Into His Presence, Volume 1: Encountering the God of the Patriarchs

By Napoleon Burt

The God of the Bible is not a concept to be studied but a divine person each of us can and should encounter personally. Into His Presence uses historically documented experiences of a number of important people with God over thousands of years as the lens through which to help you understand the character of God as a person. In this book, you see the God of the Bible as a divine person encountered by the men and women of the Bible. The approach to the study of the Bible presented in this book will completely change how you read the Bible and how you perceive the divine author of the Bible. In this book, you will learn how many historically documented conversations Adam had with God and see that Adam's God moved with purpose in each of His encounters with Adam. Your understanding of the character of God will be enriched as you see Him through the eyes of Abraham over the course of their 100-year relationship. You will be amazed by the sheer number of historically documented conversations Moses had with God, and understand how these encounters transformed Moses from a polytheist into one of history's greatest spokesmen for monotheism and the pursuit of a personal relationship with the God of heaven. You will walk with David through the ups and downs of his life, identify with his struggles, and understand how life's experiences drew him into a close relationship with God. Through the enumerated experiences of the patriarchs, judges, and kings of Israel, you will come to understand the consistent character attributes of God as a person over the course of history. You will conclude that God is a divine person with whom you can also have an intimate relationship. As you read this book, you will feel the God of the Bible personally calling you into His presence.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 2, 2020
• ISBN: 9781645159728

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Into His Presence, Volume 1

Encountering the God of the Patriarchs

Napoleon Burt

Copyright © 2019 by Napoleon Burt

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. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Encountering the God of Adam

Encountering God with Cain

Understanding God When He Speaks and Operates Within His Own Counsel

Human Origins: Historical Logic and Theoretic Logic

Encountering the God of Noah

Encountering God with Abraham

Encountering the God of Isaac and Rebekah

Encountering the God of Jacob: The Deceiver and Prince

Encountering the God of Joseph: The Dreamer

Encountering the God of Moses, the Historian, in Genesis

Encountering the God of Moses in Exodus

Encountering the God of Moses in Leviticus

Encountering the God of Moses in the Wilderness (The Book of Numbers)

Encountering the God of Moses’s Final Reflections and Final Interactions: Deuteronomy

Encountering Aaron’s God: God of Relationships, Promise, Protocol, and Process

Encountering the God of Job: Just and Right While Allowing the Suffering of Good People

Encountering the God of Joshua: The Conquering Savior of Israel

Encountering Israel’s God During the Period of the Judges: When God was King

Encountering the God of Israel’s Psalmist and Great King, David

Encountering the God of Solomon, the Son of David

Chapter Twenty-One

Dedication

To Beautiful Lady Amy Justine Burt, my wife of thirty-two years. Though some may think that being the wife of a physician has great advantages, you could tell of the many sacrifices you have made over the years, as my wife. Your commitment of your time and energy as a mother, a wife, and a teacher have contributed greatly to my successful completion of this work. I am grateful that God has allowed me to partner with you in this life.

Foreword

An encounter is both a verb and a noun. The combination basically means—an unexpected or casual meeting with someone or something.

In the midst of far too much biblical mediocrity, applauded by basement dwellers, we unexpectedly yet joyfully are arrested by this amazing book as we encounter God anew.

From the start of being introduced to the God of Adam, we are changed in how we read the Bible, we are changed in how we view the OT God—we are changed in how we view ourselves.

A remarkable book—one of the most satisfying I have ever had. Encountering the God of the Bible causes us to encounter the Bible of that God. The Bible is the ultimate book about Him. This masterpiece ushers us and carries us into His presence.

In this book we are treated to a magnificent summary of who God is in the OT—that serves to explode our view of Him in the NT.

Napoleon Burt has gifted us with a satisfying spiritual meal that whets our palate, fulfills our daily appetite, and causes us to long for hefty future buffets.

I found in the book, a renewed reason to lift up praise.

Dr. Johnny James

The Walking Bible International Ministry

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my father, James E. Burt, Sr. and my mother, Nellie M. Burt. They taught me discipline, work ethic, and persistence in pursuing goals despite the presence of challenges. They have sacrificed for me, and my seven brothers, throughout our lives. They prayed for me and fought for me during my childhood when my very survival seemed uncertain. They taught me to pray and believe that God cared about me as a person and that He would intervene in my life. He did! They planted seeds in my life and cultivated my gifts until my life began to yield fruit from the seeds they had planted. Good parents are a gift from God.

I owe a great debt of gratitude to three other men--Bishop Francis L. Smith, Brother Jeff Robinson, and Elder Soup Campbell. Bishop Francis L. Smith pastored First Apostolic Faith Church in Akron, Ohio. He was the man of God who laid the foundation upon which my faith has been built. He instilled in me a fervent love for the word of God. Bishop Smith’s life convinced me that biblical faith was not incompatible with personal intellectual advancement. He emphasized to me that Christianity is the thinking man’s religion.

Often men walk through life without male contemporaries who will support them when needed, challenge them when they need correction, and provide them healthy, godly friendship that establishes their path in righteousness. A man who finds one such male comrade is truly blessed. From my youth, I have been blessed to have two such honorable men grace my life, Brother Jeff Robinson and Elder Soup Campbell. They have my gratitude for their investments in this project and in my life, investments too numerable to attempt to recite.

Introduction: Forever Changing How You Read the Bible

Forever Changing How You Read the Bible

The Challenge: Unmasking a False and Forged Discord Between Science and the Bible

Since the dawn of Darwinian theory, the foundation of Christian teaching has faced one of its most formidable challenges. The early advocates of this theory engendered a misconception that true science was incompatible with religion and that in order for science to reach its full potential, it had to be untethered from religion. In their view, religion and science were incompatible. Science was objective; religion was not founded on objective evidences. In reality, Darwin’s theory has a set of assumptions that cannot be proven or disproven and are the constructs upon which an entire philosophical view of the past, the present, and the future has been erected.

Several of the first advocates of Darwin’s theory made a concerted and deliberate effort to implement and perpetuate the misconceptions that Darwin’s theories of naturalism were foundational to science. They believed the Bible was a purely philosophical manuscript with teachings that were in conflict with and which hindered the advancement of scientific knowledge. They succeeded in naming their theories science and placing all preceding scientific thought under the same umbrella of science with this new unscientific theory. Moreover, they disregarded or discredited any scientific thought that did not support the theory with which they had aligned themselves. They maligned Christian thinking as unscientific and incompatible with science. They achieved a measure of success in their efforts. Their measured success changed the trajectory of scientific teaching from the 1850s up to the present and undermined the way the Bible is viewed by many scientific minds.

Because of the efforts of these early influential advocates of Darwin’s theories, a significant component of modern science has become, to varying degrees, a worldview based upon a set of assumptions that cannot be proven or disproven. Over time, their measured success in redefining science—coupled with the need among educated people to be perceived as advocates of the goal of developing rational, logical, scientific, and analytical minds—has caused some circles of higher education to become increasingly inhospitable to Bible-based thinking.

While Christians and Jews still tend to be among the most educated groups in the world, when the religious demographics of the higher educated sector of our society are analyzed, an increasing percentage of this segment of the population identify themselves as religiously unaffiliated. This may be consequent to the fact that highly educated Christians and Jews find it difficult to defend their Bible-based beliefs and their choice to base their lifestyle decisions on Bible teachings in their peer groups. This difficulty is partly due to a lack of knowledge about the incongruities of a component of modern science with established foundational scientific principles. Additionally, many Christians and Jews are unaware of the compatibility of biblical historical events with commonly accepted secular history.

The Imperative for Writing Into His Presence: Contesting a Flawed Narrative

I have a mind that has a natural scientific and analytical proclivity. Throughout my life, I have enjoyed the pursuit of evidence to prove or disprove hypotheses which were self-generated and those which were imposed on me by external sources. I have also thoroughly embraced learning and applying scientific principles to advance my understanding of the world and to eventually make my contribution to helping my immediate world become a better place. Simultaneously, from a young age, I have been a student of the Bible and I have had personal encounters with the God of the Bible. Consistent with the experiences of many of the founding fathers of science, I have found that my pursuit of an understanding of the principles governing activity within the physical realm and my pursuit of a greater understanding of God, His mind, and His interventions within the physical realm are complementary. Both pursuits require an openness to ask tough questions, seek evidence to support a conclusion regarding the questions asked, and a willingness to embrace the conclusion that the preponderance of evidence supports.

These guiding principles for the pursuit of knowledge and understanding are the framework for this book. One difficult question that this book addresses is, Are the people and events recorded in the Bible congruent with current knowledge in the disciplines of history and observational science? The evidence laid out in this manuscript will argue convincingly that a significant body of evidence from the scientific discipline of archaeology supports the fact that the events and persons recorded within the pages of the Bible were historical and not fictional. By dating the events and characters of the Bible, it can and will be demonstrated that these events and persons were also contemporary with non-biblical events and characters, whose historicity is not considered controversial.

In addition to establishing their historicity, it will be established that the selected biblical personalities each had encounters with the same divine person they each knew as God, the Lord, or Jehovah. The nature of their interactions with this divine person indicates that He was not a mere concept or figment of their imaginations, but—just as they were persons on the stage of history—He was a person interacting with them on the stage of history. The consistency of the perceived attributes and character of this divine person, as observed through His interactions with a multitude of different people over the expanse of history, argues as well that He is not conceptual, but instead, one and the same person Who interacted with men throughout history.

The Process: A Systematic Application of Scientific, Historical and Grammatical Principles to the Study of the Bible

Finally, more than any previously published work, this manuscript relies upon the concept of divine pronouns to bring clarity to the understanding of the person of God held by Christians, Jews, and any other serious students of the Bible. A divine pronoun can be defined as a word that can function as a noun and that refers to the person(s) that the men and women of the scripture encountered as the God of the Bible (e.g. I, Me, Mine He, Him, His).

Throughout this book, grammatical principles that govern our understanding of the link between nouns and pronouns are faithfully applied to provide clarity to our understanding of the personhood of God. To gain this clarity on the personhood of God, one must pay attention to the following two factors:

1) The student must follow the use of divine pronouns by God, the other persons of history that interacted with Him, and the people that recorded these interactions within the pages of the Bible.

2) The student must understand the singularity or the plurality of the personhood of God as it was discerned by the people of history with whom God interacted.

I hope that your perspective when reading the Bible will be changed forever after reading this book. After reading this book, you will read the Bible for what it is—a book that captures a portion of human history. While reading this book, you will become keenly aware that there is a body of scientific evidence in the established field of archaeology that confirms the veracity of the Bible’s historical narrative. You will see the events and persons of the Bible in the context of non-biblical events that were contemporary with them. You will understand that the God of the Bible—though He resides outside the realm of time because He is eternal—has interacted with humans throughout all of human history.

He was perceived as a person by those with whom He interacted. You will read the Bible as a series of encounters between this divine person and the humans with whom He interacted throughout the course of history. After reading this book, you will never again be able to read the Bible account without noticing the presence of the divine pronouns that reference the person of the God of history.

References

Barton, Ruth (September 1998), Huxley, Lubbock, and Half a Dozen Others: Professionals and Gentlemen in the Formation of the X Club, 1851–1864," Isis, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 89 (3): 410–444, JSTOR 237141, OCLC 83940246, doi:10.1086/384072

Barton, Ruth (March 1990), ‘An Influential Set of Chaps:’ The X-Club and Royal Society Politics 1864–85, The British Journal for the History of Science, Cambridge: Cambridge University, 23 (1): 53–81, JSTOR 4026802, doi:10.1017/S0007087400044459.

http://www.pewforum.org/2016/12/13/religion-and-education-aro

und-the-world.

http://www.pewforum.org/2017/04/26/in-america-does-more-edu

cation-equal-less- religion.

Morris, Henry (1988), Men of Science—Men of God. Green Forest, AR: Master Books.

1

Encountering the God of Adam

There have been countless explanations offered for the beginning of the physical realm and the beginning of human history. Many of these accounts are mythological, while others are naturalistic and theoretical but logical. None of the existing explanations are provable as they concern events that occurred before the dawn of human history. Thus, all accounts of the beginning of the physical realm have a set of unprovable assumptions, and their acceptance requires a measure of faith. The most plausible explanation must be the one supported by the preponderance of the evidence.

The narrative of history, according to the theory of evolution, has itself evolved to its current state. It is a sub-theory of philosophical naturalism. As such, its acceptance necessitates acceptance of some fundamental assumptions. First, it assumes that billions of years of random chaotic events involving non-living matter eventually gave rise to living matter. Adherents of this theory believe that the fortuitous development of life only happened because of the chance occurrence of the right set of physical conditions at some point in the astronomically remote past. Once a simple single-celled life-form arose spontaneously from non-living matter, it became the precursor of increasingly complex life-forms on earth. Guided by chance alone, over a difficult to conceptualize period of time, multicellular complex life-forms like plants and the animal species that now populate the earth evolved.

Perhaps the first notable human predecessor was a hominid affectionately called Lucy. She left her skeletal remains to be discovered three to four million years later by her eventual descendants. It has recently been postulated, however, that she may have been predated by another hominid species called Ardipithecus ramidus. As a member of the species Australopithecus, Lucy had a much smaller brain and was bipedal, but she did not resemble her ultimate hominid descendants—modern-day humans—in any real sense. She did not possess the intelligence to document her existence or her history; her existence was surmised by her intelligent descendants millions of years later.

Through a series of evolutionary improvements, hominids advanced to the first reasonably intelligent species called homo habilis and homo erectus between one and two million years ago. Like Lucy, neither homo habilis nor homo erectus had the intellectual capability to document their existence. Over a million and a half years later, the first ancestors of modern mankind began to arise. The general consensus among historians is that humans did not begin to write down history until around 2000 years before the birth of Jesus. Furthermore, it was not until 150–200 years ago that mankind developed the intelligence to research his history and postulate his evolutionary development from the aforementioned humble and unintelligent early life-forms.

In contrast, according to the Bible’s account of the origins of the physical realm and human history, mankind was created as a fully functional adult and an intellectually high-functioning being by an intelligent divine person and by a deliberate and purposeful act. The creation of a human was the last of the series of initial acts of creation by this intelligent living being. The heavens were created by this same intelligent divine person known as Jehovah, Elohim, God, or the Lord (Gen. 1:1; Is. 45:18). He made the earth to be inhabited (Is. 45:18). He modeled humanity after His own self-concept and placed him into creation with intentionality and purpose (Gen. 1:26–31). Then, from the very beginning of humanity’s occupation of Jehovah’s creation, this intelligent being that formed man and woman has sought to interact with the people within His creation (Gen. 1:28–30, 2:16–18, 3:8–17).

Adam, the first man, came to know his creator as a divine person through a series of personal encounters, three of which are documented in the book of Genesis. As an intelligent being, Adam communicated this history to successive generations of his descendants. Following is a brief discussion of Adam’s three documented encounters with the divine person he knew as God.

Encounter one (Genesis 1:28–30): Dominion Given with Instructions

God created man (Adam) and placed him in a space purposefully and explicitly designed for him. Adam could reasonably begin to form several thoughts about his creator from this first encounter with Him. First, Adam understood that God was his provider. God gave Adam everything he needed. All the resources for life came from God. Second, Adam could conclude that God was the author of relationships, responsibilities, and order. Natural order and order within relationships were instituted by Adam’s creator.

When God created man, He gave him some specific responsibilities. Man was instructed to be fruitful and multiply and to exercise dominion over the rest of creation. These responsibilities were given to Adam from the very beginning of his existence. The divine being that interacted with Adam, from the very beginning of His relationship with him, identified Himself using the first person singular pronoun I. In this first interaction with Adam, God used the first person singular divine pronoun I twice. Adam knew his God and creator as a divine person.

Encounter two (Genesis 2:16-17): Guidelines and Restrictions Outlined

In His first interaction with him, Adam’s creator gave him position, power, provision, and purpose. In His second encounter with Adam, Jehovah set limits of conduct for His supreme creation along with consequences for the transgression of these limits of conduct. Adam’s understanding of the person of Jehovah was broadened during this second encounter.

The idea that God was a bountiful provider was reinforced. However, now he understood that, without compromising His sovereign nature, God would work in partnership with him within the framework of a relationship. As a confirmation of His sovereign nature, Jehovah unilaterally defined limits of acceptable conduct for Adam which He considered conducive to a healthy relationship between them and declared the adverse consequences associated with violation of these parameters (Gen. 2:16-–17).

Instituting the principle of cooperation into the framework of His relationship with mankind, Jehovah brought the animals to Adam to name. He communed with Adam in this process (Gen. 2:19–20). As a benevolent sovereign person in relationship with Adam, seeking the overall well-being of His human companion, Jehovah also unilaterally decided to make Adam a human companion whom Adam called Eve (Gen. 2:19, 21–23). In the context of this second encounter between God and man, we can peer into the mind of God and see His great concern and compassion for man’s needs—hallmarks of a healthy perspective in a relationship. As the man is going about accomplishing the work God has partnered with and instructed him to do, God sees the need of man and pulls out of the man something that is already within the man. He creates something that fulfills the need of the man. Jehovah demonstrated His value for relationship from the beginning by placing humanity in position to have a relationship with Him and within his physical kind—through Eve.

Again, God establishes Himself as an excellent provider for man and a benevolent and insightful authority. Twice in this encounter, the third person singular pronoun He occurs. Thus, it is implied that God is seen as a divine person addressing the needs of the man He created.

Encounter three (Genesis 3:8–19): Consequences, Judgment, and Hope

In this ill-fated historical event, Adam and Eve broke the bond of fellowship with their God. They appeared to be immediately aware of the broken fellowship with their divine companion. Whereas they previously walked with God and enjoyed His presence, they now hid from His presence (Gen. 3:8). God did not accuse His created human associates from the outset. Instead, He asked a question to provoke self-realization in the humans with whom He had entered into fellowship (Gen. 3:9). God knew the answer to the question He posed before He asked it; He asked the question in order to provoke self-realization and responsibility. The manner in which God asked the follow-up questions supports the idea that God deals with transgressors on an individual basis while adhering to a set of guiding principles (Gen. 3:11–19).

God used the first person singular pronoun I in reference to Himself as He addressed each guilty party and issued a judgment for each because of their indiscretions (Gen. 3:11–19). From this account of the fall of man from intimate fellowship with his creator, we learn several things about God. He is present and sees even when man is unaware of His presence (Gen. 3:1–9). This recording of God’s judgment for transgression is the first of many historically documented occasions when Jehovah comes looking for someone with whom He has a relationship after they have forsaken Him (Gen. 3:8).

He initiates reconciliation. He is a teacher and promotes self-awareness and self-learning (Gen. 3:9–10). God does hold humans accountable for their choices. Though He is a relationship-oriented covenant-keeper, He is also the ultimate judge of those who choose to do wrong (Gen. 3:11–19). Fortunately, because of His nature, even as He judges, God extends hope for the future (3:15).

Finally, God drives humanity from the Garden as a protector so that man does not have to live forever in a fallen condition by eating of the tree of life after the fall (Gen. 3:21–24). The occurrence of the plural pronoun in Genesis 3:22 is in no way enigmatic with respect to defining the person of God. God speaks to and within His own counsel and acts in His singularity as a distinct divine person. The account never implies that Jehovah encountered Adam as a plurality. He does not act as a divine plurality as observed by the humans encountering Him. Adam does not hear, think, or encounter God as a concept or as a plurality. Moreover, the writer of the account does not use the plural pronoun in a way that implies a plurality since when God acts, without exception, singular pronouns are used.

When God speaks in this encounter, He uses the pronoun I four times. When God acts, as recorded by the narrator, the pronoun He is used five times (3:11, 16, 17, 24). One should reasonably draw from this the conclusion that God is a singularity, and the Us spoken in His own counsel implies the largeness or grandeur of His person and not a plurality of persons.

Summary and Conclusions

Adam, the physical father of all humanity, had three historically documented encounters with his creator. These encounters were first recorded in Genesis 1–3. Within the confines of the exegetical context, one can only conclude that Adam understood his creator to be a single divine person. In the very briefly documented historical record of His creation of the physical realm, Genesis 1, the creator is referred to as Elohim or God. This term, widely used in the Bible in reference to any god, but specifically referring to the one true God in Genesis 1, occurs thirty-five times in the first record of man’s creation and fall (Gen. 1–3).

While Genesis 1 is an overview of the entire creation process, Genesis 2–3 is a more human specific description of creation. It is instructive to note that in this more intimate account of the beginning of the physical realm and of human history, Elohim is referred to as the Lord God, Jehovah God, or Jehovah Elohim.

Beginning with Gen. 2:4, the term the Lord God is used twenty times within the space of two chapters to describe Adam’s divine companion, Jehovah. The personhood of Adam’s creator is emphasized by the term the Lord God which gives his God a distinctive name and not just a descriptive title that could be applied to any other divine being. This fact is further substantiated each time Adam’s creator encountered him, spoke to him, or was in his presence, and He used first person singular divine pronouns in reference to Himself. Seven such divine pronouns are left in the historical record of Adam’s encounters with Jehovah. This is the message that Adam would have passed on to his descendants:

Jehovah, the creator, is an omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, and sovereign person. He made all things and provided all things needed for human existence within the physical realm. He values relationship with humanity and, indeed, seeks this relationship through personal encounters. However, relationship with Him comes with parameters and stipulations. There are consequences that attend violation of these parameters and stipulations. Seek Him and obey Him and enjoy His fellowship.

Table 1.1 Adam’s Divine Encounters

FPSP First person singular divine pronouns

3PSP Third person singular divine pronouns

References

Lubenow, Marvin L. 2004. Bones of Contention. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.

The Holy Bible. 2010. Authorized King James Version. Nashville, Tennessee: Holman Bible Publishers.

Warren W. Wiersbe. 2007. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: Old Testament. Colorado Springs, Colorado: David C. Cook.

The Chronological Study Bible. 2008. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson.

2

Encountering God with Cain

Cain was the second man to have historically documented encounters with God. Cain is by no means an example after whom we should pattern our conduct; he is not a model of the idea that a relationship with God is foundational to making decisions in life. Nonetheless, his historically documented encounters with God are instructive.

Cain has two historically documented encounters with God. After Cain and Abel came of age, they each brought an offering of sacrifice to God as must have been taught to them by Adam since there was no other human who could have taught them this behavior at this point in human history. It is reasonable to assume that Adam gave his sons some parameters of conduct for offering their sacrifices to God, since God had demonstrated to Adam that He was concerned with parameters for conduct in man’s relationship with Him (Gen. 2:16–3:24).

Encounter one (Genesis 4:6–8): Counsel and Hope Given

The record bears out that when Cain and Abel each brought their gifts to God, God looked favorably upon the offering brought by Abel, but He did not grant His approval to the offering brought by Cain. It is in the light of this occurrence that Cain became disgruntled and God initiated a personal encounter with Cain to counsel him and minister to him.

God posed questions to Cain as He had to Cain’s father, Adam, though God already knew the answers to His questions (Gen. 4:6–7). Thus, the purpose of asking the questions was to prompt self-reflection that might lead to self-improvement on the part of Cain. After prompting self-evaluation with the hope of reconciling with Cain, whose spirit and mind were alienating him from God, God then gave counsel to Cain (Gen. 4:7). He reminded Cain that he had the ability to make choices of consequence in his situation. He could choose appropriate conduct that would result in acceptance and restoration to his position of authority as the firstborn; or he could open the door to ongoing sin and relational alienation by making unhealthy choices.

We learn some important things about God from this first historically documented encounter with Cain. God is omniscient, He looks into the heart of man, and seeks to reconcile man to Himself when man has alienated himself from Him. Rather than accuse, God may ask questions to prompt personal reflection leading to self-awareness and self-improvement. God does have standards of conduct that He will accept and conduct that He will not accept. God is a counselor to man, seeking to maintain or restore His covenant relationship with man.

Encounter two (Genesis 4:9–16): Teaching, Judgment, and Hope Given

After Cain failed to respond constructively to God’s effort to reconcile with him, he proceeded to do the unthinkable—he killed his own brother. This act was driven by Cain’s negative and misdirected emotions. God again encountered Cain and asked some probing questions to help him. When Cain’s response was unrepentant defiance of God and His standards of conduct, punishment was pronounced on him by God. Even in His pronouncement of judgment, God displayed a compassionate heart and limited the impact of His judgment upon Cain.

God, the Lord, was identified by the writer (probably Moses) as He in verses 9–10. When God, the Lord, spoke in verse 10, God used the first person singular divine pronoun Me in His conversation. Several personal attributes are evidenced by the person known as God in this second encounter with Cain. He is ever-present and all-seeing (omnipresent and omniscient). He is compassionate, but He is a God of judgment. Cain’s father, Adam, would have reaffirmed these divine attributes of their creator, owing to his personal life experiences with God.

Summary and Conclusions

Cain along with his brother, Abel, grew up hearing the account of creation as later recorded in Genesis 1–3 by Moses. Throughout his formative years, no doubt, his father spoke of his origins and his creator. No doubt, Adam also gave his sons some instructions and guidelines for living and conduct. Over the course of Cain’s life, we are left to presume Adam and Eve conceived other children as well and replenished the earth.

For his part, Cain had two specifically recorded encounters with his father’s God. No doubt, like his earthly father, Cain’s creator gave him instructions for conduct and guidelines for living. Ultimately, Cain disregarded the guidelines and instructions of both his earthly father and the divine person from Whom he received instruction and encouragement. Consequently, in his second recorded encounter with Jehovah, Cain received judgment for his transgression of Jehovah’s principles. In this second recorded encounter, Jehovah used a first person singular divine pronoun in reference to Himself.

Coupling Cain’s encounters with Jehovah and Adam’s experiences with Jehovah, which he surely passed on to Cain, we are left with the rational conclusion that Cain understood God to be a single divine person. Cain might have given the following confirmation of Adam’s description of Jehovah:

Jehovah, the creator, is an omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, and sovereign person. He made all things and provided all things needed for human existence. He values human life and seeks a relationship with humanity. Jehovah can be experienced through personal encounters. However, relationship with Him comes with parameters and stipulations. There are consequences that result from violation of these parameters and stipulations. Violation of His guidelines, parameters, and stipulations will jeopardize fellowship with Him and may even compromise relationships with other humans.

Table 2.1 Cain’s Divine Encounters

FPSP First person singular divine pronouns

3PSP Third person singular divine pronouns

References

The Holy Bible. 2010. Authorized King James Version. Nashville, Tennessee: Holman Bible Publishers.

Wiersbe, Warren W. 2007. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: Old Testament. Colorado Springs, Colorado: David C. Cook.

3

Understanding God When He Speaks and Operates Within His Own Counsel

The creation account and the pre-Abrahamic history of man record several comments attributed to God that were not spoken directly to man. These divine pronouncements and reflections can provide significant insight into the nature of God and into how God has viewed Himself and His creation since the beginning of recorded history. To arrive at a correct understanding of the God of heaven, a proper understanding of these divine comments is needed. This requires an analytical look at the perspectives obtained from multiple vantage points.

God made man on the sixth day of creation after He had created all species of land animals earlier the same day. Before man’s creation (Genesis 1:27), none of God’s recorded words were, as a natural corollary, spoken directly to man. After man was created, and before the time of Abraham, the writer of Genesis records several other divine pronouncements and musings. These will also be discussed in this chapter. Some additional perspectives presented in the Bible are added to help the student arrive at a well-rounded biblically supported conclusion about God’s person, viewed from a divine perspective as documented in history.

Day one

Divine Pronouncement one (Genesis 1:3–5)

God created light by the power of His spoken word and called the light day and the darkness night according to the writer of Genesis. From this pronouncement, we see that God is the maker of light. God is not light or energy. These are impersonal forces. Light and energy are creations of God. God is a person, and He made all forms of energy including light. This passage also establishes that God can work without the input of humanity to create things and then name them.

Whatever God creates, it is what God says it is. Humans, as creations of God, are what God says they are. Humans are the image of God in the created realm. The writer of Genesis, presumably Moses, gives us our first divine pronoun in the historical record in the course of this divine pronouncement. The pronoun He (in Genesis 1:5) tells us that the writer sees God as a person and not an impersonal force or merely a mass of energy.

Day two

Divine Pronouncement two (Genesis 1:6–8)

On day two, God created the earth’s atmosphere to separate the waters on the earth. The waters below were separated from the water in the air so that