The Prince of Life:

History and Wisdom

By Larus Thorhallsson

Copyright © 2015 by Larus Thorhallsson

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

ISBN 978-9935-9250-8-4

Contents:

6. Joshua

6.1: The Warfare

7. Judges

7.1: Cause and Effect

8. Samuel

8.1: Samuel and Saul (1. Samuel)

8.2: King David (2. Samuel)

9. Kings

9.1: King Solomon (1. Kings)

9.2: The Kingdom of Israel (1. Kings)

9.3: Elijah and Elisha (1-2. Kings)

9.4: The Kingdom of Judah (2. Chronicles)

10. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther

10.1: Jerusalem Rebuilt

11. Job

11.1: Suffering of the Righteous

12. Psalms

12.1: The Messiah

12.2: The Grace of God

12.3: The World

13. Proverbs

13.1: The Fear of the Lord

13.2: Words of Wisdom

14. Ecclesiastes

14.1: Human Vanity

6. Joshua

6.1: The Warfare

A heathen is not necessarily the same thing as a Gentile, a non-Jewish person, someone that does not know about God but it is still the same a decent person in its own right. A heathen can signify an amoral person, someone not guided by sense of decency or principles, never showing any compassion and understanding to the fellow man. Every principle is betrayed when an opportunity does present itself, where the hedonic person is willing to abuse everything and everyone for a selfish gain, pleasure, or advantage. God told Abraham that his descendants in the fourth generation would return back to that land, since the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full. It implies that the wickedness of the seven nations had gone up to heaven, as what applied with Sodom and Gomorrah, so there were no longer any redeemable qualities left in them. The whole community had become so sick and deranged that it would no longer produce forth righteous man, since there was too much social pressure all around the individual. It is like everyone was tempting everyone, to become accomplices in the same corruption and crimes, and even to persecute anyone that did not want to become like them. It should be looked upon the alternative, if God would have continued to tolerate the wicked nations, rather than by commanding the Israel people to destroy them. Then the wicked people would have continued to corrupt their own children, the next generations, and they would in turn corrupt their own descendants. It should neither be blamed God nor the children, when God commanded the destruction of everyone. But it should rather be blamed the parents, for having been senseless enough to put their children in such position, since the parents involved the children in their own ruin. Should wicked people be tolerated only because of their children, as if the wicked people could hide behind their children or use them as a shield to get away with crimes? The worst evil does not consist in pain and death, but rather in that when the person looses its innocence and becomes wicked, since that road will only lead to spiritual death and perdition. Death is not necessarily an evil thing in itself, but it is rather depended upon the circumstances, in what manner the man dies and for what. A voluntary death can free the man from his enemies, so they will not have him in their power, or the death can free the man from greater evil, like an unbearable disease. Life is of course preferable to death, and freedom is preferable to slavery, but a death can otherwise offer an escape for those that do not want to live in dishonourable way. It should be looked upon this in context with the destruction of the seven godless nations. The wicked people experienced pain for a brief time and soon died in the battle, but there was no other ‘evil’ beside that, unlike many wars with their crimes and atrocities. These wicked people were already spiritual slaves and living in the most shameful way, unless they did not know it and did thereby not seek voluntarily for death. The Israel people were actually freeing the wicked nations from their miserable lives, by giving a ‘Coup de Grace’ to someone that has nothing left to loose, since there was no longer any human decency in them, something worth living and fighting for. It is like God commanded the mercy killing of a sick and deranged society, except it was done indirectly through warfare, which was affected from the outside. So the seven godless nations were meant to die for their sins against God, but God did otherwise not encourage any needless suffering, no more than what was required.

The destruction of the seven godless nations has been a matter of controversy. It is not because the men of Israel killed enemies on the battlefield, but it was because God would not even suffer them to spare the women and children, unarmed and helpless as they were. There is a common rule in ‘civilized’ warfare, that it should not be harmed unarmed civilians, since they have not been doing anything to threaten the soldiers, at the scene. Or the unarmed civilians are no longer in position to further the war-effort, so it would be a cruel thing to massacre people that have already surrendered and been subdued. The Israel people did neither spare the young and the old when Jericho fell. And God ordered that none of the Amalekites should be spared, when King Saul fought against them, but it should be slain both men and women, infant and suckling. It might of course seem shocking to us that God would allow such ‘atrocities’, since that God is meant to be loving and merciful. It is true that the women were unable to defend themselves, but the women were still not innocent in their own right. The women had participated in the same corruption as the men, as accomplices in wicked crimes. It had happened during a time of peace, taking place inside their communities, whether openly or in secret. This is why it was befitting that the women should be ‘punished’ in similar position (before or after a battle), as where the crimes had taken place. It was a question of that ‘when’ the women would be punished, but not ‘where’, whether it happened in a battle or outside it. It did not change anything about the women’s guilt, in what manner they died for their sins. But the question remains regarding the children, why they were not spared. Would not God care more for these children than everyone else, since that God makes us able to love one another and feel compassion in our heart? And God states elsewhere that the children should not be punished for the sins of their fathers, and that a deliberate murder is always wrong, since that God will not justify the wicked. It was not through malice when God ordered the destruction of the seven godless nations, as if God would take pleasure in the death of a sinner. It is true that bad things can happen, where the righteous man can suffer with the unrighteous ones, and even perish with them, whether it does involve warfare, famine, pestilence, or poverty. It is not like we need to self-justify everything, as if all of us had deserved this or that, that God had wanted us to suffer for this or that, or wanted things to end in such way. It is something which needed to be done, but it is not the same thing as if God had wanted the matter to reach such point, like when human enemies failed to repent and could no longer be redeemed by Him. It is about preventing further corruption, minimizing the harm, and save what could be saved, since the alternative would otherwise lead to far worse effects. It can thereby be understood the principle why God acted in the way He did, and that God knew what He was doing, although one does not know all the reasons or details behind it. God did not want the hedonic women to corrupt the Israel people, but there might of course have been more reasons, to explain God’s decision further. The children would grow up, whether as a man or a woman, and they would then become a threat. It can of course not be known anything for certain, whether the men would have sought for revenge for their dead parents, or repeated the same corruption as during their youth. God can foresee everything, what would otherwise have happened in the future, so the alternatives did not offer better consequences than the measure He adopted. It is otherwise not our role to judge God, as if we were in position to acquit or condemn God for His actions. But it can sometimes be more prudent to maintain silence and let God defend Himself, especially if we are unable to explain the matter adequately.

It should be looked upon the Book of Numbers and Deuteronomy, concerning the prelude, before Joshua would lead the Israel people into the Promised Land. The Amalekites were the first ones to attack the Israel people after they left Egypt, or namely the feeble persons in the hindmost part of the march. The Amalekites only sought for an easy prey, people too weak and tired to defend themselves, so there was nothing manly about their hostility. The Amalekites must have employed hit-and-run tactics, so they would retreat every time reinforcements were on the way, and then reappear after they had left. So God came to hate the Amalekites and commanded the Israel people to destroy them altogether, after everyone else had first been dealt with in the land of Canaan. God did not command the Israel people to conquer the territories of the Edomites, the Ammonites, and those of Moabites, because they shared a common ancestry. The Edomites refused to offer the Israel people a safe passage through their land, even that the Israel people promised to do so peacefully and pay for any use of provisions. The Edomites also threatened to attack the Israel people, and were prepared to do so. God did still not command the Israel people to engage in war, but they rather took a detour around Edom. King Arad of the Canaanites attacked the Israel people and took some of them prisoners, but the Canaanites were utterly destroyed during the next encounter. Sihon king of Amorites also refused the Israel people safe passage, and attacked them first, but the Israel people smote the Amorites with the sword. It did never involve any friendly gesture from the heathen nations, as if they would be willing to negotiate, make peace, offer a token of good faith, hospitality, or provisions. Only the Gibeonites were willing to approach the Israel people with peaceful intentions, and they alone survived of these enemies, during the time of Joshua. It did of course later happen that the tribes of Israel made peace with the remnants of the heathen nations, but Israel had hitherto destroyed everyone that opposed them. And only the harlot Rahab took a side with the Israel people, so that her house alone survived in Jericho. Rahab and her family would even become incorporated among the Jewish people, as if the origins did not matter, so long as the persons involved belonged to God in their hearts and acted like true Jews. This is why God was never fair or unreasonable when all these enemies were destroyed, but it can be said that the enemies fell because of their pride, malice, and stubbornness. The example of Rahan and the Gibeonites does testify against the godless nations, since that none of them confessed the truth nor approached God in humility. God hardened the hearts of these nations, so they would seek to destroy Israel and perish during the attempt, even as what had applied with the Pharaoh of Egypt. The godless nations already knew that God Himself accompanied the Israel people, and nobody would stand a chance against Him, if these nations went to war. It is like the godless nations were only concerned about their homes and material possessions, as if they were willing to sacrifice their lives in order to save vain and transient things. Why did the godless nations not simply leave their cities and attempt to migrate somewhere else, rather than by staying to fight against impossible odds? Perhaps it was not a realistic option in the situation, since the other heathen nations were also cruel and unfair, and would never have welcomed another nations into their midst. Everyone turned against the Gibeonites after they had made a pact with the Israel people, so that a similar thing could apply if anyone of them did not fight along the rest.

It is true that God commanded the total destruction of the seven nations in Canaan, but it did otherwise not apply to everyone else, whether to be called heathens or Gentiles. If the Israel people were about to besiege a city then they were first meant to proclaim a peace to it, and if it was negotiated surrender then the inhabitants would only become tributaries, to serve Israel. However if the inhabitants would not make peace but instead wage war against Israel then they could be subdued with force. If it would happen then the Israel people were meant to kill all the mature males, but not the women and the little ones, since they would instead become servants or slaves to the victor. This is not different from the general rules of war, which applied at that time, since the mature males could fight to the death until only the women and children remained. It was thereby a question about that what would happen afterwards, what was to be done about the vanquished, or the survivors in the cities, the weak, old, and young? If the Israel people had not taken the survivors then someone else would have done it, like when neighbouring cities exploited the weaknesses of each other. Then another city or nation would arrive at the scene like a vulture, to mistreat the survivors, rape the women, kill both young and old, enslave the rest, claim the city and take all the spoils. This is why the Israel people could just as well enjoy the spoils from their victory, and claim the women and the children for their own, to become theirs to protect. An involuntary servitude is not something which someone would ask for, but it can still be made bearable, if the master is decent enough, fair and reasonable to the servant. The Ammonites and the Moabites did not meet the Israel people with bread and water on the way, but they did instead hire Balaam the prophet to curse Israel. This is why an Ammonite or a Moabite was not allowed to enter into the congregation of the Lord, even to their tenth generation. But an Edomite would be allowed to enter the congregation in the third generation, since Israel was a stranger in his land. This had nothing to do about nationalism, or racism, as if the Israel people would discriminate everyone else, but God did rather adapt to the merit or fault of each nation. The Amalekites were to be utterly wiped out for their crimes against the Israel people. Wicked people tend to become arrogant and cruel while they are winning the war, so they begin to mistreat civilians and prisoners, commit atrocities and come up with impossible demands. This is why the wicked people should not expect any compassion and mercy from the victor, or they had never done anything to call for clemency prior to their defeat. The wicked people would surely have abused their position, if they had won the war, so they would again have become arrogant and cruel.  The wicked people had already presumed the war to be over, so they began to rejoice over victory prematurely, but it is like they only ended up pronouncing their own verdict. It is of course the ideal thing to be compassionate and merciful, even that our enemies do not deserve it, but it can otherwise be understood why wicked people lost wars and perished. The noble thing would be treat our enemies in a generous way while they are in a weaker position, but we should be bold against our enemies while they are in stronger position. When a man shows mercy to his enemy then it will offer him hope of the future, if the man’s position would later reverse, and he would become a supplicant. But a wicked person is aware of its guilt, and does no longer believe that it is possible to obtain mercy, since that person had burned down all bridges from behind. It is like the wicked person is deceived by its own corruption, where it does presumes that everyone else will prove just as cruel and merciless as it has been, so the wicked person will only go farther in its hostility and involve itself in more crimes.

In chapter 1 it is written: ‘There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.’ It is written: ‘Until the Lord have given your brethren rest, as he hath given you, and they also have possessed the land which the Lord your God giveth them: then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, which Moses the Lord’s servant gave you on this side Jordan toward the sunrising.’ In chapter 24 it is written: ‘And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’

Joshua was a courageous man, for that he was willing to speak the truth openly and go against the public opinion, all for God’s sake, even that everyone else would disagree or not do the same thing as him. Joshua did not need the approval of other people before he would do so, but he could just as well head directly for God and live as a virtuous man. It can be said that God does only need one bold man to be His representative upon the earth, whom can prove that all the words of God can obeyed, and that all His promises can come true in our life. It is about setting a personal example, a good one for other people to follow after. If one man is able to become holy then he can teach all other people to be holy as well. And if one man can overcome all the devils and their temptations then he can teach other people to do the same, when they are alone with their thoughts. First we need to be taught about God and what He requires from us. Next we need to understand God and convince ourselves to obey Him, by applying it to our own life. And then finally we can be ready to teach other men to do the same thing, since we know what it is like, to experience uncertainty and yet possess the inner strength to move on. The human race does consist of individuals, and if God is able to help one individual then He can do so to others, since it does involve similar experience and potential. It can happen that we are able to overcome all the devils and experience inner peace, but we should still not sit back and be only concerned about our private matters. For there are many people that have still not been liberated by God, which are troubled in their soul and doing something to undermine their own welfare. And there are many fellow believers that do still not know the voice of God, and are having difficulty sorting out their own life. This is why we should put our private matters aside for now, on hold, and rather help our brethren to the utmost of our capability, so they can come into full knowledge of God. And then finally can we begin to enjoy our own life, whether late or in the new world to come, since we do not have enough time to help every person in the world.

In chapter 5 it is written: ‘And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? And the captain of the Lord’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.’ In the Book of Numbers it is written: ‘And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee. And when it rested, he said, Return, O Lord, unto the many thousands of Israel.’

It is not God whom follows us, where He does not take a side with our self-interest, nor seeks to exalt us at the expense of our human enemies. But it is always us whom are supposed to follow God, to take side with His truth and justice, to become the friends of God’s friends and the enemies of His enemies. It can be ridiculed our world for neglecting this transparent truth, like when two nations go to war against each other and both of them claim that God has taken their side.  It would rather be the prudent thing to claim that God loves the men on both sides, and wants neither one of them to suffer, so that peace would be the best option for their welfare. God is not a respecter of persons, and He does not show any favouritism. It does all come down that what is considered to be right in general, by speaking the truth and doing justice for its own sake, so it can benefit all the persons involved. It can be said that God wants everyone to become victorious, not in regard to strife over petty issues, nor so that we can have more than we need. But it is rather about knowing how to live well, and that we should treat each other as equals, so it should be looked for the ideal thing when all human lives are accounted for. It is something which should work out if everyone acted in such way, both when it came to do the right thing and to acknowledge it when others have done so. It seems that the angel of God looked like an ordinary man, without having any wings, since that Joshua would otherwise have reacted differently than he did initially. And a similar thing would apply about angels that visited Gideon, and later the parents of Samson, since they would be mistaken for human beings and addressed as such. It is true that angels can have wings, and that they can fly in their own way, as what is described regarding the Cherubim and the Seraphim. However we do not really know whether all the angels have wings or not, whether the wings are actually there but invisible to the human people, and how these wings are supposed to look like. This is why the human people are in error to create images of angels, since the human people are not in position to know anything, and should not presume anything. God does not want us to make images of Him, or anything which is meant to resemble Him, and a similar principle applies about the angels, why their outward appearance is kept secret from us. An angel of God would not even reveal his name to the parents of Samson, probably to prevent people from invoking his name above God and worship him instead. We do not really need to know what the angels of God look like, since it is either way irrelevant to the faith in God, when it comes discern His will and receive His help.

In chapter 6 it is written: ‘Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go around about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall flat down, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him…And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then ye shall shout.’

The walls of Jericho signify an impossible problem or situation, a difficult question which cannot be answered, overwhelming obsessions that cannot be gotten rid off, or a nagging doubt which can seem to undermine the whole faith in God. If the man seeks to resist the problem then he will only become more affected by it, as if he was unintentionally feeding the problem with more power, so the man will begin to vanish into his mind, neglect his surroundings, and become alienated from the reality. The man would never have overcome such problem alone by himself, but he must only rely upon faith alone, namely God as his only refuge, and nothing else besides it. It does not matter whether the man know a right answer for himself and attempt to use it against the problem, since the problem will continue to haunt his mind all the same. It is as if nothing had changed, for the problem is still fully intact and chasing after the man in an obsessive way, so the man cannot do anything to make the problem go away. The Israel people did not conquer the godless nations with their sword or bow, even as how the believer does not overcome devils through his human means, whether it can be called willpower, arguments, tricks or methods. It is only sufficient to believe that God can overcome the problem on our behalf, and that we can put all our burdens upon Him, without reminding ourselves of it in the meantime. We do not need to do anything, but we can just as well be silent and patient, until God has solved the problem from his end, to make the problem vanish from our life or cease to affect us so much. The silence is meant to confirm that we rely upon nothing else besides God and wait for His initiative, so that we are not attempting to save ourselves at the same time. This is why Jesus Christ told us that we should not resist evil (at all), like when we seek to defend, explain, or self-justify ourselves. For it is rather God who is meant to understand what we are going through, to defend us, and justify us before His enemies, so God is in much better position to save us than we are. Thereby should we not become impatient and attempt to solve our problem as soon as possible, but we should rather put everything on hold, put it aside or let it rest for now. The faith makes us able to approach the problem from all sides, even as when the Israel people went many times around Jericho. God can help us solve the problem in many ways, whether it is through the moral aspect, intellectual or divine one, so that we can thereby aspire for honesty, know better and make a good use of His power. Familiarity breeds contempt, when the man becomes accustomed to that which he had hitherto feared, until it will no longer seem special in his eyes. The Israel people went around the city of Jericho seven times, which is meant to signify the gifts of the Seven Holy Spirits, to offer us complete victory over the evilness. It is about being pure of heart and single minded in serving God, even as when it was sounded the trumpet and all the Israel people shouted simultaneously for victory.

It can be misunderstood the spiritual warfare against devils, what God requires from us, what we are supposed to do, what is the point of all this or to what end? It is not like we would always need to stop and to struggle against subjective problems, to be finally rid of them before we can finally obtain peace and move on with our life. It can rather be said that we should continue to be free in spirit, to love one another, to be the person we are and what we really want to do, regardless of that what is happening in our mind. It should be constantly moved on with our life, even for such problems, so that we can now begin to have peace and act like the problem is already solved. It should not be followed the initiative of devils, where we do never restrict ourselves for anything, never pretend to be perfect nor do something as a reaction toward temptations, since that we do not need to do anything at all except trust God. God will do everything from His end and help us for free, where it does involve an automatic process which cancels the evilness, as something which comes and goes. It is not like we need to do everything manually, by commanding these or those devils to be silent, by trying to say or do something ‘before’ we can become victorious, but we are rather meant to acknowledge God’s jurisdiction and allow Him to do it. Our internal condition can sometimes be like one great illusion, especially when we are haunted by delusions, chaos and instability, impulses and psychical symptoms, all at the same time. It is like our soul is stationed in the land of devils, where everything is wrong about it, the environment, the people, the objects, and the atmosphere. We are thereby experiencing something which is not real, so that we are meant to treat it like an illusion and reject everything about it. It is always God whom speaks the truth, and all His promises can come true in our life. But our flesh is always lying to us, by creating a wrong impression, false alarms, misleading signs and symptoms. Our flesh does lie to us from within, while the world does lie to us from the outside. It should be believed God, that He is speaking the truth and is always right about everything, but if our flesh and the world offer a conflicting statement then it is always them which are lying. It is our flesh and the world which should adapt to God and His words, but we should not attempt to make God adapt to them, since that God has no restrictions nor restricts Himself for anything. For that God can reshape everything to serve His purpose, where He can bend and break any physical laws, and even the law of sin in our flesh.

In chapter 7 it is written: ‘But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel… So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai. And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men… And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of Lord until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads... And the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you. Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.’

Achan took of the accursed things and hid it under his tent. It does signify that when the false believer dwells upon ill will, sexual lust, and perverted imaginations, but he does so in secret, either while he is alone with his thoughts or when he abuses those under his responsibility. However God knows the truth about that man, and what has been happening in secret, so God will give all kinds of warnings to other people, not to trust that man and expel him from their community. It can thereby happen that the community suspects the truth, or already knows it, but the people do still tolerate that wicked man and allow him to remain among them. So the people fail to do anything about it, and they become silent accomplices, since that wicked man will resume his crimes. This is why God will curse the whole community for as long time as the wicked man remains within it, where God will not do anything to help silent accomplices nor further their goals. It should be looked upon the alternative, if God would continue to bless the people and make them prosperous in their undertakings. For the community would then become more powerful, obtain more followers, and be entrusted for more persons, but the wicked man would then surely abuse his position to harm them as well. The community is already corrupt from within and deemed to be unworthy, so that every success would be abused for evil ends, and nothing good would ever come from it. So that wickedness should be rejected from the outset, any person that does not let go of wicked desires, and any community which does not remove its wicked parts. Scandals have been common within the Roman Catholic Church, and there are many Christian cults in North-America founded upon greed and lust, so it has been preferred quantity of followers above the quality of their moral conviction.

In chapter 9 it is written: ‘And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up… And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us… And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord. And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them. And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a league with them, that they heard that they were their neighbours, and that they dwelt among them… And Joshua called for them, and he spake unto them, saying, Wherefore have ye beguiled us, saying, We are very far from you; when ye dwell among us? Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondmen, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.’

The Israel people failed to consult first with God, before it could be determined the whether the Gibeonites were truthful in their report, and whether it should be made a pact with them. So that Joshua failed to prevent the agreement, and the Gibeonites were not destroyed with the rest of the godless nations. But Joshua could still the same curse the Gibeonites, belittle their importance and nullify their power. It does correspond to that when the believer fails to reject some devils and temptations from the outset, because he does not suspect anything wrong about it, or the believer presumes that such things are harmless enough. This can apply to that when the man is always thinking about something, no matter how petty and immature it can be, although it is never done with an evil intent. But the believer does still the same not come to any harm, after he has known better. For the faith in God can nullify the influence from these devils and their temptations, so the man will no be affected by it any way and his faith in God remains the same. This means that the man can think about something wrong, but it does still not make him selfish, doubtful, distracted, or instable, as what would usually apply in the situation.

Joshua stretched out his spear toward the city of Ai, and he did not draw his hand back, until all the inhabitants had been destroyed. This means that we should be fully determined in rejecting the devils and all their temptations, without holding anything back. The Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon the Amorites, which lived in the mountains, so that more enemies died with hailstones than they which the Israel people slew with the sword. This means that God will overcome the most difficult problems on our behalf, as if everything would happen of its own accord, so it is like our greatest blessings and victories are given for free, without any effort on our part. And Joshua could even command the sun to stand still, and the moon as well, so there would be enough light in the area until all the enemies would be destroyed. The faith in God can command the physical laws to adapt to us, rather than the other way around, so that we can obtain miraculous victories while doing the will of God. Joshua ordered that five kings should be contained within a cave, and that the Israel people should not stay, but rather pursue after the enemies and destroy them first. This means that we should put our most difficult problems on hold, which are outside our control and we are unable to change. But we should first solve all the easy problems or the doable ones, which are within our reach. Then we can become stronger and wiser in the process, more prepared in solving the difficult problems than we were in the past. So that everything becomes possible in its due time, if we know how to prioritize the matters in our life, take one thing at a time, and be patient in the meantime. The Israel people were meant to smite the hindmost of the enemies, and not suffer them to enter into their cities. The cities can signify weaknesses or vices, something which temptations can appeal to and seem to self-justify the presence of devils. Every temptation appeals to something selfish in our bearing, and thrives upon it, but if we cease to be selfish then we will no longer listen to temptations not dwell upon them. This is why we should be free of weaknesses if we are going to fully overcome the devils, so that nothing will be able to save them or offer them refuge in our soul. Joshua slew the five kings, hanged them on five trees, then ordered them to be taken down, and then finally the corpses were thrown into the cave and it closed with great stones. The means that wicked possibilities should be totally forgotten, to pass into utter oblivion, so that none of us need to be reminded about it nor fear that it can resurface. God commanded Joshua to hough the horse of their enemies, and burn their chariots with fire. The chariots signify the machination of the devils, their craftiness and tricks. The horses can signify subjective problem which the devils have been using against us, or basically anything which seems to give the devils a power in our mind. It should never be relied upon evil against evil, craftiness against craftiness, tricks against tricks, and imaginations against imaginations, since it is also originated from the devils. It would otherwise be relied upon temptations against another kind of temptations, when the mind offers remedies against problems that itself has created. The devils are really offering us foolish means to be used against them, something which will guarantee our defeat and slavery, since we are looking for answers in all the wrong places. But the faith in God is meant to wipe out any evil influence from the devils, all these selfish and foolish means, weak and inefficient tricks, wrong in its basis. There were in total 31 kings, which could signify 31 vices, like when it is spoken about cowardice, recklessness, stinginess, lavishness, envy, respect for person, et cetera.

In chapter 24 it is written: ‘Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth…’ In chapter 22 it is written: ‘The Lord God of gods, the Lord God of gods, he knoweth, and Israel he shall know; if it be in rebellion, or if in transgressions against the Lord, (save us not this day,)…’

The children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the half tribe of Manassah,; built a great altar over against the land of Canaan, in the borders of Jordan, at the passage of the children of Israel. The other tribes did at first misunderstand this gesture, and presumed it to be a sacrilege against God, so they were ready to go to war against the men that had made the altar. But this altar was only supposed to be a memorial, rather than by being used for sacrifices, so the persons involved were sincere and innocent on their behalf. God did never order the destruction of those that were sincere, whom only wished well, and never betrayed God in their heart, even that they might give up a wrong impression of themselves. No crime had been committed, since there no evil intentions to be found in the men. It is true that an altar had been made, but it was at first not known what it was for, or why the men had created it. It should thereby first be discerned the motives behind it, whether it was done for a good or evil purpose. The motives would explain whether the altar was right or wrong, but an altar would not always be right or wrong at default. Good intentions can never excuse a wicked crime, but it does rather prevent a crime, since the person involved had confessed the truth and only wanted to do the decent thing. We should never become afraid that God does not understand our intentions, as if we were afraid of giving a wrong impression and would be immediately punished for it. This is why we do not need to explain ourselves before God, not in this case, even as when we do not want other people to trouble themselves for our sake, since we never held anything against them in the first place. God should know us most of everyone, what is God’s place in our heart, what we need to go through, what we are trying to achieve or avoid in our life. God should know whether our heart is right with Him, sincere, honest, and humble, so we should rest assured and be contented with that what God feels about us, as if that only mattered in the situation. In the Book of Judges then Jotham rebukes the men of Shechem, and asks them whether they had done truly and sincerely by making Abimelech king, and murdering the sons of Gideon. For that sins and iniquity are always devoid of sincerity and truth, while the transgressor is rather motivated by self-centred reasons. The men of Shechem did not murder innocent men because they wanted to do good things, but they were only concerned about their self-interest, at the expense of their victims. Abimelech and the men of Shechem were worthless and deserved each other, as what the fable of Jotham implied, when the trees wanted to anoint a king over them. It was a fitting punishment that all of them should later fight internally and perish over nothing, even as when they had killed innocent victims for nothing, having lacked rightful cause and reasons to do so.

In chapter 23 it is written: ‘Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the Lord your God. Else if we do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnants of these nations, even these that remain among you… And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof.’ In chapter 24 it is written: ‘And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the Lord: for he is an holy God; he is jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.’

God states elsewhere that Israel should neither seek for the peace and prosperity of their enemies, since the Ammonites and Moabites had dealt treacherously with them. That to go back and cleave unto the remnant signifies temptations and weaknesses that the believer has still not overcome in his life, where he does still have difficulty in resisting it fully, or does not seem to get rid off for good. The man should not dwell upon the few weaknesses that are left in his life, like loose ends that become loose habits, monopolizing his attention. For an example then the man can show little self-control during entertainments and pleasures, so he begins to spend too much time upon it, at the expense of everything else. Then will the man begin to forget about God, and neglect His commandments, since the man is unwilling to let go off his self-indulgence. These few weaknesses will begin to spread out and undermine the existing virtues, with all the spiritual victories that had hitherto been established. This can continue to escalate until the man rejects God and falls from Him, but it was never because God failed to deliver His promises, in making the man healthy and happy. It can rather be said that the man no longer loved God, and the man began to experience troubles in his life after having failed to obey God’s voice, since the man had been wasting his time upon loose habits and becoming gradually weaker. If the man had continued to follow God then he would never have fallen into troubles, but the man would have remained sober, self-restrained, disciplined and industrious. The man should keep to his strong factors, and constantly move on with his life, so that he can establish previous progress and expand it further, without any regression. And it might at first seem like the Scripture is contradicting itself, as if God was unwilling or unable to forgive the man all his sins, great and many as they can be. But this really means that God would not forgive the people their unbelief, like when the man does not believe that God is speaking the truth, that God is not powerful enough to help him, or that God would not have done any better in the situation. It is true that the man is imperfect and God will forgive him for being imperfect, but the man is to be blamed for not believing that God is perfect nor able to redeem him. God does reproach the man for giving up on Him, even that the man has no rightful cause to do so, but it is something which the man decided in his own self-will. God told the man that He would pardon his faults, and help him through the problems in his life, but the man did still the same disregard it and wanted to give up on himself. This is unbelief, when the man is so ashamed by his faults that he does not want to be saved, but the man does rather want to suffer for it, as if the devils would be allowed to punish him. It is thereby not believed in God and what His goodness is capable of in the man’s life, that even for all these faults then God would still love and tolerate him.

In chapter 19 it is written: ‘Out of the portion of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon: for the part of the children of Judah was too much for them: therefore the children of Simeon had their inheritance within the inheritance of them.’

Reuben defiled his father’s marriage bed, while Simeon and Levy were guilty of breaching faith and committing massacre, so Jacob became dissatisfied with them. The three oldest sons did thereby loose their right to be recognized as the firstborn, and the title passed over to Judah, the next one in the line. Simeon and Levy did still retain their full rights as Jacob’s sons, while Reuben lost that as well. Ephraim and Manasseh became two tribes of Israel, replacing Reuben and Joseph, so there would still be twelve tribes in total. It is still of note when Jacob said that Ephraim and Manasseh would be his, as Reuben and Simeon. It was probably a figure of speech, instead of indicating that Simeon had shared the same fate as Reuben. Reuben and Simeon were the two oldest sons of Jacob, even having the same mother, and a similar thing applied to Ephraim and Manasseh as the only sons of Joseph. Jacob never claimed that Simeon also lost his place, nor is the issue addressed elsewhere. In the First Book of the Chronicles then it is only mentioned Reuben, that his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph, and his genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright. The tribe of Simeon would have their inheritance within the inheritance of Judah. Simeon can signify the sinner, the man who has been unable to become righteous by his own effort, since that he has not approached God in a good faith and love. Jesus Christ belonged to the tribe of Judah, and He shares His inheritance with the humble sinner, so that person can become partaker in His Spirit and live through Him. Jesus Christ does thereby share of His abundance, even as how the inheritance of Judah was too much for that tribe, so there is more than enough in the Lord to save everyone.

7. Judges

7.1: Cause and Effect

In chapter 2 it is written: ‘And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord, that he did for Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years old… And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which know not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim… And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.’

Moses had already predicted that the Israel people would fall from God, and made a song about it, as what is written in the Book of Deuteronomy. The Israel people had already been rebellious and stiff-necked during Moses time, and they would be even more so after he was gone. And God knew the imaginations which the Israel people go about, even now, before God had brought them into the land which He swore. It was not the believers that experienced troubles in their lives, nor the children while the parents believed in God. But all the troubles began after the believers died, so their faithless children would no longer be blessed through them. The mature sons and daughters forgot all about God, and later have their own children, also to be troubled with the faithless parents. The problem began with the children of the true believers, and then escalated with their children, so the new generations would become even more self-centred and self-absorbed than the ones before them. God does visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation, if the fathers had hated God and despised His ways. The descendants were likely to become indifferent and unrestrained as well, as if they were bastards in their heart or anarchists that despise all authority. It can apply to a person which is never taught anything by its parents and never disciplined for anything, so there is no code of honour to govern its manner of life. It should be looked upon our own times, concerning the decline in the western society, since people have become superficial, vainglorious, hypocritical, and lovers of pleasures. Selfish people deserve a selfish leader, to be afflicted by selfish problems, and to fall under the same human restrictions which they had judged other men for. For such people were never mindful of their own position, never any better in their own life. God made it possible for the believers to become prosperous, to have a good life for themselves and their children, even that they did originally live in want. So the children will become accustomed to a good lot, which the parents had worked hard for, but the children presume that the prosperity of their parents was caused by other factors. It can happen that the true believers neglect to teach their children about God, so the children will not take their faith seriously enough and slacken to uphold it. The children can attend to religious gatherings, to keep up its formalities and customs, but the children are never doing so through any personal conviction, understanding or willingness. It is nothing more than an obligation to them, something to be imitated on the outside, while the children do not feel anything in their heart, no love or devotion for God. These people will never teach their children anything about God, although it does tend to be indifferent and negligent in its nature, rather than from any enmity with God. But the children will become hostile toward God and everything belonging to the faith, as if they were deliberately trying to provoke God and persecute the believers. The society will become sicker with the time, making people estranged from each other, and involving new kinds of problems, whether mentally, physically, or socially. The devils are attacking the people’s mentality and oppressing them, since the people are always afflicted by some kind of personal problems, disorders, or loose habits. Many of these problems were never heard of before, or at least not that common, but it is like the devils are constantly creating new lies, evil means, and pretences in order to afflict the sinner.

It is written: ‘And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed. Nevertheless the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the Lord; but they did not so. And when the Lord raised them up judges, then the Lord was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the Lord because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them. And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.’

The Israel people did not trust God completely, so they only obeyed Him partially, as what has often been recorded in their history. The Israel people made compromises with their enemies for various reasons, and suffered them to stay in the land, but it was always to the detriment of their own condition and potential. So the Israel people restricted themselves in advance, as if they were allowing their enemies to tempt them and doing nothing to be finally rid of their presence. It would always escalate with the time, when the new generations began to live like their enemies, so the victors became weak like the defeated and easily defeated. The man does first listen to devils and yields to their temptations, and then next he becomes weak and foolish, or until there is no longer any good sense and virtue in him. Then the devils can attack the man in his weakened state, and easily overcome him, since the man is unwilling and unable to resist the selfish problems in his mind. So the man becomes a spiritual slave, receiving everything too personally, easily loosing his temper, self-absorbed with his problems, and degrading himself for any gain. The man is no longer able to stand before the devils, every time they attack his mentality. For man believes every lie about himself, does not dare to be selfless, is afraid of loosing self-control any moment, to the point of feeling utterly helpless and desperate.  God became so angry toward the Israel people that He did not drive out all their enemies, but He wanted to prove them through these enemies, whether Israel would keep His ways. The new generations would need to be taught about warfare, if they were going to overcome their enemies, since they had no part in Joshua’s victories. God can create some kind of challenges or problems in the life of the sinner, so the sinner will need to rely upon God if he is ever going to solve or conquer them. The Israel people did only invoke God for help during a time adversity, but they ceased to believe in Him after the adversity was gone, or namely during a time a prosperity. It was always neglected to prevent a problem from happening, but it was only began to take measures after the problem had established itself and become too great to handle. The Israel people should have shown a gratitude to God and modesty during their time of prosperity, rather than by preferring such prosperity above God Himself. The faith in God bestows us with self-control during prosperity and fortitude during adversity, so we can either prevent a problem or know how to outlast it in the long run.

In chapter 10 it is written: ‘And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim. And the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines? The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand. Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation. And the children of Israel said unto the Lord, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day. And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the Lord: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.’ In the Book of Deuteronomy it is written: ‘And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted. Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings? let them rise up and help you, and be your protection.’

A sinful way of life does only lead to problems and maladies, but it is never able to solve these problems or heal the man of his maladies. For an example then it can be mentioned debauchery, like when drunkenness does undermine the man’s health and fornication does lead to various diseases. It is not like the man can rely upon drunkenness and fornication to heal his body of these same things, but it would only increase the problem and harm his health even more. It can also be mentioned when the man does live for money, or pleasures and luxuries that can be purchased with money, since that the man can overreach himself and be ruined by economical crisis. This is why God rebukes the Israel people for their false gods, by telling the people to cry to their gods and rely upon them for deliverance, to see if anything will happen. This can apply to spiritual idolatry in any form, like when pride and arrogance does alienate the man from God’s truth and humility. So the man is always seeing problems in everything, seeing enemies in everyone, and only seeing what he wants to see. Every self-deception and weakness will only make the man spiritually blind and dumb, devoid of understanding and ability, as what can apply about false idols. God gave the impression that He would not help the Israel people this time, but they did still the same continue to confess the truth and approach Him in humility. A faithless man would immediately have given up and made no further attempts, since that he was only concerned about escaping from the responsibility of his wrong choices. So the faithless man would surely have returned to his corruption and tried to experience as many pleasures as possible before dying, as if there was nothing meaningful about the human existence or nothing else to be expected from it. But the Israel people did on the contrary cleave to God, regardless of that what could happen to them, so the people were truly sincere on their behalf and willing to make things right. It did not involve any temporary show while it was coveted after a selfish advantage from God, but it was sought God upon His own terms and tried to adapt to His ways. It should be commended such attitude for being beautiful, when the man does no longer care about himself or in what way his life can be affected to the better or worse, but it is like the man is still willing to follow God in defeat, after being found guilty. The faith in God is not the same thing as a logical calculation for the most gain in the situation, otherwise called a ‘selfish consequentialism’. It is all about a token of good faith, sincerity toward God and belief in the rightful choice according to its merit, even that we do not know anything about the future or what consequences could ensue.

In chapter 6 it is written: ‘And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? And where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us from Egypt? But now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house. And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.’

It might at first seem like Gideon was showing unbelief in God, by coming up with such questions, rather than by claiming that the Israel people would surely be saved. However Gideon acknowledged that God possessed the power to deliver the Israel people, but God had hitherto not chosen to do it, so they were being troubled by His absence. This is why Gideon was actually showing faith in God, and he never betrayed God in his heart, so that Gideon was thereby commended by the Lord. It would have been unbelief if Gideon did not acknowledge the Lord as his God, that the Lord was not speaking the truth, that He could not help him or not conquer the enemies. The man can experience adversity in his life, even that he does not seem to deserve it, since the man has hitherto been trying to follow God and do the right thing. The devils can attack the man’s mentality and his flesh can experience maladies, so it is like God did never prevent such things, but He did on the contrary allow it to happen. This does still not mean that the man should blame God for everything and turn against Him, as if God was too weak to help and useless to the man, that God was the one causing the man’s suffering and doing so through malice, or anything of that sort. The man should rather acknowledge that God can indeed accomplish anything in his life, if God wishes to do so, or that God can treat the man in any way that He wants. So it has everything to do about that what God wants to do or not, but not what we can demand from Him, so that we should in either case respect God’s decisions in our life. These were godless times, where almost everyone had betrayed God and lived contrary to His ways, so there was no encouragement to be had from the society. Most people were of poor spirit, having no hope of the future, as if everything was already lost, that there was nothing that they could do to be freed from their enemies and troubles. This is why Gideon was considered to be a hero, for that he had still not given up on God, where he was still trying to do the right thing and resist the enemies.  Gideon’s faith in God was originated from within him, in his own personal conviction and moral integrity, but it was not because of that what everyone else was doing. God choose Gideon to become the hero of the Israel people, even that Gideon was considered to be the least man among them. This means that God could save the Israel people through any ‘fool’ and ‘weakling’, if God would choose to exalt that person, so it was meant to give the greater glory to God and confirm that He can do as what He pleases. When God exalts the humble person then it is meant to be a reproach to the world, to rebuke all those proud people that presumed to be so important, wise and powerful, since that all of them failed in their undertakings and could never solve any problems. The proud people seek to exalt themselves through facial expression and empty words, while God does exalt the humble person through its good deeds, like discoveries, creativity, solutions, and accomplishments. God makes the humble person able to discern the right means for a good outcome, ‘how’ it can be achieved or promoted, while the proud people can at most only speak about a good outcome or the future.

In chapter 7 it is written: ‘And the Lord said unto Gideon. The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me… And the Lord said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place.’

God had previously commanded Gideon to throw down the altar of Baal, and cut down the grove by it. Gideon was then supposed to build an altar unto the Lord upon the top of a rock, in the ordered place, and offer young bullock as a burnt sacrifice with the wood of that grove. It was probably meant to be a gesture of Gideon’s faith, that he was truly willing to make a difference and give up a good personal example for other men to follow after. The old foundation should be rejected before a new foundation can be built, rather than by trying to improve or fix something which is wrong in its nature. It should not be sought to repeat the same foolish approach as what has hitherto failed, nor chosen the same selfish leaders which merely change their manner of speech, since it is basically done the same selfish things under new names or guises. The three hundred men would never have overcome the enemy army by themselves, so it had nothing to do about the men themselves and what they could possess. The power of God was the only deciding factor, where His intervention alone could guarantee victory, while the three hundred men were meant to pick up the leftovers. It is exactly the same thing when our society does need to be delivered from its evils, where it has nothing to do about that what we can think and speak about it, by first attempting to do this or that, by relying upon our own remedies and tricks to fix it. It can rather be said that God does control all prosperity and adversity in our human existence, where He can bestow it to us or remove it from us whenever He likes. It does involve an automatic process in the greater matters, when God does create all kinds of new opportunities for us, either to be noticed in the environment or in our human ingenuity. A good example would be a favourable weather and fertile soil, or when the man is blessed with good ideas, so the man can be able to support himself. The power of God is manifested in a good luck, favourable opportunities, and peace, but it had nothing to do about that what we were saying and doing at the same time. This is why we should not rely upon our own human might and cleverness, since nothing will be able to profit us while God is absent from our life. What would our human might and cleverness do for us, if we were living in a desert and could not use anything? How are we supposed to survive if we don’t have access to any air and food, or what will our muscles and clever thoughts then do for us at that moment? It is exactly the same thing when we do not have God in our life, making us only foolish and weak, so we do either way not know how to notice opportunities or make a good use of them. God can very well solve all the problems in our society, regardless of our numbers, so it does not matter whether the majority of the people do agree with God or not.

In chapter 8 it is written: ‘Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian. And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you.’

Jesus Christ is the only rightful leader of our life, and the only true hero that has ever existed. Gideon managed to obtain victory over the enemies because the Lord willed it so. The Lord is the original source, while everything else is merely the consequence. This is why it would have been wrong if Gideon wanted to become a leader of the Israel people. For that he had received everything from the Lord and would again become nothing without the Lord, so that all the glory should be given to the Lord. This is not a question of that how wise and powerful we can become in the world, or in comparison to all other men. But it is rather about that how short we come of the glory of the Lord, how insignificant and helpless we prove to be, if the Lord had not intervened from within us.

It is true that Samson desired after the women among his enemies, but he did still the same not become one of them. This only lead to personal feuds with the Philistines, and would serve God’s greater purpose. The Philistines were the first one to commit a fault and provoke Samson, even that he had been blameless on his behalf, and then Samson would have a revenge upon them. Most of the account is about Samson’s contact with the Philistines, his enemies, while little is said about Samson’s relations with his own people, as if they were irrelevant to his victories. Samson could very well become one man army without the Israel people, their assistance during fights or recognition afterwards. Samson managed to kill a lion, even that Samson had nothing in his hands. And the carcass later yielded a honey to Samson, as if a defeated enemy would become a food to the man of God. Peter the apostle speaks about the devil as a roaring lion, walking about, seeking whom he may devour. So Samson managed to conquer the Enemy from within, even that he did not use anything at all. Or Samson did never try to defend himself through the usual human means, like by using weapons. Earthly weapons are made by the human people, even as what applies about all human systems, ideas, doctrines, arguments, tricks, and methods. However since Samson used his bare hands then he must have done the natural thing, by acting upon the Spirit of God in his heart. It is like Samson managed to overcome the Enemy through determination alone, even that he did never actually say or do anything, except by staying silent, patient and hopeful, trusting in God alone. The victory over the Enemy does yield wisdom, enlightenment for the believer. Samson could loose himself from any fetters and even kill thousand enemies with a jawbone from an ass. The believer should never become afraid of the devils, even that they can manage to ensnare him by misleading arguments and subjective problems, so that he can seem to be stuck upon a specific obstacle. For the believer will not come to any harm, where the devils can never claim a part in him, never touch him, never corrupt a part in his soul, and never involve him in their perdition. But it is only a matter of time until God will loose the man’s fetters, so that he can again become free in spirit and conqueror of the demons in his life. The man must serve God to the best of his effort, and reject temptations as well. It can happen that the man become mentally tired of rejecting so many devils, but it will still never involve an overwhelming experience, as if the man would loose self-control, become desperate and mad. For that God can refresh the man’s spirit any time, to make him again lively and full of energy, even as when the ground yielded water. Samson took the doors of the gate of the city Gaze, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to a top of a hill. Jesus Christ does possess the keys of death and hell, so that He can open the doors of hell anytime He wishes, to save any sinner and free him from any guilt. It does not matter how sinful we can become, and come short of the glory of God, for the faith in God does bestow us with the power to break through hell itself on our way to freedom. The mercy of God is more powerful than our own sins, human frailty and restrictions, so there is nothing which the devils can do about it. It is ultimately us that rely upon God’s love for us, while it is not us that love God as much, so this does offer us a safe refuge while we live in this world, whatever will happen.

Delilah was like the personification of a desire, or the deceitful pleasures and lures of the world. It might seem to give the man a pleasure for a brief time, while it does always undermine his welfare in the long run. Samson loved Delilah and was very concerned in satisfying her, but she did never feel the same way about him. Samson only ended upon revealing his weakness to the enemies, and Samson even taught them to overcome him, as if it was all of his own making. It was never the devils which manage to overcome the believer by their own merit, but it is rather the believer which had an initiative in wanting to be defeated. Samson relationship with Delilah only made him become weak, blind, and imprisoned, even as when sinful desire does deprive the man of innocence, good sense and capability. Selfish desires are constantly undermining the man and promoting troubles in his life, but the man does still cling to such desires, even that he knows that it is wrong. Delilah was constantly seeking to betray Samson, and yet he continued to love her, and trusted her in the end for his life, as if he would expect a different result next time. It is exactly the same thing when the selfish man is constantly repeating the same selfish approach, and hoping to experience different results each time, even that a bad choice does always lead to bad consequences, always at the detriment of his spiritual health. Samson craved after a woman that belonged to his enemies, and he allowed that woman to come up between him and the Lord, as if he had forgotten his original purpose. It does signify that when the believer loves something which belongs to the world, which the devils have originally created or promoted, like an erroneous idea or pleasure. The believer now prefers worldly things above God, or does not want to let go of them, so it is like the he wants to do both things at the same time. But the believer will begins to neglect God and forget about His ways, until he is no longer vigilant and sober. Samson lost his power while he was asleep, even as when the believer is no longer watchful with his life, or he does not bother to wait longer for God’s help to reach him. The seven locks on Samson’s are meant to signify the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, when the man is truly noble in his soul, altruistic and perfect in all things. Samson lost to the enemies of God because he was no longer noble and altruistic, but he had now become selfish and foolish, no different from other men in the world. The selfish man is blinded by his own desires, fears, and avarice, so that he is only concerned about his own self-gratification, as if it was his ambition to become a slave. Samson would grind grain for the Philistines in the prison, even as when the fallen believer constantly walks in circles, chasing after illusions and imaginary problems, so that he is only wasting his time upon nothing and feeding the devils in his life.

In chapter 16 it is written: ‘Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven. Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice… And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars. And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them. Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport. And Samson called unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left. And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.’

It seems like Samson became defeated by the evilness, only so that he could be in position to defeat the evilness from within. It had of course never been planned by Samson in advance, but it was ultimately depended upon the Lord whether his death could have a meaning. The two pillars signify the two extremes, which are namely selfishness and self-righteousness, so that all temptations rest upon that same basis or nature. The believer can be temporarily defeated by the evilness, so that he will need to work himself up from the bottom, and overcome all the lies and weaknesses that do now plague him. This will give the man a valuable insight into the evil nature, what is the root of the problem, wherefrom all temptations are originated from, and what defines them. The man would never have known such things by being always prosperous, but he would surely have remained ignorant and negligent like many men tend to be. If the man is troubled by few thoughts and weaknesses then he will not revaluate the nature of the mind. But it is a completely different thing when the man endures delusions all day long, as if the mind was constantly trying to appeal to his weaknesses. All temptations are originated from the mind, and all temptations appeal to the man’s selfishness, so the man should no longer listen to thoughts nor remain selfish. It does thereby involve a victory in defeat, where the man’s misfortune will become a source of prosperity, so that all other men can be guided and helped to the same end. Samson destroyed more enemies at his death than during his entire lifetime. It does correspond to that when we can learn more from adversity than during prosperity, and we can gain an insight from our defeat, otherwise not had from victory, what needs to be censured and improved. The man must first become dead to the world before he can begin to live, as what applies to those baptised into the death of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ overcame all the devils on our behalf, and His death on the cross freed us from their power, so it would apply once and for all. Our self must decrease before the Spirit of Christ can increase in us, where we must serve the truth before we can become free in spirit, and we must loose our life for Christ’s sake so that we can regain our life in Him. It is not about surviving at all costs, but rather to be willing to suffer for a worthy cause, while we are waiting for the rightful king to return.

Micah stole money from his mother and then returned it to her, so that Micah’s mother praised him and rewarded him with a part of the money. The man should be commended for repenting and compensating the victim, as if to equalize the loss from the crime, so the man will of course be better off than those that fail to do so. It would still have been better if the man had done a good deed upon its own terms, rather than by merely trying to fix a wrong decision or lessen the bad consequences from it. Let’s say that a man is committing a crime, by taking people hostages or robbing their belongings. But that man does then repent in the middle of the crime, so that he releases everyone and returns everything to them, even that nobody pressured him into doing it or there were no outside factors involved (threat of apprehension or punishment). Is this a good deed in itself, or does it merely nullify the evil deed, so the man is now in the same position as if he had done nothing, just as before the crime? It is not like one can create a problem out from nothing, and then become a hero by solving it, since the problem would otherwise never have existed to begin with. The man has neither done good nor evil, so that he should be neither rewarded nor punished for it, at least for most part. The human authority does of course need to do something to reprimand the act and enforce the law, to prevent similar crimes in the future. A healthy person does not consider crimes in the first place, but there must something be troubling the person enough for that to happen, whether mentally, socially, or financially. Therefore has a crime has been averted, but the person is still in need of help, so that a rehabilitation would apply more in this case than a punishment. Micah had a house of gods, consisting in a graven image and molten image, an ephod and teraphim. Micah consecrated one of his sons as a priest, and later convinced a Levite to become his priest, as if his presence would guarantee favour from the Lord. In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes. Later the men of Dan robbed Micah of his gods and priest, a turn of event which proved ridiculous as everything about Micah’s ‘piety’. Micah had never properly worshipped the Lord in the first place, so it was not like Micah was an innocent victim or that the Lord would become indignant on his behalf. It can rather be said that fools deserve each other, to be fooled by one another, and become upset over foolish things, but it is not something to be implicated to God’s greater purpose.

In chapter 20 it is written: ‘And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And the Lord said, Judah shall go first. And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah. And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin; and the men of Israel put themselves in array to fight against them at Gibeah. And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty and two thousand men…Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the Lord, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. And the children of Israel enquired of the Lord, (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, And Pinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days,) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And the Lord said, Go up; for to morrow I will deliver them into thine hand.’

There is a good and valid reason why the Israel people failed in their first two attempts, while they succeeded in the third one. The Israel people had originally approached God in an improper way, by coming up with a suggestive question. A war against the Benjaminites had already been decided, but it was merely sought for confirmation which tribe of Israel should attack them first. It can be mentioned the example when the Xenephon the Greek historians consulted with the Delphic oracle. Xenephon did not ask whether he should make the dangerous journey or not, but rather which of the gods he must pray and do sacrifice concerning the journey. It can correspond to that if we were already intent upon that in committing a crime, but we would then afterwards ask God how it should be done, where or when. God would never give His approval of an unjust war against innocent enemies, so it would be a foolish thing to ask God about tactics upon the battlefield, or the right means to murder them. It did of course not apply about the Benjaminites, because of their complicity in a crime, but it can still be understood such principle behind all quarrels and wars. So the Israel people should have asked God whether they should go to war or not, at the very outset, since it was about morality of the choice and rightful premises. It is true that some of the Benjaminites had committed a wicked crime, but it was still another matter whether the entire tribe should be punished for it, even annihilated. A war is a decision in the greater matters, while a movement of troops upon the battlefield is a decision in the small matters. A success in the latter does not excuse the former if wrongfully undertaken, now or later. The actual choice continues to be as equally right or wrong in the greater matters, where it does either belong to God or His enemies, the goodness or the evilness. But it does not matter whether it can be changed or fixed small factors within the same wrong undertaking, since it should have been considered another course at square one. The same straightforward approach will continue to yield the same results, while a different approach will call for different results. God never promised a victory to the first two questions, but He only answered which tribe should go first, as if a foolish question called for a meaningless answer, which did not contribute anything to subsequent execution. The foolish man does only seek for confirmation of his own selfish desires and prejudices, as if that man only wanted to hear his own opinions from the mouth of someone else. But the foolish man does never look for understanding upon its own terms, so he can make the necessary changes and adapt to the circumstances in question. The Israel people obtained victory over the Benjaminites after they had approached God in humility, by confessing their ignorance and letting go of all their presumptions.

In the Book of Ruth it is written: ‘And she (Naomi) said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law. And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me. When she saw that she was steadfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.’

The tale of Ruth is meant to signify the man’s relationship with Jesus Christ, what kind of right attitude should be had and at what length we should be willing to go for Him. Ruth wanted to undergo everything with her mother-in-law and share everything with her, even as when the faith in God is meant to promote humility and steadfastness in us. We must be willing to follow Jesus Christ wherever He goes and suffer everything with Him, since that we have nowhere else to go or nothing else to live for. Ruth was very industrious when it came to glean in the field of Boaz, so that Ruth could support herself and her mother-in-law. Jesus Christ stated to His disciplines that the fields were already white, ready for harvest, even as when the hearts of sinners are ready to repent and be converted to the Lord. For that Ruth collected the grain which remained in the field, which had been overlooked or trodden down, even as when the outcasts are involved, those neglected and abandoned by the society. Ruth signifies the cheerful giver, the believer which is pure of heart, doing goodness for its own sake, as its own reward, and in an unconditional way. The believer is only glad for being the given chance to do good deeds, and to help those that nobody else will help. Ruth was a Moabite, a stranger to the Israel people, and yet she surpassed all the women in virtue and belonged to God in her heart. It can signify the humble sinner, whom may perhaps not know about the Lord or how to invoke Him by the right name, but that sinner has still the same acted like a true believer and promoted His ways. It should be approached God in humility and with a grateful heart, that God has chosen to honour us with His presence and treat us with kindness, even as what happened between Ruth and Boaz. Boaz claimed that Ruth showed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as she followed not young men, whether poor or rich. Many men tend to be devoted to God in the beginning, but they quickly loose interest and only spend minimum time upon the faith. But there are other men that are constantly improving with the time, by becoming more devoted to God and grateful for everything which He has done for them. So they do everything willingly, with a right understanding, and really believe in the rightful claim of the choice. It is about being always cheerful in doing the will of God, to be rich in spirit and enjoy everything in innocence, to be friendly and helpful toward those we come across.

8. Samuel

8.1: Samuel and Saul (1. Samuel)

In chapter 2 it is written: ‘And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord… I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me will I honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed… And I will raise up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.’

Hannah had hitherto been barren, but she became fruitful after being determined enough, that her child should be dedicated to the Lord. It does signify that when the man does never prosper in anything while he is doing it for selfish reasons, but it does finally happen after the man has begun a new life in the Lord. Samuel was dedicated to the Lord from the very beginning, while he was still an infant. At these times it did rarely happen that a man was chosen by God, and to become a partaker in His Holy Spirit and be His representative among the people. For most of the people did not know God and were indifferent to His ways, so the man would not become a holy person by being one of them, or by participating in the same things. There was too much of a sinful influence in the surroundings, or the society was like an unfavourable soil, since it was unable to produce forth righteous men from its end. This is why it made sense that Samuel should be dedicated to the Lord from the outset, to be brought up in the temple and be separated from the outside world. Many men only spend a shallow time and effort upon the faith, or allow themselves to be distracted by worldly lures at the same time, so they easily neglect and forget everything. But Samuel was meant to know about the Lord above everything else, even as what applies to devotion to few fields, as to become expert in them all. Samuel would not cease to pray for the Israel people during his lifetime, even for all their faults, since it was a matter of principle, that God should continue abide by His goodness. It is true that Eli did not participate in the crime and follies of his sons, but he did still never do anything about it, so that Eli indirectly preferred them above the Lord. Eli did merely attempt to convince his sons to cease their evil dealings, as if the solution was only to be found in their approval, rather than by resorting to measures of his own. For an example then Eli could have deprived his sons of their priesthood, openly confessed their faults to the people, or resigned if necessary, if it would come down to that. But Eli tried to hold unto his office and his sons at the same time, so he only ended upon undermining the faith in God from within, by his own bad personal example. Why did Eli bother to be a high priest if he did not act like one, or what good would that title do for him if Eli was already found unworthy and negligent of its duties? The title had become empty and hollow, for as long time as Eli would be involved, since he was no more devoted to God than the sinful people he was meant to help and teach. Eli spoke to his sons: ‘If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him; but if a man sin against the Lord, who shall intreat for him?’ When the Ten Commandment are involved then the first three are more important than the ones dealing with human relations. For the faith in God is the source of everything else in our life, affecting in what way we behold and treat ourselves, and one another. If we neglect the faith in God then we will neglect other people as well, since we do not know how to love, do not put ourselves in other’s position, and do never seem to adapt. But if we truly care for God and His ways then He will make us capable of caring for other people as well, since we want to be good to others as God has been good to us.

In chapter 5 it is written: ‘And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Eben-ezer unto Ashdod. When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon... And when thy arose early in the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord; and the head of Dagon was both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him. Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon’s house, tread upon the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day. But the hand of the Lord was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof… They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither. And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the Lord was against he city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts.’

The Israel people presumed that the ark of God could guarantee victory against the Philistines, even that God hated the men that were with the ark, the two sons of Eli. Religious objects are nothing without the presence of God, and such objects can never excuse the involvement of wicked men, since they are surely guilty before God. It is true that God punished the Israel people for their sins against Him, including those of Eli and his sons, since God would never allow them to have any success. It did still not mean that God had taken side with the Philistines, as if God has justified the Philistines for being righteous in His sight, or by having a merit of their own. But the Philistines were as equally guilty before God, where the Philistines would still the same be punished for their own sins and iniquity, regardless of Israel’s faults. The Philistines had become victorious over the Israel people, but never against God Himself, as what the ark of God would prove to them, regardless of its change of location. God does not need to be defended or avenged by any man, even that the human enemies have been blaspheming God’s name or belittling His power. God can very well defend Himself and punish any enemy in His own way, so it is merely a question in what kind of form such adversity will manifest itself, now or later. God does not necessarily punish His enemies with defeat in a violent struggle, but God can also punish them from within, so that something will afflict their sanity, health, and stability. The Philistines were smitten with emerods in their secret parts. This means that the godless men are spiritually barren, where nothing good does ever come from them, since their entire life is dedicated to selfishness, vain and transient in its nature. It is thereby like the godless men are unable to become a new and better person in their heart, or they are wasting their life upon nothing, as when a running issue is involved. The Israel people would later fight against the Philistines and become victorious. It was not because the Israel people had become different persons, but the people had rather changed their approach to God and were now actually following His instructions. The hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel, as if one wise head would accomplish more for the common good than many aimless hands.

In chapter 8 it is written: ‘Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Samuel. Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.’

In the Book of Deuteronomy it is stated the king should be chosen by God, one among the Israel people. The king should not multiply horses to himself, wives or riches, and not cause the people to return to Egypt. The king should read the law of God all the days of his life, so that he can fear the Lord and his heart be not lifted above his brethren. It is never claimed that the people should vote for a king, or that the title should always be inherited by the descendants. It can rather be said that God would choose the worthiest man from time to time, even to replace a king that was no longer deemed worthy. But a monarchy is like idolatry in itself, as what applies to every ideology and form of government. For it has been invented by the human people and preferred above the Lord, even that He is our only rightful leader and king, the very person which has been watching over us and helping us all this time, in every aspect of our human existence. A human ruler is just as much subjected to the jurisdiction of God as everyone else, so it does defeat the purpose having such ruler in the first place. It is solely thanks to the Lord that we can discover wise answers and apply proper remedies, know how to prioritize all the problems and be a good judge of character, possess strength to be consistent with our conviction and endure opposition, to become capable and responsive enough in challenges, so that we can thereby adapt to any changes. The Lord can create all kinds of favourable opportunities, if we will only wait long enough for it to happen, be sober enough to notice the opportunity, and make a good use of it. So the Lord can both help us from within and out in the world, for the opportunity does appeal to our good sense and capability, and it is able to promote something constructive to the society. It not like the man does first need to belong to a specific ideology and political party, before he can become wise and competent enough in improving the society. It should be noticed the difference between our Creator and our creations, for that God created us and He can create any good things in our life, while we created politics and it can never surpass our human limits. It should of course be relied upon the Lord if we want to obtain good sense and virtues, but it would be foolish to expect it from lifeless things outside our body. This is why Samuel exhorted the people to serve the Lord with their whole heart, instead of going after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver. Samuel warned the people of the burdens which the king would put upon them, as if to indicate that the king only took the good things from them and gave nothing back. A similar principle can apply about every human government, when those in power create new titles, intercessors, and assemblies, as pretence to enrich themselves and their own. It is needlessly created more burdens so the human subjects will pay more taxes, but it is still irrelevant to prosperity in the land, and does not improve any of their lives. The human systems are not self-supportive, for they have gradually been wasting the earth and making it worse off each year, rather than by doing something to improve it. It would correspond to that if a spoiled child would waste the inherited riches of its parents, or when an irresponsible man squanders his good health upon debauchery. This does not seem to be problematic for a long time, while the earth was still plentiful, but our forefathers were still committing similar faults as the people of our times.

In chapter 10 it is written: ‘Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?... And the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned another man. And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee… And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day… And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king. And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched. But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.’

The Holy Spirit made Saul capable of becoming another man, since he had been given another heart. Saul was not a great man before he was chosen by God, but it was only sufficient to have the right attitude, that his heart was right with the Lord, sincere and humble. The Holy Spirit reshaped everything inside Saul, to make him noble and generous like a true king would be, so that he would be up to the challenges ahead. The Holy Spirit does not only remind us the truth, but it does also prepare our heart in receiving the truth, so that we can both know the right thing and be willing to do so. When Saul chose to disobey God’s commandments then it was never done through ignorance, as if Saul did not know any better and he would otherwise not have done so. The Holy Spirit was constantly reminding Saul of the truth, the original instructions from God, which was already transparent for him to understand and acknowledge. And yet Saul continued to resist the humble truth, which he could already sense with himself, so the problem consisted in his stubbornness and wilful disobedience. Saul was only concerned about his self-image and self-interest, where he was afraid of doing something that could loose him the support of the people and his title. A true ruler should only fear the Lord, while he is able to rule over everyone else. But a false ruler does not care about the Lord, while he is afraid of everyone else. Saul was only concerned about that in saving himself, and so that he could continue to be a king, but it would of course always be against God’s instructions, His higher purpose. Saul sought to save his own life and kingship in direct way, but he only ended up loosing both, since only the Lord can bestow true honour to us and maintain it in our life. A band of men followed Saul, whose hearts God had touched. It would be no different from Saul, what was happening from within him, in what way God contacted him. The Lord was knocking upon Saul’s heart, appealing to his sense of decency, that Saul should confess the truth and humble himself before the Lord, but Saul refused to comply.

In chapter 13 it is written: ‘And he (Saul) tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; Therefore said I, The Philistines come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the Lord: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering. And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee.’

Saul offered a sacrifice to God because he was afraid of the Philistines and that his people would scatter. The problem about such reasoning is that the victory rested with God, but not with the people that followed Saul, so that Saul should never have neglected God for them. It should be done things according to God’s basis, His premises, and followed His initiative in all things, but we should not restrict ourselves for the sake of our enemies and what they could otherwise do. We should continue to trust God, be free in spirit and obey every one of His principle, but we should not digress from His ways in order to save ourselves from adversity. It is true that the Philistines were near, but they had hitherto not attacked the Israel people. God was able to delay everything else until Samuel would arrive, so that Saul was in error to expect something different to happen in the future. Saul did also force this upon himself, against his better judgment, so it could not have been originated from God. For where God is there is also freedom and reason, where we both understand what needs to be done and are willing to do so, and there is only felt confidence and calmness while everything is taking place. The man should not rely upon his own self-will in order to do the will of God, but he must surely wait until the Spirit of God will manifest itself and reveal the truth to him. It cannot be done the will of God without the Holy Spirit, or contrary to its instructions, even as when Saul sought for victory over the enemies of God without Samuel. Saul presumed that it did not matter what person made the offering to God, or in what way. It does correspond to that when the man neglects to discern the voice of God in his heart, and he does not really know ‘how’ to do His will, but the man presumes that it is enough to think about God and His will, and then it will become so to him. The man is mistaking his own voice for God’s, and ascribing his opinions to God, but everything is taking place within the mind, the shallowest and most superficial part of the body. It must of course be known God, what drives Him, what defines Him, what is originated from Him, what belongs to Him, and what God seeks to promote. This is why we must abide by a principle, what is deemed to be consistent with God and His goodness, but it is not enough to speak about God while everything else is invented by our mind. God was not overly harsh when He rejected Saul for this first transgression, since Saul would remain unaltered in his heart and repeat the same mistakes in the future. But it seems like God gave Saul another chance to redeem himself, whether Saul would hearken the words of God this time, concerning the Amalekites. Samuel would otherwise not have addressed Saul in such way, nor given that responsibility to him.

In chapter 14 it is written: ‘And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted any food… But Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath: wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in an honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes were enlightened. Then answered one of the people, and said, Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food this day. And the people were faint. Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey. How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely to day of the spoil of their enemies which they found? For had there not been now a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?’

The oath proved to be counterproductive, restricting the capability of the Israel people in advance, while it increased the chances of their enemies to escape unharmed. Saul made a needless oath, where it was neither made through necessity nor did it give any glory to God. But the oath was like a whim decided in idleness, by a man that is blind to his surroundings and refuses to adapt, since he has already formed opinions about everything. The oath did not make any sense, that it should be abstained from food until it was had a revenge upon the enemies, since the people became too tired to fight in the process. There exists a fable about a dog that lied in a manger and could not eat the grain, but the dog prevented the horses/oxen from eating it either. Saul was both unwilling and unable to serve God, but he tried to prevent everyone else from serving God as well, even that the people involved had been chosen by God and shown grace. Jonathan managed to accomplish great things because he disobeyed Saul, so that everyone else would have become successful by disregarding him as well. This tale about Saul is meant to rebuke the religious leaders of the world, whom tend to create foolish rulers for everyone else, even that these leaders know God even less than their followers. Saul prevented the people from eating food, even as when religious leaders prevent people from consulting with God’s own testimony, as what is written in the Scripture. It has either been belittled the importance of the Scripture, or sought to distort the translation of the text, so it does no longer involve God’s original words. The religious leaders presume themselves to be so important, wise and powerful, but they are only blind men leading the blind, and fools teaching other fools. It would have been better if Saul had said nothing, or that he had not pretended to say something important, since there was no firm conviction behind it. Saul was probably only trying to show off while other people were watching him, as if it was expected from him as a king, but Saul did not really know what he was doing nor what it meant to be true king.

In chapter 15 it is written: ‘Samuel also said unto Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah. And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley… And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt. And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but everything that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.’

It proved to be a contradictory thing when Saul ordered the destruction of all the Amalekites except their king. The king leads and the others follow, where he is responsible for everyone and everything, like when the head controls the whole body. If the Amalekites were wicked then their king must have surpassed them in wickedness, since he did possess the power to make every wicked desires come true in his life. It could manifest itself in corrupt rulership with its conspiracies, revelry at the court, and cruelty against defeated enemies. So the king of Amalekites was guiltier than the rest, and more deserving of death, and yet Saul choose to spare him, that man of all the enemies in question. It would correspond to that if we would reject the ‘lesser’ devils and their ‘lesser’ evil, while we tolerate the greater devils and their greater evil in our life. It is like we would only abstain from trivial faults, petty habits, and superficial issues, while we yield to wicked desires, like hatred and sexual lust directed against innocent persons. Saul and the people also spared the best of the cattle, while destroying the worst part. It does signify that when the man does only abstain from obvious temptations, which are deemed to be too foolish, unrealistic, or mad, so these temptations would either way not have lead to any profit or pleasure. But the man does instead receive temptations are deemed to be clever and practical, which seem to bribe the man and make him able to obtain success in the world. It can also happen that the man does only reject thoughts which are deemed negative, while he becomes receptive toward thoughts that seem ‘positive’, that flatter his ego in one way or another. Saul later claimed that he and the people had spared the best cattle of the Amalekites, so that the same cattle should be sacrificed to the Lord. So Saul presumed that he could disobey God in one thing so he could do God service in another thing instead, like when a man commits a crime and then dedicates the profit to a honest profession. But God should always be obeyed in an unconditional way, and all temptations should be rejected in an unconditional way. For that only good things come from that in obeying God, while nothing good does ever come from His enemies. A half-hearted effort is the same thing as no effort at all, and every compromise with the evilness can never belong to God in the first place, not in the least. A half-truth mixed with lies is still a lie in whole, and that to partially obey God is the same thing as disobedience in whole, since it did never work out as what God had intended. God is perfect and His will is perfect, involving pure truth and pure goodness, so it is must be obeyed God in all things if we are going unlock all His benefits.

It is written: ‘And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.’

If the man does neglect to obey the voice of God then he will commit a sin, and then next he makes a sacrifice to make up for that same sin, so the sin will not affect him nor lead to further troubles in his life. The man is merely reacting toward the wrong things, and digressing to the troubles that follow them, but the man has totally neglected or forgotten the original instructions. The man should rather have obeyed the voice of God at the outset, which would have prevented all sins from happening, so that no sacrifice would be needed at all. A good deed toward the fellow man is more important than a sacrifice in order to save oneself. A good deed is originated in charity and has nothing to do about one’s life, while an animal sacrifice tends to be self-centred in its nature, as a reaction to problem caused by self-centredness. This is why God does want us to show each other compassion, understanding, and mercy. That is the noble and selfless thing to do, when it is helped the person for free and rejoiced with the person. We should just be glad over the opportunity to do good things, and that we forgot all about ourselves while doing it. For that God has been doing exactly the same thing toward us, so we should be good to our fellow man as God has been good to us, more so than we do deserve. However when the man makes a sacrifice to God then he does tend to expect some kind of repayment, as if it would be offered a trinket in return for something of much greater value, but the man would otherwise not make a sacrifice if he needed nothing. It can thereby be said that the man made a sin offering for his own sake, but it was never really for God’s sake, since the man did not feel love and gratitude during the offering. God is more important than everyone else, and His words more than everything else, so it should of course be consulted with God about the best way to serve Him. It would be foolish thing if we disregarded God Himself while we sought to serve Him, or if we would prefer our service to God above God Himself. If we truly love the person then we are willing to listen to that what the person has to say and respect its decisions, so it is about acting like a true friend and treat the person like one. It would however be a senseless thing if we did not care about the person, where we would be constantly shunning the person and never bother to know it, but we would try to make everything up to the person by offering it money and gifts. God is looking for a true friend, even that the person has nothing to offer except its goodwill, since it is invested in the company of another person and enjoyed the time with it. But God does not really care about the lifeless things which we can own and offer, since it does not make us into a true friend, nor does it teach us to behave like one. Saul presumed that he could continue to be king without relying upon the words of God, even that God had made him into a king and it was according to His word at that time. No man can become noble and selfless without the presence of God, and no man can speak the truth and do justice unless the words of God were already present in his heart. It cannot be separated God from His words, but where one is there is also another, so that we do either heed God or not, and there does not exist anything in between. Rebellion is like a sin of witchcraft, while stubbornness is as sin of iniquity and idolatry. It does always begin in rebellion against God’s authority, when it is refused to acknowledge the truth, refused to submit to God’s jurisdiction, and disregarded all warnings, since the man holds a grudge against God and presumes to know better than Him. And then afterwards does the man turn to idolatry, witchcraft, and iniquity, when the man seeks to invent or promote something that can serve his selfish ends. The root of the problem consists in the man’s unbelief, when he deliberately neglects all preventive measures and only seems to know better after the harm is done.

It is written: ‘And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord. And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. And Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent. Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God. So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the Lord… And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the Lord repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.’

Saul did not really understand what he had done wrong, and he did not repent of anything, since Saul would otherwise have been concerned about the relationship with God. But Saul was only concerned about his title as a king, and his image among the Israel people. Saul confessed that he had disobeyed God through fear of the people, and yet he wanted Samuel to honour him before the people, as if Saul was repeating the same mistake all over again. God has already rejected and forsaken Saul, but Saul wanted to pretend like he was pious to everyone else. It was as if Saul was speaking about God to everyone, while disregarding the voice of God in his heart. Saul sought to honour the man of God, but not God Himself, the only person whom can bestow true honour and make us worthy enough to receive it. So the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. Saul was never happy alone by himself, but he could only be cheered up by David. It is because Saul did not have the Spirit of God in his own life, while David was blessed in such way and could make everyone happy around him. David does signify the virtuous man that is self-supportive in his happiness, while Saul is the spiritually empty man that is too much depended upon other people. Saul would later envy and hate David, not because of any fault on David’s behalf, but Saul became troubled after hearing idle words or gossip from women. It was not actually a manly thing to do, and even less fitting for a king, since that empty words can never insert a merit nor remove it from us. David had of course not killed ten thousand enemies, nor Saul a thousand. It was thereby a problem created out from nothing, as if empty words could change the facts of the reality, but it was only affecting Saul’s insubstantial ego and self-conceit. A decent man would never have plotted against those considered better than him, but he would instead have rejoiced with them, or sought to prove his own merit through valiant deeds. Saul hated David for making greater accomplishments than him, and sought to undermine its significance, while Saul did never come up with his own feats. God was with David and made him prosperous, so that Saul hated David for it, even that Saul was really opposing God and the good things belonging to Him. Saul would have persecuted any man blessed by God, so long as Saul was not one of them. Saul was the king of the Israel people, and meant to fight against the enemies of God, and yet Saul sought to persecute and murder the friends of God of all people. It was indeed a mad thing that Saul was willing to hold unto his title as a king, at the expense of his own sanity and health, since he was unable to enjoy anything in his life. Saul should have stepped down and allowed God to choose a worthier king instead, rather than by trying to maintain his power through shameful and desperate means.

In chapter 16 it is written: ‘And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him. But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.’

The outward appearance is irrelevant, whether it does involve beauty, height, weight, colour, strength, agility, stamina, or disabilities. It is not like the man does first need such things before he can believe in God and obey His will, for the man can very well approach God in his current state, as the man he is now, and then God will surely receive him. The physical body cannot touch spiritual matters, the condition of our soul, but it is rather affected by our moral choices. It can be mentioned spiritual attributes like charity, kindness, determination, courage, freedom, prudence, reason, judgment, patience, humility, moderation, self-control, generosity, and clemency. This is something which can only be discovered in the human heart, if the man allows God to become part of his heart, so that God can touch and appeal to the heart, to reshape the heart according to His purpose, to reach full potential. Physical attributes mean nothing without the spiritual attributes, or a great body is nothing without a good sense, as what would turn out between David and Goliath. David did not want to use Saul’s armour and helmet, because he had not proved them. Saul was both unwilling and unable to fight against Goliath, and Saul was now trying to make David fight Goliath like himself would have done, according to his means. Saul’s armour is meant to signify the usual human means, when the man relies upon specific arguments, inventions, or tricks in order to defend or save himself from adversaries. It should rather be relied upon God as our only refuge, where the best defence is to have no defence at all except God, since that His presence is the only deciding factor. David took a staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a crip; and he had a sling in his hand. Moses did also use a staff, for he relied upon God’s wisdom and power above violence, so there was no hatred or ill will involved, unlike those that use human weapons. It was originally used a spear to hunt for animals, and an axe was used to chop wood, but the sword was the first weapon especially designed to kill human beings in wars. The five stones can signify the five books of Moses, or perhaps the fifth Book (Deuteronomy), since it was meant for the new generations, the ones already deemed faithful. The stones were taken from a brook, even as how the Holy Spirit is like a well of water within the true believer, springing up into eternal life. The Holy Spirit provided the right means to overcome Goliath, by making David bold in the approach and aiming for Goliath’s weakness. Goliath came with a sword, a spear, and a shield, but David came in the name of the Lord. The Lord would not save with a sword or a spear, for the battle is the Lord’s. There was no sword in the hand of David, at the time he fought against Goliath, but Goliath became killed by another cause and decapitated by his own great sword. It is true that Goliath was of great size and heavily armed, but he would only be a dangerous opponent in a melee, or in a fight up close. David used a ranged weapon against Goliath, which nullified all his strong factors, since that Goliath could not use his size and muscles to prevent the oncoming missile. But Goliath’s size did on the contrary work against him, by making him a bigger target for a missile. The Lord taught David to approach Goliath in the best possible way, where David fought upon his terms and where he was what strongest at, while Goliath was unable to do the same thing and his only weakness was exploited against him.

Saul demanded that David should bring him one hundred foreskins from their enemies as a dowry, if David was going to marry one of his daughters. Saul did not dare to kill David by his own hands, but he hoped that the Philistines would kill David for him. Saul plotted against David because he presumed to have the matters under his control, but it was merely a self-deception, empty words of a man that did not know anything. David did on the contrary kill twice as many enemies, and he received twice as much honour from it, so it was like Saul’s plan was to the only effect of serving David’s cause. Jesus Christ taught us offer the other cheek, and offer twice as much to those that demand anything from us. For we are relying upon God’s kindness to make everything turn out well for us, so we can just as well be selfless and generous about the undertaking. We are just glad for being given a chance to do good things, to have something to useful to do, as if we were appreciating such personal experience for its own sake. There were many cases when David showed mercy to his enemies and repaid evil with good, although David mostly did so to his own people, but not to the heathens. So that David acted like a true believer, as what God wanted us to be in the Law of Moses, even that the Law did not seem to encourage mercy and tolerance to such degree. David was in position to punish people for their faults, but he did still not choose to do it, so it was according to the spirit of the Law, even that the letter might seem vague. Compassion is the beginning of the law, and mercy is the end of the law, since that’s the reason why God wrote the Law and what He is trying to promote in us all. David and his men were allowed to eat hallowed bread, even that they were not priests of God. God did never hold it against David, as if David had committed a sin or rebellion against God, so David was never punished in the same way as happened to Saul. A priestly title did not really matter if David was like a priest in spirit, dedicated to God and a partaker in His Holy Spirit, so that David was truly pure in his intentions. It would have been a transgression if Saul had eaten the hallowed bread, for that he did not care about God in his heart, and he was only governed by selfish intentions. David did not exploit opportunities to kill Saul, for that David had never dwelt upon such thoughts in the first place, or he had not yielded to such desires in his heart. This is why it did not matter what could change all around David, what he was able to achieve and obtain in the world, since that he would still remain innocent in his attitude. Saul continued to persecute David because he was afraid of that what could otherwise happen in the future, but it had hitherto never happened, since it would be unlike David’s character. Saul became suspicious while he was all alone with his thoughts, or while David was absent from him. But these suspicions would be immediately dispelled when David appeared to Saul, and only revealed his continual goodwill. However when David had left then Saul became suspicious all over again, as if this had everything to do about his own mindset and nothing to do about David himself. Saul would either way have thought evil of David, and interpreted David’s acts as a threat to him, regardless of that what David could have said and done on his behalf.

God would never again give Saul answer, not at any date, and nothing could change His stance, since it was a matter of principle. Saul was already found unworthy in God’s sight, where Saul would only seek to abuse opportunities to further his selfish ends and to persecute the men of God. This is why it did not matter what Saul could do on his behalf, by relying upon alternate means to contact God or Samuel, since it did not change the nature of the problem. Saul sought to contact God through any means and at any cost, even that it would prove to be a lie and deceit, something which did not belong to God in the first place. But it seems that this spirit was indeed Samuel, since he would otherwise not have spoken the whole truth.  However Samuel did not really have anything new to say, but Samuel did merely repeat the same answer he had previously given Saul. It was thereby like Saul was merely confirming something which he should already have known with himself, that he had rebelled against God and been forsaken by Him. Thereby would God not help Saul to obtain victory over the Philistines, but Saul would surely loose and perish. Saul had been fasting for one day and one night, and the next he broke the fast by eating bread which the psychic offered to him. It is exactly the same thing when the faithless man heads from one extreme to another, by being self-righteous one day and selfish the next day, so it has either been done too much or too little than what God required. Saul did not fast because he was concerned about God and His ways, but he only pretended to be pious for selfish reasons, since he coveted after some kind of advantage. Saul was unable to keep it up for long, and he found himself compelled to accept bread, as if Saul allowed himself to be controlled by a woman rather than by being a man of principle. The bread can signify a misleading knowledge originated from devils, something which distorts our understanding and alienates us from God’s love. The self-righteous man only pretends to serve God on the outside, while he is submissive toward superstition and erroneous ideas on the inside, as if he was too afraid to act otherwise. Saul was afraid of the Philistines and did then consult with a psychic, as if Saul was making use of evil against evil, or an enemy against another enemy. Even the Philistines acknowledged that David was an upright man and favoured by the Lord. The Israel people would never be victorious over their enemies while Saul led them, so it was entirely Saul’s fault that so many men perished under his command. Saul was willing to hold unto his title at any cost, even that he would endanger everyone else in the process. It is not like God would justify Saul because the army he was leading, as if God was afraid that so many men would otherwise die in the battle. The matter in question is not about that whether the followers are decent or not, but rather whether they are serving the agenda of a wicked leader, to make him become even more powerful and thereby more capable of harming more innocent people. God will never be blackmailed into anything, and it cannot be manipulated His decisions, since that God will never justify the wicked nor help him obtain success. Why should God help the army survive, only so the men can be corrupted further, to participate in further crimes, and destroy the lives of more innocent people? This is why it is preferable that an army can perish while there is some decency left in the men, rather than by allowing the men to survive only to become like their wicked leader. This might seem hard to understand if we only look to the death of the flesh, as if that would mean the end of everything or the final defeat of the decent men. But God is more concerned about the wellbeing of our soul, whether we will live and die as an innocent person, so it will become a victory in defeat if we continue to live in the Lord. Jonathan was a virtuous man, and it was regrettable that he died during that battle, but we do otherwise not know anything about the rest of the army. God is capable of destroying a wicked leader, and him alone, while saving the whole army, similar to that what happened to King Ahab during the battle of Ramoth-Gilead. God could have done so in regard to Saul’s followers, but He did still not choose to do it, so there must have been more factors involved, to explain why God acted in the way He did.

8.2: King David (2. Samuel)

In the First Book of Samuel then it is written that Saul committed a suicide, by falling on his sword, while that Amalekite claimed to have killed Saul as a favour to a dying man. The Scripture is not contradicting itself, for it was a written as a fact that Saul killed himself, while that Amalekite merely claimed to have kill Saul, based on his account. So that Amalekite lied that he had been the one to kill Saul, as if he could ingratiate himself with David and obtain reward, although it was true that he had spoiled Saul’s body. That Amalekite pronounced his own sentence and was punished with death, even that he had lied about the account, since he was already guilty in his intentions. A similar thing would happen to the two men that killed Saul’s son, Ish-bosheth, since that David hate a wicked act in any form, even that it would befall his enemy. A traitor will betray his new master, just like he had previously betrayed his old master for him, since the traitor does never appreciate anyone and anything in the present time. David welcomed Abner as a new ally, and held no personal grudge for the past, since it should be commended a virtue in any man and sought to make a friend out of him. It is true that Abner no longer supported Ish-bosheth, but Abner had still not betrayed him in the truest sense of the word. For that Abner went over to David and supported him openly, but Abner did never betray Ish-bosheth from within, prior to it. It is not like Abner stabbed Ish-bosheth in the back while the latter was unprepared, or that he did deliberately seek to ruin the army under his command. But Abner had already declared his support for David in an honest and straightforward way. Abner had been forced to kill one of Joab’s brothers in self-defence, while they were enemies, so it was something which does follow every war, to kill or be killed. It can apply that the man kills enemies in order to save himself and his fellow-soldiers, and the enemy is doing exactly the same thing from his side. If an enemy soldier does kill one of the man’s fellow-soldiers then he should not be filled with hatred over it, since the man has been doing exactly the same thing to the enemy soldier and his fellows. Abner had become David’s ally and he would no longer be considered a threat, so it should of course not be punished a former enemy for doing the right thing. When the ark of God was brought into Jerusalem then David danced with all his might before the Lord. David did not allow himself to be changed by prosperity and adversity, as if David would begin to consider himself important, become proud and demand everything from God. And David did never allow prosperity and adversity to change God’s position in his heart, since it was wholly thanks to God that David was able to obtain prosperity and overcome adversity, in each and every case. Everything was given and shared by God, from the beginning to the end, so that David was merely confirming that he was nothing without God and had nothing to offer Him. David could just as well confess the transparent truth and humble himself before the Lord, both from within and among other people, so there would be no misgivings about him. It did not matter what other people could think about David, but it was only important what the Lord thought about him, as the only person needed to be convinced.

In chapter 7 it is written: ‘That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains. And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the Lord is with thee. And it came to pass that night, that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan, saying, Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the Lord, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in?  Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle… Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime. As since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee an house.’

The body of Jesus Christ is the ultimate temple to contain God’s spirit, where His perfect and sinless life was offered to God once and for all, so that nothing more is required, which Jesus Christ has not already achieved and completed for our sake. Before that time then God dwelled in a tent or tabernacle, which is meant to signify the imperfect believer, a man that could only live temporarily and obey God partially. But the Lord would surely make a house for himself, that the believer may dwell in a fixed place and move no more. This is not a reference to an earthly temple, as if the Israel people would be stuck upon the same place for the rest of their life, and unable to move outside it. For our body is meant to be a living and walking temple containing the Spirit of God, so that God will be able to contact and help us anywhere, at any time. The believer does no longer need to do this or that in order to prove himself before God, as if the believer was running back and forth, trying to overcome all the devils, trying to offer all kinds of religious service, trying to change or save the world. For that God has already redeemed and justified the believer through the grace of Jesus Christ, where all the sins are already forgiven, in the past, the present, and the future. The children of wickedness will no longer afflict the believer, for the devils have been deprived of all power and claims, so they can no longer be a part of our life. God would set David’s seed after him, and establish his kingdom for ever. But surely this does not apply to Solomon and the two kingdoms of the Israel people, since that Solomon fell away from God and the two kingdoms were ultimately subdued by the heathens. The Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah and the line of David, as what applied to both Mary and Joseph, the mother of Christ and his foster-father. One of them was descended from Solomon, and the other from Nathan, also one of David’s sons. David was not allowed to build the temple of the Lord, because he had shed so much blood, as what is written in the First Book of the Chronicles. However the prophecy is not really about Solomon, the king that reigned during peace, but it does rather apply to Jesus Christ, whom loved His enemies and repaid evil with good. Jesus Christ did not avenge Himself, nor was there treachery in His mouth, but the Lord was like an innocent Lamb led to the slaughter, so that He could save everyone else. The Messiah would neither kill human enemies nor encourage his followers to do so, so it does exclude the possibility of the Messiah becoming a political leader or a warlord. The Messiah would not create a worldly empire at the expense of human lives, only so that his followers could become richer and have a life of luxury. So the Messiah would be able to make his followers free and happy without relying upon violence, even as when Solomon was able to promote peace and prosperity through wisdom. It would not make any sense if the Messiah would create a great empire in the world, while all his followers would continue to be just as selfish and ignorant as before. The Messiah was rather meant to establish God’s truth and justice from within us, so that we could become a virtuous person and belong to God’s kingdom in our spirit. The man does not live on bread only, even as when a material gain is unable to make us become a better person, but it is rather depended upon spiritual values and moral choices.

In chapter 11 it is written: ‘And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house. And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child… And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die… And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.’

David did first covet after his neighbour’s wife, then he committed adultery with her, then he planned the murder of the husband, then he bore false witness about the husband’s death, and finally David stole the woman. This began with covetousness, and it did then lead to all other crimes involving human relations, as what is testified of in the Ten Commandments. Unbelief is the fundamental sin against God, always leading to rebellion against God, idolatry, blasphemy, a negligence and forgetfulness of the worship. But covetousness is the fundamental sin against the fellow man, where it is sought to do something at his expense in order to obtain selfish advantage, profit or pleasure. It should be abstained from unbelief and covetousness as the greatest preventive measure. But we must otherwise be ready to confess our guilt and assume responsibility as soon as possible, so that our inner corruption will not escalate with the time. David sought to murder Uriah in order to conceal his crime, since that David must have been afraid of the humiliation that would ensure, if all the people would now about it. That could both have undermined David’s kingship and his reputation for piety, since that David had hitherto been like a saint and given the best example to other men. But David should have been more concerned of God’s opinion than the opinion of everyone else. God had made David into the man that he is, and God could just as easily help David back on his feet, to undo any setbacks or make up for previous errors, as to improve the situation from henceforth. David should have approached Uriah, confessed everything, and then offered the other cheek and compensation of Uriah’s choosing. David would never know it in advance, whether Uriah would choose to be reconciled or go public with the information, but he could at least make the attempt, to make things right, and then hope that God would sort out everything else. It should be remembered when the Amalekites invaded Ziklag and took everyone, but David and his men were still able to regain their own people, as if no harm had been done to them. It would be preferable that only God knew the truth about us, while everyone else would presume differently. For that God alone has the right to judge us, to reward us for our good deeds and punish us for our evil deeds, while people tend to come up with empty words and vain measures, like a quantity without any quality. This is why we should be contented with that in doing good things in secret, to keep the matter between us and God, since God alone possesses the power to do something about the information.

In chapter 12 it is written: ‘And the Lord sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him. And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man…’ It is written: ‘And Nathan said unto David, The Lord hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.’

The traveller in the parable is meant to signify a desire, which induces the man to appease it in one way or another, once the man has forgotten his vigilance and given in to it. David was in position to satisfy all his desires, from his abundant power and luxuries, like by having wealth, beautiful women, expensive food and objects, and servants to do his bidding. But Uriah was poor and had nothing else beside his wife, so David would not let Uriah hold unto the only thing which gave joy to his life. God had already given David so much, and He would have given David even more, if David was not already contented with his life. There was nothing inevitable about David’s adultery with Bath-sheba, and how it would later turn out for Uriah, since there was always enough time for David to approach God at the very outset. God could have freed David from his desires for Bath-sheba, and purified his heart of avarice, so David could continue to be happy and contented without beautiful women. But why did God show grace to David and allowed him to remain king in the end, while God had not treated Saul in the same way, even that both of them committed faults? It was because David did never rebel directly against God, like by refusing to confess the truth, refusing to acknowledge God’s jurisdiction, or by refusing to endure His verdicts. The faith in God is the source of everything else, and it does then affect our human relations, so that if we continue to believe in God then we can learn from our faults. It is true that David had committed many faults in regard to that matter, but David would not do so again, since he repented of it and turned to God for mercy. The crimes of David gave a great occasion for the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. David was supposed to be God’s best friend among the human people at that time, His representative upon the earth, and the one giving the best example to other men. But David committed so many and great crimes in such a short time, as if it gave the impression that the believers were not better than the unbelievers, that God was incapable of making the man become virtuous, or that nobody could be redeemed upon the earth. God has given the human people a free will to choose between Him and the Enemy, where the true believers are meant to prove that God’s words can work out in the lives of us all, and thereby disprove the claims of devils that nobody can do so. This is why the crimes of David gave the devils an occasion to blaspheme, since the devils were seeking to self-justify their rebellion and hide behind excuses of such nature. David fasted for the child of his while it was still alive, but not after it was dead. Charity is all about caring for living beings while they are around, where a good deed is done by one and received by another, so the person must be aware of it and accept it. It cannot be done a good deed to those that are dead, lost, or too far away, since two persons are needed for charity to exist, while one-sided measures do not count.

Amnon coveted after his own sister while she was a virgin, but hated her after the rape. Covetousness is always accompanied with spite, before and afterwards, since the lustful man does not respect the woman he wants to exploit as a tool. Absalom did neither speak good nor bad to Amnon, because Absalom hated him. It has been said that the opposite of love is not hate, but rather apathy. It does however seem that indifference can be consequence from hatred, when the hateful man does no longer feel anything for his victim, as if he had given upon the person for good. Absalom would have been angry if he still cared for Amnon to some extant, as if Amnon could still be convinced of the truth and be redeemed. But Abasalom did not speak to Amnon at all, thereby confirming that nothing would be able to reconcile them. A wise woman said to David that we must die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. It is within our power to take away a human life, but we can however not restore it, even that we can repent of it afterward and wish that it had not happened. This is why we should allow God to judge between us and other men, rather than by taking matters into our own hands, since only God knows the whole matter and our latter end. God did not immediately punish David, but it happened sometime later, when David did not expect it and was unprepared. The man can never know such things in advance, when and in what way the divine retribution will happen. But it is something completely beyond his control, not to be prevented, lessened, delayed, or transferred. The man can only acknowledge God’s verdict and attempt to endure it with patience, since God is the one causing the problems and the only one to remove them. David did not need to take the ark of God with him in the flight, for that God could restore David to the throne and make him able to return to Jerusalem. The ark of God would not be lost to David forever, but it would be temporarily absent from him, as if the ark was merely being loaned to someone else and to be returned some time later. This is why we should never become troubled over good things we have to abandon in our life, since God can very well restore everything back to us. And we do not need to flee from our enemies in order to save our belongings, but we can rather leave our belongings and take the battle to the enemy. The faith in God is about heading for the root of the solution in order to overcome the root of the problem, what is supposed to define our victory. So we do often need to think outside the box and approach the matter in complete opposite way, where we do either head for a specific thing or that thing is meant to come over to us. It can be said that God wanted to test how David would react, if his position would be reversed, so David fell from the top and needed to work himself up from the bottom. David had showed little self-restraint in prosperity, and allowed it to corrupt himself in the case of Uriah’s wife, so David would now experience adversity which also called for self-control. This is why David allowed Shimei to curse him and throw stones at him, since David did now experience what it was like to be at fault and be at the mercy of someone else. David had hitherto shown mercy to unworthy enemies from favourable position, while David was now asking God for mercy from unfavourable position. The people did not want David to participate in the battle, since he was worth more than ten thousand men. The cause will only endure while the leader is still alive, but if the leader falls then the cause will be lost as well and everyone will scatter. The hair of Absalom became stuck in the branches of an oak, which made him into an easy prey, even as when the wicked men become ensnared by their own schemes, since they could not foresee unexpected changes and everything backfired. The Lord did not prevent Ahithophel from coming up with ‘good’ counsel against David, but the Lord did rather prevent that counsel from obtaining reception. It could be argued that this ‘good' counsel was not originated from the Lord, even that it seemed to be wise, since the Lord would never contradict Himself and seek to harm His own people. It is however possible that the Lord was able to do both things at the same time, by blessing Ahithophel with wisdom and by saving David from that very same wisdom, since ‘the lot is cast into the lap but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord’.

In chapter 24 it is written: ‘And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah. For the king said to Joab the captain of the host, which was with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, and number ye the people, that I may know the number of the people… And David’s heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the Lord, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O Lord, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly. For when David was up in the morning, the word of the Lord came unto the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying, Go and say unto David, Thus saith the Lord, I offer thee three things; choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee. So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? Or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee? Or that there be three days’ pestilence in thy land? Now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me.’

God did not want David to number his countrymen, whatever David’s reasons might be, since the Israel people were meant to rely upon God alone for victory against enemies above their numbers. But would God still have punished David and the Israel people, if his intentions had been sincere and harmless, or if David had done so through curiosity alone? David must have numbered the people in context with warfare, since the value of the act would be determined by its motives, as what applied with the memorial in Joshua’s time. But why did God punish the whole Israel people for the sins of one man? The Israel people had hitherto been blessed by the godly life of their leader, so that God had shielded them from famine, pestilence, and invasion of foreign enemies. However when David failed to uphold his high moral standard then God would also not bless the Israel people altogether, but God allowed some of these adversities to befall them. God did not really cause evil things out from nothing, even that the Israel people did not deserve it, but it was rather like an unpaid debt now being claimed or something previously ‘stored in a bank’. David was given three choices, and all of them were bad in their own right. David chose pestilence for three days, rather than famine for seven years or flight from his enemies for three months. But should not David have taken the punishment upon himself, as the most selfless thing in the situation, rather than by involving other people? For that seventy thousand men died in the pestilence, which is of course far worse evil than a distress of one man, forced to flee from his enemies for three months. But David was now an old man, and he had previously been forced into flight by the rebellion of Absalom, so this was something which David did not want to experience all over again. It can thereby be understood why David acted in the way he did, although it was not the ideal thing to do, and the final verdict should be reserved for God. David later repented of his choice and asked the Lord to punish him instead of the people. A pestilence for three days was probably a preferable option than a famine for seven years, so God’s punishment could be gotten over with as soon as possible, for everyone involved. Nobody would want his family and beloved ones to suffer famine, let alone for that long time, but a decent man would be willing to sacrifice himself in order to create a good lot for them. It involves a similar principle as when a nation is willing to fight for its freedom, unless it was endured a pestilence in order to be free from famine. The few should be willing to suffer for the sake of the many, where the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or so it should work in theory, if the majority is decent enough to be worth saving.

In the First Book of the Chronicles it is written: ‘And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.’ It is written: ‘I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness.’ It is written: ‘But whom am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? For all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee. For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.’

It must be known God, what kind of person He is, why He has called us, and what He does want from us. It is first understood that God is good and only promotes good things, and then next we will never do something which could contradict His kindness for us. It must be served God with a perfect heart and willing mind, where we believe in the rightfulness of the choice, understand what it is all about, and we really want to do so in our heart. God does never force anything upon us, against our freedom and better judgment, so that self-constraint and burdensome obligations cannot belong to His will. The faith should always be put in context with God’s love and longsuffering for us, where He knows what is best for our welfare and how to achieve it, so it is only required that we should trust God and let Him do His work. But a fear for our life does always digress from God’s purpose, since we only pretend to agree and obey on the surface, and there is never learned anything from it. God does search all the hearts and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts. This means that God can discern the value of every thought and imagination, like whether it is done through right or wrong premises, according to which nature or basis, whether it is moral and consistent with a principle, and what kind of causality would ensure. So that God can already discern whether it is originated from our heart or mind, whether we are sincere in our intentions or self-centred, whether we are speaking through conviction or not, whether we mean that what we say and are willing to do so. God does try our hearts, by creating all kinds of circumstances and problems to test our response, whether we would prove to be humble or proud about it. It does draw out the true intentions of our heart, what we really feel about God and are willing to do for Him, even that we can experience opposition and difficulties. Will we remain loyal to God and prefer His ways above our own life? Or will we allow something to come up between us and God, as if we would sacrifice God in order to save our own skin? All things come from God, and we are merely giving God of His own. God makes us capable of becoming sincere and honest, every time we feel and sense so in our heart, since we are receiving an inspiration originated from His Spirit. God does share His goodness with us, so that we do both receive and give at the same time. God does already have everything, and there is nothing we can give to God which He does not already own. It can be said that God wants us to become generous for our own sake, so that we can experience what it is like to be noble and altruistic in all aspirations, since God is always so and it does motivate every one of His choices. We did not become scrupulous in our human effort before we were accepted by God, for God had already accepted us and our personal improvement was merely its consequence. The spoken words and deeds are meant to reflect our heart, what we already feel and really want to do. But the external conduct is not supposed to change our heart, like when it is sought to force everything upon oneself and tried to please everyone.

9. Kings

9.1: King Solomon (1. Kings)

At first it seemed liked Adonijah had outmanoeuvred Solomon and become king in his stead, but Adonijah only ended upon convincing irrelevant people to join his cause. For that King David and the prophets favoured Solomon, and they managed to convince everyone else to join Solomon’s cause. God is the real deciding factor in everything, whether our plans can actually bring fruit or not, be made at the right timing or not. Solomon tied up all loose ends concerning the reign of his father, by getting rid off all the guilty parties, so that Solomon’s reign would not suffer for the past. It must be begun upon a new and pure foundation, with new people known for their moral integrity and loyalty to the ruler, so that everything will work to the same end. But it should never be held unto the corrupt men that belonged to the old foundation, since they will continue to repeat the same follies and mistakes like usual. All the incompetent men think and behave alike, while they merely seek to change or beautify their words. It should first be gotten rid off all these corrupt or incompetent officials, and then replaced them with scrupulous and competent ones, before it can be come up with further ideas, measures, reforms, or something to improve the society from within. The corrupt officials would otherwise only get in the way, attempt to hinder or delay all reforms, since they only seek to protect their own self-interest and favourites. The problem about democracy is that that there are too many heads which seek to contradict each other, like when every part of the body rebels wants to go its own way. Nothing can be established for long, where many decisions are not consistent with each other, since there is always someone interfering with it before and after. This is why one supreme ruler can be better in comparison, like one head that controls the whole body, if the ruler really knows himself and what needs to be done. Monarchy does only make sense if God is the one to choose the ruler, rather than men would choose men, or that the monarchy would be inherited from father to son. So God can choose someone among the people to become their ruler, and when that same ruler becomes too weak or old then God can choose another person to replace him.

Solomon became renowned for his wisdom, and admired by those that had previously been the enemies of Israel. There was neither adversary nor evil occurrent, but peace prevailed from within the kingdom and at the borders. Solomon was able to promote great prosperity, even that he did not rely upon any wars and spoils from defeated enemies. This is the ideal state, when it is relied upon human empathy and intellects to benefit the welfare of the whole, to make discoveries and create something which is used for a peaceful purpose. A good ruler should seek to create the best conditions for the human subjects, to be free and happy from within, to have a decent life and be equal among one another. It would be even greater if achieved peacefully, without being at the expense of someone else, and without attempting to force it upon everyone. The human society tended to be stagnant most of the time, when kings wasted everyone and everything upon needless wars, paradoxical in their nature, since it was sacrificed great resources in order to obtain the small resources that remained. It does correspond to totalitarian state at our times, when the entire society is centred upon the dictator and his army, while everything else remains neglected and stagnant. There is no spiritual and intellectual progress, no individual freedom and social reforms, no civic virtue and peace, but everything is restricted by the restrictions of the dictator. God is telling us that wisdom and justice leads to true prosperity and progress, while covetousness and warmongering will only make us worse off than before. Solomon shared his knowledge with the heathens, rather by trying to rob the heathens of their possessions, and yet the kingdom of Israel became wealthier in the process. It should be converted our enemies through generosity and diplomacy, so that we can be firmly secured by their continual goodwill, rather than by trying to subdue them by force. The queen of Sheba came a long way to hear the wisdom of Solomon, even as when the man should be willing to go at any length to search for the truth and discover it, to discern the voice of God from within himself and keep to His sense of the truth. The queen of Sheba offered Solomon great treasures because of his wisdom, even as when the man should be willing to give away all his possessions in order to obtain wisdom, since it will benefit everything in his life and easily replace everything that is lost. It can be seen this resemblance to the Kingdom of God, when Jesus Christ came up with parables to explain its significance, and the right attitude of those seeking for it. Solomon levied a tribute of bond service from the remnants of the godless nations, which the Israel people had not destroyed in contrast to God’s original instructions. However Solomon did not make bondmen from the Israel people, but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and forming the cavalry. The Spartans tended to look down upon most professions except statesmanship and soldiering, since that was meant to be the source of the state’s wellbeing. Jesus Christ said that the kings of the earth did only demand tribute from strangers, but never from their own children. So the children of God are already freed from all burdens and obligations, and they do not need to make any amends to God, since their whole human existence is like a gift from God and everything is His to share. Our life is meant to be like one great thanksgiving for the grace of God, and all of our right intentions and choices are a freewill offering, after God had already redeemed us. We have been freed from worldly obligations, so that we can dedicate the remainder of our life to the will of God, to do good deeds for free and help one another.

In chapter 3 it is written: ‘And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, not hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will also lengthen thy days. And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream…’

Wisdom and understanding is the source of everything else, where it does reach to everything in our human existence and determines its success. Intellects are always superior to brute force, in what way we will use our body and communicate with one another, interact with everyone and everything. Physical power is something which does have a limited use for limited factors, while superior intellects can also help us train and organize our body in the most efficient way. Is not our muscles that can make us wiser, but it is rather wisdom that can help make us stronger, since it does govern our approach and proper means to an end. If we have a good sense then we will know how to live in the healthiest way, know how to educate ourselves and be creative, know how to obtain success in our profession and become rich, know how to overcome adversity and be victorious over our enemies. It does all come down to that ‘how’ we can achieve something and promote good outcome, so that we must be able to discern the value of the choice from the very outset and reject everything that digresses from its purpose. Solomon could have asked for a long life, but it would still not guarantee anything else, like whether he would have a healthy body all this time or be troubled by maladies alongside that blessing, whether he would be happy and contented with his life or unhappy and restless. Solomon could have asked for riches, but in what way would he have used them? Solomon could just as well have squandered all these riches upon nothing, or invested in foolish undertakings that would only lead to a failure, a waste of human lives and resources. And Solomon could have asked for the lives of his enemies, but it would still never solve anything, since new enemies and new problems could emerge with the time. What if Solomon was unfair and arrogant toward everyone, constantly creating new enemies and loosing friends, so that he would in the end find himself alone? It is much more important that we can know how to live well, to handle our matters wisely and treat other men in fairness, so we can establish any success. It should not be gazed upon superficial issues, something limited in its reach, but we should rather seek for multipurpose qualities that are practical to our daily needs.

It is written: ‘Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him… Then said the king, This one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living. And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king. And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other. Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it. Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof. And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.’

These two women gave a conflicting statement, where one of the women claimed that the child was hers, while the other also claimed to be its mother. It was thereby her words against hers, and nobody else could verify their claims, so it could not be discovered the truth by asking the women for it, whether they would agree or not. The solution was not to be found in the mouth of these women, by sorting out their words, so Solomon did not need to convince the women directly through clever arguments or threats of punishment. For that neither woman would yield to the other, where the true mother would not give up on its own child and the impostor refused to repent of her wrongdoing. But Solomon needed to created difficult circumstances to test their initial reactions, which woman proved to be decent and which one proved to be selfish. It is exactly the same thing when God test us through various circumstances and temptations, as if to determine what really dwells in our heart, or what our true stance is, so we will either become humble or proud about it. The matter was not about that which woman claimed to be the mother, by merely speaking about it, but rather which women behaved like a true mother and had genuine feelings for the child. It is about tracing oneself from a cause to the consequence, and from a consequence back to the cause. So it was deducted the identity of the true mother by reading between the lines, what kind of gesture or responses were happening alongside her expression. It is not only about that what can be said, but rather in what way it was said (how?), when it is discerned the context between the person that it speaking and the speech. It can be asked whether the facial expression is consistent with the words or not, whether it seems to be spoken through conviction or not, what caused the person to speak like that in the first place, and what the person is hoping to achieve.

In chapter 11 it is written: ‘But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; Of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father. Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.’

At first Solomon did not rebel against God directly, but he did rather love that which belonged to the world, since the heathen women can signify desires, lures and the cares of this world, its luxury and inventions. So that Solomon loved the things of the world, until he began to love the world itself, and prefer the world above God, the very same world which the Enemy rules. A similar thing applies with our times, in regard to human ideology, science, and technology, when human inventions begin to overshadow the faith in God and His morality. This does not mean that the earthly things are bad by default, but it is rather determined by the human aspect, whether the man is too much attached to such things, when he overrates its importance to himself or seeks to make it replace his spiritual needs. Solomon was known for his superior intellects, and yet he became proud and unrestrained in his prosperity, as if intelligence alone was not enough without other virtues, like humility, self-control, moderation, sobriety, and patience. It is not enough to know the right thing, but the man must also be willing to act upon it, to restrain every desire and thought, so that he is the one in full control of himself.  Both our body and mind is meant to be obedient to the Lord, where no self-indulgence or loose habit should be tolerated, if it induces us to neglect God’s commandments. Solomon should have known where his desires were heading, and what was about to happen, but he refused to make the necessary sacrifices and still clave to these women. This does not undermine the faith in God in any way, as if God’s wisdom had been defeated by His enemies, or that the selfish ways of the world are too irresistible for human reason. Solomon was once honoured while he had been doing the will of God, but when Solomon ceased to do so then he became ‘defeated’ by women and influenced by them. Solomon could have overcome his own desires through God’s wisdom, if he had only reached for that possibility. But Solomon did not bother to make the attempt, as if he had begun to treat the wisdom like an unusable object, locked away or hidden. Both David and Solomon had married more than one woman, and had many concubines. But David did still never rebel against God for women, at least not directly (concerning the worship of God, not His morality), unlike the case of Solomon. David married women among his own people, whom must have believed in God to some extant. So the problem did not consist in women as a gender, but rather in their origins and beliefs, since the hedonic women clung to their idols and would not adapt to Israel. David worked himself up from the bottom, and experienced many vicissitudes in his life, so there would be overly prosperity and overly adversity at some points. However Solomon began at the top, and experienced only prosperity in his life, but it did still not prevent him from rebelling against God and yielding to temptations. This is why no man is in position to blame God for his own faults and mistakes, as if the man would never have done such things if there had always been prosperity and no adversity. It has nothing to do about that what is around the man, and what he can receive, but it is ultimately depended upon his heart what will be its reception.

The temple of the Lord was built at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite. The angel of the Lord had been ready to smite Jerusalem with pestilence, so that David built an altar on the site to stay the plague from the people. The mount Moriah is also where Abraham sought to sacrifice his son Isaac. Solomon began to build the temple 480 years after the Israel people went out from Egypt, and he finished the temple in 7 years. So these were 487 years, which can signify 487 days, since in the Scripture days can signify years and vice versa. These 487 days do almost equal 70 weeks, which are spoken of in the Book of Daniel. For that seventy weeks were determined upon the Israel people, to finish the transgression and to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity and to bring forth an everlasting righteousness. This prophecy is a reference to Jesus Christ, for that His body is the real temple to contain God’s Spirit, and to stay God’s wrath from us. Jesus Christ fulfilled His role as the Messiah for three and a half year, so it could explain why 3 years are subtracted from 490 years, although it is not precise calculation. There passed almost 490 years until the temple of Solomon would be built, and that kind of number could also apply after Ezra and Nehemiah rebuilt the temple, until the Messiah would appear and fulfil the works of God. The events could be like a mirror-image of each other, for that Moses had previously led the Israel people away from Egypt, 487 years before the temple of Solomon, and Jesus Christ would lead His people to the Kingdom of God, 487 years after the Second Temple was built.

The heaven and the earth cannot contain God, how much less the house of man? Only God can contain God, and only the Son can do the same things as the Father, since they are one and the same. A perfect body is required to inhabit the perfect Spirit of God in every aspect, unlike the human people with their restrictions and shortcomings. So that our selfish and frail life was unable to deserve the Spirit of God and could either way not contain it, as what applied to an earthly temple made by men. The Biblical figures were only able to follow God to a certain extant, to unlock a part of God’s knowledge and power, but Jesus Christ is the one to unleash God’s full potential. God’s eyes were meant to be open toward the temple in Jerusalem day and night. This means that God will be open toward our prayers at any time and any place, if we are stationed upon the basis of Jesus Christ, approaching God according to His premises. God will hear our case in heaven, and judge His servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his own head, and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness. If it is rebelled against God then we can be defeated by devils and enslaved to problems, so we experience emptiness and restlessness in our soul. But we can always turn to the Lord, confess His name, pray for His help, and turn away from our sins. God can then hear us in heaven, forgive us our sins, and bring us back into His Kingdom, to become again partaker in His Spirit with all its benefits. We will again have a good sense of the truth, and a sense of decency, which does then affect the condition of our soul, to make it well, free, cheerful, stable, and at peace. Every man should know the plague of his own heart, what is troubling him from within. God should know what the man is going through, and what needs to be done about it, so the man does only have to acknowledge it and wait until God will help him.

Solomon claimed that there is no man that does not sin. It is also implied by Job, and confirmed in the Book of Ecclesiastes (‘For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not’). It does indicate that no man would have been able to become perfect in this world, except the Lord Himself, if He would live among us in human form. Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God, where He is one with God but not a creation like everyone else. This is why the Messiah could only be the Lord Himself, not conceived by the seed of man, but rather from the seed of God, so that a virgin would become pregnant by the Holy Spirit. It is true that the Jesus Christ did have a human body from His mother’s side and looked like a man, but His soul, heart, mind, and spirit was originated from God. Therefore was the Messiah a man, and yet not a man, so it could be confirmed and fulfilled the words of God. The Messiah could indeed be in this world like any other man, unless His divine origins prevailed over the human origins, so the Messiah could feel and sense everything like God, and thereby act like Him. Solomon asked God whom he was supposed to be, that he should build God a house, save only to burn sacrifices before him? The man can accomplish nothing in his own self, except by responding to his own sins and ask God to pardon them, since the man had been doing something wrong to call for a sacrifice in the first place. The only one worthy to build a temple for the Lord would be the Lord Himself, since the perfect work is meant to reflect His perfection, which existed prior to it. The creation can never surpass the creator, like when an imperfect man seeks to build perfect things, but there must surely be similar deficit in the work as in the builder. God would no longer dwell in the thick darkness, when God and His ways seem ambiguous to the man, but God will surely make everything plain for the man to understand. The people of Israel were meant to pray toward the land in which God gave their fathers, even toward Jerusalem, but it is not really about Palestine or the earthly city. The believer is rather meant to pray toward the Kingdom of God inside Christ, where God’s truth and justice prevails in his heart and spirit, so that His will can be done upon the earth. The heavenly Jerusalem is made for those that are pure of heart, where the believer should aim to be free from selfish desires and love the fellow man in sincerity, so that he can thereby dwell in God’s holy mountain and enter His spiritual rest.  When Solomon had made an end of praying then fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offerings and the sacrifices. And the priests could not enter in the house of the Lord, since the glory of the Lord filled the house. When Jesus Christ fulfilled His works then the temple in Jerusalem became rent in sunder, for the Lord has removed the barrier between the people and the priests, the inner and outer layer of the temple. Now every believer could become a priest of God in spirit, made holy and filled with His knowledge, even as when only the high priest could enter the holiest of holies. The Jewish priest was originally meant to teach other people how to approach God, how it should be upheld His customs and principles, and offered the right things to Him. It was something which belonged to that time, before the victory of Jesus Christ. It would never have worked out if everyone had pretended to act like priests, and serve God in their own way, being complete strangers to the Scripture. Then nobody would know God and what He truly requires, so it would be offered God useless things, deemed to be foolish, vain, selfish, carnal, and transient. But Jesus Christ has made all believers equal before God, where nobody does need to teach other people about God and change them, since that is the role of the Holy Spirit. All human intercessors are made obsolete, as what a crutch is to those that have healthy legs and are able to run. But Jesus Christ has become our one and only high priest, able to teach us everything and pardon everything on our behalf.

9.2: The Kingdom of Israel (1. Kings)

It can first be discoursed upon the kingdom of Israel in Samaria, otherwise called the Northern kingdom. A specific cycle continued to repeat itself time and again, concerning guilt and punishment, and yet it did never seem to solve the root of the problem. The current ruler would rebel against God and become guilty of punishment, and then God would stir up an adversary to overthrow the current ruler and replace him. God made use of those that were better than their enemies, or God made use of lesser evil against a greater evil, since that all men are as equally weak and frail in His sight. It did however happen that the new ruler became just as corrupt as the previous one, and even surpassed him in wickedness, and the descendants would turn out in the same way. Then God would need to raise a new adversary, whom had still not been corrupted by power or too much prosperity, and yet everything would turn out like before. It was like the man was only deemed worthy before he obtained the throne, but never afterwards, since he would soon forget about God and become unrestrained in his desires. God drove the seven godless nations from Israel, wholly because of the wickedness of their enemies, while it had nothing to do about the merit of the Israel people. A similar principle applied with the wicked rulers of Israel and those that overthrew them, since God was punishing the wicked rulers through these men but not for them. At first this arrangement did only apply within the kingdom of Samaria and Judah, while there were still honourable men to be found among the Israel people. However later on then there was no longer anyone to be found from within the kingdom, but almost everyone were deemed false, selfish, proud, covetous, and unworthy. It is written that Hazael would be anointed as the king of Syria, Jehu as the king of Israel, and Elisha would be anointed as the prophet succeeding Eliijah. For each of them would punish transgressors within their jurisdiction, where those who escaped the sword of Hazael would Jehu slay, and those who escaped from Jehu would Elisha slay. God needed to raise new adversaries among the heathens, a powerful nation or kingdom, which fought against Israel from the outside, to punish the whole people on God’s behalf. However after that foreign adversary became an empire then he would begin to repeat after the ways of the defeated nations, until he had become just as corrupt and weak from within. Then God would need to raise a new heathen nation and kingdom somewhere else, so that it could overthrow the current empire and replace it. Solomon was the first one to turn away from God, so that God exalted Jeroboam and allowed him to receive ten tribes from Israel. But Jeroboam rebelled against God, so Jeroboam’s house became destroyed by Baasha and replaced by his line. Zimri destroyed the house of Baasha, and Omri destroyed the house of Zimri, but Omri was the one to build Samaria and his son Ahab would reign with Jezebel. Jehu was anointed as a new king and he would utterly destroy the house of Ahab, so God rewarded Jehu and his descendants to the fourth generation, as the last royal line. God used the Assyrians to punish the Northern Kingdom, the Babylonians to punish the Assyrians and the kingdom of Judah, the Medes and the Persians to punish the Babylonians, the Greeks to punish the Persians, and the Romans to punish the Greeks. The new power would derive strength from the weaknesses of its enemies, but it would otherwise never have become a superpower through its merit alone. It is true that God had made use of adversaries to punish His enemies, but it did still not justify these adversaries in their own right, since they were also guilty of sins like everyone else. There is a good and valid reason why God has allowed empires to exist, to conquer minor kingdoms and annex them. At that time there were endless wars between minor kingdoms, as if independence was being abused to commit murder and robbery on a great scale. Everyone were fighting against everyone, where the weaker kingdoms made alliances against the most powerful kingdom, only to bicker among themselves after the victory, to turn against the next kingdom that had become most powerful. It only resulted in a stalemate and there was never any ultimate victor, since that an end of one war marked the beginning of another. And a peace was merely a pretext, while the minor kingdoms were preparing for a war and needed to delay the enemy. This is why it made sense that God would allow empires to conquer everyone else, for it would at least guarantee a peace and stability from within each kingdom. It should not matter where the ruler was from so long as he was deemed competent, or whether a kingdom was independent so long as the human subjects were prosperous. The society would otherwise continue to function in the same way, except the rulers would have different names.

Many people tend to presume that God wants us to suffer for our sins, as if a punishment would be an end in itself, or a solution to everything that can go wrong in our life. But God is actually telling us that punishments are ineffectual in making the man repent and turn back to God, as what applied to the Israel people before and after the captivity. God was constantly punishing the Israel people for their sins, replacing their rulers, and transferring them between places, and yet the people remained proud and stubborn about everything. It was as if the Israel people were intent upon that in rejecting God in advance, regardless of that what He could say and do for them. The man is not led back to God through a slavish fear of punishments, or a greed for rewards, since the man is still thinking and behaving in a selfish way, like he has hitherto done. It can rather be said that God’s kindness and mercy is able to convert us to Him, when we become grateful to God for His generosity and clemency, so that we become loyal to God as a person and we are thereby willing to do as what He has asked. It is loved God because He loved us first, after we came to realize that fact, but we had previously not been aware that God was trying to help us and doing good things in secret. The grace of God has managed to achieve that which all previous punishments failed to do, to give the man a new heart and a new spirit, so he can begin a new life upon new basis and become righteous from henceforth. God would not take side with one selfish man against another, like when two corrupt kingdoms went to war with each other, often through vain and petty reasons. But God would only intervene if a righteous leader was to be found among the people, so the whole army and many sinners could be saved for the sake of one person. God knows what dwells within the men’s hearts, whether they are honest or dishonest, so that God can see through any pretexts and propaganda in regard to wars. Victory and defeat is not determined by that which party invents the sweetest reasons, when one side pretends to be honest and claims that the other side is dishonest, as if it could be self-justified which side deserves to win the war and which side deserves to loose. It is not like a selfish man can hide behind sweet words and deceive God, for he merely seeks to change his words while the selfish motives and practice remains exactly the same. It is not empty words that change the fact, but the fact does rather disprove the empty words, since the actual conduct is not consistent with them in any way. The two warring sides can be as equally selfish and guilty before God, where both of them would surely abuse any opportunities and betray any principle in return for a selfish advantage, and they would surely become arrogant and cruel if they won the war. Then God will neither favour side, but He will allow both of them to suffer equal losses, as if the war would only lead to stalemate and everyone would turn out to be losers. Let’s say that the two opposing sides are as equally selfish, but one of them claims that God favours their self-interest and hates their enemies, while the other side does not do so. Then God would be more likely to punish the self-righteous hypocrites, since that side had been taking the name of God in vain and made their golden calf of Him. The other side was at least honest enough to confess that it was selfish, that it was fighting for selfish reasons, and that God did not favour their selfish ways.

In chapter 12 it is written: ‘And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon. But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying… Thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the child of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the Lord, and returned to depart, according to the word of the Lord.’

Nothing does happen at random, or by some chance, but there are valid reasons behind everything. If we are encouraged by good possibilities and experience blessings in an undeserved way then it is originated from God, since God does possess the will to love us and the means to help us. If we are tempted by evil possibilities and suffer adversity in an undeserved way then it is originated from the Enemy, since he does possess the will to hate us and seeks to oppose us. This is why we should never become troubled over anything, why these or those things are happening in our life, and we are unable to rationalize anything about it. For the human people find themselves in between the good force and the evil force, where they receive their share of good things and bad things so it can be tested their response. It is a question whether the man will give more attention to God or to the Enemy, whether he allows the good force to appeal to his good side or the bad force to appeal to his bad side, even that the man has experienced both their influence in his life. Every man is offered similar possibilities in regard to prosperity and adversity, but not all men respond in the same way, when it comes acknowledge what it means to them. God is superior to the Enemy, even as when light is superior to darkness, the truth is superior to lies, wisdom is superior to craftiness, and goodness is superior to evilness. It is true that God can accomplish anything which He wants, but it does still not mean that He will choose to do it. God can on the contrary allow bad things to happen, or He can allow the Enemy to tempt us and use some kind of adversity against us, even that God could have prevented all of these things from happening in the first place. The Enemy is unable to do anything without permission from God, for the evilness is unable to create anything and the devils are a depraved beings. The evilness is like a barren wasteland, inhabited by worthless beings, which can at most attempt to steal from the natural creation and waste the health of rebellious humans. God has allowed the evilness to have some kind of power to oppose Him, concerning the human people, their inner condition and choices. But the Enemy is otherwise unable to do anything directly against God, and the devils cannot stand before the angels of God. So the evilness has been given a degree of power to tempt the human people, to produce forth temptations in their mind, impulses and maladies in the flesh. But it is like there is nothing else besides it, except our own reactions and assumptions about it, in making much ado about nothing. It might at first give the impression that the Enemy is powerful, but the Enemy is never so in his own right, since the Enemy is trying to persecute us of all beings, whom are weak and nothing.

In chapter 13 it is written: ‘Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father… So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon, and went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am. Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place: For it was said to me by the word of the Lord, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest. He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him. So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water… And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back. And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase.’

That man of God did not intentionally want to disobey God, but he did still neglect His principles and it would lead to the same bad consequences. Why would God command the man to abstain from food and drink, only to change His mind and command the man to have food and drink, as if that was important? It did not make any sense that God would send His angel for such petty task, as if that to satisfy an appetite for food served the greater good or fulfilled God’s higher purpose. God had originally sent that man to condemn Jeroboam and predict the fall of his house, while the fasting was more like a gesture of God’s indignation. God did not want that man to have a merry time while he was fulfilling a serious task, amidst so many evils in Israel, since it would otherwise undermine his position and authority. This incident can signify that when the man wants to commit sins in his life, to participate in the selfish ways of the world, even that he knows that the Scripture speaks against it. Then that man does contemplate whether it is all right for him to do so or not, whether God would approve of it or not, or reveal a sign to confirm His will. It does not make any sense, that debauchery and fornication could belong to the will of God, that something good would come out from it, except to offer the man a self-gratification. The man of God should never have relied upon human intercessors, what other people could testify of God and His will, when they claimed to have seen and witnessed. That man of God should rather have consulted with God Himself as the best witness about Himself, what God did require from him, whether God had changed anything in His plan or not, and whether other people were telling the truth or not. For the man of God had no way of verifying the account of the prophet, alone by himself, since he had never been on the scene nor seen that angel of God with his own eyes. A similar thing applies about Jeroboam and his two golden calves, for the Israel people should never have been credulous to such lies and immediately begun to practice it. The Israel people should rather have consulted with God first, through His prophets, whether these golden calves were consistent with the faith in God and His teachings. It should never be relied upon second or third-rate sources about God and His will, for God should know Himself best of everyone, as the primary source, the original one. The man of God condemned Jeroboam for his rebellion against God, and yet he fared no better obeying God in his own life, and was also unable to avoid His wrath. Every man can seem to be like a saint before he is tested, tempted, and opposed, but it is not an easy thing to discern it in every case and what should be done about it. These were evil times, when the religious men were in no position to preach to other people, whether to criticize all the wrong things or agree with all the right things. For the religious men were also guilty of similar faults in their own lives, a degree of selfishness, partiality, avarice for profit, love of pleasure, and personal grudge. God used that man for the purpose of spotting the faults of Jeroboam and rebuke him for it, but God would next spot that man’s own faults and rebuke him as well, so that hypocrites will be punished along with the guilty parties they presumed to judge.

In chapter 14 it is written: ‘Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh way dung, till it be all gone... Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die. And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.’

God made Jeroboam the ruler of ten tribes among the Israel people, and God would never do anything to contradict His plan or neglect unforeseen factor. This is why Jeroboam’s fear proved to be groundless, that the Israel people could go back to Rehoboam, since God would otherwise not have separated them to begin with. Jeroboam did not need to come up with any measures to allay his fears, by creating two golden calves and convince the whole Israel people to commit idolatry. It is like Jeroboam corrupted himself and everyone for no reason whatsoever, where it was all done for nothing or for something imaginary which only existed in his mind. Jeroboam could have repented and destroyed the two golden calves, and then waited for God’s further verdicts, whether he could make things right and undo the curse. God healed Jeroboam’s hand when asked for it, so it indicates that a different approach would have led to different results, if Jeroboam had let go off his pride and shown humility. The child of Jeroboam did not die because it was being punished, but it was rather an act of mercy. God took away the child so it would not be corrupted later on, so that a death can be one of many means to separate the righteous person from the wicked. God does not need to save the whole world for the sake of one righteous person, but He can just as well separate that person from the world through untimely death. The righteous person is already saved in regard to its soul, but the person does not need to save its physical body as well, nor the world which is all around the person. The child was not deprived of life, but it was rather deprived of spiritual death in this world. The child would die, fall asleep and loose consciousness, and then all of sudden wake up in the resurrection, to live forever with the people of God. It is true that the child died, but it happened instantly without any pain, and no evils would be experienced while the child was dead. Everyone else of Jeroboam’s house would come to miserable end, since their carcasses would be eaten by animals, as if to signify a spiritual death or a rotten soul afflicted by devils. It should never doubted God’s decisions, as if God did not know what He was doing. For that God can foresee anything and weigh up all the alternatives, what would otherwise have happened in the situation if God had not intervened in time, through various incidents. God can make us undergo a lesser evil in order to save us from a greater evil, by giving us a warning in time, a taste of our own unfair verdicts and what it feels like to commit a fault. It can make us even more determined in rejecting temptations and show no further negligence, since it would otherwise recoil upon those we love the most. The man is not a lone island by himself, for that his decisions will affect those around him, the people which the man knows and it is come across in his life.

Ahab did evil in the sight of the Lord and served Baal, along with his wife Jezebel. And Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him. The Scripture does mention many evil men that opposed God in one way or another, but it is still not our role to judge them for anything. It might take us a short time to read about these Biblical figures in a couple of pages, but they did still live for many decades like us and many things are not mentioned. It is true that Ahab committed crimes at these or those points in his life, but should we judge Ahab while we are still young and inexperienced, and are yet to be tried by God in various aspects? Should it not be looked to the end of things, and evaluated our life in whole, after all things have come to pass, to the better or worse? We do not know what will become of us, how we will turn out in the end. So we should never grow proud over our life at any date, pretend to know everything and presume to be in position to judge everyone. God did of course condemn many Biblical figures for being wicked, but this does not exalt our life in any way, as if we would have done any better in similar circumstances, before God had shown us grace. It is not like the life of Ahab could not have turned out in any other way, since he was able to repent and show a gesture of humility. Ahab did not seem to bear any grudge against Elijah after the latter had proven the faith in God, killed the priests of Baal, and made it rain again in the land. Jezebel was always hostile toward God and His prophets, while Ahab was at some point rather uncertain about his stance or indifferent. Ahab did however not dare to go all the way, to leave anything behind in order to serve God, but Ahab continued to cleave unto his wife Jezebel and she dragged him down with her. The whoredom and witchcraft of Jezebel can signify rebellion and stubbornness, when she refused to repent and acknowledge that God was the only true God, even that Elijah proved the power of God and disproved the power of Baal to everyone. It is not like Jezebel did not know any better, as if she had committed sins in ignorance or by mistake, and that she was otherwise a decent person and spoke the truth. For that Jezebel knew which God was true and which one was false, and yet she continued to oppose God and persecute His prophets, only to serve her own self-interest. Jezebel encouraged the worship of Baal in order to establish her own rule over the Israel people, but she did never do so through a sincere concern for truth and justice. Hiel the Bethelite began to rebuild Jericho in these days, where he laid the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and he set up the gates in his youngest son, according to the prophecy of Joshua. This was no coincidence, but it merely reflected the wickedness of these times, when the Israel people began think and behave like the seven godless nations. God can create strange incidents in order to predict a turning point in the society, as if these little things would correspond to the greater things, the mindset of the people. God had first given Ahab victory over the Syrians as a gesture of His kindness, where it was like God was giving Ahab a chance to know Him and to be redeemed, since he had hitherto been committing faults through ignorance. The Syrians claimed that God was a God of the hills, but not a God of the valleys, so the Syrians would be able to overcome the Israel people in the second battle. Everything can change around God, but He remains the same person, just as powerful in the lives of us all. It does not matter whether it is changed the location, changed the subject, or changed our sentiments, since God continues to have the right on His side and His will prevails. God needed to dispel all the self-deception and presumptions which the Syrians had about Him, so the second victory was meant to confirm His power among the heathens.

In chapter 22 it is written: ‘And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides, tha we might enquire of him? And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the Lord: but I hate him; for he doth not prophecy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so… So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the Lord? And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the Lord said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace.’

Ahab wanted to receive a favourable prediction in advance, regardless of that what he would plan to do, as if the personal involvement of Ahab would be the only deciding factor. Ahab based his decisions according to that what was deemed good or bad to his life, but not was what deemed to be good or bad in general, through a moral perspective. God would of course never favour a wicked man, or a wicked choice, but He would rebuke if every time, predict its failure, and attempt to discourage everyone from it. Ahab wanted a prophet that would pretend to agree with everything, to only say that what Ahab wanted to hear, so that Ahab could hear his own opinions from the mouth of someone else, and to confirm that which he had already decided before the arrival. It is not like Ahab did first ask a question and then took necessary measures to adapt to the answer, so it could be avoided a misfortune or improved the approach. But Ahab was already full of himself, where he wanted the question and the answer to adapt to his selfish desires, and then Ahab refused to consider any other option in the situation. A devil presented himself to the Lord and offered to do Him a service, to become a lying spirit in the mouth of all the false prophets, and trick Ahab into disaster. That devil did not actually do a good deed, by telling the truth and helping an innocent person. But that wicked devil did merely seek to harm a wicked man, and he resorted to lies and deceit in order to accomplish it, just like what all other devils are doing. These are not the fallen angels during Noah’s time, since they were already being punished. So there were other angels that took side with the Enemy, and fell from God, unless these devils could be up in heaven and even come into the presence of God. The Enemy and all the fallen angels were cast down from heaven during the time of Jesus Christ, after the Lord had proven Himself sinless and begun His ministry. But why did these fallen angels rebel against God, if it was not for women during Noah’s time? It was because these devils wanted to become their own gods, to have power over the lives of sinners and manipulate them into serving their desires. So the devils wanted to become like gods, unless they do not think and behave like true gods, since nobility of soul and good qualities is more important than supernatural powers. The world does tend to describe gods as selfish and foolish beings, which rely upon supernatural powers in order to make up for lack in everything else. But that to be God is more about principle than a brute force, to rule by personal charisma, merit and good example, where it is sought to treat those of lower position in a generous and merciful way, as if everyone were equally free and dignified. In the battle at Ramoth-gilead then Syrians were about to encircle and kill Jehoshaphat, until he called God for help, and then God quickly diverted them elsewhere. But Ahab got killed by an accident, even that the enemy archer did not aim for anyone special, so it was like nothing could be able to prevent or delay the verdict of God. God is able to save us from enemies that deliberately attempt to destroy us, while a wicked man can all of a sudden be destroyed by an unexpected accident, since that God does possess the will to help those He loves while He refuses to help the wicked.

The Assyrians took Samaria and carried Israel away into Assyria. For the children of Israel had sinned against God, by secretly doing things which were not right against the Lord their God. This means that the society can seem right on the surface, but all kinds of crimes are taking place in secret, whether it does involve conspiracies, sexual abuse, or revelry. It is like everyone are yielding to spite and sexual lust in their heart, by fantasizing about wicked things, and are prepared to do so if only given the chance. So the Israel people in Samaria were led into captivity by the Assyrians, and they would never again return to that place, but Samaria would instead by inhabited by the heathens. The Babylonians would later conquer the Kingdom of Judah and lead the inhabitants into captivity, but they would at least return to the land and rebuild Jerusalem. So the people of Judah were the only one to return and resume the role of God’s chosen people, while the ten tribes of Israel became one of the heathens. In the Book of Ezra it is recorded that chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, went to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. So they must previously have belonged to the kingdom of Judah, rather the kingdom of Israel. Both Samaria and Judah had been guilty of wickedness before God, by thinking and practicing the same things, and yet they were given a different treatment by God. At first it might seem like all sinners are the same and equally guilty before God, if it is only looked to the external behaviour. But the faith in Jesus Christ can give the sinner a new heart and spirit, to change his attitude and internal condition, while everyone else remain stagnant or get gradually worse with the time. Samaria can signify those that want to be justified by the Law of Moses, by their own worth or an absence of crimes, while Judah can signify those under the grace of God, elected by Him in advance. It is wholly thanks to the grace of God that we can return to the Spirit of Christ, rebuild our spiritual man and become virtuous, and keep all devils away from our life. But it cannot be justified our old self, corrupt as it is and afflicted by devils, even as when Samaria was already inhabited by heathens and could not be rebuilt. The Samaritans would both worship the Lord and serve their own gods, so they did neither fear the Lord nor keep His principles, as if it did mostly involve a lip-service. It might be invoked God by the right name, but there is nothing else besides it, since the Samaritans continued to be heathens in their mindset and practiced the same things. It might be imitated after everything on the outside, like what kind of religious objects were used and customs upheld, but there is no understanding and conviction behind it. The Samaritans had not become true believers, but they were still heathens in essence. A half-truth mixed with a lie is still false in whole, even as when it is sought to mix the faith in God with heathen influence, since it will no longer be about God at all. This does especially apply about the Roman Catholic Church, and every Christian cult centred upon its leader, since that religions has been founded to serve the self-interest of false prophets, to uphold their glamorous image and a life of luxury. Either the man is saved by the grace of God, or he is not saved at all, but there does not exit anything in between, as if the man could deserve a grace for a little part. The Roman Catholic Church claims that the man can both be saved by a divine grace and good works, but it does only lead to contradiction, concerning the definition of grace. A divine grace is something which God offers to us for free, even that we do not deserve it in the slightest way, but it would otherwise not be called a gift nor be originated in God’s generosity. It has everything to do about that what God does on His behalf, while it has nothing to do about that what we can do on our behalf. A divine grace is a 100% gift and can only be so in that way, offered by a merciful God to the unworthy, but a 99% ‘gift’ is not a gift at all, just as much as when 1% gift is involved.

9.3: Elijah and Elisha (1-2. Kings)

It is spoken of Elijah in the First Book of Kings, while Elisha is mentioned in the Second Book. Why did Elijah the prophet not wish for dew or rain in the land of the Israel people? It is because the people had rejected God altogether and worshipped Baal instead, so their whole lives had become devoted to selfishness, wholly self-centred and self-absorbed. The Israel people sought to abuse every opportunity and betray every principle for a selfish gain, so that nothing good would come out from their aspirations. The people sought to corrupt everything which they could see and touch, since they were already corrupt from within, spiritually barren and indifferent to the love of God. The land can signify the human soul, while the heaven does signify the words of God, so the rain is like a sense of the truth, a moral principle, a benefit or blessing from God. The Israel people would no longer be reminded of the truth, restrained from within, nor be blessed with a sound condition and internal stability, since they would either way not repent nor show any gratitude to God. It is thereby like the rain would be wasted for nothing, where the spiritual life of the people would not yield any fruit, like a good conscience, a sense of decency, a personal loyalty to God, or compassion and mercy toward the fellow man. So that Elijah prayed to God that there would no dew or rain, which did then result in famine and shortage in the land, even as when there was famine and shortage in the man’s soul. A famine can signify a shortage of God’s words, when the man is no longer able to sense the truth, to make a right decision, or to discern between that what is right and wrong. Therefore will the man be of poor spirit, doubtful, pessimistic, depressed, and desperate, as if he had nothing to look forward to, nothing to live for or give his life a meaning. It is no longer believed in possibilities of the goodness, that it can be affected good changes with the time, made the best of the situation and to be hopeful for the future. Elijah blessed a widow with an abundant barrel of meal and a cruse of oil, even as when the Holy Spirit bestows us with abundant sense of the truth, virtues, and benefits. At these times the words of God were hard to come by, but not for Elijah and the widow, since they were able to know better from the source they carried from within. Everyone were experiencing famine in their lives, while Elijah and the widow were given a different treatment, or their lives turned out in completely different way under similar conditions. It is true that there was also famine all around Elijah and the widow, but they were still able to satisfy their needs from an alternate source, so it was derived a solution from different means, which led to the same outcome as a rain would do. The foreign widow was so humble that she gave a free hospitality to Elijah, and she never demanded anything in return, while the Israel people were constantly demanding signs from God and was always unwilling to do a good deed as its own reward. That widow did not originally seek for God, nor ask Him for any miracle, and yet God sent Elijah the prophet to that woman and He made a miracle for her by His own initiative. God allowed the child of the widow to die, only so He could raise it back to life, since that God can create a problem and then solve it to confirm His power in our life. Then the widow would know it for sure that the God of Israel was the only true God, to be worshipped and invoked for help, so it could thereby benefit her life at all times. That widow was indeed a virtuous woman, but she did still not know God in the same way as Elijah did, so God was actually doing all these things for her sake. This is the first recorded incident of someone being resurrected by God, and it would later be repeated by Elisha and Ezekiel, before the coming of Jesus Christ.

For three years there was famine in the land, while the people were worshipping Baal and not reconsidering the faith in God, which they had previously abandoned. Elijah asked for a chance to prove which god was supposed to be the right one, so that both sides took each their turn in worshipping their god under similar conditions, Elijah alone for the God of Israel and many priests on Baal’s behalf. Then Elijah managed to prove the faith in God openly, before all the Israel people, so they would acknowledge the obvious fact and worship God from henceforth. Then God deemed it to be the right time to end the famine, and make it rain upon the land, for the Israel people did now know how to make a good use of the available opportunities, so it could be served the greater good, done the decent thing in the greater matters and most of the time. God is not unreasonable to the man’s position, when the man is unable to know it in advance which religion is the right one and by what means it can actually be determined, or which religion proved to be false and how it can be excluded that possibility. For Elijah did simply make a comparison between the faith in God and false religion, what would happen if each religion would be given a chance to prove itself. The Israel people were sceptical at first and did not give any answer to Elijah, since they had no way of knowing such things by themselves. It is not like it can be contemplated about everything in advance, by making a decision before arriving at the circumstances, but it must be adapted to facts and changes in the circumstances. It is not enough to criticize all other religions for being false, while the man is exalting his own religion, since it has yet to be determined whether that religion is any better than them. Another person could have preached another god to the Israel people, but it would neither have called down fire from heaven, as what applied to the priests of Baal. The man is free to ask God who He is, whether God can reveal Himself in any way to him, and confirm His power, so the man is able to experience good changes in his life. But it is unbelief when the man is too afraid to make the attempt, or does not bother to do so, even that the man has the whole lifetime ahead to make an inquiry from God. The man can always ask God for pardon, if the man is making a comparison between God and another religion, how it can affect his inner condition and capability. The man is at least trying to determine which god is supposed to be the right one, and then next the man can be devoted to the same god for the rest of his life. But it is a foolish thing when the man neglects the beginning, the rightful premises, which god is supposed to be the right one, and then next wasted all his time upon the service.

The Lord was not to be found in a great and strong wind, an earthquake, or in a fire, but the Lord did rather manifest Himself in a still small voice. This means that we should not expect God to reveal Himself through a supernatural sign, as if we would experience an overwhelming sensation in our body, something similar to the use of illegal drugs. But the Lord does rather reveal His presence in a discreet way, through the voice of reason, a sense of decency, a state of equanimity, a moderate spirit, and inner silence. It is like everything remains the same as before, except for the truth which is sensed with oneself, what one comes to realize at that moment. But everything else is superfluous, an irrelevant ornament, since we do not need to see ‘special effects’ and feel sensations at the same time. It can include an experience deemed to be supernatural, as if a wind would be blowing upon one’s face, or when it is felt the presence of someone nearby, outside our body. It is nothing more than cheap tricks from devils, when we presume that God is ‘touching’ us in such way, since we remain just as ignorant as before and we are not really feeling any better. It is something which comes and goes, and leaves nothing behind, except a self-deception about one’s own importance, for having experienced such ‘signs’ from ‘God’. The Lord left himself seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which had not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which had not kissed him. The true believer does not yield to wicked desires in his heart, where he do not covet after dishonest gain, nor loves sinful pleasures. This is why the true believer does not bow down to the Enemy in his heart, concerning the attitude and the true intentions, what is really wanted from within. It is also not kissed the mouth of the Enemy, by wishing for the peace and prosperity of the wicked, like power in the world, wealth, fame, popularity, and pleasure. The true believer is on the contrary willing to forgo any selfish advantage in this world, even that he would be forced to live in poverty, or in want of all luxury. It is all about abiding to a principle, and suffer for that in doing the right thing, even that everyone else are having success in the world by being false and selfish. The true believer does not need anything from the world, nor does he ask for anything, but the only important thing is to discern the will of God and apply it to his life. King Ahaziah sent three armed groups to arrest Elijah, but the first two perished during the attempt, since the captains approached Elijah in a haughty way and wished to harm him. However the third captain approached Elijah in humility and asked for pardon, since that man found himself forced to obey the order of Ahab against his best intentions. This means that the third captain never betrayed God in his heart, where he did never intend to harm Elijah, nor do something which could endanger the lives of his men. This is why God that showed the captain mercy, and the fifty men under his command, since he was deemed faithful in his heart, and did not possess any will to sin. The captain and his men posed no threat to Elijah, where it was not like they were only pretending to be honest and would later betray Elijah, or change their minds all of a sudden. But God had already touched the captain in his heart, where he was honest about his intentions and consistent with his moral conviction, regardless of the situation.

It can be seen similarities with miracles of Elisha and those of Jesus Christ, since it was meant to help and heal the individual, rather than by involving signs for the many. The greatest Biblical figures possessed divine powers in a specific field, while lacking powers in other fields, so that none of them was best in all fields at the same time. Moses made great signs and became a lawgiver to the Israel people, Joshua helped the Israel people to conquer their powerful enemies, Samson possessed superhuman strength, David was considered to be generous and merciful, Solomon was renowned for his wisdom, Elijah and Elisha helped those in need, and then there were the great prophets. But Jesus Christ would later possess all the divine powers in Himself, where He became the very embodiment of God’s love, generosity, and mercy toward us, the greatest teacher, the greatest hero in the struggle against the devils, and our greatest keeper. The Lord had hitherto shared a part of His essence to these or those Biblical figures, but the Lord came to our world in full power of God, as the author and finisher of the faith. It was not Jesus Christ that imitated after the powers of Elijah and Elisha, but these two prophets did rather give a glimpse of that what was about to come. The Messiah would be able to fulfil similar role and miracles for the human people, to redeem sinners and deliver people from distress, to heal them in both soul and body, to resurrect those that were deceased and already spiritual dead in their sins. God pointed the way to the Messiah by the various divine powers described in the Old Testament, what would define the Messiah and what He would be capable of in our lives. This is why the Israel people were unfair and unreasonable to reject the Messiah, even that He was able to accomplish similar miracles as the prophets that preceded Him. There were supposed to be waters that were bad, causing deaths and a barren land. But Elisha put a salt into a new cruse and poured it into the waters, so they were healed. The salt can signify charity, where a love for God and the fellow man does lead to everything else, so that we will be willing to improve ourselves for the sake of each other. But if our life is not founded upon charity then we will have nothing to live for, so that we will not be willing to change and do not see any purpose with anything. There were little children that came out from Bethel and mocked Elisha for being bald, but Elisha cursed the children in the name of the Lord and two she-bears killed them. This account does not seem to make any sense, that Elisha should be proud enough to get angry over the insults, and then cause the death of so many ignorant children. The problem does consist in this, whether the act was consistent with the will of God or whether Elisha abused His power for own selfish ends? The Holy Spirit can neither be deceived nor commanded to do evil acts, so the destruction of the children must have been a part of God’s will, as strange as it may sound. There must be more factors involved, when it comes to explain why God would allow the violent act. It might have had something to do about the future and what was either way bound to happen, since these were evil times and evil things were committed by evil people. The kings of Judah, Israel, and Edom made an alliance against the Moabites, but there was no water to be found for the host and the cattle that followed them. Elisha claimed that God would never have taken notice of the king of Israel and the king of Edom, if Jehoshaphat the king of Judah was not accompanying them at that time. God choose to save these three armies for the sake of one righteous leader, but it was not because God was only concerned about the quantity of wicked men involved, since that human lives mean nothing if there is no redeeming quality inside them. It does not always apply that the few should sacrifice themselves in order to save the many, for that one saint can be more precious in God’s eyes than countless hypocrites. The Lord would fill the ditches with water, even that there would be no wind or rain, since that God can produce good effects directly without the use of any means.

Elisha managed to resurrect a dead child, although the execution might seem strange. Elisha lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm. It seems that Elisha shared His life-energy with the child, as if the Holy Spirit was already abundant with life and able to revive everyone. It is not like Elisha became weaker in the process, or traded his place with the child, but the Spirit of Life is something which could constantly replicate itself like a cell, so the child received a small part from Elisha and it then became an entirely new spirit. Elisha continued to repeat his attempts until the child was resurrected, but Elisha had not necessarily decided anything in advance, when the child would finally awake. It is not like we should only try for a limited time and then be quick to give up, since we have not been able to make a miracle like we have foreseen, with the least effort. It can rather be said that our faith should be boundless, where we continue be just as determined until God has heard our prayer, whenever that might be. It will happen when it will happen, but the exact timing is outside our knowledge in the meantime, so we should only do the right thing on our behalf and let God take care of the rest. Elisha gave Naaman the Syrian a simple task to be healed of his leprosy, rather than by setting him great challenges, as if the leprosy was only a small problem to be solved. Namaan presumed that a great sickness would call for a great remedy, or involve a great price, as if he first needed to compete for the benefit and somehow prove himself. But Elisha approached the matter in the complete opposite way, as if everything was small and trivial in God’s eyes, and thereby calling for corresponding measures. God can very well give us benefit directly, while the available means are more like a lame excuse, only because we expected something like that to happen before it. Namaan did bath himself in the River Jordan and was healed of his leprosy, although it was not because of the actual river. It can rather be said that Namaan got healed for believing in that possibility, and then following through the instructions of Elisha, whatever that might be, since Namaan gave credence to God’s words. Namaan became grateful for everything and gave the glory to God, but Namaan asked God for pardon that he was forced to bow down to the false god of his king. This means that Namaan did never betray God in his heart, even that it might seem like Naaman was showing reverence to the false god while his king was watching, so that God did not hold anything against him. It can be commended Namaan for approaching God in regard to that matter, when it came to confess his own position and what he truly felt about it, rather than by being too afraid to mention the matter to God and not dare to make the attempt. It was thereby confirmed that God understands our position and what we need to go through in our life, so it should be looked upon our choices in context with our real stance. Elisha healed Namaan for free and he never wanted any repayment for it, since that God always does His goodness for free, for its own sake, and as its own reward. A true prophet is humble before God and thereby deemed ready to receive the Holy Spirit, but that man would otherwise not be able to make miracles to begin with. This is why a true prophet does never expect any rewards from men nor asks them for it, since it is a reward enough to be blessed by God and be given a chance to do His will. Only a false prophet would sell his service to the highest bidder, receive bribes or discriminate the people seeking for his help, since it does merely reflect his evil heart. If the man proves to be covetous then he is no prophet of God, where he does neither have the Holy Spirit nor is capable of making miracles. Elisha asked Gehazi whether it was a time to receive wealth and material possessions, as if to indicate that a man of God has no need for such things in his life. The man of God is constantly occupied with the will of God, and to help other people, while he does not have any time to hoard up treasures and enjoy a life of luxury. This is why Gehazi was no longer deemed worthy for a prophetic role, or to be the follower of Elisha, since Gehazi would either way be occupied with the ways of the world. Elisha made a head of an axe float in the water, even that it was made of iron (heavy). An axe is used to chop a tree, even as when we use specific means to overcome problems. It can happen that we are no longer at our best; where we do not know what to do, or we do either way not possess an inner strength to follow it through. But the faith in God can help us regain our former resolve at any time, like determination, inner strength, personal conviction, knowledge of the truth, vigilance and sobriety.

Elisha claimed that we should fear not, for they that be with us are more than they that be with our human enemies. There are more angels that follow God than devils that follow the Enemy, since only one-third of the angels rebelled against God (In the Book of Revelation then the red dragon drew one-third of the stars with his tail). So there are more angels that help the true believers than devils that help the wicked men, although the quantity should not matter as much in comparison to quality. God is more powerful than the Enemy, and the angels of God are more powerful than the devils, regardless of that which side has more or less followers in comparison. It was not the Heavenly Father or Jesus Christ which fought against the Enemy in heaven (the Red dragon), but God did rather send Michael the archangel to fulfil that task. This reveals the weakness of the Enemy, that he should be overcome by an angel of God, a creation like himself. It would otherwise be beneath the dignity of the Lord to consider the Enemy as His equal in power, and to fight against him personally. It is stated that Elisha and his servant saw the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire. This does not mean that the angels of God rely upon primitive means in warfare, like horses and chariots, but they rather appeared like that to the people of that time. Elisha and his servant saw horses and chariots of fire, because it would otherwise have been an anachronistic thing to reveal different tools of war, something similar to future technology or an ‘alien’ one. The spiritual realm of God does of course involve entirely different reality and laws, which a material technology does not stand any comparison to. So the man can see an angel in human form, and chariots of fire similar to human chariots, since the angels of God can conceal their true appearance to suit these times. It is not really an illusion or deception, as if the man would see his own reflection in the angels of God or presume something that does not exist. A humble appearance is suited to allay the man’s fears and make the experience bearable to him, instead of overwhelming his senses and sanity. Devils can change their appearance and pretend to be someone else, like a human person or fictional being. But the angels of God retain their appearance for most part and appear as the same person. The angels of God could have the same facial feature and bodily shape, except they do not reveal the celestial aspects, like brightness and wings. It could correspond to that if a rich and beautiful man would put ashes upon his face and dress himself in cheap garb, so he can avoid unwanted attention from other people. Elisha asked the angels of God to smite the Syrians with blindness, and then led them into Samaria. Next Elisha commanded the king of Israel to welcome the enemies under his power, to give them abundant provisions, and send them safely back to their homes. So the bands of Syria came no more unto the land of Israel. This was indeed a noble thing, to be generous and merciful to the enemies that fell under his power, rather than by attacking enemies while they are down upon the ground and helpless. It should be conquered our enemies through kindness, and deprived them of all reasons to hate us, so they will no longer possess the will to be our enemies from now on. The main objective is to end all hostility and not be harmed by our enemies, but we do not actually need to resort to violence and kill our enemies for that end. For that we can just as well rely upon different means that lead to exactly the same solution, since these men will no longer consider themselves our enemies and leave us alone. Our enemies would otherwise feel ashamed of persecuting their benefactors, since they are grateful for everything and we have become secured by their continual goodwill. Elisha rebuked Joash the king of Israel for smiting only three times upon the ground, while five to six times would have lead to complete defeat of the Syrians. It is like the Israel people would only be on the defensive, to hold off the invasions of the Syrians, while Israel would not go on the offensive and invade their land instead. Joash did not bother to spend little additional time upon that in smiting the ground, so the Israel people would be forced to undergo great troubles during the wars, and much effort would be wasted in making up for bad decisions. The faith in God is all about preventive measures, the rightful premises in the beginning, so the beginning does determine that which later follows, and should thereby have the most priority. It should first be diligently considered square one, and then it will make the execution easier to handle, but it should not be begun to reconsider everything in the middle of the execution.

9.4: The Kingdom of Judah (2. Chronicles)

In the First Book of Kings it is written: ‘And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem: And he took away the treasure of the house of the Lord, and the treasure of the king’s house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made. And king Rehoboam made in their stead brazen shields, and committed them unto the hands of the chief of the guard, which kept the door of the king’s house. And it was so, when the king went into the house of the Lord, that the guard bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber.’

The golden shields are meant to signify a genuine faith, when the man believes every promise of God, obeys every moral principle, and overcomes any temptation. But the Israel people at that time no longer followed God with a perfect heart, so the king of Egypt was able to invade their lands and take away all the golden shields. The Enemy is able to spoil those that remain insincere and self-centred, for their life is not founded upon Jesus Christ and they are either way not making use of His words. Rehoboam replaced the golden shields with brazen shields, which might look identical on the outside but it was otherwise completely different object on the inside. It does signify that when the man does no longer approach God through faith, where he does not believe the testimony which God gives of Himself in the Scripture. But the man rather attempts to substitute the faith with his own human system, means, and doctrines, until it has been replaced everything and betrayed God in all but name. The man might pretend to be pious on the outside while among other people, but the man is not so on the inside, regarding personal conviction and moral integrity. At first it might seem like everyone are speaking and behaving in the same way, like when it is mentioned God and the Scripture, and what is considered right or wrong. But there is a fundamental difference between the true believer and a religious hypocrite, when it is looked upon their heart, with its attitude, motives, or premises, what the men do really think and feel while they are speaking and behaving in such way. The true believer is sincere and really means that which he says, while the religious hypocrite is merely pretending to be honest while he covets after a selfish advantage.

The temple of Solomon was often spoiled of everything, whether an invading nation did so by force, or the rulers of Judah took the treasure and used it to bribe the heathens. For an example then it could be secured an alliance with one heathen nation against another, or bribed the approaching enemies to call off their attack. But in every case it was relied upon the heathens above the power of God, whether to guarantee a peace or obtain a victory in war, so the treasure always ended in their hands. It does correspond to that when the man does rely upon devils against other kind of devils, an evil against evil, temptations against temptations, lies and craftiness against lies and craftiness. It can otherwise be called a selfish remedy against a selfish problem, a selfish argument or tricks which only makes the man insincere and self-centred, even more alienated from the truth. This does however never solve anything, for that another problem is created from the remedy, or a problem is merely transferred between locations. The man has relied upon one devil against another, but then that same devil will afflict him in turn, so the man does find himself in the same position as in the beginning. The man should not become that which he hates, by doing the same things as his enemies, but the man must overcome evil with good and separate himself from them. The man should rather have confessed the humble truth and relied upon God as the real solution, so the man can be free of any devil, temptation, and problem, as if such victory would come for free and then the man will no longer need to remind himself of it. The treasure in the temple can signify the intentions of our heart, for what and whom we are living, what is done in the greater matters or most of the time. The rulers of Judah were willing to sacrifice the treasure or dedicate it to their enemies, so these heathens would no longer trouble them and even become friends. It is exactly the same thing when devils are attacking the man’s mentality, like through aggressive and unpleasant thoughts, psychical symptoms, and impulses. Then the man can attempt to do something in order to save himself from it, like by becoming selfish and forget himself in pleasures, by unleashing his bitterness upon someone else, or he become superstitious over the misleading signs in his body and follows them. It is thereby no longer lived for God and His selfless ways, but the man’s heart has become dedicated to selfishness, self-centred desires and amoral intentions. The treasure was supposed to have meaning while it was in the temple of the Lord, but it would no longer be so in the hands of the heathens. The intentions of our heart are good while we are living for the Lord, and our body is the temple of His Spirit, but we will otherwise corrupt our intentions and be misled by the enemies of God. The treasure could be removed from the temple and the interior be neglected as well, as what happened in the time of Rehoboam, Amazia, Ahaz, Jehoash, and Hezekiah. Many rulers turned away from God and to others the worship was merely a formality. The temple would become useless to the Israel people if they neglected God Himself, which that same temple was dedicated to and meant to contain His Spirit. It is the presence of God that hallows the temple, but it is not the temple that does hallow God, so it would not make any sense to be concerned about the temple alone. It should of course not be neglected God for religious objects, or preferred them above Him, since that God Himself is more important than the objects that He can touch. It has the most priority to care for God as a person, be willing to listen to His teachings and apply it to our life, since it is all about becoming a virtuous person like God. The Israel people neglected the temple of the Lord, even as when the man does neglect the Lord as the centre of his life, or his heart is no longer sincere and honest.

When Joash was made king then the priest gave the captains King David’s spear and shields, that were in the temple of the Lord. These were evil times, when recent innovations had only made things worse and alienated the people from God. This is why there was a need to look back to the time of King David, when simple-minded honesty prevailed in the people and they were still not corrupted by luxury. King David was meant to be the ideal believer, where it should be followed after his personal example and served God with a perfect heart, understanding and willingness. Jehoash ordered that it should first be repaired the temple of the Lord, before it would be added moveable objects into it. It is namely the temple which hallows everything inside it, as when an altar does hallow the sacrifice. The faith in God and His testimony in the Scripture is more important than our human effort, so that we should never prefer our religious service above God which we offer it to. Jesus Christ is the one and only basis of our life, where we must first dedicate our life to Him before we can begin to offer anything. It is not like we should first neglect Jesus Christ and then spend much time upon religious service, by offering foolish and vain things to God. But we must first know Jesus Christ and what He wants from us, so we can actually head in the right direction and be consistent to His purpose. It seems that Joash was not a pious man in his own right, but he was rather devoted and vigilant while Jehoiada the priest lived. For it was mostly thanks to Jehoiada that Joash came to the throne, so that Joash must have trusted Jehoiada enough to heed his good counsel and make it come true. However when Jehoiada passed away then Joash fell under the influence of different counsellors, which convinced him to abandon God and serve idols, so that he immediately forgot everything about his former resolve. God had pity upon Hezekiah and allowed him to live for additional fifteen years, so that God would continue to defend the kingdom of Judah from the Assyrians during that time. It was only a matter of time until the Israel people would be led captive by the Babylonians, but God was still willing to delay everything for the sake of one man. Hezekiah showed the Babylonian envoy everything inside his house, so there was nothing among his treasures which Hezekiah did not show to them. But Isaiah the prophet foretold that everything would be spoiled by the Babylonians and carried into Babylon. This signifies that the when the believer does fall from God, so the Enemy will be able to deprive him of all good sense and virtues, as what the treasure was to Hezekiah. It was like Hezekiah counted up every virtue and moral principle that he could think of, and it was then foretold that the Israel people would loose all of them from within. The Israel people would become of depraved mind, without having any sense of decency, since all of their undertakings would be motivated by spite and avarice in their heart. This is why the Israel people would be defeated by the heathens and led into captivity, since there was no longer anything which separated the Israel people from them. The wicked man will become afflicted by a devil that is wicked like himself, since they are both found guilty before God and deserve the company of each other. The descendants of Hezekiah would end up as eunuchs in the place of the king of Babylon, even as when the fallen believer becomes spiritually barren and worthless, since he is constantly wasting his time upon debauchery, loose habits, and idleness. For some time there was a remnant of the Israel people in the land of Judah, but they returned to Egypt through a fear of the Babylonians. The Israel people had gone full circle and they were now back to square one, as servants to the heathens, so the Israel people had not learned anything all this time and God had wasted His effort upon them.

In the kingdom of Judah there were a number of kings whom did what was right in the sight of the Lord, although it seldom happened that their heart was perfect like that of David. The king might be more virtuous than other men, but he did still not submit himself completely to God, since he wanted to be selfish in a specific matter and keep it to himself. It could also apply that the king did not consult with God in advance, whether a specific undertaking was found favourable in His sight or not, so that a righteous king could fail in an unjustified war and the temple would be spoiled by the enemies. Rehoboam and the princes of Judah asked God for help against Shishak, the king of Egypt, but God refused the request. And yet the men humbled themselves, and said that the Lord was righteous, so the Lord felt inclined to grant them some kind of deliverance. Nevertheless the men of Judah would become the servants of Shishak, that they might know the Lord’s service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries. This means that God can rebuke us for considering rebellion against Him, when we are intent upon that in yielding to selfish desires or have already begun to do so. God can make us experience a glimpse of that what our life would be like without His presence, if we were being enslaved by devils, insatiable and unrestrained in our desires, so that we cannot stop thinking about selfish things nor control the impulses in our flesh. Then we can again remember the difference between our new life and the old one, so that we will repent of our fickleness and again seek to follow God with our whole heart. Asa cried to the Lord that it was nothing with Him to help, whether with many, or with that that have no power. It is not like we do first need to be many, strong, and wise before our appeal to God, as if we could in some way help God to help us, to make the process easier to handle or grant additional advantage to God. For God would either way have achieved everything without our involvement, even that we were nothing and did not do anything at all, except by waiting for it to happen in silence. It might even be claimed that it is better to appeal to God in weakness than in strength, for that we will then be in no doubt who should be given all the credit. It should thereby be dispelled all illusions about our own importance, for that God is solving everything from His end, while our human effort is irrelevant and at most incidental. During the time of Asa then the men of Judah entered into a covenant to see the Lord, and it was decreed that everyone would be put to death that did not do the same. But would the Lord give His permissions of such extreme measure, that it should be forced the faith upon everyone else, and converted people against their own conviction? For the people might pretend to agree with everything, but none of them would be true believers from within, so it does defeat the purpose of converting them forcefully in the first place. It should not be preferred quantity over quality, or many fake-believers above few genuine believers, since that a pretentious faith is the same thing as no faith. So that everyone would seem to be believers, and yet none of them would be so, since that God knows the heart of every man and whether he is truly sincere. Hanani the seer said that eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him. The true believer does really believe in the rightful choice, where the goodness should be done for its own sake and as its own reward, only because it is the right thing to do so. This has nothing to do about fear of punishment and avarice for rewards, or any outside factors. But the true believer does truly understand the choice and what it involves, where he really means that what he says and is willing to follow it through in deeds. The love of God should govern us from within, when we are alone with our thoughts and need to obey His voice in our heart. And a love of the fellow man should govern us on the outside, why we are staying in this world and what we hope to achieve. So there is always a context between charity and what we intend to do, because we are concerned for the welfare of each other, while not caring about our own life.

Jehu the son of Hanani the seer rebuked Jehoshaphat the king of Judah for making alliance with the king of Israel, namely Ahab, whom did evil in the sight of the Lord. It was thereby asked Jehoshaphat whether he should help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord? It should not be helped the wicked in any way, for they will otherwise abuse their victories and success in order to commit more crime against more victims. The king of Israel would otherwise continue to persecute the men of God, encourage further idolatry and lawlessness among the people, and prolong God’s wrath over the land. This is why God had never encouraged Jehoshaphat to befriend wicked men and consort with them, since that nothing good would come out from it. Jehoshaphat charged the Levites and priests to deal courageously, and the Lord would be with the good. It is not enough to know what is right, but we must also be bold enough to act upon it, even that we could be threatened with opposition and loss. For we should be more concerned of that what God feels about us than what people do, be more afraid of God than of our enemies, and we should consider truth and justice to be more important than our self-preservation. The Moabites and the Ammonites came against Jehoshaphat in a battle, but he appealed to God, confessing that the Israel people had no might against this great company that came against them, neither knew they what to do; but their eyes were upon God. Jehoshaphat did not pretend to be already strong and wise about the matter, but simply confessed his ignorance and weakness, and asked God to sort everything out. It was thereby had faith that God could solve the problem in His own way, and in His own time, even that the Israel people did not actually know how He would do it or when. It is only sufficient for us to explain the problem and then wait for a good outcome, while it is entirely depended upon God alone what kind of means are used in the meantime. Jehoshaphat and Israel people did not themselves need to fight the enemies, but they could just as well sing praise to the Lord and already rejoice over a victory. God created confusion among the enemy armies, so they would turn against each other and be annihilated. It would correspond to that if God would create an ally among the enemies, so that one half would fight against the other half, and both would perish. This is called to divide and conquer, when a threat from the enemy is first halved, and then nullified completely, since the new ally equals the remaining enemy. It can thereby apply that we do not need to do anything at all, to fight against our enemies and suffer some losses, since the enemies can do so for us and absorb all the harm. Gratitude toward God can accomplish more than any direct human effort against our problems, for it is within the power of God to solve everything for free on our behalf, so it is only required that we continue to move on with our life and love one another. It is not an act of arrogance or over-confidence when we rejoice over the victory to come, for we do merely confirm that God can and will help us to the best of His ability, while we do not actually pretend to know the precise details about the matter. It is not like we are supposed to presume that all our enemies will be killed or made to suffer, or that God will make up for our sloth and negligence in the internal matters, but it is more about faith in God’s ability to improve our situation and make the best of it. So that God can promote a good outcome, something that will solve the problem, save us from harm or make it bearable to us, but we do otherwise not know anything. God made the heathen enemies fight against each other, for the sake of the Israel people, so these very same enemies ended up benefiting the very people they hated. It is possible that God can do the same thing toward the devils, making them mad enough to fight against each other and come to nothing in our life, so that we will no longer be aware of any wicked possibilities, subjective problems, or traces of their presence. And Jehoshaphat claimed that God was not only the God of his fathers, and God in heaven, but God also ruled all the kingdoms of the heathen, and in His hand is power and might. The evilness is not outside the jurisdiction of God, as if devils and wicked men could defy God, ignore His commands, rival God’s power or escape from it. But all the devils and the wicked men are also subjected to God, even as how the evilness is subjected to the goodness, the law of sin to the words of God, and the earth to the heaven. So it is like nobody is able to function and move without the consent of God, where God can bestow power to any man and deprive any man of power, since that God is in position to intervene in everything and shape everything to suit His purpose.

A man of God came to Amaziah and counselled him not to rely upon mercenaries from the kingdom of Israel, since that the Lord was not with them. The true believer should never consider himself in need of selfish people, like to get their approval or support in specific undertakings, since he can very well do better without any of them. It should never be relied upon quantity above quality, like many cowards above few brave men, or many fools above few wise men. A similar thing applies about God and the whole human race, for that God alone is more powerful than everyone else combined, and His goodness is more powerful than the selfish ways of the world. It should be kept the good from the bad, so the bad will undermine the good with it, even as when selfish people attempt to drag the virtuous men down with them. It should thereby be gotten rid off all the selfish people, those deemed to be false and treacherous. For such people might be on the scene but they are not doing anything, like when a false friend refuses to offer help or when a coward does refuse to fight. Amaziah manage to overcome the Edomites through the intervention of God, and yet he began to worship the idols of the defeated, as to become foolish and weak like them. Amaziah obtained success over enemies while he followed God, but no longer after he committed idolatry, like what later happened in the war against the kingdom of Israel. This does not mean that God failed to help the kingdom of Judah or proved powerless, for God had never encouraged Amaziah directly to undertake the war against Israel nor promised him victory. It is true that God induced Amaziah into undertaking a needless war that led to his fall, although it was originated from within Amaziah, but God did never lie or come up with false promises through his prophets.  Uzziah did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and yet he was punished with leprosy, since he neglected to consult with God and became proud over his piety. Uzziah might have seemed to be wise and powerful in regard to warfare, with its organizations of troops and engines of war, so it could be kept human enemies at bay. It was however an entirely different thing to serve God in spiritual matters, so it was a foolish thing to presume that a successful warlord would equal a successful high priest. Uzziah and his son Jotham did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but it only happened at the top, while the common people did otherwise remain just as corrupt. It happened that the people of Judah lost to Israel in a battle, and were taken captive, so the people would have become slaves in the kingdom of Israel. But a man of God rebuked the men of Israel, and encouraged them to release all the prisoners, since the men of Israel were also sinful before God and no better in comparison. God wanted to humble the pride of Judah in that battle, and rebuke them for their errors against Him, but God did not wish them any additional suffering. God wanted Judah to be defeated in regard to this encounter or incident, so they would reconsider their ways and repent, but God did not want them to be defeated in every matter or all the time. Nothing good would come from slavery to sinful enemies, and nothing more needed to be proved, since the people had already been punished for the wrong choice in question. It should be kept to the merit of the case, and what kind of decisions belongs to it alone, but we should not make the present time and future suffer for something already concluded in the past. The people of Judah did not need to be slaves for the rest of their lifetime, so it could be atoned for faults that happened for a brief time, before the battle. It was only sufficient that the people of Judah would cease from their errors and do better next time, and then they could again become successful. The men of Israel clothed all the naked among the captives, gave them enough to drink and eat, and anointed them, and carried all the feeble upon asses, and brought them to Jericho. In this is manifested the will of God, that we should treat each other in a humane way, and help the weak to recover themselves, without any ill will or personal grudge on our behalf, since that all human lives are precious in God’s sight. The love of God is more important than childish wars fought over childish reasons, for that wars tend to come and go while our humanity continues to apply at all times, so that we should not allow anything to change in what way we behold one another.

The Scripture speaks against the high places at that time, which were to be found outside Jerusalem and in the mountains, regardless of that whom the people sacrificed to. All the kings tolerated the high places, except Hezekiah and Josiah, since only they were pure of heart and thereby able to overcome temptations in all forms. The high places are meant to signify high-mindedness, which might seem to involve lofty ideals and positive thoughts, unless it does seek to exalt itself against the knowledge of God. It should not only be rejected thoughts and imaginations that are obviously negative, but it should also be rejected thoughts that are considered ‘positive’, since the devils are trying to flatter our ego, bribe us, and exaggerate our self-importance. First the devils attack us through negative thoughts, and then they seek to bribe us with ‘positive’ thoughts, like when it is sought to arouse self-pity or lie something good about our faults, so that we will continue to listen to them and be manipulated further. High-mindedness can reach to ideology, human systems, politics, doctrines, and ideas, something which pretends to deliver better result than the faith in God. The righteous kings ordered idols to be cut down and removed from the land, even as how the believer is meant to remove every evil influence away from his heart, whether it does involve selfish desires, selfish thoughts, impulses, fear of pain and love of pleasure. The priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord, to cleanse it, to bring out all the uncleanness that they found, and carry it unto the brook Kidron. This does of course signify the inner most part of our heart, mind, and soul, what we do really want and to what purpose, for whom or what we are really living for. Hezekiah proclaimed throughout the lands that everyone should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover unto the Lord God of Israel. And then perhaps God would be gracious to their brethren and children that were in captivity, so they would find compassion before their captors and return to the land. Most men laughed at it and mocked the notion, but there were still divers of Asher and Manassah and of Zebulum that humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem. The Passover was held, but a multitude of the people had not cleansed themselves, and yet they did eat the Passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, ‘The good Lord pardon every one that prepareth his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary’. And the Lord hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people. This means that it is the attitude that counts, when the humble sinner heads in the right direction and sincerely wishes to serve God, even that the sinner does still not know how to do it. The humble sinner is aware of his faults and repents of it, where he confesses to God the truth about himself and his position, where he wants to do the right thing and improve himself, so it can be learned from previous mistakes and done better next time. It is that kind of attitude which God is seeking for in us all, where humility is a beautiful thing in itself and to be commended in the sinner, regardless of his human frailty. It should not matter what has hitherto happened or what wrong choices we have made, how imperfect the appeal can sound or how exposed the position we find ourselves in, so long as we turn toward God with our whole heart and want Him to help us. The man’s worth and reputation is irrelevant to the actual approach, when it comes to show reverence to God, appeal to His goodness, and be concerned for His reply. It should not be punished a sinner for confessing the truth and approaching God in humility, but it should rather reserved for those that are too proud to do so and full of themselves. The Assyrians belittled the gods of their enemies for failing to deliver them, which would have been true in most cases, unless when the God of Israel was involved. Hezekiah said that an arm of flesh was with the king of Assyria, while God was with the people of Judah, to help them and fight their battles. The man is only bound to his body alone, what he can see around himself and reach to with his hands, while God is everywhere and in everyone, reaching to every aspect in our human existence.

Manasseh was the son of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah had already set everything right in the kingdom. Manasseh had thereby been brought up by decent people, been given decent education, and been surrounded by good influence, all this time before he began to reign. So the kingdom began at the top and it then went straight away to the bottom, which makes Manasseh’s fall even more blameworthy in itself. For that Manasseh was not a victim of circumstances, not influenced by outside factors or external pressure, so it was not like Manasseh did not know what he was doing or was being manipulated by someone else. But Manasseh became wicked entirely because of his self-will and corrupt mindset, where he deliberately sought to oppose the goodness and everything it stood for, so it was unmade all the reforms of Hezekiah and distorted every aspect in the society. Manasseh became the most wicked ruler ever to reign over the Israel people, where he did not only commit every wickedness that could be conceived of, but Manasseh did also manage to corrupt everyone else in the kingdom, to the point of making the harm irreversible. It is said that Manasseh seduced the Israel people to do more evil than the seven godless nations that God destroyed, so it was repeated all the abominations of the Amorites and even surpassed them. Manasseh was basically a devil-worshipper and a murderer of innocent men, until he repented and turned to God with his whole heart. Manasseh had been led into captivity by the Assyrians, and he appealed to the Lord for help with great humility, so the Lord affected his return to Jerusalem. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord he was God, as if he had previously been ignorant of this, and become loyal to Him for the rest of his life. But Manasseh was only one man, and the repentance was bound to him alone, while the rest of the Israel people continued to be wicked for most part, like he had once been. This is why God would not pardon the people in whole, but He would at most delay the inevitable punishment during the time of Josiah, until he would pass away. God is able to forgive any sinner that repents and turns to God with his whole heart, no matter how great and many the sins can be, as what applied to the life of Manasseh. This is why we should never despair and give up on ourselves, for God is able to deliver us from everything and transform us into anything, if we will only repent and approach God while we are still alive in this world. So Manasseh began at the bottom and then worked his way to the top, by abstaining from all the corruption of his former life, and serving God with a perfect heart. For that Manasseh removed all the idols and altars that he had previous built, and he repaired the altar of the Lord so it could be again made all kinds of offerings to Him. This is a testimony about God’s longsuffering toward the sinner, even that he would be the most wicked human being to have ever existed, and committed the worst crimes of everyone. For that God would still be able to make a saint out of that sinner, so that he would become one of the best persons to live, able to accomplish many good deeds and help many people. It can of course not be undone or made up for the evils that belonged to the past, but the man still undo the evil influence in his own life and make the best of the situation. Now let’s say that the man would be guilty of every possible corruption, what kind of evil things he has yielded to in his heart, dwelt upon in his mind, said and done to other people. Then the man would experience all kinds of delusions and impulses, as something that might seem overwhelming to him or too hard to resist anymore. So it is like the man is already at the bottom in his spiritual life, insatiable and deranged, like a monster that is dictated by hatred and lust, torment and inner chaos. But God can still redeem the man from everything, by making all this evil influence vanish from his life. God can even make the man determined enough to outlast all evil influence, even that the man would need to reject countless temptations consecutively for a very long time, as if the man would be tempted from all sides all day long. This is why no man is ever justified in excusing his own corruption, as if it would be too late for him to be saved, since God’s goodness is more powerful than our sins.

Josiah told the Levites that they should put the Holy Ark into the temple of the Lord, so it would no longer be a burden upon their shoulders. This burden signifies that when the man seeks to become justified by the Law of Moses, like when he is constantly trying to prove himself before God by saying this or doing that, in looking over his shoulders and be afraid of that in committing mistakes, as if God was about to punish him any moment. But we do no longer need to trouble ourselves about our life and its ultimate fate, since we are now in the good hands of the Jesus Christ and He is the one to save us. Therefore can we put all our burdens upon the Lord, and let go off all such concerns, for that we can now at this moment hold our peace and continue to be free in spirit. This incident happened when Josiah was holding a Passover in Jerusalem, for the Lamb of God is the ultimate sacrifice to put everything in right order. Necho the king of Egypt came up to fight Carchemish by Euphrates, but Josiah came up against him, even that the struggle did not threaten the kingdom of Judah. Then Necho attempted to dissuade the Josiah from the undertaking, for that God had commanded Necho to make haste and was with him. God was really speaking through the mouth of Necho, to warn Josiah that he should not get in the way of His will, since that God would not turn away from His purpose for any man. So that Josiah went against the king of Egypt and perished during the attempt. It is true that Josiah was a righteous man, but he would still be rebuked or punished for his faults, when such faults would happen, even that Josiah was otherwise righteous in all other matters. Josiah failed to consult with God whether he should go to war or not, and there was no necessity which compelled him into doing it, since it was really not his concern. The Israel people had already abandoned Egypt and they did not need to go back to fight the king of Egypt, since it was irrelevant to their current state and potential. The righteous man should not meddle with a struggle between two selfish men, as if it should be taken one side against another, or tried to save one from the other, since both of them are equally guilty before God and deserving of punishment. God could make use of one heathen nation to punish another nation that was more wicked, but after it had been accomplished then the victor could be punished in the same way. God can punish devils on behalf of His innocent believers, and punish wicked men by sending devils against them, since God knows all about their wicked intentions and crimes done in secret. It is not like God would be too soft and too cowardly to discipline the rebellious men, for the toughness of God does equal His kindness and He knows how to put everyone into their proper place, so it should be feared God most of everyone. God does not want us to throw pearls before the swine, and He can send devils into the swine. So God can allow the Enemy to afflict the insolent people, whom do not care for anyone and are only mindful of their own self-gratification. It is not because the Enemy managed to undermine or prevent the will of God, or persecute innocent people, so the believer does not need to concern himself about the wicked men and their problems. The wicked men will be punished for as long time as they will rebel against God, and nobody is able to help them change to the better, since the wicked men are not ready to help themselves and refuse to receive help from God. Josiah failed to comprehend this, but it is like he cared for the welfare of wicked men as when innocent people were involved, and tried to help the enemies of God. The man should not attempt to help or save the wicked people in the society, like criminal organizations, groups dedicated to unrestrained desires and debauchery, false prophets and their selfish followers, or basically anyone that is too self-absorbed and indifferent, giving no regard to God’s love and mercy. Josiah sought to fight against the king of Egypt shortly before the fall of Judah, and the captivity to Babylon. This could correspond to the last times, when the most of the human race have rejected God and chosen to follow the Anti-Christ. It is not the role of the believer to fight against the Anti-Christ through worldly means, by resorting to the same measures as the enemies of God, nor to save those that are already being punished by the divine wrath. The Anti-Christ will be especially sent to lead the swine into perdition, those having already rejected God continually and wasted all their chances for repentance, so it is merely the consequence but not the actual cause of their falling from God. Josiah was unable to halt the king of Egypt and he could not prevent the fall of Judah, even as when the believers cannot predict or prevent the fall of the human race, the coming of the Anti-Christ, or the end of the world, when it will finally happen.

It was not only the ordinary people that transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen, but even the chief priests and the most important figures did it as well. God sent to them messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and his dwelling place. But the people mocked the messengers of God, despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy. Just like the people had shown no compassion to the fellow man, then the Babylonians would show them no compassion. Nebuchadnezzar besieged and conquered Jerusalem two times during his reign. First the Babylonians carried away all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of God which Solomon had made in the temple. And the Babylonians carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land. Jerusalem and the temple of the Lord were already spoiled for most part, when the Babylonians besieged the city for the second time. However this time Nebuchadnezzar burnt the house of the Lord, and the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man’s house burnt he with fire. When the man falls from God then he is first deprived of all good sense and virtues, as what applied to the treasure in Jerusalem, so he is left defenceless and vulnerable toward temptations. Next the Enemy can undermine and distort every aspect in the man’s soul, so the man finds himself burning up with insatiable desires, making him restless, deranged, instable, and desperate, as if his life was about to collapse any moment and loose all self-control. It was a good thing that the Israel people were led into captivity by their enemies, for that God could then separate the decent people from the wicked ones, so there would no longer be sinful influence all around them. The Israel people had hitherto convinced each other about their own delusions, becoming even more deranged as more people came together, and ganged up on the righteous men, as if they could hide in the big group and get away with everything. But the Israel people could no longer do so in foreign lands, when they were separated into many small parts and distributed among the more numerous heathens, so that each and every man would become powerless alone by himself. God revealed how weak and cowardly each individual was by himself, when he found himself in the minority and outnumbered by the heathens. But the opposite thing had applied to the men of God while they had preached in Judah, for they had been willing to go against the public opinion and get everyone up against them, to suffer undeservedly for that in doing the right thing. So it did require a great deal of courage and stoical fortitude to do so on each and every day, by attempting to help the ungrateful and tolerate the unworthy for long, even that nothing good ever came out from it, as if all this effort was wasted for nothing.

10. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther

10.1: Jerusalem Rebuilt

Cyrus the king of Persia returned all the golden vessels which had been spoiled by the Babylonians, and belonged to the temple in Jerusalem. This means that the man can regain his good sense and virtues, which had previously been lost during his fall from God. It is like the good things had merely changed ownership in the meantime, but they were never really lost or destroyed. The words of God last forever, so that God can share His words with the believer or take them back from the unworthy, but the actual words are never corrupted or undermined in any way. The Israel people returned to the land for the purpose of rebuilding Jerusalem, a wall around it, and temple inside it, so it could be kept enemies at bay and worshipped God again. It is meant to signify the rebuilding of our spiritual man, as a living temple that contains the Spirit of God. A good sense and virtues are the strongest defences of our soul, if we are going to obey God in every matter and overcome temptations in all forms. The temple in Jerusalem was meant to have priority over the people’s houses or private matters, even as when God’s truth and justice should come first in our life. All our decisions should be measured according to morality, what is considered to be right in general, rather than by being influenced by personal bias and need for private gain. It should not be neglected the goodness of God for the sake of our education, profession, hobbies, and friends, as if we would only give God the leftovers of our time. The goodness of God is superior to these things, and able to influence everything else to the better, so that we will become more successful with our goals. God does first make us wise and determined, and then we will fare better in education and creative activity, when it comes to choose the right friends and avoid those that are false. But we would otherwise remain foolish and weak during the undertaking, more likely to fail, unable to handle anything for long, and squandering everything we work for. It should not be undertaken anything while the wrath of God is over us, but we should first make peace with God and then next we can succeed in our undertakings. God promised to unleash all His blessings upon the people, if they would rebuild the temple and attend to it, whether to keep the temple in best shape or show proper reverence. Jesus Christ is the true temple of God, to be rebuilt in anyone that will receive Him, since that a sense of the truth and virtues are like building blocks to our spiritual body. The faith in Jesus Christ will lead to everything else in our life, like a good sense, virtues, and benefits, so it is something which seems to happen on its own accord. The Lord is our only way to the Kingdom of God, for that He is the only person ever to have obeyed God in all matters and overcome all temptations in this world, so the Lord has thereby unlocked all blessings on our behalf, with nothing held back. The grace of God is the new foundation of our life, but not that to be justified by our own worth, so it does govern the premises of everything, why and how we can follow God. If the foundation is firm then everything will be held in its place, which has been added upon the foundation, but everything would otherwise collapse with the foundation. It must be followed God through all the right reasons, but we would otherwise not last for long, if our reasons would prove selfish and covetous in their nature.

The enemies of Israel asked Zerubbabel whether they could help build the temple of the Lord, alongside the Israel people, since they did pretend to seek also for God. But Zerubbabel told the enemies that they had no place with the Israel people, but the Israel people would themselves do it, as what the king Cyrus had commanded them. The true believers should never make a compromise with the world, by inviting the selfish men into their midst and serve God with their combined effort. For the selfish men will only seek to corrupt the community from within, to slander or hinder everything which is being planned for God’s sake, and even by undermining every success. The true believers should never rely upon the world in order to serve God, whether it would be implemented a human system or worked with carnally minded organization, since that spiritual matters do not fit with politics or a quest for worldly power. The Israel people continued to build the walls and the temple in Jerusalem, even that adversaries questioned their authority and attempted to discourage them from it. The Israel people did not need to halt their work for the sake of their enemies, and then attempt to convince their enemies to cease their hostility, before the Israel people could finally begin to work again. It was only sufficient to convince King Darius about the facts of the case, that it should be looked for previous decree of Cyrus and confirmed it. But Ezra did not really need to criticize or attack his enemies directly, by digressing to irrelevant to issues or by disproving lies alone, since it should be relied upon facts above empty words. It should be convinced the ruler above those he rules, since only he is in position to do something about that information. Ezra became ashamed over that in requesting a band of soldiers from the king of Persia, for he had previously claimed that God would protect the Israel people from all enemies. It does correspond to that when we seem to agree with all the promises of God, but we can be quick to loose patience and rely upon the usual humans means as an answer to our problems. A malady or shortage can affect us to some extant, and then we can consider ourselves compelled to do exactly the same thing as other people, by relying upon something else than the faith in God. So we do of course seem to contradict ourselves and undermine the faith by our personal example, although against our best intentions. Ezra prayed to God and said that for a little space grace had been shown by the Lord their God, to leave them a remnant to escape, and to give them a nail in his holy place, that their God might lighten their eyes, and give them a little reviving in their bondage. The body of Jesus Christ is the holy place, the true temple of God, and He nailed to a cross would secure our deliverance, to enlighten us and free us from spiritual slavery. Ezra claimed that God had punished the Israel people less than they deserved. If it had not been for the Lord then we would be stuck with our corruption and maladies for the rest of our lifetime, even for all eternity, since we are unable to forgive and heal ourselves of all our sins. Therefore would we always experience the same selfish desires in our heart, delusions in our mind, impulses in our flesh, psychical symptoms, and subjective problems, and nothing which we could say and attempt to do could offer us a relief from it, each and every day. It is wholly thanks to Jesus Christ that we can actually get better but not worse, by obtaining a better sense, better internal condition, and by becoming a better person. The Lord is generous and merciful to us every time we can sense the truth and feel good, but it is not something He was obligated to do or that we could demand from Him.

It was told Nehemiah that the remnants of the Jews that were left in the province were in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem was also broken down, and the gates thereof were burnt with fire. This can signify the remaining believers in the society, those whom are sincere toward God but they do not really know ‘how’ to do His will. For an example then the believers do not dare to upset the criteria of the society, where they do not dare to preach the faith in God or only come up with foolish arguments, and they have hitherto not been any different from the unbelievers nor surpassed them in virtue. It can thereby seem like their faith lacks substance and proofs in deeds, so the believers can be held in scorn by the society and considered as simpletons, people too credulous and naïve to know any better. The root of the problem does consist in this, that the believers have still not discerned the voice of God from within themselves, as a silent sense or inspiration in their heart. But the believers are instead listening to the Enemy in their mind, when the Enemy pretends to be the voice of God and comes up with religious delusions, so it does always result in improper opinions and undertakings, deemed senseless to other people. The believers are thereby coming up with bad example in the society, which alienates other people from God, since the faith does not seem to deliver any results. Nehemiah encouraged the Israel people to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, so they would no longer be a reproach. This means that we should rebuild our spiritual man into becoming sensible and virtuous, but we should no longer repeat after the errors of the unbelievers nor seek to become like them. There must be a fundamental difference between us and the unbelievers, what is happening from within us and in what way we will respond to it, so that we should seek to have a pure attitude in all things. The unbelievers speak and behave in a selfish way, because they have been yielding to selfish desires from within, so the deeds do merely reflect the condition of the heart. But the true believer is able to become a virtuous person, and to surpass the unbelievers, since he did never yield to these temptations in the first place, like selfish thoughts. The heathens mocked the Jews for rebuilding Jerusalem, and did not believe that the Jews would succeed. It is exactly the same thing when the whole society turns against the believers, by ridiculing everything which the believers plan to do and are trying to achieve. The believers can be despised by the world, considered outcasts, neglected and abandoned by the society, as if they had already lost and will never rise back up. But the believers will fare better than the men of the world, always in the long run, since something unexpected will happen later on which turns everything upside down. The enemies of God can at most pretend to be clever and come up with empty words, while the believers are exalted by their deeds and achievements. It can be said that nothing will be able to hinder the believers unless they choose to become hindered by it, by considering it as a hindrance to themselves and responding like they are already hindered. Nehemiah ordered the people to be ever vigilant, working with one hand and holding a weapon with the other, or by taking their shifts in doing either thing. So the Israel people were both able to do the will of God, and to hold their enemies at bay, rather than by doing entirely one thing at the expense of the other. The enemy would otherwise have attacked the Israel people while they were working, or the Israel people would have been unable to work while fearing an attack in the future. This signifies that when the believer is persecuted by the enemies of God, but it does not mean that he should only be concerned about that in defending or saving his life. For the believer can both do the will of God and prevent the enemies from harming him, or if the man does the will of God then God will save him as well from the enemies. So that we should continue to do the right thing and be ready to suffer for our conviction, while we allow God to take care of our life and save us from our enemies.

Nehemiah became angry that the rulers and the nobles exacted usury from their own people. For that God had redeemed the people from their captivity among the heathens, so they could return to that place and follow God from henceforth. But now the rulers and the nobles were trying to purchase or sell their own brethren, so it worked against the purpose why the Israel people had returned to begin with. Nehemiah managed to convince the rulers and the nobles to restore everything back to their brethren, and require nothing from them. The believer should do the goodness for its own sake, as its own reward, without expecting anything in return, since that is the fundamental difference between him and the selfish people that love the world. The believers must also treat each other as brothers and sisters, or namely as equals in everything, so they should be ever fair and reasonable, considerate to the needs of one another, showing mutual respect and never discriminating anyone in their heart. The believers must of course show a good example before they can convert new people to the faith in God, what it means to become one of the group and share their identity. It is not enough to pretend to be honest on the outside, or to be only good to strangers, while it is behaved negligently to one’s closest kin and friends, behind closed doors or when nobody is watching. Jesus Christ said that His disciples would be known by the love they have for each other, so that love must be consistent with itself at any time and any place, both openly and in private, when it is gotten to know the person further. Nehemiah considered himself a humble servant of God, whom partook in the hardship of the people, without trying to increase his own wealth, material possessions, or luxury. A similar thing should apply about a shepherd to the people of God, or someone that needs to guide them without assuming himself an actual leader. For he should be willing to deprive himself of anything in order to do the will of God, since the faith is about investing in human lives, to keep the old members and to convert a new ones. This account does also imply that the society can be saved by cancelling all debts, rather than by holding unto all the problems of the past and make the future suffer for it. It is better to begin a new life upon a new foundation, rather than by trying to fix something which is wrong in its nature, and which can never be appeased for good. A war can leave everything destroyed, and yet the people can be quick to rebuild everything and become prosperous again, without having any debts hanging over them.

The enemies of Israel attempted to lure Nehemiah outside Jerusalem, so they could ambush him. But Nehemiah refused to follow their initiative, by going over to their basis, while Nehemiah did instead stand firm upon his basis, the rightful cause. These enemies tried to make Nehemiah afraid of creating a wrong impression of his work, so that other people would misunderstand it and consider it a rebellious act. However Nehemiah discerned that this was entirely originated in their own mind, so he did not need to convince the enemies of anything nor seek to prove himself in their eyes. These enemies would simply invent new imaginary problems and pretences instead, so that Nehemiah could just as well reject them as unworthy and ignore their presence. Nehemiah always kept to his original attitude and stayed firm at the same place, even that these enemies tempted him five times, by coming up with similar arguments. If the Enemy would come up with the same temptation hundred times then we should reject it in the same way each and every time, since nothing has changed. It is only sufficient to keep to the truth about ourselves, whether it does involve our intentions, position, what really happened or what we did in particular incident. But we do not actually need to change our manner of speech or behaviour in order to disprove lies or possible misgivings, since our silent deeds will do so automatically on our behalf, when it is allowed the facts to speak for themselves with the time. An enemy tried to lure Nehemiah into entering the house of God within the temple, namely the holiest of holies, through fear of assassination attempts which could happen at any time. It was first created a false alarm, and then tried to tempt Nehemiah with a wrong assumptions or response, so he would try to save himself in a degrading way. Only the high priest of Israel was allowed to enter the holiest of holies, so that Nehemiah would otherwise have given a bad personal example and undermined his own authority. A false prophet would surely have sought to sacrifice his devotion to God in order to save his own skin, rather than by seeking to sacrifice his own life in order to serve God. But Nehemiah refused to do anything against his conviction and moral integrity, so he was truly willing to suffer in an undeserved way. To Nehemiah it was only important that the will of God could be done, regardless of that whether God would work through Nehemiah or someone else. God could always find a replacement, and exalt another person to fulfil His purpose or fight for His cause. It is also never a good idea to lock oneself inside a small space, for it is depended upon reconnaissance and mobility to outmanoeuvre the enemy out in the open, rather than by offering the enemy a stationary target, altogether blind and lame. It would have been better if Nehemiah had observed after enemy movement from the walls in Jerusalem, so that he could possess an overview of the entire area and counter every move. That to be locked inside a small house would not really keep the enemies outside, but it would rather keep the defender imprisoned and separated from everything else in the outside world, as if the defender would restrict his capability in advance. The wall of Jerusalem was finished in fifty-two days, so that all the enemies of Israel were much cast down in their own eyes, since they perceived that this work was wrought of God. God can accomplish a corresponding miracle in our spiritual life, by making us sensible and virtuous within a brief time, even that it would only involve a few days. Then we will become healthier and happier than our enemies, able to make better decisions and more capable of achievements, so that we can both obtain good things and maintain them in the long run. Our enemies were once superior to us while we rebelled against God and sought to become like them, but after we turned to God then we would both surpass our former life and our enemies in general. At first it might seem like everyone look the same and nothing has changed, unless God is now present from within us and He will help us approach everything correctly.

The people wept when the heard the words the law, but Nehemiah and Ezra told the people neither to mourn nor weep, for that day was holy unto the Lord their God. It was on the contrary encouraged the people go their way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing was prepared. The people should hold their peace, and not be sorry, for the joy of the Lord would be their strength. We should be ever cheerful and grateful for everything which the Lord has done for us, for redeeming us from our sins and sharing His victory with us, so that we can just as well begin to celebrate the victory now and give all the glory to our Benefactor. Jesus Christ has made us into the children of God, aware of that how much God loves us and that He has always done so, since God ever sought to help us in secret, behind the scene. God does love us now as equally much as He has hitherto done, unless we are now able to realize it and appreciate its significance to us. We love God because He loved us first, and that is the reason which motivates us to obey His will. This is why we find ourselves willing to love other people and do good to them, since that God had done so toward us and we want to be like Him. God is able to accomplish anything, conquer anything, and solve anything in our life, so there does not exist anything which God cannot reshape to serve His purpose. This is why we should never allow any matter to trouble us, to overshadow everything else in our life, when something seems to be beyond our reach and control. For that we can now at this very moment put all our burdens upon the Lord, and allow Him to take care of everything, while we continue to be free in spirit, love one another, and are ever moving on. Nehemiah acknowledged that God was just in all that was brought upon the Israel people; for He had done right, they had done wickedly. Now the Israel people found themselves as servants in their own land, and the land was now yielding much increase unto the heathen kings that God had set over the Israel people. These kings did also have dominion over their bodies, over their cattle, and their pleasure, so the Israel people were in great distress. This can just as well signify the Enemy’s dominance over the world, which God handed over to him because of the wickedness of the human race, so that everyone were subjected to the law of sin until the coming of Christ. This does not mean that the devils are possessing everyone and controlling everything, but this does rather mean that the law of sin will continue to be a part of our flesh. The man is usually governed by his own desires, selfish thoughts, impulses, whims, personal bias, love of pleasure and fear of pain, unless when God intervenes on his behalf. If the man does believe in Jesus Christ then he is no longer controlled by the law of sin, but the man will instead put himself under God’s law and by led by His Spirit. Now the man is governed by a sense of the truth, a sense of decency, a pure and sincere love, moral principles and virtues, something which reaches beyond his self.

Eliashi the priest was allied unto Tobiah, and he began to discriminate other servants in the temple and claim their chamber, so it was now meant to store Tobiah’s goods. So the Levites and singers fled every on to their fields and no longer worked. But when Nehemiah returned then he threw all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber, which was in the courts at the house of God, and commanded that the chamber should be cleansed, and that it should again be brought the vessels and offerings to God. And Nehemiah rebuked the rulers, and asked them why the temple was forsaken? This account is meant to warn us of all false prophets and unworthy leaders, whom seek to make everything centred upon their own self-interest and to support their life of luxury, even that everyone else in the community would need to suffer for it. It should thereby be purged the community from within, by getting rid off the unworthy and corrupt men, and then their plots and secret dealings will be no more. It does correspond to the spiritual struggle against devils, for the devils can constantly create new lies and problems while we are willing to tolerate their presence, but if we can get rid of all these devils then we will no longer be opposed or troubled in anything. So the wicked men should be driven out from the community, and then they will no longer be in position to corrupt or undermine the community from within, since they possess a deliberate will to sin and that is the source of all evils that can happen. Nehemiah rebuked the rulers for profaning the Sabbath day, since the Israel people were purchasing food from heathen merchants. Nehemiah ordered that the gates should be closed during the Sabbath, and threatened all the merchants to stay away. This does remind of that when Jesus Christ drove out all the merchants in the temple, and rebuked them for making His Father’s house into a den of robbers, or a house of merchandize. It should be worshipped God in all sincerity and with a good conscience, but false prophets act like salesman in order to make a profit from other people, promising them some kind of religious service or whimsical experience in return for money. These religious hypocrites attempt to come up between God and the believer, by pretending to be intercessors or someone that is supposed to know about the right way to approach God, but they are nothing more than parasites that everyone can do without. The false prophets are of course not deceiving the true believers, those whom already know God and His moral principles, since they would otherwise see through the scam. But the false prophets are rather deceiving those that are complete strangers to the faith, whom have not bothered to read the Scripture and are not governed by morality. The false prophets are appealing to people’s need for signs and greed for rewards, so the people are never truly innocent when the false prophets manage to exploit them. For an example then the credulous follower can give money to the false prophet, because that person has been promised more riches in the afterlife, so it is like the person chooses to become poor for the sake of greed, and austere for the sake of luxury. There were some Jews that had married heathen women, and their children could not even speak in the Jew’s language, but rather according to the language of each people. It should never be made a compromise with the world, by mixing bad things together with the good, since it will only exalt the bad at the expense of the good. The truth and the justice must be pure in order to remain good, but it will otherwise no longer be good, if there is added the slightest influence of lies and corruption. It cannot be done both things at the same time, and there does not exist anything in between, since that a half-hearted effort is the same thing as no effort. The man must either serve God completely or not, heed all of His words or not, obey all of His moral principles or not, since that is which defines God as a person in whole. It is not like we can neglect or reject the person in whole, while we only care for specific parts, since these parts belong to the same person and are subjected to its human will. The person is the embodiment of all the parts combined in one, while the soul underneath makes them functional, so it cannot be separated the person from itself.

The Book of Esther teaches us not to become dismayed when the wicked men persecute us, namely for that in doing the right thing and only show reverence to God alone. The enemies of God might at first seem to have all the advantage in the beginning, for they have been planning to attack us while we are unaware of any hostility and not prepared for it, so it is like our enemies can make the first move, openly or in secret. It is still only sufficient for us to have faith in God, that He will know when it is the right time to intervene, to point the circumstances into a more favourable direction, to create new opportunities which we can both notice and make good use of. God can arrange everyone into their proper place, and arrange all events into their proper timing, so the good things will replace or nullify all the bad things. Esther was already a queen before Haman became hostile toward the Jews, and the King had already planned to honour Mordecai before Haman arrived to demand his destruction, so it is like God had already taken every precaution to save the Jews.  All these troubles began because Mordecai refused to show reverence to Haman, so that Haman came to hate all Jews and plotted for their destruction. The modern man might have a tendency to question that decision, and suggest a compromise, as if Mordecai would pretend to show Haman reverence in order to prevent all hostility in the first place. But God is actually telling us that we do not need to think in such way, as if we would need to yield to temptations or do evil for the sake of good outcome, through fear of bad consequences or so that the wicked men will not respond in a hostile way. For that God can both make us capable of doing the right thing and in enduring the consequences, since God can create further consequences to help our cause. It is not like our enemies will come up with a specific measure and then it marks the end of everything, for there can always happen something after it, so we do have enough time to come up with a counter-measure and adapt to any changes in the situation. It can happen that our enemies pronounce their own harsh verdicts, and become the makers of their own undoing, which is entirely originated in their own weaknesses, foolish presumptions, and mistakes. So that we have not actually resorted to any measures of our own, to repay evil with evil or outsmart our enemies through craftiness, but it is like a solution would arrive from unexpected source or alternate means. It should be relied upon God in order to overcome the Enemy, the goodness versus the evilness, the truth versus lies, wisdom versus craftiness, virtues versus weaknesses. Therefore should we choose God and stay firm upon that path in the long run, so that all our choices can be consistent with each other and work for the same end. But we should not rely upon the Enemy and the evilness in between, by resorting to selfish means in order to save ourselves, or by trying to surpass our enemies in cruelty. God is ever seeking to help the righteous man, while the Enemy is ever seeking to help the wicked man. But it would be a foolish thing if the righteous man would take advices from the Enemy, since it would only trick him into loosing the struggle. If Esther had not helped the Jews then God would have found someone else to do it, to promote exactly the same outcome as intended, unless the means could be different. Esther became a human tool to serve the purpose of God, just like what applied to the Judges, so she had been exalted to the highest position for that very end. This was no coincidence or something which happened at random, for that God did possess the will to put Esther into the proper location, and then shaped the following course of event, like the prelude, the beginning, the execution, and the outcome. The Jews were allowed to defend themselves before their aggressive enemies, so their enemies only managed to present themselves for a speedy destruction. The enemies of Israel had intended to murder defenceless victims, as the cowards they were, so it should not have come as any surprise that they could not last in a battle upon equal terms. God was able to transform adversity into prosperity for Mordecai, and oncoming defeat unto a victory for the Jews, merely by convincing one man in the empire.

11. Job

11.1: Suffering of the Righteous

The Book of Job deals with the theme why the righteous man does suffer, even that the man is blameless on his behalf, having done nothing to deserve a punishment or retribution. It is being tested whether the man will remain faithful to God, even that he can be deprived of all prosperity and be forced to endure all kinds of adversity. It is thereby like everything can be changed around the man, and even the condition of his physical body, unless his heart is left intact and the ability to make an independent decision. In what way will the man respond to this and assume about it? What kind of significance will it have for the man, or in what way will he allow it to affect himself? Will this change in what manner the man beholds himself or God, when it comes to rationalize the cause, why the man is undergoing such things or why God has allowed it to happen? The faith in God must be self-supportive, without being depended upon any outside factors, like what kind of prosperity and adversity can be experienced or not. The man must on the contrary be willing to abandon all such things for the sake of God, even as how the man could learn to live without such things before he turned to Him. The spiritual gifts are much more important than any advantage in this world, like a good sense, integrity, freedom, sobriety, self-control, innocence, and dignity. It can be said that the fastest way to prosperity is to despise it, and consider it expendable, since that we can very well continue to stay alive and sound without such things. It is however never a good thing when we crave after prosperity or a way out from adversity, when we give such things power over our will and allow it to affect our conditions, since that we will then no longer be able to master ourselves and our choices. We are not following God because He is supposed to reward us immediately and punish our enemies immediately, so that everyone will become friendly and treat us well, or so it can be obtained anything we desire from the world. But we are rather meant to follow God because it is the right thing to do, according to the value of the choice, even that nobody in the world would appreciate it and everyone would seek to oppose it. For an example then we should help our fellow man if he is experiencing a distress, so that he can continue to be well and even become grateful toward God in his heart. This is what the good deed is all about, that we should love and help one another, so the available means can to differ but it is always meant to promote our wellbeing. But everything else is beside the point, a mere vanity and superfluity, like what other people can think about the good act, or what we can expect to get from it afterwards. God can bestow to us good sense and determination in order to make accomplishments, but all these selfish expectations did never contribute anything to them, so it would be wrong to ascribe all the credit to our selfish side and distort the victory. The just man shall live by faith, when it comes trust God that He wishes us well, that God knows what He is doing, and is doing everything in His power to help us live in the best possible way, even that we cannot actually see God when He is doing all these things. The wicked man does not own the world, but it is rather the world which owns him, since that he is no longer in any control of his heart and soul, unrestrained as it is. At first it might seem like the wicked man had obtained success in the world, since he has been willing to betray principles and resort to dishonest means for that end. But the wicked man only ended upon sacrificing his health and sanity for useless things, and he is unable to obtain any relief from his selfish cares, problems, and maladies. The wicked man can be given temporary success to make him overconfident and careless, but then his subsequent fall will be the more bitter for him to bear. That man has now lost everything and come to nothing, and yet he still torments himself over the past, as if he could have held unto such prosperity longer or made it last forever. However the man is now experiencing the withdrawal symptoms of his recent debauchery, as what applies to the man’s rebellion against God and the divine retribution which accompanies it, so it could never have been prevented or delayed.

The friends of Job rebuked him for questioning God and what had happened to his life, so they sought to rationalize everything about it, why God had acted in the way He did. But the approach was all wrong when these friends attempted to defend God and explain His motives, since they came up with foolish reasons and ascribed selfish qualities to God. The friends of Job were willing to say anything in order to self-justify anything, no matter how contrary it was to God’s good nature and the principles which define His person. It does correspond to that when the man does seek to defend, or self-justify himself before God, which proves to be insincere and self-centred in its nature. For the man tries to see something good about selfish decisions and blame outside factors for his own free choices. A similar thing applies when the self-righteous man tries to self-justify evils that had taken place, as if God had sought to tempt the person and plan for wicked things to happen, wanted the person to suffer and be mistreated by evil men, or that the victim had done something to deserve it. But such description does rather apply to the enemy of God, whom is the complete opposite of God, so the self-righteous man is actually blaspheming the name of God and defending a golden calf. It might at first seem like the man is defending God, unless he is not describing the right person, since that selfish words and deeds cannot be originated from a perfect being. It is true that God can allow evil things to happen in the world, as when He allowed the Enemy to torment Job for some time, but it is still not the same thing as if God had wished it for happen, or that it is meant to belong to His goodness. The suffering would serve God’s higher purpose in the end, but God was never the one to torment Job directly, so the Enemy’s actions were not good deeds in itself. It thereby a fact that evil things can happen in the world, and innocent men can suffer undeservedly, but it does not make any sense to see something good about it, since it was entirely originated in the Enemy’s malice and proved to be a needless act. This is why we should never attempt to rationalize anything about the Enemy and the evilness, for the Enemy does not care about any valid reasons or the truth in that matter, since he will continue to be wicked for its own sake and deliberately seek to harm us. Why should we consider ourselves in position to judge God, and know everything about Him, if we are already incapable of doing so in regard to our own life? The human people are frail beings, unable to make right decisions in every matter or to foresee everything. And yet we are somehow supposed to fare differently in regard to God, or so we can keep telling ourselves, to live in a self-conceit of our own making. It can thereby be said that we are neither in position to question God about everything, nor in explaining everything on His behalf, since we only end up seeing our own reflection and ascribing our own opinions to God. God is perfect and we are imperfect, so that we can never judge or surpass someone which is completely beyond our understanding, even as when an insect does not know what it is to be human. The self-righteous man is not really defending God, but he is rather defending his subjective image of God, and flattering his incomplete understanding. The friends of Job claimed that God does immediately punish the wicked man and he has no success whatsoever, while the righteous man would on the other hand always be rewarded in all things and he could never experience any adversity at all. They also presumed that Job deserved such misfortune and that he should thereby confess his sins. And it was claimed that God did put no trust in His saints, that the heaven and the stars were not pure in His eyes, that God does not regard any man like he was a mere worm, and that God charges His angels with folly. It does remind of the saying ‘Might makes right’, when it is relied upon brute force to force everything to happen, as if it could make up for all lack in morality, reason, and freedom. The friends of Job sought to exalt God’s power at the expense of His love and wisdom, as when a human tyrant is involved which does whatever he wishes and cares for nobody, but there is nothing admirable about him, nothing else beside his power.

In the Book of Proverbs it is written: ‘Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away... Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.’

Job was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. The fear of the Lord does consist in hating evil, and the man will derive understanding from it. But it is written that Job deliberately abstained from evil, as when it comes to shun and ignore temptations, rather than by dwelling upon temptations or strain against them with much effort. For an example then the Enemy can tempt us through selfish thoughts, and it should become obvious to us that these thoughts do not belong to our own will, since that we had never wanted such thoughts to appear and want nothing to do with them. The Enemy is thereby tempting us in the mind, and we should immediately acknowledge that fact, so we do not need to do anything except to shun and ignore his presence, and allow God to overcome the Enemy on our behalf. It is not like we need to struggle against ourselves, attempt to convince ourselves to stop thinking in such way, attempt to make our mind become silent once and for all, attempt to hide behind specific arguments or methods, give the problem too much attention and keep it alive, or anything which could be defined as ‘resisting evil’. We do not actually need to develop any reactions or assumptions at all, as if we would need to answer temptations or use something against them. The root of the problem consist in the Enemy himself, his presence or involvement in our mind, so that we are in need of God in order to get rid of the Enemy for good. The goodness does automatically cancel the evilness, as if temptations will vanish as soon as they had appeared, but we cannot do anything in our human might, except to throw words into the wind. The Enemy stated that he had been going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. This is a reference to that when the Enemy tempts us in our mind from all sides, when it is thought about everyone and everything, as if we could not stop listening to ourselves speak in the mind, and can no longer control where we are headed. For an example then it can be dwelt upon the past and or looked too much ahead, where it can be stretched out our weaknesses and problems to the most extreme assumptions, or it is somehow always digressed to irrelevant whims and fantasies. Job was already perfect and blameless, and yet the Enemy slandered Job for that what he might do in the future, as if Job should be punished before the actual crime. There was once a man that had misgivings about temptations and when they would apply. For that man presumed that he had first committed sins or done something wrong before the Enemy would be allowed to tempt him, so the man would first need to get rid off these sins before these temptations would cease in his mind. It was thereby indirectly presumed that the man deserved to be tempted by the Enemy, that the Enemy was in position to punish him for the sins or interfere with his life, so the man overrated the importance of the Enemy and underrated the importance of God. But the Book of Job is telling us that all men will be tempted by the Enemy, regardless of that what they have hitherto done and experienced in their lives, since it does involve a process which is part of our human existence and completely beyond our control (God does of course intervene on our behalf and can nullify the Enemy’s influence, but we would otherwise never be able to control the activity in our mind through sheer willpower). The Enemy is both able to tempt an innocent person and a guilty one, before and after sins were committed, or before and after it had been obeyed God, so that we should not take it too personally and attempt to rationalize why it happened in our life. It should be looked to Jesus Christ as the best example, for that He was always sinless in this world, from the beginning to the very end, and yet the Enemy tempted Him from all sides. It is not like Jesus Christ became sinless without undergoing any tests and temptations, for it served its purpose in confirming His resolve, whether the Lord would continue to be so after experiencing difficult choices. First there is a challenge or contest, and then it will determine who the victor is, after the man has competed against other men under equal terms and underwent hardship.

In the Book of Nehemiah it is written: ‘And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and woman, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people that were attentive unto the book of the law… So they read in the book in the law God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.’

In the Book of Nehemiah then he or the people could ‘perceive’ what was true, that is to say when God made them able to understand something. This confirms the assertion that God’s voice does manifest itself in a good sense, a silent perception, or inspiration in our heart. God is able to give understanding directly into our heart, even that we have not heard anyone speak with our ears. So it can somehow be sensed the truth in our heart, without undergoing the usual human means. It can also be mentioned the Book of Job, regarding the three friends which spoke about God in a wrong way, and even ascribed their own foolish opinions to His will. These three friends spoke through the mind, mentioning thoughts, a vision and fear during a night, and an image before the eye. Job replied that he knew their thoughts, and the devices which they wrongfully imagined against him. Job and Elihu were the only ones that spoke about God in a right way, without relying upon their mind. Elihu states that there is a spirit in man, where an inspiration from God does give understanding, where his spirit motivated him, and that his words would be of the uprightness of his heart and his lips would utter knowledge clearly. In the Book of Proverbs it is also written that the preparation of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord. This is consistent with the Book of Deuteronomy when God claims that the word is very near to us, in our mouth and in our heart, that we might do it, referring to His inner voice. Elihu does also claim that his speech would not make Job afraid, nor would his hand be heavy upon Job, as if to indicate that we are not supposed to be afraid when God speaks to us, but we are rather meant to be hopeful and comforted by His grace for us. God sent an angel to visit Gideon, the parents of Samson, and Mary the virgin, but the angel would tend to tell the person not to be afraid, or that the person would not die. There is never any fear or instability which does accompany the voice of God, but we do rather experience confidence, calmness, sobriety, and inner peace at the same time. Elihu told us to hear attentively the voice of God, and the sound that goes out of his mouth. This does not necessarily mean that we will hear some kind of noise or tone, as when another person is speaking to us. It can rather be said that Elihu asked us to hear attentively in complete silence, so that we could discover that there is no noise or tone involved, when God does finally speak to us. So that nothing seemed to happen in our head, regarding our mind and ears, but we have still come to realize something, from another source inside us. It can thereby be derived an understanding, a valuable insight, interpretation, or analysis, unless that we can have difficulty pinpointing from where it had been originated. God asked Job who had put wisdom in the inward parts, or who had given understanding to the heart. This is consistent with the Psalms, when it is stated that God does desire truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part he shall make us know wisdom. This hidden part is the sense, the silent perception, or inspiration in our heart. For we cannot control this source as when we make us of our human will and body, but an inspiration from God does come and go according to His initiative alone. It is God whom decides to speak to us, and when He will do so, but it is not something which we can decide at our convenience. In the Gospel of John then Jesus Christ states that the wind blows where it listeth, and we can hear the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

Job was not only afflicted in the flesh, but he did also experience a spiritual tribulation, which could include terrifying dreams and visions. It was as if God was visiting Job every morning and trying him every moment, without giving Job any break. What made things worse was that God did not answer any of Job’s appeals, as to why he was suffering and when it would finally end, whether through deliverance or death. It was namely such doubts and uncertainty that was tearing up Job from the inside. For that God did not come up with any decisive measures or definite answers, as to confirm whether he was really friendly or hostile, just so it could be gotten done with it. It is written that in all this did Job not sin with his lips, but it is never stated that Job never thought sinful things or that he did never experience temptations in his mind. It cannot be had a perfect mind or always had perfect thoughts, because the Enemy is able to arouse sinful thoughts in us, whether we want such things to happen or not. It could thereby apply that Job experienced all kinds of thoughts directed against God, which could hold God in suspicion and cast doubt upon His true motives, as if God proved to be an evil person, unfair and cruel, seeking to torment Job through malice. That could lead to anger and bitterness, that God had allowed such things to happen and done nothing to bring a relief from it, since that all appeals to God were in vain. It is thereby a fact that Job could experience such things from within, but he did still not dwell upon it, or he did not give such thoughts and impulses any further attention. It is the facts which count the most, or the objective choices, what can be said and done, while the activity of the mind is more like considerations before the actual choice. The self-righteous man does attempt to struggle against selfish thoughts in his own self-will, and he blames himself for everything, as if he could have prevented it from happening. But the true believer does acknowledge the obvious fact, that he is now being tempted by the Enemy and such thoughts could not have been prevented by him. It is thereby experienced selfish thoughts, as if he was now considering sinful possibilities, unless the believer waits for the Spirit of God to respond from within himself, so that he will immediately know better, feel better, and willingly choose to avoid it. Job possessed the good sense in cursing his own life, and the troubles afflicting him, rather than by cursing God or the Life itself. The Life is beautiful, because Jesus Christ has a beautiful and noble soul, while the world is an ugly thing and so can be our lot in it. There is a difference between in that in loving oneself and hating one’s life, since the former is bound to us as a person while the latter is our lot in this world. It is an impossible situation to accuse God or blame Him for something, since the truth is originated from God and God does never contradict Himself in anything. The man can not make use of the truth in order to attack God or prove His faults, since the truth is already giving all the glory to God and proving that He is perfect. It would be absurd if the man was receiving truth from God in order to undermine Him, or consulting with God about the best way to overcome Him. But the man can at most pretend to be right and victorious over God, by resorting to self-deception. Job confirmed that God can do everything and no thoughts could be withheld from Him, but Job had previously been speaking about things he did not understand, which were too wonderful for him, so Job acknowledged his defeat and wrong claims. It might seem to be an easy thing to grow proud and insolent toward God while we are all alone, while we cannot see God or while He has still not arrived to the scene. But we would never dare to act in such way within God’s presence, for we will only come to know how wise and powerful He is, while we prove to be ignorant and weak. It does correspond to that when a foolish man pretends to know everything before he goes out to the world, or when a coward pretends to be bold while the enemy is too far away, so there does lack a context between such words and real circumstances. This is why we could just as well show reverence toward God at all times, even while we seem to be all alone with our thoughts, and cannot see God directly, since that we are aware of our human frailty and how vulnerable our position is. It should be kept to the merit of the argument, whether it is deemed to be fair and reasonable, so that we should be as equally right or wrong regardless of location and timing. God blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning, and gave him twice as much. The tribulation of Job was not something which stood alone by itself, but it was rather the beginning up to the right execution, while the latter blessings were the outcome. So God did not really commit an evil against Job when it is looked upon the whole picture or causality, since that God did later undo the harm and made up for everything.

In chapter 3 it is written: ‘For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest, with kings and counsellers of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves; Or with princes that had gold, who filled their house with silver: Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light. There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest. There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master. Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul; Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures; Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave?’ In the Book of Ecclesiastes it is written: ‘For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun… Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.’

The state of death is a neutral thing in itself, for the deceased have no awareness whatsoever and nothing is happening to them, so there is neither experienced anything good or bad, neither happiness or suffering. This applies to the death of the flesh, when human beings are in God’s good hands, while a spiritual death is a different matter, involving different conditions and experience. It has been written that the sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. And it is also said that the Enemy does hold the power of death, but it has been made powerless by the death of Christ, so we do no longer need to be afraid of death. Jesus Christ does possess the key of death and hell, and He can save anyone at any time. It can apply even that sinner is already spiritually dead and yet still alive in this world, and even that the sinner had died before the sacrifice of Christ and ended in hell. A philosopher once said that we do not fear death, but rather the thought about it. Why should we be afraid of death, as if that would mean the end of everything or we would cease to exist, when God has already made us able to exist at this moment? Why did God give us life in the first place, if He was only concerned of that in destroying us, since God would otherwise not have bothered to create anything at all? If God can give us life then He can do so again, and if God could create this universe then He can create another one. God has not only caused our birth and survival, but He has also filled us with inner life and made us know what it is to feel alive, so the good things in our life must be originated from His goodwill, in wishing us well, or rather all the best. It proves to be contradictory when we think about death while we are still alive, even as what applies to that in staying awake or falling asleep, since there is a fundamental difference between it and it cannot be experienced both things at the same time. While we are awake then we do not know what it feels to be unconscious, and while we are unconscious then we do know what it feels to be awake, since we do not have any memory of that what took place during that time, outside our sleeping body. It is exactly the same thing about the state of death, often likened to that in sleeping, since that a whole night can pass in a blink of an eye, and then the person does all of a sudden awake. The man can die and then all of a sudden find himself resurrected in the Day of Judgment, as if countless years had passed in one moment, unknown to him. Job remarks that the man’s days upon the earth are like the days of a hireling. Our stay is merely temporary, a little test to prepare us for the greater things to come, since this evil world is not our world and we are hoping for a new world for the righteous men. The human race is imperfect and thereby has the world become so as well, even that the earth was perfect in the beginning before it was entrusted to the humans. We must first be deemed trustworthy and responsible before we can inherit a new and perfect world, so that we can live in harmony with every living being that can exist. It would otherwise never work out if greedy and irresponsible people would inherit the new world, since they would also corrupt and destroy that world as the one we know.

In chapter 19 it is written: ‘For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.’

Job knew that his redeemer would live, as if to indicate that he had previously died and then been resurrected, or that the redeemer had previously suffered and then be made whole again. Why would Job otherwise speak in such way, as if it could stand alone by itself, without having some kind of prelude, or some kind of setback that could be recovered from? So the Messiah would suffer and die, and then be resurrected by God, so He could redeem the people of God, and His word would judge everyone at the Day of Judgment. If the Messiah could be resurrected by God then the same thing would apply to all the believers, so they could yet again be in flesh and behold God as their Saviour. Job asks how should man be just with God? If Job would justify himself, his own mouth would condemn him. If Job would claim to be perfect then it would also prove him perverse. And even that Job was perfect then he would yet not know his soul, and despise his life. This is consistent with Solomon’s statement, that there is man that has not sinned. It is not like the man can exalt himself before God, as if he could deserve and demand everything, since he was supposed to have proven his worth once and for all. For that righteousness is not originated in our own self, but from God’s intervention in our life, since God makes us capable of speaking the truth and doing the right thing. God is sharing His truth and goodness with us, but we were never able to invent such things in our life, since we have only received from God and given nothing back. This is why we only end up contradicting ourselves, if we attempt to boast about our own merit, since we prove to be selfish in our nature without God’s intervention. Though God would slay Job, yet he would trust in Him. It should always be approached God in humility, regardless of that whether He is friendly or hostile toward us, whether He comes with good or bad promises, or what will happen to us in the end. In what way would we respond, if we had no certainty about our ultimate fate after death? A faithful man would still continue to do the will of God, even to the very end, since it is the right thing to do and his ultimate fate would not change that fact. But a faithless man would immediately give up and waste the remainder of his time upon debauchery, by attempting to get the most from this life before he would perish. It is a test whether we will truly love God more than our own life, or love our life more than Him, if it would seem that all was lost or that we had lost our ways at some point. Job states that nobody can bring a clean thing out of an unclean on. It should be looked upon this in context with our human frailty, when we are unable to offer perfect things to God, unable to create perfect things, or unable to have a perfect life, since that we can never surpass that what we are or the restrictions following our self. If we are not holy then how can we know God who is holy, or how is a selfish person supposed to know what it is like to be selfless, since that person is already not so? Or how are we supposed to explain the ways of God, the prudence and wisdom underlying it, if we have hitherto been short-sighted and biased regarding all other matters? It would have been better if the friends of Job had held their peace and said nothing, and it would have been wisdom to them. It is better to confess that one is ignorant and claim nothing, rather than by pretending to be wise and assert about everything.

The wicked men can spend their days in wealth, and in a moment they go down to the grave. This is a dreadful thing, when the man does not want to have anything to do with God, and then he dies all of a sudden, whether by accident or some unknown failure in his body. So the man had been rejecting God all this time, and then the next moment he dies, without being prepared for any of this, as to make peace with God before it would be too late. Then the man does all of a sudden find himself at the Day of Judgment, where the man has already made all his choices, and now needs to be judged for it. The wicked men tell God to depart from their lives, and they desire not the knowledge of His ways, since the wicked men do not see how it could be made a profit from it. It might at first seem that the wicked man can get away with everything, but he is rather depriving himself of every chance to repent and be redeemed by God. It was misunderstood God’s kindness and longsuffering, as if it was the same thing as inability to punish the guilty, so the wicked man continued to repeat the same mistakes and tempt the fates. However all this time God was actually trying to save the sinner, by doing him acts of kindness and mercy, even that the man did not deserve it and he even knew it with himself. It was so the sinner could acknowledge it, and become grateful enough to love God with his whole heart, as to follow Him to any progress. To the wicked men the morning is even as the shadow of death: if one know them, they are in terrors of the shadow of death. This means that the wicked man is afraid of his own mind, as if he stood in fear of his own shadow, since he does not possess certainty about anything in his life. One moment the wicked man is thinking this, the next moment he is thinking that, heading from desires to fears, from fears to desire, as if he had no control of himself. So the wicked man can become troubled over nothing, and be all of a sudden filled with despair as if his life was about to collapse, only because of the mindset alone. The wicked men are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low; they are taken out of the way as all other, and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn. In the Book of Ecclesiastes it is confirmed that the wicked will lay buried and forgotten. The wicked man and his wicked deeds will pass into utter oblivion, as if he had never existed and never contributed anything. God will create a new world for His people, and give them entirely new bodies, filled with the knowledge of God and functioning in a perfect way, and they will even be forgetful of all past evils. The victims will no longer remember the crimes that had taken place, and they will not longer need to live with the harm or loss that befall their bodies, since God is able to cleanse their souls and replace everything with superior creations.

In chapter 28 it is written: ‘But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living. The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me. It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof… Whence then cometh wisdom? And where is the place of understanding? Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air. Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears. God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof. For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven… And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.’

An understanding does not come out from nothing, but it must surely be originated from God’s voice inside us, since God has been making speaking and making Himself comprehensible to us. It would otherwise be a foolish thing to thank irrelevant matters for everything, as if the genes in our body had been speaking to us, or it was because of chemical reaction. A speech does not come out from thin air, or from the rocks, but where there is speech there must also be a living being, which possesses the will to speak and the right means. Or the speech is at least originated from a living being and its intervention, even that lifeless machines can replicate after a human speech, since it is human beings which create machines and have made them capable of such function. So that God is able to speak to us like the human people, unless it happens from within us and involves different means, since we come to sense His meaning way and understand something at that moment, even that everything remains silent. The body is only bound to the body, while spiritual matters are discerned by the spirit. The sense organs are one thing while the interpretation thereof is a different thing. For that people can see and hear the same things while their response can differ, but it was never the eyes and the ears which made such decisions on behalf of the people. The human people cannot create or purchase understanding, but they can only receive it from God. Job states that the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding. This is consistent with the Book of Proverbs, when it is stated that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. And to fear the Lord is to hate evil: pride and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the forward mouth. It must first be rejected temptations and our selfish side, where we must be willing to forgo a dishonest gain and suffer for that in being honest, and then next we will obtain more understanding, a better sense of that what is true and just. It is first sacrificed one thing before we can obtain another thing instead, where it must first be emptied our cup before we can fill it with another substance, even as when we avoid an evil in order to do good, since we keep moving to the goal ahead. We would otherwise be stuck at the same hindrance, and too occupied with something else, so it cannot be done both good and evil at the same time, as contrary natures.

In chapter 33 it is written: ‘If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to shew unto man his uprightness: Then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom. His flesh shall be fresher than a child’s: he shall return to the days of his youth: He shall pray unto God, and he will be favourable unto him: and he shall see his face with joy: for he will render unto man his righteousness. He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light. Lo, all these things worketh God oftentimes with man. To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living.’

God is willing to redeem anyone that will repent and confess the truth, even that the person had hitherto deserved to end in the pit. However God does not deliver the sinner out from nothing, as if it was based upon a whim, but God must first offer a ransom for him, so the sins can be taken away for good. It is thereby a question of that in what the ransom would consist in, what God would first have to accomplish in order to have a ransom, from what or whom the ransom would be derived. So the sinner cannot be saved without a ransom, and that ransom would consist in something relevant to redemption, to forgive all his sins, to give the man a new heart and spirit, to make the man become righteous and partaker in the Holy Spirit. This is why it makes sense that the ransom would consist in the sinless life of Christ, that He could trade place with the sinner and share all His essence with Him. Then the man shall see the light and be enlightened with the light of the living, where he will return to the days of his youth, and his flesh shall be fresher than a child’s. This means that the man will become sincere and innocent again, as when he was a child and uncorrupted by the world, so it was like none of the sins did ever happen. The man will again know what it feels to be lively, light-hearted, and at peace with himself, since the Spirit of Christ is like a fountain of youth, unless it applies to our soul. Elihu stated God is greater than man and He does not give account of any of His matters. God is not obligated to explain, defend, justify, or prove Himself in our eyes, since that we are not in position to demand anything from Him. It is not our role to question God about everything which can happen in the world, especially when it comes to explain why God allowed evils to befall us or other people. All temptations are originated from the Enemy, and all evils in the world are originated in the man’s own selfish choices, since he refused to obey the goodness of God. God has been doing everything in His power to help us and teach us to live well, but it does not mean that we have been listening to God all the time and chosen to do so. The human race should blame itself, and the individual should blame himself, for being so self-centred and self-absorbed, too indifferent to understand and show compassion, since the man fails to notice how his choices will affect other living beings.

In chapter 35 it is written: ‘Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God’s? For thou saidst, What advantage will it be unto thee? And, What profit shall I have, if I be cleansed from my sin? I will answer thee, and thy companions with thee. Look unto the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou. If thou sinnest, what doest thou against him? Of if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him? If thou be righteous, what gives thou him? Or what receiveth he of thine hand?’

God does not need us in the same way as we need Him, as if we could help God with our good deeds or harm God with our evil deeds. But God can continue to do well and accomplish that what He had always intended, with or without us, so that our involvement and approval means nothing. It is like we can at most be God’s followers or enemies, while we are not known for anything else, lacking all independent existence and achievements in their own right. God does already have everything and we have nothing to offer Him, so that we are of course obeying God for our own sake, since we cannot even sustain our own life. Our obedience to God or rebellion against Him will only affect our life alone, to the better or worse, but we were never an important person that could promote or thwart His plans. God can just as well replace us or defeat us once and for all, if He wanted to do so, but God is being generous to us and has hitherto tolerated our faults. And God is not in any way obligated to help us as if we could demand it from Him, but God is rather being consistent with His good nature, by being generous to us for free, even that God has nothing to gain by it and we have done absolutely nothing prior to it. This is why the man is at fault for questioning God and blaming Him for the evils in the world, as if God should have saved everyone and prevented all evils from happening. For that everyone are demanding something from God, while few are willing to do something for Him in turn. Or everyone is asking God to do something for them, while few ask themselves what they can do for God. But God is not selfish like the human people so the feeling is not mutual, to expect everyone else to make oneself happy, to grumble about unfulfilled desires, and attempt to adapt everything to own presumptions. The man might presume that God should have made everyone and everything perfect, but the man forgets all about the selfish side in the human people, which makes them unworthy and unready to receive blessings from God, favourable opportunities or influential position. For that an unworthy person would immediately seek to abuse it for selfish ends, like when beauty is abused in order to obtain success with fornication, or when power is abused to oppress the weak, so that nothing good would come out from it. This explains why God has hitherto not made everything perfect around the man, while the man himself remains false and selfish from within. Elihu also states that God is mighty and He does not despise anyone. It is true that God is the most powerful being in the universe, but it has still not changed in way God beholds Himself and everyone, since God continues to be the person He has always been. God is ever generous and merciful to the weak and lowly, for that God is mindful of that if He had shared their position, in what way He would want to be understood and treated by those in power. The laws of God apply just as much to Him as to everyone else, what He could experience under same conditions and how the choices would affect Him, so that God does behave as He does command and leads by the best personal example. It is not like when the man allows power and prosperity to corrupt himself, so that he will become proud over his own importance and treats other people in an arrogant way. It is indeed a despicable thing, when the man abuses his power in order to oppress those weaker than himself, and to apply different rules to himself, so the man could hide behind his power or be rewarded for that in being worthless. For that man does only pretend to be bold while he is at the top, but he would immediately become cowardly in a lower position, if someone else had more power than him. God is free from all spite and arrogance, where He does treat human beings in a fair, reasonable, and dignified way, so they can regain confidence and continue to be free in spirit, without having any threats and prejudices hanging over their heads. So that God continues to be modest and discreet about Himself, and He allows us to continue to be the person we are, to speak and act freely according to our conviction.

Job did not only abstain from evil ways, but he did also help those whom were too weak to help themselves, like the poor, the fatherless, and widows. Job was like eyes to the blind, feet to the lame, father to the poor, and he brake the jaws of the wicked. Job continued to claim his innocence, and counted up what kind of errors he had avoided. It is spoken against selfish desires, presumptions, impulses, vanity, and love of dishonest gain. It indicated that sins and iniquity do not only consist in external words and deeds, but it is even more important to abstain from a wrong attitude, the will to sin, or spiritual impurity. Job did not only abstain from crimes, but he was also pure of heart, never wishing for anything evil to happen, never growing proud over himself, never discriminating anyone in his heart, and never showing indifference to those in need. Job would have sinned and deserved a punishment, if he put his confidence upon his wealth and rejoiced over it, if he became boastful about his self-importance and kissed his own hands, since he would be denying God that is above. It would also be a sin to Job if he rejoiced over the destructions of his enemy, lifted up himself when evil found the enemy, or wished secretly a curse to his soul. Job did not even fear a great multitude, as if he would remain silent and not dare to go outside his house, since that Job would not choose to become intimidated by anyone. Job would not allow fear to control his life, nor to change his usual pattern, but Job was always willing to stand up for the right cause and help the weak. And Job opened his doors to the traveller, so the stranger would not need to lodge in the street. But it would otherwise have become a sin to Job if he had neglected to do good things, if he remained silent and allowed something bad to happen to an innocent person. Job did ever confess the truth about himself, what were his true intentions and position, but Job did not attempt to hide it from God and pretend to be someone else. A wrong attitude is always an inseparable part of temptations in our mind. It can happen that our mind conjures despicable longings and hostility to other people, which can last within a few seconds and it is like we agree with it during that time. It is like such wrong attitude does come out from nowhere, and it will soon be gone, so it is being tested how we will respond to temptations, after it has managed to ‘touch’ us. It is however only sufficient that we should turn to God and ask Him to get rid of the Enemy, so we will no longer experience a wrong attitude nor be affected by it. But we do not actually need to promise anything, by pretending to be perfect and attempting to please everyone. For the temptation began in our mind and it will end in our mind, so we should concentrate upon that in overcoming the ‘thoughts about other people’, rather than by digressing to the people or incidents which these thoughts are lying about.

God was the one to shut the sea with doors, and command its proud waves to be stayed. This is a reference to the sea of death, when the sinner is in the midst of it and about to be swallowed, unless God can halt the sea of death and make way for the man. The gates of death are opened to God, and He has seen the doors of the shadow of death. God can help us confront our greatest fears, and escape unscathed from it, even that the idea of wickedness might seem horrible to us, since total absence of charity is inner death. Job had been questioning the Creator of the universe, without having being around to see it created. And Job did not even understand how his own world did function, and all the wonderful beings that have been living upon it. So Job had been demanding God for answers, and yet Job did not understand the ground he stood upon, as if Job was either way not fit to understand the answer which God could give. If Leviathan was indeed the Enemy then why would God go to such length in praising him, as if the Enemy was that special or someone worthy of God’s attention? It is not like God had spoken to the Enemy with respect when Adam and Eve rebelled, or when it is referred to Lucifer as someone vile before God in the Book of Ezekiel. In the Book of Revelation then God did not even bother to fight the Enemy personally, as if it was considered to be no challenge and beneath God’s dignity to participate in it, but God could just as well send Michael to archangel to overthrow the Red Dragon. The Enemy is unworthy to be mentioned in the same sentence as God, let alone considered as an equal in power, although the titles might seem to give a wrong impression. For that God is the leader of all the good beings, and the Enemy is the leader of all the wicked beings, so to the human people it might seem like they should fight a duel. But God does actually rule everyone, and His power does reach to everyone, whether the wicked beings will acknowledge it or not, so that everyone are compelled to obey Him. God had hitherto been praising particular animals upon the earth, so it should not seem that far-fetched that Leviathan would also be creature in this case. It does however not necessarily need to be one thing above the other, since that Leviathan can both be a reference to ancient creature and be symbolic for the Enemy. So that God could praise the creature, while He does refer to the Enemy in other cases, like when Leviathan was supposed to have spoken softly to God, made a supplication to God and become His servant, along with that in being the king over all the children of pride. In the Scripture it is never recorded that the Enemy could invade the heaven, speak insolently within God’s presence, deceive God or force Him to yield to evil demands. For the Enemy is afraid of God and powerless before Him, so it does explain why the Enemy can do no other than to submit to God’s terms, as what He dictates.

12. Psalms

12.1: The Messiah

It is most prophesized about the Messiah in the Psalms and the Book of Isaiah, where it is described what kind of good outcome or consequences are meant to be promoted by Him, although it has been a matter of controversy by what means He would resort to. The Jews must ask themselves this, whether the accomplishments would be spiritual or worldly in their nature, attained by corresponding means, and originated from such source. Which is more important, that the Messiah should become a political leader, or that He should become the leader of our heart and soul? Should the Messiah have created a worldly empire for a brief time and then be no more, or should the Messiah have redeemed our soul, purified it and made it whole again? Good conscience us closer to us than a human authority, something that follows us to any place at any time. It would not make any sense to live within a prosperous empire and own everything, while everyone would prove to be selfish and ignorant from within. Should the Messiah have slaughtered human enemies, or overcome the devils on our behalf? Which is a greater threat, our enemies or the enemies of God? It does all come down to this, whether the Messiah would have a limited role for a limited time upon the earth, or whether He could be made accessible to the individual at all times, so that we can feel His presence in our heart, hear His voice, and be able to obey. The Messiah would set everything right, from within us all, so that we would be able to fulfil God’s demands, become virtuous, and unlock all His blessings, once and for all. Even at this moment the Jews expect a national revelation, that the Messiah will reveal Himself to the entire world, and promote an age of perfection and peace. But such expectations contradict to the spirit of God’s message, what He has hitherto taught us in the Scripture, when it is read between the lines and understood His stance. The Messiah will not reveal Himself to a whole nation, because Moses had already done so in his time and failed. No supernatural signs can appease those that are faithless, whether it would happen now or in the future, since the problem remains in them. And why would the Messiah seek to change the world through political reforms, seeing that that the world has hitherto been hostile to God and will also be so in the future. For it is written that the kings of the earth set themselves, and rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, as if they could break away from His power. It is thereby a fact that the human race has rebelled against God, and shaped the world in their own selfish image, so the world cannot be saved directly. Why would God be concerned of that in saving one great idol, which the human race has shaped with their own hands and imbued with their selfish influence, while every individual by himself would remain neglected, abandoned, or forgotten in his sins? The world has only gotten worse with the time, where our human society has become sick and deranged, and people are getting more alienated from one another. This is why it can be ridiculed the claim that the future will be different from the world that we have come to know, since the human people will remain selfish then as they do now. What then, should everyone remain selfish and ignorant on the inside, and then all of a sudden manage to make everything perfect around themselves and peaceful?

It does not make any sense when the Israel people claim to be The Suffering Servant in the Book of Isaiah, because of their history in being a persecuted minority group. The Israel people were first led to captivity by the Assyrians, and then the rest by the Babylonians. It was not because the Israel people had previously been innocent, but they were being punished for their rebellion against God, even as when a man does experience withdrawal symptoms after debauchery and it cannot be separated. The question is not whether the Jews have been innocent victims in our times, but rather whether they proved to be so during the time of the Scripture, when seen in relation to God’s prophecies, when the Messiah would finally appear. The last book of Moses does end up with a song, where Moses does predict the rebellion of the Israel people and that they would lightly esteem the Rock of their salvation. Then there is the history of Israel from the Book of Joshua to the Book of Esther, although the Book of Nehemiah could be considered more relevant to the worship of God. Nehemiah was a great figure which supervised the rebuilding of Jerusalem, along with the walls and the temple, as to prepare the way for a new Jewish kingdom. There is a long speech in chapter 9 in the Book of Nehemiah, where it is recollected the history of Israel and how unworthy they had been as God’s chosen people. It can also be mentioned chapters 78 and 106 in the Psalms, as yet another evidence to confirm it. Why would this be any different, when the Romans ruled over the Jews, and the Jews rejected Jesus Christ as their Saviour, ‘shortly’ before they rebelled and lost their kingdom? God did not save the Jews from the Romans, even as when God had not saved them from the Assyrians and the Babylonians. The Israel people must have rebelled again against God, where a similar approach would lead to similar results, even that the people were unaware of that fact and still pretended to believe in God openly. That kind of rebellion proved to be self-righteous in its nature, where it was betrayed the principles of God and neglected His words. It was thereby rejected God indirectly, by rejecting that which belonged to Him, which defined His good nature and divine grace. It is true that the Israel people did not reject God openly like the heathens, but they still failed to heed and obey the spirit of His message, as what applied to all the heathens.

In chapter 2 it is written: ‘I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel… Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.’

This cannot be David, or the son of David, since they did not conquer the whole world. But this prophecy does only seem to make sense when put in spiritual context, where the heathen signify devils, while the earth does signify the flesh. So the Messiah would overcome the law of sin in the flesh, by taking on human body and overcome all temptations for our sake, so the whole human body would become obedient to the law of God. The uttermost parts of the earth are thereby the uttermost parts of the human aspect, namely everything which belongs to the human soul, heart, spirit, mind, and flesh, so the Messiah does possess the power to purify these parts and even replace them. The Messiah would always be perfect, both willing and able to obey God in all matters, so that His sacrifice would be perfect as well, finishing God’s work once and for all. The Messiah can now share His essence with the repentant sinner, and reshape him in His own image. So the man can experience the same thing from within, what it feels to be the child of God, and then next the man can speak and behave like a child of God. This is what it is to be begotten by God, although this passage does rather apply to the Messiah, since He is the only begotten Son of God, the original child of God. The first child of God is able to make everyone else into the child of God, where it can happen on this very day, if the sinner will only confess His name and receive Him. We are told to kiss the Son, by the Father, since the Father wants us to honour the Son. Why would it otherwise be said, ‘Kiss the Son’, rather than by applying different term? The Father wants everyone to honour the Son, and the Son wants everyone to honour the Father. So the Father and the Son point to each other, for that both of them are altogether altruistic, governed by pure love for the other, and free from all selfishness. The Father and the Son are only concerned about that in benefiting the welfare of the other, while they do not care about their own self-image and self-interest, as if they want nothing for themselves, except to love and to be loved.

The Jews consider it a blasphemy that God is supposed to have an only begotten Son, and that the divinity would consist of more than one person, or three in one. For the Jews look to all the heathen religions, which have their ‘divine’ families and relatives, and then next the Jews presume that Christianity does follow the same path. The problem about such reasoning consist in this, that it does only disprove all the wrong things, while it does never disprove the right thing, when it would finally happen. But the Son has been with the Father in the beginning, which means that the Son of God existed before the creation of the human race, and before the human race began to create false religions. God has been perfect from the very beginning, while the human race came later and committed crimes in the name of God, so it would be a foolish thing to blame God for the errors of the human race, including the creation of false religions. It is not the false religions that disprove God, nor are human errors capable of disproving the will of God, so it does not exclude anything regarding God Himself. It is true that the heathen religions are wrong, and so are their ‘divine’ families and relatives, but it does still not disprove the notion that God can have a Son like Himself. It can be excluded everything which the human race has presumed and invented, but it is bound to the human race alone, while the divinity itself is a separate thing. It is not like the Son of God is a different person, with a different personality and powers, as when the heathen gods could correspond to fictional superheroes or super villains. But the Son of God is like the Heavenly Father and one with Him, where they share the same essence and are pure in their goodness. So the Son of God is like a younger version of the Father, whom might seem a little bit different in outward appearance, but He is still just like the Father from within and capable of the same things. This is why it is not really a blasphemy to claim such thing, nor does it belong to a hedonic influence, since that God continue to be one unless that one consist of three. The human body does consist of many parts, and all the parts combined form the human body, but nobody is claiming that the parts are a separate entity or outside the body. And the human body is called so because it is governed by a human soul, so there is one person inside the body and all the decisions are originated from the same human will. It is not like there are many human souls or persons inside the same human body, taking their turns in ruling the body and making decisions, so that none of the decisions are consistent with each other, or heading from pure goodness to pure malice. This is another proof why the divinity can consist of Father and Son, because the Son has always obeyed the Father and been like Him, as if the same divine will was always involved. So the divinity does consist of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and the divine will is the same in them all, as if one soul was governing the divine body. The same truth and goodness prevails in all of them, but they do still have different roles. For the Father sent the Son to the world in order to redeem the human race, and then next the Son could send the Holy Spirit to work inside all of His believers, but both the Son and the Holy Spirit are promoting the will of the Heavenly Father.

There was no gender in the beginning, but it something which first began with the human race. Even the creation of Eve was not originally planned, since God did first create Adam and then needed to adjust His plan, so that Adam could have a help meet for him. And yet the angels were called the sons of God, and Adam the son of God, even that there was no woman involved, so there could be offspring’s without a mother. Where there are sons there is also a father, whom would be God in this case, so that God is able to create living beings alone by Himself, unlike the usual human process. This is why it is not absurd to claim that God could have an only begotten Son, made in His own image and sharing the same essence. It would otherwise have been a blasphemy to claim that God would also consist of a mother, sister, or daughter, singular or plural, since that nobody was considered to be male or female in the beginning. The angels of God were neither considered to be male or female, although they were called sons and might look like males, since there were no genitals involved. So that God first created Adam and then Eve, as male and female, but it is only bound to the human race alone, and the living beings that can live upon the earth. But this does not mean that every being in the universe should be categorized as males or females, that everyone should be considered males whom are not females, or that everyone should be considered females that are not males. The New Testament claims that God consists of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, but there is nobody else involved. It is not like what applies to hedonic religions with their family trees, distant relatives, and countless offspring’s, which only make them seem even more absurd. And why did God create the human race in the way it has always been, when every child has a father and a mother, is meant to be loved by them and brought up, rather than that individual could replicate themselves like cells or through other means? This must surely be a reference to the Father and the Son, whom love and honour each other, so that kind of relationship is meant to be the source of the child’s wellbeing. A love can only exist between two living persons, when that kind of feeling is mutual, but love does otherwise not exist while the man is all alone by himself. This is why God had an only begotten Son, so they could love and cherish one another, but it would never have worked out if God had been all alone, and only caring about His own life. God does not think in the same way as the human people, like when the man wants to become a despot, all alone at the top, only concerned about his own self-gratification, unwilling to share his power with anyone, and too distant from the people he rules. But God does rather want to make everyone free and happy like Himself, where He does exist to help everyone and promote their wellbeing, to share His power with the persons He loves, and He is willing to endure the same hardships as everyone. God does know from His own personal experience what it is obey His own commands, since the Father does command everyone and the Son does obey Him like everyone else are supposed to do. The Father is commanding from a higher position, while the Son is obeying from a lower position, and that has made the Son qualified to command everyone else, since the Son both knows how to command and to obey. And the Son has also humbled Himself and treated His human subjects like equals, in freedom and dignity, even as how the Father has treated the Son like an equal. The Father did so from a higher position and the Son received it from a lower position, so the Son does also know how to be generous and merciful to the lowly and weak. But it can be ridiculed the selfish rulers of the world, whom demand complete obedience from their human subjects, while they are living in the most irresponsible way.

In chapter 5 it is written: ‘Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.’ In chapter 20 it is written: ‘Now know I that the Lord saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright. Save, Lord: let the king hear us when we call.’ In chapter 21 it is written: ‘The king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah. For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head. He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever.’ In chapter 8 it is written: ‘Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger... What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet.’

David does both refer to God as his King, and his God, but a title of king is meant for those that govern the earth and the human people. The Lord is our true leader, the only rightful king, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. The Lord must surely have accomplished something upon the earth, in His own person, before the Lord could establish His claim as a king and become so to us. In what way would the Lord manage to do so upon the earth, without being in a human form? For that one must become human before being able to overcome the human nature, but it could never have been accomplished from a distant place in heaven. The Lord would give the king his heart’s desire, and not withhold the request of his lips. It does consist in that of saving the people of God from their sins, so that no man would perish that will believe in the Lord, but everyone will continue to live in Him. Living beings are more important than any lifeless matters, and human lives are more important than the world, so the Lord wants to help and save as many men as possible. The king would ask life of the Lord, and it would be given him, for ever and ever. Why would the king ask life of the Lord, unless he was about to die and knew that it would happen? The man must first die, and then be resurrected, but it cannot be resurrected a man that is already alive and well. So the Messiah would die in this world and be resurrected by God, so that He could lay the foundation for the resurrection of everyone else, to be revived in spirit even that the flesh is dead in its sins. The Messiah would ordain strength from the mouth of babes and sucklings, those reborn in His Spirit as the children of God, so they would again become sincere, truthful, innocent, humble, and at peace with themselves. The Messiah is called the son of man, where he was for a time put a little lower than the angels, so the Messiah could thereby redeem the human people from the inside. So the Messiah was sent into a hostile land, where His people were held captive by His enemies. There the Messiah managed to defy everything which the enemies could plan to do, while remaining free spirited at all times and encouraging His people to do the same thing, under the same conditions. The Messiah would be greater than all the angels while He was in heaven, but the Messiah choose to humble Himself and come down upon the earth, partly through supernatural means and partly through human ones, concerning his birth by a woman. Then the Messiah would be esteemed lower than the angels, while He had yet to prove Himself upon the earth, but afterwards He would again become greater than everyone. This could only refer to the Lord Himself, for that He is greater than all the angels.

In chapter 45 it is written: ‘Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house; So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him.’ In chapter 110 it is written: ‘The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.’ In chapter 98 it is written: ‘O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.’ In chapter 29 it is written: ‘The Lord sitteth upon the flood; yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever.’

It is referred to the King as the Lord, so the Messiah would be the Lord Himself. There are also other places in the Scripture which imply this, for it is spoken about the King/Messiah and the Lord in the same sentence, or under different terms for the Lord, like the right hand of God, or something which describes His role and significance. It is spoken about the right hand of the Lord, and His holy arm, as if to indicate that the Messiah would be no mere man, but He would rather be one with God, sharing the same essence, a part of Him sent to the human race. The Heavenly Father is a Lord to the Son, while the Son is the Lord to everyone else. So it is not a contradiction when it is referred to two different Lords, or when the Lord can also be the king or the Messiah in the same sentence, although it might at first be presumed that the Lord is a separate person that elects the Messiah. The true believer is meant to forget his own people, and his father’s house, while he must instead be willing to follow the Lord to any place, a spiritual progress and victory, when it comes to overcome our selfish side and become noble in our soul. Our people are those that do the will of God, whom are decent and care for each other, but a common origins or blood should not mean anything if the people involved are wicked. The Israel people were originally elected to be God’s chosen people, but now the people of God consist in any person that belongs to God in its heart and spirit, whom is willing to confess the humble truth and to do as what its conscience does dictate. It does not matter what people can say openly and attempt to convince one another about themselves. But it is rather important what the person feels about God from within, and what God feels about that person. Will the person allow God to convince it about the right course, before that person can actually know what it is taking about and doing?

In chapter 22 it is written: ‘My God, my God, what hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?... But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him... Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round... I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust. For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feets... They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.’

This is a reference to the crucifixion of Christ, and His spiritual tribulation, since the Lord took our sins upon Himself and experienced what it was like to be forsaken by God.  Jesus Christ was not really showing doubt toward God and committing a sin, for the Lord was stating the humble truth about His internal condition, overwhelmed as it was. Jesus Christ was not only tormented by the Romans, when they scourged Him, beat Him up, and crucified Him, by nailing His hands and feet’s upon a wooden cross. But the Lord experienced even greater torment in regard to the spiritual aspect, which made His soul dried up and bruised by the effects of every possible sin in the world. A total absence of God does manifest itself in overwhelming pain, madness, and chaos. It is not like when the man does only experience pain in one part of his body, while the rest of the body remains healthy and stable, offering some kind of relief. But it rather like the man’s very awareness is only pain and utter desperation. So the Lord could experience an inner state like each passing moment was unbearable, as if it would last forever, and no man would be able respond differently than what it is to him.

In chapter 34 it is written: ‘He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.’ In chapter 45 it is written: ‘Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever... And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things... Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad.’

Jesus Christ was scourged, beaten, crucified, and pierced with a spear in His side after He was dead, but none of His bones were ever broken. Jesus Christ was never distracted by anything, where He was neither negligent of His health or surroundings, so the Lord did never fall into unforeseen accidents nor experience sickness. For the Lord was always pure in His soul, heart, spirit, and mind, so that a spiritual health would guarantee a corresponding physical health, sound and stable in every aspect. So the Lord would never do something directly or indirectly to harm Himself, but harm could only come from the outside, through the intervention of the human people. It was not the Enemy and the devils that managed to touch the Lord and harm Him, but it was the Lord that allowed the human people to harm Him in their ignorance, since that He came to this world for their very sake. Jesus Christ was truly the master of His own fate, and able to make His very enemies further God’s greater purpose, but the Lord was never deceived or outsmarted by anyone, never controlled or compelled to do something against His own will. So the Lord allowed Himself to be captured, and did not choose to defend Himself, since the Lord wanted to be condemned and crucified by the world. Jesus Christ is a harmless Lamb to His people, to the repentant sinner that confessed the humble truth, while the Lord is a dreadful Lion to all devils and wicked men. The Messiah would be fairer than the children of men, since the beauty of His outward appearance does reflect His inner beauty, purity, innocence, and nobility of soul. A similar thing would apply to the natural smell of the Lord’s body, as if frankincense would be involved, since that charitable deeds of saints are like frankincense to God. The Messiah would be graceful in His lips, meek, a lover of justice and a hater of wickedness, so that God would anoint Him with oil of gladness above His fellows. So the Messiah would be fairer than the human people, and exalted above them, as if to indicate the Messiah would live among them in a human form and surpass them in virtue. The Messiah would not be harsh, quick to judge and exploit the weaknesses of other people, but He would on the contrary be kind, helpful, tolerant, modest, and discreet.

In chapter 61 it is written: ‘From the end of the earth will I cry unto the thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the cover of thy wings.’ In chapter 69 it is written: ‘They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away... Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face. I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother’s children. For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me. I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to them. They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards. But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O Lord, in an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation... Hear me, O Lord; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies... Thou hast known me reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries are all before thee. Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.’

Moses had already described the Lord as the Rock of Israel, and prophesized that the Israel people would lightly esteem the Rock of their salvation. It is asked God to lead us to a rock that is higher than us, which signifies that of looking up to Jesus Christ. We are imperfect beings, meant to be believe in a perfect being, so that perfect being can help us do the perfect thing. God is perfect and His will is perfect, so that we can at most make objective choices, but even that the choice is perfect then it does still not make us perfect. It should not be taken too personally, for that we were merely obeying the will of God, while we continue to be frail and helpless as before, having our human restrictions. It must be looked up to the Lord, where He is meant to be our one and only standard, so that we should seek to sense, feel, think, speak, and behave like He would.  The description in chapter 69 does correspond to chapter 22, when it is foretold the undeserved suffering of the Messiah. Jesus Christ got the entire world up against Himself, including the Enemy and all the devils, whom were ever scheming against Him and making use of crafty tricks. So there were more enemies than the hairs on His head, whatever number that might be. The Messiah would be rejected by His own people, mocked and persecuted, since that selfish people could not comprehend the selfless ways of God. The Israel people had already imagined what kind of person the Messiah would be, and then next they rejected the real Messiah for failing to fit their presumptions, as foolish as it sounds. It was first come up with a fantasy or whim, and then next sought to adapt the reality to the whim, rather than by sacrificing away the whim in order to adapt to the reality. It was preferred the subjective image of God above God Himself, when He would finally arrive, so it was not accepted God and what He did for us, in its own right. And yet it is written in the Book of Isaiah ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord’. This means that the ways of God tend to work in complete opposite way to human expectations, for the Lord is truly altruistic and noble in His soul, possessing a comprehensive overview of all living beings, so the Lord would seek to help and redeem all men at the same time. The Israel people expected the Messiah to become a political leader and carve out an empire, but it would then ultimately be at the expense of human lives. What then, should the Messiah have slaughtered foreign people too ignorant to discern between their right hand and their left hand, only so the Israel people could get rich and live in luxury? The Israel people presumed that Jesus Christ deserved all the opposition that happened to His life, as if God was punishing Him for His own sins and refused to save Him.

In chapter 69 it is written: ‘Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap… For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten; and thy talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded. Add iniquity unto their iniquity: and let them not come into thy righteousness. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous. But I am poor and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high.’ In chapter 118 it is written: ‘The Lord is one my side; I will not fear: what can a man do unto me?... It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man... The right hand of the Lord is exalted: the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly... The Lord hast chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over unto death... The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.’ In chapter 127 it is written: ‘Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain... Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.’

The Israel people would prefer their religious doctrines and customs above God Himself, which these things were supposed to serve, so their service proved to be counterproductive in its nature. The Israel people would even persecute the true believers, the children of God, while they were at the same time honouring all mention of the holy men before their time. It would correspond to that if we would pretend to love that which the person has spoken while we hate the actual person, or that we would agree with the person while we reject the person, as if these two were a separate thing or not part of the same whole. It would not make any sense, for that same person is superior to that which it can create, and the person can speak of more thing while it continues to live, rather than that we would only cherish few quotes which the person spoke of in the past. God is an endless source of truth and goodness, where it does follow His presence and can be made accessible to us at all times, while our memories of God do blink in comparison. The Israel people might seem reverent to the Old Testament, but they utterly neglected to look to God and heed His words in the present time, so there was never derived anything new from God and only sought to recycle the old ideas in the Law of Moses. The Law of Moses was originally meant to be for the welfare of the Israel people, but it would later become a trap to them, and only get in the way of their salvation. For the Israel people did not understand the Law of Moses, and did not know how to use it, so it was digressed to entirely different meaning. It is like the people sought to distort that which they could see and touch, since where there is selfish attitude there is also selfish interpretation and response. It cannot be known God without having His presence in our heart, and it cannot be obeyed God without consulting with His words in the Scripture, since that God should know Himself the most and He should know about the best way to serve His will. This is why the men of Israel were found guilty of hypocrisy before God. The religious men did not know God in their own life and they lacked the means to do His will, and yet these same men pretended to be in position to teach other people to accomplish it. It was rejected Jesus Christ as the foundation of their faith, but it was instead relied upon man-made foundations, just as transient and restricted as the men themselves. It was offered something to God which He did not want, nor asked for in the first place, so that all this effort was for nought and the men were still just as distant from God. It was even worshipped the wrong person, even that it was invoked by the right name, since the description was all wrong. The religious men tended to treat God like a selfish and cruel person, when they were alone with their thoughts or consorting with one another, when it was read between the lines of their assumptions and responses. The religious men may perhaps not have spoken about God in such way openly, but they could still not help themselves and do no other than remain obedient slaves to the mind. Fanatic tends to be either unwilling or unable to become virtuous in his life, when it comes to abstain from corruption and have just dealings. But he does instead seek to persecute people whom are deemed to be sinful before God, as if the destruction of sinners would equal good deeds and manage to make him pious. It is thereby never loved God and the fellow man, nor done good deeds directly, but the fanatic does only seek to exalt himself at the expense of other people, to exploit their weaknesses and thrive upon their misery. It does never happen at random, as if a good man would do evil deeds, but the fanatic is already dictated by envy and hatred for other men, and avarice for reward, so that his subsequent deeds do merely reflect this.

In chapter 18 it is written: ‘Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen; a people whom I have not known shall serve me.’ In chapter 72 it is written: ‘Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king’s son. He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment... He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor... Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him. For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and the needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight... His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.’ In chapter 147 it is written: ‘The Lord doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel. He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds... The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy... He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the Lord.’

The Israel people presumed that the Messiah would serve their self-image and self-interest, as if the Messiah would help the people to obtain success with their selfish schemes and hostility to foreigners. But God knew what really dwelt within the hearts of the religious men, how self-righteous and hypocritical they proved to be, so they were already deemed unworthy from the outset. It is not like the religious men did first need to say this or do that before God would reject them, for that God could already discern their true intentions, so these men would surely have sought to abuse any opportunities and betray any principle, in present and future. This means that the Messiah would not attend to the religious men in the first place, but He would go straight away to the repentant and humble sinners, deemed to be outcasts in the society, and yet they were the complete opposite of the religious men. It is true that the humble sinner was frail and had done something openly to get a bad reputation, but he was still sincere toward God, willing to confess the truth and acknowledge his faults. But the religious hypocrites were proud about themselves and pretended to be perfect in everything, even that they had already yielded to all kinds of wicked desires and thoughts, so they were unwilling to confess anything and judged everyone too harshly. This is why it can be commended the humble sinner for being at least honest about his faults, no matter how many and great these faults could be, rather than by being like the superficial people in the society, whom seemed to have a perfect reputation but cared for no one but themselves. It should not be measured piety according to the absence of sins and iniquity, but rather according to love toward God and the fellow man, and that of good deeds. So the humble sinner had perhaps committed more faults openly than other people, but he did still care for other persons and did attempt to help those in need. Therefore would the Messiah do a corresponding thing to the humble sinner, by showing compassion and helping him in turn, since he proved to be faithful in the greater matters. But the hypocritical people would be rejected and shunned by the Messiah, since they had treated other persons in a superficial way and were quick to give upon them. So it was fitting that it would apply to such people in turn when finding themselves in a weak position, since they had been prejudicial, indifferent, and cruel from a higher position. An outcast is not born so, but the person becomes an outcast after being discriminated and rejected by most people, so that person does tend to loose its self-respect and behave in a desperate way. The humble sinner can seek to begin a new life and has already acted like a better person, but the hypocritical people continue to judge him for the past and treat him as such. It can apply that everyone treated the humble sinner like he was worthless, until he began to believe the same things about himself and treat himself in such way. The many gang up on the few, where the false and unworthy people seek to persecute those whom are deemed different, not sharing their corrupt mindset and hypocritical dealings. But even this can serve God’s higher purpose, for the humble sinners will no longer be one of the people and not share their fate, so it was a good thing in a bad thing suffer their hostility. In this case the humble sinner did not reject the unworthy people and separate himself from them, but they were the first ones to do so toward him. So it like the enemies did the humble sinner a favour, since different means would lead to the same outcome, although it might seem unfair to him.

12.2: The Grace of God

In chapter 12 it is written: ‘The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.’ In chapter 19 it is written: ‘The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward. Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins...’ In chapter 111 it is written: ‘The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness... The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.’

The words of God involve an universal truth, a morality or human decency which can apply at any time, any place, and in any person. It does reach to the man’s internal condition and capability, his objective choices in the world, dealings with other people, the treatment of the earth he lives upon and that of other life forms. The words of God are always right in general, and continue to be as equally valid, regardless of the man’ self, what can happen to him or change in his mindset. God has always thought everything through, where His will begins with right intentions/premises, then lead to right execution/means, and then finally to right outcome/consequences, so the causality will be consistent with itself and work to the same beneficial end. There are no loose ends involved, unforeseen repercussions, or weak factors that could be used against God’s will, so that no new problems will emerge from those solved, and the benefits are never at the expense of someone else. The will of God does consist of every wisdom and virtue, so it will both make us wise and strong, when it comes to act upon that which we can know, to be courageous enough to confront adversity and endure it with fortitude, to find it in our heart to care for the fellow man and possess the means to help him. The man will always be able to make right decisions while he does obey every one of God’s commandments, as what is within the man’s reach to do and become, while God takes care of the rest. It is not like the man will become the best in everything or be able to do everything at the same time, but he will rather fulfil the humble role assigned to him by God. The words of God are right, rejoicing the heart, and enlightening the eyes. This means that the will of God is always accompanied by benefits, and promotes it as well, so the man is not only doing the right thing but he will also feel so from within himself. The man will feel better and be eased of his burdens, where he is comforted and his spirit is raised back to hope, so he will forget his problems or no longer dwell upon them. The man will become cheerful again, contented with his life as it is, so the man will learn to live in the present time and enjoy the moment, focused at the matters at hand. The man will be at peace with himself, where he will experience a pure and moderate spirit, calmness, inner silence, sobriety, equanimity, and inner stability. The man is able to experience such benefits while he is doing the will of God, and a complete obedience will unlock all the benefits in the long run. However if the man does not experience any benefits then he must be doing something wrong, like if some factor is distracting the man or disrupting his internal conditions, so it can result in fear, self-constraint, chaos, instability, impulses or psychical symptoms. It cannot have been originated from God, belonged to Him or been promoted by Him, since that wrong effects follow a wrong attitude and wrong choices.

In chapter 15 it is written: ‘Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour. In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.’ In chapter 24 it is written: ‘Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.’

This faith is meant to help us have the right attitude in every matter, where we will become determined enough to do the right thing, and then it will affect our speech and deeds in the same way. God makes us aware why we should do the right thing, and He prepares our heart for that in wanting it, and then next we will look for the right approach and means to make it come true. If our attitude is always right then we will never consider any evil possibilities in the first place, so that we will never stop on our path and begin to look for ways to do evil. A perfect attitude does consist in this, that we should always be sincere and willing to confess the humble truth, that we should never wish anything evil to befall other people nor hold anything against them, and that we should honour humility in every man. And we must always be consistent with our conviction, where we should only speak as far what we really mean in our heart and find ourselves willing to do, and we should apply the same measure to our life as what we have done to other people. The matter is not only about that what we can speak of and offer, but why we have been doing so, what is motivating us from within and what we really expect from it. This is why it is not enough to come up with beautiful words and promise great things, but it must be looked upon in context with our heart, its real attitude and premises. It is better to say nothing than to come up with empty words and promises, since it is at least confessed that we do not feel anything and are unwilling to do anything. It is better to confess our bias and restrictions, rather than by pretending to be perfect, since it is at least confessed that we know our faults and we are willing to change. It should not be put out our money to usury, nor taken a reward against the innocent. This means that we should never expect any repayment for that in doing the right thing, but the goodness should be done for it own sake, as its own reward, as an end in itself. For that we truly believe in the goodness of God, in the rightful claim of the choice, while a fear of punishment and avarice for rewards is irrelevant to our stance. We should just be grateful for being given the chance to do good things, and to help other people, since it is better to give than to receive, as what the Lord has taught us. And we should never make our decisions be influenced by avarice for profit and pleasures, for that we are more concerned about that in loving God and the fellow man, that we can continue to maintain our innocence, spiritual freedom, self-control, and dignity. Finally we should not lift ourselves to vanity, where we should be free from all delusions about our self-importance, and never become proud over anything in our life. For that God is everything and we are nothing, but God can make nothing into everything, so that we are like a clay which God can shape into any form that He wants.

In chapter 18 it is written: ‘With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.’ In chapter 37 it is written: ‘The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever... The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide. The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him. The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged... Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.’

This does not mean that God will become the reflection of our self or mindset, to the better or worse. God is of course pure, upright, and merciful, but He will never become selfish for our sake or guilty of the same fault as we had been committing. It can rather be said that the man does pronounce his own verdict, as what he has spoken of other people and treated them, so the very same rules will apply to his own life. If the man presumes to judge other people and exploit their weaknesses then he will become self-condemned, since he is no better in comparison and also sinful before God. However if the man shows compassion and mercy then God will do the same thing toward him, as if the man came to know God better and unlocked His blessings. God is indeed virtuous, but it can only be recognized by a virtuous person, since that person knows what it is like to be virtuous and can expect the same thing from God. The selfish man does expect selfish things from God so that he can use it for selfish things. But the virtuous man knows God’s true nature, how it should be approached Him, appealed to His goodness, and the man is even ready to receive such blessings. God will reveal His pure truth and pure goodness to the pure man, because that man is deemed trustworthy, has only the best intentions, and will surely attempt to put it to a good use. It should be loved the fellow man with sincere and pure heart, with nothing held back, since that is what God is ever ready to do for our sake, if we will only let Him. But if we withhold something from our fellow man then God will be less inclined to help us, since that God will not reward us for being superficial and cruel. It is only fair that we should personally experience our own harsh verdicts and indifference, when we do find ourselves in similar position as the people we had been judging, so that we can thereby acknowledge our faults and seek to obey God from now on. God will not become corrupt His verdicts because of the corrupt man, nor commit wickedness against the wicked man, but God will rather remain silent or retain His distance, as if God did not actually need to do anything in order to help them. Uprightness is the same thing as altruism, or nobility of soul, when a decision reaches beyond the man’s self, even that the man will suffer for that in doing the right thing and forgo a profit. The end of the upright man is peace, as if that was the reason behind all of his decisions, since he wants to make peace with his conscience and live with other men in peace. Peace can only be established through good faith, mutual trust, and friendship, when people come to know one another and work together for the same end in sight. The believer is meant to convert other men to the faith in God, so that everyone can follow the leadership of Jesus Christ, and treat one another like equal brother. There will no longer be any misunderstanding, strife, or conflict of interest, since that everyone are supposed to belong to the same side and serve God’s cause alone.

In chapter 4 it is written: ‘Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness...’ In chapter 16 it is written: ‘O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee... I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.’ It is written the following in a number of places: ‘For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light… Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God… O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is. To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.’

Our righteousness is not originated from our self, but it rather came to be through the righteousness of God, His Spirit working inside us. David was first anointed by Samuel the Prophet and given the Holy Spirit, and then next David was capable of all these wonderful things, as the consequence. It did never happen before the Holy Spirit, but it was only made possible after it was received. The believers are justified by the righteousness of Jesus Christ, purified of all corruption, healed of spiritual sickness, given new heart and spirit, guided by the Holy Spirit and shaped in His image. This has nothing to do about our beautiful thoughts and human effort, when we pretend to be perfect and attempt to hide all our flaws. But we are only capable of being righteous through the life of Christ, what the Lord had managed to accomplish and fulfil from His end, from His birth to the very death. Jesus Christ is the source of our spiritual health, the fountain of our life and youth, so we will never again experience thirst and hunger in our soul, a lack of truth, virtues, and benefits. It is only made possible while the Lord is inside us, and sharing His essence with us, but never while the Lord is absent from our life. It must be first be accepted the Lord and then He will become a part of our heart, able to transform us from the inside, but it can never happen while we deliberately reject Him and close our heart. This is what our faith is all about, that to open our heart and allow the Lord to help us, rather than by doubting His true motives and never give Him a chance to prove it.

In chapter 27 it is written: ‘When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek... When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up... I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.’ In chapter 33 it is written: ‘The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men... He fashioned their hearts alike; he considereth all their works... Behold the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy. To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.’

It cannot be seen the face of the Lord directly, as when we are awake and see other people with our own eyes, unless the Lord would reveal Himself to us. It can however be looked for the face of the Lord indirectly, by searching for His truth and goodness, what is deemed to be pure, altruistic, noble, and selfless. It is thereby like our soul is travelling past many spiritual places, enemies and obstacles, where the ways of God is our map to Him and our moral choices make us closer. We should never be willing to stop for anything nor choose anything, except the ways of the Lord. So we should only accept that which can fulfil God’s moral standard, as something becoming our personal conviction, human decency, and dignity. But it should otherwise be abstained from anything deemed to be insincere and selfish. It should also be waited on the Lord, even that we can be tempted in the meantime, when our mind seems to haunt us and it is like everything is about to collapse. We should continue to be patient until the Lord will finally deliver us from our troubles, whenever that might be, so that we will be prepared when it does finally happen. Our attitude toward the Lord should ever remain the same, where we keep to our original conviction and moral choices, without changing our mind or giving up on Him. The Lord is able to deliver us from death, and to keep us alive in famine. This means that we will never cease to love God, ourselves, and the fellow man, so that hatred and greed can never have room in our heart, otherwise at the expense of the person. And we will never have famine in our soul, for that God has blessed us with good sense and benefits, unlike the faithless people, which tend to be perplexed and of poor spirit.

In chapter 32 it is written: ‘Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile... I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thoy mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him. Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble...’ In chapter 51 it is written: ‘Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquities, and cleanse me from sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest… Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.’

It is only sufficient to confess our sins before God, and not attempt to hide anything, which does both reach toward our attitude and deeds, our intentions and facts. This means that we can also confess what we really think and feel, even that we might already seem insincere and selfish, as if we had a hard time making a proper appeal to God. Then we can confess that as well, acknowledge our restrictions and what kind of position we do now find ourselves in, so that God can help us to pray for Him. There is nothing impossible to God, and there is nothing outside His jurisdiction, so that we can ask God to change us from within and help us do better next time. It is not like we should give up before making the actual attempt, since we are unable to control our selfish thoughts and dubious facial expression. For that God is still able to hear our appeal and forgive us, even for all of these things. It has everything to do about God’s goodness, when He choose to treat us in a generous way and overlook our faults, but it is not because of that what we had been doing prior to it. It can happen that our appeal might not sound perfect, but it is still our stance toward God which counts, to hope for His mercy. God does already know what we want, even before we have made the actual appeal. We should not become troubled over our lack of words, or difficulty in phrasing the appeal, so long as the appeal is done in the right spirit, what is hoped to achieve in the greater matters. God is able to forgive us any sins, purify us of every corruption, and heal us of all maladies. So that no sins are considered to be too many or great for God, but God is able to redeem any person at any time, and even make that person surpass everyone else in virtue. The redeemed sinner will no longer experience selfish desires, no longer be haunted by the mind and ‘touched/grabbed’ by aggressive thoughts, and no longer be controlled by impulses or psychical symptoms in the flesh. Therefore will nothing seem too overwhelming for the man, nor be able to affect his stability, but silence and peace does prevail from within the man, and he is no longer aware of his former troubles. We have only sinned against God, because He has created us all and shared everything with us, so we are actually abusing and squandering good things entrusted to us. This does not only reach toward external things, like the earth and other people, but it does also reach the health of our soul and body, which God is lending to us. It should not be looked upon our life alone by itself, but all of us are part of the same whole, where our paths do cross and our choices will affect one another, to the better or worse. God has created us all and He does rule over us all, so that our sins against each other are also sins against God, since that He is over us all and the ultimate authority. It has thereby been sinned against God, where He is the only right person that we should confess our sins to, and He is the only capable of forgiving us of our sins.

In chapter 95 it is written: ‘To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness…’

This means that the Lord is knocking upon our heart on each day, reminding us of the humble truth, encouraging us to repent and receive Him into our life. Therefore can we sense the truth on each day and submit ourselves to God’s justice, if we would only acknowledge the truth, make the attempt and approach God in our current state. The mind does of course continue to be wicked and seeks to divert the man away from God, by arousing up all kinds of irrelevant argument and lures. But the man does only have himself to blame if he refused to receive God into his life, for that God had been giving him enough chances on each and every day, all his lifetime. It was not God that ceased to bestow His sense or inspiration to the man, but it was the man that ceased to listen to the same meaning and did not bother to make use of it.

In chapter 50 it is written: ‘Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God. I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings, to have been continually before me. I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills... If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fullness thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.’ In chapter 51 it is written: ‘For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and  a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.’ In chapter 41 it is written: ‘Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.’ In the Book of Proverbs it is written: ‘To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.’

The animal sacrifices describes in the Law of Moses were only a temporary remedy, something allowed by God so it could be proven that it did not work, for all men to see. The person would still remain selfish in its heart and repeat the same sins all over again, so it is like the person could at most change its manner of speech but not its actual deeds. It was merely a gesture of repentance, that the man was aware of his faults and wanted to do something about it, so God could appease his guilt and the sins would perhaps not escalate. However these animal sacrifices did never prevent sins from happening in the first place, like when the man did yield to selfish desires, coveted after selfish gain, and wished for evil things in his mind. But the animal sacrifices were merely a reaction to sins, something to lessen the sins or apply limited ‘quarantine’ to the sinful nature. The Law of Moses was bound to the same restrictions as perfectionism, when the man is only concerned about that in being free from flaws and to abstain from crimes, while the man is at the same time neglecting all the right things that should replace it. What is the greatest thing which can God can do for us, as the source of our wellbeing? It does consist in that of saving our life from spiritual death and hell, to redeem us from our sins and make us able to live forever, to make us whole again and a better person, or basically anything which does concern our health, awareness, and capability. This is why the Lord is forgiving us all our sins, purifying and healing our soul, bestowing us with new heart and spirit, making us reborn in His image, making us partakers in the Holy Spirit and guided by it. If this the best thing which God can do for us; then what is the best thing we can do for God? It does consist in that of showing corresponding compassion and mercy to the fellow man, by loving him with a pure and sincere heart, by being ready to forgive him and tolerate his presence, by seeking to help him have a decent and happy life. Therefore is God is good to us, so that we can be good to the fellow man in a similar way, but God does not really need anything for Himself, not something which can be given directly to Him. The believer is meant to speak and act like God would have done in his position, but it does not make any sense to offer God ‘imaginary things which were never committed’, since that an absence of crimes does not equal good deeds toward the fellow man. A proper sacrifice does consist in a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart, that we should be aware of our faults and never again seek to self-justify any sins in our life. It should be humbled our pride, dispelled our vanity and self-conceit, and condemned our need to blame other people for our own wrong choices. For that God does already know everything about us, and He can see through any ploy, so that we can just as well approach God in our current state and confess the obvious truth. It is about the right attitude so that we can approach God in the right way, by getting right to the point and confess that we need God to help us, to become grateful for God’s kindness to us and to inquire from God what He wants us to do. It should be served God to the best of our conscience, offered Him our best intentions, and best possible effort, our continual good will and friendship, based upon mutual trust. In the Psalms it is spoken against sinners, but what kind of person is considered a sinner, or what is it supposed to have done wrong? In chapter 101 it is described sinners as those whom are faithless in their attitude, having high look, proud and froward heart, that tell lies, work deceit, and slander other people. God is not really condemning the ‘humble sinner’, whom has committed sins through ignorance or mistake, or when that person wants to follow God but finds itself too weak to resist temptations. So the ‘humble sinner’ does possess the will but he lacks ability to serve God, while the proud man does pretend to serve God by persecuting the humble sinner. The proud man is the real sinner before God, for that he does neither possess the will nor the ability to serve God, but he only seeks to exploit the weaknesses of the unfortunate.

It is written the following in a number of places: ‘Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake… If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared... Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications; in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness. And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified… Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.’ In chapter 103 it is written: ‘The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him... Like a father piteth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.’

Jesus Christ had a perfect live in this world, where He managed to surpass us in every aspect and prove Himself a superior being. This is why we are in no position to boast about anything before the Lord, as if we had managed to accomplish something which He could not do in the same position, create or contribute something which He could not have anticipated. It does also apply to that when the man obtains success in the world, by betraying a principle and making a compromise with evil men, by receiving something from the Enemy and resort to dishonest means, and doing something degrading to himself. The Lord does not give the glory to us, since there has not been anything glorious about our life, and we have not done anything to be proud of. It is true that the man can surpass other people and contribute something good to the world, so that he can be praised for it and feel good about himself. It does only seem to apply if the man compares himself with other people, but he will never stand any comparison with the Lord. The Lord is glorious and He makes the man capable of true achievements, when the Lord is working from within him and sharing His abilities. No man would be able to stand before the Lord, unless He would first pardon him of sins and iniquities. If it had not been for the Lord then we would be stuck with our sins and corruption for the rest of our life, even for all eternity. It would then be as if we would only get worse with the time but never better, being obsessive about our unfulfilled desires, distracted in our mind, burdened with cares, instable and afflicted by maladies. It is wholly thanks to Jesus Christ that we are able to become a better person, to feel better, to know better, and be capable of more things, since the Lord had previously forgiven our sins, taken away our burdens, and freed us from a sinful awareness. It is the Lord whom has chosen to overlook our faults and no longer remember them, but it would otherwise never have happened by itself, from our end. No living man shall be justified in the sight of the Lord, unless the Lord had first chosen to show him grace, to tolerate his presence, and to treat the man better than he deserves. This indicates that the man’s self must first die before he can begin to live in God, where the old creation must make way for the new one, be vanquished and replaced. The man is unable to accomplish anything from his own self, or self-will, but the man will only end up contradicting himself, concerning the relation of cause and consequence. The man’s self cannot become perfect by its own effort, as when impure things cannot produce forth pure things, nor can a selfish nature promote good things. The man’s self is already conceived in sin and shaped by iniquity, which means that his self proves to be self-centred in its nature, insincere, biased, and short-sighted. For an example then the man is only concerned about his own perfection or imperfection, and he tries to rationalize the cause of everything in relation to his own self, as if the man had previously done something to deserve good things or bad things. But the man fails to regard the good force and the evil force in his life, when the man finds himself in between, so the man is always receiving from either source. God will continue to do good things to the man and encourage him to do good things, while the Enemy will continue seeking to do bad things to the man and encourage him to do bad things, but the man should not receive it too personally when it does happen to himself. God will do good things to the man even that he does not deserve it, and the Enemy will seek to do evil things to the man even that he does not deserve it. So it involves a process which functions beyond the man’s self and it will happen either way, regardless of that who the man is, what he has hitherto experienced and done in his life.

In chapter 91 it is written: ‘A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousands at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee… For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.’ In chapter 112 it is written: ‘A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion. Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting rememberance. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.’ In chapter 116 it is written: ‘Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.’

This does not mean that God would be obligated to make a miracle if we fell down a great height, whether intentionally or by accident. It can rather be said that the angels of God work in an invisible way behind the scene, when it comes to prevent us from falling into troubles and dangers, to help us respond in time and escape from it, to lessen the harm to the point of making it insignificant and recoverable, so that we will be able to avoid a permanent harm or at least manage to survive. The grace of God can manifest itself in a good luck, where there does always happen something timely to warn us of oncoming dangers, to adjust our plans or pattern so it can be diverted us to safety (different practice, at different timing, or at a different place), to correct our misgivings and help us adapt to the circumstances. God can create many helpful coincidences, whether we are actually aware of it or not, so that we can be saved by unknown factors which are happening around us or from a distance. It is true that we can commit mistakes by ignorance and fall into difficult situation, but we are still able to learn from our mistakes and know how to improve to approach. This can also apply to the spiritual warfare, when God is able to save us from any devil, temptation, and opposition, whether God does strengthen us from within or keeps everything at bay. It is then as if adversity would never make any impression upon us, and never change our resolve in the least, but we will continue to hold all evil in contempt. God is able to prevent all fear from happening inside us, or He does at least not make the fear seem overwhelming to us, so it not like we will become paralyzed and be unable to help anyone. It can rather be said that God is able to make everything bearable to us, and solvable, if we will only trust in God and make the attempt, believing that victory is possible. It is true that we can experience uncertainty and fear, but it does not seem to last for long, since that we are accustomed to peace and stability in our heart, for most part. God made us sane and stable enough to make independent choices, even that we can experience difficult situation. So it is not a question of that whether it is doable, what we can or cannot do, but rather whether we will choose to do it, even at great personal risk. It is not like we can blame outside factors or other people for our own inactivity, for that we were still in full control of our will, understanding, and capability. It is written at another place that wine makes the man’s heart glad, oil makes his face to shine, and bread strengthened his heart. The blood of Christ does cleanse our heart, to free us from its heaviness and burdens, so we can become cheerful and light-hearted again, as if we were yet again young and innocent like children. The oil does signify the Holy Spirit, making us lively in our countenance, even as how the Holy Spirit has filled us with inner life and noble aspirations. Everything will become possible to us, where we can unlock all the promises of God and unleash His full power in our life, so the goodness of God can subdue everyone and everything. The bread does signify the knowledge of God, where a good sense and wisdom does strengthen our resolve, so that our determination remains the same at all times. It is thereby no room for doubts and fickleness in our heart, where we will never give in to any threats nor receive bribes, but it is all about faith in a cause greater than us. The death of saints does not only refer to martyrdom in this world, but it is also about becoming dead to this world, and to make the world become dead to oneself. It is no longer coveted after anything which the world has to offer, and which belongs to it, but we treat its selfish ways with indifference like we can do well without it. It is rather relied upon God to fulfil all our real needs, to make us sound and happy, so God can bestow us spiritual benefits for free if we will obey Him for free. But the faithless people rely upon vanity and superficial things in order to become happy, where they are willing to purchase service at great cost and expect much in return for everything which they do. And yet these people derive nothing from it and only get worse with the time, even to the point of ending up as empty and bitter souls.

In chapter 100 it is written: ‘Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves…’ In chapter 139 it is written: ‘I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.’ In chapter 119 it is written: ‘Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word... Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have believed thy commandments.’ In chapter 39 it is written: ‘Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity.’

The man cannot accomplish anything with his thoughts and human effort, as if he could remove away the corruption in his heart or manage to become perfect once and for all. It is only God whom can change our heart and make us into a better person, so that we can both be willing and capable of doing His will, and when it comes to abstain from every evil influence. It cannot be relied upon selfishness to conquer self-righteousness, or self-righteousness to conquer selfishness. It cannot be relied upon selfish desires to conquer the heart, selfish thoughts to conquer the mind, impulses to conquer the flesh, pain to conquer pleasure, or a pleasure to conquer pain. All the wrong things belong to the same self and are under its restrictions, so that solution can only come from the outside, through the Spirit of Christ. It is must first be received Jesus Christ into our life, and then next He begins to reshape us from the inside, until every spiritual part has been replaced, improved, and perfected. The man must first believe God’s words in advance, before He can be purified from within, since he must give the words of God proper room in his heart to do their works. The man must begin to treat the words of God as facts, and be already convinced of their significance, both applying to his internal and external activity, so the man should assume and respond accordingly. The words of God are like building material to the human soul, heart, spirit, and mind. A food does not profit the man while it is on the outside, but he must first consume the food and digest it, before the food can bestow nourishment from the inside. So it must first be received God’s words and understood them, before the words can bestow benefits to the whole spiritual body and make it function as it should. The truth does exist and is accessible to everyone, but the truth can only unleash its full potential for those that will make use of it. It is written that verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. This means that the man becomes that which he practices, so that vainglorious pursuits will make his life vainglorious as well, and he is thereby asking to God to intervene with vanity. It is thereby a fact that we are vanity and everything we intend to do is vanity, unless God chooses to free us from our own self and make us live for His higher purpose. It is written elsewhere that we cannot hide our thoughts from God, nor can we flee from His presence, since God is everywhere and He knows everything about everyone. It would even not work if we made our bed in hell, or covered ourselves with darkness. This means that no falsehood and wickedness can separate us from the love of God, for that He is always there for us, understanding who we really are and why we are acting in such way, so that we cannot pretend to be something which we are not. It is not like we are supposed to be a great hero or great villain, too important to petition God for help or too wicked to be redeemed. God has always known us as the person we are, and we should know it with ourselves, deep underneath, without trying to struggle against it. Are we not like a frail and helpless child, even for our mature body, since we know nothing and are in control of nothing, unless God chooses to care for us and help us? It is true that we can be treated in a superficial way and be discriminated by other people, but it does still not mean that we should treat ourselves in the same way, since God is not like other people and He continues to have faith in us. It should not be given up on God, but we should rather give up on the world, since that God has always treated us with kindness while the world has ever been hostile to us. And we should not give up on ourselves, but we should rather give up on the phoney people, since we want to become a decent person and not end up like them.

12.3: The World

In chapter 50 it is written: ‘But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee. When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers. Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit. Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother’s son. These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such as one as thyself; but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver. Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.’ In chapter 94 it is written: ‘Yet they say, The Lord shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it. Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise? He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? He that formed the eye, shall he not see? He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct? He that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he know?’

This description does not apply to the unbelievers whom reject God openly. But it is rather about the religious hypocrite, the self-righteous man whom pretends to be pious, only while other people are watching, and to secretly further his self-interest. But that man is guilty of wicked intentions, falsity, avarice, and spitefulness, so that he has already rejected God in his heart, and he seeks to practice wickedness in secret. The man might seem to be honest while he has still not been tested, but when he does experience real circumstances and temptations then he does immediately fall. It is not like it did happen by some chance, or that man is otherwise scrupulous in general, for the external things are appealing to weaknesses which he has already submitted to, since he wanted to commit evil and hoped for such opportunities to present themselves. The religious hypocrite has consorted with thieves and adulterers, which signifies devils which are tempting him with a notion of dishonest gain, so the man is willing to resort to despicable means in order to satisfy his unnatural lust and avarice. The religious hypocrite is barren in his heart, blind and deaf in his understanding, and lame in his capability. For that he is only concerned about that in deceiving other people about his supposed piety, while he fails to deceive God and continues to be self-condemned by his own conscience. God is an intellectual being and He is able to create intellectual beings, but it would be a foolish thing to presume that the creation can be superior to its own Creator. So the human people can see with their eyes and hear with their ears, which does reflect corresponding capability in God, unless He can see and hear everything in the universe. The man can be aware of that when other people are false or insincere, where it can be noticed such evidences in their eyes, facial expression, speech and the tone of the voice. If we are able to detect such signs in other people then is not God also able to detect such signs in us, when we prove pretentious and hypocritical from within? It is true that we cannot see God and what He looks like, or how the tone of His voice would sound, but it does not mean that God is not present with us, wherever we might be and whenever it is. This is why we should always treat God with respect and be considerate in our speech, even that we can be all alone, or alone with our thoughts, since we cannot see an invisible God from our end but God is able to see us from His end. The religious hypocrite fails to acknowledge this fact, so that he allows himself every insolence and self-indulgence, never saying ‘no’ to any of his wicked thoughts.

In chapter 35 it is written: ‘For without a cause have they hid for me their net in a pit, which without cause they have digged for my soul... False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not. They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul. But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom. I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother... But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together...’ In chapter 56 it is written: ‘Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil...  In God have I put my trust:  I will not be afraid what man can do unto me... For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt thou not deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?’ In chapter 33 it is written: ‘The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to naught: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect... There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.’

The wicked men do not commit sin by ignorance or mistake, but it is always done deliberately, to persecute an innocent person for no reason whatsoever. The wicked men commit evil for its own sake, and repay good with evil. The wicked men seek to betray their benefactor at first given opportunity, especially when the latter finds himself in a weak position and experiences adversity. This does especially apply to false friends, which pretend to be so while the person does experience prosperity, and there is some kind of advantage to be gained from it. But these false friends will reveal their true colours when the person experiences reversals and fall down to the ground, so it proves that they were never any friends to begin with. It is indeed a despicable thing, when the wicked man wishes other people to suffer, and he rejoices over that when they fall into misfortune, as if he had wanted to cause it. It is condemned the hypocrisy and treachery of the world, which seeks to exalt the unworthy for being unworthy, and to slight the worthy for being worthy, since the world has denied its own Saviour and persecutes His children. The hypocritical people of the world are not rejecting the children of God for being unworthy, but rather for being worthy, although they might not know it with themselves. For the children of God are being discriminated and neglected for being not like them, not false and treacherous, slanderous and accusative, spiteful and ungrateful. It is thereby a good thing to be rejected by worthless people, and a bad thing to be accepted by worthless people, since it does reflect what we have already become. The wicked men are always thinking evil things against the children of God, for such is the nature of the mind inside them. And the believer is also attacked by his own mind, or so it might seem to him, although the devils are doing so from outside his body and soul. The devils are able to conjure selfish thoughts and imaginations, illusions and misleading signs, so it is like the devils are inserting their own thoughts into the man’s mind. But we should put our trust in God, and not be afraid what the wicked can plan to do, since God can overcome the devils in us and also the devils working inside the wicked men. The wicked cannot accomplish anything against God, when God is working inside us, since God can deprive them of everything on the inside and leave them empty. God does free us from all fears and weaknesses, and then the threats of our enemies will not appeal to anything inside us, nor be able to make impression upon us. It will no longer matter what our enemies can plan to do against us, since it will either way obtain no reception from us, when they speak falsely and attempt to trick us. It is true that the devils are deceitful and crafty, far more than the human people, but the Lord is still able to make all of their schemes come to nought. The truth in God is superior to lies and His wisdom is superior to craftiness, so that God can predict, counter, disprove, or nullify every move, in the past, present, and future. The goodness can automatically cancel the evilness from within us, so the devils are silenced and driven away permanently, even that we have not actually done anything about it.

In chapter 49 it is written: ‘They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him: (For the redemption of his soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever)... Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him... Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.’ In chapter 73 it is written: ‘For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked... They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men... They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily... And they say, How doth God know? And is there knowledge in the most High? Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches... Until I went into the sanctuary of the God; then understood I their end. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction... For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee.’

It cannot be purchased anything from God with money, like forgiveness, a healing, a new heart and a new life, a good conscience, wisdom, or happiness. The wicked man can own everything in the world, and yet he lacks everything, since the material possessions are unable to bestow any benefits on the inside. This world does exalt the notion of power, wealth, fame, popularity, beauty, strength, and luxury, but none of these things are part of the man’s soul and will not follow him in death. The man has been working so hard in order to collect transient things, as if it had all been done for nothing or in order obtain things that are nothing to him, since the man will in the end be forced to leave everything behind that he owns. This is why the man can just as well abandon all the vanity which belongs to the world, and no longer work for such things, since it does not make him into a better person. It should rather be invested in spiritual matters, like good sense, virtues, and benefits, since it will become a part of our soul and made accessible to us wherever we are. And it should be invested in good deeds, to make friends, convert enemies, and help the poor, since that only the human souls will exist after this world has perished. It is thereby possible that we can meet the same people in the resurrection to come, and who knows whether we had previously helped them turn to God for salvation? Why should we envy the wicked men or become troubled over their prosperity, as if God was being unfair for allowing such things to happen in the world? Does it really matter that much whether the wicked men will be punished now or later, whether we will be the one to punish them or someone else (God), whether they will fall by one cause or another, so long as they will be punished in the end and come to nought? This is why it does not matter whether the wicked men will grow old and die in peace, as if they had gotten away with everything and never experienced any adversity, since they will in the end need to stand before God and give an account of themselves. It should not be spoken lightly about the lake of fire, as if we would want anyone to suffer for all eternity, although the Enemy and all the devils deserve to end there. But the lake of fire does surely outweigh all the prosperity which was had before it, even that the wicked men had experienced an abundance of luxury their entire lifetime. How can distant memories make up for overwhelming torment in the present time, or how are memories supposed to offer any relief from that kind of experience? It should of course be hoped that the wicked man can repent before it is too late, and at least do the right thing from now, whatever he might have done in the past. God is giving us countless chances to repent while we are still alive in this world, so that we would be able to repent at the last day, even at the last moment before death, although no man is able to predict it in advance or plan repentance like some kind of trick. It would be a foolish thing to delay everything, if God is knocking upon our heart on this day, at this very moment, since we do not control anything about our own fate.

In chapter 74 it is written: ‘They have said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.’ In chapter 78 is written: ‘Man did eat angel’s food: he sent them meat to the full... Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues. For their heart was not right with him, neither were they steadfast in his covenant.’ In chapter 81 it is written: ‘But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. So I gave them up unto their own heart’s lust; and they walked in their own counsels. Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.’

The enemies of God have burned up the synagogues in the land, by corrupting the members from the inside and filling them with insatiable desires, which have burned down every sense and principle, and left them desolate. The synagogues have become inhabited by hypocrites, burned in their conscience and self-condemned, since they are far worse than the sinners they have been judging so harshly. There is a difference between that in praising God and that in flattering Him, since it is done through different motives and means. It should be praised God if we are really cheerful and grateful in our heart, where we understand what is so praiseworthy about God and we really mean what we say. But flattery is never done through any sincere and honest motive, for it is come up with beautiful lies which the man could just as well have invented to say about anyone, and he does covets after some kind of selfish advantage from the person he flatters. The hypocrites tend to flatter God, pretend to be perfect and come up with false promises. It is not because the hypocrites care for God as a true friend would do, but they are only concerned about their own self-interest, greed for rewards and fear of punishments. It has nothing to do about God, but it has everything to do about their own self, since they want to make God serve their self-interest rather than by serving Him. God gave the Israel people up to their own heart’s lust, and they walked in their own counsels, as if to indicate that the Spirit of God was not in their heart, and thereby would all their aspirations prove to be selfish. The religious service would always prove to be self-righteous in its nature, since it was sought to do good things for selfish reasons, in order to further selfish ends. The people had already denied God from within, by not believing in His promises and what His power was capable of in their lives. God would otherwise have conquered the devils on their behalf, to free the people of their selfish desires, thoughts, and impulses, which had hitherto been controlling their motives and ruling their mind. The people made the fundamental error in gazing only upon worldly aspects, as if the power of God would only reach to their physical body and material possessions, but they utterly neglected to consider the spiritual and moral aspect, from within. So the people were expecting God to give them better homes, to increase their wealth and cattle, while the people remained stagnant, barren and empty in their hearts.

In chapter 145 it is written: ‘Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable... The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works... The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down… The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth... The Lord preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.’ In chapter 109 it is written: ‘They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without cause. For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer. And they have rewarded me evil with for good, and hatred for my love. Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand. When he shall be judged, let him condemned: and let his prayer become sin... Because he remembered not to shew mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart. As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.’ In chapter 75 it is written: ‘For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs therefore, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them.’

God does love every person upon the earth, and does everything in His power to help it, so the person can become good, do good, and experience good in its life. It is not like God will love the person for being wicked and help it to commit wicked things, but God does rather love the person as a person and wants to guide it to salvation. God continues to love the sinner but He does not approve of his sins, since that God does hate wickedness in all forms and He wants the sinner to separate himself from it. The man can either hold unto his wickedness and become tainted by it, or the man can let go of his wickedness and then be made pure again by God. It is not the proud and the arrogant person that is willing to listen to God and receive help from Him, but it is something which can only be appreciated by the humble. It is thereby a fact that God does love everyone and He is willing to help everyone, but the person must first trust God and obey His guidance before it can come true in its life. God is ever willing to help those that are fallen down upon the ground and call His name in sincerity, since they have been humble enough to approach God and appeal to His goodness. God is not harsh and cruel, as if He wanted us to suffer for our sins and that it would be an end in itself, but we will be rebuked and punished while we continue to be wicked. The man does experience pain every time he is doing something wrong, endangering and harming his human body, so it encourages the man to cease from it. It is exactly the same thing when God rebukes and disciplines us for our faults, so that we can know that we are doing something wrong, and should thereby abstain from it. God can make us undergo lesser evil in order to save us from a greater evil, so that we will repent in time and cease from our sins before they will escalate. It is not like God will immediately punish us for every sign of weakness and mistake, or that the ordinary sinner will be abandoned by God at first given opportunity. It is spoken against the wicked man who persecutes innocent persons for no reason, which repays love with hatred and good with evil, which has shown no mercy to the poor and needy, but has on the contrary exploited their weakness and misery. That kind of man will be delivered up to devils, and Satan will stand at his right hand, since that he is guilty of deliberate malice and disregard for the truth. This is why the ordinary sinner should not despair over his human frailty and sins, for that devils are sent against them which think and behave like devils (or monsters). God made the wicked men drink from the cup of His wrath, so they have become blinded in their understanding and are heading unknowingly to their own destruction. The wicked men have become drunk by their hatred and lust for innocent persons, deemed to be spiritual whoredom in the eyes of God, since it is the exact opposite of brotherly love. Upon the wicked God will rain snares, snares, fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest.

In chapter 82 it is written: ‘God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods. How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah… I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are the children of the most High. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.’ In chapter 137 it is written: ‘How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning... O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.’ In chapter 144 it is written: ‘Send thine hand from above; rid me, and deliver me out of the great waters, from the hand of strange children; Whose mouth speak vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood... That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similtude of a palace.’

The mighty are the rulers of the earth, while the devils are like gods to them, since the devils motivate them and rule over their mindset. God rebukes the rulers of the earth for tolerating the presence of devils, and for heeding their advices, when it is betrayed principles and resorted to dishonest means, only so it can be derived a selfish advantage, a profit or pleasure out in the world. The devils seek to become like gods to the human race, by controlling and manipulating them from within, but they are really not gods in the truest sense of the word. The divinity is not really about brute force and magic powers, but God should be rather known for His goodness and virtue in all things. So the devils pretend to be like gods to ignorant followers and to treat them like slaves, but the devils are of depraved mind, altogether selfish, foolish, and weak. It is true that we do not possess the same godly powers as God, as the Creator and Ruler of the universe. But we can still the same seek to become virtuous like God, to feel, sense, think, speak, and behave as He would do, so we will be like ‘gods’ in our heart and spirit. Jerusalem and Babylon are meant to signify spiritual places, what kind of attitude or mindset does prevail in the man, what is his spiritual condition and capability. If the man is pure of heart then it is like his soul is now stationed in the heavenly Jerusalem, for he does approach God in perfect faith and obeys all of His words. However if the man is altogether wicked then he does belong to Babylon, for that he is full of malice, devoid of all love and mercy, and seeks to commit evil for its own sake. The little ones of Babylon are not supposed to be children of flesh and blood, but they do rather signify the beginning of sin, as prelude to greater ones. Heathen women could signify selfish desires and a love of pleasure, while heathen children would be closer to selfish thoughts, conceived by selfish desires. It should be rejected all temptations from the outset, no matter how small and insignificant they might seem to be, since that corruption does tend to spread out. It is spoken about strange children that speak vanity and come up with falsehood, for that all thoughts and imaginations prove to be insincere and self-centred in their nature. It should thereby be rejected selfish thoughts in all forms, if we are going to become pure of heart and remain so. It should not even be considered selfish possibilities at all, not wished for anything evil nor dwelt upon it, since it does contradict to pure and sincere love.

In chapter 18 it is also written: ‘The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower... He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.’ In chapter 17 it is written: ‘Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing.’ In chapter 23 it is written: ‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.’ In the Book of Proverbs it is written: ‘Be not afraid of sudden fear, and neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.’

David confesses that he can be persecuted by devils that are stronger than him, which cannot be overcome by human effort alone, so that David would have fallen in the end if God had not intervened in time. This is called tribulation, when it is like we are haunted by our own mind and experiencing obsessive thoughts, so it might seem like everything is about to collapse, that we are  about to loose self-control, and that we cannot get rid of such thoughts for good. We should not continue to resist in our self-will and take it too personally when we fail, for such temptations are meant to seem impossible to us and have all the odds against us, so that we can rely upon God alone in order to fully overcome them. When it is read the Psalms then it might be presumed that some descriptions are overly dramatic, and that it would not be considered manly to make such appeals to God. But it is not referred to any ordinary temptations, which happen to ordinary people, as when thoughts seem to speak softly and they do not manage to ‘touch’ the person (unlike that when unpleasant thoughts can ‘grab’ the mind). For the believer can experience supernatural temptations, like a temporary madness or desperation, overwhelming pain, an awareness of ugly and despicable possibilities. It can also be mentioned strange illusionary state, as if the believer has already agreed with wicked desires and cannot control himself, or as if he was about to die at any moment. Such supernatural temptations can happen when the believer is about to sleep, when he awakes up in the middle of the night or within a dream, or when he is about wake up. Supernatural temptations can happen all of a sudden, without any warning, regardless of that what the man had been doing and experiencing prior to it, so it has nothing to do about the man himself, his attitude, and the circumstances at that time. Only God can save us from the devils, where He is able to conquer and solve anything in our life, if we will only believe that it is possible, that God can be victorious. We do not actually need to say or do anything about it, except by trusting in God and wait with patience until He will finally intervene on our behalf. So that we can just as well continue to be free in spirit, move on with our life, and remain silent if possible, without any further words and effort, since we have already confirmed our faith. For that such matters are completely beyond our reach and control, while it is only God whom can do anything about it, so we put all our burdens upon Him in the meantime. The valley of death is a reference to spiritual death, caused by wickedness and resulting in torment, so that kind of state does prevail in the devils at all times. The believer can get a glimpse of that what kind of state does prevail in the devils, how ugly an despicable their wickedness proves to be, completely devoid of love and mercy, so that is what is means to be dead on the inside, to be deprived of all inner life. Supernatural temptations can manifest themselves in overwhelming torment, chaos, and madness, although it does only happen temporarily when the believer is involved. This is what the devils are going through all the time, for they are already condemned to perdition, so they will never again be given a chance to repent and be saved. The believer can get a glimpse of that what is the final lot of the wicked beings, so that he can understand what it is all about, and even be in position to share it with other people. God does prepare a table for the believer in the presence of his enemies (devils), so that he can come to know his enemies and derive a valuable insight from his victories over them.

In chapter 27 it is written: ‘When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me…’ In chapter 34 it is written: ‘Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.’ In chapter 37 it is written: ‘The steps of a good man is ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.’

The devils seek to eat the flesh of the sinner, for that every sin is transformed into flesh to them, derived from the spiritual health of the man and always at his own expense. It has also been said that the wicked man does eat his own flesh, when that man prefers unnatural lusts above his own health and sanity. When the man does commit wickedness then it does corrupt corresponding part in his spiritual body, like when adultery can defile the eye or violence can defile the hand. If the part becomes corrupt then it will be exposed to sickness and disabilities, so it does restrict the man’s understanding and capability, to the point of making him spiritually blind and lame. A sick and diseased soul will finally lead to sick and diseased physical body, so it does always begin in the soul and ends in the flesh. This does however not apply to those that are under the grace of Jesus Christ, for they are already forgiven of everything and justified in advance. It is true that the believer can do something wrong, but it will still not affect his soul and body in any way. For the only sin does now consist in that of not believing in Jesus Christ as our Saviour. It is not the devils that can judge us for our wrong choices, and our wrong choices do not necessary equal sins at default. But it is Jesus Christ and Him alone whom decides it, whether something will become a sin to us, and whether it can be kept separated from us. It is thereby like the believer can commit sin, but it does still not become sin to him, or the Lord is able to keep the sin outside his soul and nullify all of its effects. This is why David desires to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life, for the spiritual body of Christ is like a house to contain our soul and offer us ultimate refuge, so that we are put upon a trusty rock, a perfect foundation that will last forever. It does not matter whether our enemies are few or many, weak or powerful, near or far away, since that God will either way do all our battles and save us from them. Why should we become troubled over something which we do not actually have to do, since we only need to stand aside and allow God to do His work? For that our willpower, intelligence, and muscles are irrelevant, having no bearing upon the actual fight. Many men tend to give up at first possible opposition, complain that it is unfair, and blame God for everything, as if God had failed to prevent it from befalling them. That to experience adversity does not mean that one has already lost, or that it will mean the end of everything, since it is only the beginning of the adversity and it has yet to be determined by God. This means that God can always help us through the adversity in the long run, when it comes to outlast our enemies in patience and know how to be victorious over them. The devils rely upon empty words in the minds of the wicked men, and then the wicked men repeat after their lies, as if imaginary things would be able to inflict harm, change facts, or ascribe real qualities to other people. There is however nothing else beside it, but the wicked men are altogether depraved from within, incompetent and worthless. The worthless people can speak lies and convince one another about these same lies, but the slandered person can still continue to be virtuous and be blessed by God in its own affairs.

In chapter 38 it is written: ‘They also that seek after my life lay snares for me: and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceit all the day long. But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth. Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs. For in thee, O Lord, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.’ In chapter 39 it is written: ‘I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me. I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred... Deliver me from all my transgressions: make not the reproach of the foolish. I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst it.’ In chapter 55 it is written: ‘Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.’ In chapter 59 it is written: ‘For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul: the mighty are gathered against me; not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O Lord. They run and prepare themselves without my fault: awake to help me, and behold.’

Jesus Christ told us that we should not resist evil, as if we would not have to respond in any way to temptations, but we can just as well remain silent and continue to shun our enemies. There are good and valid reasons why silence should be preferred above words and human effort. It is actually God whom is able to overcome all the devils on our behalf, but we are unable to do anything by ourselves, except by throwing our words into the wind and strain against imaginary obstacles, created by invisible enemies. And if we have sinned against God then only He can forgive us and purify our heart, but we are unable to change our heart and cannot cleanse it in any way. This is why we can just as well remain silent and do nothing regarding that matter, while we continue to be free in spirit and move on with our life. So we are actually confirming our faith in silent deeds, even that we do not speak directly about God or our hostility toward the devils, since we do already behave like God is our only defence and refuge. It should only be focused upon that which is within our reach to change and accomplish in our life, while it is allowed God to take care of everything else, choices beyond our control. It should also not be had any communication with devils, by trying to reason with them, attempt to prove our innocence in their eyes, or convince them to cease their opposition once and for all. The devils are full of malice, where it is in their nature to lie against the truth and persecute innocent people, since there is nothing good to be found in them. It does not matter whether we can speak the truth and prove our own innocence, for the devils will still continue to lie against us and oppose us in everything, even as when the mind does constantly create new delusions or subjective problems instead of those disproved. This is why the solution is not to be found in our enemies and their decisions, but it does rather consist in ourselves and what we choose to do regarding them. For we can remain silent and ignore everything which the devils can say to us, since we do either way know that they do always lie and are wrong about everything. The devils are irredeemable enemies, where nothing can ever save them or change them to the better, so we should treat the devils as such and not waste any effort upon them. It should not even be spoken good things within the presence of devils, for they will seek to distort everything which we can say and divert our attention to despicable possibilities. It is thereby a good sign that we should never have spoken to the devils in the first place, since that it will never lead to any good reception or consequences. For the matter is not about that whether our intentions are deemed sincere or not, but that we are squandering our good intentions upon wicked beings, already closed to us in advance. The faith in Jesus Christ has given us power over all devils, where we can command the devils to be silenced and banished from our life, so that we do not even need to remain silent and ignore their presence. It can still be raised the question whether we actually need to do so ‘manually’ by ourselves, or whether the Holy Spirit is supposed to do it automatically from within us. It would be preferable to continue to be free in spirit and love the fellow man, while we allow God to take care of all the devils and nullify their evil influence in our life. Little children do not need to be aware of wicked criminals and their crimes, but they can very well continue to be sincere and innocent in a natural way.

In chapter 5 it is written: ‘For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue. Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.’ In chapter 10 it is written: ‘The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken into the devices that they have imagined… The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts... His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them... His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.’ In chapter 12 it is written: ‘They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things: Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?’ In chapter 21 it is written: ‘For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.’

It is no coincidence that the wicked men do only think and imagine evil things, and none of it is ever good, as if it was never originated from God, never promoted by Him, and it could never belong to Him. All thoughts and imaginations are evil because the mind is evil. And the mind is evil because the Enemy is impersonating our mind, and inserting his own thoughts to our awareness. The godly man experiences much less frequency of thoughts than the wicked man, but all these thoughts are still evil and belong to the same evil nature in both men. Why would God speak to us in the mind, if He does already speak to us in our heart? The voice of God does manifest itself in a silent sense, or an inspiration in our heart, since the Spirit of God is in our heart and from there we will ‘perceive’ the truth. The Scripture is constantly speaking about the evil thoughts and imaginations of the wicked, but it is never spoken about ‘good’ thoughts and imaginations of the righteous. It is true that the mind can come up with thoughts that might seem to be ‘positive’, but it turns out to be beautiful lies, flatteries, vanity, self-justifications, or self-pity. It does never involve a pure truth and a pure goodness, but it only induces the person to become self-centred, or too self-absorbed to notice what is really going on. Therefore can the devils come up with thoughts which might seem ‘positive’ to us, but their motive is ever false and treacherous, so it should be rejected the thoughts for being so. This does also apply to all ‘religious’ thoughts and subjective voices of ‘God’, but it does always prove to be self-righteous in its nature, and leads to some kind of self-constraint. For the credulous man will seek to do good things for selfish reasons, because he is too afraid of his life and covets after a selfish advantage, but it will only alienate the man from the reality, and he will find himself worse off than before. The devils are utterly depraved beings, lacking all substance like a hollow spirit, so they rely upon empty words and illusions in order seem something more than what they really are. A weak and cowardly tyrant is too depended upon other people to do all his work, but if nobody chooses to obey the tyrant then he will loose all his power. It is only sufficient that we should no longer listen to the devils, and never comply with them in anything, since they cannot accomplish anything in their current form.

In chapter 7 it is written: ‘Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood. He made a pit, and digged it, and its fallen into the ditch which he made. His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealings shall come down upon his own pate.’ In chapter 9 it is written: ‘The Lord is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands... The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God... Put them in fear, O Lord: that the nations may know themselves to be but men.’ In chapter 10 it is written: ‘For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth... He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity... in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor. He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth cath the poor, when he draweth him into his net... He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it... Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? He hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it... The Lord is king for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.’ In chapter 52 it is written: ‘Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? The goodness of God endureth continually. Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah. Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue.  God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah. The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him: Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.’

It is foreseen the defeat of the Enemy and all the devils, when Jesus Christ managed to prove that it could be had sinless life in the world, so that enemies of God would no longer have any excuse to self-justify their rebellion. This means that the Lord is in position to judge everyone else, both devils and the human people, since He has never been guilty of the same faults as they have done. The Enemy and the devils pretended to be in position to accuse and judge everyone for their sins, but the enemies of God only ended up condemning themselves alone. The Enemy wished to murder the souls of all human beings and promote their suffering, but it would fall upon his own head and his soul would become everlasting hell. The Enemy had once been boastful about himself and his inventions in the world, as if his evilness would prove irresistible, that nobody could outsmart his lies and craftiness, that he would be able to oppose God and all sinners would remain his slaves. But the Enemy had only been lying to himself this whole time, as if he was even more foolish than the people he had been deceiving, and he would fare far worse in the end. Jesus Christ sacrificed His life in order to redeem the human people from their sins, and He does not choose to judge us for our sins, even that He is in position to do so. The Enemy was never a master of his own fate, as if he possessed special privileges or would be excluded from the divine wrath. But wickedness would also affect his life to the worse, so the Enemy would become depraved, distorted, deranged, and diseased. The deceitful tongue is a reference to the law of sin in the flesh, which will not cease to utter lies and deceit. It is of course heard such temptations in our mind, but the mind is part of our physical body and it can reflect the condition of our flesh. God has condemned the law of sin in our flesh, by sending the Spirit of His Son into us, so that our heart is purified of desires, our mind is silenced, and our flesh will be at peace. God would pluck the deceitful tongue out of its dwelling place, and root it out of the land of the living. The law of sin does continue to work through the flesh and belong to it, and our flesh is guilty before God. But God has resurrected us in spirit, so that we are made righteous in the intentions and aspirations of our heart, while our flesh is more like old and dirty clothes which we need to wear around our pure soul.

13. Proverbs

13.1: The Fear of the Lord

It is written the following in a number of places: ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding… The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate… The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility… In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge... The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.’

The faith in God is the source of all truth and intellectual virtues, like understanding, knowledge, reason, judgment, prudence, wisdom, and intelligence. All these intellectual virtues belong to the same truth, and the will of God does consist of them all, since Jesus Christ is the very personification of the truth and He is wise in every aspect. A sense of the truth can be called an inner treasure, which the man carries in his heart and it follows him to any place, where it made accessible to him at any time and can reach to anything. The man does not become wise by himself, nor does wisdom spring out from nothing, but it can only follow the presence of God in the man’s heart. The believer does prefer the ways of God above the things of the world, so that he is willing to forgo material profit and momentary pleasures for the sake of spiritual gifts. For the spiritual riches and benefits are able to last forever, where they stand closer to the man’s soul than other things, and are the only ones to promote his wellbeing. The fear of the Lord is not the same thing as an actual fear, like when a slave is afraid of his master, only motivated by fear for his life and fear for punishments, so the slave is ever afraid of revealing a sign of weakness or to commit a mistake. It is only sufficient for the man to approach God in humility and confess the humble truth, without being puffed by his own self-importance, without trying to deny or hide his true motives, and without seeking to exalt himself at the expense of his fellow man. Therefore should the man not be afraid while he does approach God and speaks to Him, but he should instead rely upon God’s kindness and feel secured by His goodwill, even as when a child becomes confident and comforted in the bosom of its parents. A perfect love does drive out all fear, but he who fears is not perfect in his love, since he is too occupied about his own self-preservation and does not notice the other person. The faithless man is afraid of that which he does not know and is unwilling to love, but if we truly love God with our whole heart then we will become to know God as the person He is, so we do only come to expect good things from Him and nothing evil. Humility will only make us confident and hopeful, believing that God’s goodness is capable of anything in our life and expect Him to help us. So that something will happen to promote our wellbeing, even that we do not know by what means or timing, since it was only sufficient to turn to God and ask for a good outcome. God is the most powerful being in the universe, so powerful that it is only enough to invoke His name, and then the Lord will be able to help us at any time and place. It is true that we are frail beings, where we can approach God and speak to Him in an imperfect way. But God can still overlook our frailty and help us all the same, as if God was rewarding us for the right endeavour, in having at least turned to Him for help. God is humble and it can only be appreciated by those that are also humble like Him, so that our humility is meant to help us know God and what we can ask from Him.

The Old Testament is all about objective choices, while the New Testament does also include intentions of the heart, so that a proper attitude can lead to proper deeds. For an example then the Law of Moses speaks against crimes, like murder and adultery, but it has not been speaking against violent and lustful thoughts, at least not directly. A similar thing applies to the Proverbs, when it is encouraged us to do the right thing and discouraged us from doing the wrong things, as if objective choices were enough. It is not like what applies to fiction at our times, when people demand that they should also know the mindset of the characters and what they are thinking during the deeds. But the Scripture is indirectly telling us that our mindset should not count at all, that our thoughts and imaginations should not have any bearings upon our choices, since that we can very well continue to make the same choices without the mind. It can thereby be made a right choice, regardless of that what thoughts are happening at the same time, as if our struggle against thoughts was merely a digression. But the intentions of our heart must be sincere and pure, when it comes to want the right choice and be determined to follow it through for long. In the Proverbs the wise sayings are often brief and lack further explanation, as to how it can actually be achieved. For that many sayings can seem to be rather self-evident, what is supposed to be defined as good or evil, as if it would be good to be good and do good, while it is considered bad to be bad and do bad. But most people should know what is right and what is right wrong, unless that many of them fail to act upon that which they know, by heeding the simple truth and do the selfless thing in the situation, since they are unwilling to say ‘no’ to their selfish side. God can bless everyone with a common sense, as a basis for further wisdom, so that everyone can become wise if they would only mix their knowledge with humility. Many men remain stagnant because of their prejudices and spitefulness, since they treat other people in superficial way and show their weaknesses no understanding. But these men only ended upon restricting their own understanding, when they are all alone with their thoughts and accused by the devils in the same superficial way, so their attitude and temper is easily affected to the worse.

In chapter 3 it is written: ‘My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee… Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.’ It is written: ‘My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.’ In chapter 22 it is written: ‘By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life.’

This does not mean that these or those deeds are meant to guarantee a good health, a long life, peace, riches, and honour. The faith in God must begin in our heart, regarding our attitude in general, and then next we can become of stoical mind, indifferent to both prosperity and adversity. A stoical mind does describe itself in confidence, calmness, equanimity, sobriety, inner stability and peace. It should always be maintained our attitude the same, regardless of that what can happen to us, or what can change around us, since that we alone are in control of our will and our attitude is beyond the reach of other people. So that we can just as well continue to be cheerful and at peace with ourselves, even that everything and everyone can change to the worse, since that choice belongs to us. A stoical mind does prevent us from being affected by desires, distractions, cares, and lures of the word, which would otherwise have disrupted our health and stability. A selfish man is constantly tormenting himself over selfish problems, gazing upon insatiable or unfulfilled desires, and he is never contented with anything in his life, so that he would of course be more likely to neglect his health than the faithful man. The man should not rely upon his own understanding nor be wise in his own eyes, but the man should rather trust the Lord and submit to His jurisdiction in all things. It is not like the man does need to think everything back and forth, attempt to rationalize everything which can happen in his life and attempt to save himself from it, or attempt to outsmart the mind in regard to craftiness and cleverness, as if to get the last word. Why should the man know everything about matters that he cannot do anything about, or why should the man trouble himself over the responsibility of other persons? It does either way come down to the same conclusion, that the man is utterly helpless without God, since that only God can prevent, answer, or solve the matters in question. God will continue to do good things toward the man, and the Enemy will continue seeking to do evil things to the man, but the man is never a master of his own fate, as if he was able to control God or the Enemy to do something convenient to himself. It is only sufficient to do the right thing on our behalf and avoid the wrong things, but everything else is depended upon God, what happens inside us and all around us. It is not really Solomon which refers to the reader as his son, but it is rather God Himself, since this is His law and His commandments. The man should obey God as when a son does obey his father, whom the man loves and honours in his heart, so he does really understand his father and what this obedience is all about. But it does never involve any servile fear, as when a slave does both fear and hate his harsh master, and he is never able to know anything about his master beyond these sentiments. The Heavenly Father does love us as His children, so that everything which He does or does not do is for our wellbeing, even that we might not understand it at times. So God can rebuke us, chasten us, and correct us, while we are doing something wrong, since we would otherwise never come to know it of our own accord. It should be kept to that which is working out in our life and makes us better off, while it should be abstained from that which does not work out and only makes us worse off. It can happen that we presume to be doing the will of God, but nothing good does ever come out from it, so God needs to intervene in order to dispel our misgivings. We would otherwise turn out self-righteous, when it is done good for selfish reasons, or relied upon evil in order to do good, as if the means would justify the end. Better to be disciplined for a brief time and then know better for the rest of our life, rather than by being never disciplined for anything and be always stuck at the same obstacles. The fools are those that only want other people to agree with them, and are too proud to confess that they can be wrong, since they receive everything too personally. But the wise men are those willing to hear the hard truth from any person, to confess their ignorance and be open for new knowledge, so it can be corrected their objective choices.

It is written the following in a number of places: ‘There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand… There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord… Many seek the ruler’s favour; but every man’s judgment cometh from the Lord… The Lord hath made all things for himself; yea, even the wicked for the day of evil… The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord… There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death… All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits… Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts… Man’s goings are of the Lord; how can a man then understand his own way?... The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly… The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will… The heaven for height, and the earth for depth, and the heart of kings is unsearchable.’ In the Book of Ecclesiastes it is written: ‘I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.’

Jesus Christ is the Truth itself, so the truth will always continue to be the truth, and the Lord will continue to be as equally wise and powerful, regardless of that what can take place in our mind and change in our bearings. It is not like vain thoughts and words can alter facts or the reality itself, but everything remains the same as before, unless we have only ended upon deceiving ourselves. No man or devil is able to overcome the Lord, but the enemies of the Lord can at most imagine such things, make pictures or create fictional stories, while it is irrelevant to the actual person and its capability. The Lord has good and valid reasons behind every one of His decision, when all factors are taken into consideration and looked upon its long-term effects, so that a particular choice could not have happened in any other way than it did. But we tend to be short-sighted in our nature and only gaze upon one factor alone, where we continue to repeat the same foolish approach and still expect a different outcome each time, even that it will only lead to failure and nothing good does ever come out from it. It cannot be made use of truth against truth, wisdom against wisdom, or goodness against goodness, since all the good things belong to God and are consistent with one another. If we add something unto the words of God then we will be found liars, since that God would never contradict Himself in anything. This means that we must surely be receiving our foolish opinions from someone else than God, and that can only be the Enemy in our mind, since there is nobody else involved beside us and God. It is spoken about a way which seems right to the man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. This does signify self-righteousness, when fanatics and ideological fools are willing to commit crimes for the sake of good outcome, to sacrifice human lives in the name of the ‘whole’ (the society, state, or people). These men might at first seem to have good intentions, but everything about the approach is wrong and it is resorted to evil means, so it can only lead to evil results for all the people involved, internally and externally. The victims will be enslaved, suffer, and die, while the evildoers at the top become spiritually dead, so it is like everyone loose and nobody wins, when all things are considered. God is able to shape our heart into a vessel of glory, or a vessel of shame, depending upon that whether we are already deemed sincere or false, faithful or unworthy. The selfish man will be given over to selfish desires, presumptions, and impulses, since he has hitherto disregarded God’s words, sought to betray Him and abuse any opportunities. But the faithful man will be blessed with noble aspirations, enlightenment, and inner peace, since he has hitherto been loyal to God and can be trusted. The selfish man comes up with wrong opinions and will reap problems in his life, while the faithful man does come up with right opinions and will reap prosperity in his life. The selfish man is motivated and afflicted by the Enemy, while the faithful man is motivated and blessed by God, but God has still caused all of these things to happen. It is not like the Enemy is controlling the wicked man against the wishes of God, but God has on the contrary given that man over to the Enemy and allowed it to happen. The man can expect God to make everything perfect in the world, and make everyone prosperous, but upon closer inspection then such arrangement would not work out. The man can blame God for having made himself weak, cowardly, foolish, and incompetent, but the man will remain so for as long time as he will not turn to God with his whole heart. It is only fair that God should reward us for doing the right thing, and not reward us for doing the wrong thing, so we can come to know what works best for us and keep to that choice, to notice the difference and be encouraged further.

It is written the following in a number of places: ‘By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil… Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?... He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy… A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth: but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence… A man hath joy by the answers of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!... Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof… In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise… He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction… Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles… If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth.’ In the Book of Ecclesiastes it is written: ‘There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.’

Only the Lord can forgive us, cleanse our heart, take away our sins permanently and change us to the better, so we will no longer experience corruption in our heart, mind, and flesh. But it is not something which we can accomplish in our human effort, like by relying upon specific thoughts, words, promises, gesture, and deeds. For that our intentions and human effort does merely reflect our heart, while it does not actually deal with its actual source, what causes us to feel and think in such way, so it is like we are only trying to fix the mere surface. It is not enough to come up with beautiful words and try to do these or deeds, since that we are still basically a selfish person and only making an exception to our selfishness. It is only sufficient to repent, turn away from our evil ways, approach the Lord in humility and confess our sins, and then the Lord will take care of everything else. We can do the right thing on our behalf and make a proper appeal to the Lord, and then next the Lord will decide whether He will hear us and intervene on our behalf. But our appeal would otherwise have been unable to accomplish anything by itself, no matter how beautiful it might sound, since it is depended upon the Lord for reception. Only God can give the Holy Spirit to us and He can take it back any time He wants, but we are unable to retain the Holy Spirit against God’s wishes. There is also another factor involved, in what way we are supposed to treat each other. If we will show mercy to the fellow man then God will also show mercy to us, but if we do not show mercy to the fellow man then God will neither show us mercy. And if we presume to judge our fellow man and treat him harshly then that very same verdict will apply to our life, as if we were being condemned by our own mouth. It is better to remain silent and do nothing, rather than to utter foolish things and participate in foolish undertakings. For that we would otherwise be deciding our own restrictions in advance, creating needless problems, and subjecting ourselves to unfair and unreasonable rules, only because we would not cease to prattle. It is not like someone controlled us from within, or forced us to utter foolish things, but it was something decided in our own self-will, as out of the blue or for no reason whatsoever. Charity does not harm anyone, and a similar thing can apply to silence, if we choose to shun our own mind, when the Enemy is speaking to us. So we should never repeat after his lies nor forward them to other people, as if we had never heard anything in our mind. It should always be spoken about another person in a fair and dignified way, whether we are alone with our thoughts or among other people, since we are not that different from the person and share similar position before God. It is a foolish thing to think about other people in a harsh way and wish them evil, if we would feel ashamed to speak so openly, when confronting that person face to face, and it would really happen. So that we should treat other people as we would want them to treat us, and remain silent about the faults of other people if we want God to be silent about our faults. It is not like we should flatter other people and seek to self-justify their faults, hoping that God will do the same thing toward us. It can rather be said that we should not pretend to be like God nor lift ourselves above our equals, if we do not want to be cast down.

In chapter one to nine then it is spoken about the wisdom as an actual person, and even referred to it as ‘she’. Wisdom is one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, along with the spirit of understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and fear of the Lord. Solomon did only personify wisdom, but not the other qualities that belong to the Holy Spirit. It can still be claimed that Solomon did not really need to personify the other gifts, since that wisdom is related to them and it could just as well represent all the intellectual virtues. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, and wisdom is part of the same truth, so where there is truth there is also the Holy Spirit, and these two cannot be separated from each other. The lady of wisdom is a reference to the Holy Spirit, to a certain extant, since the Holy Spirit does speak the truth and gives valuable insight. But it would be problematic to assert about the actual form of the Holy Spirit, whether the Holy Spirit is supposed to look like a man or woman, or something else that we can imagine. In the Scripture then it is never spoken about the appearance of the Holy Spirit, so it is not something which we are meant to know and it should not to be inquired after. Nobody has seen the Heavenly Father, and it is meant to stay such way in this world, since the human race would otherwise abuse that knowledge to create idols with similar face and worship them instead. That to speak of the Holy Spirit as a woman is not mentioned anywhere in the Scripture, so that nothing does confirm such notion. Solomon speaks about a lady of wisdom, but not of gentleman of wisdom, since that a lady is closer to the concept of purity, even as how wisdom is pure in itself. All the good things belong to the divinity, every good sense, virtue, benefit, and power. It would however not make any sense to categorize some parts as masculine and others as feminine, since the concept of gender does only apply to the human race. The Holy Spirit has been with God from the very beginning, before everything was created. It is not like God had done everything at random, but all His decisions are farsighted, having thought everything through and how it would function in the long run. Wisdom has built a house, hewn out seven pillars, and prepared a banquet for everyone. This does correspond to the parable of Jesus Christ, when God held a banquet and invited everyone, but it did not meet enthusiasm from many men. The banquet does signify the life of Christ, where the man would drink His blood and feast upon His body, as if to rejoice over the Lord’s victory over the world. The wisdom has built a house through the perfect life of Christ, founded upon all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and everything is ready so the man can come into full knowledge of God. An endless source of truth and life is offered freely to anyone, if the man will only step forward and accept it from the Lord, rather than by rejecting it from a distance. It should be drunk waters out of our own cistern, and running waters of our own well. It should be relied upon the Lord to bestow wisdom into our life, so that we can have a personal conviction and moral integrity, and be ever consistent with it. Then we will be able to discover right answers and know how to support our own life, rather than by being too depended upon other men, their opinions and self-interest. He that sins against the wisdom does wrong his own soul: all they that hate her love death. The man that wanders out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead. That to rebel against the truth is always at our own expense, as if we were denying the ground which we are standing upon or that which keeps us alive. The wicked men are afraid of that which they do not understand, and even hate it, so they will no longer know what will save their life or promote their destruction. The wicked men have denied other people compassion, understanding, and mercy, so the same men will be utterly incapable of treating themselves in the same way. He that loves the truth will be loved by it in turn, for that same man will be honoured for his wisdom and moral integrity, and entrusted for more responsibility by the rulers. And wisdom will allow itself to be found if sought early. It should be sought for wisdom in advance, before we have made a choice or undertaken something, rather than by knowing only better afterwards, when we have already failed and been deceived. It would have made more sense to discern the premises at the outset, to analyze our motives and the value of the choice, whether it should be pursued for or abstained from. We should seek for wisdom while we are still having prosperity and able to maintain it, rather than by only caring for wisdom during a time of adversity, since wisdom could have prevented all adversity from happening in the first place.

In chapter one to nine it is also spoken about the strange woman, as opposed to wisdom. The strange woman has forsaken the guide of her youth, and forgotten the covenant of her God. She does flatter with her mouth, and her paths will only lead to death. If the lady of wisdom is meant to signify the Holy Spirit, then the strange woman does signify the spirit of whoredom, or wickedness itself personified as a harlot. The Enemy and the devils were once angels of God, before they rebelled and fell. It can be raised the question whether a similar thing can apply to the strange woman, as some kind of spirit that did once belong to God but was later transformed to evil. It cannot have been a part of God or His essence, but the strange woman must have been a creation like the angels, or something created after their rebellion. The evilness has never created anything in the truest sense of the word, but it has only sought to corrupt the natural creation, to come up with distorted versions of it and mockeries. The evilness does not have any independent existence, but it is merely anti-goodness, something which has no other purpose than to get in the way of the goodness. Hatred and lust is meant to divert the man away from love and compassion. while pride and arrogance is meant to divert him away from sincerity and humility. Now even that the man is without hatred and lust then he should still be reproached for lacking love and compassion, since that evilness consist in absence of goodness. There are seven types of wickedness, which God hates and are abominations in His eyes, since it is the exact opposite of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. First there were seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, and then next the Enemy invented something to oppose them. Satan is known for being ‘The enemy of God’, but there is nothing else beside it. The Enemy is like a person that tries to advertise itself for having come across someone famous, while that person has accomplished nothing in regard to its own life. If the man does enter the house of wickedness then he will become spoiled by strangers. This means that man will become a slave to devils, where he will begin to labour for insatiable desires and crave after things which do work against his own welfare. It is spoken against greed of gain, an advantage, profit, or pleasure derived from dishonest means, when it is sought to exalt oneself at the expense of someone else. The wicked men lie in wait for their own blood, to ambush their own lives, since they are depriving themselves of spiritual gifts and benefits for the sake of transient things. The worst evil in the world consist in that when the man looses his innocence, and then next everything else, like spiritual freedom, health, sanity, self-control, and stability. The wisdom is ever calling to the human people and stretching out its hands for them, and yet nobody seems to give it any regard, hating knowledge and rejecting humility. The man should not lust after the beauty of the strange woman, nor let her take him with her eyelids. The harlot seeks to divert the man away from his moral integrity, and uproot the remaining decency in him, until the man has become like an empty vessel. Then there will no longer anything special about the man, or something to separate him from the worthless, people, but he will become false and covetous like them. That to heed the truth in humility will keep us away from the strange woman, for we will no longer allow our decisions to be motivated by greed and love of pleasures, but we will instead only do that which is right in general, beyond his self. The house of the strange woman will only lead to hell, going down to the chambers of death. The Kingdom of God does involve a state from within us, and a corresponding thing applies to hell, which is supposed to be exact opposite of the former. The wicked man will become hell, experiencing the worst possible state in his soul, a complete absence of all good things, so there will only be complete madness and torment. The dead are in the house of the strange woman, and her guests are in the depth of hell. This is a reference to a spiritual place in the man’s soul, when he is blinded by hatred and greed, having fellowship with devils and sharing their wicked thoughts. The wicked man fails to notice that the devils are already dead and condemned by God for all eternity, and he is now heading for the very same destination. The devils are trying to involve the man in the same perdition, having already lost and been deprived of everything, while the man does still have everything to loose.

It is written the following in a number of places: ‘It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter… A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies… A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter… The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going… A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterward… He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit.’

God has hidden all kinds of secrets from the human race, and God will only reveal His higher truth to the chosen few, the lovers of truth whom have found favour in His sight. God has created everything, and He knows all secrets, so that God does not need to prove anything before Himself, nor crave after the approval of His creation. The man whom boasts about himself is not really doing so through personal conviction and merit, but he is only trying to deceive other people and get their approval. God is already glorious and He knows it, so He does not need to boast about Himself. If the man has found grace in God’s sight then he will be able to make great discoveries and inventions, which will be able to benefit the human race in important matters. So that God can reveal His secrets the man, to do him honour among equals, as if God was sharing His honour with the man without getting anything in return. It should be looked the recent discourse in context with the Scripture, for God could have included information to support the Scripture and disprove the criticism of His enemies. But God has still not chosen to do so, at least not yet, so it might often seem like the Scripture involves vague information, contradictory statements, and loose ends. God has deliberately created difficulties and problems, which can only be solved by those that approach Him in faith, whom do not doubt His true motives and works. This is why we should never become troubled by anything that might seem to contradict the Scripture, like scientific theories and recent discoveries, clever arguments or criticism that seek to cast doubt upon God’s existence and attack His morality. The faith is about confirming things which we have still not witnessed, but do still exist for real, so we believe that the truth is out there and only needs to be discovered. But doubt is the opposite of faith, mostly bound to things that we can see, hear, and touch, but will later turn out to be false and immoral, and harmful to its practitioners. Our faith is meant to be self-supportive, where faith will lead to further faith, but our faith should not be centred upon logic, clever arguments, and material things. A faithful witness does not lie, because that person does heed the voice of God in its heart, which does never lie. But a false witness will utter lies because that person does heed the voice of the Enemy in its mind, which does always lie. If the man has hitherto been false then we will also be so in the future, that is to say, if his attitude remains the same. If the man has been found guilty of false witness and false accusations then he will do so again, so that man should not be trusted in similar situation. If a man does reveal secrets or slanders other people behind their backs then he will also do so toward us, while we are distant and he is speaking to someone else. In the Scripture then it is often mentioned the simple, but that term is finally defined in the Proverbs, referring to a person that is credulous and gullible. It would not be considered a fault if the simple person did believe every word of God, but that person also believes the lies and slander of other people, and the ones taking place in its mind. So the simple person does also believe lies from the enemies of God, which seeks to undermine His testimony, so it will only lead to contradictory beliefs and behaviour. A fool will utter all his mind and reveal how little he knows, since the mind is the most superficial and shallowest part of the human soul. As the man thinks the more the less he knows, since the wrong opinions get in the way of new knowledge. A fool does also utter his mind to all the wrong people, whom are hostile to him, treacherous, closed, biased, altogether irrelevant or of no practical use to him.

In chapter 18 it is written: ‘A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.’ In chapter 27 it is written: ‘Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.’ In chapter 20 it is written: ‘The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward parts of the belly.’ In chapter 30 it is written: ‘Who hath ascended up into heaven, or decended? Who hath gathered the winds in his fists? Who hath bound the waters in a garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell?’

The man is meant to be his brother’s keeper, but the Lord Himself is our ultimate Keeper, able to watch over us for all eternity. The man is only able to help his brother in a limited way, while they are stationed upon the same place or able to communicate from a distance. Then the man can speak to his brother, walk between places, and handle something concrete with his hands, but the man is unable to control that what is happening from within his brother. This is why Jesus Christ is a friend which sticks closer than a brother, for that His truth can apply to anything and He can help us through anything, so that we can both know what is deemed right and be capable enough to accomplish it, to respond and adapt. Jesus Christ endured stripes, beating, and crucifixion for our sakes, so that His hands and feet were pierced with nails, and His side was pierced with a spear after He was dead. It is possible that Jesus Christ does still have holes on His hands and feet, as a sign of God’s everlasting love for the human race, something always to be remembered. The wounds on His body are really wounds of victory, to be rejoiced at by His people. For the condemnation of Christ would mean forgiveness and justification for His people, where His suffering would heal us, and His death would revive us, so that everything befalling Christ would affect corresponding part in our soul. This is the work of God, to cleanse away evil and purify the inward parts of the belly. It is not something which can be accomplished by the human race, or an ordinary man, since that our suffering will only affect our body and not heal anyone in the process. Our sins and iniquity would only lead to bad consequences for Christ, while the faith and good deeds of Christ would only lead to good consequences for us. Jesus Christ is the one who has both ascended up into heaven, and descended. It would not be an angel or some ordinary man that would come down from heaven and fulfil the role of the Messiah, but that kind of description could only apply to the Lord Himself. There are still complications regarding that kind of interpretations, also bound to the Scripture, so it would only be fair to mention it and tried to sort it out. Both Enoch and Elijah were taken up by God, but they did not descend from heaven as divine beings. Elijah would be reborn as John the Baptist, and be given birth by a woman. It might at first seem like Elijah had also ascended and descended from heaven as Jesus Christ, but it can still be pointed to notable differences. It is true that John the Baptist would be filled with the Holy Spirit, even in the womb of his mother, but the angel of God did still never say that John was conceived by the Holy Spirit. So that both his parents would be human, unless John the Baptist retained his soul as Elijah and he would be like a blank page upon birth. Elijah was taken up by God, but he had never been able to accomplish such feat by himself. Jesus Christ did on the contrary ascend by His divine powers alone, forty days after His resurrection, although He did later vanish into a cloud, when He met with it up in the sky. John the Baptist was killed by Herod, but he did not resurrect and ascend back to heaven. It can thereby be reached the conclusion that the Lord alone could fulfil the conditions, that of ascending and descending as a divine being, accomplished in its own right. Elijah the prophet was taken up by God and sent back by God, but the Lord ascended Himself and descended Himself, since that He is God and one with God. The passage is followed by further questions, what person could control the natural forces and establish all the ends of the earth. Only God can possess godly powers, and where there is son there is also a father, so the Heavenly Father has a Son and the Son is our Lord.

It is written the following in a number of places: ‘He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend… A divine sentence is in the lips of the king: his mouth transgresseth not in judgment… In the light of the king’s countenance is life; and his favour is as a cloud of the latter rain… The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favour is as a dew upon the grass…  Every man shall kiss his lips that giveth a right answer… Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden with mercy… The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be established for ever… An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked... They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them.’

The Messiah is the King, and the King is the Lord, and the Lord is the Son of God. The Messiah would be pure of heart, always speak the humble truth, and be fair in His verdicts. When the Messiah would show favour to the sinner then it would nourish his spirit and raise it back to hope, even as a latter rain or dew upon the grass. The Messiah would judge the poor, and His throne would be upheld with mercy, as if to indicate that the Messiah would be sent to the outcasts and show grace to humble sinners. A favour is not something which is deserved, nor can there be mercy if no faults have been committed, so the Messiah would not be sent to help those that were already doing well. The Messiah would be truthful and humble, and He would reward those that were also so within His presence. The Messiah would be pure of heart, and He would help those that had their heart in the right place, since that kind of endeavour can lead to pure heart. It is true that the man might be a sinner and come short to the glory of God, but the man had still not betrayed God in his heart nor lifted himself up against Him, at least not intentionally. The question is not whether the human people can be free from flaws and mistakes, but rather what is their true stance toward God, and also toward one another. That to be free from flaws is only bound to that alone, but irrelevant to all other matters. Let’s say that the man has never participated in debauchery during his entire life, so that he is already being rewarded with good health, sobriety, and inner stability. This does still not excuse other faults, like when the man becomes proud and self-conceited, arrogant and indifferent toward other people, flattering and pretentious toward God. For that pride and self-conceit will restrict the man’s capability from within, where his arrogance and indifference will alienate him from other people, and the man will fail to obtain favourable reception from God while he proves to be so false and superficial. This is why Jesus Christ would condemn the religious hypocrites of his time, while He would show grace to the humble sinners. It was all about the proper attitude and the proper approach, so the person should be rewarded while it is doing the right thing. But the religious hypocrites did the exact opposite thing and were not attended by the Messiah, since their supposed good reputation did not excuse their insolent attitude and harsh verdicts. The Messiah would be free from covetousness and not receive any bribes. This means that the Messiah would never seek to flatter the people, never seek to serve their self-interest or appease their selfish desires, even it meant that the Messiah would be abandoned by the same people, rejected and opposed by the whole world. So the Messiah would not become some kind of political leader, which was supposed to create an empire, slaughter countless enemies, and increase the luxury of selfish followers. But the Messiah would on the contrary suffer for that in speaking the truth and in doing the right thing. The Messiah would be willing to deprive Himself of anything in order to obey God, by separating Himself from the world rather than by becoming one with it, since the world is hostile toward God and opposes Him in all things. It is in the nature of the selfish people to persecute the children of God, while the faithful are doing the right thing, and while the faithful are not corrupt like them. It is not like the selfish people will reward us for being faithful to God, but they will on the contrary hate us and wish us evil, since that is the attitude of the Enemy inside them.

It is written the following in a number of places: ‘The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion: whoso provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul… A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth a shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren… He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child shall have him become his son at the length… My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me... Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son: but he that is a companion of riotous men shameth his father... Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance.’

The Israel people sinned against their own soul by rejecting the Lord Himself, when He finally appeared to them as the Messiah and fulfilled the works of God. The people rejected their very Saviour, the only person capable of redeeming them, as if a sick man would turn against his physician or a slave against his own liberator. The Jews were once God’s chosen people, and God would even call them His son, but the Jews did not act like His people and did not honour God as their Father. The Jews made their choice to become slaves to devils and conspire with them against God, even that they had nothing to gain and everything to loose. The Gentiles (or heathens) were originally meant to be servants to the Israel people, like when cities became tributaries or when individuals worked for Jewish masters. But the origins would no longer matter, like a common blood or identical physical appearance, so long as the person would be circumcised in its heart and have the right attitude toward God. The man should be rewarded while he is doing the right thing, and he is not be to be rewarded while he is doing the wrong thing, whether that man is a Jew or a Gentile. This is why a wise servant should be preferred over a son that causes shame to his parents. For the servant has acted like a true son in spirit, a right soul in a wrong body, while the riotous son might have the right body but everything else is wrong about him. That to be father and to be son is not only about flesh and blood, but the spiritual aspect is much more important, to have a genuine love and affection for the beloved one. Most of the Israel people rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah, and then God would reject them in turn, as a rebellious and ungrateful son that deliberately squanders all his chances. If the Israel people had hitherto not repented during all these centuries; then they would neither do so in the future, since nothing had changed in regard to their attitude. The name of God is reproached among the heathens, not through any faults of His own, but it is rather because false believer take His name in vain and show the worst personal example. So God could just as well turn to the Gentiles and offer them the chance to accept Him, rather than by neglecting them for the sake of the unworthy. The Jews were already closed in advance and nothing would be able to convince them otherwise, so there was a need for different approach and recipients. God would no longer seek to save the Jews as a nation, but He would rather turn to the individuals, the few remaining that had not bowed their knees to Baal. If a Gentile would be converted to God then He would adopt that person as His child, to be reborn in the Spirit of Christ and reshaped to full maturity by the Holy Spirit. That Gentile was originally a sinner, like a servant to God, but that history would be wiped out, as if it had never happened. Now the Gentile would be brought up by God from the beginning to the end, and become partakers with the inheritance of the true believers. It is like the person would first feel what it is to be the child of God and be treated as such, and then next it would begin to speak and act like a true child of God.

13.2: Words of Wisdom

It is written the following in a number of places: ‘The rich man’s wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty… In the house of the righteous is much treasure: but in the revenous of the wicked is trouble… Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established... And by knowledge shall chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches… He that hath not rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls… He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city… He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding; but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly… A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty, and casteth down the strength of the confidence thereof… A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength… If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.’

It is not referred to money and material possessions, but the wealth does rather signify the words of God, having received a proper room in the man’s heart, established roots and brought to full fruition in his spiritual life. This is all about being rich in spirit, to come into knowledge of the truth and have full self-control, so that one can be able to confront and respond to any challenges in life. But poverty is an undoing of the poor, when the faithless man lacks the words of God and feels empty from within, so he does not know what to do with his life anymore. The faithful man is constantly moving on with his life, becoming a better person with the time, progressing in his affairs, and expanding further what he has built. But the faithless man is ever stuck upon the same hindrance, getting worse with the time, neglecting and failing in his affairs, and loosing away that which he had worked for. The faithful man is already contented with his life and at peace, while the faithless man is ever restless and afflicted by selfish problems that he will not let go of. Our spiritual life is built through wisdom, and by understanding it is established. It should be made decisions according to that what is deemed to be right in general, when a morality and wisdom does evaluate our choices, and reaches beyond our life. The man should first understand God, himself, other people, and the outside world, and then next he is in position to make decisions, respond and adapt to the circumstances. But selfishness will lead to our ruin, when we receive everything too personally, are only concerned about avoiding pain or pursue for pleasure through any means, and are so blinded by our desires that we fail to look around and know what is going on. If the man is truly virtuous then he will never allow anything to affect his temper to the worse, but he who is quick to loose his temper is not really in control of himself. Our spiritual condition can be like a city besieged by devils, where they are always scheming against us and trying to invent new machines that can infiltrate our defences. It should never be allowed any distractions or problems to have power over our will, but we must rather be willing to sacrifice it away in order to maintain free spirit. It is not like we are getting angry and negative out of the blue, but it is because the devils have been saying something to make us angry and negative, so we have allowed their words to make great impression upon us. Anger does never stand alone by itself, but the angry man is being used by another, to get angry at the things which that person is lying about and pointing to. That to care only about our own life is slavery, and if we attempt to save ourselves then we will only end up loosing our life, since the devils thrive upon our selfishness. It should rather be cared for the truth and we should willingly suffer for that in doing the right thing, even by allowing all adversity to befall us with stoical mind. It is also spoken about that in scaling the city of the mighty, which does signify the spiritual strongholds of devils, or spiritual wickedness in high places. The wise man should reject all sinful ideas and deprive them of all power in his life, since he has come to understand the truth and what makes it different from all the lies in his mind. Where there are lies there is also selfishness, and where there is selfishness there is also bad effects in the man’s soul, and all of these are originated from the enemies of God. The wise man can trace himself from one thing to another, and come know that he is doing something wrong, so he will be determined to reject everything about it. The temptations might at first seem overwhelming, too convincing, or too personal to resist, but understanding will increase our confidence and make victory possible.

It is written the following in a number of places: ‘It is joy to the just to do judgment: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity… The desire of the righteous is only good: but the expectations of the wicked is wrath… The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish… The desire of a man is his kindness: and a poor man is better than a liar… He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him… The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsel of the wicked are deceit… A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity… Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins… He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends… The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression… The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise… A true witness delivereth souls: but a deceitful witness speaketh lies.’

The righteous man is sincere in his heart and only has the best of intentions, where he is kind and wishes no one any evil, and he seeks to show understanding toward the unfortunate and be fair in his verdicts. But the self-righteous men do not fit the description of the righteous, for they are pretentious and full of ulterior motives, spiteful and wishing that other people should suffer, and they become bitter when they loose an opportunity to persecute the unfortunate. Love is meant to be unconditional, to be pure and sincere at all times, when it comes to cherish the person, above everything else that can be obtained or lost away. An adversity does reveal whether the man is true or false in his friendship, when the other person has lost away prosperity and there is nothing left but the person itself. If the man does truly love the person then he will stand by it at all times, both during prosperity and adversity, even that the man has nothing to gain by it except to keep the friendship alive, to be secured by the person’s continual goodwill and gratitude. A similar thing applies to the faith in God, why the man is meant to seek for God, by what means, and what is to be the end in sight, after everything that has happened? The relationship with God is all about mutual love, honesty, trust, and loyalty, even that we can undergo adversity and be deprived of prosperity, end up abandoned and naked. Love is able to cover all sins, meaning that love is the proper attitude to replace all the wrong things, so that we will no longer be doubtful, false, spiteful, and covetous. If we truly love the person then we will never wish it anything evil nor seek to harm it, since it does contradict the love that we do already feel and sense in our heart. And if we truly love God then we will cease to doubt His true motives and disregard His words, for our personal loyalty and gratitude will encourage us to follow Him. Love is the source of all other virtues, and the greatest preventive measure, so that we will no longer consider evil possibilities nor seek to follow it through. The hateful man seeks to create problems out of nothing, as if it were at random, since that he is looking for pretences in order to persecute the person that he hates. So the hateful man will seek to invent reasons, false accusations and slander, as if it would self-justify that the other person deserved to be punished and suffer for its faults. This is why the hateful man is repeating the faults of the past, trying to open old wounds, where it is done through self-seeking motives, only so it can serve his self-interest. The faithful man does on the other hand maintain discretion, as if the faults of the past had never happened, since he is only concerned about the wellbeing of the person. For the man should be evaluated according to the choices he makes on this day, what kind of person he is now, what kind of attitude or intentions do really dwell in his heart. Every person should be given a chance to redeem itself, to learn from its mistakes and do better next time, so it can do the right thing from now and be rewarded for it. A good past should offer no excuse if the man is now being false and selfish, and a bad past should not condemn the man for being sincere and honest on this day.

It is written the following in a number of places: ‘If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee… Say not thou, I will recompanse evil; but wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee… Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and deceive not with thy lips. Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work… A soft answer turneth away wrath: but griveous words stir up anger… A wrathfull man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife… When a man’s ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him… It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling… Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth: Lest the Lord see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.’ In the Book of Ecclesiastes it is written: ‘For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.’

This does not only apply to basic necessities, but we are also meant to speak the truth and offer our enemies a good advice, and even be willing to help them during a distress. This does not mean that we should reveal information that could be used against us, or put our enemies into position to betray our trust and abuse opportunities for evil ends. It can rather be said that our guidance and help should only concern our enemies’ wellbeing, but not their schemes and undertakings to obtain selfish advantage in the world. It should be given our enemies good advice and support, when it comes to reject temptations and obey the will of God, to make moral choices and possess a sense of decency, so that our enemies can become a decent persons and have a decent life. We are really attempting to help our enemies to follow the Lord, to heed the truth and moral principles that belong to Him, so that He can help them from within. If our enemy is down upon the ground then we should help him back on his feet, as if to prove that his hostility is undeserved and we are no enemies to him. It should not be taken the matters into our own hands, by carrying a personal grudge and seek to have revenge for something that belonged to the past, as if it could be repaid evil with evil. It does not make any sense to rely upon the Enemy against our enemies, since the Enemy is now inducing us to do evil as he had induced our enemies to do against us. It does correspond to the saying in playing both sides against the middle, since the Enemy is like a slanderer that pretends to help the enemies against each other. It should be relied upon God in order to overcome the Enemy, the truth against the lies, the goodness against the evilness, and wisdom against craftiness. It should both be believed that God can overcome the Enemy from within us, and from within our human enemies, so that we can be reconciled and live in peace from now on. All the decisions of God are consistent with each other, when He does good things to us all and appeals to our best side, so we need to obey God consecutively, in the long run. But how are we supposed to rely upon the Enemy against the Enemy, lies against lies, evilness against evilness, and craftiness against craftiness, seeing that it belongs to the same person? The Enemy does tend to favour the wicked man against the righteous man, so the Enemy can deliberately give the latter foolish advices or encourage foolish measures, so the righteous man will be likely to fight at a disadvantage and loose to the wicked man. The Enemy is the most wicked person in the universe, far worse than our human enemies, so we should always hate him and give up on him in everything. Our human enemies are on the contrary able to hear the voice of God, to confess the truth and have a sense of decency, to repent and be redeemed, and to cease their hostility. This is why we should continue to love our human enemies and wish them well, since that while the person continues to live then everything can be possible in its life. So we can disagree with the faults or errors which that person has been making, but it is only sufficient that person can cease to do so and separate itself from corruption. The main objective is not to overcome our enemies and harm them as a person, but it is rather to overcome the enmity and thereby solve the root of the problem. Our good deeds will otherwise heap coals of fire upon the head of our enemies, if they prove to be treacherous and ungrateful, plotting against us in secret. Then our enemies will be given over to depraved mind and experience nothing good from within, so it is only a matter of time until they will fall into misfortunes of their own making. This does not mean that we should pretend to be good to our enemies openly but wish them evil in secret, but we should allow the Lord to judge everything on our behalf. The Lord owns our life and those of everyone else, so it is really His matter but not our own matter.

It is written the following in a number of places: ‘Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool… A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold… Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich… There is he that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches… Better is little with the fear of the Lord than great treasures and troubles therewith… Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife… Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die: Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? Or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.’

A friendship and good reputation is bound to living beings, which can possess the will to offer guidance and help to us, so their favour could apply to any matter in this world and be offered at any time in our life. It is not so with money and material objects, lifeless things which do not possess any will of their own, which only apply to limited matters and can be used for a limited time. It should be preferred favour above money, for that money is only one part of many which the person can own, while a favour can reach to everything within its possessions, including the person’s intellects, capability, influential position, and friends. The man could own the whole world but still have nothing, if he has not cared for any person and no person does care for him, so it becomes a hollow victory for him. It is encouraged us to become a man of principle, someone that has a firm conviction and is a reliable friend, so that other people can always know where we stand. It is not so when the man becomes a mercenary for hire, someone that sells his conviction to the highest bidder and will turn against friends every time he is offered bribes, so that nobody will trust that man again nor offer him further opportunities. The selfish man is willing to resort to any dishonest means in order to obtain success in the world, so that he can be quicker to have power, wealth, luxuries, and followers. But that man will still be unable to enjoy any of these things, at least not for long, since he is constantly troubled with something and he never seems to have a peace of mind. It is better to obtain a moderate lot through honest toil, accompanied with peace and security, rather than by having powerful position full of dangers and worries. The honest man obtains peace and security for free, as if it was a bonus to his moderate lot, while it is ever beyond the reach of the dishonest man and cannot be purchased.  That to be rich is not necessarily a good thing in itself, but it can belong to the other extreme and lead to another kind of problems, which disrupt the man’s attitude and health. Poverty is about having too little, to lack necessities and overwork, so it will lead to malnutrition and maladies. But wealth is about having too much, to overindulgence in food and luxury, so it will also disrupt the activity of the body. Poverty can lead to envy and bitterness, while wealth can lead to pride and vanity, but the man who is neither poor nor rich will be more likely to escape from its influence. It would probably be best if everyone belonged to the middle class in the society, since then would no man have too much and thereby not cause another man to have too little.

It is written the following in a number of places: ‘He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he… He that oppresseth the poor reproveth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor... Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished... Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate: for the Lord will plead their cause, and spoil the souls of those that spoiled them... He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again… Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee… If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? And he that keepth thy soul, doeth not he know it? And shall not he render to every man according to his works?’

This does not only apply to those that live in poverty and lack influence, but the poor and the needy can also apply to the outcasts in the society. The poor are discriminated and shunned by other people, afflicted by their sins and ashamed of their past, isolated and sick in their mindset, as if they had already reached the bottom and will never again rise from it. The wicked man persecutes the poor and weak from a higher position, while the persons in question find themselves at a disadvantage and have nothing in their hands. But the wicked man fails to realize that he is poor and weak before God, where He approaches God from lower position and he has nothing to say for himself. It is not God whom is unfair, but the wicked man does pronounce his own harsh and cruel verdict, when he does find himself in the very same position as the victims he had persecuted. The wicked man might rob the poor, but the Lord will spoil that man from within, so he will be deprived of good sense, virtues, benefits, peace, prosperity, happiness, and luck. The religious hypocrites will be punished for judging sinners in a harsh way, for being quick to give up on other people and shun their presence, as if the sinner should always suffer for insignificant faults or mistakes that belong to the past. If we want to honour God then we should have mercy on the poor. For that we do all have God for our Father, have been created by Him, and we are brothers in spirit, so that we should treat each other as equals and undergo the same things together. That we did to the least of our brethren so we did to the Lord, for the Lord will care for those that nobody cares for and defend those that cannot defend themselves, as if the Lord was taking care of His own life and punishing His enemies. The rich and the powerful men might seem to have everything and get away with everything, since people tend to flatter them and expect a favour from them in return. The poor and the weak might seem to have nothing and have nothing to offer, so the selfish people are unwilling to help them and often persecute the poor for no reason. This is why it is an admirable thing to help the poor and the weak, for it is then done goodness for its own sake, as its own reward, or as an end in itself, without expecting any repayment. So that just like the man helped the poor and the weak for free then God will also help that man for free, by blessing him with good luck and prosperity, so the spiritual benefits do always outweigh any advantages from the world. There is poverty in the world because God has allowed it to happen, and He can make us poor and weak, so it could be tested in what way other people would respond. The society should be evaluated according to that how most people treat the poor and the weak, before it can be determined whether that society is worth saving, or whether there are any redeemable qualities left that could call for corresponding mercy from God. The faith in God is not only about abstaining from crimes and evil deeds in regard to our life, as if it would be enough that we did not commit it by our own hands. But it is also about doing the good thing and help the fellow man, if he finds himself in distress, and if we come across an innocent person that is being persecuted by evil men. It should not only be rejected temptations, but we must also obey the voice of God. It can even be claimed that it is only sufficient to obey the will of God, but we do not really need to resist temptations in our mind or strain against them directly. For if we do the right thing then we are thereby also not doing the wrong thing, so if we obey the will of God then we are actually accomplishing both things at the same time. If the man does abstain from good deeds then it will become a sin to him, and if the man fails to show mercy to the fellow man then he will break the law. This is why God will judge religious hypocrites for their lack of compassion and mercy, for having shown indifference to their fellow man and refused to offer any help. If we do not bother to help our fellow man now, at this very moment, on this very day, then we will neither do so in the future, regardless of that what we can promise about it. The problem consists namely in this, that we are already selfish and indifferent, so it does not matter what can change around us, in regard to the timing and place.

In chapter 12 it is written: ‘A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.’ In chapter 31 it is written: ‘Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life... She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy... She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.’ In the Book of Ecclesiastes it is written: ‘A man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed.’

It should not be looked for a beautiful woman, but rather a good one, whom is truly beautiful from within, pure of heart, and perfect in her love. If the woman is truly beautiful from within then she will also be so externally, by having a radiant countenance, a bright and lively face, a great natural beauty. So there is something special about her overall impression, different from all other women. The outward appearance does only seem to have value in the eyes of other people, but it is otherwise useless in regard to everything else, like inner condition, intellects, and capability. But if the woman is wise and good then it can reach to all factors, where it can affect everything else to the better, establish every success and to expand it further. The marriage will be founded upon mutual love, honesty and trust, even as how the man’s relationship with God is meant to be, if it is ever going to last in the long run. The man can always rely upon that woman’s kindness, that she will treat the man better than he deserves, and it can be trusted her true motives, that she only wishes well. This is why it does not matter whether the virtuous woman can be seen or not, is nearby or far away, whether other men can speak to her and attempt to impress her, since she is faithful in her heart, sincere and doing as her conscience dictates. It is like the virtuous woman can undergo any tests and temptations in the world, where everything can change around her and she can even be offered anything, and yet that woman will maintain the same stance at all times, firm and devoted as she is in her heart. It can on the other hand be ridiculed the notion of external beauty, if the person is neither wise nor good, so there is nothing else besides its looks. The external beauty cannot make up for fickleness and bitterness, let alone in the long run, when the bad qualities seem to dominate every conversation, undermine every undertaking, spoil every moment and poison the atmosphere for everyone. The selfish woman is constantly nagging within the man’s presence, and she is likely to scheme against him and commit adultery from a distance, so the man does rarely have peace. The selfish woman tends to be idle and meddle too much with the lives of other people, even that she behaves negligently in her own affairs, lacking all insight and experience.

It is written the following in a number of places: ‘He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes… Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying… Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it… Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him… Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell… Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul.’

It has been said that if a child is not reprimanded from the outset then it will grow up and get worse. The child can do something wrong and something needs to be done about it, if the child is not going to repeat the same mistakes nor be encouraged to further rebellion against the established authority. Thereby can everyone agree about that what is considered wrong and what kind of good results is wished for, that the child can become sensible, honest, and obedient to the parents. But what kind of means should be resorted to in order to promote such outcome, since that different people can propose different means for the same solution? It does thereby come down to that which means are the best, and more efficient than other means, instead of using wrong remedies that will only make things worse. That to chasten a child with a rod is considered too harsh at our times, like something which only uncivilized people would resort to in order to suppress freedom and reason. It can even be questioned the effectiveness of physical punishment, whether it can really prevent or solve the nature of the problem. A pain is only bound to the physical body, while it is completely irrelevant to intellectual and spiritual aspects, so the person will continue to remain ignorant as before. So the person can do something wrong, and yet it does not understand what was so wrong about it, how to avoid the same mistakes, improve itself, and do better next time. Let’s say that the physical punishment will work and the child will cease to commit the same fault, since the child is too afraid to do otherwise and wants to avoid further pain. It is however very probable that the child will become needlessly afraid of other matters, where that same fear will suppress the child’s free spirit and make it repressed, so the child will hold itself too much back and not dare to take chances in life. It has thereby been replaced one problem with other kind of problems, far worse in comparison, since the child will feel helpless, lack initiative, and be unable to adapt to new circumstances. It is like the parent have preferred one stupid problem over their child’s inner condition and capability, and needlessly restricted the child’s life in advance. It is true that the Lord can chasten and discipline us for our faults, but it does not mean that the Lord will make us experience incidents which are harmful to our body and health. The Lord can correct us through many means, where we can experience something which proves that our opinions and behaviour does not work, so the same wrong approach will lead to the same wrong results, based upon wrong premises. It is called presumptions when our subjective opinions are not consistent with the reality, as if we could have decided such things all alone before arriving to the circumstances, so it is failed to observe facts and not adapted to its demands. And our faults can correspond to the faults of other people, where we can know what it is like to taste our own harsh verdicts and unfair rules, when we find ourselves in a similar position. So the Lord can create special circumstances to rebuke us for our faults, and it does encourage us to assume responsibility of our choices and undergo the just sentence. It is never recorded in the Scripture that the great Biblical figures beat up their children with a rod, nor did Jesus Christ ever encourage us to be harsh toward children. But the rod can signify the concept of correction, to chasten and discipline an erring child. It is so the child can come to know the true value of its choice, how a wrong intention leads to wrong means and then to wrong consequences, what would otherwise have happened in the situation or if everyone behaved like that in the world.

It is written the following in a number of places: ‘An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin… There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness. There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! And their eyelids are lifted up. There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men… The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men… Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall… He that is of proud heart stirreth up strife: but that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be made fat… Deceit is in the heart of them of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellers of peace is joy… The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes… An evil man seeketh only rebellion: therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him… An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour: but through knowledge shall the just be delivered.’

This confirms that sins are not only bound to that what we can speak with our mouth and commit with our body, but it does also reach toward our attitude, in what way we do look upon other people. It is thereby a sin to have high look and a proud heart, even that the person has not actually said or done anything, since it does transgress against the spirit of God’s words. A proud man should be condemned for his pride, but even more for lacking humility, since that if the attitude is proud then it will never yield any humble words and deeds. And that to think foolishly is a sin, when the man becomes proud and angry over something, when he despises other people and shows indifference to their position, and when covetousness is aroused in the man’s heart so he changes his mind. If the man is proud then he will only listen to the proud and haughty words of the Enemy, while he disregards the humble words of God for not fitting his self-conceit. Therefore will the man never be willing to repent and confess that he is wrong, nor will the man restrain himself and turn away from his current course before it will be too late. That road can only lead to fall and destructions, since the man does deliberately reject his own Saviour but accepts the bad advices of his worst enemy. A pride will only lead to strife and troubles, but never to concord and peace, since the man wants too much for himself and seeks to exalt himself at the expense of others. It is not like the man becomes proud and stirs up strife because he is supposed to have good intentions, but it is always made through selfish reasons and originated from the Enemy. If the man does imagine evil then it is always founded upon lies and deceit, where the man is only deceiving himself and blaming other people for his own corruption. Good is originated from good, and evil is originated from evil, so God was would never encourage the man to imagine evil nor try to convince him to become selfish. The wicked man is so because he desires evil and deliberately seeks to incite rebellion, but that man would otherwise not be called wicked in the first place, if he was truly sincere and only wished well. This is why it can never be justified the wicked, their wicked schemes and crimes, since they were already intent upon that in doing it. A hypocrite destroys his neighbour with the mouth. It indicates that the hypocrite persecutes innocent people with his slander, accusations, and harsh verdicts, while he is too cowardly to reveal his true stance and utter such things within their presence. The hypocrite might not have committed any crimes with his hands, but he is still the same guilty of wickedness in his attitude, for doing something to undermine the person’s welfare, to discriminate the person and get everyone up against it. It should be looked upon recent discourse in context with the Pharisees, the self-righteous men during the time of Christ, whom were condemned and rejected by Him. The Pharisees might not have committed murder and theft directly, but they still did everything else to persecute the person, as to undermine its standing among other people, to deprive the person of justice, and by treating the person like it did not even exist. That kind of persecution might seem subtle, something done indirectly, without physical contact, so it could be harmed the person through evil looks, evil words, and evil gesture. The hypocrites pretend to uphold the letter of the law, by avoiding crimes directed against the human body, while they are guilty of worst possible crimes in the spiritual aspect. Compassion and mercy is meant to define the spirit of the law, what all this obedience aims to promote, but a hypocrite does not have the love of God in his heart.

It is written the following in a number of places: ‘The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord: but the prayer of the upright is his delight… The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination: how much more, when he bringeth it with a wicked mind?... He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him; When he speaketh fair, believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart. Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be shewed before the whole congregation… He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination… The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the Lord: but he loveth him that followeth after righteousness…The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord: but the words of the pure are pleasant words… He that justifieth the wicked, and he that conemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the Lord.’

The wicked man is already guilty in his attitude even before he has offered any sacrifice, since he does not really care about God or what the sacrifice is meant to be for. A sacrifice is meant to honour God and be a gesture of the man’s need for pardon, but such motives are absent in the heart of the wicked man while he is making the offering. It is merely a lip-service, a pretentious show while other people are watching, since the wicked man would otherwise be afraid to upset them and loose his prestige. That to bring a sacrifice with a wicked mind is to tempt God, by asking God to become selfish and do selfish things, to help evildoers and harm innocent men. It can be claimed that animal sacrifices are not really about sacrifices, but it is rather meant to reflect the man’s attitude, or is merely a device to draw it out from his heart. What does the man really feel about God and His sense of decency, and is the man is ready to reconsider his ways, before he can serve God and live up to His standard? The sacrifice of the wicked man is considered abomination before God, since he has already rejected God in his heart and has no intention to hearken His words. The wicked man is like a flatterer or a false friend, which does say one thing but expects a different thing, since he wants to use the person involved. Where there is flattery there is also spite, for the flatterer is spiteful in his attitude during his sweet speech, having no respect for the person that he is trying to deceive. But God does already show favour to the upright man in advance, whether he does offer a sacrifice or not, since the upright man has already understood and upheld the spirit of the worship. It is thereby like the sacrifice has already had its effect, without the actual sacrifice, while the wicked men offer countless sacrifices that have no effects. The prayer of the upright man is to God’s delight, and the words of the pure man are pleasant words, since that is the end of the faith, to promote good conscience in us. It is namely approached God with the best of intentions and only wished others well, so sincere love is meant to prevent selfishness and the prayer is meant to replace animal offerings. The wicked man does not only seek to justify the wicked, when other wicked men have committed wicked crimes against innocent people, through wicked motives. But the wicked man does also seek to condemn the righteous men, when they have been doing good things and helping other people for free, through good motives. This is why the Pharisees and other enemies of Jesus Christ were truly wicked, for they sought to oppose those that followed God and were trying to do good things, only so it would not overshadow the reputation and influential position that they had. The Pharisees persecuted the children of God for being better than them, for surpassing them in virtue, rather than by approaching God and becoming like His children. It does remind of the fable about the Dog in the Manger. The Pharisees were unable to become virtuous and happy in their own life, but they sought to prevent everyone else to become virtuous and happy, only so it would not make them look bad.

It is written the following in a number of places: ‘The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion… Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repayed… He that hath a froward heart findeth no good: and he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief… The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted… Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house… Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting place: For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief… The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead… There shall no evil happen to the just: but the wicked shall be filled with mischief… The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death.’

The wicked man has sought to trouble innocent people for no reason, and thereby will he be afflicted by all kinds of problems for no reasons, as if it came at random or out of nowhere. For an example then the wicked man can all of a sudden experience fear or desperation, as if everything was about to collapse and he would loose all self-control, so it is like the man is hanging on a thin thread and having the worst moment of his life. The wicked man can be afraid of his own mind, that all these thoughts and imaginations are true or can come true in the future. So that he is trying to struggle against empty words and illusions, as if he could either prepare for such things or try to lessen the damage when it happens. It is all about to that man’s state of mind, what can change in his mind to the worse, while everything remains the same on the outside, regarding the circumstances and other people. Therefore is the wicked man not experiencing any real dangers or troubles, but his state of mind does seem very real to him, as if real sensations or effects were involved in his soul. For an example then everything might seem peaceful around the wicked man, but he is ever restless and instable, dried up or burning up in his soul, overwhelmed by uncertainty and helplessness, as if these problems could go on forever or the time would be moving very slowly. It is not only experienced wrong thoughts or imaginations, but it is accompanied by impulses and psychical symptoms at the same time, as if it could ‘grab’ the man’s mind and body. It is like the wicked man is afraid of his own shadow, where he is constantly afraid of doing something wrong and be harmed by it, that to give a wrong impression and loose his standing among other people. If the man does repay good with evil then he will also make bad use of all good opportunities in his life, as if bad luck or mistakes would always ruin everything for him. It might seem like the man is having successful relations with other people, but then he does all of a sudden do something foolish or evil. It will thereby reveal that man’s true colour and alienate him from the people, so they will no longer trust him nor seek for his company. It is like the wicked man cannot help himself, where it is only a matter of time until he does something foolish, improper, or wicked, whether it is done intentionally or not, by mistake or accident. So that his plans can go all wrong, where he sought to obtain something but it led to the opposite effects and lost him everything. The righteous man can fall seven times, and yet he is able to rise up each and every time. God is able to lead that man to repentance and restrain him, before things will get worse, while there is still some decency left in him or redeemable qualities. But it is not so with the wicked man, for he will fall and keep falling down into a bottomless pit, where he will only get worse with time and loose what left of his humanity. The righteous man is delivered from troubles and destruction, and the wicked man takes his place. Both of them can experience similar circumstances, with its tests and temptations, encouragements and instructions, but they make different choices that will lead to different outcome. Therefore will the wicked man only have himself to blame for his failures and final lot, while it had nothing to do about the environment or other people, what was happening around him. If the wicked man had done the same thing as the righteous man then he would also have been saved, but the wicked man did still not choose to do it and deliberately disregarded all chances given by God.

It is written the following in a number of places: ‘If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked… When the wicked cometh, then cometh also contempt, and with ignominy reproach… Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness… The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly… Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is not talebearer, the strife ceaseth… Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease… A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not: but knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth.’

If the man hearkens to lies then all his intentions and aspirations will become selfish, since the man does prefer the Enemy above God, lies and flatteries above that in hearing the hard truth. The man only wishes to hear that what he wants to hears, but not what he needs to hear. So the man only chooses the company of those that pretend to agree with him, to confirm his presumptions and prejudices, and to encourage his self-conceit. It can thereby happen that the man refuses to heed the obvious truth and lacks determination to act upon it, but he tries to see something good about his weakness, as if that to be worthless would have some kind of meaning or deliver better results than a true merit. Spitefulness and covetousness does always follow the presence of the Enemy, so that we need to banish the Enemy away from our life in order to be free from it. The Enemy is like a wicked counsellor and talebearer, whom is constantly creating lies about everything and everyone, as if these lies came at random or out of nowhere. If one lie is disproved then the Enemy will just lie about something else, and create new problem instead of those solved, so the root of the problem consist in his presence. It might often seem like mind will never cease speaking, or never be silent for long, since that new thoughts and imaginations will continue to call for the man’s attention. It can never be satisfied the mind in anything, no matter the man can try to do about it, so that a desire for pleasure and revengefulness will never give the man any peace. The man might participate in carnal pleasure and manage to harm his enemy, but it will only give him temporary relief, until the man will soon become obsessive and restless again, distracted and unable to think about something else in his life. The man will continue to be troubled in his soul while he tolerates the presence of the Enemy, by giving a ready ear to his lies, quibbles, slander, false witness and accusations. The mind is the problem, but not what the mind is lying about. The mind is like a slanderer that points to everyone else and finds fault with them, as if everything was wrong in the world and seen in the worst light, to be blamed and hated as a scapegoat. The mind does lie about everyone and everything, while the mind does seek to divert the man’s attention away from itself, so the man will not come to realize the true nature of the mind, how deceitful, worthless, and hypocritical it proves to be. It is the mind which is at fault, where the mind is the worst being in the universe, the original tempter which encourages all crimes, and in no position to judge other people. Therefore should the man first get rid of the Enemy, to free himself from the mind, and then next the man will be able see everyone and everything as it truly is. We need the Spirit of God in order to silence the mind, to stabilize and pacify our soul, since that we will otherwise get carried away by the mind, with or without our consent. It could be compared the mind to the ocean, while thoughts and impulses are like waves, so that we can be driven back and forth by natural forces outside our control.

14. Ecclesiastes

14.1: Human Vanity

The Preacher was able to own everything, and yet he considered everything to be nothing, as if all this effort had made no difference and he was no better off. All earthly things prove to be transient in their nature, and have transient effects upon the man. Everything is supposed to be vanity, for the man does labour for things which do only have a temporary use, to satisfy temporary needs, until the man will become restless again and the same process does happen all over again. Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire. The external things are unable to fulfil the man’s spiritual want, so the man is constantly being disappointed with his expectations, that these things could make him happy once and for all. When the man does finally obtain the desirable thing then he will no longer esteem it as desirable, for it only seemed to be desirable while still outside his reach, bound to the future. The desirable thing will prove to be like any other ordinary things in the world, where the man will begin to take it too much for granted and even despise its significance, since the man can now see and touch that which he could once only fantasise about. The man is never contented with that which he does already have, but he only gazes upon that which he does still not own and allows it to overshadows everything else. It has nothing to do about the actual objects, but rather the man’s feelings and thoughts about them, since all this excitement is originated in the man’s mindset and can only end there. The man was once contented with everything and at peace with himself, even that he did not seem to own much and he was not that experienced out in the world. But everything changed when the man became covetous for profit and pleasures, for it led to want in his soul and that kind of emptiness could not be filled with anything, even that the man could own everything and experience everything in the world. The problem does consist in the desire itself, but not in that what can be desired after, since that all desires are insatiable in their nature and accompanied with emptiness. Only the human will can overcome problems that are originated from the human will or belong to it, as when spiritual remedies should be applied to spiritual problems, or morality against immorality. The man should not rely upon other people and external objects in order to appease his selfish desires, but he should rather focus upon that in overcoming the desires from within himself. The man must first know himself before he can conquer himself, through determination, understanding, and morality. There is only one virtue and it does consist in that of heeding the voice of God, on this day, at this very moment, so that all the good things are combined in His will.  There is nothing good and lasting in earthly possessions, but God is good and so is His will, so the man should seek to find favour with God and do good things in his life. The man should eat and drink, where his soul should enjoy good in his labour and rejoice in his works, so that whatever the man intends to do he should always give it his best effort, while it does last and he is able to do so. A hard work can be a virtue in itself, regardless of the actual results, since it will keep the man sharp and sober, and prevent problems that follow idleness. God can create a want or problem, to encourage the man to do something with his life, and then the man can become stronger and wiser through his personal involvement. It does correspond to that when workers are paid for digging a hole and then again for filling it up, only so it can be kept the men in good shape, both mentally and physically. So the man should enjoy that what he can undertake, whether it can be called goals, work, creativity, challenge, or hobby, as if the work was done for its own sake and the path itself was greater than the destination. The man should live for the moment, be focused and involved enough in his work, as if he would forget everything else during it and the time would quickly pass. This is not really about rewards or recognition from other people, when the work is finally finished, but the man was just glad while the work lasted and that it kept him busy.

The Life is beautiful, because the Lord is beautiful in His soul, noble and generous, far beyond our greatest expectations. But the world is evil and ugly, because it is shaped in the image of the Enemy, at least in spirit, since the attitude is false and selfish. The Life and the world are not the same thing, so the man should not blame the Life for the faults of the world, since the world is in open rebellion against the Life itself. Two are better than one, since if one falls then the other will lift up his fellow. The man is never alone, because the Lord is with him, within the man, guiding all his steps. This is why we should never despair, even that we are rejected and abandoned by the whole world, since it is only enough to have the Lord in our life, as the truest and best friend there is. Many men presume that everything happens at random in the universe, as if there was no deeper meaning behind it, and like there was no divinity to watch over human affairs. Other men claim that God proves to be indifferent to the human race, as if God had only created the universe and then retired, leaving everyone to fend for themselves. If this would be an ideal world then the righteous men would always be rewarded for their honest work, and the wicked men would always be punished for their crimes. This does however not apply to this world, in what way the human people treat each other, although God continues to reward the righteous men and punish the wicked men, unless God does everything in His own time and not always immediately. The righteous men can be slighted and persecuted for doing the right thing, and they can even receive less from the world as they work harder for it. The wicked men can on the contrary be honoured for cheating their way through challenges and stealing from others, and get even more as they have worked less for it. The righteous men can get the bad things which the unrighteous men deserve, and the unrighteous men can get the good things which the righteous men deserve. This does not mean that God does not exist, that He does not care about the human people, or that God does not care about truth and justice, fairness and equality among men. For that God does both make it rain upon the good men and the evil men, the grateful and the ungrateful, as if to give everyone equal chance to recognize His kindness. And God does also want to rest the response of everyone else, when people come to notice the prosperity of the wicked men and as if they could get away with everything. It might seem to give the impression that crimes pay off, so that some people come to envy the wicked men, wish to become like them, and abandon honest pursuits. It is thereby like this world is one great test, where all kinds of illusions and false impressions can happen around us, as to determine what does really dwell in our heart. Will the man continue to believe in God, His truth and goodness, and prefer it above the evil ways of the world, even that the minority is honest and the majority is selfish? Both the righteous and the wicked can experience a similar kind of prosperity and adversity, but they do respond in a completely different way and it will turn out differently for them. The righteous men know how to make the best of the situation, to improve their lot and make a proper use of opportunities. But the wicked men squander everything away and only make their problems worse, so their prosperity can easily be transformed into adversity and they cannot endure anything. God can save fools from their foolish decisions, or delay the punishment of the wicked to another time, although the same men tend to presume that they have not and will not be punished. The fools do however not come to realize it, that God had been watching over them and saving them from unforeseen dangers, but they do instead seek to self-justify their foolish decisions as if it had been a success. The fools presume themselves to be lucky, that their foolishness can work out, and they will then repeat the same mistakes, so the fools continue to tempt the fates until they will one day perish. A similar thing applies when the wicked men continue to commit more crimes, as if they would never be held accountable to anything, but they only end up sealing their life as irredeemable, if they waste all chances which God has been giving them. The preacher states that both the oppressed and the oppressors had no comforter. For that innocent people can be oppressed by wicked men, while the wicked men are oppressed from within, since that devils can afflict them with all kinds of thoughts and maladies. The man should not marvel when the poor are oppressed by the wicked men and there is no justice to be had from the human authority. For that God is at the top, higher than everyone else upon the earth, and it is He whom gives out the final verdict. So the wicked men will be oppressed by someone else in turn, and nothing will be able to deliver them, even as how the wicked men had previously treated their victims. And something will happen to deliver the poor from their distress, an unexpected help from unexpected source, so it is like all the former evils will soon be forgotten.

It is claimed that there is nothing new under the sun, as if everything had already happened in the past and the human history tends to repeat itself, even now and in the future. This might seem to be obsolete statement, when it is looked upon the scientific and technological progress during the recent centuries, which has drastically changed the world. But the human nature remains the same, what takes place from within the man himself and the possibilities offered to him, when the voice of God encourages him to abide to all principles, and the Enemy tries to tempt the man to break every principle. The human existence can correspond to fiction, involving similar kind of ideas, motives, and course of events, unless the material objects and the names might seem different. The man does either receive from God or the Enemy, what God has already foreseen and created in heaven, or what the Enemy has already distorted in the abyss. Scientific knowledge and technology has been known by God from the beginning, and He can then reveal it to the human people, so they can create that which already had schematics. Everything is superior in heaven, and human technology is primitive in comparison. So it is not like the angels are making use of the same things as the human people, or that the angels needed to create it in the first place. Scientific knowledge and technology is neither good nor evil, but its rather depended upon that in what way the man chooses to use it, either to serve good or evil purpose. It is wholly thanks to God that the man can discover truthful knowledge and make meaningful inventions, but the worthless men would otherwise never have managed to accomplish it. So that a worthy man can discover knowledge and make new inventions, but evil men can later appear, seeking to abuse and distort the same things. Everything is centred upon the internal activity, both spiritual and physical, so it can only be understood human pursuits when seen in context with the human soul and body. For an example then the man does first experience a need or lack of something from within, and then it encourages him to pursue for and obtain something out in the world. The man does first experienced hunger and thirst, and then next he tries to find food, by observing the surroundings and travel between locations. Or the man will need to have profession in order to support himself, and the money can then be used to purchase food and shelter, so it is reached the same destination. And yet it seems like the man can never obtain something once and for all, a permanent quality or benefit, since the human body needs to be replenish itself regularly. It is something which needs to be done a daily basis, and in a moderate quantity, since that to have too much will disrupt the body instead of changing the process. A corresponding thing can apply to spiritual matters, the man’s need for freedom and happiness, so the man pursues for something in order to promote such effects. If the man believes in God then he can be already free, wise, happy, and at peace with himself, even before he has actually said or done anything, so he will no longer experience a lack of one thing to encourage a pursuit for another thing. Luxuries and pleasures are indeed transient, like a fleeting sensation that is immediately forgotten, and the man is now no better off than before he participated in them. Let’s say that a specific man had experienced every possible pleasure during his lifetime, as if the whole day was pleasurable countless days in a row, except for the day today. And another man could have experienced every possible adversity during his lifetime, as if the whole day was troublesome countless days in a row, except for the day today. The former is now experiencing a day full of troubles, and the latter is now experiencing a day full of pleasures, as if their position had reversed only on this day. This means that the latter man is now better off in comparison to the former, since memories of pleasures mean nothing if the man is now experiencing troubles. It is thereby like all the previous pleasures had been for nothing, or the former man is no better than a person that has never experienced pleasures in it life. For that man’s inner condition and capability remains the same, and he has not derived any additional advantage.

Earthly possessions and entertainments are something which can offer temporary relief and refreshment, to satisfy our needs at that moment, as to prevent tiredness and boredom. But the external thing are otherwise not deemed to be important, outside that function, so it will become nothing to us while we are not using it. The man can only learn to enjoy the external things when without personal attachment, as if the man could use it and then throw it away, without thinking further about it in the meantime. Material possessions are nothing more than material possessions, and only bound to itself alone, to the time and place where it is stationed, and where it can be used. But material possessions do not ascribe anything good or bad to the human owner, so that nothing will be changed about him after it has been obtained or lost away. It should be treated all material possessions with indifference, for the sake of our free spirit and mobility, so that we can aspire for greater things in life and follow it through. Our attachment to material possessions would otherwise make us fettered to its cares, where it is centred upon our life upon it and wasted our valuable time upon its maintenance, so we will be stuck upon the same place and remain stagnant from within. It has been said that the quickest way to wealth is to despise it, and it can very well apply to other external prosperity, like power, fame, popularity, beauty, and strength, since that such things will make no impression upon us and become easier to attain. For an example then we will no longer fear or envy those that possess such advantage, but we will attempt to work hard for the same things and even surpass them. It is spoken about the vanity when the man works hard for earthly things during his lifetime, but he will still be unable to take such things with him in death. So the man will be forced to leave everything to someone else, whom has neither laboured for it nor deserved it, as if the man had been working all this time for that person. Worldly riches are indeed blind to the merit of the owner, and they do not care when switching owners, so that any worthless man can become rich through worthless means. It is true that the man can inherit wealth and possessions from his deceased parents, but he is still unable to inherit their spiritual attributes, like human decency, good sense, and competence. But the spiritual attributes will accompany the parents to their graves, so the son will need to work hard for everything from the scratch, all by himself. It is not like it can be claimed that the rich men deserve to be rich, and that the poor men deserve to be poor, as if personal merit and hard work would guarantee wealth, or that an absence of merit and hard work would guarantee a lack of wealth. The selfish men are willing to do anything for material profit and luxuries, by betraying every principle and by making compromises with the selfish ways of the world. But the faithful men are on the contrary willing to forgo any selfish advantage for the sake of their moral integrity, as to maintain innocence, freedom, wisdom, and dignity. So the worthless men are more likely to obtain success in the world, to become rich and powerful, even that it will make them even more corrupt and foolish in the process. This does not mean that all rich men are worthless, or that wealth  equals worthlessness, but worthless men are more likely to covet after wealth and pursue for it alone. Worthless men can become powerful and wealthy, enough to be in position to make other worthless men become rich as well, when it comes to marketize vanity and foolish products to the ignorant masses, relating to showbiz and fiction. The Preacher states it is an evil when folly is set in great dignity, so the rich sit in low place, there are servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth. The Enemy does think and act like a slave, and yet he does rule over the world, so it is a testimony about the foolishness and hypocrisy of mankind, for exalting the unworthy. But Jesus Christ is our only true king, whom does think and act in the noblest way, and yet He took on a form of a servant and fulfilled His Messianic role on foot.

In chapter 3 it is written: ‘To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…’ In chapter 5 it is written: ‘When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?... The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.’ In chapter 6 it is written: ‘There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men: A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing, for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease… Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?’

God can equalize everything in our human existence, so it can consist of many factors, which take their turns to appeal to our human aspects. It can happen from within us or around us, which we have sought for or it came to over to us, which we have deserved or not, which belonged to our choices or those of others. There is prosperity and adversity, where one thing will come before or after the other, affecting us in different way, so we can become more mature or more lacking in self-control. The man is only bound to one soul and one body, so that he can only be stationed upon one place at a time and he can often only do one thing at a time, regarding his sense organs and limbs. This is what makes greed seem needless in the world, as something which does not give any additional advantage to the man, no matter how many possessions he can own. The man can only stay in one house at a time, so he does not need to own more than one house, that is to say if the man is going to have permanent residence for his family. And the man is still bound to the same stomach, and he cannot surpass its limits, so the man does not really need to hoard up much food for a single meal. It is exactly the same thing with the man’s eyes and limbs, when he can only look in one direction at a time, handle something with his hands, and move from one location to another. Therefore if the man owns too much than it is no longer for himself or his needs, so it does work against the purpose in working for and obtaining such things in the first place. Why should the man spoil the earth of resources and destroy the ecosystem, only so the man can hoard up a wealth and possession that he does have no use for? What then, should the man hide all this wealth and possessions, or lock it inside a vault, as if the man had been destroying the earth on a whim or for no reason at all? Greed does not make any sense, when one man becomes too rich at the expense of another, but it is only natural that all men should be considered equals in rights and wealth. The man can spend all his time in collecting new things and to hoard up a treasure, but there is no time left to make use of the same things, to enjoy that which is owned. A treasure buried in the earth is just as useless as if there had not been any treasure, since the man does not use the real things in the same way as if they were imaginary. It can happen that the covetous man spends his entire lifetime in hoarding up a treasure, and then he dies unexpectedly before enjoying it, leaving everything to someone else.

In chapter 7 it is written: ‘And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her… Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found: but a woman among all those have I not found. Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.’ In chapter 9 it is written: ‘Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.’

It might at first seem like the Scripture is biased and prejudiced in regard to gender, as if it would favour men above women, that most women were supposed to be evil in their nature, or their presence would only involve sinful influence. This is why one would feel inclined to defend women, by counting up these or those reasons, to confirm that all human beings are equal and posses the same potential. However upon closer inspection the Scripture is not speaking against women in general, but it does rather refer to that when women’s role has been distorted, so it does lead to opposite effects than originally intended. It should not be condemned women as a gender, but rather the distorted concept of their gender, when is headed from one extreme to another. It can be mentioned when the society wants to make women into sexual objects, a merchandize for men to trade, or that women should pretend to be that what men want them to be. The other extreme consist in that when women claim too much for themselves, as to become unrestrained and manipulative. That extreme can turn women into bigots, identical to male chauvinists, since they will also become self-centred, self-conceited, and biased against everyone else. The woman was originally created to help the man, but she ended up being the one to tempt him to rebellion, so the man fell from God and lost his sense of purpose. It is exactly the same thing when the man makes his life become centred upon lust for women, by pretending to be something else in order flatter and seduce women, rather than by having faith in God his Maker and seek to become a man of principle. It should be looked upon the harlot-culture of our times, when everyone seek to become rich and popular, superficial and vain, only so they can please one another and be in position to exploit it. It is come up with pretentious show and imitated after all kinds of tricks, which is meant to increase their chances to experience carnal pleasures and luxuries. It is thereby like the man seeks to become a slave in order to obtain favour with a harlot, or he becomes slave to her desires, since he craves after her love and approval. The man will no longer serve God and His sense of decency, but the man will instead serve the woman and her self-interest, as foolish and self-centred as it can be. If the man does find favour with God then he will escape from the woman, but that woman can signify the strange woman, the wickedness itself or the spirit of whoredom. That to be without woman does not necessarily increase our chances to become virtuous, and that to be with woman does not necessarily decrease our chances. There is nothing wrong with celibacy in good conscience or that in marrying a woman, so it is all about the personal preference of each man, according to his conviction. It should thereby be avoided both extremes, by speaking neither with nor against it. It is true that King David and his son Solomon sinned because of women, but it is not like the women in question controlled them from within or forced them to do it. That fault was entirely of their own making, for having made such choice for themselves. It has nothing to do about the actual women, but rather the man’s desires about them, since he allowed himself to become too personally attached to lures and distractions. It was the man that allowed women to come up between him and God, or rather his thoughts about women, and the man began to prefer such desires above God Himself. King Solomon did not have natural relationship with women to begin with, as many wives and concubines there were, so he could not blame them for his own faults. When in doubt then we should look to the life of Jesus Christ and His personal example. The Lord did never make any speeches about gender or separate rules for them, but all human beings were the same in His eyes and equally deserving of compassion. If we receive Jesus Christ into our life then we will all be made in His image and be capable of the very same things, regardless of that whether we were once a male or female, a Jew or Gentile, a righteous person or sinner, before the conversion.

In chapter 1 it is written: ‘And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.’ In chapter 2 it is written: ‘I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?’ In chapter 7 it is written: ‘A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth. It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning: but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth... Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof; and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.’

Only God should know everything because only He is powerful enough to do something about it, while we tend to contemplate about matter beyond our control and reach. Knowledge and wisdom does not equal sorrow and grief, but it becomes a burden to the man if he gazes only upon the world alone, without putting it in context with God. The man will otherwise trouble himself too much about the choices of other people, what everyone else are doing in the world, as if that was part of his responsibility. But only the faith in God can put everything to the right perspective, for that God will reward and punish every person according to its choices, whether that person made the world into a better or worse place for everyone else. It should be put all our burdens upon the Lord and allowed Him to take care of all the difficult matters in the world. This world is merely a temporary stage, as to determine which people will inherit the next world or not. So the man does not need to change whole nations and attempt to redeem this world in whole, but it is only sufficient that the man can do the right thing in his own life, as an individual, and help other people as individuals. It is claimed that laughter is mad, and that sorrow is better than laughter. The man does tend to laugh at foolishness and he mock that which he does not understand, especially when it is exploited the weakness of other people or a wrong impression of their real motives, so it is like the man only ends up attacking his own understanding. And the man does laugh through a lack of self-control, because he is already selfish and foolish in his heart, and thereby unable to resist temptations which appeal to it. It can thereby happen that the man is unable to control himself and he laughs, for the joke was originated in the mind of another person while the man’s laughter was originated in his own mind, so the Enemy is tempting the man from both ends. The man can laugh at jokes, but jokes tend to be bound to lies, foolishness, and corruption, when it is jested about indecent things and created needless awareness about evil possibilities, when it is come up with lies that pretend like the reality is different. Where there is sorrow there is also love for the person we are lamenting for, repentance for having sinned against God and innocent persons, and indignation over the corruption in the world. This mean that we do still care about God and other people, rather than by being indifferent toward everyone and only care about one’s own life. We can thereby be sorrowful in our countenance, and yet our heart is somehow lightened of its burdens, so we can begin to be glad underneath and hopeful. The day of death is better than the day of our birth, because our soul had once left God and been sent to this evil world, but we are now leaving this evil world and going back to God. It is better to be in the good hands of God than to live in a world hostile to Him, since that God only wishes us the best while the world seeks to corrupt us. It is better to die like a just man than to live like an unjust man. For that we will no longer need to stay in this world and prove our loyalty to God, but we can instead live in the world to come, where everyone will be virtuous and living in the best possible way. It is not like we should love this world for being evil and promoting so much suffering, but it makes more sense to wait until Jesus Christ has returned to us, since that He is our only rightful king and only He can make this world into a perfect place. In the meantime then we should mourn in spirit, by being willing to forsake everything and become dead to this world, since we do not approve of the world’s rebellion against God, and we refuse to participate in anything not consistent with His divine law.

In chapter 11 it is written: ‘But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity. Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk the in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.’ In the Book of Proverbs it is written: ‘Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness… A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken… All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of merry heart hath a continual feast…A merry heart doeth good like medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones… The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?’

It had already been said elsewhere that sorrow is better than laughter, but it does not mean that we should be sorrowful in general, since the joy of the Lord is meant to be our strength. It should be removed sorrow from our heart, and put away evil from our flesh, because we should be glad while we are doing the will of God and loving one another. The selfish man might laugh with his mouth but he is still the same sorrowful and heavy in his heart. That is the consequence of his selfish path and it cannot be fixed on the surface, even that the man can pretend to be glad and seek for jokes to laugh at. Depression is one of many problems that do follow a selfish mindset, or rather when the man does not have God in his life, since he is not living for a cause greater than his own life. So the man presumes that other people are supposed to make him happy, or that he is first supposed to own or accomplish something before he can finally become happy. But the man will resume his depression in either case, before or after such things have happened, since only God can make him happy and He can be approached by faith alone. The faithful man might not laugh out loud, or he only seems to smile briefly, but he is still the same glad underneath, lively, hopeful, light-hearted, contented, and at peace. The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. For the man whom is pure of heart there is a continual feast in his heart, and every day is like Sabbath. So that man is ever cheerful and at peace for its own sake, whether he is alone working at something or within the presence of other people, since it is entirely originated from within him. When reading the four Gospels then it can be observed that Jesus Christ never laughed, and He never came up with jokes, as if to indicate that it did not belong to the will of God. But Jesus Christ still stated that blessed are they that weep now: for they shall laugh. And Paul the Apostle does speak against jests in the epistle to Ephesians, for not being convenient, but he encourages us rather to offer thanksgiving to God. Laughter does not equal gladness, but gladness can exist without laughter, so that we can become glad in our heart without relying upon any jokes at all. It is condemned jests for originating from the Enemy, and for belonging to the world. But it does still not mean that laugher is deemed to be bad, or that it is always wrong. Jesus Christ did not laugh while He lived in this world, and He will probably not laugh until He has returned and taken us away to His Kingdom, or made a new world for us. It is because this world is hostile to God and it seeks to persecute His children, so that many innocent people are suffering and many have still not been redeemed by God. Jesus Christ is our only rightful king, and He will not rest until He has saved us all. In the Gospel of Matthew it is written: ‘But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.’ So the Lord will neither laugh nor have a feast, during all this time in between, until all the children of God will be gathered and can thereby rejoice together. Jesus Christ does take upon Himself the burdens of everyone and He does everything for our sake, but the Lord does still encourage us to be ever cheerful and carefree, since it is only sufficient for us to believe in the Son of God and love one another.

In chapter 4 it is written: ‘Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished. For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he that is born is his kingdom becometh poor.’ In chapter 10 it is written: ‘If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then he must put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct.’ In chapter 9 it is written: ‘Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.’ It is written: ‘I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.’

A foolish king will begin at the top, by having full manpower and resources at his disposal, and yet he will make bad use of every opportunity and squander everything away. A poor and wise child does on the contrary begin at the bottom, having nothing in its hands, and yet the child will be make good use of every opportunity and build on the success. So the foolish king will begin at the top and quickly end at the bottom, while the wise child will begin at the bottom and quickly end at the top. If the head is foolish then the proposed undertaking will be foolish as well, where it done the wrong thing, at a wrong time, at a wrong place, against a wrong enemy, for the sake of wrong goal, so it can benefit an unworthy leader and encourage further errors. The foolish king did nothing to make the kingdom prosperous, but merely inherited it in such state, which his predecessor had worked so hard for. It should be separated all the external things from the person, and noticed the person alone by itself, whether the person is wise and worthy enough to contribute progress. It must be accomplished through fair and honest means, upon equal terms, as what applies to everyone else. But the foolish king should not be allowed to cheat his way through everything, by relying upon irrelevant issues to make up for lack of morality and reason, as when it is used brute force to threaten everyone to comply. Everyone might seem to envy the foolish king while he is rich and powerful, but they fail to realize that his foolishness will only make things worse and destroy the kingdom from within. The world could never work out if everyone were foolish like the king, but the people became deceived by the splendour which accompanied kingship, as if the title could self-justify any foolishness on the king’s behalf and be tolerated by everyone.

Wisdom is always superior to human strength, where one wise head can accomplish more than hundred hands, as what applies to scientific knowledge and technology. As an undertaking makes less sense then it does require more manual labour, like when people would carry or roll rocks rather than by making use of inventions. And if the undertaking fails then it will require additional effort to undo the harm, to put everything back into its proper place, or to make way for another undertaking. An army would become victorious through superior strategy, tactics, organization, and equipment, or namely by being at the right place at the right time. This is why it spoken about a time and chance, when an army would find itself at an advantage or disadvantage according to the ground, height, weather, time of the day, line of sight and available food in the area, and other factors that can happen unexpectedly, were not predicted, or can function outside human plans. But mere numbers and physical power would otherwise be completely useless without wisdom, as if a strong man would fight with a little stick and expose his bare back to enemies, or if countless men would be stuck in a mud and outreached by the enemy’s weapons. Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner can destroy much good. An army would have been able to obtain victory on the battlefield, if it had not been for the foolish decisions of someone, which refused to maintain discipline and obey the given orders. A good example would have been an impulsive and reckless officer, whom was only concerned about getting personal glory or spoils on the battlefield. That man would be a commander of troops, one group of many, but he would abandon his post and become lured into a trap, or fail to support other friendly troops in time.

In chapter 7 it is written: ‘Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? For thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this… Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself? Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time? It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all.’ In chapter 10 it is written: ‘Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour... A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left.’

The man might presume that everything was better in the past, but he fails to realize that he thought the very same thing in the past, when the past had once been the present time. So the man can presume that everything was better in the past, but in the future he will presume the same thing all over again, even that he had been discontented in the past as well. The past does seem to become better as the man does remember the less about it, as the distance does grow between present and past, so the man does tend to take one passing moment out of context with everything else. It was not these or those days that were supposed to be better or worse than others. But it was rather depended upon that what kind of person the man was at that time, so that his current attitude and understanding affected his personal experience of everything. The present time might seem grievous to those that are selfish and foolish, and they will later remember it in such way, even that they are now virtuous and wise. The past was not really bad because of the environment and other people, but the man does rather remember his corrupt mindset, which seemed to ruin every opportunity, induce the man to make fool out of himself, and get people up against him. Therefore is the man not really angry at other people, but he is rather angry at himself, for having acted in a foolish way and created needless problems out from nothing. The man should not become overly righteous and wise, as if it was a bad thing. It does probably refer to that when the man is too strict and harsh toward other people, where he comes up with too high standard for everyone and expects everyone to be perfect, but when nobody is able to do so then he is quick to give up on them. And the man can also be quick to correct other people and meddle with their opinions, how they are ‘rather’ supposed to think and behave, as if the man was trying to force his opinions upon them. That kind of attitude would alienate the man from other people, for that nobody would tolerate the man for never tolerating anyone else, so the man would find himself all alone and need to do everything by himself. The question is not whether the man is right or not with his opinions, but in what way he should approach the matter, by saying the right thing in a right way. It is not enough to be correct, for that justice must be accompanied by empathy and tolerance, when it comes to respect the decisions of other people and overlook minor faults in their bearings, since the person is more important than the wrong opinions that can come from it. A little folly is like a stink to him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour. If the man does break one commandment then he is guilty of breaking the spirit behind them all. For that all transgressions involve the same kind of attitude and weaknesses, in contrast with the right attitude and virtues which the law does encourage. A little folly can work against everything which the man has stood for, lived and fought for, as if he had proven himself weak and foolish like those he had been surpassing up to this point, so he is no longer in position to lead by example and teach others. A wise man’s heart is at his right hand, because that tends to be the dominant hand, which the man is best in using. So the wise man does keep to the knowledge which he knows for certainty, and skills which he is good at. But the fool tends to meddle with matters that are beyond his knowledge and personal experience, and he tries to become successful in that which he lacks skill in. The wise man does things according to his own premises, while the fool does things according to premises of other people, deemed to be superficial and vain, since the fool is afraid of giving wrong impression and pretends to be something else.

In chapter 5 it is written: ‘Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words… When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath not pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands? For in multitude of dreams and many words there are also diver vanities: but fear thou God.’ In chapter 8 it is written: ‘I counsel thee to keep the king’s commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God. Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him. Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What does thou?’ In chapter 10 it is written: ‘If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offences.’

It is more important to heed the truth and do a good deed, than to come up with excuses for lies and seek to make up for an evil deed. For that if everyone heeded the truth then nobody would ever lie, and if everyone did good deeds then nobody would ever do evil deeds. For that to do the right thing is meant to prevent all the wrong things, replace them and nullify previous effects. And we should not be self-absorbed with our desires and thoughts, as if we were only listening to ourselves speak and taking no notice of the other person that is speaking. It is exactly the same thing with our relationship with God, for it is better to remain silent from within and be ever ready to listen to His voice, when it does finally happen, rather than by coming up with endless promises and excuses for our past faults. It can thereby be said that we should cease to defend, overly explain, and self-justify ourselves, but we should only focused upon that in doing the right thing from now on, to make the best of our situation and improve our lot, and no longer dwell upon the past. It should only be spoken as much to God as what we mean in our heart and are willing to do, rather than by pretending to be perfect and only say that what we think God wants to hear. It is not about trying to guess the right answer, but rather to speak according to our personal conviction, what we understand and feel in our heart at that moment. Most people would tend to implicate vows to sworn oaths and promises, about matters that are supposed to be important to the man or important to the worship of God. But a vow can just as well apply to consistency between that which we feel and that which we speak, and that which we speak and that which we practice. It is not enough to come up with beautiful speech, but we must also be capable of doing good things. So we should only speak of something if we are in position to make such choices, if it can be done today, soon enough without further delays, or not too late. Our speech should emphasis more upon quality than quantity, where sincerity and honesty is better than countless sacrifices, and few words in truth are better than countless flatteries. It is all about approaching God with our whole heart, through pure love and pure motives, so that we are actually concerned for God and what He has to say to us.

If the spirit of the ruler rises up against us then we should not leave our place. If we were truly guilty of corruption or conspiracy then we would also act in such way, by being only concerned about saving our life and trying to escape from the higher authority. However if we were truly innocent then we would act accordingly, by staying firm at our personal conviction, approach the ruler with humility and speak the truth. This would confirm that we do actually care for our ruler and wish him all the best, so we only seek to be of service to him and we do not consider our life to be that important. A similar thing applies with our relationship with God, where we should be ever ready to approach God in our current state and confess the truth about us, as when a child does trust its parents and does not attempt to hide anything from them. The matter is not really about that whether we are guilty of fault or not, but rather in what way we will respond to our fault, whether we will confirm it or seek to deny it. A child should be commended for turning to its parents and confessing its faults, since the child did at least attempt to make things right, from now on. It would otherwise be much more blameworthy if the child did not trust its parents and would resort to lies, since that kind of attitude will encourage further rebellion and make things worse. The Lord is our king and He can do whatever He wishes with our life, whether we like it or not, since that we are nothing and in no position to dictate any terms.

In chapter 1 it is written: ‘That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.’ In chapter 7 it is written: ‘Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?’ In chapter 11 it is written: ‘As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.’ In chapter 10 it is written: ‘Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bed-chamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter. In chapter 12 it is written: ‘Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’

If something is deemed to be wrong in its basis then it cannot be made right, since the same wrong approach and means will continue to lead to the same wrong outcome, no matter how often it is repeated. It does not matter whether we can change our expectations, hoping that something good will come of our evil choice, since it does not change the nature of the act. The Enemy is wicked and he cannot become good, even as how the mind is evil in its nature and cannot be made good, so we cannot transform evil thoughts into good ones. The truth will continue to be the truth, and the goodness will continue to be the goodness, regardless of that whether the human people acknowledge that fact or not. The man will become better and obtain success for as long time as he will obey the will of God, but the man will become worse and fail for as long time as he will disobey His will. The Lord will continue to be as equally right about everyone and everything, and we can only do the will of God through the presence of the Holy Spirit. We do both need to confess the truth in the Lord, and make use of the rightful means He offers to us, so that everything can be put into right context, what is wanted and what is doable. We would otherwise fail in our undertakings, if we relied upon someone else than the Lord and resorted to different means in order to do good things in the world. The man does not know the works of God who makes all, how God makes things come to pass. It is true that the man can witness a miracle or sign from God, when something happens in the environment or to other people, to be seen and heard by him. But the man does still not have a clue ‘how’ God managed to accomplish such things, what kind of divine powers were used or what the Holy Spirit did behind the scene. So that man can witness a miracle ‘after’ God had done something to promote it, as if the man only saw the consequence but not the prelude or the means to that end. A man of God can heal the sick, drive out evil spirits, and even resurrect the dead, but he did merely ask the Holy Spirit to do so, while the Holy Spirit did all the work. This is why a man of God can know little about the divine powers of God, as when a man does push a button in regard to computer or electronic device, but he does not understand the technology behind it (the hardware and how it should be put together, or the inner function of the operating system and the software’s). It should not be cursed the Lord, not even in our thoughts, since nothing can be concealed from Him. That to think about abandoning our post or switching sides is a treason in itself, since that no loyal follower would have considered it in the first place. A similar thing applies when we think something evil against God, when we are angry or discontented over something, wish to complain and hurl insults at God, or when we are beginning to consider forsaking His ways and become one with the world. It can of course happen that we experience evil thoughts and are tempted by devils, so we should not be too hard on ourselves and blame ourselves for everything. And we are the children of God, allowed to be of free spirit and outspoken, so we do not need to pretend to be perfect slaves or never dare to reveal our true stance. It can rather be condemned the will to sin, when we really want to do evil in our heart and want to harm our fellow man, when we want to hate God and rebel against Him. It should never be contemplated about wickedness, never be dwelt upon it further, never reminded ourselves about it, and never be implicated the wickedness to anyone or anything. It should be treated corruption like we had never heard it nor seen it, in regard to our heart and mind, what kind of choices we need to make in our own life.

The Song of Solomon describes the mutual affection between two lovers, which is meant to signify the marriage between Jesus Christ and the church, the community of the true believers. Only the pure of heart will be able to see the Heavenly Father, and live with Him and the Son in the heavenly Jerusalem, when everything will be created anew. The pure of heart are like virgins, which have not been with any heathen men or women, since they are committed to the Lord alone. The heathens could signify selfish desires and thoughts, never to be given room in our heart, since it digresses from God’s goodness. This is why the king sees not spot in his spouse, since she is truly pure and beautiful from within. That to be loved by the Lord is better than wine and the only true happiness, since we only feel gladness and peace in our heart, which overflows all other activity. The joy of the Lord can correspond to mild intoxication by wine, by having a light mood and amiable manners, except we never loose our sobriety and self-control. So we can experience all the good effects and none of the bad ones, including withdrawal symptoms. The pure of heart have dove’s eyes, signifying their single-minded love and devotion for the Lord. So the pure of heart are willing to follow the Lord to any spiritual place, where every difficult choice will be transformed to victory and further progress. A good odour does emit from the pure of heart, because they are truly noble and altruistic, so that good intentions and good deeds of saints are like frankincense to God. The true believer does love God with his whole heart and truly cherishes His presence, while the false believers only pretend to be friends to God through selfish reasons. So the love of the spouse is like lily among thorns, and envied by other women. The love should not be stirred up, nor awaken, till the Lord please. This means that we should pray to the Lord and praise Him if we feel like it in our heart, after we have done or experienced something which arouses gladness and gratitude in our heart. This has nothing to do about routine or obligations, as if we forcing upon ourselves to pray to the Lord more often than we truly want, or that we were praising the Lord even that we experience no need to do so. It can thereby happen that our body is present during the prayer, while our heart and mind is distant, and not really devoted. This is why quality should be preferred over quantity, where a genuine and sincere love is superior to great offerings which lack that kind of motivation, so that our expression should always be consistent with our heart and never exceed it. The words of God are like milk and honey to the true believer, where the spirit of the words give him taste for the goodness of God, until he will come to cherish everything about it. The true believer should always open his heart to the Lord, every time He knocks upon it. There are many queens, concubines, and virgins, countless believers which will inherit the heaven or the earth. However they were still found lacking in something, so their love toward God was right but not perfect in His sight. All the beautiful things are combined in the pure of heart, like the brightness from the sun, the moon, and the morning star. It can correspond to the messages described in the Book of Revelation, regarding the seven angels of the seven churches. For the pure of heart have fulfilled all the conditions and become victorious in every aspect of the faith, so that all the divine blessings will be made one in the heavenly Jerusalem. It cannot be purchased or destroyed a true love, even as how nothing is able to separate us from the love of Jesus Christ, as what is written in the epistle to the Romans. Paradise is like the innocence of the youth, when everything seemed to be so rosary, as if was only enough to love and be loved, and the rest would take care of itself.