The Miracles of the Lord through Elijah

The Miracles of the Lord through Elijah

In 1 Kings 17 -2 Kings 1 we see many miracles performed by the Lord though Elijah. We are used to the word miracles always meaning happy occurrences, resurrections, the feeding of the 5000, healing and so forth. A close examination of Elijah shows that the miracles are not always happy. 

:

• 1 Kings 17:1 : there will not be dew or rain but according to my word, this was the start of a over 3 year drought
• 1 Kings 17:2–6 : the ravens feed Elijah bread and flesh morning and evening
• 1 Kings 17:8–16 : the widow woman feed Elijah the last of her oil and meal, her oil and meal never run out until the end of the drought
• 1 Kings 17:17–22: Elijah brought the son of the widow back to life
• 1 Kings 18: 31–38 The fire of the Lord consumed a burnt offering that had been soaked in water, and consumed all the water that had soaked it as well. 16 barrels of water
• 1 Kings 21:17–19; 22:34–38 :Elijah was given knowledge of events both past and future  which he did not see and could not know, the death of a man –and they are fullfilled
• 2 Kings 1:9–14 : Elijah destroys 2 regiments of 50 men and their Captains, saves the regiment of the Captain that bows before God

(b) Write a paragraph that gives examples from what you read of how the sealing keys can both bless and curse.

The Prophet Elijah held the keys and his obedience to the Lord allowed him to work miracles. This was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing Elijah was able to save the lives of the widow, her son and those she was able to help. A curse in that many of the miracles that Elijah wrought were responsible for the deaths of many people and brought loneliness to Elijah himself. The life of this Prophet was often a lonely existence filled with the memories of death and people who hated him. Elijah was faithful and as a reward was eventually translated directly to Heaven.

Elijah and Solomon

Elijah and Solomon

In 1 Kings this week two separate characters keep coming to mind to ponder.

Elijah who was angry at the Children of Israel for not keeping their covenants- again. For destroying the alters and killing the prophets. That was the order he listed them in. Elijah who fled into the wilderness and was fed by angels and when God asked Elijah, what are you doing?  Answered upfront and honest. Lord I am mad for you. A righteous anger. Elijah was then taught about the Holy Spirit and how to find it and guess what? He was still mad, but he still obeyed and returned.

When we have truly righteous anger, not petty anger, not selfish anger the Lord does not chastise us for that, but neither does he excuse us from our duties.

Solomon has quite a duty to perform as well, as King over the Israel he had to rule and in addition was in charge of building the temple. It took Solomon 7 years to build the Temple and it was beautiful. Yet he spent 13 years building his “house” that can only be described as a mansion. While building this mansion did not stop his work on the temple the elaborate mansion that took nearly twice as long to complete as the temple and was larger than the temple makes you wonder what was going through Soloman’s mind.

When we look back at our life we can often see the roots of our decisions both good and bad crystalized as moments of time. By listening to the Holy Ghost we can recognize those times and make the better or best decisions and not regret later.

What doest thou here, Elijah?

Answering the Lord and Finding the Spirit

In 1 Kings Chapter 19 Jezebel finds out about Elijah facing down the prophets of Baal and killing them. Her response to the deaths of the false prophets is that she wants Elijah to be killed also.

When Elijah hears of this, he disappears into the wilderness, first stopping to sleep under a juniper tree a day’s journey in (v 4) and asked the Lord to die.  His request was not granted and an angel appeared to him and brought him food and water. After eating, he slept again. The angel returned with more food and bid him to eat warning him that the journey would be too great for him. The food the angel feed him sustained him for a 40 day and night journey to Horeb where he stayed in a cave and the Lord found him and asked him a question “What doest thou here, Elijah?”

The modern interpretation of this would be “What are you doing here Elijah?”

Elijah doesn’t get sulky or petulant. He is very self-aware

v 10 “And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”

It is worth noting that jealous in this case means resentful or angry.  

Elijah who is the prophet who is to be speaking with the Children of Israel is angry with them for forsaking the covenants, destroying the alters, slaying the prophets until he is the only one left. I personally, don’t blame him a bit. I faced similar feelings just reading about it last semester over 3000 years later. The Lord tells Elijah to go stand on the mountain and sends the wind and earthquake against the mountain and then a fire. He shows Elijah how to find Him. That He is not in the wind, the earthquake or fire, He show Elijah the Holy Spirit –the still small voice.  What an amazing gift. And the Lord asks him again what he is doing here- it is remarkable the answer does not change. He is still angry with the Children of Israel, and the Lord sends Him back with instructions.

There are some great lessons in this interaction between Elijah and the Lord. Elijah fled in part because his life was in danger but mostly because he was angry. The people he was trying to teach who were supposed to be following the covenants were forsaking their oaths, destroying the alters and killing the prophets. When asked by the Lord he owned up to his anger and was rewarded with a great gift, learning of the Holy Spirit.

Many people today mistake the Spirit, and 1 Kings 19:11-12 show us without a doubt that the Holy Spirit is not in the wind, it is not in any natural disaster that befalls the earth be it fire, flood, or earthquake. The Holy Spirit is a still small voice. D&C 8:2-3 explains further that the spirit of revelation is the Holy Spirit, which will come upon you and dwell in your heart. The Spirit is in your heart. Some people feel it as a burning in the heart (Luke 24:31-32) others may feel it as a prickling (Acts 2:37) I personally have also felt goosebumps when in the presence of truth.  The Holy Spirit communicates with you, but you have to listen but without a doubt, He is within you not in the wind and fire.

King David and the Lessons of Atonement

King David and the Lessons of Atonement

King David lived a righteous life for most of his life, however only one man lived a perfect life and that man was a decedent of David, not David himself. David had been home from the wars for over a year and one day while on the roof of his house sees a beautiful woman bathing in her own house. Asking after her he finds out that she is the wife of one of his soldiers. David has her brought to him and "lays with her".  There is no record of her attempting to refuse him, so we do not know how much responsibility  she bears in this. Bath-sheba becomes pregnant and David sends for her husband Uriah who after reporting to David won't even go home because the others are still in the field. David sends him back to battle and orders him sent to the fiercest fighting that he should be killed in battle, and he is. After the period of mourning he takes Bath-sheba as his wife. It is after this that the prophet Nathan comes to David, and brings him to his senses with the story of the rich man and the poor man.

When Nathan brought David to his senses, David confessed his wrong doings and admitted his sin, Nathan told him that the consequence would be the death of the child conceived in sin,  he prayed and fasted for 7 days that the child would be saved. After the death of the child he rose and bathed and comforted Bath-sheba and ate. The sin is past, no matter how it came to be he and Bath-sheba are married now and the sin is forgiven.
David followed a path that is no different than what we do in atonement today. 1) Have a godly sorrow for the sin - David was angry at the injustice and wanted the man punished
2) Abandon the sin completely - make restitution as far as possible - The Lord decreed the death of the child conceived before David and Bath-sheba were married would be the restitution. David pleaded for the child's life for 7 days but that was the restitution. A man's life cannot be restored.
3) Confess to the proper authority. - King David was the highest authority, the Lord already knew as did Nathan the prophet.
David spent 7 days in prayer and fasting becoming right with God and attempting to save the life of his child. When the Lord took the child he went to his wife and comforted her and they went on with life. The final step, when forgiveness is granted you go forward and do your best to stay on the correct path. David was given his son Solomon. 

Dance Before the Lord

Continuing Contemplation on King David

This week in my communication class we set aside our text book and concentrated on the topic of Spiritual Communication. As children of our Heavenly Father we have a relationship with Him and any relationship must be maintained with communication. Prayer is how we speak to our Father, the Scriptures are a written record of His word and the Spirit, the Priesthood and the Prophets are lines of communication that He has established back to us. 

King David, from what I understand, lived in a time of oral teaching. The commandments written in stone, carried in the Ark were the only writings of Gods word the rest were taught and prayer and prophets who carried His word were vitally important. The Holy Spirit was still a occasional gift, He was not the Comforter that came to all after Jesus left. David followed the Lord with less tools that we have at our disposal and did so building a nation and waging war to strengthen Israel.  What an immense task, what a strong relationship David had with the Lord. Strong enough that when David asked to build a Temple to honor the Lord and was refused he did not argue, he did not sulk, he praised the Lord for His blessings upon his line and continued.

King David was not perfect but his relationship with the Lord and how he treated Saul and his family are wonderful examples, his relationship with the Lord is even a better one. The Lord was his Master and being in the presence of his Master made him so happy that he danced. Let us all be joyful and dance before the Lord.

King David

King David

What do you think about when you think about Kind David? Goliath? Bathsheba? Those are two things about him for sure. CNN is airing a series of specials called Jesus: Faith, Fact Forgery examining the historical trails of Jesus life and this week they talked about Judas Iscariot, one of they points they brought up was that when you paint a mans life with one or two strokes you are not seeing him as the Savior did. Jesus saw much more in Judas or he would not have been an Apostle. Many of the historians believe he might have been one of the first Apostles chosen and he was the treasurer for the Apostles. 

King David is no different. Yes he slew Goliath, yes there is Bathsheba - that fall is in not in our reading this week.  Lets look at what else King David did.

After the death of Saul, David was anointed King over the house of Judah, Gilead, Ashurites, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin and all Israel, but he wasn't the only king. Saul son  Ishbosheth was also proclaimed king. It was the Game of Thrones. After several years of both of them ruling Ishbosheth was assassinated and David went to great lengths to show he was not involved in an attack on Saul's family. He continued to rule and during his 40 year reign defeated the Philistines, brought the Ark of the Covenant to the City of David, strengthened the boarders of Israel, by bringing Syria, Moab and Euphrates into line, found Jonathon's son Mephibosheth and gave him control over the land that his grandfather Saul had controlled as well as inviting him to always dine from his table. King David spent 40 years securing the peace and safety of Israel by defeating their enemies through war and he did it in an honorable manner following the Lord. Israel under David's rule was at the height of its power and the only thing denied to David was building the Temple.

David asked the Lord if he could build Him a Temple and the Lords answer is that his (Davids) line would be blessed, that they would be remembered, but that David had seen too much war and bloodshed to build the Temple and David accepted the answer and obeyed. Even blessing the Lord for His blessing on his line.

http://godssabbathrest.us/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/KingDavid.jpg

Ruth and Sampson: A Study in Contrasts

Ruth and Sampson: A Study in Contrast

My reflection this week is a study in contrasts. We have Ruth and Naomi who are a study in quiet strength. They did what needed to be done in grace and wisdom. We hear no whispers of complaint or murmuring despite trials, tribulations and hardships. They worked hard and people noticed. Then we have Samson whose birth was heralded by an Angel of the Lord and is blessed by the Lord. Yet he does nothing. He shows off his strength and is tempted and gives in to temptation. He does not increase his learning. He does not use his strength for good purposes, and if I understand the Law of Clean and Unclean properly he caused anyone who ate that honey to be unclean. We know that even prophets are not perfect. The only perfect man to ever live was Jesus. However, the lesson we can learn from Sampson is one of wasted potential. This man appears to have not applied himself to doing much of anything except amusing himself. Be more like Ruth and Naomi, strive and work hard, be less like Sampson.

Naomi and Ruth

Naomi and Ruth

The story of Naomi and Ruth is one we can learn much from.

Naomi was the wife of Elimelch, they lived in the land of Judah and were faced with a famine. Elimelch decided to move his wife and their two sons Mahlon and Chilion to Moab where he thought they would have a better chance to live. In Moab the two boys eventually married and then Elimelech died, and then Mahlon and Chilion died leaving Naomi alone with her two daughter in laws Orpah and Ruth.

Naomi was left with no way to earn money or food, she told the girls to go back to their family, Orpah did. Ruth chose to stay with Naomi.  From Ruth's perspective she is now a widow living with her also widowed mother in law and neither of them have a way to earn a living.

Choosing to stay with Naomi could have been a very hard choice. She was in land with no family and were they didn't know many people. By going home she could have expected an easier life. I think she stayed for two reasons, I think she loved Naomi and I think she had converted to belief in God. 

When Naomi and Ruth arrived back in Judah, in Bethlehem Ruth impressed Boaz with how hard she worked to take care of Naomi. Ruth took care of the house and followed the reapers to gather wheat for food. She didn't beg, she showed character and did not dishonor herself or Naomi.

Ruth is a wonderful example of how to face challenges. The best way to face challenges is with grace, with prayer, without complaining, and working to make your life and the life of those you love better. That may not always be easy. I will not always be fair, but challenges show who you are and what you believe.

I have not been called to make any truly great sacrifices. I have had challenges, I have had to work hard and I have been called to obedience. I gave up coffee without understanding anything truly about the Word of Wisdom other than that is what the Lord and the Prophets said. I gave up tea and that was actually harder than coffee.   I am now trying to learn financial obedience with tithing. I don't compare that act of obedience with challenges anyone else has faced. But I do know that as I have faced my challenges, financial, and work and others that I hope I met them as Ruth did. With grace, and without complaining.

The Walls of Jericho

The Walls of Jericho

I keep thinking about the soldiers who went to take Jericho. We understand that there are certain methods to warfare. In the Promised Land the Lord had added restrictions, the soldiers were not to cut down food bearing trees, they were not to loot and destroy places of residence. It was very civilized warfare. The Lord knew His people would be living here. When they got to Jericho then all normal rules of warfare went even further out the window. This was a siege situation. Did they scale the walls? No. Build a siege engine? No.The Lord told them to march around the city in full uniform with the Ark once a day for 6 days in total silence. Then on the 7th day to march 7 times blow trumpets and shout and the city 'would be theres'. This takes trust and faith because to a soldier this is not a battle plan. To a man of God it is leaving it all in His hands.

I believe this was  huge test for these men. I don't believe those walls were empty. I believe the men of Jericho were looking on and I don't believe they were silent.  I believe they taunted the Children of Israel, I think the admonition to be silent was the truest part of the test.To not respond to the words of your enemy would have been difficult.  

Joshua 6:10 "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 shall ye shout."

They were not just quiet around the walls and blowing off steam in camp. They were silent for 6 entire days. That is a amazing test and one they passed. One the 7th day they marched around the walls 7 times, sounded the trumpets and shouted and the walls came down.

The obedience and faith of these men gained them a city entirely unharmed. The Lord has made promises to us of what obedience and faith can bring us also.

Who Do You Serve?

Who Do You Serve?

We are in the book of Judges and Joshua and I really wanted to analyze leadership choices and fought with that for several days before giving in to the realization that the Lord was not done having me address the issue of Who Do You Serve?

We start out looking at the issue of if the sun "really" stood still in the heavens to provide light while Joshua and his soldiers fought in Joshua 10:12-14.

Some people think that because its not part of science it can't be true. We have made a big deal of how most of the time the Lord follows His own rules of science. He really does - mostly. Not always.

The incident in Joshua is not the first nor the last time that the Lord has interfered with the natural order of things on Earth. He made it rain manna for the Children for 40 years. He brought water from stones, parted the Red Sea, when His son is born a star appears for the Wise Men to follow, when His Son dies there is darkness across the world for 3 days. There is the plague of locusts and turning the Nile to blood. Yes, most of the time He works within His established rules, but sometimes He doesn’t.

Next we look at Joshua's final address to his people before his death.  Now this has been a remarkable campaign in the Holy Land.  A string of successes: the defeat of Ai, building an alter and reading the word of the law to all the people, making the Gibeonites servants, defeating the Amorites, conquering the whole land. 33 Kings were defeated by Israel.  Only one failure, it took two tries to defeat Ai because of Achan.  A remarkable victory.  Yet Joshua knows all to well Israels pattern after victories, to fall away from the Lord. 

The Children of Israel have a history to this point of backsliding. They make promises to the Lord and then forget Him and the promises. At this point now after 40 years with Moses (2 generations) and then years of war taking the promised land Joshua does not want to see them forget again in the promised land and takes heed to warn them. They have a new home, they have a written law, everything is laid out before them and they can prosper here but if they forget the Lord here they will lose everything and he is letting them know it is up to them.

Many of the times we are no differnet if often exactly backward from the Children in this regard. We turn to the Lord in times of trial, in times of need, and fall away in plenty. If we are to serve the Lord in our whole heart it must be in all times and in all ways. 

Laws, Logic, and Blessings

Laws, Logic, and Blessings

Just as we as parents make rules for our children to teach them and keep them safe, our Heavenly Father does the same for us. The rules that we make for our children are not random or abitrary. They are made out of reason. Some rules are forever because the conditions around them never change other rules evolve as our children grow older and are able to make better decisions. As we are better able to comprehend the world, the laws and as we mature we gain understanding of His ways we also earn the blessings that were promised with the laws. One of the most remarkable promises I have read in the Bible was that if we follow His commandments we shall be known as a wise and compassionate people. What an amazing promise and blessing that is, what parent does not want that for their children? If we don't see the logic behind a command that means we haven't gotten there yet, but line upon line, precept upon precept we can and we will.

The Book of Deuteronomy: Keeping the Commandments & Not Worshiping False Gods

The Lord Expands on the Commandments

The Book of Deuteronomy is the last book in the Old Testament written by Moses and in it the Prophet reviews instructions for the Children of Israel from the Lord. He talks about statutes and judgements and then gives promises if they are kept. He states first and foremost "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish it" the reason for this is simple so that "ye may keep the commandments". How can you keep the commandments if they change? He follows that with "Fear the Lord and keep His Commandments" so that your days may be prolonged. The logic of these two together is inescapable, but He follows with reasons, its not just 'do this because I said so as some would have you think'. By following these statutes and commandments He promises "that you may live, and go in and posses the land which the the Lord God of your fathers giveth you", "by cleaving to the statutes you will be known as a wise and understanding people". So following the commandment helps us not only to retain the promised land, but to be wise and understanding. That is a worthy goal.

One of the goals that we have is to let other people know of the truth, however one thing that happens sometimes is people end up falling in love and marrying people who don't share their beliefs. The Lord warns about this. Marrying outside of the covenant can bring conversion to other gods however as we are either enticed by the faith of our spouse or not given support in our own faith by our spouse. The Lord did more than warn against marriage outside the covenant for the Children of Israel, he prohibited it and gave the reason why at the same time. In Deuteronomy 7: 3-4 “ Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.” When you marry outside your religion it is harder to stay faithful to your beliefs, it is not impossible, but it is harder because depending on your position you have anywhere from less support to outright opposition. What you don’t have is your  partner working with you to help you grow and understand and walk the path, something each and every child of God deserves. We must be joined in a covenant marriage to enter the Celestial Kingdom, a marriage must be bound in the Temple to last for eternity. If Satan can make us forget this then we think that marriage in the Temple and making our marriage work is not important.

When that marriage produces children we have even further responsibilities. "And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up" We have a responsibility to teach our children the word of God. The more we can teach them and not by rote, but teach them to love the Lord and love His word the better we are doing our job.

The Lord knew that to teach children the parents had to love the Word also. Its the same as if you want to raise a child who loves to read - they should see you reading. So what did He tell the Children? "And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates." The Children of Israel ended up taking this command literally creating phylacteries and mezuzah. The phylacteries are tiny pieces of parchment with scripture written on them that are folded and put into leather boxes about 1 ½ inch square that are tied to the head or over the bicep. The mezuzah (Hebrew for doorpost) is similar except the scripture is inserted into a tiny, cylindrical box and attached to the door frame. They came into use when the children of Israel took the word of the Lord literally. Not taken literally you would take the word of the Lord into your mind and into your home, keeping in the front of your mind & keeping your house for the Lord.

After giving instructions to parents  Moses goes on the relay the instructions about worship. Heavenly Father warns in clear and with no uncertain terms that we are not to worship anything or anyone but him. He goes even further to say that if anyone tries to entice us into doing so we are not to take pity on them and “neither shall you spare them” no matter if it be brother, sister, son, daughter or friend. Romans 1:25 elaborates on the foolishness of those who worship the things He created rather than the Creator changing the truth of God into a lie.

By reading His Word for ourselves we find out that the Lord has reasons for His rules - Keep the Commandments and grow wise, study the word and learn to love it that you may teach your children. There are reasons and promises for them all.

Continuing thoughts on Balaam and Balak

Pondering Balaam and Balak

Earlier this week we talked about Balaam and Balak. What a tragic end Balaam comes to. He starts out appearing to be a man trying to follow the Lord and ends as a warning reminder of the Prophet of a man who not only fell away but led others astray.  What do we need to do in our own lives to prevent this? The Prophets give us the answer every time they speak, the answers are in the scriptures when we read. There is no great revelation here except to us when when realize what we have been putting above the Lord. Pray, study the scriptures, Keep the commandments and above all put the Lord first in your life. The answers don't change, what we do with them does. 

Walking the Fine Line ... and Falling off: Balak and Balaam

Walking away from Temptation

When we meet Balaam in the book of 22^nd Chapter of Numbers he is a man who knows the Lord and appears to be trying to follow Him. Balak, the King of the Mooabites, has seen the Children of Israel enter his lands and was afraid. There were a lot of them and he wanted Balaam to smite and curse them with the power of the Lord. When Balaam came before the Lord he had his answer, the Children are blessed and the Lord will not curse them. He gave this answer to Balak’s people who told him and sent higher ranking princes to ask the same. However, what Balaam didn’t do at that point was leave or refuse to take this any further.  The book of Numbers doesn’t say so in exact words but it appears that Balaam may have been enticed by the lifestyle or by what Balak could do for him.  At this point he was not a complete loss because he was still trying to walk the line between the Lord and Balak, telling them he could only do what the Lord said, the Lord said if they asked he could go with them, he went with them without them asking. The Lord sent an Angel to block him.

Many of us walk this same line today. We want both the Lord and the world. We want to serve him and have the good things that the world can offer. We must remember two things, we cannot serve two masters and the admonition to care not for what we will eat or wear. That last part is so hard for me. I like to plan everything out.

A few chapters later we find that Balaam is still with Balak who was able to provide alters and rams (the best sacrifices that a rich man could offer) in three different locations, yet none of this swayed the word of the Lord, Balaam knew this and still stayed with Balak. Balaam had been taken out of his world and was being shown the world of the King and it tempted him yet he did not want to disobey the Lord. He was still trying to walk the line between the two.

The last we hear of Balaam in the book of Number is Chapter 31 and it is that he was slain, he was guilty of causing the children of Israel to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor and Eleazar the priest was living with the Children of Israel. Balaam is remembered in by Peter in 2 Peter and John in Revelations as a man who led the Children of Israel astray by teaching them to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit fornication.

It is obvious from this that Balaam lost his balancing act and fell away from the Lord and led others astray when he did so. Temptation gained the upper hand with him and led him to disaster.

Who Is Actually Blocking Our Way?

Who Is Blocking Our Way?

We are into the book of Numbers. I have never read this book before.

Numbers 22:23 

" And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way."

Many of us, myself included, immediately assume when we find our way is blocked that we are being blocked by the adversary. While this is undoubtedly true at times, we also need to consider that at times our way may be blocked by the Lord and His angels keeping us safe and on the right path.

When we find our way blocked we must pray, however often we pray to have the path unblocked, we must remember to pray to find out if we are on the right path.  

Thoughts on the Word of Wisdom

This week we talked about how the Lord restricted the Children of Israel from certain foods and if they came in contact with thoses food even the vessals that touched them could not be used. Those restrictions ended with Christs sacrifice  for us although some people still choose to follow them. In todays world Joseph Smith was given revelation about a new set of restrictions  which are over all easier to follow and understand. No alcohol, no tobacco, no hot drinks which is understood to mean no coffee or tea. Why does this end up in debate? Why do we end up in the spirit of the law vs the letter of the law? If we are to obey the Lord and his meaning is no coffee, then that means no hot coffee, no cold coffee, no coffee ice cream, no coffee candy, no coffee extract. We are capable of following Him in obedience. We can do this.

Leviticus and the Word of Wisdom

Leviticus and the Word of Wisdom

I apologize now this is going to be a bit long. 

I the book of Leviticus chapter 11 to be specific the Lord set forth to the Children of Israel what foods were "clean and unclean". This is the start of what most of us today understand to be the Kosher law for food if you are Jewish. I sorted it out into a table here to attempt to make sense of it and unlike what I normally prefer to do with the Scriptures this time I also took it out of King James English as I sorted out the meanings.

Leviticus Dietary Restrictions Leviticus 11:1-30
Clean	Unclean
Any beast with a divided (parted) hoof, and is cloven foot, and chews the cud is okay to eat.	The camel is unclean to eat because he chews the cud, but doesn’t have a divided hoof.
Whatever has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers are ok to eat.	The coney (hyrax), because he chews the cud, but doesn’t have a divided hoof; he is unclean unto you.
You may eat of every flying creeping thing that goes upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap upon the earth; Even these you may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind.	The hare, because he chews the cud, but doesn’t  have a divided hoof; he is unclean unto you.
.	The swine is unclean, though he  has a divided the hoof, and is cloven footed, yet he doesn’t chew the cud
	Anything in the waters, seas or rivers that have not fins and scales they shall be an abomination unto you:
	Among the fowls; these shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, And the vulture, and the kite after his kind; Every raven after his kind; And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind, And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl, And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle, And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.  All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you
	The carcasses of every beast which divides the hoof, and is not cloven footed, nor chews the cud, are unclean unto you: every one that touches them shall be unclean. And whatever goes upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean unto you: whoso touches their carcasses shall be unclean until the evening These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind, And the ferret, and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and the mole.
	Any of them, when they are dead it shall be unclean if they fall into any vessel of wood, or raiment, or skin, or sack, whatever vessel it be, wherein any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening And every earthen vessel, where into any of them falls, whatever is in it shall be unclean; and ye shall break it.  Of all meat which may be eaten, that on which such water comes shall be unclean: and all drink that may be drunk in every such vessel shall be unclean. And every thing whereupon any part of their carcasses falls shall be unclean; whether it be oven, or ranges for pots, they shall be broken down: for they are unclean, and shall be unclean unto you.  Nevertheless a fountain or pit, wherein there is plenty of water, shall be clean: but that which touches their carcasses shall be unclean.  If any part of their carcasses fall upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it shall be clean.  But if any water be put upon the seed, and any part of their carcasses fall thereon, it shall be unclean unto you.  If any beast, of which ye may eat, die; he that touches the carcasses thereof shall be unclean until the evening. He that eats of the carcass of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening: he also that bears the carcass of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.
	Every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten.  Whatever goes upon the belly, and whatever goes upon all four, or whatever has more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them you shall not eat; for they are an abomination

 

Looking at this list we can see immediately that the dietary code served two purposes. Many of the restrictions were for the health and well being of the Israelites, however some of them simply served as lessons in obedience and to set them apart as Gods faithful children. When you have to think about what you are eating and why everyday it serves as a reminder. Today we call rabbits coneys, but according to Google in Moses's time it was an animal called a hyrax which had paws. 

It is understood by most Christians that these particular restrictions ended when Christ sacrificed himself. Some choose to continue them voluntarily. When Joseph Smith restored the church he was given a revelation about a new set of restriction that are found in the Doctrine and Covenants. 

Word of Wisdom Doctrine and Covenants 89:5-17
For Use	Not For Use
Wholesome herbs	Wine or Strong Drink
Every herb and fruit in season	Tobacco
Flesh of beast, fowls of the air, sparingly	Hot Drinks (tea/coffee)
Grain

 I have to say that our list is much easier to follow.  Just as with the list given to the Children of Israel, we can make guesses about why some things are restricted but others may simply to teach obedience.

1 Cor 19-20 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body,and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Pondering What is Important In Life

Pondering What Is Important In Life

This week we have discussed the 10 Commandments and how Jesus was able to refine those down to 2 guiding commandments.  We have discussed the Golden Calf and the Children of Israel. I confess I still don't understand the choices they made. The Children of Israel lived in a time when they didn't have to listen for a still small voice, the Lord would speak aloud to them.  Of course they didn't have the Atonement yet, and they didn't have the benefit of the the written word of the Lord being compiled into the Bible and Book of Mormon yet either. However I have gotten onto a tangent. 

I still find my mind and heart occupied with the "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" and the golden calf.  One of my classmates did a topic on how we cannot serve two masters. That's what Aaron was trying to do with the children, please both them and the Lord. He called it a day of the Lord yet the calf was right there, two masters.

We must examine our life and make sure the Lord, Our Heavenly Father is first and foremost. He must be leading our lives - He isn't a follower.

Do You Have a Golden Calf?

Thoughts on the Golden Calf

Exodus 32:1-4 

1.And when the people saw that Moses ^adelayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us ^bgods, which shall ^cgo before us; for as forthis Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we^dwot not what is become of him.

 2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the ^agolden earrings, which arein the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bringthem unto me.

 3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.

 4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a ^amolten calf: and they said, ^bThese be thy^cgods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

 5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the Lord.

 6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought ^apeace offerings; and the ^bpeople sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

It appears to me that Aaron thought he was directing them toward the Lord. They did the appropriate sacrifices, he named the day a day of Sacrifice to the Lord. However the words and actions did not match. The Golden Calf was still there.  We need to be careful that we don't have a golden calf in our life. The Old Testament Student Manuel discussion on the 10 Commandments warned of this also in that a worshiped graven image can take many forms. Cars, computers, education, tvs, phones, games ...is there an object in our life that we are putting before the Lord. Beware of the Golden Calf in your life. I know I will in mine.

The 10 Commandments and the 2 Great Commandmentss

The Greatest Commandments

The Lord called Moses up to the top of the mountain and gave him stone tablets with commandments engraved with the Lords finger. These are the what we now call the 10 Commandments,  They are found in the 20th Chapter of Exodus. When Jesus came to walk the Earth he told us that all of the commandments actually rest on two.  In Matthew 22:37 "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." and Matthew 22:39 "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

When we look at the commandments one by one we can see how each commandment relates to these two greatest commandments. 

Thou shalt have not other gods before me (Exodus 20:3)	Matthew 22:37 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is the earth  beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: (Exodus 20:4)	Matthew 22:37 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain (Exodus 20:7)	Matthew 22:37 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and  with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (Exodus 20:8)	Matthew 22:37 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee (Exodus 20:12)	Matthew 22:37 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. Matthew 22:39 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Thou shalt not kill (Exodus 20:13)	Matthew 22:39 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Thou shalt not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14)	Matthew 22:39 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Thou shalt not steal (Exodus 20:15)	Matthew 22:39 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor (Exodus 20:16)	Matthew 22:39 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass nor anything that is thy neighbour’s. (Exodus 20:17)	Matthew 22:39 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

  

      It is important to remember that the great commandments do not invalidate the 10 commandments, they do give you a great way to evaluate your actions. If you love the Lord with all your heart, soul and mind you will not have any other gods before him, you will not take his name in vain, and you will keep the Sabbath day holy because that is what you do for someone you love. You do what is important to them and you treat them with love and respect. 

     If you love your neighbor, and by neighbor we are are talking about any fellow human, being as much as you love yourself you will not kill them, steal from them, lie about them, commit adultery with or against them. If you love your neighbor you will rejoice in their good fortune instead of wishing it belonged to you.

    When you are following both of these commandments you are able to keep the commandment to Honor thy father and mother. It involves both because your parents are to be a stand in for our Heavenly Father here on the earth. They are to teach you what he would if he was here. In that regard you respect your parents as a stand in for Heavenly Father and love them as you love yourself.

There is allot of neglect of the Commandments happening these days and which ones are the most neglected can be a matter of opinion. In my opinion there are 3 of the 10 that if they were not would improve the world.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass nor anything that is thy neighbour’s. (Exodus 20:17)

The tenth commandment is part of all the others. If you don't covet you won't have other gods and bow down to them, you won't take the name of God in vain. If you don't covert you have less chance of stealing or killing or lying about another. Imagine a world where people didn't want things that were not theirs. What if people were not consumed by the need to have what others possessed? Leaving your doors unlocked and nothing missing while you are gone, drop your wallet and its returned to you intact. No need to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on security systems because no one wants what you have.

Thou shalt have no other gods before me (Exodus 20:3)

         Jesus gave us a reminder of this verse in Matthew 6:33 ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God,and his righteousness.’ the Lord does not require our adoration, however when we put something else before Him we wander off the path. By keeping our eyes on Him we are focused on His goals for us and eternity. This is the foundation verse, even more that than not coveting, because if we were all focused on Him as the center of our lives with nothing before Him then it would be much harder to break the other laws..

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (Exodus 20:8)

This is a commandment that is nearly ignored in today's world. Sunday is not a day of rest to be sacred to the Lord anymore. It is a day of sporting events, shopping, work, and a day to pursue hobbies. It is no longer considered for what it is suppose to be, a day to grow closer to your Lord. A day to rest  from worldly work and focus on the sacred. A day of sacrament.

The ten commandments were the base of our legal system yet in many places people sue to keep them from being displayed. They are the foundation of civilized behavior yet many people not only ignore them but cannot tell you what they are. Is it any wonder the fabric of society is ripping apart when we ignore the basic laws?