I know that by this time, I am really trying your patience, but you give me such true Bible information.  This time, please tell me about Isaiah 41.  Thanks in advance.

Sincerely,
A Repeat AYPer

Dear A Repeat AYPer,

Isaiah 41 is the beginning of a discourse in the book of Isaiah that will continue through chapter 48.  Chapter 41 is a challenge by God to the idolatrous nations surrounding Israel (the people of the coastlands – Isa. 41:1).  God promises that they will soon be attacked and conquered by a nation from the east (Isa 41:2).  This nation will be Persia, led by King Cyrus (Isa 45:1).  Isaiah says that the nations will tremble when God sends Persia to attack (Isa. 41:5), but sadly, instead of turning to God, they will build more idols to help them (Isa 41:6-7).  God will use Persia to protect Israel and once again strengthen the nation (Isa 41:14-16).  In Isa 41:17-20, God promises to protect and provide His care to those who call upon Him.  And lastly, in Isa 41:21-29, God challenges the idols (and by implication, the idolatrous people) to see who is stronger.  If idols are real gods – they should have no problem protecting their followers.  Of course, they are not, and God’s sarcasm is clearly seen in this challenge to the idols made out of rocks and blocks of wood.

In Job 1:6 and Job 2:1, if these sons of God are people instead of angels (because it literally translates in Hebrew as "sons" or "children"), can the same thing be said about Satan here because "satan" here literally translates in Hebrew as "adversary", so this Satan is just a person and not the supernatural being that we know of, right?

Sincerely,
Adversary Aware

Dear Adversary Aware,

The word ‘satan’ does mean ‘adversary’, and it takes specific context to tell us what type of adversary it is.  If you were talking about a football match, the adversary would be the other team.  In this case, the adversary is someone that had the power to supernaturally destroy Job’s physical possessions (Job 1:12-19) and to strike Job with sickness (Job 2:7).  The context of this scenario makes it clear that the adversary is the devil.

(This post is a follow-up to “Blood In Both Directions”)

Does this mean, according to Paul, the justification and reconciliation could be attained despite the fact that the matter of faith in the Christ remained a secret until the first century when it became revealed to Paul and his associates?  Was the conscious faith not necessary until then for some reason?

Sincerely,
Just Wondering Jew

Dear Just Wondering Jew,

People who lived before Christ were still saved by faith in God.  The whole point of faith is that it is a matter of trusting whatever God has told you (Rom 10:17).  Faith assumes that there are pieces of the puzzle that aren’t revealed to you yet... but that the person (or in this case Deity) that you are putting your faith in is trustworthy (Heb 11:1).  The Old Testament saints had faith in Christ because they trusted in the Messiah that was to come.  The New Testament saints have faith in Christ as they trust the words of the Messiah who walked this earth many years ago… both groups have faith in Christ.  Each group had different instructions and different information that God had given them to follow, but they both had faith in the same God (1 Cor 10:1-4).  Each group had a conscious faith in God – just different rules to follow.

Hello.  I am a religious Jew but am interested in understanding other religions.  My question is: how did Paul explain how Jews (or Gentiles) were able to be justified (righteous) with or without the Law if the salvation of the Christ was a secret until it was revealed to him and his colleagues in the first century?  How did David and Abraham acquire righteousness if they (or anyone else) did not know about the role of the Christ?  Thanks.

Sincerely,
Just Wondering Jew

Dear Just Wondering Jew,

The New Testament teaches that the sacrifices that cleansed the Jewish people from sin never truly removed the sin (Heb 10:1-4).  The Jewish nation (along with all faithful people) needed God’s blood to permanently remove sin and make them righteous.  When Jesus died on the cross, His blood paid the price for those who had gone before and those who were to come after… one sacrifice for all sins (Heb 10:12).

All mankind is saved by faith in God, including those found in the Old Testament.  Abraham lived by faith and is considered the father of the faithful (Rom 4:11-12).  Abraham didn’t understand the mystery of what God would do in Christ, but he did live knowing that God would send salvation (Jhn 8:56).  Moses placed his faith in God (which includes Jesus because Jesus is Deity – Jhn 1:1-3) and was rewarded for it (Heb 11:24-26).  All the faithful who lived before Christ did so in expectation of better things through God (Heb 11:13).  Though they didn’t understand the details, all the faithful of the Old Testament anxiously anticipated the coming of the Messiah (1 Pet 1:10-12).  Jesus’ blood covered the sins of those who looked forward to the coming of the Messiah… as well as the sins of those who rejoice that He already came.

Can you tell me something about generational curses?  Aren’t they a special kind of curse and not for everybody?

Sincerely,
Checking The Family Tree

Dear Checking The Family Tree,

Children pay for the choices their parents make.  People pay for the sins of those who have gone before.  If your father was an axe murderer, it would affect you, your children, maybe even your grandchildren (Ex 34:7)… but eventually he would be forgotten, and the consequences of his behavior would dissipate.  That is what the generational curse is – that children must live with the repercussions of their parents’ choices.  Everyone has baggage and troubles that are brought on them by the generations that have gone before.

However, every person has the God-given gift of free will (Matt 7:13-14).  In spite of what the generations before have done, we all have the ability to work out our own salvation and change our lives (Php 2:12).  Our physical lives are often dictated and controlled (at least partially) by the choices of those around us, most notably our parents, but the state of our soul is our own responsibility.  Each of us must seek God (Col 3:1) and serve Him regardless of what previous generations have done.