I have a million questions, but let's start with Genesis 1:1.  What does "In the beginning" mean exactly?  God doesn't have a beginning or end, so whose beginning is it exactly?  Also, "God created the heavens and the earth": does ‘heavens’ mean like where we'll go someday, where God resides, the sky above us, or does it mean the universe?  ‘The earth’ I'm assuming refers to the planet Earth, or does it mean the ground on the planet Earth?  Thank you!

Sincerely,
Back To The Beginning

Dear Back To The Beginning,

“In the beginning” refers to our beginning, not God’s.  Gen 1:1 marks the beginning of mankind and this world’s existence.  You are absolutely right that God has no beginning or end (1 Tim 1:17).  But mankind had a beginning, and that is what is being discussed.

When the “heavens and earth” are discussed in Gen 1:1, those words refer to the first day of creation when the planet earth was created formless and void (Gen 1:2); the dry land on this planet wasn’t created until day three (Gen 1:9-13).  The heavens created at this time would be all the rest of the universe – but wouldn’t include the blue skies of Earth’s atmosphere (those were created on day two – Gen 1:6-8).  We hope that helps with your understanding of the wonderful account of how God created the universe.

Since my giant “discovery” of the Gospel this past year, I have been thinking a lot about salvation, and my logic is coming up short and creating a huge hole in the picture of God’s gift of salvation.  My thought process is fallen, and I know that just because it doesn’t make sense in my brain, that doesn’t mean it’s not the truth.  I tend to warp things in my head, and I wanted another perspective on this.

Problem: There are two scenarios for the creation of the human race.

1. God created us as imperfect and purposely inserted the flaw into our nature that allowed and allows us to choose sin.  This doesn’t seem like the correct scenario because there is no glory in “stacking the deck.”  There is no glory in fixing a problem that you created, and more over, the fact that He created the original problem would put us in a position of deserving to be fixed and deserving His salvation. This directly affects the Gospel.  It calls into question our responsibility for our actions.  For if we are not the cause of our sin, then we do in fact deserve God’s salvation, and it is terribly unjust for Him to deny salvation to so many.  This option directly contradicts everything I have learned about the character of God and unless my logic is unsound, can be ruled out.    (Although in Exodus, God clearly hardens Pharaohs heart and then punishes him.  This, to me, doesn’t fit into the ‘just’ characteristic…)
2. If we rule out the first scenario, that leaves the option that God did create us as perfect.  But how can perfection degenerate by itself?  Shouldn’t the definition of perfection include sustainability?  Even if we had the free will to choose, how could a perfect nature fail, give in to temptation, and choose to sin against God?

Sincerely,
Perfecting Perfect

Dear Perfecting Perfect,

‘Perfect’ means ‘complete’ or ‘having all the desirable and required elements’.  Perfect doesn’t mean that something can’t be broken or fail.  A car engine can be in perfect condition, and yet, if you don’t put oil in it – it will break.  A house can be perfectly constructed and still be destroyed by an earthquake.  When God made Adam and Eve, He made them without defect (Gen 1:31).  They were made exactly as He intended them – in His image (Gen 1:26).  Adam and Eve were designed with eternal souls and the ability to choose their own destiny.  They were perfectly designed with the free will to choose to love God or to choose to rebel against Him.  In fact, if mankind were designed so that it would be impossible for them to sin – they wouldn’t have free will.  God has given us the great gift of choice, and it is up to us what we do with it (Deu 30:19).

On a separate note, let’s address the issue of the Pharaoh’s heart being hardened.  It is true that Ex 4:21 says that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, but Ex 8:15 says that Pharaoh hardened his own heart.  Both are true.  God hardened Pharaoh’s heart by sending Moses to take his slaves away, and Pharaoh chose to allow the plagues to anger and harden his heart instead of soften it.  God sent the events that affected Pharaoh’s heart, and Pharaoh chose how he would react to them.  Once again, we see God giving man the freedom to choose his own destiny.

In the Bible, who is responsible for most of the miracles?

Sincerely,
Keeping A Tally

Dear Keeping A Tally,

The short answer is: God.  God is responsible for ALL of the miracles in the Bible.  Anyone in the Bible that performed miracles performed them through God’s power (Acts 2:22).  As for who specifically performed the most miracles – there is no way of telling.  Even if you counted up all the miracles that we read about, it still wouldn’t answer the question because we know that there were miracles that the Bible didn’t record (Jhn 21:25).  The purpose of Biblical miracles was to bear witness to the men who were preaching (Jhn 3:2).  The miracles were proof to the people of that day that Jesus really was the Messiah and approved by God (Acts 2:22).

The book of Job, chapter 14:1-6: “A man is born of a woman.”  What do those verses mean?  Explain them to me please.

Sincerely,
Guys And Dolls

Dear Guys And Dolls,

Job 14:1-6 is a continuation of Job’s explanation of the difficulty he faces in his circumstances.  Job is pointing out the shortness and strain of human life.  People are born, they live their short lives, and God determines the length of their days.  Everything Job says is true except for the sense of gloom and doom.  Though no one could blame Job for feeling so pessimistic about life, he is missing one important component of the human existence – hope.  Hope is God’s gift to the faithful that allows us to persevere and look forward to an eternal life in heaven (Rom 8:24, 1 Tim 4:10).

Please refresh my memory regarding Nazirites.  First of all, does this word simply mean "separated", or does the word have something to do with the city of Nazareth?

What lessons can we learn from those who lived under this vow, and for what purpose did God place an importance upon those He raised up as such?(Amos 2:11)

We know that Samson and Samuel lived their lives as Nazirites, but could John the Baptist also have lived under this vow according to Luke 1:15?

Then in Lamentations 4:7, I am confused as to who is being referred to here.

Lastly, (sorry for so many questions regarding this!) it appears to me that a person could choose to be a Nazirite for a "set amount of time".  Is it possible that Jesus ever took this vow?  Obviously not when He instituted the Lord's Supper, but I am just curious.  Thank you so much.  This is a wonderful website!

Sincerely,
I’d Like To Buy A Vow

Dear I’d Like To Buy A Vow,

Nazirite does indeed mean ‘separated’ or ‘consecrated’.  A Nazirite was someone who had taken a vow to serve God by abstaining from various things for a specified period of time.  The list of things involved with being a Nazirite can be seen in Num 6:1-9.  The most notable traits of a Nazirite were that they wouldn’t cut their hair, and they abstained from all grape products.

Nazirites were people who were voluntarily, deeply committed to serving God and made great sacrifices to put God first in their lives.  There is little we know about the life of a Nazirite.  Their vow to abstain from certain things seems similar to the idea of fasting – when you give something up for God, it is a sign of your commitment and dedication, and it helps to keep you focused on your spiritual goals.  Amos 2:11-12 is addressing how much God loved and appreciated Nazirites, and it contrasts that love with how Israel abused them.

Samson was a lifelong Nazirite (Judg 13:5), and Hannah consecrated Samuel as a Nazirite from birth (1 Sam 1:11).  We don’t know for sure whether John the Baptist was a Nazirite… but Lk 1:15 certainly lends toward it.

Lamentations is an entire book dedicated to Jeremiah’s sorrow over the fall of Jerusalem.  Lam 4:7 is part of that lament.  The nobles/Nazirites (depending on your translation) are the consecrated and faithful that used to populate the streets and faithfully serve God.  With wistful sorrow, Jeremiah remembers the days when people were faithful and godly in Jerusalem.

And lastly, it is not likely that Jesus was ever a Nazirite.  The reason for this is that He had a reputation for being the exact opposite of John the Baptist (Lk 7:33-34).  Since it is likely John the Baptist was a Nazirite, Jesus wouldn’t have ever been one.