Thursday, January 22, 2015

Was there not a word for rest, either?

My daddy used to say, "The guilty cry the loudest," or something like that. In this case, the amount of defensiveness from some "followers" is making me feel a little suspicious.

First of all, there are many, many Psalms that use words that mean command, decree, law, etc. One of the ones I like that came to mind instantly is, "I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word." Psalm 119:6



A trusted source for many years has been Strong's Concordance. I googled and found on a site that pulls such free resources together in one accessible place: http://www.biblehub.com/hebrew/3982.htm

The word maamar means: a word, command. Ir is taken from amar, which means: something (authoritatively) said, i.e. An edict -- commandment, decree.

While it is true, as in Galatians 5:1, that we are no longer bound by the law, it was Christ who set us free: "So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law."

Did God accidentally write the commandments all in the negative sense instead of the positive? Have you ever watched a child for even a day before, whose family doesn't believe in saying no, but only using positive words? Try it sometime. We need to be self disciplined enough to say no, be told no, and accept no! The positives could have been presented alongside as benefits. But I need no further benefits to convince me to follow Christ as one who's experienced the freedom of redemption that only comes with repentance!

Was there no word for rest, either? What right do we have to reword God's word? None. In fact, we're promised plagues at one point if we alter the words of the scroll in Revelation 22:18 - "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll."

So the uproar is one thing, the defense is one thing, but the teaching is not sound, in my opinion.