A middle-aged Mexican lady and her husband sat across from me in the clean swept patio of their little home. I could smell the beans bubbling in the clay pot on a wood fire. Hand made fresh tortillas were wrapped in cotton towels in preparation for the evening meal. We relaxed together and chit-chatted in their native language. After a while, I asked them if they owned a Bible. The woman went inside their adobe house and took out a Catholic family bible that hadn’t been opened for years. They had it displayed in a place of honor as a symbol of their faith in God, Jesus and the Virgin Mary. They listened carefully for a few minutes as I explained how it was possible to read their Bible for themselves. I leafed through the Old Testament and read a verse to them which they had never heard. I was discussing how their religion had changed the Bible and they were visibly nervous.
The man started to stand up and his wife told me in her rich accented Spanish, “No podemos entender la Biblia por nosotros mismos. El sacerdote nos ensena todo lo que necesitamos saber para salvarnos. Él sabe mucho porque él ha estudiado el latino y el griego.” (We cannot understand the Bible for ourselves. The priest teaches us everything we need to know for our salvation. He knows a lot because he learned Latin and Greek.)
Three religious leaders stand together above a turbulent sea and seal-covered cliffs.
I knew the conversation was at an end and shook hands with them before I left with a few mangoes that they gave me from their tree. Discouraged again, I realized that the only ones who listened to me were those who were not so involved in their religion. They were considered secular and perhaps attended mass only once or twice a year.
Since my husband and I made Aliyah to Israel seven years ago, we see a similar pattern in Judaism. We hear: “Our rabbis have studied all the books of Talmud, Mishneh, Gemara, Kabbalah, Zohar and they read the Torah in Hebrew. Our “Holy Sages” have lighted the way for us and we learn from our rabbis so that we can understand the required Halakhah and can live the life of following the Holy Torah.” It’s the same story, different religion.
Several Protestant religions, including Mormons, JWs, Seventh day Adventists and perhaps others also claim prophets with increased light that explain the Bible. All religions claim to be the way to heaven. Understandably, the masses are hooked, understandably for those who have been taught that they have no right to think outside the box.
I continually ask why people have stopped thinking for themselves. Is it true that the Eternal doesn’t speak to us individually any more? Is the Torah so hard to understand that we need dozens of books of commentaries to explain it? Why are people throwing out their reasoning capacities and replacing them with the thoughts of others? Is religion only a congregational thing under the guidance of leadership?– and not an individual connection with the Creator?
What about Islam? Has it not brow-beaten its own people into mass subjugation? — And for the most zealous, it has stirred them to commit violence on all those who do not accept their laws which lead to their own desire for world domination!
Karl Marx once said: “Religion is the opium of the people.” This becomes true when all individual thought is given up. People go along to get along. It helps to feel part of something bigger even if we have no individuality! Have we taught our children to “shut up or put up” instead of questioning things? And why does it bother us if a child argues about things that are important to him? Are we too busy to listen? Too busy to explore his thoughts and carefully guide him where necessary and support him in his quest for truth about life?
Isn’t it true that religion has played a crucial role in opening the door to the woke world we live in today. Wokeness is the new religion and we well know how to play the game. Few are the men and women who stand alone while the crowds follow the leader and like lemmings fall off the cliff of reality.
How do we make a change? Is it even possible? Could study of the simple Bible (Tanakh) provide a possible basis for change?
As the world spins out of control into an oblivion of blind madness following that which even the sharpest do not understand, can anyone stop and get off the dooms-day train, and stand alone until they find others who have already done this?
The following is an excerpt from a letter by Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon showing his position on Astrology. (Parenthesis are included where explanatory words help to understand the English).
Moses Ben Maimonides Letter on Astrology
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Letter as quoted fromBen Shahn, (commentator on Jewish Heritage, 1898-1969)
“Truth does not become more true because everyone agrees with it, nor less true even if everyone disagrees with it.” — Maimonides
Rabbi Moses, Ben Maimon, was, without question, one of the greatest philosophers of the Middle Ages. He was not only revered in his own time for the brilliance of his logic, but was also widely read throughout the Arab world and in Europe for centuries afterward. His ideas created an intellectual bridge between Aristotle and the so-called “Age of Reason,” between rationalism and the Talmudic tradition.
In the late 12th and early 13th centuries, he lived in the bustling metropolis of Fustat, then the capital of Egypt, where he had emigrated from Córdoba in southern Spain. Being both Jewish and part of the Arab world, he was able to draw upon both Hebrew and Arabic scholarship, as well as the classical texts of Greece and Rome.
Maimonides’ clarity of thought—and writing—remains utterly compelling today. For example, this is the man who wrote in his Guide for the Perplexed:
“Naturally, we like what we are accustomed to, and we are drawn to it (Astrology) … The same is true of a man’s opinions, which he has been accustomed to since his youth; he likes them, defends them, and avoids opposing opinions.”
He also said::
“In the realm of nature, there is nothing without purpose, trivial, or unnecessary.”
And in his role as a doctor:
“The doctor should not treat the disease, but the patient who suffers from it.”
As a sage in his lifetime, Maimonides’s advice was sought by other rabbis throughout the Arab world and the Mediterranean, from Yemen to Montpellier. One of his responses was to a query from scholars in southern France. It is often called The Epistle on Astrology.
It is important to remember that this was written at a time when astrology was widely accepted. French scholars questioned whether astrologers could truly predict the future accurately.
In this letter, Maimonides uses the word “science” to refer to a system of knowledge, I suspect, since our modern definition of that word didn’t quite fit. But Maimonides’ clarification of the difference between astrology and astronomy remains relevant today. There are many intriguing ideas in this text, in addition to his thoughts on astrology. For example, he makes it clear that the world is a rotating sphere and asks readers to consider the question of fate and the purpose of religion.
The following is a translation from the Hebrew by the Hasidic scholar Isadore Twersky.
September 27, 1194
“I perceive in this matter that, although its branches are many, they are all branches of the same tree, whose common root is: all the statements of ‘the astrologers, the observers of the stars’ (Is. 47:13)….
“Know, my lords, that it is not proper for a man to accept as trustworthy anything other than one of these three things.
“The first is something for which there is clear proof derived from human reasoning—like arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy.
“The second is something that man perceives through one of the five senses—as when he knows for certain that this is red and this is black by sight; or that this is bitter and this is sweet by taste; or that this is hot and this is cold by touch; or that one sound is clear and another indistinct by hearing; or that one smell is pleasant and another unpleasant by smell.
“The third is something that man receives from the prophets or the righteous. Every reasonable man should distinguish in his mind these things that he accepts as true and say: ‘I accept this by tradition (based on authoritative origins- LinkLink) , this by sensory perception, and this by reason.’ Whoever accepts as true something that does not belong to these three categories, of him it is said: ‘The simple believe everything’ (Prov. 14:15).
“So you should know that fools have written thousands of books of nothingness and emptiness. Many men, old in years but not in wisdom, wasted their whole lives studying these books and thought that such foolishness was science. They came to believe themselves wise because they knew this ‘science’.
“The matter on which most of the world is mistaken—or all of it, except for a few individuals—is precisely this one I am warning you about. The great sickness and the ‘grave evil’ consists in this: that everything man finds written in books, he assumes to be true—and even more so if the books are old. And since many have studied them and discussed them, the imprudent man immediately concludes that they are words of wisdom…”
“This is why our kingdom was lost and our Temple was destroyed… because our ancestors sinned… by following the teachings of astrologers… thinking they were glorious and useful knowledge. They did not practice warfare or conquer lands… That is why the prophets called them ‘fools.’ And they truly were…”
“Know, my lords, that I myself have thoroughly investigated these matters… So-called judicial astrology… all its claims… are far from scientific; they are nonsense…”
“None of the truly wise men of the nations ever concerned themselves with this or wrote about it… except the Chaldeans, Canaanites, and Egyptians… But the wise men of Greece… mocked these ideas and completely refuted them…”
“And know that the true science of the stars is the knowledge of the spheres… their movements… eclipses… the phases of the moon… the length of the days… and many other amazing things… All this is undoubtedly true…”
“But the claims of astrologers are nothing…”
“Know also that all wise men agree that the world has a Ruler… There is, however, disagreement about his origin…”
(1) Some maintain that the world is eternal.
(2) Others that were formed from pre-existing matter.
(3) And others—like the prophets—who (say) they were created from nothing by divine will.
“Everyone agrees that everything in the world ultimately comes from God…”
“But they differ in terms of what happens to individuals…”
“Philosophers say that everything is by chance…”
“Astrologers say that everything is determined by the stars…”
“Both positions are false…”
“The true path is this: it is not chance nor the stars, but divine will… even if we do not understand its ways…”
“And know that one of the foundations of religion… is that man has free will… he can choose good or evil… there is no star that forces him…”
“In summary: the position of the astrologers is considered false by all men of science…”
“And even if you find ancient texts that seem to say otherwise… do not abandon reason proven by evidence…”
“1. Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD.
“2 And the LORD said to Satan, “Whence have you come?” Satan answered the LORD, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”
“3 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you moved me against him, to destroy him without cause.”
The story repeats itself but with a final difference.
The time between the two assemblies of the sons of Elohim is not mentioned, it seems it happened soon after the first strike against Job. We see as before, the Heavenly assembly of the sons of Elohim where each presents himself before the Eternal. Satan also comes among them–same as last time and with the same emphasis to show that he is not really included as a “son of Elohim,” rather an infiltrator or usurper. He claims to have walked up and down on the Earth or in other words, claims to be the representative of our world. He has no good words to report about anyone, only accusations of the most righteous man on the earth–Job.
And Satan, as before is determined to destroy righteous Job and to bring doubt upon the wisdom of the Most High. And again, the Lord asks him: “from whence do you come?” As if God is taunting Satan again, “why are you here, have you not done enough damage? He brings up Job again and again Satan accuses him of unfair judgment of Job:
Job 2:4-6:
“4 Then Satan answered the LORD, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But put forth thy hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.” 6 And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your power; only spare his life.”
Satan continues to accuse the Eternal in front of the Sons of Elohim. They are witnesses of this trial of Job. How would they have reacted if God had said: “Enough” of your accusations, and banned Satan forever from the courtroom? Might there have been doubt in someone’s mind that perhaps the accuser was right? It is almost as if God was on trial and not Job. It might be unfair to ask this, but it seems that Job was the test for the honor of the Almighty Judge of the universe. What God did with this would determine, perhaps for all time, what the Universe thought of Him. Why does this matter? Why, if it was going to be so damaging to God’s reputation, did he not just destroy Satan, and poof, he is gone forever? So then what would the Universe have done? They might have obeyed God, but would it have been from love and respect? Indeed the Eternal was in a hard place with no wiggle room!
What God should have done is a dangerous area for humans to contemplate. We don’t want to blame the Eternal for playing games with human lives just to save His reputation in the universe. It is definitely a hard question, and as humans who have also been tested at times with apparent injustice, it is easy to doubt that we even matter– that we are mere dust anyway–that there is no Supreme Being in charge of what happens to us…but when faced with joining the accuser and his hatred of all that is good, let us patiently wait for the outcomes and never swerve in our trust in Hashem. That is what Job did and what he said later:
“Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.” (ch. 13:15). In the end we will see how things worked out for him.
Job 2:7-8: “So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD, and afflicted Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. “And he took a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and sat among the ashes.”
Now Job suffers and tries to relieve himself by scraping his sores and sitting in a pile of ashes.
Job’s wife turns tempter:
Job 2:9-10: “Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God, and die.” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”
If we look at Job’s wife and how much she suffered we may understand why she said what she said. She had lost as much as Job had. A woman’s children are the offspring of her womb and she feels very deeply. She also was left without much hope of any support. Job appeared ready to die at any moment.
Yet, what she said was used to tempt Job to doubt God’s wisdom and in that she erred. How would it be possible to restrain one’s lips in a time like this? Yet Job rebuked her simply as being foolish (נָבָל nâbâl) and further educated her about being willing to accept bad times along with the good. If we look at the Hebrew word above: נָבָל nâbâl, we see the name of the husband of Abigail who hated David and died upon hearing what she had done to help him.
It is very clear that Job did well in saying that we need to accept good as well as evil from the hand of the Lord. No, he didn’t blame Satan, he put the source of it all squarely in the Hands of the Creator. And the verse says that in this Job did not sin with his lips.
Upon this three of Job’s friends (Eli’phaz the Te’manite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Na’amathite) get together when they hear about Job’s calamity and decide to visit him. (see verses 11-13). They sit on the ground for 7 days during which time they do not speak to him as they observe his suffering. This seems to be where the practice of sitting shiva (see link) began.
The three friends came from different places in the middle east. Maybe there is a reason for mentioning these places. Teman is a place in Saudi Arabia, Shuhu is a place near the Euphrates in modern day Turkey, and Naamah is a place that would correspond anciently to Southern Canaan or today, Judea and Samaria, known as the West Bank to non Zionists. (Link). How they all got together is a bit of a mystery, but perhaps the event was long enough that the surrounding nations heard about it.
Job is mentioned as from the land of Uz which is somewhere in the Middle East, but the location is not clear. Maybe the Negev of Israel or part of Jordan. Wikipedia. Uz was the name of a grandson of Shem. Uz is thought to be a place in Aramea (named for Aram son of Shem). This is modern day Syria. The other possibility is Edom or Saudi Arabia, but the majority of Biblical references tie Uz to Aram or Aramea. (Link).
Where did Job live and who was he really?
As far as who Job descended from, it’s pretty sketchy, other than a possibility in Genesis 46:13, which some Bible scholars support the idea that he was one of the sons of Issachar who was included in those who migrated to Egypt with Jacob during the famine in the land of Canaan. Job is also mentioned in the genealogy of Jacob in 1 Chronicles 7:1. (Note: Most Bibles render the name Jashub or Yashuv in 1 Chronicles which is difficult to explain: for example why is the son of Isaacar called iov or Job in Genesis 46, and the same son in the lineage, called Jashub or Yashuv later in other places?)
Did Issachar live in Aramea? Maybe. As mentioned above, Uz (Job’s country) is most likely located in Aram. Two schools of thought find him in Aram or in Edom. What seems to tie Uz to Aram if this is the same Job that the book is written about, is that Jacob is called a wandering Aramean by Moses in Deu 26:5 when instructing Israel about bringing an offering from the harvest of the firstfruits once they entered the land of Israel:
A richly illustrated historical map traces Aramea, Edom, Israel, Judah, and neighboring biblical regions.
“Then you shall declare before the LORD your God: “My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt with a few people and lived there and became a great nation, powerful and numerous.”
But some things do not add up to make Job a son of Issachar who traveled to Egypt with Jacob. It is close, perhaps not exact. Was Job too old when he died to be alive much later than the time of Abraham? Is it possible that he is the same Job as mentioned in Jacob’s genealogy and went down to Egypt and lived part of his later life during Joseph’s rulership? So Job remains a mystery. Is the story a mere parable for all of us? Maybe. I like to think that it is written that way for us to apply the lessons personally.
Something else that possibly ties Job to the lineage of Jacob is that Eliphaz, one of the three friends who tormented Job with accusations, was possibly a son of Esau.
“We also read that Jacob had a twin brother called Esau, who had 4 sons, one of them named Eliphaz. (1 Chronicles 1:35)”
“Within the book of Job, we find both names. Job had three comforters, or friends, who came to talk with him; one man was called Eliphaz (Job 2:11). Thus, the relationship between Job and Eliphaz may be proven by connecting Genesis 46, 1 Chronicles 1, and Job 2. However, some may say that the people in the book of Job reference a different Job and a different Eliphaz. Are there any other scriptures which might further connect them? Yes!”
“In Eliphaz’s talk to Job he said, “What knowest thou, that we know not? what understandest thou, which is not in us? With us are both the grayheaded and very aged men, much elder than thy father.” Job 15:9,10”
“Eliphaz mentioned Job’s father, and he indicated that he knew him. He also mentioned that one of them (indirectly pointing back to himself) was older than his father. Eliphaz mentioned that he was older than Job’s father (Issachar), and that was very true. We remember that Esau married when he was only 40 years old (Genesis 26:34), and he took two wives. Jacob didn’t get married until he was about 70 years old. So of course Esau’s sons were older than Jacob’s sons. This was exactly what Eliphaz said – that he (Eliphaz) was older than his father (Issachar). So this scripture supports the assertion that the genealogy from Genesis is connected to Job.”
There is one more thing connected to the name Job (Yov) versus Jashuv (Yashuv). Considering the meanings of name and the stories of name changes in Tanakh, ie: Avram/Avraham, Yacov/Yisrael, is it possible the Job’s name was changed, even in the literature, to represent what happened to him?
Let’s have a look at the Hebrew:
From Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew dictionary:
“אִיּוֹב ʼÎyôwb, ee-yobe’; from H340; hated (i.e. persecuted); Ijob, the patriarch famous for his patience:—Job.
Jashuv
“יָשׁוּב Yâshûwb, yaw-shoob’; or יָשִׁיב Yâshîyb; from H7725; he will return;
Job’s life turned from being persecuted to a return to blessing at the end. In a way his very life portrays this name change.
However possible, there is a lot of evidence to show that his name was never changed, for example in Ezekiel 14:14,20, he is still referred to as Job.
There is one possibility and that is that in the masoretic text, there could be scribal errors.
“Over centuries of hand-copying ancient Hebrew manuscripts, small visual or phonetic shifts occurred between similar-looking words. The Hebrew name Yashub (יָשׁוּב, meaning “he returns”) was lightly corrupted or miscopied in certain textual traditions into the spelling resembling Iob/Yov”(Link).
Several times I attended discussions on the book of Job in synagogues. These usually happened on an afternoon of a fast day–the day which commemorates the destruction of the second temple which is called Tisha B’ Av on the Jewish Calendar. This corresponds to the 9th day of the 5th month of theBiblical calendar, sometime in August on the Roman calendar.
Ai generated, thanks to Word Press.
These discussions were varied and often did not end up justifying the Creator, but rather questioning His wisdom. Yet a closer look at the interaction in the biblical account in the book of Job reveals an intriguing story and is the Bible always right?
I have thought of the rights of the Creator to do what he wants with His Creation. When I make a piece of art, if I don’t like it, I may throw it away. So why should a creature complain if his Maker decides to do something which he does not understand? How much right does the King of the Universe have to experiment with His creatures? When life is given to a being, it would seem that there is a moral requirement to respect that life. I don’t believe that the Creator is willy nilly with his creatures. Even for the smallest living creatures, we as more intelligent creatures are instructed in the Torah to be kind to animals, as in the case of shewing away the mother bird when taking the eggs or a baby bird so that she does not suffer trauma (Deu 22:6).
Does God follow the same ethical rules that He gives to His creation? We jokingly used to tell our kids: “Do as I say, not as I do.” This was never taken seriously because a parent can’t get away doing that which he forbids his children without repercussions. So, is it right to judge as not bound by the same ethics? So we have the story recorded in the book of Job. So, give God a chance and see if He is fair in the end!
Chapter 1
An Intruder challenges God
Job opens with a description of Job as a man who was “blameless and upright” and “who feared God and shunned evil.” He had 7 sons and 3 daughters. He was the wealthiest man in the East. (chapter 1, verse 3). The family of Job would celebrate birthdays with feasts and when they did this Job would offer burnt offerings, just in case the children had sinned in some way in their revelry. So, well and good, that is what is supposed to happen to the righteous. Right? Everyone enjoys blessings and prosperity and the reward for “following the rules” comes to each. That is what we can believe from the many promises in the Bible. Yet, it seems someone is not happy to see Job prosper and so a scandal is stirred up and disaster takes place for Job–destroying him, his possessions, and his family. But ultimately, who is responsible?–the Creator? Why would YHVH agree to such a thing?
Verse 6 a scene depicts a counsel among the “sons of Elohim,” gathered with the Sovereign of the Universe. Are these beings angels or representatives of different parts of the Universe? I take the position that these are representatives from different places and that the purpose of the meeting was to report on the status of each of their realms.
At this meeting, the “Satan” intrudes and presents himself as the representative of Earth. As is his character (Satan means adversary) he challenges the wisdom of the Creator when asked what he thinks of Job, the most righteous of all men on earth.
Satan claims that Job is self-serving. That the real reason he serves his Creator is that he knows which side his “bread is buttered on”. He does what he does out of self interest. In a word, he accuses Job of being an opportunist, a time server, someone who obeys only to get blessings, but he suggests to the Almighty: “just test him and you will see him fall” God is challenged to shake Job to the very foundation of his existence. This would reveal once and for all time what Job is about. Now God’s wisdom is on trial. Could he just ignore the accusation and let it go or should he go ahead and prove that the Adversary doesn’t know what he is talking about? He chooses to nip in the bud this suggestion of Satan by allowing terrible things to happen to Job.
If he hadn’t stopped Satan in his tracks by allowing this test, what might have happened to the rest of the Universe? Could doubt about the character of God create a domino effect that would go everywhere? Haven’t we seen this same thing happen on this planet, when someone is accused falsely, how a rumor, very similar to the game of telephone, changes to something dangerously exaggerated and can destroy someone. People have gone to jail over things like this and even when they are acquitted, a stain lingers on their reputation.
So, how did the one assigned to this earth get to be an adversary? Or was he really assigned? And if he was not assigned as an agent, then how did he presume to represent the planet? Did the Creator somehow make the wrong choice of agent? Or is it something else? If we look closely at the verse it says:
Job 1: “6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before YHVH and Satan also came among them.”
Satan also came among them. Notice how the wording shows that he was not chosen, but that he was self-appointed as earth’s representative. There is more in verse 7. Where did this Satan come from and who is he anyway?
7: “YHVH said to Satan, “Whence have you come?” Satan answered: “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”
Why does the Eternal ask where Satan came from if He already knew? The emphasis shows not that God didn’t know, but that He would not recognize his claim to be representative of Earth. It is as if God is asking, “what on Earth are you up to now, Satan? What mischief are you stirring up?”
Job Accused:
Job 1:”8 And YHVH said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?”
9 Then Satan answered the LORD, “Does Job fear God for nought? 10 Hast thou not put a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But put forth thy hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse thee to thy face.””
God accepted the challenge rather than rebuke the adversary. Why?
If we believe that God’s judgment is inscrutable, then His wisdom dictated that he had to deal with this challenge. Why not just kick Satan out of the assembly? Or better yet, isolate or destroy him! Let’s explore this further:
1.God’s reputation was at stake, to keep harmony in the Universe, he had to deal with it in a way that showed He was right. If He skirted the issue or cast Satan out of the council, he would allow doubt to grow in the entire universe. By allowing this test, evil vs good would be revealed on the personal level and revealed in the trials of righteous Job. (Later we’ll see that Job is a small example of what has been working out during the whole episode of good vs evil on this planet.)
2. God knew that Job was not going to fail the test. He knew what kind of guy he was and trusted him. Being all wise and all powerful and as Creator of mankind, Job’s very essence was understood.Was this a big risk to take? Maybe, but if we believe in God’s supreme wisdom, a wisdom greater than any created being, then He knew what He was doing.
The Creator knows His creation:
Job declared:
Job 23: “10 But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”
The Psalmist wrote:
Psa 139:2-4, 13-16: “2 Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up; thou discernest my thoughts from afar. 3 Thou searchest out my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before a word is on my tongue, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. … 13 For thou didst form my inward parts, thou didst knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise thee, for thou art fearful and wonderful. Wonderful are thy works! Thou knowest me right well; 15my frame was not hidden from thee, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth. 16 Thy eyes beheld my unformed substance; in thy book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”
Psa 103:13-15:“Like as a father pitieth his children,
So YHVH pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame;
He remembereth that we are dust. As for man, his days are as grass…”
3. God’s ultimate plan was greater than that of satisfying an argument–this plan was to once and for all, reveal to the Universe the true basis of the Creator’s holy and harmonious kingdom, and to reveal the horrendous results of allowing the reign of evil in this Universe. By doing this God would guarantee the eventual complete eradication of evil and the excision of Satan, the adversary from God’s restored Kingdom… Evil had to be seen in all its horror.
Job 1: 12 “And YHVH said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your power; only upon himself do not put forth your hand.” So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.’” (Satan iis given permission to afflict Job but not to touch his person. Again: “So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.”
(As we saw before, Satan came as an intruder and left on his own mission. The “presence of the Lord” was not with him.
Chapter 2: The stage is set and the curtain opens on Job.
Job 1:13-22 “Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house; 14 and there came a messenger to Job, and said, “The oxen were plowing and the asses feeding beside them; 15 and the Sabe’ans fell upon them and took them, and slew the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 16 While he was yet speaking, there came another, and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 17 While he was yet speaking, there came another, and said, “The Chaldeans formed three companies, and made a raid upon the camels and took them, and slew the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 18 While he was yet speaking, there came another, and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house; 19 and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness, and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 20 Then Job arose, and rent his robe, and shaved his head, and fell upon the ground, and worshiped. 21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return; the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” 22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.”
All Job’s children were feasting in the house of the eldest brother when:
The oxen and asses were stolen by the Sabe’ans killing all the servants except the one who came to report it.
Fire fell from Heaven and burned up all the sheep and servants except the one who bore the news.
The camels were stolen by the Chaldeans and all the servants were slain all except the bearer of the evil tidings.
A terrific wind hit the corners of the house where Job’s children were feasting and it fell down and killed them all except the one who came to report it.
So this all happens in one day and what does Job do?
20 “Then Job arose, and rent his robe, and shaved his head, and fell upon the ground, and worshiped. 21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return; the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”
.”22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.”
But notice, he doesn’t blame the devil either. Why? Is it because he knows that nothing can touch him unless the Holy One allows it? How many times do we curse the devil when bad things happen to us? Do we really believe that God and the power of Good are in control? Notice in verse 21 how Job says that God took away these things. He did not give any credence to any other power but the power of God.
So was Job mistaken in not blaming Satan for the calamities? Is Satan able to act on his own without the permission of the Most High? Then the question arises: How often do we open the door to evil consequences by our own disobedience or questioning of the Creator’s power? Isn’t obedience to the Torah what keeps us in the Shelter of the Most High?
The fact that Job didn’t blame Satan for the evil and was declared righteous shows that he knew where his protection came from. He was confident in his obedience to YHVH. He had no guilt.
However later we see him questioning if maybe the sins of his youth were being punished:
Job 13:26: “For You write bitter things against me And make me inherit the guilty deeds of my youth. “
What does it mean that Job questions if he is being punished for the sins of his youth? We know from the story that this is not the cause because Job is called the most righteous man on earth. What we can deduce is that he is examining himself to see if he brought this upon himself. But overall the story shows that sins of the past, if abandoned, are not held against us.
Psa 103:12: “as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”
What is the meaning of the term, “Woke”? Has Wokeism become a religion in the Western World?
“Wokeism is a term used to describe a progressive political and social ideology focused on systemic inequality, identity politics, and social justice.” (Links: 1, 2, 3,)
Can wokeism be defined as a religion? And how do religious systems where members embrace the opinions or doctrines of leaders, prophets or early founders actually open the door to belief in progressive teachings? What happens when one hears something over and over again without investigating it? Does it become truth, or only truth in the eyes of the one who is subjected to it? When people willingly give up logic to follow the theories of the masses, they become subservient to ideas that defy logic and demand obedience to a new culture. In the definition of Wokeism, it means sacrificing one’s God-given individuality for the good of society, placing heavy emphasis on the loss of individual rights when confronted with those racially neglected or deprived.
In this article, I want to show that the major religions, to a degree, have led people to give up their right to follow the logic of their own minds. This has opened the door for acceptance of the new wokeism that abounds everywhere. Wokeism destroys individual boundaries, confuses the identity of the sexes and challenges the family structure. Wokeism has come about because of the vacuum created by society’s abandonment of belief in the Bible and the God of the Bible. It not only puts the needs of the underdog in society above one’s own, it also often elevates animal rights as equal or superior to human rights. Discrimination, social justice, identity politics, all play a role in Wokeism.
Recently I spoke to a woman who stopped by our house about an incident where children camping on the beach at the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) were attacked by jackals. She immediately excused the jackals. “They were here before humans and have a right to the land, she explained.” I didn’t respond vocally but I was dumbfounded. How did people come to think like this?
Animal rights aside, what has set the stage for corporate religions themselves to take part at least to some extent in the woke ideology? And why has Islam and its little-understood people, the Muslims, been elevated to the level of not only public acceptance, but compliance to their culture and forced subservience to Sharia law?
Not only is Western society embracing Muslim culture, it stands aloof at terrorist actions against those who resist it.
So progressive principles have overtaken society to the point that humans of other races who were once disregarded as foreign to the culture of the West, or perhaps even considered as lower class, now because of progressive ideals are allowed to set the rules for society. Why and how did this come about?
Two major religions have dominated the religious elements of the Western world for centuries. We see changes taking place before our eyes. Changes that 50 years ago, few envisioned. What kind of changes? Before we get into the woke element in these religions, let’s look at some details.
We see Islam for the last couple of years surging into Europe, Britain and America. “Moderate” Muslims have settled in the West for a long time, but now their religion is “front and center.”
Islam dominates around 98 percent of the Middle East, that is, every country but Israel. Some of us wonder why it is necessary to expand to new territories–after all there is plenty of land in the Middle East! And why is it their supreme goal to conquer and subject the country of Israel? This has been the goal of Islam from time immemorial, so why should we be surprised?
Wikipedia: “Muslim-majority nations and governments control the vast majority of land in the Middle East. Out of the roughly 7.3 million square kilometers (7.3 million km²) that make up the region, approximately 97% to 98% of the territory is governed by Muslim-majority states. The remaining 2% to 3% is governed by the State of Israel, which is a Jewish-majority state but also contains a substantial Arab-Muslim and Arab-Christian population.”
Would it be edifying to understand what Islam requires regarding world conquest and forced conversions? Much like Christianity, but in several points very different, the goal of Islam is to convert the entire world population, but the difference seems to lie in the fact that Islam states clearly that the goal is to convert or kill the infidel or at least tax them as Dhiimis (a subservient class.) Christianity at this time, while aiming to convert the world, is no longer killing those who reject conversion, nor is this the goal of the church.
Thus, it is clear that serious Muslims are on a path to govern the world through dominance of their religion. And the world is coming along with them through the woke mentality that has been established little by little through the last century.
Compassion on the underdog. Cruelty to the elite. Hatred of white, so-called “supremacists”, and at the same time, compassion for darker skinned races who are considered more “worthy” because we “owe it to them”. It doesn’t matter if they entered the country illegally, “they were poor and only wanted a better way of life!” It doesn’t matter that they have stolen their way up the food chain, what matters is that the rest of us must be noble and let them have their way. It doesn’t matter if they violate and rape, after all their culture sees it differently! Really?
So, yes, I have known well-mannered upstanding Muslims both in America and Israel. I used to work for one. I have had doctors in Israel who are Muslim. But are they really following their core beliefs? What are moderate Muslims, but a smoke screen to keep people unaware of the deeper roots of their mission? Let me share a quote from their holy book:
Surah Ali ‘Imran 3:28: “Let not believers take disbelievers as allies rather than believers. And whoever of you does that has nothing to do with Allah, except when taking precaution against them in defense…”
What it means:
Alliance: Believers are instructed not to form preferential alliances or allegiances with those who disbelieve over the community of believers. [1, 2] The Exception: If a believer lives among those who oppose their faith and faces imminent harm or tyranny, they are permitted to conceal their true allegiance or outwardly conform for self-preservation. [1, 2, 3, 4] Divine Warning: The verse warns that true allegiance is to Allah, and all will eventually return to Him for judgment
[1]Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:51: “O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you – then indeed, he is [one] of them…” [1, 2]
So we see that those who are members of Islam can live out a pretext of friendliness with unbelievers in order to guarantee their physical or economic security, but they are never to truly become friends to the extent of giving them their allegiance.
How Islam came about is a topic for further study, but we know that Muslims claim that it is the only true religion. How does one judge religions? What tools are needed to discern between truth and error? How can we know if it was authored by God or invented by a human prophet, ie, Mohammed? How, indeed, can we know this about any religion?
How do the doctrines of the different religions connect to what the Eternal says and, contrarily, how much have leading, supposedly “inspired” prophets and sages directed the minds of their followers into the teachings they themselves have elaborated and placed before the people? What are the underlying rules for judging a religion? How does one prove that a religion is about service to God and the betterment of mankind and not service to laws that complicate life for humanity and that build walls between peoples?
Can it be shown that man has either created or expanded upon the original laws of the Bible, the basis for Christianity and Judaism? What about Islam? Islam is not based directly on the Bible or the 10 commandments. Then how is it possible to prove that the Muslim god is not the God who created and established mankind in this world? Is it possible? Is it provable from a logical standpoint? Consider several things:
When did Islam come into being and what was the character of Mohammed who founded the religion?
Wherever Islam has taken hold, how is the life of the people in the country where they dominate? Do they prosper?
How do they treat animals? Is kindness and humane treatment shown?
How do they treat their women and children? Is there abuse and subjugation?
What happens to the land where they inhabit? Is it blessed and abundant or does it become a desert?
