Sunday, June 30, 2013

Q13. Why Was God So Inconsistent in His Treatment of the Israelites?

"De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da, is all I want to say to you,
De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da, the innocence will pull me through"  The Police, 1981

The above is the chorus to a pop song from the 1980s called "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" by a band known as The Police.

It came to mind because today's blog post hinges on the word "do" :-)

Earlier on I had asked the question whether God was indeed the same yesterday, today and forever.

Let's look specifically at how He dealt with the Israelites by looking at the following passages of Scripture:

1. So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What are we to drink?" (Ex 15:24)

2. In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. (Ex 16:2)

3. But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?" (Ex 17:3)

4. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! (Num 14:2)

Now consider God's response to the people's grumbling...

1. He caused the bitter water sweet so that the Isralites could drink it (Ex 15:25)

2. He fed them with quails and manna (Ex 16:13)

3. He caused water to come out from the rock (Ex 17:6)

4. Those who grumbled ended as corpses in the wilderness (Num 14:29,32)

In the first 3 incidents, God responded to their complaints by providing for them in terms of food and water.

Yet in the 4th incident, the response was one of judgement for disobedience!

How then can we say that God is the same yesterday, today and forever, if He appears to be so inconsistent?  It is as though He woke up on the right side of the bed for the 1st 3 incidents and on the wrong side for the 4th.

When we encounter confusing passages in the Bible, we will need to take out that "scarlet thread" to "connect the dots".  Everything should point back to that first prophecy whereby God told Satan that Jesus would one day bring about his defeat.  In other words, we have to look for Jesus and His finished work.

(See the blog entry entitled "Connecting the Dots Via the Scarlet Thread")

Let us find out what exactly happened between Exodus 17 and Numbers 14 to cause such a drastic change of response.  Specifically, something that happened in Exodus 19 and 2o.

Up until then, the covenant that the Israelites were operating under was what was known as the Abrahamic covenant, which we read about in Genesis 15.  Under this covenant, God told Abraham that he would be a father of many, and that through Jacob (later renamed as Israel) his grandson, they would possess the land of Canaan.

Genesis 15

New King James Version (NKJV)

God’s Covenant with Abram

15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”
And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
Then He said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.”
And he said, “Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?”
So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. 11 And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror andgreat darkness fell upon him. 13 Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. 14 And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
17 And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. 18 On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying:
“To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates— 19 the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

Note that under this covenant, Abraham only had to believe God's promise to him and in return, God would consider him righteous.

And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

In other words, Abraham did not have to perform any good deeds in order to be accepted by God.

Let's now look at what happened in Exodus 19 and 20.  It was 50 days after departing from Egypt and the Israelites had reached Mt Sinai.  God was about to introduce through Moses the Ten Commandments and other sets of laws, or what is known as the Mosaic covenant.

Exodus 19

New King James Version (NKJV)

Israel at Mount Sinai

19 In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai. For they had departed from Rephidim, had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped there before the mountain.
And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”
So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the Lord commanded him. Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” So Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord.

Note specifically what the Israelites' response to God was in verse 8

Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do...


The original Hebrew word for "do" is עשה asah (Strong's H6213).

This same word is translated as "make" in the following passages:

Gen 1:26 -- God said "Let us asah man in our image..."

Gen 1:31 -- God saw everything that He had asah and it was very good...

Gen 2:18 -- It was not good for man to be alone, so I will asah him a helpmeet...

It is used to denote definitive accomplishment.  Or in Singlish, "sure can one!"

The Israelites were unfortunately telling God "sure can one!"  That whatever rules He was about to give to them, they were well able to accomplish.  They were effectively boasting in their own efforts, and once that happened, God's way of dealing with them was now based on their obedience or disobedience.  They had to earn their blessings from now onwards based on merits.

Even though they murmured and grumbled between the Passover and Mt Sinai, no one died because the convenant that was in effect at that point of time was the Abrahamic one where God promised Abraham and his descendants a land flowing with milk and honey.

But once the Israelites were under the Mosaic covenant based on their law-keeping and obedience, the stakes were different, and many a times, fatally so.

A person who was found to be gathering wood on the Sabbath was stoned to death (Num 15:32-36)

The earth opened and swallowed up Korah, Dathan and Abiram and their family because they had grumbled against Moses and Aaron (Num 16:31-33).

Another 250 men were consumed by fire because they were offering incense to the LORD, but the Law only allowed Levites to do so (Num 16:35).

14,700 others were struck dead by a plague because they blamed Moses and Aaron for the earlier mentioned deaths (Num 16:49).

Was God inconsistent?  No, because He gave the Israelites a choice.

If they had told God that there were just too many rules and admitted their inability to keep them, God in His mercy would have pardoned them.

But they told God through Moses that they would definitely be able to comply with whatever rules and regulations they were about to be given.

We see a parallel in the New Testament in the way Jesus dealt with people.  The rich, young ruler asked Jesus in Matthew 19 what he had to "do" to have eternal life, and Jesus quote him the Ten Commandments.  Yet, we read in Luke 23:42 how that thief asked Jesus to "remember him when He entered His kingdom" and Jesus' response was that he would be with Him in paradise.  The ruler approached Jesus based on his self-efforts, so Jesus responded as a lawgiver.  The thief approached Jesus just the way he was, and Jesus responded as a saviour.

Today, we no longer need to be afraid of God because we are not under the Old Covenant of Moses based on "Do good, get good. Do bad, get beat". Jesus has fulfilled all those Laws on our behalf, as well as taken upon Himself all the curses that pertained to the Law, and we are now redeemed from them.  Because Jesus' finished work on the cross tore the veil that separated a holy God from unholy men, we can now go into the Holy of Holies and approach God boldly.

Is God the same yesterday, today and forever?  Indeed He is!

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Q12. Will I See My Pet in Heaven? (Is it OK for Christians to Eat Animals?)

We were supposed to go into the book of Exodus, but there are a couple of Genesis-based questions that need answers, so please allow me to address them first.  The first of them is whether we will get to see our pets in heaven and the second of them (which is related to the first) is whether it is ok for Christians to eat animals.

The first question is something I personally struggled with as recently as 6 months ago.  Chuckie, my pet chinchilla, which was supposed to live up to 20 years, passed away after just 3 short years, two days before Christmas 2012.

I grieved over him and even googled variations of "will my pet go to heaven?"  There were various websites offering contrasting views, but I was earnestly looking for one that would give a strong scriptural basis to support the answer that I would get to see Chuckie again one day.

Unfortunately, there was none and I have gradually but finally accepted the fact that I would never get to do so.  As a way to cope with and come to terms with the grief, I created a photo album of him on Facebook to thank him for the wonderful memories.  You can view that album by clicking on the link below:

A tribute to Chuckie, RIP (Facebook Photo Album)

The truth of the matter is that God created man different and special from all the other living things such as birds, reptiles and animals.  While everything else that was created was spoken into being, man was the only one that was given life via the breath of God.  Eve, was created from Adam, and hence inherited the same properties.

We read in Genesis 1:

20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

and then again in Genesis 2:

Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Man was and is the pinnacle of God's creation.  We are made in His image and meant to have a relationship with Him. While animals have only 2 dimensions -- a body and a soul (the mind, the emotions and the will), man has a third dimension -- a spirit.  And spirit beings are eternal in that they live on forever -- either in heaven or in hell.

Those of you with pets may not want to hear this, but animals unfortunately do *not* have a spirit.  The chickens that were slaughtered to provide that Zinger for KFC and the pigs that were slaughtered to provide the pork ribs for Tony Romas would not be resurrected and go to heaven or hell.  Likewise, my pet Chuckie as well as the other pet hamsters that passed on would only live on in our memories.

Which brings me to the other question about whether it is ok for Christians to eat animals.

I was working as an accounting software consultant from 1997 to 2000, and one of my colleagues back then was a vegetarian.

The surprising thing is that he is not a Buddhist nor a Hindu, but a Catholic! He decided to become a vegetarian (together with his entire family) because he feels that plants are free from diseases such as mad cow disease, bird flu, etc. He also mentioned to me that God's original design was for humans and animals to feed on plants only.

Well, he was right in that sense. We read in Gen 1: 29-30

29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.
30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so.

In other words, carnivores that we know of today such as the lion, the eagle, the shark, etc -- the original design was for them to eat plants. While plants were meant to be food, animals were meant to be Adam's playmates. He however did not find a suitable helpmeet among them, so God created Eve to be his phyiscal, emotional and spiritual companion.

Alas, because of the fall, the original divine food chain became altered. God had to kill one of Adam's playmates (most probably a sheep) and use its skin to clothe Adam's and Eve's nakedness (Gen 3:21). As a result of man's sin, the entire creation started to decay and groan. The ground became cursed. Animals killed other animals. Man hunted and killed animals.

God's original design was for mankind to be vegetarians, but the question now is whether it is wrong for us to eat animals. Personally, I do not think so. Sure, although carnivorous attributes came about due to the fall of mankind, God always causes good to come out of something meant for evil. We read many examples in the Bible where patriarchs ate meat and God did not condemn or punish them for doing so. On the contrary, there are even instances where He even told them specifically to eat meat!

For example, we read in Gen 25:28 that Isaac had a taste for wild game, and also in Gen 27:3-4 that he instructed Esau to get his quiver and bow and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for him to eat so that he may give Esau this blessing before he died. We also read in Ex 12 how the Israelites ate the Passover Lamb. We read in Ex 16 that God sent quail in the wilderness for the Israelites to complement their diet of manna. We read in Lev 7 that any male in a priests' family may eat guilt offerings.

And since animals do not have a spirit, it is OK for us to consume their meat for food. However, let us respect the convictions of those that are vegetarians among us. A fellow brother or sister who is a vegetarian for whatever health reasons will not forfeit his mansion in heaven as a result of this :-)

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Q11. Is God *Really* the Same Yesterday, Today and Forever?

Apple Sync
Most, if not all, of us are probably using some form of mobile handheld device such as a smartphone or tablet, be it an iPhone, an iPad, an Android-based or a Windows-based device.
Google Sync

One of the things we frequently need to do is to "synchronise" the data between our portable handheld device and our laptop/computer.  This is so that in the event that we replace or lose our mobile device, we will always have a back-up of the data at home or in the office.

While we need to perform the sync function regularly so that there is uniformity and consistency across all our gadgets and equipment, it is interesting to note that God does not need to perform a sync anytime ever because all three persons of the Trinity -- Father, Son and Holy Spirit were, are, and will be, in sync, everytime, all of the time.

In John 10:30 and John 14:9, Jesus said that "He and His Father are one" and that "whoever sees Him also sees the Father".  Hence, God the Father and God the Son are always in sync.

The Holy Spirit was only given to kings, prophets and priests in the Old Testament, but He is now available to all of us in the New Covenant.

In John 14:16, Jesus told His disciples that after He had gone back to heaven, the Holy Spirit would take His place here on earth to carry on His ministry, viz:

"And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever" (John 14:16 AMP)

The above implies that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are also in sync, and by further inference, that all 3 persons of the Trinity are in sync.

One of the most quoted verses is Heb 13:8 whereby the author tells us that "Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever".

And since Jesus is always in sync with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, the logical conclusion is that "God is the same yesterday, today and forever".

But is He *really* the same?  Is there really no shadow of turning with Him?

I have come across numerous passages, especially in the Old Testament, whereby He seems to be as unpredictable as the weather.

Take the example of how he dealt with Moses.  On the one hand, God appeared to close one eye when Moses killed the Egyptian in Exodus 2:12.  Yet, in Exodus 4:24, we read about how God wanted to kill Moses because he was not circumcised!  But what really took the cake for me was that after all that Moses had done for God (getting Pharaoh to release the Israelites from slavery, parting the Red Sea, bringing the Ten Commandments, having the blueprint to construct the Tabernacle, etc), we read in Numbers 20 that God forbade him from entering the promised land just because he struck the rock instead of speaking to it!

So how can God claim to be the same yesterday, today and forever, when His behaviour is like that of a baby, who giggles and smiles at you one moment, and then throws his toys out of the pram in a hissy fit the next?

Stay tuned, and we will journey through the Exodus story in the next blog entry.

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Q10. Why Did God Kill Onan and Yet Spare Tamar?

TODAY'S HEADLINES
Source: http://rarebible.files.wordpress.com

<---  MAN DIES MYSTERIOUSLY AFTER ALLOWING HIS SEMEN TO SPILL TO THE GROUND

Source: http://biblestudyoutlines.org




WIDOW TRICKS DAD-IN-LAW INTO SLEEPING WITH HER AND GETS PREGNANT WITH TWINS --->

The above headlines are befitting for a tabloid like The New Paper.

So it would be shockingly scandalous if one were told that the above really happened and is actually recorded in the holy Scriptures, in Genesis 38 to be precise.

Genesis 38

The Message (MSG)
38 1-5 About that time, Judah separated from his brothers and hooked up with a man in Adullam named Hirah. While there, Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite named Shua. He married her, they went to bed, she became pregnant and had a son named Er. She got pregnant again and had a son named Onan. She had still another son; she named this one Shelah. They were living at Kezib when she had him.
6-7 Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn. Her name was Tamar. But Judah’s firstborn, Er, grievously offended God and God took his life.
8-10 So Judah told Onan, “Go and sleep with your brother’s widow; it’s the duty of a brother-in-law to keep your brother’s line alive.” But Onan knew that the child wouldn’t be his, so whenever he slept with his brother’s widow he spilled his semen on the ground so he wouldn’t produce a child for his brother. God was much offended by what he did and also took his life.
11 So Judah stepped in and told his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow at home with your father until my son Shelah grows up.” He was worried that Shelah would also end up dead, just like his brothers. So Tamar went to live with her father.
12 Time passed. Judah’s wife, Shua’s daughter, died. When the time of mourning was over, Judah with his friend Hirah of Adullam went to Timnah for the sheep shearing.
13-14 Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law has gone to Timnah to shear his sheep.” She took off her widow’s clothes, put on a veil to disguise herself, and sat at the entrance to Enaim which is on the road to Timnah. She realized by now that even though Shelah was grown up, she wasn’t going to be married to him.
15 Judah saw her and assumed she was a prostitute since she had veiled her face. He left the road and went over to her. He said, “Let me sleep with you.” He had no idea that she was his daughter-in-law.
16 She said, “What will you pay me?”
17 “I’ll send you,” he said, “a kid goat from the flock.”
She said, “Not unless you give me a pledge until you send it.”
18 “So what would you want in the way of a pledge?”
She said, “Your personal seal-and-cord and the staff you carry.”
He handed them over to her and slept with her. And she got pregnant.
19 She then left and went home. She removed her veil and put her widow’s clothes back on.
20-21 Judah sent the kid goat by his friend from Adullam to recover the pledge from the woman. But he couldn’t find her. He asked the men of that place, “Where’s the prostitute that used to sit by the road here near Enaim?”
They said, “There’s never been a prostitute here.”
22 He went back to Judah and said, “I couldn’t find her. The men there said there never has been a prostitute there.”
23 Judah said, “Let her have it then. If we keep looking, everyone will be poking fun at us. I kept my part of the bargain—I sent the kid goat but you couldn’t find her.”
24 Three months or so later, Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law has been playing the whore—and now she’s a pregnant whore.”
Judah yelled, “Get her out here. Burn her up!”
25 As they brought her out, she sent a message to her father-in-law, “I’m pregnant by the man who owns these things. Identify them, please. Who’s the owner of the seal-and-cord and the staff?”
26 Judah saw they were his. He said, “She’s in the right; I’m in the wrong—I wouldn’t let her marry my son Shelah.” He never slept with her again.
27-30 When her time came to give birth, it turned out that there were twins in her womb. As she was giving birth, one put his hand out; the midwife tied a red thread on his hand, saying, “This one came first.” But then he pulled it back and his brother came out. She said, “Oh! A breakout!” So she named him Perez (Breakout). Then his brother came out with the red thread on his hand. They named him Zerah (Bright).

As a kid growing up in Sunday school, I do not recall any of the teachers daring to make reference to the above chapter in the Bible.  I was made aware of it as a result of reading through the Bible for myself and truth be told, I was extremely stumbled.

Several years later as a teen (with raging hormones), I did recall coming across a book that declared that masturbation was a serious sin, quoting Gen 38:9.  I was terrified, confessed and asked the Lord for forgiveness. and stopped doing so for quite a while, for fear that God would kill me too :p

Yet, that book's explanation did not really gel because while God killed Onan, He spared Judah and Tamar!  Deep inside, I was asking myself why was masturbation considered a serious sin punishable by death, yet sleeping with one's own daughter-in-law (while she was disguised as a prostitute) and getter her pregnant as a result, was not considered serious enough to deserve even the lightest form of punishment?

It was only recently that passages like this began to make sense.  In order to do so, one has to (yup, you guessed it!) use that "scarlet thread" to "connect the dots".  (See the blog entry entitled "Connecting the Dots Via the Scarlet Thread")

When we see events in the light of that first prophecy in the garden of Eden, about the promised seed of Eve, we can understand why God spared some and yet not others.  We note that inevitably, those in Jesus' genealogy were given His full protection and undeserved, unmerited favour.  Examples include:
  • Noah, even though he was a drunkard
  • Abraham, even though he was a liar
  • Jacob, even though he was a swindler
  • Judah and Tamar, even though they slept together as father-in-law and daughter-in-law
while those that Satan used to prevent the seed from coming forth were punished:
  • the mixed-breeds who perished in the flood
  • the heathen kings who tried to get fresh with Sarah
  • the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah
  • Onan, who spilt his semen on the floor
We are not told specifically why God killed Er (Judah's first-born).  But he was described in Gen 38:7 as "wicked in the sight of the Lord".  Given the great battle between good and evil, whereby God was arranging for the seed to come forth, one can probably conclude that Er, just like his younger brother, Onan, was inspired by the devil to prevent the seed from coming forth.

Not only were Judah and Tamar spared, Tamar was even given the honour of being specifically singled out and mentioned in Matthew's account of Jesus' genealogy!  [By the way, genealogies are supposed to only mention the patriarchs, yet the Holy Spirit saw it fit to record the names of 5 women, namely Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba and Mary.  I will blog about this amazing phenomenon of grace in a future post, so look out for that].

Oh by the way, Judah was actually Jacob's fourth-born, and chosen by God to be the tribe that not only led the Israelites into battle, but also produce a worthy line of kings, which included David, Solomon, Josiah, and of course, Jesus, the King of Kings.

Reuben, as Jacob's firstborn, was supposed to receive the kingdom, the priesthood and the double-portion inheritance. But because of his misdeed as recorded in Gen 35:22, whereby he slept with his dad's concubine, he forfeited his birthright, viz:

"The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (he was the firstborn, but when he defiled his father's marriage bed, his rights as firstborn were given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel; so he could not be listed in the genealogical record in accordance with his birthright" (1 Chron 5:1).

As a result, the kingdom ended up going to Judah, the priesthood to Levi and the double-portion inheritance to Joseph (via grandsons Ephraim and Manasseh).

While this was divided under Jacob, all 3 have now been re-united under Jesus. Jesus is the King of Kings, our great High Priest and we are now co-heirs of the inheritance with Him.  Hallelujah!

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Q9. Why Did God Bless Jacob even though he cheated his Dad and Brother?

One of the more familiar Bible stories that I came across as a kid in Sunday School was the one involving Jacob and Esau.

Jacob and Esau were the 2 sons of Isaac and Rebekah.  We read in Gen 25:28 about how dad Isaac doted on the elder son Esau because he was the outgoing type who would hunt for game, while mom Rebekah doted on the younger son Jacob because he was the typical mummy's boy, a homebody who loved cooking.

We read also how Jacob (H3290 יַעֲקֹב Yaakob), which is Hebrew for "supplanter"
  • tricked his brother into selling his birthright for a bowl of stew (Gen 25:29-34)
  • tricked his dad into giving him the first-born blessing by disguising himself as his brother (Gen 27)
Yet we read later on how, in spite of his cunning ways, God chose to bless him, even more so than He did Esau.

In Gen 33, Moses records the reunion of two brothers.  In verse 9, we read Esau saying that he had "plenty" (H7227 רב rab). But Jacob replied in verse 11 that God had given him "everything" (H3605 כל kol).

Those of us with a sense of justice would feel a sense of injustice.  Esau was the victim of fraud, while Jacob was the confidence trickster.  Yet, Esau was penalised while Jacob got away scot-free.  Not only that, Jacob's name was changed to Israel, and he became the ancestor to what we know as the nation with that same name today.

To understand why God chose to do what He did, again we need to use that "scarlet thread" to "connect the dots".  (See the blog entry entitled "Connecting the Dots Via the Scarlet Thread")

I was having a discussion with my sister-in-law a week ago, and she used the phrase "God's perfect will".  Amen to that!  God's perfect will was to fulfil that first prophecy He declared to the devil in Gen 3:15 that a seed of Eve will defeat him.  Anyone that was in His "perfect will" of being in the genealogy of Jesus would somehow be protected, even though they may not have been perfect beings.  We can think of Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Judah, Tamar, Perez, Rahab, David, Bathsheba, and so on.  Those not in His "perfect will" (or even going against His "perfect will") would not be offered such undeserved favour of His protection, and we see the likes of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Esau, Reuben, Onan, Zerah and the elder sons of Jesse (ie. David's  brothers) falling into this category.

Having said that, those in the lineage of Jesus did not exactly get away scot-free if one looks at the bigger picture.  God is a God of justice, and a good judge does not sweep things under the carpet.  Rather, there is to be punishment for their wrongdoings, and this was meted out on the body of Jesus when He hung on the cross 2,000 years ago.  In that moment in time, Jesus became the bronze serpent.

He became the sum total of the worst sins ever committed in the history of mankind (and whatever sins to be committed).  Every rape, murder, act of adultery, etc was (and will be) inputed to Him, if that rapist, murderer, adulterer, etc turns to Him as the solution to their crimes.

On the cross, Jesus became the worst sinner and that was why God the Father had to turn His back on His Son.  This is evidenced by Jesus crying out, "My God, my God. Why have you forsaken me?"(Matt 27:46).

In conclusion, why did God bless Jacob even though he cheated his dad and brother?  It was because Jacob was part of God's "perfect will".

Next up, I will blog about one of, if not the most stumbling passages in the Bible -- Gen 38 -- about Judah and Tamar.  Stay tuned!  :-)

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Q8. Wasn't God Cruel to Test Abraham by Asking Him to Sacrifice Isaac?

Abraham attempting to sacrifice Isaac.
One of the Bible passages I struggled a lot with was the story in Genesis 22, whereby God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac as a way to prove to God that he loved God.

I recall reading an article that appeared in the Sunday Times more than a decade ago whereby the writer made reference to the abovementioned portion of Scripture and said that she would never believe in a God who would be so cruel enough as to test a person's faith by asking him to give up a child that he had waited so many years for.

If one were to put himself in Abraham's shoes, one must have agonised over the situation.  Here was the promised son that took 100 years to come to pass.   In a modern day Singapore context, it was as though that dream bungalow or dream sports car one had to slog 20 years to get, was suddenly going to be taken away overnight.

To understand why God asked Abraham to do the above (and also the significance of many other seemingly confusing events that are recorded in the Old Testament), one has to again use that "scarlet thread" to "connect the dots".  (See the blog entry entitled "Connecting the Dots Via the Scarlet Thread")

There is this saying that "The Old Testament is in the New revealed.  The New Testament is in the Old concealed."  In other words, the Old Testament contains hidden truths that get uncovered and unveiled when one reads the New Testament passages that make reference to those Old Testament passages.

Another way of putting this is that the Old Testament contains types and shadows that point towards the antitype and substance, which is the person of Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross.

A good example of this was used by Jesus Christ Himself.  We are all familiar with the verse John 3:16.  But let's look at the context of that verse:

"14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but[b] have eternal life." (John 3:14-15)

Jesus was having a conversation of Nicodemus, a Pharisee who was very familiar with the Old Testament.  He made reference to the event that took place in Numbers 21, whereby the Israelites were bitten by snakes in the wilderness.  The cure was for them to look at a bronze serpent on a pole that God had asked Moses to make.  Jesus was in essence telling Nicodemus that He was just like that bronze serpent!

That bronze serpent being the solution to the Israelites' snake bites in the wilderness was the "type and shadow" which pointed to the antitype and substance, which is Jesus on the cross being the solution to mankind's sins.

Now back to Abraham and Isaac.  Abraham being willing to sacrifice his son would be a picture of God the Father being willing to sacrifice God the Son. God had told Abraham in Gen 22:2 to "take his son, his only son, the son that he loved" was an indication that He would in time to come take His son, His only son, the Son that He loved.

While Abraham was willing to give up his son, he eventually did not have to do so because Jehovah Jireh provided a ram. While Abraham and Isaac had made their way up one side of the mountain, God's provision had made its way up the other side.

So, Abraham giving up Isaac was something that pointed to Daddy God giving up Jesus Christ. Note that no one else in the Scriptures, be it Jacob or David or Solomon or Peter was asked to make such a sacrifice.

So was God cruel to ask Abraham to sacrifice Isaac?  Not if we understand that Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac was but a type and shadow of the ultimate sacrifice that took place on the cross 2,000 years ago.  While Isaac was ultimately spared, Jesus was not.

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Q7. Why did God Not Punish Abraham for Lying about his Wife?

Let's continue to look at events happening in the Bible which reflect the battle between good and evil following God's prophesy that an offspring of Eve will crush the devil's head, and use the "scarlet thread" to "connect those dots".  (See the blog entry entitled "Connecting the Dots Via the Scarlet Thread")

Let's recap the score so far, which is God 2, Satan 0.

Round 1:
Satan inspires 1st born Cain to kill 2nd born Abel.
God raises a 3rd born Seth to carry the line.
--> God wins Round 1.

Round 2:
Satan sends his followers to take on the form of men to marry human women, so that mankind is blemished.
God preserves the only unblemished man Noah and his family, keeping them safe in the Ark, while the others perish in the flood.
--> God wins Round 2.

Let's now move onto the story of Abraham (previously called Abram).

Abraham is considered to be a great man of faith, so much so that his name appears in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11.

But did he consistently trust in the Lord? The answer is no. Let's examine three separate occasions when Abraham showed a lack of faith:
Abraham passing off Sarah to Abimelech as his sister
Source: http://bibleblender.com/main/wp-content/uploads/image6.png

In Gen 12:10-20 Here we read how Abraham and Sarah had to go to Egypt to avoid a famine. Fearing for his life, he asked Sarah to pretend to be his sister.

In Gen 16:1-5 Here we read how Sarah convinced Abraham to have relations with Hagar, from which came forth Ishmael. They took things into their own hands instead of believing that God would provide in His perfect time.

In Gen 20:1-18 Here we read (again) how Abraham feared for his life, so he (again) asked Sarah to pretend to be his sister.

Let's now see the events in the light of the battle between good and evil and the fulfillment of Gen 3:15.

Round 3:
Satan, having heard that Abraham would be the one to carry the line, caused a famine, put fear into Abraham's heart to the extent he was willing to give up his wife Sarah's dignity on two occasions -- with the Pharaoh of Egypt in Gen 12, and with King Abimelech in Gen 20.
God responded by preventing both the Pharoah and King Abimelech from defiling the one whom He had chosen to carry the offspring. Not only did these kings return Sarah untouched, they even gave Abraham their possessions so that he would keep away from them!
--> God wins Round 3

Round 4:
Satan, knowing that Sarah was the one to carry the line, closed her womb. He also instigated Abraham and Sarah to use their own self-efforts to create an Ishmael, instead of relying upon God.
God's timing is always perfect, and He blesses them with Isaac, from whom the patriarchs Jacob and Judah came forth.
--> God wins Round 4.

Round 5:
Satan was simultaneously adopting a parallel attack in getting mankind to go against the first commandment of man "being fruitful and multiplying" when he made the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah to prefer their own gender.
To prevent this from becoming a bad influence on Abraham (who was to be a father of many nations), God had to destroy those cities with brimstone and fire.
--> God wins Round 5.

Score so far: God 5, Satan 0.

So why did God punish the heathen kings instead of Abraham?  That's because those kings were inspired by the evil one to corrupt the seed.  Abraham did wrong too, but God spared him because he was to be part of Jesus' genealogy.  Ultimately, all those wrongdoings of Abraham were imputed to Jesus, and Jesus paid the full price for them on the cross.

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Q6. Why Was Noah Spared the Flood?

Imagine that you pick up the New Paper one day to read the following headline:

"FATHER OF THREE FOUND NAKED BY SONS IN DRUNKEN STUPOR.
FATHER WAKES UP AND CURSES HIS YOUNGEST SON FOR EXPOSING HIM."

What impression would you form about this father and his son?

Now let's read Gen 9:20-24...

20 And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. 
21 Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent. 
22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. 23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.
24 So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him. 25 Then he said:
“Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants, He shall be to his brethren.”

One of the most familiar stories in the Bible is regarding Noah and the flood.

What may not have been expounded in detail, however, was the event leading up to the flood (as well as the above event that happened after the flood).

I remember my Sunday School teachers telling us very simplistically that Noah was spared from God's judgement because the entire world was wicked and evil, whereas only he, his three sons Shem, Ham and Japheth and their wives were good and upright.

Yet we read in Gen 9 about how Noah got drunk one day and lay naked, and his youngest son Ham ratted on him. When Noah woke up, he placed a curse on the descendants of Ham.

This doesn't seem like the behaviour of persons who were good and upright, does it?

Noah was unblemished, just like those animal sacrifices.
So why then did God spare him and his family, yet everyone else had to perish in the flood?

For that, we need to read the account leading up to the flood.

In Gen 6:9, Noah was described as a "perfect man". The original Hebrew word is tamiym תָּמִים (Strong's 08549), which means "without blemish" or "unadulterated".

This same word is also used to describe the condition of animals that were acceptable to be offered unto the Lord under the Levitical customs.

Earlier in the same chapter, we also read about "unholy unions" between fallen angels and humans.

Gen 6:1-3 (Contemporary English Version)

More and more people were born, until finally they spread all over the earth. Some of their daughters were so beautiful that supernatural beings came down and married the ones they wanted.

What resulted from those unholy unions were gigantic freaks (or what some versions refer to as Nephilim).

Now why would these fallen angels want to do that?

For that, we have to go back to that first prophecy that took place in the Garden of Eden in Gen 3:15, where God said that Eve's seed would one day defeat the devil.

In response, Satan first tried to stop the seed by inspiring Cain to kill Abel.  Well, he failed to do so, because Adam and Eve went on to have other children, Seth being one of them.

So what did Satan do next?  He summoned his followers to corrupt the seed of Eve, hoping that it would prevent that prophesy from coming to pass!

But thankfully, God was again one step ahead of the evil one. Noah and his family were the only ones left who remained unblemished as pure human. He was asked to build the ark and take pairs of each kind of animal with him. The workings of the devil in trying to corrupt the seed of Eve came to an abrupt end when all the products of the unholy unions perished in the flood.

It was important for Jesus to be fully-man, in order that He could be a kinsman-redeemer to the human race.

Hence, if we "connect the dots" using the "scarlet thread", we will understand not only why God spared Noah and his family, but also why He had to send the flood to wipe out everyone else.

[See the blog entry entitled "Connecting the Dots Via the Scarlet Thread"]

In other words, Noah was spared not because he was without sin, but because he was the only unblemished specimen of mankind left on earth!

By the way, the genealogy of Noah is recorded for us in Genesis 5.

Adam
Seth
Enosh
Kenan
Mahalalel
Jared
Enoch
Methusaleh
Lamech
Noah

Note the hidden message in there, which is that "At the appointed time, the blessed God shall come down as a mortal man, acquaint Himself with sorrow and teach us that His death shall bring the despairing rest/comfort."

We see the genealogy of Jesus being preserved through the flood.

The lineage from Noah to Abraham as recorded in Gen 11:10-32 is as follows:

Noah
Shem
Arphaxad
Cainan
Shelah
Eber
Peleg
Reu
Serug
Nahor
Terah
Abraham

There is not much mentioned about the patriarchs between Shem and Abraham.

However, Abraham was told specifically by God that he would become a father of many nations. The devil heard this and hence began his dirty deeds in earnest again.

Next up, I will blog about what he tried to do to Abraham and Sarah to prevent the first prophecy from happening, and how God continued to outsmart him.

Friday, June 7, 2013

Q5. Why did God Punish Some People yet Allow Others to Get Away Scot-Free?

Source: http://kevingriggs.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/unfair.png
Ok, having explained yesterday about "Connecting the Dots via the Scarlet Thread", let us now discuss one of, if not *the* most common question every Christian would have asked at some stage of our journey, and that is "why did God punish some people yet allow others to get away scot-free?" or some variation of that question.

Here are just some examples listing down those who appear to have gotten away relatively scot-free, and those who were punished or appear to have been unfairly treated:

S/N (Link) Got Away Relatively Scot-free Punished / Unfairly Treated  Scriptural Reference
01Noah Those who perished in the floodGenesis 9:20-27; Genesis 6:9-8:22
02Abraham Pharoah, AbimelechGenesis 12; Genesis 20
03 Jacob EsauGenesis 25 - 27
04 Judah and Tamar Er and Onan, ReubenGenesis 35:22; Gen 38
05 The Israelites (between Egypt and Mt Sinai) The Israelites (after Mt Sinai)Exodus 1-18; Exodus 19 onwards
06 Rahab AchanJoshua 2; Joshua 7
07 Gibeonites All other inhabitants of Canaan (ie. Jericho, Ai, Jerusalem, etc)Joshua 9; Joshua 6, 8, 10, 11-13
08 Gideon Jepthah Judges 8:30-31; Judges 11:31
09 Ruth Naomi's family (husband Elimelek, and sons Mahlon and Kilion)Ruth
10 David and Bathsheba Uriah the Hittite 2 Samuel 11
11 Gomer (Hosea's wife) Hosea Hosea

Over the next few days, we will go through each of the cases in turn, using that scarlet thread to join the dots :-)

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Connecting the Dots Via the Scarlet Thread

How many petals do you see?
When I was in kindergarten, I remember the teacher giving us activity sheets whereby there was an incomplete drawing, such as the one shown on the right.  We had to connect the dots by using a coloured pencil to draw a line from 1 to 2, from 2 to 3, and so on, and upon connecting the last pair of dots, the picture would be revealed.

By just glancing at the drawing, we can figure out that it is that of a flower because of the stem and leaves below, and the smiley face representing the centre of the flower.  But we cannot really make out how many petals there are exactly, until we connect the dots sequentially from 1 to 16.

The Bible appears to many of us like that incomplete drawing.  We are able to figure out the big picture, such as that God loves us, that Jesus came to die for our sins, that we will go to heaven after we depart from this earth.

But we struggle to make out certain passages in the Bible.  For example, why did God punish some yet let others get away?  Or why did God choose women of disrepute to be Jesus' genealogy?  These are like the unseen petals in that drawing.

So how do we "connect the dots" for such passages?  For that kindergarten activity, we used a coloured pencil.  For the Bible, we have to use a "scarlet thread".

Bloggers for Christ.  Thanks Terence for the lunch, and Ps Kenny for the photo.
I was having lunch with a couple of good friends I met in blogosphere at Folks Collective just a couple of days ago.  The place is packed during lunchtime and the food is served in 3 cute red containers.

In the course of conversation, we happened to talk about my re-blogging, and how I felt led to share the journey I have personally gone through. How I had many tough questions about passages in the Bible that I did not dare ask, and how everything sudden made sense when one sees it in the light of that first prophecy in the garden of Eden.

BlogPastor then came up with the term "scarlet thread"!

Now, imagine you are watching a game of chess, with God on one side, and the devil on the other.

All of God's moves are to fulfil...

The First Prophecy

Gen 3:15

"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel."

Earlier in that chapter, we read about how Adam and Eve succumbed to the temptation of the devil (who took the form of a serpent). God prophesied that someday, an offspring of Eve would ultimately crush the devil's head and bring about his defeat.

God has revealed His intention and thrown down the gauntlet.  What would Satan's response be?


All of Satan's counter-moves are to...

Stop the Seed!

Satan was told that one of Eve's descendants would cause his downfall, but he did not know who exactly. Hence, he did everything he could to stop the seed, and prevent the champion from coming forth.

Some examples would be:
  • inspiring Cain to kill Abel (Gen 4:8)
    • Abel's sacifice was pleasing to God, so he thought Abel was the promised seed
  • getting his fallen angels to corrupt mankind by cohabiting with the daughters of Eve (Gen 6:2)
    • this practice was so widespread that it reached the stage whereby Noah and his family were the only ones on the face of the earth to be pure humans, the rest were giants and freaks
  • getting men to be attracted to other men in Sodom and Gomorrah
    • because no seed would be able to come forth from homosexual relationships
  • getting Onan to spill his seed (Gen 38:9)
    • Satan would rather this, than for mankind to populate
When we start to see things that happen in the context of the great spiritual battle through the centuries, we will then realise why in some cases, God spared and yet in others, God judged.

So why the term "scarlet thread"?  "Thread" in the sense that it is the one underlying theme that weaves through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation "connecting the dots", as it were, and "scarlet" because it involves availing the blood of Jesus, going back in time to redeem the patriarchs and going forward into the future so that no one should perish.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Q4. Are There Aliens in Outer Space?

I am sure many of us would have read stories or seen movies speculating about there being life on other planets in the universe. The sighting of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) is supposed proof of these alien beings.

ET go away, and don't come back, ever.
Among the all-time top-grossing box-office favourites are "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "ET: The Movie".

So what should our response be as Christians to the question, "Are there aliens in outer space?"

Although Scripture does not specifically mention about the above, such beliefs would not be consistent with the gospel story.

In Gen 1, we read about how God created the heavens and the earth (ie. the entire universe) and out of all the thousands if not millions of planets out there, He chose to specifically place life -- the plants, the animals and finally man -- only on planet earth. We read also in Gen 2:18 that God said that it was no good for Adam to be alone, and so He created a suitable helpmeet for him, Eve.

We cannot find in the creation story any indication that God placed any other life forms elsewhere in the universe. Or that He created any other humans besides Adam and Eve. Rather it says that after 6 days, God looked at all that He had created and said it was very good. And then He rested from His work.

In other words, what the Bible says is that mankind originated from one couple -- Adam and Eve. There was no pre-Adamic race, or extra-Adamic race.

In Romans 5, Paul mentions that through the disobedience of one man, Adam, sin and death entered the world:

Romans 5:12
[ Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ ]
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men.

Romans 5:19
For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

In Rom 8:22, he further states that "the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time" because via that one act of disobedience, the entire universe became cursed.

Just for argument's sake, let us suppose that God did create life on some other planet. Wouldn't the devil equally want to cause havoc on that planet since by his very nature, he is an adversary and opponent to the Lord? That being the case, what would make that human on that planet better at withstanding temptations compared to Adam? The argument will then lead to God having to redeem that race as well, Jesus having to have another genealogy through that other man, Jesus having to die for them, and so on. When we take the argument to its logical conclusion, we find that it does not fit in with Scripture. After all, we know that Jesus died for sins once for all (Heb 10:1-3) and cannot be dying all over again for some extra-Adamic race.

So why do people choose to believe that aliens and UFOs exist then? This is because they do not want to believe in a God that is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient. They do not want to admit that they are sinners in need of a Saviour.  Rather than believing what the Bible says about creation, they are exchanging truth for a lie (Rom 1:25), believing that somehow, there is a "higher" and "more intelligent" form of life that is able to send spaceships halfway across the universe. God is taken out of the equation.

The unidentified flying objects are at best figments of someone's imagination, and at worst demonic distractions to puts doubts in the minds of people about the credibility of the Bible, since they present an alternative and inconsistent viewpoint to the creation story.

The devil uses different ways and means to get mankind not to believe in God. After all, he is fighting for the souls of men. So we need to be go back to the firm foundation of the Word, and use that to reject counterfeit versions of creation -- be it evolution, or aliens life forms, or some other fascinating story that is devoid of God.

So there you have it.  There are no aliens in outer space, because such a belief is not consistent with the creation story and the gospel story in the Bible.

Next up: Q5. Why did God punish some people yet allow others to get away scot-free?

The answer to this question requires context, and for that, I will first need to introduce the concept of what a pastor friend of mine terms "The Scarlet Thread".  Stay tuned!

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Q3. How Did Dinosaurs Enter the Ark?

Many of us must have read Science books or watched the movie Jurassic Park, and seen pictures of these awfully gigantic creatures known as dinosaurs.

Scientific evidence indicate that these massive animals existed at one stage in time in history.

In an earlier post, I mentioned that science and the Bible should not contradict each other.  If anything, science should support the Bible.

If that is the case, why is it that the Bible doesn't talk about dinosaurs?  And given their enormous size, how did they get onto Noah's ark?

Let me answer the 2nd part of the question first, i.e. how did dinosaurs enter the Ark?

For that, we have to first correct some of our own wrong impressions that have formed over the years.

Please do not capsize!
Sometime in August 2007, my then-cell group attended a talk by Creation Ministries International that was held in my church.

During that talk, the speaker told us that one of the reasons why people do not believe the Genesis account (such as creation, Noah's flood, etc) is because they have seen pictures of Noah's Ark drawn in cartoon form.

Usually, the Ark is no larger than a bathtub, with giraffes' heads sticking out from it, and appears so unstable that it can topple at any time, what less withstand a huge catastrophic flood.


Now, this is more like it.  Huge and stable.
Somehow, such wrong impressions can consciously or unconsciously discredit the Bible and relegate its accounts to mere fairytales or fables, and cause people not to believe the truth that can set them free.

Well, the truth of the matter is that the Ark that Noah built was very, very huge and very, very stable. It was the size of 81 five-room HDB flats (27 flats X 3 storeys high).

The giraffes' head did not need to protrude from the top, and there was sufficient room for the dinosaurs, hippos, elephants, as well as hundreds of other animals.

Panoramic photo of Ark replica located at Noah's Ark Resort, Hong Kong.
To truly appreciate how massive the Ark really was, I highly recommend that anyone going to Hong Kong make a trip to Noah's Ark Resort.  It has a full-size replica of the Ark built to biblical proportions.  My family went there in November last year, and it was a truly eye-opening experience for me.  A panoramic photo which I took is shown above.

Gen 6:19-20 says
19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 
20 Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive.

From the above verses, we see that God had commanded Noah to take pairs of each kind of animal onboard.  Note that He said "kind", which means just a pair of rodents, a pair of felines, a pair of canines, a pair of bovines, a pair of equines, and so on.  

The next time we take the MRT, just take a look around and you will find not just Chinese, Malays and Indians but also Filipinos, Thais, Koreans and even Caucasians.  We speak different languages, embrace different cultures, and look very different from one another.  Yet, if we took a step back and ponder, we will realise that every single one of these people are all related to us through Noah and 3 his sons!

If we are able to comprehend and accept that all of us humans descended from the 8 humans on the Ark, then we should likewise also be able to concede that the pair of rodents Noah brought onto the ark would be the ancestors of my niece's pet hamster, my pet chinchilla, that rat you see scurrying in the nearby rubbish dump, and the squirrels that frequent McRitchie Reservoir.

The pair of felines onboard Noah's Ark would be the ancestors of the pet cats my sister keeps, that lion in the Singapore Zoo, and the cheetahs and tigers you see on Animal Planet.

The first pair of canines would be the ancestors of the pet dogs in my colleagues' house, as well as the wolves, foxes, and jackals that roam out in the wild.

So too, are buffaloes, zebras and yaks descendants of that pair of bovines, while zebras, hippos and donkeys are descendants of that pair of equines.

Let me digress here, but it is times like this that make me appreciate the Chinese language.

For example, rodents have the "鼠" character, hence
squirrel = 松鼠
chinchilla = 灰鼠
hamster = 仓鼠
guinea pig = 豚鼠

Bovines have the "牛" character, hence
rhino = 犀牛
buffalo = 水牛
bison = 野牛
yak = 牦牛

With that in mind, it would thus be entirely possible to fit all the required animals and birds on the Ark.

Note also that nowhere is it mentioned in the Bible that it was a requirement for Noah to bring on board adult animals.  Hence, a pair of juvenile dinosaurs would have sufficed, small enough to fit into the Ark.  After the waters had subsided, the animals would have come of age, left the ark and procreated, including the pair of dinosaurs.

Afternote: A brother asked how come there was a dove and a raven on board the Ark.  Thanks for your question, bro!  For this, let's look at Gen 7:2-3:

2 Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, 3 and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth

The extra pairs of clean animals were meant for sacrificial purposes ("Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it." Gen 8: 20).

Furthermore, Noah was asked to become an omnivore after he got off the Ark ("Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything." Gen 9:3)

In Gen 1:6-8, we read that the atmosphere was surrounded by a firmament, and this probably kept the climate cool throughout the day (see Gen 3:8 where we read that "God was walking in the garden in the cool of the day").  This would have been ideal for animals such as the dinosaurs to live relatively free from harm.  After all, before the fall, death was an alien concept to God's creation.  It was because of man's original sin that death came about.

In Gen 7:11, we read that "the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened".  Water covered the entire earth, so God had to tilt the earth in order for the excess water to gather at the poles.  This tilting of the earth also resulted in the 4 seasons, and animals that could not adapt to the severe change in environment would gradually become extinct.  That may explain why we do not see dinosaurs anymore.

Now let's get back to answering the 1st part of the question, which is why did the Bible not mention anything about dinosaurs.

For that we have to understand that the term "dinosauria" only came about in 1842.  It was coined by scientist Richard Owen to describe what he considered to be "fearfully great reptiles".

The book of Job, which dates back to 2,000 B.C., mentions creatures such as "behemoth" and "leviathan" in chapters 40 and 41 respectively.  Just because that scientist chose to come up with the word "dinosaur" does not necessary mean that he was not referring to the same creature.  After all, many scientists are atheists who do not acknowledge that there is a creator God, and the lesser they make reference to the Bible, the better they think they will be.

So there you have it.  Dinosaurs entered the Ark as young creatures, and just a pair of its kind (from which other dinosaurs could come forth) would have sufficed to re-populate the earth.

Next up: Q4. Are there aliens in outer space?