add, "1 Thessalonians 5:22." My memory even tells me that I have read many times from the Bible, "Shun the very appearance of evil," but I find no version that reads that way, so I conclude that my memory is faulty. Now, I am reasonably well convinced by what little logic I have, and what I know of the Bible that it is a good idea to shun that which SEEMS to be evil. Those things that are of a doubtful nature should not normally be practiced. It may be that some impelling reason may be given for doing something of a questionable nature under some circumstances. For example, I do not think it appropriate to go into a tavern or a house of ill repute, normally, but would do so if I thought a soul could be brought out and saved by my going.
Almost every one of the persons whom I have heard quote or misquote 1 Thessalonians 5:22 did it with this thought in mind: "You should not only abstain from whatever IS wrong, you should abstain from whatever SEEMS or APPEARS to be wrong." This scripture was then used to prove that contention. The trouble is, that is NOT what that scripture says. The difficulty is partly brought about by the fact that in English the word "appear" has at least two meanings. If we should say, "The man HAD an angry appearance," we would normally mean that it seemed to us that he was angry. It would be equivalent to, "He appeared angry." If we should say, "The man MADE an angry appearance," we would mean that he WAS angry, and came on the scene that way -- not just that he seemed to be so. It would be equivalent to, "He appeared, angry." Note the comma. I find no example in the Bible of the word used in 1 Thessalonians 5:22, translated "appearance," meaning, "seemed to be."
Since I know that the Bible teaches in Romans 14:14, "To him that esteemeth anything unclean, to him it is unclean," and in verse 23, "He that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith," I have no hesitancy in teaching that from Eve on down it would have been better not to even face toward sin, "pitch the tent toward Sodom," "walk in the counsel of the ungodly, stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of the scoffer." I advise persons generally to abstain from things that even seem to be evil. But I do feel most strongly that we who preach the gospel are especially obligated to make as sure as we can that we neither misquote God's Word, or misuse what we properly quote to uphold a truth. A point that cannot be upheld without an improper exegesis of a passage of scripture is not worth upholding.
The Greek text in 1 Thessalonians 5:22 reads, "APO PANTOS EIDOUS PONEROU APECHESTHE." This may be translated, "From every form of wickedness abstain." "EDIOUS" is the genitive singular of "EIDOS" which is in the KJV translated "appearance" once, "fashion" once (Luke 9:29), "shape" twice (Luke 3:22, John 5:37) and "sight" once (2 Cor. 5:7). In NO case have I found it used in the sense of something that merely SEEMS to be. Both ASV and RSV translate, "Abstain from every FORM of evil." Williams translates, "Continue to abstain from every SORT of evil." Phillips says, "Steer clear of evil in any form." The Amplified Bible says, "Abstain from evil -- shrink from and keep aloof from it -- in whatever form or whatever kind it may be." The Berkeley Version says, "Keep away from evil in every form." Beck says, "Keep away from every kind of evil." Only in the New Testament in the Translation of Monsignor Ronald Knox have I found it translated like this, "rejecting all that has a look of evil about it."
If anyone knows of any reason why we need to misquote or misapply this or any other scripture to prove a point, no matter how good the point, I should be happy to hear from him.
T. Pierce Brown

Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)

From Jim McGuiggan... Load Your Weapons Well...


Load Your Weapons Well...

Jennifer Jones made her first appearance in the movies in 1943 as the poor peasant girl Bernadette Sorbouris who said she saw "a lovely lady" (later said to be the Virgin Mary). Though the common people who were anxious to believe a miracle soon believed the girl, all the powerful officials including the priest who was the Dean of Lourdes said her claim was false. They said it was an attempt to get attention or a scheme to get presents from the people or it might even be madness.
At first the Dean (played well by Charles Bickford) was an outspoken critic of Bernadette’s claim but then her obvious sincerity, honesty, humility and courage won him round. He came to believe that she was telling the truth. When the public prosecutor lined up against the girl and threatened to put her in an insane asylum the Dean said he would oppose any action aimed at taking her away. Asked what he would do when the police arrived to take her he said: "I would say to them, ‘load well your guns for your path lies over my dead body.’ "
If Hollywood can imagine such scenes can we not so live as to make them reality? If Hollywood can admire and publish such incidents can we not do the same? To see a man so change (even in fiction) stirs the heart and makes us want to be that kind of person. In a world full of disappointments and broken promises, where people walk away from those under fire in case they themselves might suffer in the battle, how profoundly uplifting it is to see someone draw a line in the dirt and defy all comers to cross it.
Christ opposed Satan who would spill the souls of men and women in lonely ditches and vile ghettos. "Load your weapons well for your path lies over my dead body."
Christ opposed religious leaders and government officials when they came after the accused and vulnerable. "Load your weapons well for your path lies over my dead body" He said the same to his friends when they joined the ranks of the smug and dismissive and somehow that strikes me as nobler still. To oppose your enemies is easier than to oppose your friends on whom you have come to depend and whose good opinion of you has become precious.Whoever it is that comes for the defenceless there should be a word in all our mouths. "Load your weapons well for your path lies over my dead body or reputation or protests."
 ©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Who Killed Goliath? by Joe Deweese, Ph.D.



http://apologeticspress.org/AllegedDiscrepancies.aspx?article=752&b=2%20Samuel

Who Killed Goliath?

by Joe Deweese, Ph.D.

“And there was again war with the Philistines at Gob; and Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim the Beth-lehemite slew Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam” (2 Samuel 21:19).
“And there was again war with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam” (1 Chronicles 20:5).
The record of David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17) clearly speaks of the defeat of the giant of Gath by the shepherd boy. This story is used to emphasize faith and faithfulness to the young from their earliest ages. However, some have alleged a discrepancy between the account in 1 Samuel and two other passages (2 Samuel 21:19 and 1 Chronicles 20:5). According to 2 Samuel 21:19, it appears that Elhanan killed Goliah; yet 1 Chronicles 20:5 states that Elhanan killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath. The question, then, is who did Elhanan kill?
First, we must recognize who Elhanan was not. According to 1 Chronicles 20:5, Elhanan was the son of Jair. This was not the same man as Elhanan the Bethlehemite, son of Dodo (2 Samuel 23:24; Keil and Delitzsch, 1996, 2:681). Furthermore, it appears that Jair and Jaareoregim actually are the same person (Barnes, 1998, 2:120). Barnes, as well as the editors of The Pulpit Commentary, noted that the difficulty may have begun when oregim, the Hebrew word translated “weaver” in this passage, ended up being placed on the wrong line by a copyist—something that has been known to happen in several instances (see Spence and Exell, 1978, 4:514). Therefore, Jair, combined with oregim, became Jaare-oregim in order to make it fit with proper Hebrew grammar (Spence and Exell, 4:514).
Second, the phrase “Lahmi the brother of” is absent in 2 Samuel 21:19. The King James Version inserts the phrase “the brother of” between “Bethlehemite” and “ Goliath.” Furthermore, in the Hebrew, eth Lachmi (a combination of “Lahmi” and the term “brother”) appears to have been changed into beith hallachmi (Beth- lehemite). With this simple correction, the two texts would be in clear agreement (Clarke, n.d., p. 369). In other words, “the brother of” and the name “Lahmi” likely were combined by a copyist to form what is translated in English as “Beth-lehemite” in 2 Samuel 21:19. This, however, caused the difficulty when the passage was paralleled with 1 Chronicles 20:5.
In his Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties, Gleason Archer used the same scenario mentioned above to explain this difficulty, and then summed up the situation by noting: “In other words, the 2 Samuel 21 passage is a perfectly traceable corruption of the original wording, which fortunately has been correctly preserved in 1 Chronicles 20:5” (1982, p. 179). A fair, in-depth examination of the alleged difficulty shows that there actually is no contradiction at all, but simply a copyist’s mistake.
REFERENCES
Archer, Gleason L. (1982), Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan).
Barnes, Albert (1998 reprint), Barnes’ Notes: Exodus to Esther (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker).
Clarke, Adam (no date), Commentary and Critical Notes on the Old Testament: Joshua to Esther (New York, NY: Abingdon).
Keil, C.F., and F. Delitzsch (1996), Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson).
Spence, H.D.M., and Joseph S. Exell, Eds. (1978), The Pulpit Commentary: Ruth, I & II Samuel (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans).

Alabama Defines Marriage by Dave Miller, Ph.D.



http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=7&article=1903

Alabama Defines Marriage

by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

By a whopping 81%, the people of the state of Alabama have joined the ranks of 19 other states in voting overwhelmingly to define marriage biblically, i.e., one man for one woman. Only Mississippi exceeds Alabama in the percentage of voters (86%) that passed the amendment (Wetzstein, 2006). Other states that have already passed a state constitutional amendment have done so with an average of 71 percent of the vote. These states include Alaska and Hawaii (in 1998), Nebraska (in 2000), Nevada (in 2002), Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Utah (all in 2004), Kansas and Texas (in 2005). States that are scheduled to vote on state constitutional marriage amendments in November are Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin (Garris, 2006).
The country is in a literal life/death struggle over whether the moral principles of Christianity will continue to characterize American civilization. The outcome of this struggle will determine national survival (Jeremiah 18:7-10; Daniel 4:17). Christians must “fight the good fight” (1 Timothy 6:12), “wage the good warfare” (1 Timothy 1:18), and “endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Timothy 2:3).

REFERENCES

Garris, Carolyn (2006), “Marriage in the 50 States,” The Heritage Foundation, [On-line], URL: http://www.heritage.org/Research/Family/ Marriage50/Marriage50States.cfm.
Wetzstein, Cheryl (2006), “Alabama OKs Marriage Measure,” The Washington Times, June 8, [On-line], URL: http://washingtontimes.com/national/20060607-104125-7876r.htm.