Plagued by Questions! (Not really, but I liked the play on words :-)

What a great Sunday this past week! If you missed the “boxed” announcements by Cody Van Scyoc, then you missed a “never seen before at Cornerstone” moment! Be sure to check the web site for the specifics of Operation Christmas Child! (And then be sure to ask someone who was here about the shoe-box announcements!)

I’ve received a several questions from last Sunday’s message (titled: "I Lived a REAL Horror Story!") that I have answered personally and wanted to pass on for all who may have similar questions. Feel free to add to the questions or discussion below. Thanks to those who asked these because in the words of your first grade teacher, “there are no bad questions!”

Q1: Was Pharaoh predestined to be a unbeliever? "But I have raised you up for this very purpose,..." did he stand much of a chance, if demonstrating this lesson was God's purpose for his existence?

A1: This issue is directly related to the issue in Dave’s message from a week ago: Who hardened Pharaoh’s heart? God?(As is indicated 10 times in early Exodus) or Pharaoh himself (as is indicated 9 times in early Exodus). The answer we are left with is “yes”. God hardened it and Pharaoh hardened his own heart and how those two co-exist is one of the mysteries that is unrevealed to us for now.

And so, your question is very similar in that it asks “who’s responsible” for Pharaoh’s unbelief?

I like this description from Michael Patton:

“That the Bible teaches the doctrine of election/predestination (henceforth, election) is not at issue for the Christian. All Christians believe in election. After all, it is in the Bible! The question is not, Does the Bible teach election? but, What does election mean?

There are two primary positions with regard to the doctrine of election:

Conditional Election: God’s election is based on the foreseen faith of the individual. God “elects” people because they first choose him. (There are other variations, but the essence is the same.)

Unconditional Election: God’s election is not based on anything in the individual, but on God’s mysterious sovereign choice. This choice is not without reason but is unconditioned with regard to any foreseen goodness in the elect.”

For centuries, Christians have taken one side or the other on this question. As Dave pointed out last week, there are problems with both views if either is taken in the extreme.

A problem believing only in conditional election is that it seems to leave God out of the equation. According the strict adherents of this view, He simply set up the terms of the deal and individuals either accept it or not and that choice is totally up to us and every person ever created has the exact same ability and choice. People were all created with the same opportunity to believe, the difference being what each one does with that opportunity. With only this perspective, we can end up on one end of the spectrum which is “open theism”, the idea that the future is totally dependent, and only dependent, on mankind’s choices. In this extreme, we are either the all-stars and think way too much of ourselves and our choices, or we are totally depressed because we can’t do anything good enough to change ourselves or the world!

The problem with unconditional election is that is seems to leave any individual choice out of the equation. According to this view taken in its extreme everything about the world and the individuals who inhabit it has been predetermined before the world began. Therefore everyone who believes does so not because they made any choice to believe, but only and solely because God chose them. Conversely, those who don’t believe (i.e. Pharaoh) were never given any opportunity to believe, never had and never will have any ability to believe. People were created to believe and be saved or they were created to not believe and be condemned, neither of which has anything to do with their own choice. This can lead to “fatalism” which means the belief that nothing any of us does matters at all because God has predetermined it all and He’s responsible, not us. Those on this extreme can get apathetic about everything and just say “It doesn't matter what I think or do because God's will is being played out and I have no choice or influence on anything”, or very prideful because they have been chosen (and therefore must be more loved by God) and others weren’t.

In scripture, both views are articulated. As humans, we tend to want to do away with this kind of tension and once-and-for-all prove one view or the other totally right and the other totally wrong. Is it possible for any of us to actually hold these two views in exact balanced tension (50% -50%)? Probably not or at least very few of us so most people who study God’s word seeking truth will tend to lean at least a little toward one view or the other (and for some, which way they lean may depend on the last verse they just read!).

So here’s a difficult answer (but the only one I have for you): Yes, he was predestined to be an unbeliever AND, yes, he was given a real and true opportunity (free will choice) to obey, repent, believe, and be saved… just like you and I.

Great question!

Q2: Here's a question born from Sunday's message from Exodus 9:6 from "The Plague on Livestock":

⁶ And the next day the LORD did it: All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died. and 9:9-10 from "The Plague of Boils": ⁹ It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, and festering boils will break out on men and animals throughout the land." ¹⁰ So they took soot from a furnace and stood before Pharaoh. Moses tossed it into the air, and festering boils broke out on men and animals.

and 9:20-21, 25-26 from "The Plague of Hail":²⁰ Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the LORD hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside. ²¹ But those who ignored the word of the LORD left their slaves and livestock in the field. ²⁵ Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields—both men and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree. ²⁶ The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were.

If "All the livestock of the Egyptians died", in the "Plague of the Livestock", then how is it that more animals died in the next two plagues? The notes in the NIV Application Bible asks the same question of verses 20, 21 and proposes an answer "If all the Egyptian livestock were killed in the earlier plague, how could the slaves of Pharaoh put their cattle inside? The answer is probably that the earlier plague killed all the animals in the fields, but not those in the shelters."

But this doesn't seem to be consistent with the word "All" in verse 6. I wondered if maybe the Egyptians confiscated at least some, maybe most, but probably not all of the Israelites livestock after "The Plague on Livestock" and before "The Plague of Boils"?

A2: I have come across 3 possible answers to what seems like a contradiction in terms related to livestock left alive after Exodus 9:6. (Yours, that they may have confiscated some from the Israelites is now 4!) They are:

Time – The plagues probably took at least 9 months from the first to the last, plenty of time for a wealthy country to replenish their livestock (only to have the Lord decimate them once again in another plague.)

2. The Hebrew word kol (“all”) shouldn’t be taken to mean every single one, but rather as a from of “all over the place” or “all sorts of”. (See commentary notes below). So the livestock not in stables at the time died, those stabled for weather or other reasons were unaffected.

3. "Livestock” is different and less broad than the later referenced “beasts”. (See commentary quote below.)

I really appreciate the detailed reading of the text from last Sunday! What a great example to us all to meticulously comb through God’s word for all that He would teach us through it!!

Barry

Notes from selected commentaries on question Q2:

“This apparent contradiction is not due to inconsistency among the plague accounts, multiple contradictory sources for them, or any similar cause. It is due simply to the fact that the Hebrew word kol, usually translated “all,” can mean “all sorts of”⁸⁸ or “from all over” or “all over the place.”⁸⁹ In this verse the better translation of the full expression would be “all sorts of Egyptian livestock died” or “Egyptian livestock died all over the place.” - ^[1] Douglas K. Stuart, vol. 2, Exodus, electronic ed., Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2007), 223-24.

“There is no need to press the expression “all the livestock” (v.6) to mean each and every one and then find there are no Egyptian cattle left for the seventh plague (vv.19, 25), for it is already plain in v.3 that the plague affected only those cattle “in the field.” Normally the Egyptian cattle were stabled from May to December inclusive, during the flood and the drying-off periods when the pastures were waterlogged. Thus some of the cattle were already being turned out to pasture down south; so it must have been sometime in the month of January.” - Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., "Exodus" In , in The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Volume 2: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1990), 357.

“The speculation that this sixth mighty act is somehow a variant account of the one preceding it and the question whether there would be any animals left outside Goshen for this infection (cf. Rylaarsdam, “Exodus,” IB 1:903; Hyatt, 115) are likewise beside the point at hand. Even the terminology employed in the two accounts, מקנה “livestock” (9:3–4, 6–7) and בהמה “beast” (vv 9–10) denies a discrepancy; the former refers to domesticated grazing animals of the species listed in 9:3, the latter to beasts of all kinds (BDB, 96–97). But more important still is the cumulative sequence of theological assertion. The point of these narratives, both singly and in compilation, is not animal husbandry and stylistic verisimilitude, but their declaration of the Is-ness of Yahweh.^{” -} John I. Durham, vol. 3, Word Biblical Commentary : Exodus, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2002), 122.

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⁸⁸ That כול/כל can mean “all sorts of” or the like is well known. E.g., it is usually translated either “all sorts of” or “all kinds of” in modern Eng. translations in the following sampling of contexts from early and late biblical Hebrew: Gen 4:22; 24:10; 40:17; Exod 35:22; Lev 19:23; Deut 6:11; 2 Kgs 8:9; 1 Chr 18:10; 22:15; 29:2; 2 Chr 2:14; 32:27–28; Neh 9:25; 13:15; 13:20; Ps 45:13; Prov 1:13; Eccl 2:5; Ezek 8:10; 27:22; 39:20; 47:12. The semantic range of nt Gk. πας is similar: more often than not it means “all,” but in a wide variety of contexts it means “all sorts of” or “all kinds of,” one of the most important being in 1 Tim 6:10, which does not say that the love of money is the root of all evil but the root of all sorts of evil. Plenty of evil has nothing to do with the love of money; but there are few evils that people will not resort to if the money for doing them is great enough.

⁸⁹ So commonly in the Hb. expression “all Israel,” which in many contexts refers only to representatives (e.g., 1 Sam 12:1; 1 Kgs 18:19; 1 Chr 11:1; 15:3) or soldiers (Josh 8:24) or leaders from all segments of the nation (2 Chr 1:2) or the like, not literally to “every single Israelite.”

IB The Interpreter’s Bible, ed. G. A. Buttrick (12 vols.; Nashville: Abingdon, 1951-57)

BDB F. Brown, S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs (eds.), Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (Oxford/New York: Clarendon/OUP, 1907; reprints with corrections, 1955; corrected ed., 1962)

John 3:16 CBF Stories

As you probably know, we started a teaching series on John 3:16 the week before Easter. We taught on this theme on Good Friday and on Easter Sunday and it continues for another 3 weeks.

What you may not know is how God is using this "gospel in miniature" to encourage, convict, and spread the good news!!

Check out these stories that have been shared with the staff and elders recently:

From a CBF wife: "My husband walks at lunch downtown and often goes by the River Market. A couple of people approached him and asked if he would mind answering some questions. They began by asking if faith and politics would affect how he would vote in this year’s election. He said it would. After discussing moral issues, faith and other things they asked him so what does it mean to you to be a Christian. He said that immediately the John 3:16 exercise we did in church came to his mind and so he shared with them his version of the passage. Short and concise. He was able to share the gospel. He didn’t realize that he was being filmed until the conversation was almost over and he later learned they were students working on an assignment." -- WOW! The gospel was shared not only with these two, but with however many others will see the video!

From an AWANA leader: "I wanted to give you (an AWANA leader) kudos for you idea to challenge the AWANA kids to pass out the John 3:16 fliers!! Sometimes I put my fear of rejection onto the kids and don't think to challenge them with outreach projects. But, through this challenge these kids have reminded me once again that children do not have the same perspective as we adults. They don't care about someone saying, "No thanks.". They don't care if someone who isn't a Christian comes to church and is uncomfortable with the Truth. Children do it because they love God, and they want to share Him with the World. Both my boys accepted your challenge. They were chattering the entire way home from AWANA about who in school they were going to hand out their fliers to... They came home from school the next day and gave me a report of who they asked and what happened. I gave them praise and told them I was proud of their willingness to tell others.Well, Sunday while I was picking one of my son's up from the Kid's Corner a lady came up to me and introduced herself. She said ... her son received a 3:16 flyer from my son and actually gave it to his mom and they came on Sunday. She so enjoyed the service and I let her know what service we attended so our boys could be in class together. I told her I would look for her next week.I was so amazed at God's hand in your challenge to the kids! I honestly didn't think any info would get to the parents, only because I know how my kids are with school papers. I am so anxious to come to AWANA next week to hear all of the other success stories."

From a New Believer who has been studying the Gospel of John with a CBF Member: "... Each Sunday we would meet at her house and she would explain the sermons to me, following the notes taken during the message. As time passed, I began to understand a little more about what the Bible was saying... On Good Friday when I was picked up to go to the service, she explained to me the meaning of faith. She said to receive the gift God was promising, we must receive His gift. She picked up her water bottle and handed it to me. She said if I took it, I had received the gift; if I refused it, she would put it back in the holder. She explained that my receiving the gift was my believing what Christ was offering. I told her I understood. That night at the service, I heard the music and saw the crucifixion on the screen and I began to cry. She put her arm around me and asked me if I was ready to receive the gift? I shook my head 'yes.' When we left that night I said, "I want to say something. I have always known that you loved me. Now, I know God loves me and has forgiven me." I now believe I am a Christian because I received His gift of salvation. I understand he died for me."

From a couple of first time visitors from Easter Sunday:

"I have been searching, for quite some time now, to find a church that felt good both spiritually and socially. I was so moved by your service that I got 'goose bumps' several times! The music was familiar, but with a good modern touch. I will be coming back this Sunday & will be bringing my mother this time. I can't wait to hear what the message will be!!"

"We are going to commit to the 4 more weeks that you asked for on Easter Sunday. My wife and I have been searching for a church, and really enjoyed Cornerstone... Thank you so much for your service; I was truly moved."

One small verse...one big God!!

(Have your own John 3:16 Series story? We'd love to hear it!!)

P.S. Maybe you've seen the 3:16 book by Max Lucado at your local Christian book store. Our gratitude goes out to his publisher for letting our church use his artwork and publicity ideas for our series on this passage.