The Bible and Science – Glucose

Posted on by
Reply

Matthew 28:19b In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

It is always fun to see a picture of the Trinity in Creation this one is in glucose the primary energy source for our bodies. Its chemical formula is C6H12O6 . glucose

Carbon is the “backbone” of glucose and most other molecules that we need for living. It forms bonds by sharing electrons with other atoms. In its pure form it can be something common like graphite (pencil lead), lampblack, or something valuable like diamond. It has an atomic number of six (which is the number of man). Carbon would the model of the Father: stable, all about man, and holds things together.

Hydrogen is a very explosive gas and is the smallest of any atom. We are just starting to realize its potential as an energy source. Hydrogen would be a picture of the Holy Spirit; very powerful and a source of energy we need to use.

Oxygen is the gas in the air we need to live. It has an atomic number of eight (number of new beginning). Could anything be a better picture of Jesus? In Him we have a new beginning and is our very life if you are a believer.

As glucose these three elements form the molecule that we need to live. It is a quick energy source that we can use immediately.

∞ Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit thank you for working together for our good and being the source of our life.

Pic from : http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:D-glucose-chain-3D-balls.png#mediaviewer/File:D-glucose-chain-3D-balls.png 

The Prophets of Rehoboam and Jeroboam

Posted on by
3

The Prophets of Rehoboam and Jeroboam

Ahijah of Shiloh – The story of Jeroboam son of Nebat really starts and ends with Ahijah. (There are several Ahijah’s in the Bible the name means worshipper of [God] Jah). In 1 Kings 11 Jeroboam hears what he wants to form this aging prophet, that he will be king, and ignores the reason why he is getting it. So it would be safe to say that the counsel he gets in 1 Kings 12:28 is not from Ahijah because he does exactly what Solomon did to anger God. But like many before him when he is in need and it is something important he knows to seek God. So in 1 Kings 14 when Jeroboam sends his wife to Ahijah he is acknowledging the God he has forsaken. (He could not go himself because of pride and fear of his priest.) God proclaims an end to his family through this old prophet who still believes in God. Ahijah may have been the prophet who spoke against Solomon in 1 Kings 11:9 (see 2 Chronicles 9:29).

Man of God from Judah – was not a prophet, priest, apostle, pastor, or teacher just a MAN. He got a Word from God, now we are not told how or from whom but he knew what he had to do and was serious about doing. I normally would have added my own adjective to this man but nowhere is he called anything else, including the final mention of this tale in 2 Kings 23:19, but a man of God (this term is usually associated with a prophet). He spoke against the altar and predicted what would happen in 2 Kings, he prayed for Jeroboam’s hand and even refused a meal and a gift. The mistake he made was to STOP (vs. 14). Who knows, possible he was the next prophet that would have been used to call Judah/Israel to repentance instead he symbolizes Judah and their stopping.

Old Prophet of Bethel – had not moved with God and was jealous. This character I like the least, feel sorry for the most, and never want to become. (He could be the lukewarm ones in the Book of Revelations 3: 16.) If he had gotten the word about the altar he did not act on it and he had not left his old way and moved to Judah like many others had done (2 Chronicles 11: 13 – 17).   He recognized the move of God and instead of helping the “man of God” finish his mission he condemned him to death. Jehovah even gave him a chance to repent; he could have gone with the man instead of grabbing a final moment of glory. His final wish to be buried with the man of God was so his bones would not be burned in 2 Kings 23.

Shemaiah Prophet/Man of God – This Shemaiah is found in 1Kings 12 and 2 Chronicles 11 and 12 (there are 24 other people with that name in the Bible). Like many prophets, he is there when needed and is directed to one person, Rehoboam. He must have been known before this because just to walk up to a mad king bent on conquest and say, “Go home” and everyone listens to you speaks to a high level of credibility. In chapter 12:5 when he delivers the good news/bad news to Judah about Shishak king of Egypt; it is also received and seems to bring a change in Rehoboam. With that, this Shemaiah fades from history having done his job. His name means Jah (God) has heard which is why I am sure there were so many people with that name.

Iddo the Seer – In 1 Samuel 9:9 it is explained that a seer was an old name for a prophet. This Iddo is mentioned three times in the Bible (there are five others) in 2 Chronicles 9:29, 12:15, and 13:22. (His name means timely.) He had visions about Jeroboam, recorded genealogies, and wrote about the reign of Abijah son of Rehoboam. He saw the struggles of Judah through the reigns of Solomon, Rehoboam, and Abijah. We can hope that he was a voice God used to speak righteousness to his people and priest during confusing times.

Rehoboam

Posted on by
9

Rehoboam has had a lot of adjectives used to describe him and most of them are negative. This early case of affluenza (can’t believe I used that word) however is a clear case of genetics and learned behaviors. His legendary bad judgment is detailed in 1 Kings 12 and 2 Chronicles 10. He did listen to the man of God in 1 Kings 12:22 and so the word against Solomon in chapter 11 was accomplished. In 2 Chronicles 12: 12 – 14 the greatness of the Lord and His love for His people and the base problem of Rehoboam are shown. His heart was “not set” on seeking God but the Lord still saw some good in Judah, as shown by Rehoboam humbling himself. So the confusion created by Solomon is seen in his son – the Lord and other gods.

Kings – God Warned Them

Deuteronomy 17: 14-20 is God’s warning to the Israelites about kings and what they will do to their kingdoms. 1 Samuel 8 the warning is repeated and expanded as the people reject God’s rule and want to be like the world around them. Solomon did a good job in breaking most of the rules and Rehoboam just followed what his father modeled for him. If David did not break them he was stepping real close to the “line.” It is not recorded if any of the kings ever wrote their own copy of the law as it is written in Deuteronomy 17: 18.

“My little finger is thicker than my father’s wrist.” You wonder how many times Rehoboam rethought that statement? But that attitude took over forty years to develop and the apparent change started in Solomon’s rule. 1 Kings 4:20 and 9:22 paint a picture of valued countrymen living happily under the “early Solomon.” So you wonder what happened to get the complaint in 1 Kings 12:4 of a “heavy yoke” with “harsh labor.” The “rights” of the king warned about apparently had crept in and found a home in the family of Solomon. An example of worldly influence and affluenza (used it again) is seen in the gold shields of Solomon. The officer’s of Hadadezer of Damascus had gold shields that David took after conquering him (2 Samuel 8:7). We don’t know if David ever had his officers use them or had them made for his men. 1 Kings 10:16 details the practice carrying on under Solomon and the amount of gold used and where they were kept. It must have been a show when He went anywhere with his men sparking in the daylight with those expensive mirrors. Rehoboam also used them until Shishak of Egypt took them in 1 Kings 14:25. However not to stop the show he had bronze shields made in there place.

Genetics – Physical and Spiritual

“He acted wisely” (2 Chronicles 11:22) does herald the wisdom of Solomon that Rehoboam used when it came to his children and how he built up Judah. Rehoboam had the ability to be a good king and displayed it at times. Judah and Benjamin did thrive under his rule as shown by the increase in fighting men during his seventeen years as king; in 2 Chronicles 11:1 there were 180,000 men as compared to 400,000 when his son Abijah confronted Jeroboam in 13:3.

Spiritually God was still honoring David during Rehoboam’s life. Rehoboam did listen to Shemaiah and he apparently kept the burnt offerings and the Aaronic priesthood intact and working so as to honor God (2 Chronicles 13:10). Jeroboam’s treatment of the priests and Levites did exactly what he did not want to happen, Rehoboam was strengthened. In 11:17 it says this happened for three years but by the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign he felt comfortable to go the way of Solomon and bring in all kinds of evil into Judah (1 Kings 14:22). God allowed Shishak king of Egypt (Sheshonk I, Shoshenq I, Susac, or Shishaq frequently found spellings) to conquer Judah and some of the literature suggest that he subdued Northern Israel and Jeroboam also (so much for fleeing to Egypt). 2 Chronicles 12 explains all of this and the leaders realized they were wrong and God was just in what happened.

Rehoboam seemed to be keeping the pattern of behavior that was started in Judges: prosper while honoring God, forget God and suffer, honor God again.

Rehoboam, David, and Politics

Posted on by
1

The study of Rehoboam has gone places I could not have seen when I started. Rehoboam and His Mom pushed this study back to David and his relations with the countries around Israel. I think it would be fair to say that David’s foreign policies were complicated. In 1 Samuel 22 David, the outlaw hides his parents with the king of Moab. Yet in 2 Samuel 8 Moab is defeated and David took care of business. In 8:12 a list of peoples he subdued is listed and the Ammonites are among them. In 2 Samuel 10: 2 David was going to “show kindness” to the Ammonites because Nahash their king had always been kind to him. The new King insults the delegation so Joab and the army is sent to settle the matter. This is the time period when David has Uriah the Hittite killed (by the Ammonites) and takes Bathsheba as a wife. It is ironic that Solomon is married to Naamah an Ammonite. David took care of problems not grudges. Jewish tradition holds Naamah was Nahash’s granddaughter. There is also a tradition that says Moabite and Ammonite women were not the problem in Deuteronomy 23:3 only the men that is why Ruth and Naamah could be included in David’s family tree. The story goes that it came as a revelation from Samuel the prophet (Jewish Encyclopedia). (See Rehoboam and Ammonites)

David had problems. Surrounding countries were attacking Israel, the Ziphites and others would have handed him over to King Saul, and he had to go hide with the enemy that did not trust him. His handling of Amnon and Tamar, Absalom, and Adonijah could also be labeled as bad but in one thing he stands out – he is known as a man after God’s heart.

So how would David be treated today?     Palace Picketed or Helped

Rehoboam and His Mom

Posted on by
7

In the post Rehoboam and Ammonites I drew what should have been logical conclusions about Naamah, Rehoboam’s mother. They were based on what I had read about the Ammonites and their interactions with Israel though out Scripture. There is an addition to that story (I am embarrassed to say I should have read more/deeper.) At least I get to correct this; so I had better start at the beginning.

2 Chronicles 9:30 – Solomon reigned forty years over all of Israel in Jerusalem. In 2 Chronicles 12:13 are time markers about Rehoboam’s reign that says he was forty-one years old when he started to rule. Do the math and it is easy to see that Rehoboam was born before Solomon became king. That means that David had approved/gotten Solomon an Ammonite wife. You always think that Pharaoh’s daughter (1 Kings 3) was his first wife but he married her after he became king.

David’s “Mighty Men” and his officials did have Ammonites and people from the surrounding countries. Was Naamah the daughter of a friend of his (Zelek the Ammonite – 2 Samuel 23:37)? We are not told much about her other than she was an Ammonite and her name means “pleasant.” She may have been Solomon’s very first wife and Rehoboam could have been his first-born son! That may have been why he was made king.

How does all of this mesh with the first post? I have no idea! God has “concealed the matter” and I just get to think about it. Naamah is now a bigger mystery than before.

Lessons learned: 1. Be careful where you step that shoe maybe in your mouth soon. 2. God will have mercy on whom He pleases. 3. He has hide this matter, He allowed this matter, there is a BIG lesson here (just wish I could see it).